AFLP markers for identification of Swertia species (Gentianaceae).

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 often adulterated with other less-potent Swertia spp. There is an existing demand in the herbal drug industry for an authentication system for Swertia spp, in order to enable their commercial use as genuine phytoceuticals. To this end, we used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) to produce DNA fingerprints for six Swertia species. Nineteen accessions (2 of S. chirayita, 3 of S. angustifolia, 2 of S. bimaculata, 5 of S. ciliata, 5 of S. cordata, and 2 of S. alata) were used in the study, which employed 64 AFLP selective primer pairs. Only 46 selective primer pairs were found to be useful for all the accessions. A total of 5312 fragments were produced by these 46 primer pairs. Species-specific markers were identified for all six Swertia species (131 for S. chirayita, 19 for S. angustifolia, 181 for S. bimaculata, 47 for S. ciliata, 94 for S. cordata, and 272 for S. alata). These AFLP fingerprints of the Swertia species could be used to authenticate drugs made with Swertia spp and to resolve adulteration-related problems faced by the commercial users of these herbs.

Wide spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activities in the seeds of some coprophilous plants of north Indian plains.

In a survey at Lucknow, India, the seedlings of plant species which are prescribed in the Indian traditional system of medicine for a variety of infectious diseases were found to predominate on fresh or decomposing cattle dung, a harsh medium for plant growth due to high microbial load and other abiotic factors. Plants of most of the common species did not occur on the cattle dung heaps. It was hypothesized that plant species which are able to grow on cattle dung may have antimicrobial compounds in their seeds to protect them from microbial attack. In confirmation, the seeds of 15 of the coprophilous (kopros--dung, philein--to love) plant species, identified as occurring most frequently on fresh/decomposing cattle dung were directly tested against eight bacterial and three fungal strains. Interestingly, seeds of all the examined species exhibited antimicrobial activity. The seeds of the species found more frequently on the cattle dung heaps possessed higher levels of antimicrobial activities.