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A polyhouse study was conducted to assess the influence of copper amendments on the soil properties, plant growth parameters (fresh weight and plant height) and metal accumulation in Mentha arvensis L. The amendments of copper were 270, 500, 700 and 900 mg kg-1 in triplicate along with an unamended control. After 90 days of plant growth, the aerial parts of the plant were harvested and the physicochemical properties of the soil such as pH, EC, %OC, %OM and metal content in plant and soil were recorded. The pH and EC values were higher for the amendments as compared to the control. The pH (8.22) and EC (0.80 dS m-1) values were the highest for Cu270 mg kg-1 and Cu500 mg kg-1 amendments, respectively. The percentage of OC and OM was the highest (1.16%, 2.00%) for Cu500 mg kg-1. The plant height was maximum (36.30 cm) for the control plant while the fresh weight was maximum for Cu700 mg kg-1 amendment. The copper accumulation was observed to be the highest (19.3 mg kg-1) for the Cu500 mg kg-1 amendment and least (13.7 mg kg-1) for the higher amendment (Cu900 mg kg-1) showing that for all the amendments along with control, copper accumulation was within the permissible limit. Thus, growing medicinal and aromatic plants in the metal-rich soils can be a sustainable and environment-friendly approach to obtaining metal-free commercially important end products.

The paper deals with the seasonal variation of physico-chemical parameters in natural spring water sources collected from Pithoragarh city, Uttarakhand, India. A total of sixteen parameters were investigated for pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons during the study. Total dissolved solids have been found to range from 315 to 729 mg/L during pre-monsoon and 245 to 704 mg/L during post-monsoon. Total hardness and total alkalinity were observed to be high for two samples. Water quality index was evaluated to determine whether the use of water samples for drinking purpose is safe or not and its values range between 35.71 and 74.39 during pre-monsoon and 31.66 and 72.60 during post-monsoon.

To determine the effect of growth stages on the essential oil quality for medicinal and industrial prospective, Ocimum sanctum L. was collected from three different sites of north India at the vege...

The natural resources and agriculture ecosystem are adversely damaged due to the fast buildup of toxic pollutants such as radionuclide, organic contaminants and heavy metals emitted from industries and other anthropogenic activities. A polyhouse experiment was conducted to assess the capability of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) to remediate a metal contaminated soil, collected from Moradabad (a hub of electroplating industries), by the application of different levels of cow manure. Metal analysis of root and aerial parts was performed using AAS and essential oil composition by GC and GC/MS. The results revealed that the use of cow manure at 52 t ha-1 gave highest plant growth and oil yield. Limonene, trans-anethole and dillapiole were the major constituents among all the amendments. The highest content of trans-anethole (56.05%) was noticed at 52 t ha-1. The addition of cow manure reduced Zn, Ni, Cu and Cr concentration in plant tissues. Maximum reduction was found at 104 t ha-1. Cr showed highest BCF at 0 t ha-1, while Cu showed lowest BCF at 104 t ha-1. Therefore, cow manure use in the metal contaminated soils had favourable impact on the growth characters and essential oil composition of fennel.

The present study investigated the compositional variation and antioxidant potential of Origanum vulgare L. (subsp. vulgare) collected from three districts of Uttarakhand, India. The essential oil ...

The present study deals with the assessment of physicochemical properties of spring water samples collected from the surroundings of Champawat city, Uttarakhand, India. The total of twenty-three parameters were analysed for the study including pH, total dissolved solids (TDS) (mg/L), electrical conductance (EC) (µS/cm), temperature (T) (°C), dissolved oxygen (DO) (mg/L), chloride (Cl- ) (mg/L), and uranium (U) (µg/L). The seasonal variation was also observed in these samples. In the hills, spring water has been the common source of public water supply from ancient times, therefore this study includes the springs that have survived from the distant past and were being used for drinking purpose at earlier time. However, with time, the quality of these water sources has depleted due to both natural and anthropogenic reasons to such an extent that two of these sources are not in use any more. The analysis has shown that pH of these samples ranged from 6.74 - 7.77, the highest values of TDS and nitrate (NO3 - ) were observed to be 500 mg/L and 39.1 mg/L respectively. This study can help determine the present state of these ancient water sources, which can be used as alternative water sources in the time of water supply crisis, and maintaining these historical water sources can be an example of sustainable development and preservation of historical aesthetics.

