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High-altitude plants have traditionally been a rich source of preventive and curative medicinal compounds. The rich repository of herbs found in the Himalayan region has not only been a source of health and general well-being for local communities but also for the modern pharmaceutical industry. In the current scenario, medicinal plants from the Himalayas are a promising resource for numerous metabolites which can serve as lead molecules against various deadly diseases. Plants growing at high altitudes suffer from an onslaught of stressful conditions, including mutagenic radiations, high-velocity winds, dehydration, etc. Plants of this region usually cope with these by altering their biochemical profile and producing chemicals that are called secondary metabolites. These secondary metabolites belong to chemical classes like phenols, terpenes, and alkaloids in general. The primary objective of this chapter is to study the anticancer potential of phytochemicals from some high-altitude plants. The underlying mechanism of their anticancer and chemopreventive action will also be discussed.

Rheum emodi Wall. Ex. Meissen is an important food and medicinal plant growing wild in western Himalayas. The current endeavor was undertaken to carry out bioassay guided fractionation and isolation of antimutagenic principle(s) present in the rhizomes of Rheum emodi. The antimutagenicity assay was performed to check the recuperating effect of 80% aqueous methanol extract of rhizomes of R. emodi and its fractions i.e. n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water fractions, against 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine (NPD), sodium azide, and 2AF-induced mutagenicity in TA98 and TA100 strains using the Ames Salmonella his+ reversion assay. The crude 80% aqueous methanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction exhibited strong antimutagenicity. The antimutagenic potential of the extracts and fractions was markedly enhanced when indirect acting mutagen was used in both the tester strains of Salmonella typhimurium. In an effort to identify the molecules responsible for the antimutagenic effect displayed by R. emodi, four anthraquinones i.e. aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, emodin and rhein detected in the ethyl acetate fraction by HPLC analysis were also tested for their antimutagenic potential in both the tester strains. It was found that the anthraquinones in their pure form showed lower antimutagenicity than the mother fraction from which they were isolated. The results point towards a synergistic effect of the principles present in the mother fraction.

Plants used in traditional medicine have stood up to the test of time and contributed many novel compounds for preventive and curative medicine to modern science. India is sitting on a gold mine of well recorded and traditionally well practiced knowledge of herbal medicine. Specially, plants growing at high altitude in Himalayan pastures are time-honored sources of health and general well being of local inhabitants. As of today, Himalayan plants are a major contributor to the herbal pharmaceutical industry both of India and other countries. Plants growing at higher altitudes are subjected to an assault of diverse testing situations including higher doses of mutagenic UV-radiation, physiological drought, desiccation and strong winds. Plants interact with stressful environments by physiological adaptation and altering the biochemical profile of plant tissues and producing a spectrum of secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolites are of special interest to scientists because of their unique pharmacophores and medicinal properties. Secondary metabolites like polyphenols, terpenes and alkaloids have been reported to possess antimutagenic and anticancer properties in many studies. The fundamental aspiration of the current review is to divulge the antimutagenic/anticancer potential of five alpine plants used as food or medicine by the populations living at high altitudes.

The present study was aimed at assessing the antimicrobial potential of various extracts of Euphorbia thymifolia against human pathogenic strains of Salmonella typhimurium and Shigella boydii. The antibacterial activity was determined by agar disc diffusion and broth microdilution techniques. The results showed that the growth of the organisms were inhibited by both acetone and hexane extracts of Euphorbia thymifolia. The acetone extracts showed significantly higher zones of inhibition. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the leaf and stem extracts were 0.078, 0.156, 0.312mg/ml. The phytochemical analysis was carried out for the different parts of the plant. The qualitative analysis showed that alkaloids, phenols and flavonoids were present in both acetone and hexane extracts. The result of the present study indicate that Euphorbia thymifolia has many medicinal values and can be widely studied to extract natural compounds which are beneficial to human beings.