A meiotic study in some medicinal plants

The present meiotic study was carried out in 15 species of medicinal importance belonging to 14 genera and nine families. The chromosome numbers n=7 of Aloe vera L., n=10 of Brassica campestris Hook.f. & Thoms, n=12 of Capsicum annuum L., n=12 of Cissampelos pareira L., n=10 of Croton bonplandianum Baill., n=32 of Heliotropium eichwaldi Steud., n=7 of Hordeum vulgare L., n=7 of Lathyrus aphaca L., n=20 of Mazus rugosus Lour., n=7 of Pisum sativum L., n=6 of Sesbania sesban Merrill., n=12 of Solanum verbascifolium L., n=11 of Tephrosia purpurea Pers., n=6 of Vicia faba L. and n=6 of Vicia sativa L. has been observed. The course of meiosis has been found to be normal in all species except in somewhere chromosomal irregularities have also been observed. The medicinal plants are playing a very important role in our daily life. Besides their active role in every human requirement, they have proven to be the best source of various health care systems including traditional plant based medicines. Their huge importance reminds us about correct identification of various plant species, so that they can be use more accurately and effectively. Meiotic study is the tool that can support the plant identification. According to World Health Organization (WHO), about 80% of the world's population relying on plant based traditional medicines (Sivaperumal et al. 2010). This shows that all population communities are not able to afford the modern medical facilities. These people depend upon medicinal plants which are growing in their vicinity. This indicates that medicinal plants are not only providing raw material to the pharmaceutical industries but also cater the health care needs of the people, who could not afford other medical facilities. Chromosomal study is useful to understand the morphological diversity and genomic variation within a species (Stace 2000). Generally the researchers identify the plant species based on their morphological characteristics. The cytological analysis especially the study of chromosome number can further authenticate the identity of the plant species. Therefore present study has been conducted to determine the chromosome numbers and behavior in some medicinal plants to confirm the morphological characterization.