The investigations was based on chemical diversity of the essential oils provide an opportunity to choose oils with preferential flavor and biologically active composition. Aerial part of F...

In the present study, fresh aerial parts of Ocimum americanum L. were collected from Ramnagar, India and sun and shade drying was applied until constant weights. The fresh and dried plant materials were hydrodistilled by Clevenger apparatus and the extracted oils were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. One-way ANOVA and correlation were performed to evaluate the difference and correlation between drying treatments using SPSS 16.0. The major compounds of the fresh oil were camphor (33.41 %), maillol (11.96 %), β-selinene (8.34 %), α-selinene (6.92 %), β-gurjunene (5.43 %) and (E)-caryophyllene (5.07 %). In the dried samples, significant increase (p < 0.05) in the percentage of camphor and maillol was observed while the percentage of (E)-cayophyllene, β-gurjunene, β-selinene and α-selinene significantly (p < 0.05) decreased during drying process. Drying caused loss of fourteen constituents with appearance of four compounds. The oil yield was the highest under sun drying condition.

Ocimum gratissimum, commonly known as Rama Tulsi is a rich source of aroma chemicals that find varied application in the food, flavor and pharmaceutical industry. A polyhouse study was cond...

The study was aimed to evaluate the impact of drying on the aroma profile and antioxidant activity of the aerial parts of Origanum vulgare L. The plant material was dried using different methods li...

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the phytotoxic effect of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Ni, and Cr) on the growth (plant height, plant and seed weight) of Coriandrum sativum and uptake of metals. For this purpose, the polluted soil and sludge samples were collected from three sites of Moradabad: Karula nala (KS), Dhauri nala (DS), and Karula nala sludge (KSL). Metal content in the plant and soil was determined by AAS technique. The plants were also hydrodistilled using Clevenger apparatus and the extracted oil was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The content of copper in KS and KSL, Zn in KS, Ni in DS and KSL, and Cr in KS was above the permissible limits according to Indian standards. Plant weight was significantly affected in the different soil samples. Among all the collected polluted soil and sludge samples, DS sample showed the highest metal accumulation, while in the KSL sample, the plant could not survive. The study revealed that coriander can be used to remediate the contaminated soil with economic return and metal free final product, essential oil.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the seasonal variation of the uranium (U) concentration level in natural drinking water. Laser fluorimetry technique has been used for the microanalysis of uranium concentration in water samples collected from different natural sources like springs and subterranean springs of various depths. A total of 23 drinking water samples were collected based on their consumption for drinking purposes from the different areas of Pithoragarh district. Seventeen physico- chemical parameters, six heavy metals and uranium were estimated in the samples. The results showed that the average value of TDS was observed 204.65 mg/L during pre- monsoon season and 213.82 mg/L during post- monsoon season, the uranium concentration in drinking water samples varied from 0.10–9.90 µg L−1 in pre-monsoon and 0.10–8.32 µg L−1 in post-monsoon seasons. The study revealed that none of the samples had exceeded the guideline values prescribed for concentration of uranium in drinking water by World Health Organization (30 µg L−1) and sources can be considered safe with respect to the level of uranium concentration.

Water is the inevitable element present on Earth. The hydrosphere consists of the total amount of water on the planet. In the present scenario, water quality has been depleted a lot, sometimes due to natural reasons and sometimes anthropogenic activities are responsible for this deterioration. Clean and safe drinking water is the basic need and right of all the sentient, but today many lacking in this basic need is present. Nowadays, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) have been a threat to humankind. These contaminants persisted in the environment for a long time but were unrecognized. These contaminants are present in trace amounts ranging from ng/L to µg/L. Due to their hazardous health effects, these emerging contaminants are gaining scientific attention. This chapter focuses on the classification and removal technology of various contaminants like pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), pesticides, betablockers, herbicides, perchlorates, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), algal toxin, etc., from water bodies. Various conventional and non-conventional biological, chemical and physical technologies are discussed in the chapter that are used for the removal of CECs, and the study shows that among all the biological treatments, membrane bioreactor (MBR) and activated sludge are the most widely used and efficient techniques for the removal of CECs. Some contaminants viz. E1, E2, E3, EE2, bisphenol A can be removed efficiently (>90%) from wastewater through methods like ozonation and heterogenous photocatalysis (UV/TiO2).

