Suman P S Khanuja

FloraFauna Science Foundation (www.florafauna.in)

Rice was one of the most important field crop grown by farmers in different geographies in the World. It was grown due to its different unique with climatic, water, soil, genetic diversity, climatic - weather variance, dietary typical unique importance, cultural and rituals on food behavior among the growers. Rice is the major food energy source bu...

Papaver somniferum L. (2n=22) belonging to the family Papaveraceae, is an annual herb cultivated extensively in many countries. P. somniferum is the only species of poppy used to produce opium, and it is believed to have evolved through centuries of breeding and cultivation from the wild Mediterranean strain P. setigerum. The dried juice (latex) fr...

Artemisia annua (family Asteraceae) is an important medicinal plant. It produces an array of secondary metabolites, but it is mainly known for the antimalarial phytomolecule, artemisinin, which is an endoperoxide sesquiterpene lactone. Artemisinin and artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are globally used as antimalarials. Presently, the...

This study evaluates the effect of differential transplantation (5th January, 28th January and 20th February; Ist T, IInd T and IIIrd T, respectively) and harvesting time (after 100 days of transplantation and 126-204 days of age) on artemisinin and herb yield in Artemisia annua in order to optimize field conditions. During the investigation, maxim...

The present invention relates to bioactive extracts its fractions and isolation of compound from Rauwolfia tetraphylla. The extracts and fractions are useful for the treatment of psychosis based on in-vivo validation on animal model and proportional binding affinities for dopaminergic-D2, Cholinergic (muscarinic) and Serotonergic (5HT2A) receptors...

Papaver somniferum produces therapeutically useful benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) like papaverine, thebaine, codeine, and morphine that accumulate in its capsular latex. Morphine is a potent analgesic but is also abused as a narcotic, which has increased the demand for non-narcotic thebaine that can be converted into various analgesics. To cur...

Papaver somniferum L. (2n=22) belonging to the family Papaveraceae, is an annual herb cultivated extensively in many countries. P. somniferum is the only species of poppy used to produce opium, and it is believed to have evolved through centuries of breeding and cultivation from the wild Mediterranean strain P. setigerum. The dried juice (latex) fr...

This study represents a classical breeding approach for evaluating and systematically selecting high yielding and specific canopy holding plants through the expression of enhanced secondary metabolite biosynthesizing capability for the pharmaceutically important phyto-molecules-Artemisinin. During the 4 years of study (C0-C4 cycle) it was observed...

Plant drugs have been in use for the treatment of diseases since times immemorial. Due to over exploitation, destructive mode of collection, and other biotic and abiotic factors, a number of medicinal plants are facing genetic erosion and are under the threat of extinction. Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. commonly known as Kali Musali is an endangered...

Artemisia annua is the source of antimalarial phytomolecule, artemisinin. It is mainly produced and stored in the glandular secretory trichomes present in the leaves of the plant. Since, the artemisinin biosynthesis steps are yet to be worked out, in this investigation a microarray chip was strategized for the first time to shortlist the differenti...

Heat map for the differentially expressing genes upregulated in seedling. (TIF)

Sequences of the primers used for semi-quantitative RT-PCR-based expression analysis of selected target genes of A. annua . (DOC)

Genes found to be up-regulated in seedling as compared to mature plant leaf in A. annua . (DOC)

Heat map for the differentially expressing genes downregulated in seedling. (TIF)

Genes found to be down-regulated in seedling as compared to mature plant leaf of A. annua . (DOC)

Details of in-house cytochrome P450 sequences of A. annua . (DOC)

Sequence details of Assay-By-Designs for TaqMan chemistry-based Real Time PCR of A. annua sesquiterpene biosynthetic pathway genes. (DOC)

In Ayurveda, a healthy body is defined by a balance among the three doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) and ailments result due to imbalances among them. It prescribes specific plant parts/tissues collected in a season-specific manner for curing dosha-related imbalances but the plants prescribed for treating a particular dosha imbalance belong to taxonomic...

The effect of drying and de-rooting of rhizomes of sweet flag (Acorus calamus Linn.) on its oil and asarone contents were evaluated. The studied samples were harvest from plants raised at CIMAP, Lucknow India. Alpha, Beta and gama (α, β, and γ) asarone content of Hydro-distilled essential oil obtained from fresh (FR), dried (DR) and decorticated dr...

