Volatile constituents of Saussurea costus roots cultivated in Uttarakhand Himalayas, India.

BACKGROUND: Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipschitz, syn Saussurea lappa C.B. Clarke, one of the best-known species within this genus, is commonly known as costus. Due to the remarkable biological activity of S. costus and its constituents it will have an appropriate place in various systems of medicines all over the globe. OBJECTIVE: The main aim is to study the volatile constituents of S costus cultivated in Uttarakhand Himalayas. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The volatile constituents were isolated from the root of S costus cultivated in Chamoli district of Uttrarakhand by hydro distillation and were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). RESULTS: A total 35 aroma compounds representing about 92.81% of the total composition were identified. Aldehyde like (7Z, 10Z, 13Z)-7, 10, 13-hexadecaterinal (25.5%) was found as a major compound including other ketones like dehydrocostus lactone (16.7%), alcohols like elemol (5.84%), γ-costol (1.80%), vulgarol B (3.14%), valerenol (4.20%), and terpinen-4-ol (1.60%), etc. Esters and acids were found to be completely absent in our samples. CONCLUSION: S. costus volatile oil constituents are superior in terms of total identified constituents. Where relative area quantum is higher in Uttarakhand Himalayas samples, when compared with those originated to China and Korea.

α-Pinene Rich Volatile Constituents of Cupressus torulosa D. Don from Uttarakhand Himalaya.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the various chemical components present in the volatile oil of the leaf of Cupressus torulosa and to find variation of essential oil components among the populations. Twenty-two, 17 and 20 compounds were identified with 95.45, 95.45 and 91.45% in Kalsi, Joshimath and Jeharikhal, respectively were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and quantify by gas chromatography and flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The major compound identified was α-pinene in all the populations and it varied between 30.30 and 34.26%. Results of the study stated that α-pinene, δ- 3-carene, limonene and sabinene components were detected in high concentration, thus competent for use in related industries and as a favourite ornamental aromatic tree.

Variability in volatile constituents of Cinnamomum tamala leaf from Uttarakhand Himalaya

Objective: To evaluate the variation of Cinnamomum tamala leaf essential oil in respect with months and tree size class. Methods: By fallowing standard laboratory methods using capillary GC-FID and GC-MS. Results: The oil samples were analyzed for two months and two different tree size classes. cinnamaldehyde, was the principal component, was higher in the both months i.e. October and January, highest in 30 cm girth class tree in January month (59.23%) and lowest in 60 cm girth class tree in a month of October (41.90%). Smaller size class tree contained greater amount of cinnamaldehyde as compared to higher size class. Conclusions: Consequences of the present study need to selection of proper, tree size and month for harsh economic potentials of such valuable resources.

Potentiation of antimicrobial activity of ciprofloxacin by Pelargonium graveolens essential oil against selected uropathogens.

The recent approach of using herbs and antibiotics in combination constitutes a strategy to overcome the problems of resistance and side effects associated with conventional antibiotics. In the present study, the antimicrobial effect of Pelargonium graveolens L' Hér essential oil in combination with ciprofloxacin was evaluated on uropathogens, namely, Klebsiella pneumoniae KT2, Proteus mirabilis PRT3 and Staphylococcus aureus ST2. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of P. graveolens essential oil and ciprofloxacin were determined by the microbroth dilution method and further, the interaction between these two agents was studied by a checkerboard method. The fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) was calculated to be 0.375 for both K. pneumoniae KT2 and P. mirabilis PRT3, while for S. aureus ST2 it was found to be 0.5. The values of FICI for the tested microorganisms were found to be ≤0.5, which indicates synergism between P. graveolens essential oil and ciprofloxacin. The concave shaped curve in the isobolograms also depicted a synergistic effect of P. graveolens essential oil and ciprofloxacin against the tested microorganisms. Hence, the synergistic action of P. graveolens essential oil and ciprofloxacin may be applied for the treatment of UTIs, which have hitherto been treated by using only synthetic drugs.