The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of drying on the essential oil composition and oil content of Ocimum americanum L. For the study, the aerial parts of the plant were collected ...

Plant productivity and safety of agricultural crops growing in metal contaminated soils is emerging as a major environmental problem affecting human health. To assess the effect of metals on herbage and oil productivity and the feasibility of growing aromatic crops in metal contaminated areas, a green house pot experiment was designed in which saplings of Ocimum kilimandscharicum were planted in copper, lead and cadmium amended soils. The aerial parts of the plants were harvested after 120 days and were subjected to hydrodistillation using Clevenger. The oil composition was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Metal content in soil and plant was determined by AAS. Significant variations were observed in the fresh weight and plant productivity while the composition of essential oil did not exhibit marked variation as compared to the control. Despite the presence of copper, lead and cadmium in the plants, they showed vigorous growth with no symptoms of morpho-phytotoxicity.

Inflorescence of Coriandrum sativum collected from five locations of North India was hydrodistilled and analysed by GC and GC-MS to assess their chemical diversity. The GC and GC-MS analysis reveal...

Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng, Indian curry leaf plant is widely used in households for imparting a characteristic flavour to Indian dishes. The plant is reported to have significant medicinal value. The essential oil and dried leaves are exported to several countries due to its importance for culinary and medicinal value. Keeping in view, the chemical diversity of the plant, the essential oils from the fresh and shade dried leaves were analysed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty nine compounds were identified in the oil from the fresh material while forty two compounds were present in the dried sample accounting for 93.5 % and 95.7 % of the oil respectively. The main compounds from the fresh sample were trans-caryophyllene (26.7 %), α-pinene (10.7 %), terpinen-4-ol (8.5 %), sabinene (9.9 %), α-humulene (6.6 %) and β-elemene (5.6 %). The shade dried material showed the presence of α-pinene (34.4 %), trans-caryophyllene (11.4 %), sabinene (11.5 %) and terpinen-4-ol (5.3 %). The percentage of α-pinene in shade ...

In a greenhouse study, saplings of Ocimum basilicum L. and Mentha spicata L. were planted in pots in four replicates on soils treated with different concentrations of lead, copper and cadmium. The essential oil composition of aerial parts was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. There was significant quantitative variation in the essential oil of Ocimum basilicum growing in all metal amended soils. In case of Mentha spicata, no significant change in essential oil composition was observed for plants grown in metal amended soils.

This was a prospective non comparative study conducted at Mahatme Eye Bank Eye Hospital, Nagpur, India. 175 eyes with Pseudo-exfoliation syndrome (PXF) undergoing cataract surgery by phacoemulsification were studied. The study aimed at finding out impact of age, gender, pre-operative Intra Ocular Pressure (IOP) and Anterior Chamber Depth (ACD) on the intraoperative complications of phacoemulsification surgery in these patients. It was found that association of age, gender and intraoperative complications was not significant (P value - 0.0958). No significant impact of preoperative intraocular pressure and intraoperative complications was noted. The mean anterior chamber depth in complicated cases was 2.42 +/- 0.37 as compared to 2.72 +/- 0.43 in eyes without complications. The relation between these groups was statistically significant (P value = 0.031).

