Satheesh George

• MSc. Ph.D.
• Professor (Assistant) at St. Joseph's College Devagiri (Autonomous)

In recent decades, nanoparticles (NPs) have become an important focus of research with diverse applications in industries such as food, cosmetics, and medicine. Recent studies have demonstrated that nanomaterials can boost the production of secondary metabolites in plants. In vitro techniques coupled with nanotechnology tools provide an attractive...

This research aimed to investigate the variances in phytochemical composition between two leafy vegetables, Sauropous androgynous and Cnidoscolus aconitifolius. The study employed Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) to analyze the phytochemical constituents, revealing distinct band patterns indicative of diverse secondary metabolites. Through compariso...

Nanomaterials usually have specific characteristics due to their incredibly tiny size, which also increases their surface area, providing a more interactive surface. Compared to their macro-sized counterparts, these tiny nanoparticles exhibit a multitude of size-dependent properties. Plant tissue culture (PTC) plays an important role in bioactive c...

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology has fundamentally transformed genetic engineering by providing unparalleled accuracy in altering the genetic makeup of different animals. This chapter examines the utilization of CRISPR-based techniques to improve the process of natural product biosynthesis in plants. CRI...

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of medicine that has been used for thousands of years. In recent years, there has been growing interest in using Ayurvedic principles and natural products to discover new drugs. Reverse pharmacology, an approach that involves using traditional knowledge to guide drug discovery, has been gaining attention in this...

Plants are key sources of secondary metabolites. The medicinal property of plants is mainly due to the production of secondary metabolites. Human beings have been constantly trying to elevate the production of secondary metabolites in plants by various techniques, including hairy root culture, and RNA interference. The recent discovery of the techn...

Ethnomedicinal plants are important sources of drug candidates, and many of these plants, especially in the Western Ghats, are underexplored. Humboldtia, a genus within the Fabaceae family, thrives in the biodiversity of the Western Ghats, Kerala, India, and holds significant ethnobotanical importance. However, many Humboldtia species remain unders...

Cancer has become a significant public health concern in the past few decades, and it is now the world's second cause of death. Although there are various types of cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, immune therapy, radiation, hormone therapy, gene editing, etc., they all have adverse reactions and significant failings. Plant and dietary mixtu...

hellenia speciosa (J. Koenig) s.r. dutta, commonly known as spiral ginger, is a potent medicinal plant in the family Costaceae. it has a wide range of applications in traditional and modern medicine with many active ingredients. diosgenin is a steroidal sapogenin obtained from h. speciosa. it is commercially used as an important raw material for th...

Typification of three names in the genus Blumea DC. (Asteraceae) viz. B. solidaginoides (Poir.) DC., B. floresiana (Sch.Bip. ex Miq.) Boerlage and B. dregeanoides Sch.Bip. ex A.Rich. is discussed and lectotypes are designated. Lectotypification de trois noms dans le genre Blumea DC. (Asteraceae). La typification de trois noms dans le genre Blumea D...

The contamination of lands and water by heavy toxic metal(loid)s is an environmental issue that needs serious attention as it poses a major threat to public health. The persistence of heavy metals/metalloids in the environment as well as their potentially dangerous effects on organisms underpins the need to restore the areas contaminated by heavy t...

The lectotypification of five names in the genus Blumea (Asteracea): Blumea glomerata DC., B. pterodonta DC., B. hamiltonii DC., Blumea arenaria DC. and Blumea virens DC., is discussed and lectotypes designated.

Analysis of soil samples collected from various banana fields in Kozhikode district was carried out to identify the extent of heavy metal and pesticide contamination. Analysis by atomic absorption spectrometry revealed contamination of lead in some of the banana fields (Omasseri, Balussery, Vengeri & Nanmanda) in the district. The Gas Chromatogram...

A paradigm shifts from the conventional approach of a single drug-based system to polyherbal formulations is recently observed in the modern pharmaceutical industry. The rising demand has led to a decrease in the quality and efficacy of herbal medicines. In order to ensure the sustained demand and therapeutic efficacy, it is vitally important to...

