ABSTRACT
Calotropis gigantea is a perennial herb known for its applications in traditional medicine. It has been efficiently used in Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha medicinal systems for years. All the plant parts have been used as medicine owing to its analgesic, anthelmintic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, sedative, anti-asthmatic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, procoagulant, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, and pregnancy interceptive properties. For instance, the leaves, latex, flowers, stem bark, root of the plant are used as expectorant, depilatory, in leprosy scabies of the scalp, eruptions on the body, piles, asthma, liver and spleen enlargement, and painful joint swellings. Moreover, the plant is beneficial for the treatment of various diseases including tumors, ulcers, and piles thereby providing great opportunity to be used in pharmaceutical industry for modern drug synthesis. Phytochemical constituents of the plant responsible for its pharmacological activities include alkaloids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, alcohol, fatty acids, esters of calotropeols, glycosides and proteases. Besides, there is a strong correlation between the chemical structures and therapeutic activity of C. gigantea. Therefore, present review tries to give a brief description of its phytochemical composition, ethnobotanical characteristics, and pharmacological activity.
ABSTRACT
The field experiment was conducted during the winter season of 2016-17 at the experimental site of Agroforestry Research Centre, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. Poplar and eucalyptus were intercropped with different wheat varieties (UP-2526, UP-2565, UP-2628, and DPW-621-50). After harvesting the wheat crop, the soil sampling was performed to determine the soil parameters like electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon and the minerals content. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassiumcontent and other biochemical constituents were higher in the agroforestry system as compared to the open farming system. A high soil pH (7. 53) was found in an open farming system and lower pH in an agroforestry system. Soil EC in the agroforestry system was slightly higher than the open farming system. Organic carbon was maximum (1. 33%) under the poplar agroforestry system compared to the eucalyptus based agroforestry system. Overall, this study determines the effect of poplar and eucalyptus based agroforestry systems on soil biochemistry.