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We summarize the knowledge on taxonomy and distribution of the genus Parnassia in Vietnam. Two species of the genus are found in Vietnam. We report additional records of P. wightiana, which appears to inhabit the provinces Ha Giang and Yen Bai. We provide detailed morphological description of the Vietnamese populations of this species, and discuss their deviation from the known variation range of P. wightiana. We report for the first time the second species of Parnassia from Vietnam, and provisionally identify it as P. procul. Our discovery of this species in Lam Dong Province in southern Vietnam is the first record of the genus outside the northern highlands within the country. We illustrate both Vietnamese species of Parnassia with analytical photographs, and show their distribution on a map. Additionally, we present an updated checklist of the family Celastraceae in Vietnam, which reflects the most recent views on taxonomic boundaries of the family and its genera, and includes discoveries of the last years as well as some earlier reports absent in the previous works. In total, 17 genera and 93 species are accepted in the checklist.

15. Salacia L. 1(77) Salacia chinensis L. (Pitard 1912b, Tardieu-Blot 1948b, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 2(78) Salacia cochinchinensis Lour. 3(79) Salacia dongnaiensis Pierre 4(80) Salacia gagnepainiana Tardieu 5(81) Salacia godefroyana Pierre 6(82) Salacia laotica Pit. (Tardieu-Blot 1948b, Nguyen 2003a) 7(83) Salacia macrophylla Blume (Nguyen 2003a) 8(84) Salacia noronhioides Pierre 9(85) Salacia pallens Pierre (Tardieu-Blot 1948b, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 10(86) Salacia phuquocensis Tardieu 11(87) Salacia rostrata Pierre 12(88) Salacia typhina Pierre 13(89) Salacia verrucosa Wight (Tardieu-Blot 1948b, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 14(90) Salacia viminea Wall. (Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 15(91) Salacia viridis Craib (Tardieu-Blot 1948b, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003)

4. Elaeodendron Jacq. 1(14) Elaeodendron glaucum (Rottb.) Pers. (Pitard 1912a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003), Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on page 225, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

8. Loeseneriella A.C.Sm. 1(52) Loeseneriella chesseana (Pierre) Tardieu 2(53) Loeseneriella dinhensis (Pierre) A.C.Sm. 3(54) Loeseneriella merrilliana A.C.Sm. (Tardieu-Blot 1948b, Nguyen 2003a) 4(55) Loeseneriella pauciflora (DC.) A.C.Sm. (Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003)

2. Bhesa Buch. -Ham. ex Arn. 1(2) Bhesa robusta (Roxb.) Ding Hou (Pitard 1912a, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003), Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on page 225, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

2. Parnassia aff. procul H. Turner & Veldkamp (2001: 601) (Fig. 5) Specimen examined: ��� VIETNAM. Lam Dong Province: Lac Duong District, Langbian Mountain, near summit, grassland area in evergreen forest, around point 12��01.879���N 108��24.759���E, at an elevation of 1847 m a.s.l., 5 September 2018, Pham Van The, Vo Duc Quang PVT1027 (photos LE: LE01093239 http://en.herbariumle.ru/?t=occ&id=99498). Phenology: ���Flowering and fruiting in August���September. Habitat and ecology: ���The species grows in an open place near the mountain summit. The area is covered with a pine forest; the forest floor is inhabited by various ferns, Poaceae and Melastomataceae. Brief description and notes: ���The population recently discovered in mountains of Lam Dong Province is insufficiently known, but quite distinct morphologically. It is characterized by broadly cordate basal leaves, floriferous stem with a single cauline leaf inserted approximately at its middle, almost entirely white petals (only very slightly greenish at base adaxially) divided into claw and blade, obovate-rhomboid petal blade, triangular petal apex, fimbriate petal margin with fimbriations of short to medium length, anther connective without apical projection, and conspicuously three-lobed staminodes with subequal slightly thickened lobes. The plants in question do not correspond to any of the species included in the treatment of Parnassia in ��Flora of China �� (Gu & Hultg��rd 2001). The keys provided by Gu & Hultg��rd (2001) lead to P. epunctulata J.T. Pan (1985: 220) endemic to NW Yunnan, from which the Lam Dong plants differ in several traits including broader basal leaves and uniformly subequal (vs. sometimes unequal) staminode lobes. Within the preliminary account of Parnassia in Thailand (Suksathan 2009), P. mysorensis B.Heyne ex Wight & Arnott (1834: 35) is described to have a broad variation, so that the Lam Dong plant appears to fit within the concept of this species. However, the concept proposed by Suksathan (2009) contradicts the description of P. mysorensis by Gu & Hultg��rd (2001): in the latter treatment, P. mysorensis is stated to possess entire, erose, or serrate (but not fimbriate) petal margin, which prevents assignment of the Lam Dong plant to this species. The record Pham Van The, Vu Dinh An PVT1027 is remarkably similar to P. procul in the majority of vegetative and floral traits, including leaf shape, shape of petal margin and staminode morphology (Turner & Veldkamp 2001, see also De Wilde & Duyfjes 1994). The Lam Dong plant differs from P. procul in obovate-rhomboid (vs. spathulate) petals with triangular and more or less acute (vs. obtuse to truncate) apex; however, this difference can possibly be a manifestation of an infraspecific variation. A significant variation of petal shape is already known, for example, in P. wightiana (Gu & Hultg��rd 2001). Taking all these arguments into account, we provisionally assign Pham Van The, Vu Dinh An PVT1027 to P. procul, a species hitherto known only from Mount Leuser in northern Sumatra (Turner & Veldkamp 2001). This finding represents a second species of Parnassia recorded in the flora of Vietnam. We argue that a comprehensive investigation of this population, including molecular phylogenetic studies, is needed for further clarification of its identity. In addition, a broad-scale morphological and phylogenetic revision of Asian tropical and subtropical Parnassia is required in order to better understand species boundaries in this genus, and make the species identification more straightforward., Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on pages 220-221, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842, {"references":["Turner, H. & Veldkamp, J. F. (2001) Parnassia (Parnassiaceae) in North Sumatra. Blumea 46 (3): 599 - 603.","Gu, C. Z. & Hultgard, U. M. (2001) Parnassia. In: Wu, Z. Y. & Raven, P. H. (Eds.) Flora of China, vol. 8. Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, pp. 358 - 379.","Pan, J. T. (1985) New taxa of the genus Parnassia from China. Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 23 (3): 220 - 224.","Suksathan, P. (2009) Taxonomic notes on Thai Parnassia L. (Parnassiaceae) and threats to them. Thai Journal of Botany 1: 43 - 48.","Wight, R. & Arnott, G. A. W. (1834) Droseraceae. In: Wight, R. & Arnott, G. A. W. (Eds.) Prodromus florae peninsulae Indiae orientalis. Vol. 1. Parbury, Allen & Co., London, pp. 33 - 35. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 252","De Wilde, W. J. J. O. & Duyfjes, B. E. E. (1994) Brief history of the botanical exploration in the Gunung Leuser Natural Park and vicinity, North Sumatra with itineraries and reports of the exploration tours by Van Steenis (1937) and De Wilde & Duyfjes (1972 - 1991). Flora Malesiana Bulletin 11 (4): 253 - 291."]}