The genus Justicia (Acanthaceae) is a source of important pharmaceutical compounds. Justicia species are integral parts of several drug preparations in Indian indigenous healthcare system. However, J. beddomei and J. adhatoda are the authentic sources of ‘Vasa’. To authenticate assured therapeutic effect, proper identification at species level is c...

An efficient protocol was developed for the micropropagation of Ayapana triplinervis through axillary bud multiplication using nodal explants. The excised nodal segments were inoculated to MS media supplemented with various concentrations and combinations of PGRs. Murashige and Skoog's medium fortified with 0.5 mgL-1 Kinetin was the best combinatio...

Ayurveda is largely based upon usage of herbs either singly or in combination (polyherbal). Polyherbal formulation has been used all around the world due to its curative and beneficial application. In present research work, an attempt was made to compare the phytoconstituents in Nayopayam Kwatha (An Indian polyherbal formulation) and its component...

Ayurveda is largely based upon usage of herbs either singly or in combination (polyherbal). Polyherbal formulation has been used all around the world due to its curative and beneficial application. In present research work, an attempt was made to compare the phytoconstituents in Nayopayam Kwatha (An Indian polyherbal formulation) and its component...

Barleria sahyadrica sp. nov., a new species of Barleria sect. Prionitis of the family Acanthaceae from Maharashtra region of Peninsular India is described and illustrated. A detailed description, distribution, ecology, phenology and relevant taxonomic notes are provided along with notes on the identity of B. cuspidata.

Baliospermum solanifolium (Burm.) Suresh is a vulnerable medicinal plant belonging to the family Euphorobiaceae. In the present study, phytochemical variability has been evaluated in 14 accessions of B. solanifolium collected from different geographical and agro climatic regions of south India. Qualitative chemical evaluation was done using thin la...

Taxonomic history and occurrence of Justicia beddomei in India is discussed. Detailed description, photographs, conservation assessment, ecology and distributional notes are provided along with a comparison of the closely allied species J. adhatoda. The paper also discusses the identity of the raw drug ‘Vasa’ in Indian Systems of Medicine-Ayurveda.

Nature has been a source of medicinal agents for thousands of years and a large number of modern drugs have been derived from natural sources. The medicinal plant industry is posing great threat due to the unavailability of genuine raw drugs thereby resulting in the use of several substitutes / adulterants as the source plant. In the near future, m...

Herbs contain hundreds of active ingredients that may be potentially useful for the development of novel therapeutic agents. The medicinal value of plants lies on the presence of biological active constituents with drug-like properties. Drugs in modern therapeutics are discovered either from medicinal plants or synthesized on the basis of natural l...

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of extraction solvents such as n-Hexane, Petroleum ether, Chloroform, Methanol and aqueous Methanol (Methanol: Water, 50:50 v/v) on phytochemicals of different parts like leaf, stem and flower of Wedelia trilobata using chromatographic studies. The chemical pattern of different extracts...

A new species of Beilschmiedia Nees (Lauraceae) from India, B. jacobii, is described and illustrated. Beilschmiedia jacobii is similar to B. wightii, but can be distinguished by its shrubby habit, prominently lenticellate bark, thickly coriaceous small leaves with 5-7 lateral veins, and pubescent terminal buds. Ecological aspects and the distributi...

A new species of Gymnostachyum Nees (Acanthaceae), G. warrieranum K. M. P. Kumar, Balach. & V. B. Sreek. from the Western Ghats of India is described and illustrated. IUCN status, distribution, phenetic relationships, phenology and plastid genome variation are discussed and a key to the Gymnostachyum species distributed in Kerala is also provided f...

Litsea udayanii, a new species of Lauraceae from the Anamalai phytogeographical zone of southern Western Ghats is described and illustrated here. The new species resembles L. cubeba in its clustered inflorescence and L. beddomei in fruits. Litsea udayanii differs from L. cubeba by its coriaceous leaves, 12 staminodes in the female flowers, ellipsoi...