Artemisia parviflora Buch.-Ham. ex Roxb. (Family: Asteraceae) a perennial herb, widely distributed in hilly parts between altitude of 900–3500 and is used for the treatment of high blood pressure, diabetes and possesses anthelmintic and anti-viral properties. The essential oil of aerial parts of A. parviflora was analyzed by Gas chromatography and Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry. A total of 45 compounds were present of which 37 compounds were identified representing 96.60 % of the oil. The oil was dominated by the presence of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (70.24 %) such as germacrene D (41.01 %), β-caryophyllene (10.58 %) and α-humulene (7.86 %).

The essential oil of Cinnamomum glanduliferum (Wall) Meissn. Family Lauraceae was analyzed by Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Eighteen compounds were identified, which represent 97.56 % of total oil. The oil was characterized by a high proportion of oxygenated monoterpenes (55.40 %) among which 1,8-cineole (41.42 %) and α-terpineol (9.40 %), were the predominant compounds. The monoterpene hydrocarbons (35.36 %) represented the second major fraction of the oil followed by the oxygenated sesquiterpenes (6.32 %).

The essential oils of ten wild growing Ocimum americanum L. of the family Lamiaceae collected from different locations in Uttarakhand, India, were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). On the basis of chemical composition and cluster analysis, O. americanum was classified into six groups. Group I was significantly rich in methyl chavicol, 1,8-cineole, (E)-γ-bisabolene, β-bisabolene and eugenol, while group II has (E)-γ-bisabolene, aliphatic hydrocarbons, eugenol, β-bisabolene and methyl chavicol as major constituents. Eugenol and (E)-caryophyllene were found in abundant quantity in group III and linalool with methyl chavicol in group IV. Group V contained aliphatic hydrocarbons, eugenol, camphor and 1,8-cineole in high content while camphor and aliphatic hydrocarbons were found in group VI. Linalool was positively correlated with methyl chavicol, while eugenol with (E)-α-bisabolene and β-bisabolene with (E)-γ-bisabolene. The essential oil composition of O. amercan...

The essential oil from the flowering aerial parts of Bupleurum hamiltonii Balak syn. Bupleurum tenue family Apiaceae (Umbellifereae) was obtained by steam distillation and analysed by a combination of GC (RI) and GC-MS. The chemical composition of the isolated oil is reported here for the first time. Twenty-seven compounds were identified, which represent 92.7% of the total oil. The chemical composition of the isolated oil was characterised by a high proportion of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (61.9%), among which germacrene-D (17.8%), trans-β-farnesene (14.7%) and β-caryophyllene (13.1%) were the predominant compounds. The monoterpene hydrocarbons (16.6%) represented the second major fraction of the same oil followed by the oxygenated sesquiterpenes (7.9%).

The essential oils of four wild growing Origanum vulgare L. (family Lamiaceae) collected from different locations in Kumaon region (Uttarakhand, India) were analysed by capillary GC and GC/MS. The comparative results of O. vulgare L. collected from four different regions showed differences in the chemical constituents of the essential oils. The oil of O. vulgare L. collected from Dhoulchina and Champawat (chemotype I) shows p-cymene (6.7-9.8%), γ-terpinene (12.4-14.0%), thymol (29.7-35.1%) and carvacrol (12.4-20.9%) as major constituents while the oil from Kilbury and Rushi village (chemotype II) shows linalool (6.7-9.7%), bornyl acetate (12.6-16.8%), β-caryophyllene (10.5-13.8%) and germacrene D (6.3-11.3%) as the major constituents. These features highlight the chemosystematics of this genus.

The essential oil of Cyclospermum leptophyllum (Pers.) Sprague ex Britton and P. Wilson syn. Apium leptophyllum (Pers.) F. Muell. Ex Benth., family Apiaceae (Umbellifereae), was analysed by GC and GC-MS. The essential oil showed the presence of thymohydroquinone dimethyl ether (50.7%), thymol methyl ether (11.2%), γ-terpinene (10.4%), p-cymene (9.5%) and carvacrol methyl ether (5.9%), along with trans-ocimene, β-pinene, germacrene D, cumin aldehyde, α-humulene, β-myrcene, sabinene, limonene, β-phellandrene, caryophyllene oxide, α-pinene and α-thujene as minor constituents. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of the essential oil composition of C. leptophyllum collected from India.