5. Euonymus L. 1(15) Euonymus acanthoxanthus Pit. 2(16) Euonymus balansae Sprague 3(17) Euonymus cochinchinensis Pierre 4(18) Euonymus eberhardtii Tardieu 5(19) Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand. -Mazz. (Ma 2001) 6(20) Euonymus glaber Roxb. (Pitard 1912a, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Ma 2001, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 7(21) Euonymus grandiflorus Wall. (Ma 2001) 8(22) Euonymus indicus B.Heyne ex Wall. (Pitard 1912a, Ma 2001, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 9(23) Euonymus japonicus Thunb. (Pitard 1912a, Ma 2001, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 10(24) Euonymus laxiflorus Champ. ex Benth. (Pitard 1912a, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Ma 2001, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 11(25) Euonymus nitidus Benth. (Pitard 1912a, Ma 2001, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 12(26) Euonymus petelotii Merr. 13(27) Euonymus pittosporoides C.Y.Cheng ex J.S.Ma (Ma 2001) 14(28) Euonymus pseudovagans Pit. 15(29) Euonymus salicifolius Loes. (Ma 2001) 16(30) Euonymus tonkinensis (Loes.) Loes., Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on page 225, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

3. Celastrus L. 1(3) Celastrus annamensis Tardieu 2(4) Celastrus gemmatus Loes. (Merrill 1938, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 3(5) Celastrus glaucophyllus Rehder & E.H.Wilson (Hou 1955) 4(6) Celastrus hindsii Benth. (Pitard 1912a, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Hou 1955, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 5(7) Celastrus hirsutus Comber (Hou 1955) 6(8) Celastrus hookeri Prain (Merrill 1938, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 7(9) Celastrus monospermus Roxb. (Merrill 1938, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Hou 1955, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 8(10) Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb. (Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 9(11) Celastrus paniculatus Willd. (Pitard 1912a, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Hou 1955, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 10(12) Celastrus rosthornianus Loes. (Merrill 1938, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 11(13) Celastrus stylosus Wall. (Hou 1955)

16. Siphonodon Griff. 1(92) Siphonodon celastrineus Griff. (Pitard 1912b, Tardieu-Blot 1948c, Nguyen 2003b, Pham 2003), Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on page 227, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

6. Glyptopetalum Thwaites 1(31) Glyptopetalum annamense Tardieu 2(32) Glyptopetalum calyptratum Pierre 3(33) Glyptopetalum chaudocense Pierre 4(34) Glyptopetalum gracilipes Pierre (Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 5(35) Glyptopetalum harmandianum Pierre (Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 6(36) Glyptopetalum integrifolium Q.W.Lin, Z.X.Zhang & Q.R.Liu 7(37) Glyptopetalum longepedunculatum Tardieu 8(38) Glyptopetalum poilanei Tardieu 9(39) Glyptopetalum quadrangulare Prain ex King (Savinov 2014) 10(40) Glyptopetalum sclerocarpum (Kurz) M.A.Lawson (Hoang 2008, Pham 2003, Savinov et al. 2018) 11(41) Glyptopetalum thorelii Pit. (Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 12(42) Glyptopetalum tonkinense Pit., Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on pages 225-226, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

7. Gymnosporia (Wight & Arn.) Benth. & Hook. f. 1(43) Gymnosporia bonii Pit. 2(44) Gymnosporia chevalieri Tardieu 3(45) Gymnosporia crassifolia Pit. 4(46) Gymnosporia diversifolia Maxim. (Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 5(47) Gymnosporia marcanii Craib (Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 6(48) Gymnosporia mekongensis Pierre 7(49) Gymnosporia stylosa Pierre 8(50) Gymnosporia tonkinensis Pit. 9(51) Gymnosporia wallichiana (Spreng.) M.A.Lawson (Pitard 1912a, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a), Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on page 226, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

10. Microtropis Wall. ex Meisn. 1(59) Microtropis apiculata Ding Hou 2(60) Microtropis cerocarpa Savinov & Nuraliev 3(61) Microtropis chlorocarpa Merr. & F.L.Freeman 4(62) Microtropis discolor (Wall.) Wall. ex Meisn. (Merrill & Freeman 1940, Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 5(63) Microtropis fallax Pit. 6(64) Microtropis osmanthoides (Hand.-Mazz.) Hand.-Mazz. (Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 7(65) Microtropis pallens Pierre 8(66) Microtropis petelotii Merr. & F.L.Freeman 9(67) Microtropis rhynchocarpa Merr. 10(68) Microtropis tetragona Merr. & F.L.Freeman (Nguyen 2003a) 11(69) Microtropis triflora Merr. & F.L.Freeman (Nguyen 2003a), Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on page 226, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