Caralluma adscendens var. attenuata (Wight) Grav.and Mayur. is a wild growing leafless succulent xerophytic herb in southern India, belonging to the family Apocynaceae. The taxonomic status of this taxa is still unsettled due to the great variability in morphological and floral characters including shape of corolla, hairiness pattern on corolla lob...

Objective: The objective of the present study was to determine the total alkaloid content in selected Justicia species such as J. adhatoda, J. beddomei, J. betonica, J. gendarussa, J. montana and J. wynaadensis Methods: The total alkaloid content (TAC) was estimated spectrophotometrically using Bromocresol green method with caffeine as standard. Re...

Phenolic characterisation was carried out on the leaf of three Salacia species such as Salacia chinensis, Salacia fruticosa and Salacia oblonga using liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry equipped with electrospray ionisation interface. The estimation of total phenolics was carried out spectrophotometrically...

Objective: The objective of the present study was to determine the total content of phenolics and flavonoids in selected medicinal plants such as Atuna indica, Baliospermum montanum, Chukrasia tabularis, Humboldtia brunonis var. rakthapushpa and Soymida febrifuga. Methods: The total phenolic content (TPC) was estimated spectrophotometrically using...

Ethanolic extracts of three medicinal plants collected from South India were analyzed for their activity towards acetylcholinestrase (AChE) enzyme. The AChE inhibition was measured spectrophotometrically. All the three species namely, Baliospermum montanum, Humboldtia brunonis Wall. var. raktapushpa and Pittosporum viridulum showed substantial inhi...

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the radical scavenging and anti AChE activity of three Acacia species collected from south India. Ethanolic extracts of three Acacia species collected from South India were analyzed for their activity towards acetylcholinestrase (AChE) enzyme and their antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity...

The present study is the first report of phytochemical screening of this wild plant, Atuna indica (Bedd.) Kosterm from Western Ghats, India. The percentage of total phenols (87.6 ± 5.2 mg 100 g -1 gallic acid equiv.) and total flavonoids (67.1 ± 8.1 mg 100 g -1 quercetin equiv.), which contribute significantly to the free radical scavenging activit...

Caralluma diffusa (Wright) N. E. Br. is reported for the first time from Kerala, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. The current paper provides the description and a detailed key of Indian Carallumas along with colour plate of this species.

ObjectiveA new variety of Crotalaria ramosissima is described from the Western Ghats of India. Crotalaria ramosissima Roxb. var. kanuvayensis Binu T., K. M. Prabhu et A. Rajendran (Fabaceae) from Kanuvai hills, Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.Methods Compare this species with available varieties of Crotalaria and cross checked with previous liter...

A rapid liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) with positive ion detection method was developed and validated to determine major compounds present in the active fractions of three Acacia species. Different extracts of these three Acacia species were screened for their free radical scavenging activity. The total...

A simple and efficient protocol was developed for in vitro microrhizome induction in Costus speciosus. Maximum rhizome formation was observed in full strength MS medium containing 80gl-1 sucrose with an average of 3.2g microrhizome per culture. Rhizome formation did not occur in different strengths of MS media (full, half and quarter) containing 2%...

A protocol has been standardized for in vitro propagation of Rauvolfia serpentina. Maximum shoot multiplication was obtained in MS medium containing 2.0mgl-1 BA. MS medium containing 1.5mgl-1 NAA was superior for root induction with an average number of 11.5 roots per shoot. Rooted plantlets transferred from half strength MS basal and MS medium con...

The tuberous roots of Decalepis salicifolia (Bedd. ex Hook.f.) Venter (Syn. Utleria salicifolia Bedd. ex Hook.f.), a critically endangered and endemic medicinal plant with very narrow restricted distribution, have been investigated. The volatile oil obtained after steam distillation was processed further and yielded a pure compound. The isolated co...

Medicinal plants are sources of important therapeutic aid for healing human diseases. The depletion of the wild resources has prompted conservation, propagation, and enhancement of resources for medicinal plants. Micropropagation offers an alternate method to propagate and improve medicinal plants through selection of high-yield lines and their eff...