An efficient protocol for maintaining the artemisinin content in tissue culture and high frequency of in vitro direct and indirect regenerations of multiple shoots of high artemisinin yielding genotypes of Artemisia annua has been developed and their comparison with field grown mother plant has been carried out. The eleven elite genotypes (containi...

The basic attribute that differentiates animals and plants apart from their established biological differences and photosynthesis is that the former tend to escape from vagaries of nature to protect themselves “physically” whereas the latter being immobile (anchored in soil) have the only choice to face the adversities on their stride, “chemically”...

Comparative transcriptome study of the leaf and root tissues of Catharanthus roseus is a prerequisite for causing any favorable tissue-specific change in the secondary metabolism of this species. This study was aimed at comparative analysis of the leaf and root cDNAs in C. roseus, using a cDNA-AFLP approach. Using 64 primer combinations (EcoRI and...

Microorganisms have the ability to chemically modify a wide variety of organic compounds by a process referred to as biological or microbial transformation, or in general, bioconversion. The microbial cells and their catalytic machinery (enzymes) accept a wide array of complex molecules as substrates, yielding products with unparallel chiral (enant...

Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone, is the active antimalarial constituent of Artemisia annua. Several fungal strains Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Picchia pastoris were used to biotransform artemisinin. Among these strains, A. flavus was the only microorganism capable of transforming artemisinin to deoxyarte...

Chalcone derivatives on an estradiol framework were evaluated for their ability to inhibit the growth and development of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Out of twelve steroidal chalcones and one indanone derivative studied, three were found to have 50% growth inhibitory concentration less than 5μm and minimum inhibitory concentration fo...

Garcinia indica, Grewia asiatica, Oryza sativa.

The unique capability of plants, in spite of being immobile in strict sense, to defend and respond precisely to environmental stresses whether biotic or abiotic is relatable to their ability to synthesize an array of phytochemicals as metabolites. We find these plants compounds useful for health care as nutraceuticals, drugs and medicines and even...

The level of polymorphism among twelve selected progenies of Gymnema sylvestre was investigated through AFLP markers by multiplexing PCR reactions using 64 (8x8) primer combinations. Fourteen primer combinations were selected as the most suitable combination for G. sylvestre. Analysis of the 12 progenies with these 14 primer pairs produced 1689 fra...

Velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) seeds contain the catecholic amino acid L-DoPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), which is a neurotransmitter precursor and used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and mental disorders. The great demand for L-DoPA is largely met by the pharmaceutical industry through extraction of the compound from wild populations...

The taxonomic identity of Capsicum species is found to be difficult as it displays variations at morpho-chemical characters. Twenty-two accessions of six Capsicum species, namely, C. annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. eximium, C. frutescens, and C. luteum were investigated for phenotypic diversity based on flower color and for genetic differences...

Withania somnifera plants derive their therapeutic properties by synthesising biologically-active, steroidal lactones known as withanolides. However, little is known about the genes that encode the enzymes involved in this biosynthetic pathway. Significant differences in the spectra of withanolides detected in the aerial and underground organs of p...

The influence of active fraction isolated from pods of an indigenous plant, Moringa oleifera (MoAF) was studied on the pharmacokinetic profile of the orally administered frontline anti-tuberculosis drug rifampicin (20 mg/kg b.w.) in Swiss albino mice. The antibiotic rifampicin alone and in combination with MoAF (0.1 mg/kg b.w.) was administered ora...

The cathepsin B-like proteases of higher plants are mostly related to stress / damage. The expression of cathepsin B-like transcript in the plant system is regarded the response towards abiotic stimuli, wounding of tissues, organ abscission. We isolated a putative cathepsin B-like proteases partial cDNA from chili pepper (Capsicum frutescens). A cD...

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of N levels and planting times on growth, biomass and oil yield attributes, agronomic efficiency (AE) and partial factor productivity (PFP), and economics of N application through marginal analysis. Results indicated that reducing the duration (from planting to harvesting) from December (144 days...

The influence of active fraction isolated from pods of an indigenous plant, Moringa oleifera (MoAF) was studied on the pharmacokinetic profile of the orally administered frontline anti-tuberculosis drug rifampicin (20 mg/kg b.w.) in Swiss albino mice. The antibiotic rifampicin alone and in combination with MoAF (0.1 mg/kg b.w.) was administered ora...