1. Parnassia wightiana Wallich ex Wight & Arnott (1834: 35) (Figs. 2���4) References: Grierson (1987: 517), Gu (1987: 46), Gu & Hultg��rd (2001: 114), Suksathan (2009: 46), Bhaskar & Shinobu (2012: 1), Shu et al. (2017: 6), Wang et al. (2018: 133), Averyanov et al. (2020: 282). TYPE: ��� INDIA. Sine loc., R. Wight 116 (lectotype, designated by Shu et al. [2017: 6]: K: 000739468 photo!; isolectotypes: E: E00174108 photo!, E00174109 photo!, E00174110 photo!; GZU: 000100142; K: 000739466 photo!; P: P00709377 photo!). Description (based on Vietnamese specimens):���Herbs perennial, forming dense clumps, generally glabrous. Rhizome 2���4 cm long, 1.0��� 1.5 cm in diam., with numerous roots. Basal leaves 8���10, 11��� 15 cm long; petiole 8���13 cm long, 1.5���2 mm in diam., adaxially grooved, winged at base, wings sheath-like, 2 cm long and 1 mm wide; blade adaxially dark green, abaxially light green, broadly cordate to reniform, 2.5���4.5 �� 3.0��� 6.5 cm, base cordate, apex rounded to obtuse with short mucro, margin entire, with 9���11 veins pedately originating at base. Floriferous stem subterminal (arising near the rhizome apex), usually 1, stout, angled, to 20 cm long, 2.0 mm in diam. Cauline leaf 1, at middle of floriferous stem, nearly sessile; blade similar to that of basal leaf in shape but smaller, with several dark brown hairs at margin near base. Inflorescence 1-flowered. Flower 4 cm in diam.; hypanthium short, 6 mm wide. Sepals 5, light green to yellowish, broadly oblong, 10���12 �� 4.5���6.0 mm, slightly narrowed towards base, apex obtuse, with margins decurrent onto inferior part of ovary, with some inconspicuous parallel veins. Petals 5, white with bright green base on adaxial side (especially so at vein bases), broadly obovate, 15���19 �� 13���15 mm, with a claw 2.0���3.0 mm long; apex rounded and slightly lobed, blade margin at its basal 2/3 with long branched fimbriations or more rarely erose. Stamens 5; filament 6���9 mm long, 1 mm in diam.; anther 2.5���3.0 mm long, 1.5 mm in diam., longitudinally dehiscent. Staminodes 5, flat, 5���6 mm long, 2.0��� 2.5 mm wide at base, up to 4.5 mm wide distally, 5���7-lobed for up to almost 2/3 of their length; lobes spreading laterally, unequal in size, 2���3 mm long, 0.3���0.5 mm in diam., with distinct glands at apex (resembling toes of tree frog). Gynoecium of 3 united carpels; ovary semi-inferior; inferior part 5.5 mm high; superior part conical, obtusely three-angled, 3.5 mm high, 3.5 mm in diam. at base; style 1.5 mm long, 1 mm wide, bearing 3 short stigmatic lobes. Capsule triangular pyramidal, dehiscing into 3 valves; mature fruit 6 mm high, 6.5 mm wide at base. Seeds numerous, oblong, 1 mm long, 0.5 mm in diam. Specimens examined: ��� VIETNAM. Ha Giang Province: Quan Ba District, Tung Vai commune, disturbed primary evergreen forest on limestone mountain, around point 23��04���03.1������N 104��50���23.9������E, at elevation of 1297 m, 17 March 2018, Pham Van The, Trinh Ngoc Bon TB 069 (VAFS); Ha Giang Province: Quan Ba District, Tung Vai commune, Thang village, around point 23��03���13.4������N 104��51���48.8������E, steep rocky slopes of stream valley composed with eroded stratified highly eroded limestone at elevation 1000���1200 m a.s.l., primary evergreen broad-leaved very humid forest, open wet mossy river rocks, 23 April 2018, L. Averyanov, Nguyen Sinh Khang, Nguyen Tien Hiep, Nguyen Quang Hieu, Chuong Quang Ngan, T. Maisak VR 760 (LE: LE01050109 http://en.herbariumle.ru/?t=occ&id=3978); Ha Giang Province: Quan Ba District, Tung Vai commune, Thang village, around point 23��03���00.4������N 104��52���02.2������E, steep rocky slopes of river valley composed with eroded limestone at elevation 1000���1060 m a.s.l., remnants of primary evergreen broad-leaved very humid forest, wet grassy places along river and on mossy open wet stream rocks, 19 October 2018, L. Averyanov, Nguyen Sinh Khang, T. Maisak, Truong Quang Ngan VR 1045 (LE: LE01048857 http://en.herbariumle.ru/?t=occ&id=576, LE01049038 http://en.herbariumle.ru/?t=occ&id=4903, LE01049078 http:// en.herbariumle.ru/?t=occ&id=4918); Ha Giang Province: Quan Ba district, Ta Van commune, Can Ho village, around point 23.03513��N 104.87016��E, steep rocky mountain slopes composed of eroded limestone at elevation 1100��� 1250 m a.s.l., secondary evergreen broad-leaved humid forest along rocky stream, open wet mossy stream rocks, 9 October 2019, L. Averyanov, Nguyen Sinh Khang, T. Maisak VR 1494 (LE: LE01066941 http://en.herbariumle. ru/?t=occ&id=12724, photos LE01061037 http://en.herbariumle.ru/?t=occ&id=13091); Yen Bai Province: Mu Cang Chai District, Nam Co commune, Lung Cung village, secondary evergreen broad-leaved woodland and scrub, around point 21��54���23.5������N 104��16���59.4������E, at elevation of 1762 m, 22 September 2011, Pham Van The, Nguyen Tien Vinh, Hoang Van Than CPC 4488 (CPC ��� Herbarium of the Center for Plant Conservation, Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations, Hanoi, Vietnam; photos LE: LE01087319 http://en.herbariumle.ru/?t=occ&id=27233). Distribution: ��� Afghanistan, N India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, N Thailand, N Vietnam (Ha Giang and Yen Bai provinces). Phenology: ���In Vietnam, flowering was observed from March to October, fruiting was observed from April to October. Habitat and ecology: ���In Vietnam, Parnassia wightiana was found in wet places along streams in disturbed primary evergreen forest on limestone, and also in secondary evergreen broad-leaved woodland and scrub on nonlimestone mountains at elevations of 1000���1760 m, as a lithophyte or a terrestrial herb (see Fig. 1). Parnassia wightiana is known from several populations within Vietnam, some of which contain numerous individuals (Averyanov et al. 2020; this study). In the secondary forests with Taiwania cryptomerioides in Yen Bai Province, P. wightiana (the specimen Pham et al. CPC 4488) grows together with Dicranopteris linearis (Gleicheniaceae), Asplenium sp. (Aspleniaceae), Amorphophallus sp. (Araceae), Carex sp. (Cyperaceae), Rubus sp. (Rosaceae), Melastoma sp. (Melastomataceae), Ageratina adenophora (Asteraceae). In the limestone landscape of Ha Giang Province, P. wightiana (the specimen Pham Van The, Trinh Ngoc Bon TB 069) was recorded to grow together with the following herbs and small understorey woody plants: Equisetum diffusum (Equisetaceae), Dryopteris stenolepis (Dryopteridaceae), Pyrrosia bonii (Polypodiaceae), Acorus calamus (Acoraceae), Tacca integrifolia (Taccaceae), Nervilia fordii (Orchidaceae), Caryota urens (Arecaceae), Anemone sumatrana (Ranunculaceae), Ficus abelii (Moraceae), Elatostema dissectum (Urticaceae), Begonia lecomtei (Begoniaceae), Micromelum minutum (Rutaceae), Maesa montana (Primulaceae), Ophiorrhiza baviensis, O. japonica (Rubiaceae). The primary forest at high elevations in that area comprises tree species including Fokienia hodginsii (Cupressaceae), Amentotaxus yunnanensis, Taxus chinensis (Taxaceae), Magnolia coriacea, M. grandis (Magnoliaceae), Actinodaphne ellipticibacca, Cinnamomum parthenoxylon, Phoebe macrocarpa (Lauraceae), Mahonia nepalensis (Berberidaceae), Castanopsis cerebrina, Lithocarpus balansae, Quercus platycalyx (Fagaceae), Aucuba japonica (Garryaceae); understorey woody plants include Gomphandra mollis (Stemonuraceae); herbs include Paris polyphylla (Melanthiaceae), Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum, P. micranthum (Orchidaceae), Dysosma difformis (Berberidaceae); vines include Stephania tetrandra, Tinospora sagittata (Menispermaceae), Jasminum elongatum (Oleaceae); epiphytes include Rhaphidophora decursiva (Araceae), Coelogyne lockii, Dendrobium chrysanthum, Eria scabrilinguis (Orchidaceae). Notes: ��� Gu & Hultg��rd (2001) indicated considerable morphological variability of Parnassia wightiana manifested, in particular, in differences in leaf shape and flower size between populations from different regions of China. The recently proposed ample synonymy of P. wightiana (Shu et al. 2017, Wang et al. 2018) should also contribute to the variation ranges of its characters. Our study extends further the known morphological diversity of the species, as compared with its earlier published descriptions (Grierson 1987, Gu & Hultg��rd 2001, Bhaskar & Shinobu 2012). The Vietnamese specimens are remarkable in their numerous (8���10 vs. 2���5) basal leaves with larger number of veins (9���11 vs. 7���9), and larger flower parts, including sepals 10���12 mm (vs. 5���10 mm) long, petals 15���19 mm (vs. 8���15 mm) long, anthers 2.5���3 mm (vs. 1.5���2.5 mm) long. A detailed comparison is presented in Table 1., Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on pages 215-217, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842, {"references":["Wight, R. & Arnott, G. A. W. (1834) Droseraceae. In: Wight, R. & Arnott, G. A. W. (Eds.) Prodromus florae peninsulae Indiae orientalis. Vol. 1. Parbury, Allen & Co., London, pp. 33 - 35. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 252","Grierson, A. J. C. (1987) Parnassiaceae. In: Grierson, A. J. C. & Long, D. G. (Eds.) Flora of Bhutan. Vol. 1, part 3. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, pp. 515 - 517.","Gu, C. Z. [Ku, T. C.] (1987) A revision of the genus Parnassia (Saxifragaceae) in China. Bulletin of Botanical Research Harbin 7: 1 - 61. [in Chinese]","Gu, C. Z. & Hultgard, U. M. (2001) Parnassia. In: Wu, Z. Y. & Raven, P. H. (Eds.) Flora of China, vol. 8. Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, pp. 358 - 379.","Suksathan, P. (2009) Taxonomic notes on Thai Parnassia L. (Parnassiaceae) and threats to them. Thai Journal of Botany 1: 43 - 48.","Bhaskar, A. & Shinobu, A. (2012) Parnassiaceae. In: Watson, M. F., Akiyama, S., Ikeda, H., Pendry, C. A., Rajbhandari, K. R. & Shrestha, K. K. (Eds.) Flora of Nepal. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh. Available from: http: // data. rbge. org. uk / publications / FloraofNepal / library / Parnassiaceae / 1 (accessed 13 July 2021)","Shu, Y. M., Yu, H. Y., Mu, X. Y. & Zhang, Z. X. (2017) Checklist and typification of Parnassia (Celastraceae). Phytotaxa 309 (1): 1 - 22. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / phytotaxa. 309.1.1","Wang, Y. P., Chen, S., Shu, Y. M., Li, B. & Wu, D. (2018) Taxonomic note of Parnassia (Celastraceae) in China: the identity of P. wightiana. Phytotaxa 375 (1): 130 - 134. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / phytotaxa. 375.1.10","Averyanov, L. V., Nguyen, K. S., Tran, T. H., Averyanova, A. L., Maisak, T. V. & Nguyen, H. T. (2020) Plant diversity, flora and vegetation of Bat Dai Son Mountain area, northern Vietnam. Strata, Saint-Petersburg, 561 pp."]}