The essential oil composition of Feronia elephantum Correa (family: Rutaceae) was examined by capillary gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The analysis revealed the presence of 24 constituents, of which 18 constituents were identified. Trans-anethole (57.73%) and methyl chavicol (37.48%) were the major compounds, while cis-anethole, p-anisaldehyde, (E)-jasmone, methyl eugenol, β-caryophyllene, linalool and (E)-methyl isoeugenol were also present as the minor constituents.

The essential oil isolated from the aerial parts of Phlomis bracteosa Royle ex Benth., collected from the Pindari glacier area (Phurkiya) at 3000–3200 m height of the Himalayas was analyzed by a combination of GC, GC/MS and 1H- and 13C-NMR. Thirty-four compounds representing 88.9% of the oil were identified. The major constituents were germacrene D (34.3%), sabinene (6.2%), germacrene D-4-ol (4.9%), linalool (4.8%) and α-bulnesene (3.5%). The oil showed a high content of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons.

Cinnamomum glanduliferum (Wall.) Meissn. (Lauraceae), Feronia elephantum Correa (Rutaceae), Bupleurum hamiltonii Balak (Apiaceae) and Cyclospermum leptophyllum (Pers.) Sprague ex BrittonP. Wilson (Apiaceae) are common species found in Northwest Himalaya and are widely used as folk medicine. The study became more interesting because hitherto there are no reports on the antimicrobial screening of these species with specific chemical composition.The antimicrobial potential of the essential oils of C. glanduliferum, F. elephantum, B. hamiltonii and C. leptophyllum against some commonly occurring foodborne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria was explored in this study.Antimicrobial screening studies of essential oils were performed against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains using broth-dilution methods. Each essential oil was prepared by serial double dilution method to get final concentrations ranging from 0.85--440.0 µg/ml in a 96 microtiter plate.The in vitro studies revealed that C. glanduliferum oil was very active against Gram-negative bacteria, A. salmonicida (MIC 1.72 µg/ml), E. coli (MIC 3.43 µg/ml), and P. aeruginosa (MIC 3.43 µg/ml) as compared to the standards gentamicin and kanamicin. Oil of C. leptophyllum exhibited better inhibitory activity profile against Gram-positive S. aureus (MIC 3.43 μg/ml) and Gram-negative E. herbicola (MIC 1.72 μg/ml) and P. aeruginosa (MIC 3.43 μg/ml) as compared to the standards.These results reveal that these essential oils may be used in the treatment of diseases caused by the foodborne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. Their importance as potential medicinal agents is based on the antimicrobial findings.

The essential oil composition of Coleus aromaticus Benth. (family Lamiaceae) was examined by capillary GC and GC-MS. Analyses revealed the presence of 28 constituents, of which 16 were identified. Thymol (83.39%) was found to be the major compound, while 1-octen-3-ol, terpine-4-ol, eugenol, trans-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide and α-cadinol were present as minor constituents.

The essential oil composition of the aerial parts of Anaphalis nubigena DC. var. monocephala (DC.) C. B. Clarke collected from Pindari glacier at a height of 3300 m, was analyzed by using GC and GC/MS. Sixty components were identified, accounting for 95.9% of the total oil. The main constituents were alpha-guaiene (12.3%), gamma-muurolene (10.4%), gamma-cadinene (8.3%), alpha-muurolol (7.4%), alpha-gurjunene (6.0%) and alpha-bulnesene (5.8%). The oil was found to be rich in sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (60.1%). The oil was active against Escherichia coli (NCIM 2065) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (NCIM 2957), with MIC values of 125 microg/mL and 500 microg/mL, respectively.

The essential oils obtained by steam distillation from the leaves and flowers of Colquhounia coccinea Wall. were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. flower A total of 96.8% and 93.7% of the constituents were identified in the leaf and oils, respectively. Both the oils were dominated by sesquiterpenoids. β-Caryophyllene (44.1–53.2%), germacrene D (7.0–15.8%), cadina-1–4-diene (11.1–12.4%), germacrene D-4-ol (1.8–12.2%), α-humulene (3.7–8.7%) and caryophyllene oxide (1.0–5.7%) were identified as the major constituents in both oils.

