Conservation of indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants of Western Himalayan region Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

The aim of present was to document indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants traditionally used by inhabitants of Rawalakot Azad Kashmir and to screen selected medicinal plants for their antibacterial potential. Several field surveys were conducted to document indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants through interviews from local inhabitants during 2010-2013. During the study, 58 plant species, belonging to 37 families, were identified and their medicinal uses were recorded. Ethnobotanical data indicates that inhabitants of Rawalakot use medicinal plant mainly for the treatment of stomach, liver and sexual disorders. Usually fresh plant materials were used for medicinal preparations and administrated orally. Among all the species studied, three most frequently used medicinal plants Achillea millefolium, Berberis lycium and Zanthoxylum armatum were screened for their antibacterial potential by using disc diffusion method. The crude aqueous, petroleum ether and ethanolic extracts were found to be very active against selected bacterial strains. The present study contributes significantly to the medicinal plant knowledge and shows that medicinal plant knowledge is deteriorating among younger generations. Therefore, further research is needed to document indigenous knowledge, to find conservation status of medicinal plant species and to find antimicrobial compounds for more sophisticated usage of medicinal plants in future

Biosynthesis, characterization and antimicrobial action of silver nanoparticles from root bark extract of Berberis lycium Royle

Various biological methods are being recognized for the fabrication of silver nanoparticles, which are used in several fields. The phytosynthesis of nanoparticles came out as a cost effective and enviro-friendly approach. When root bark extract of Berberis lycium was treated with silver ions, they reduced to silver nanoparticles, which were spherical, crystalline, size ranged from 10-100nm and capped by biomolecules. Synthesized silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy [SEM], Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy [EDX], Transmission Electron Microscopy [TEM], X-Ray Diffraction [XRD] and Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy [FTIR]. The plant mediated synthesized silver nanoparticles showed pronounced antimicrobial activities against both Gram negative bacteria [Escherichia coli, Klebseilla pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa] and Gram positive bacteria [Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis]. The plant mediated process proved to be non-toxic and low cost contender as reducing agent for synthesizing stable silver nanoparticles