Parnassia Linnaeus (1753: 273) TYPE:��� Parnassia palustris Linnaeus (1753: 273) Description:���Herbs perennial, rosulate, glabrous. Rhizome sympodial, robust. Floriferous stems (scapes) 1 to several, bearing 1 to several cauline leaves or rarely leafless. Basal leaves 2 or several, forming a rosette; stipules membranous; petiole usually long; leaf blade entire. Cauline leaves 1 to several or absent, often sessile and semiamplexicaul. Flower solitary, terminal; hypanthium sometimes present. Sepals 5, usually imbricate. Petals 5, imbricate, white or yellowish or rarely greenish; margin fimbriate, erose or entire. Stamens 5, inserted opposite sepals; anthers longitudinally dehiscent, usually inappendaged but in some species connective projected into a lanceolate appendage. Staminodes 5, inserted opposite petals, terete and entire or flat and divided into lobes or filiform rays, apically somewhat glandular or with distinct globose glands. Gynoecium syncarpous, 3���4-carpellate; ovary superior to semi-inferior, 1-loculed; placentation parietal; ovules numerous; style terminal, short or almost absent; stigmatic lobes distinct, commissural. Fruit a capsule, superior to semi-inferior, sometimes longitudinally angled, loculicidally dehiscent into 3 or 4 valves, with persistent sepals. Seeds numerous, brown, obovoid or oblong, minute, 1���2 mm long; testa thin, membranous, reticulate, smooth; endosperm thin or absent. The genus Parnassia comprises ca. 60 species distributed predominantly in extratropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with several species in northern tropics, including the southernmost known population in northern Sumatra. Two species are recorded in Vietnam (Fig. 1)., Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on pages 214-215, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842, {"references":["Linnaeus, C. (1753) Species Plantarum 1. Imprensis Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm, 560 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 669"]}

14. Reissantia N.Hall�� 1(75) Reissantia indica (Willd.) N.Hall�� (Pitard 1912b, Tardieu-Blot 1948b, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003) 2(76) Reissantia setulosa (A.C.Sm.) N.Hall�� (Tardieu-Blot 1948b, Nguyen 2003a), Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on page 227, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

12. Plagiopteron Griff. 1(72) Plagiopteron suaveolens Griff. (Chinh et al. 2016, Nghiem et al. 2017), Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on page 226, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

1. Arnicratea N.Hall�� 1(1) Arnicratea cambodiana (Pierre) N.Hall��, Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on page 225, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

17. Tripterygium Hook. f. 1(93) Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. (Hai et al. 2021) Note added in proof: Bhesa was transferred to the family Centroplacaceae (Malpighiales) based on molecular phylogenetic data (Stevens 2001 onwards, etc). SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL ONLINE SUPPLEMENTARY FILE S1. An updated checklist of Celastraceae in Vietnam: an extended version with references to protologues, synonymy, reference(s) for occurrence in Vietnam, links to species profiles in the taxonomic databases, and brief notes on taxonomy and distribution. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6125317, Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on page 227, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

13. Pleurostylia Wight & Arn. 1(73) Pleurostylia cochinchinensis Pierre 2(74) Pleurostylia opposita (Wall.) Alston (Tardieu-Blot 1948a, Nguyen 2003a, Pham 2003), Published as part of Pham, Ngoc Hoai, Ren, Ming-Xun, Nuraliev, Maxim S., Trinh, Ngoc Bon, Nguyen, Tien Dat, Ragupathi, Gopi & Pham, Van The, 2022, The genus Parnassia in Vietnam, and a checklist of Vietnamese Celastraceae, pp. 213-227 in Phytotaxa 536 (3) on pages 226-227, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.536.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/6331842

Objective To screen the antioxidant potential of leaf and stem of the various ecotypes of Brahmi. Methods The medicinally important plant, Bacopa monnieri L ( B. monnieri) . to analyze the antioxidative enzymes, superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1) catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) and peroxidases (E.C. 1.11.1.7), and some non-enzymatic antioxidants. Results The present study revealed that antioxidant enzyme activities higher in leaves and non-enzymatic antioxidants higher in leaves in all ecotypes except reduced glutathione. Among all the ecotypes, the Aliyar dam sample had more enzyme activities and quantity of non-enzymatic antioxidant contents. Conclusion Both enzymztic and nonenzymatic antioxidants are rich in leaves when compared stem in the fresh plant of B. monnieri .