The essential oil of Anaphalis contorta of the family Compositae was examined by GC, GC/MS and NMR (1H- and 13C-). Forty-four constituents were identified, of which caryophyllene oxide (20.3%), α-cadinol (8.4 %), caryophyllene alcohol (8.1%) were the major compounds while γ-muurolene (6.4%), 14- hydroxyl-9-epi-β-caryophyllene (5.6%) ar-curcumene (5.4%) and β-bisabolene (5.4%) were also present as minor constituents.

The volatile oil from the leaves of Curcuma longa L. has been investigated by GC and GC/MS. Twenty-eight constituents have been identified, with terpinolene (71.2%) as the major constituent.

The essential oil composition of the aerial parts of Bupleurum candollii Wall. ex DC. was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. A total of 19 compounds have been identified, representing 91.8% of the total oil. The main constituents were identified as β-caryophyllene (34.1%), caryophyllene oxide (20.7%), dehydro-aromadendrene (7.6%) and thymol methyl ether (7.2%).

The composition of the steam volatile constituents of the flowering aerial parts of Craniotome furcata (Link.) O. Kuntze was determined by GC, GC/MS and NMR. The oil was constituted mainly of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (68%). The main constituents were germacrene D (49.2%), germacrene D-4-ol (8.8%), epi-α-cadinol (5.9%) and 10- epi-γ-eudesmol (4.2%). Germacrene-derivative constituents represented 61.5% of the total oil.

Department of Chemistry, Kumaun University, Nainital-263 002 G. B. P. University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar-263 145 CIMAP, Nagla (Nainital)- 268 145 Manuscript received 17 July 1989, accepted 22 January 1990 Phenylpropenoid Constituents of Cymbopogon microstachys &nbsp

TiS1.7 crystals have been grown by vapour transport technique employing a two-zone furnace with the temperatures of reaction and growth zone maintained at 1073 K and 973 K, respectively. We have measured the variation of electrical conductivity (s) with temperature (T) of TiS1.7 single crystals. It has been found that the conductivity increases at temperatures T > 433 K, which provides convincing evidence that the TiS1.7 crystal is a semiconductor. Another electronic characteristic of TiS1.7 crystals observed in the present investigation is the occurrence of voltage controlled negative resistance (VCNR) at a field of 32.1 V cm-1 to 35.7 V cm-1. All the polytypes of TiS1.7 were found to exhibit VCNR nearly at the same field which indicates that the VCNR is polytype independent property. The occurrence of VCNR has been explained on the intervally transfer of electrons in the conduction band. TiS1.7 Kristalle wurden nach der Gastransporttechnik gezuchtet, wofur ein Zweizonenofen verwendet wurde, in dem die Temperaturen fur die Reaktion und Wachstumszone jeweils bei 1073 K bzw. 973 K gehalten wurden. Die Anderung der elektrischen Leitfahigkeit (s) von TiS1.7-Einkristallen mit der Temperatur (T) wurde gemessen. Die Leitfahigkeit nimmt bei Temperaturen T > 433 K zu, was davon uberzeugt, das der TiS1.7-Kristall ein Halbleiter ist. Eine andere elektronische Characteristik von TiS1.7-Kristallen, die bei dieser Untersuchung beobachtet wurde, ist das Aufreten eines spannungkontrollierten negativen Widerstands (Voltage controlled negative resistance, VCNR) in einem Feld von 32,1 V cm-1 bis 35,7 V cm-1. Es wurde festgestellt, das alle Polytypen von TiS1.7 VCNR in fast demselben Feld zeigen, was aussagt, das der VCNR eine Polytyp-unabhangige Eigenschaft ist. Das Auftreten von VCNR last sich „intervalley”-Transport von Elektronen im Leistungsband erklaren.

Cymbopogon distans collections from different parts of N. W. Himalayan region of India show four distinct chemotypes. The terpenoid composition, morphological data and chemosystematic significance are discussed.