The genus Aconitum is highly complex and its taxonomy has been traditionally difficult due to the high level of variation among the various species. The Aconitum species are known for their highly toxic diterpenoid alkaloids but have been described in traditional medicine systems as high-value medicine after proper and prescribed detoxification. In...

The effects of GA3 and phyllocladane diterpenoids (calliterpenone and calliterpenone monoacetate) isolated from the Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl. were evaluated on the plant growth of Artemisia annua L., Hibiscus sabdariffa L. and Sesbania cannabina (Retz.) Pers. All these compounds inhibited the germination of H. sabdariffa (33-58%) and S. cannabin...

Thirty-two distinct accessions of Papaver somniferum were screened for morphinan alkaloid content in the straw. The combined content of major morphinan alkaloids (morphine+codeine+thebaine) was found to vary in the range 0.2260–0.0683%. Two genotypes each, were selected as prototypes for low [I-48 (0.0683%) and I-344 (0.0878%)] and high [Pps-1 (0.2...

Thirty-two distinct accessions of Papaver somniferum were screened for morphinan alkaloid content in the straw. The combined content of major morphinan alkaloids (morphine+codeine+thebaine) was found to vary in the range 0.2260-0.0683%. Two genotypes each, were selected as prototypes for low [I-48 (0.0683%) and I-344 (0.0878%)] and high [Pps-1 (0.2...

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the most lethal pathogen causing tuberculosis in human. After the discovery of antitubercular drugs pyrazinamide, rifampicin, isoniazid, streptomycin, and ethambutol (PRISE), the disease was controlled for a limited period. However, over the course of their usage, the pathogen acquired resistance and evolved into multi...

The genus Swertia is well known for its medicinal properties, as described in the Indian pharmacopoeia. Different members of this genus, although somewhat similar in morphology, differ widely in their pharmacological and therapeutic properties. The most important species of this genus, with maximal therapeutic properties, is S. chirayita, which is...

The essential oils obtained from Artemisia capillaris at different stages of flowering were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The main components of this oil were capillene, γ-terpinene, eugenol, limonene, p-cymene, myrcene and a-pinene. Capillene (40.1%), a-pinene (2.4%) and p-cymene (2.5%) were higher in the oil obtained from plants collected during full...

The present study demonstrates the usefulness of natural microbial growth-promoting compounds for improving the stability and life of vermicompost-based (both granular and its aqueous extract) bioformulations. Granular vermicompost maintained the number of cells of Rhizobium meliloti Rmd 201 up to 5.9 × 108 after 180days at 28°C compared with 2.1 ×...

Downy mildew (DM) caused by Peronospora arborescens, is a serious disease in opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), which has a world-wide spread. The establishment of DM-resistant cultivars appears to be a sustainable way to control the disease. In this paper, we present the results of a study aimed at the identification of amplified fragment length po...

The invaluable antineoplastic bisindole alkaloids of Catharanthus roseus and their precursor, vindoline, are not produced in cell cultures. The intricacies involved in endogenous (cellular differentiation) and exogenous (elicitation) regulation of their biosynthesis need to be dissected out for favorable exploitation. This study aimed at elucidatin...

Due to the high demand and low yield of the anti-malarial drug artemisinin in natural populations of Artemisia annua (Quinghao), an attempt has been made to enhance the artemisinin content through 4 cycles of recurrent selection (C(0)-C(3)) using selected genotypic and phenotypic traits. Based on their phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, the...

The aim of this study was to observe the lipid peroxidation (LP) of cell membranes and antioxidant systems in response to inoculation of Peronospora arborescens causing downy mildew (DM) in opium poppy. Contents of the LP product, malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant glutathione (GSH) were determined in leaves of two opium poppy genotypes, Pps-1 (...

Eighteen accessions of Mentha arvensis var. piperascens Holmes from the CIMAP collection (CIMAP/C01 to CIMAP/C18) consisting of wild collections and released varieties, their mutants, seed progeny and hybrids from the CIMAP gene bank were assessed for diversity through a combined morphochemical and molecular approach. Morphological characters, oil...

Genetic associations and path-coefficient analysis was performed for the 15 economic traits affecting capsaicin content (%)in 38 elite genetic stocks/accessions of chili (Capsicum annuum). The capsaicin content was significantly associated withnumber of primary branches per plant and days to first flowering followed by weak positive association wit...