Preliminary analysis of flavonoid chromatographic migration profiles of endemic/endangered species of Rauvolfia L from Southern Western Ghats of India were carried out. Paper chromatogram showed maximum separation in the solvent system of forestral. In the paper chromatogram, number of flavonoid spots varied from 9 to 12 in the five taxa studied. The main aglycones detected in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis were flavones apigenin and luteolin, flavonol kaempferol, myricetin, quercetin and anthocyanidins such as delphinidin and cyanidin. Flavonol Quercetin was detected in all the five species of Rauvolfia giving a chemotaxonomic significance to its presence at the generic level. The two species Rauvolfia serpentina and Rauvolfia tetraphylla could be regarded as the most primitive in the evolutionary line with respect to the flavonoid pattern. Rauvolfia densiflora has the most advanced pattern of flavonoids. The dendrogram generated by unweighted pair group method with arithmetic ave...

Quality of medicinal plants used for the production of galenics or pharmacologically useful compounds is usually assessed by the content of biologically active compounds. Most of these plants are grown in fields, this study focused to evaluate the effect of three natural elicitors salicylic acid, methyl salicylate and acetyl salicylic acid (SA, MSA, ASA) on phenolic compound content of Rauvolfia serpentina, and to compare the efficiency of several solvent system in phenolic compound extraction from this plant. A tremendous increase of phenolics and stimulation of the biomass yield were achieved. Tuning of organ specificity by modification of the concentration of elicitor was also observed. This methodology represents a convenient alternative to cell suspension or hydroponic cultures being applicable in wide agricultural practice and to improve phenolic concentration during extraction.

Rauvolfia has long been regarded as medicinal plant. Leaves of all the reported five species of Rauvolfia from southern Western Ghats were chosen to investigate their antioxidant activities, phytochemicals and nutrient composition. The five species were then screened for their antioxidant potentials using various in vitro models such as total antioxidant capacity, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, reducing power and superoxide anion scavenging activity at various concentrations. Nutrients and phytochemical characterisation included determination of tocopherols by HPLC-fluorescence, phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, ascorbic acid and pigment composition by spectrophotometric techniques. Rauvolfia serpentina exhibited the highest total phenolic content while Rauvolfia tetraphylla had highest flavonoid content among the five species. R. serpentina showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity and also highest pigment composition and vitamin E content, while Rauvolfia densiflora showed highest level of vitamin C content and metal chelating activity among the five species. R. tetraphylla revealed the highest concentration of β carotene. Lycopene was found in very low amounts while comparing with other nutrient compositions and the maximum amount was in R. tetraphylla and least amount was in Rauvolfia beddomei . The results of this study provided an alternative of utilising Rauvolfia leaf as readily accessible source of natural antioxidant in food cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry.

Phytochemical and antioxidant activity studies of the leaves of Rauovlofia beddomei Hook. (Apocyanaceae) have been carried out. The ethyl acetate fraction of methanol extract yielded five compounds (1 – 5) identified as flavonoids: (1) kaempferol, (2) kaempferol-3-O-D-glucoside, (3) quercetin, (4) apigenin-3-O-D-glucoside, and (5) apigenin-7-O-neohespiridoside. The structures of compounds 1 – 5 were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. The antioxidant properties of the isolated compounds were evaluated by measuring their ability to scavenge DPPH radicals and superoxide anions, to inhibit xanthine oxidase (XOD) activity, and to inhibit lipid peroxidation (LPO) in a liposome model system. Compound 3 was a strong scavenger of DPPH and superoxide anion radicals, inhibitor of XOD activity, and potent LPO inhibitor, showing some structure – activity relationships.

The effect of triadimefon (TDM) a triazole compound on antioxidant potential and eugenol content was studied in Ocimum tenuiflorum L. The plant was subjected to 15 mg/l TDM by soil-drenching on 50th, 70th and 90th days after planting (DAP). Analyses were carried out on 60th, 80th and 100th DAP. Both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant potential estimation was carried out. The non-enzymatic antioxidant viz ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol and reduced glutathione were found to increase under triadimefon treatment. The antioxidant enzyme like superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase and catalase activities showed significant increase in TDM treatment. Triazole-treated plants yielded more eugenol (a major component of Ocimum-essential oil) in comparison to control. The study evidenced that TDM residues could be detected in the upper soil layer only and does not accumulate in the soil. These preliminary results suggest that TDM may be useful to increase the antioxidant content in medicinal plants and also to act as an elicitor to enhance the production of secondary metabolites of medicinal plants.

A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of growth regulators on growth characteristics such as root length, shoot length, total leaf area, number of inflorescence per plant, number of flower per inflorescence, whole plant fresh weight and whole plant dry weight. Photosynthetic characteristics were also analyzed based on the same experiment. For this, various photosynthetic pigment contents such as chlorophyll, carotenoid, anthocyanin and xanthophyll content were calculated. The conventional growth regulator abscisic acid (ABA) and non-conventional growth regulator triazole compound paclobutrazol (PBZ) were used. Root length increased due to growth regulator treatment, but shoot length decreased. Leaf area was decreased due to growth regulator treatment. The number of inflorescence increased in ABA treated plants, but it was decreased in PBZ treated plants. In ABA treated plants, the number of flowers per inflorescence was increased. In PBZ treated plants the number of inflorescence was reduced. The whole plant fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) were increased in ABA and PBZ treated plants. There was an increase in chlorophyll content in growth regulator treated plants compared to control, and it was more in PBZ treated plants. The carotenoid content was also increased in ABA and PBZ treated plants.