Coscinium fenestratum (Fam. Menispermaceae), a critically endangered and highly-traded medicinal plant, has become very important in recent years due to its rarity and huge demand in the medicinal plant sector. This review throws light into the various research aspects undertaken in the past and present in the area of botany, pharmacology, chemistr...

Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R. Br. (Periplocaceae) is being used widely in Ayurvedic medicine. The history of its medicinal importance dates back to ancient times. The present review deals with studies undertaken in various aspects of this plant in the areas of morphology, anatomy, pharmacology, chemistry and ethnobotany along with medicinal uses.

A protocol has been standardized for mass in vitro propagation of Baliospermum montanum. Among the cytokinins, BA was superior to kinetin in terms of the number of shoots produced per explant. All the media containing cytokinins and auxins in combination showed superior results than the media with cytokinins alone. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium c...

As part of the gene bank activity of CMPR many collections of Adhatoda zeylanica Medic. were made from varying agroecological regions in South India. These collections could be grouped into four morphotypes based on growth habits and other morphological characters. These four morphotypes were evaluated for their chemical and pharmacognostical chara...

The paper enumerates the traditional uses of some plants used by the Kattunayaka tribes of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary of Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu. Information on the medicinal uses of 37 plants gathered from the tribals along with their botanical identity is highlighted.

The paper enumerates the traditional uses of 27 plants used by Malapandaram tribes of Achenkovil forest of Kollam district, Kerala Information on the medicinal uses gathered from the tribals together with their botanical identity is presented.

A new variety Humboldtia brunonis Wall. var. raktapushpa P.S. Udayan, K.V. Tushar & Satheesh George is described and illustrated from India.

An exploratory survey conducted in Pykara, Mudumalai, Naduvattam and Ooty Reserve Forests of Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu led to the collection of several interesting and important plants. Out of these, 39 wild edible fruit plants are represented here.

Morphological and anatomical studies of the leaf, stomata, trichomes, and classification of venation pattern have been studied in the critically endangered medicinal plant, Coscinium fenestratum. The unique anatomical features of this plant are discussed in the paper. Two types of specialized trichomes, lignified veinlets, raised stomata, the natur...

2259 May 2006 | ISSN 0973-2535 (Print edition); 0973-2551 (Online edition) The Tirumala hill is situated near Tirupati in southen part of the Eastern Ghats between 13 0 40'N & 79 0 21'E. The Eastern Ghats are the outgrowth of the lower Vindhyan and the Cuddapah systems. In the northern portion, the Ghats are highly dissected and intervened by a num...

2223 April 2006 | ISSN 0973-2535 (Print edition); 0973-2551 (Online edition) The Servarayan hill range (11 0 48'N & 78 0 11'E) located near Yercad of Salem district in Tamil Nadu rise to an altitude ranging from 1200-1500m. The maximum temperature ranges between 25 0 C and 30 0 C and minimum between 13 0 C and 16 0 C. The average annual rainfall is...

Objectives: To preserve and disseminate the traditional knowledge. Materials and methods: Field survey and discussion methods have been used for the collection of data. Results and discussion: A list of 45 flowering plants belonging to 41 Genera and 26 families, which are used by Nayaka community near Savandurga forest, Bangalore rural district, wi...

This paper enumerates eleven species of angiosperms from ten families, which have not been reported from Kannur District, Kerala. They are collected from Kottiyoor Reserve Forest near Ambayathode, Kannur District. Brief descriptions together with phenological and distributional data are provided.

A small area of the eastern portion of these hills lies in the Perambalur District. The total Kollimalai area of 283km 2 is part of the Talaghat stretch and to the east lie the Patchamalai. A broad valley divides Kollimalai and Patchamalai. Kollimalai appears to be abruptly ascending from the plains on the western, eastern and southern sides and de...

A protocol which can be used for the true-to-type mass propagation and conservation of Centella asiatica to meet the pharmaceutical demand is developed. The standardized protocol will be helpful for the biotechnological manipulation of the plant. Nodal explants at different stages of growth were collected from the field growing plants. The increase...