Artemisia annua is an important crop grown for producing the anti-malarial drug artemisinin. It has been recently introduced to Bangalore’s agro-climatic conditions of South India. A field experiment was carried out at the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Bangalore, from November 2004 to July 2007 to optimize the planting...

Candida albicans is yeast that is most often associated with serious fungal infections and can cause fungal diseases in immuno-compromised patients especially patients suffering from AIDS, cancer and cases of organ transplant. Amongst women, candidal vaginitis is predominantly caused by strains of Candida albicans and also remains to be a common pr...

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of intercropping of fodder crops on growth and yield attributes of the essential oil-yielding multi-harvest aromatic plant geranium (Pelargonium graveolens L. Her. ex. Ait) under field conditions during 2005–2007. In addition aggressivity, land equivalent ratio (LER), area time equivalent rati...

Endophytes are beneficial microbes that reside intercellularly inside the plants. Interaction of endophytes with the host plants and their function within their host are important to address ecological relevance of endophyte. Four endophytic bacteria OS-9, OS-10, OS-11, and OS-12 were isolated from healthy leaves of Ocimum sanctum. These isolated m...

Downy mildew (DM) caused by Peronospora arborescens is the most destructive disease of opium poppy which assumes considerable importance in India and other poppy growing countries. The present study was aimed at identification and evaluation of stable resistance sources of DM in opium poppy. Furthermore, genetic variability and inheritance pattern...

Glabridin, an active constituent of Glycyrrhiza glabra roots, was found to be active against both yeast and filamentous fungi. Glabridin also showed resistance modifying activity against drug resistant mutants of Candida albicans at a minimum inhibitory concentration of 31.25-250 microg/mL. Although the compound was reported earlier to be active ag...

Phenotypic divergence among the 24 accessions belonging to a collection of six species of Capsicum from different geoclimatic regions available in field gene bank of CIMAP, Lucknow, India, was quantified by multivariate analysis for 12 quantitative and qualitative traits. Based on their values, all 24 accessions were grouped into six clusters such...

A formulation of Ocimum sanctum, Phyllan- thus emblica, and Glycyrrhiza glabra in a defined ratio termed CIM-Candy was prepared based on Ayurvedic methodology. To study the humoral im- mune response, rabbit red blood corpuscles (rRBCs) were used as an antigen. Mice were immunized on day 7 and 14days the start of the experiment us- ing an intraperit...

Field trial was conducted at CIMAP, Resource Centre, Pantnagar, Uttaranchal during 2004-05 to study the response of nitrogen levels (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg/ha) on growth, yield and quality of oil in local and improved varieties of clarysage. Although both the varieties attained similar plant height, the improved variety CIM-Chandni produced a si...

The effects of a 90-day oral administration of water and alcohol extracts of dried calyx of Hibiscus sabdariffa were evaluated in albino rats. Haematological, biochemical and histopathological changes were monitored every 30 days.The death of the animals was preceded by a severe loss in weight, accompanied with diarrhoea in animals on the 2000 mg/k...

Vetiveria zizanioides, an aromatic plant commonly known as vetiver has been used for various ailments. The essential oil of vetiver root has been shown to possess antioxidant activity. However, antioxidant potential of spent root extract has not been reported. Hence, in the present study, ferric reducing, free radical scavenging and antioxidant act...

Rauwolfia serpentina holds an important position in the pharmaceutical world because of its immense anti-hypertensive properties resulting from the presence of reserpine in the oleoresin fraction of the roots. Poor seed viability, low seed germination rate, and enormous genetic variability are the major constraints for the commercial cultivation of...

The present invention relates to bioactive extracts its fractions and isolation of compound from RauwolSa tetraphylla. The extracts and fractions are useful for the treatment of psychosis based on in-vivo validation on animal model and proportional binding affinities for dopaminergic - D2, Cholinergic (muscarinic) and Serotonergic (5HT2A) receptors...

Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone, is the active antimalarial constituent of Artemisia annua. Several fungal strains Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Picchia pastoris were used to biotransform artemisinin. Among these strains, A. flavus was the only microorganism capable of transforming artemisinin to deoxyarte...

Two accessions of opium poppy, Pps-1 (dark green leaves, highly resistant to downy mildew [DM]) and H-9 (yellowish green leaves, susceptible to DM), which originated from common progenitor SPS49 were selected, and their F1 and F2 progenies showed that leaf color trait was governed by single recessive nuclear gene, whereas DM resistance appeared to...