Environmental stresses (salinity, drought, heat/cold, light and other hostile conditions) may trigger in plants oxidative stress, generating the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These species are partially reduced or activated derivatives of oxygen, comprising both free radical $$ ( {\text{O}}_{2}^{\cdot - } ,{\text{OH}} \cdot , {\text{OH}}_{ 2} \cdot ) $$ and non-radical (H2O2) forms, leading to cellular damage, metabolic disorders and senescence processes. In order to overcome oxidative stress, plants have developed two main antioxidants defense mechanisms that can be classified as non-enzymatic and enzymatic systems. The first class (non-enzymatic) consists of small molecules such as vitamin (A, C and E), glutathione, carotenoids and phenolics that can react directly with the ROS by scavenging them. Second class is represented by enzymes among them superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase which have the capacity to eliminate superoxide and hydrogen peroxide. In this review, we have tried to explore the related works, which have revealed the changes in the basic antioxidant metabolism of plants under various abiotic constraints.

The effect of different plant growth regulators (PGR) and elicitor treatments on the alkaloid profile variation of Catharanthus roseus was investigated in the present study. The PGR used were paclobutrazol (PBZ), gibberellic acid (GA3) and Pseudomonas fluorescens elicitors (PF Elicitors). The estimated alkaloids were ajmalicine, catharanthine, tabersonine, serpentine and vindoline. In roots, the ajmalicine content increased significantly under all the treatments on all sampling days. In roots, the catharanthine contents increased with the age in control and growth regulator treatments, but the increase was not prominent and significant in PGR treatments when compared to controls. The serpentine contents of the plant increased with PGR treatments, but the increase was more prominent in PBZ treatments when compared to other treatments. The increase was in the order PBZ > PF Elicitors > GA3. C. roseus never showed any significant increase in tabersonine contents in the roots under GA3 treatments, but it increased significantly under PBZ and PF Elicitors when compared to control plants. The root vindoline contents increased with PBZ and PF Elicitors treatments but the decreased under GA3 treatments when compared to control plants. Our results have good significance, as these increases the secondary metabolites of this traditional medicinal plant.

In this study, Ocimum sanctum plants were treated with paclobutrazol (PBZ) and Abscissic acid (ABA) to analyze the changes in the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant responses. Nonenzymatic antioxidants like ascorbic acid decreased in the ABA treated plants. But it increased in the PBZ treated plants. Although both PBZ and ABA treatments considerably increased the -tocopherol content, it was more in the PBZ treated plants. Enzymatic antioxidants like ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were also increased by the treatments. Catalase activity was increased by both growth regulators to a significant extent when compared with the control plants. In conclusion, our results indicated that the PBZ and ABA applications at low concentrations could be used as potential tools to increase defense mechanisms in medicinal plants.

Triadimefon is a triazole derivative, which have plant growth regulator properties. However, the influential mechanism of triadimefon on medicinal plants like Withania somnifera is not much studied. In the present investigation, the effects triadimefon at 10 mg L −1 on the germination, early seedling growth, photosynthetic pigments, non-enzymatic antioxidant contents and activities of antioxidant enzymes were studied in W. somnifera Dunal plants. The germination percentage was not much affected by treatments and early seedling growth was reduced in terms of shoot length and leaf area but root length got increased with a concomitant enhancement in chlorophyll contents. The non-enzymatic antioxidants like ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione and α-tocopherol were increased in all parts (root, stem and leaf) of the seedlings. Triadimefon treatment caused an increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and catalase. From our results it can be concluded that, the triadimefon can be used as a potential tool to enhance the antioxidant potential in medicinal plant W. somnifera .

An investigation was carried out to estimate the salt stress ameliorative effect of propiconazole (a triazole group of fungicide cum plant growth regulator) on the NaCl stressed Catharanthus roseus. The experiment was conducted in pots. All the pots were irrigated to the field capacity with ground water up to 30 days after sowing (DAS). The treatments were given as 80 mM NaCl, 80 mM NaCl + 20 mg l−1 propiconazole and 20 mg l−1 propiconazole alone on 30, 50 and 70 DAS. The samples were collected on 60 and 80 DAS. NaCl stress inhibited the root and stem length, total leaf area, fresh and dry weight, and antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities. Plants treated with NaCl with propiconazole increased these parameters to a larger extent when compared to NaCl stressed plants. The propiconazole treatment increased the root length, fresh and dry weight, and SOD, POX and PPO activities, but decreased the stem length and leaf area when compared to control. The results showed that the propiconazole could significantly ameliorate the effect of NaCl stress in Catharanthus roseus.

The ability of triadimefon (TDM), a triazole group of fungicide, to ameliorate salinity stress was studied in Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. plants subjected to sodium chloride (NaCl) treatment. NaCl treatment at 80 mM level decreased overall growth of this plant and reduced the chlorophyll contents, protein, antioxidant enzymes such as peroxidase (POX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO). The root alkaloid ajmalicine got increased under salt treatment. When these stressed plants were treated with TDM at 15 mg l−1 concentration minimized the inhibitory effects of NaCl stress by increasing the root, shoot growth and leaf area and increased dry weight (DW), chlorophyll, protein contents and the activities of antioxidant enzymes like POX, SOD and PPO, thereby paved the way to overcome the salinity injury. The quantity of ajmalicine was again increased with the TDM treatment when compared to both control and NaCl treated plants. From these results, it is proved that the fungicide TDM have great role in the enhancement of plant antioxidative enzymes and the enhanced scavenging of potentially harmful free radicals, as a mechanism of protecting plants against noxious oxidative stress from the environment and also in the enhancement of active principles.

A pot culture experiment was conducted to estimate the drought stress mitigating effect of ketoconazole (KCZ), a fungicide cum plant growth regulator, in Catharanthus roseus plants. The plants under pot culture were subjected to drought stress and drought stress with KCZ from 30 days after sowing (DAS) and regular irrigation was kept as control. Antioxidant contents and activities of antioxidant enzymes were estimated from root, stem and leaf of both control and treated plants. The alkaloid ajmalicine was extracted and estimated from the roots of control, drought stressed and KCZ treated plants. Individual and combined drought stress and KCZ treatments increased ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol contents, superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase and polyphenol oxidase activities when compared to control. There was a significant enhancement in ajmalicine production under KCZ treated plants under drought stress when compared to well watered control as well as drought stressed plants. The KCZ treatment resulted in partial mitigation of drought stress by increasing the antioxidant potentials in C. roseus plants.

The effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) like Pseudomonas fluorescens on growth parameters and the production of ajmalicine were investigated in Catharanthus roseus under drought stress. The plants under pot culture were subjected to 10, 15 and 20 days interval drought (DID) stress and drought stress with Pseudomonas fluorescens at 1 mg l−1 and 1 mg l−1 Pseudomonas fluorescens alone from 30 days after planting (DAP) and regular irrigation was kept as control. The plants were uprooted on 41 DAS (10 DID), 46 DAS (15 DID) and 51 DAS (20 DID). Drought stress decreased the growth parameters and increased the ajmalicine content. But the treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescens enhanced the growth parameters under drought stress and partially ameliorated the drought induced growth inhibition by increasing the fresh and dry weights significantly. The ajmalicine content was again increased due to Pseudomonas fluorescens treatment to the drought stressed plants. From the results of this investigation, it can be concluded that, the seedling treatments of native PGPRs can be used as a good tool in the enhancement of biomass yield and alkaloid contents in medicinal plants, as it provides an eco-friendly approach and can be used as an agent in water deficit stress amelioration.

Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don plants were grown in different water regimes in order to study the drought induced osmotic stress and proline (PRO) metabolism, antioxidative enzyme activities and indole alkaloid accumulation. The plants under pot culture were subjected to 10, 15 and 20 days interval drought (DID) stress from 30 days after sowing (DAS) and regular irrigation was kept as control. The plants were uprooted on 41DAS (10DID), 46DAS (15DID) and 51DAS (20DID). The drought stressed plants showed increased aminoacid (AA), glycine betaine (GB) and PRO contents and decreased proline oxidase (PROX) and increased gamma-glutamyl kinase (gamma-GK) activities when compared to control. The antioxidative enzymes like peroxidase (POX) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) increased to a significant level in drought stressed plants when compared to control. The drought stressed C. roseus plants showed an increase in total indole alkaloid content in shoots and roots when compared to well-watered control plants. Our results suggest that the cultivation of medicinal plants like C. roseus in water deficit areas would increase its PRO metabolism, osmoregulation, defense system and the level of active principles.

The present investigation was conducted to determine whether CaCl(2) increases Catharanthus roseus drought tolerance and if such tolerance is correlated with changes in oxidative stress, osmoregulation and indole alkaloid accumulation. C. roseus plants were grown under water deficit environments with or without CaCl(2). Drought induced oxidative stress was measured in terms of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and H(2)O(2) contents, osmolyte concentration, proline (PRO) metabolizing enzymes and indole alkaloid accumulation. The plants under pot culture were subjected to 10, 15 and 20 days interval drought (DID) stress and drought stress with 5mM CaCl(2) and 5mM CaCl(2) alone from 30 days after planting (DAP) and regular irrigation was kept as control. The plants were uprooted on 41 DAS (10 DID), 46 DAS (15 DID) and 51 DAS (20 DID). Drought stressed plants showed increased LPO, H(2)O(2), glycine betaine (GB) and PRO contents and decreased proline oxidase (PROX) activity and increased gamma-glutamyl kinase (gamma-GK) activity when compared to control. Addition of CaCl(2) to drought stressed plants lowered the PRO concentration by increasing the level of PROX and decreasing the gamma-GK activities. Calcium ions increased the GB contents. CaCl(2) appears to confer greater osmoprotection by the additive role with drought in GB accumulation. The drought with CaCl(2)-treated C. roseus plants showed an increase in total indole alkaloid content in shoots and roots when compared to drought stressed and well-watered plants.

The present investigation was carried out with an aim to study the effects of two important fungicides/plant growth regulators, triadimefon (TDM) and hexaconazole (HEX) on white yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir.). Each plant was treated with 1 l of aqueous solution containing 15 mg l-1 TDM and 10 mg l−1 HEX by soil drenching on 10, 20 and 30 days after planting (DAP). Starch and sugar contents, and the activities of α, β-amylases, sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), sucrose synthase (SS) and acid invertase (AI) enzymes were estimated from leaf and tuber samples on 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAP. Results showed that TDM and HEX treatments inhibited the α, β-amylase and increased the fresh and dry weights, starch, sugar and sucrose contents and SPS, SS and AI activities in white yam. The data suggests that, the application of triazole fungicides may be a useful tool to increase the tuber quality as well as quantity in white yam plants, apart from their fungicidal properties.

In the present investigation, ‘rosea’ and ‘alba’ varieties of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. seeds were grown with different concentrations (15, 30, 45 and 60 mM) of sodium chloride (NaCl), in order to study the effects of salinity on germination behaviour, seedling vigour (root and shoot length), lipid peroxidation (LPO) and proline metabolism. It was found that germination was delayed at lower salinity levels and inhibited at higher salinity regimes. NaCl treatment caused a serious decrease in the early seedling growth by means of reduced seedling vigour at higher salinity levels. The LPO was estimated as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and found increased under salt stress. Glycine betaine (GB) and proline (PRO) contents significantly accumulated in both the varieties of seedlings under salt stress. Under NaCl stress, the activity of proline oxidase (PROX) decreased and the γ-glutamyl kinase (γ-GK) activity increased.

The effect of paclobutrazol, a plant growth regulator, on antioxidant defense system was investigated in Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. plants subjected to NaCl stress. The growth parameters were significantly reduced under 80 mM NaCl treatment; however, this growth inhibition was less in paclobutrazol-treated (15 mg l−1 plant−1) plants. The non-enzymatic antioxidants ascorbic acid and reduced glutathione were affected under NaCl stress and they increased significantly under paclobutrazol treatment when compared to NaCl treated as well as control plants (P ≤ 0.05). The activity of antioxidant enzyme ascorbate peroxidase showed a significant enhancement under salinity stress. The catalase activity decreased in roots of NaCl-treated plants, but recovered with paclobutrazol treatment. The results suggested that paclobutrazol have significant role in contributing salt stress tolerance of C. roseus by improving the components of antioxidant defense system.

Probiotics are live microbes which when administered in adequate amounts as functional food ingredients confer a health benefit on the host. Their versatility is in terms of their usage which ranges from the humans to the ruminants, pigs and poultry, and also in aquaculture practices. In this review, the microorganisms frequently used as probiotics in human and animal welfare has been described, and also highlighted are the necessary criteria required to be fulfilled for their use in humans on the one hand and on the other as microbial feed additives in animal husbandry. Further elaborated in this article are the sources from where probiotics can be derived, the possible mechanisms by which they act, and their future potential role as antioxidants is also discussed.

The effects of triadimefon, a triazole compound on the antioxidant potentials and root alkaloid ajmalicine content were studied in two varieties, rosea and alba of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don., an important medicinal plant. The plants of both the varieties were subjected to 15 mg l−1 triadimefon treatment by soil drenching on 53, 68 and 83 days after planting (DAP). The plants were harvested on 60, 75 and 90 days after planting and the antioxidant potentials and ajmalicine content were estimated. The antioxidant potentials viz., ascorbic acid (AA), α-tocopherol and reduced glutathione (GSH) were found increased under triadimefon treatment. The antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) activities showed slight changes in both the varieties under triadimefon treatment when compared to control plants. Indole alkaloid ajmalicine content increased significantly under triadimefon treatment. The increase in ajmalicine content was more in rosea variety than in alba variety. These preliminary results suggest that, the application of triadimefon may be a useful tool to increase the alkaloid production in medicinal plants.

The effect of triadimefon was investigated in a medicinal plant, Catharanthus roseus subjected to water deficit stress. The abscisic acid (ABA) level, DNA and RNA contents and activities of ATPase and protease were found varying in different parts of the plants under treatment. Drought treatment increased the ABA level more than twofold in all parts of the plants. TDM treatment to the drought stressed plants showed highest contents. In roots, stem and leaves, drought stress caused a decrease in the DNA and RNA contents when compared with control and other treatments. TDM treatment with drought increased the nucleic acid contents to the level of the control roots. The activity of ATPase and protease were increased under drought treatment and lowered due to TDM applications. This information could be useful in the field of soil water deficits reclamation efforts by using plant growth regulators.

Triadimefon, potential fungicide cum plant-growth retardant was used in this study to investigate its effect on the growth and the photosynthetic pigment contents of two varieties of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. The plants of both varieties were subjected to 15 mg l −1 triadimefon treatment by soil drenching 30, 45, 60, and 75 days after planting (DAP). Plants were uprooted on 90 DAP, and morphological parameters, like plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, root length and fresh and dry weights were determined. The photosynthetic pigments, like chlorophylls a and b , total chlorophyll, carotenoids, floral pigment, anthocyanin, were extracted and estimated. It was observed that plant height, number of leaves and leaf area were decreased and that root length, fresh and dry weights were increased under triadimefon treatment. The photosynthetic and floral pigments were increased under triadimefon treatment in both varieties. The results suggest that the application of this plant-growth retardant (triadimefon) has favourable effects on the reduction of plant height; it can thus be used for replacing manual hand pruning and for improving floral and vegetation colour in bedding plants like C. roseus . To cite this article: C.A. Jaleel et al., C. R. Biologies 331 (2008).

Triadimefon (TDM), a systemic fungicide with non-traditional plant-growth regulator properties, was administered to Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. plants in order to determine its effects on oxidative injury in terms of H2O2 content, lipid peroxidation (LPO), electrolyte leakage (EL), protein and amino acid contents, as well as proline metabolism. The LPO, estimated as thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), decreased under TDM treatment. It was found that H2O2 and EL were reduced under TDM treatment when compared to control. TDM treatment caused a significant increase in the protein and amino acid contents. Glycine betaine (GB) and proline (PRO) significantly accumulated in C. roseus under stress arisen from fungicide applications. Proline oxidase (PROX) activities reduce the PRO content and gamma-glutamyl kinase (gamma-GK) accelerates the synthesis of PRO. Under TDM treatment, the activity of PROX decreased and the gamma-GK activity increased. From our results, it is suggested that fungicide triadimefon causes activation of metabolic processes in the medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus. These findings are of great significance for the cultivation of this medicinal plant, as it was previously reported that TDM causes an enhancement of antioxidant metabolism and ajmalicine production in C. roseus.

The variations in antioxidant potentials and indole alkaloid content were studied in the present investigation, in two varieties (rosea and alba) of Catharanthus roseus , an important herb used in traditional as well as modern medicine, exposed to water deficit stress. The antioxidant and alkaloid profiles were estimated from root, stem, leaf, flowers and pods. The antioxidant potentials were examined in terms of non-enzymatic antioxidant molecules and activities of antioxidant enzymes. The non-enzymatic antioxidant molecules studied were ascorbic acid (AA), α-tocopherol (α-toc) and reduced glutathione (GSH). The estimated antioxidant enzymes were superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POX) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO). The antioxidant concentrations and activities of antioxidant enzymes were high under water deficit stress in all parts of the plants. Indole alkaloid content was high in the roots of rosea variety in response to stress when compared to alba variety.

An experiment was conducted on Catharanthus roseus to study the effect of seed treatments with native diazotrophs on its seedling growth and antioxidant enzyme activities. The treatments had significant influence on various seedling parameters. There is no significant influence on dry matter production with the diazotrophs, Azospirillum and Azotobacter. However, the vital seedling parameters such as germination percentage and vigour index were improved. Azotobacter treatment influenced maximum of 50% germination, whereas Azospirillum and Azotobacter were on par with C. roseus with respect to their vigour index. There was significant difference in the population of total diazotrophs. Azospirillum and Azotobacter between rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of C. roseus had the same trend and were observed at various locations of the study. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX) and catalase (CAT) were increased to a significant extent due to the treatment with diazotrophs.

Changes in antioxidant potentials and indole alkaloid, ajmalicine, production were studied in Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. plants under treatment with gibberellic acid (GA(3)). The GA(3) treatments were given in two ways, foliar spray and soil drenching methods on 30, 45, 60 and 75 days after planting (DAP). The plants were uprooted randomly on 90 DAP and separated into root, stem and leaves and used for analyses. The antioxidant potential was studied in terms of non-enzymatc antioxidant molecules like ascorbic acid (AA), alpha-tocopherol (alpha-toc) and reduced glutathione (GSH) and activities of antioxidant enzyme, viz., superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT). The alkaloid ajmalicine was extracted and estimated from roots of both control and treated plants. It was found that, GA(3) has a profound effect upon the antioxidant potentials and it caused a significant enhancement in the production of ajmalicine when compared to untreated control as well as foliar-sprayed plants. There was no significant enhancement in GSH and ajmalicine content under GA(3) foliar spray in C. roseus. These preliminary results suggest that, the application of GA(3) may be a useful tool to increase the antioxidant potential and alkaloid production in medicinal plants like C. roseus.

The application of triazole fungicides is a common practice in the cultivation of carrot (Daucus carota L.) plants. It is there for seems important to test the changes that are occurring in this food crop under triazoles, the non-traditional plant growth regulators, treatments in order to identify the extent to which it tolerate the fungicide application and thereby make it an economical food crop. A field experiment was conducted to find out the effects of two triazole fungicides (hexaconazole (HEX) and paclobutrazol (PBZ) at 20mg l(-1) plant(-1)) on the biomass, yield, electrolyte leakage, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant potential of carrot. The treatments were given to plants on 15, 30 and 45 days after sowing (DAS). The plants were uprooted for analyses of growth and biochemical parameters on 60 DAS. It was found that both HEX and PBZ have significant effects on the growth and biochemical parameters of this plant. Among the triazoles used, PBZ performed best in terms of anthocyanin, protein, amino acid, proline, starch and sugar, contents whereas HEX enhanced carotenoids, fresh weight, dry weight and biomass. There was no significant variation in chlorophyll ('a' and 'b') contents between the two triazole treated plants, but HEX and PBZ proved best when compared to untreated control plants. HEX and PBZ increased alpha- and beta-amylases enzymes activities to a significant level. Out of these two triazoles, PBZ performed best in increasing the starch hydrolyzing enzymes activities. The non-enzymatic antioxidant, reduced glutathione (GSH) and antioxidant enzyme ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were increased under fungicide applications. The data suggests that, the application of triazole fungicides may be a useful tool to increase the tuber quality as well as quantity in carrot plants, apart from their fungicidal properties.