This study aimed to evaluate acid-hydrolysis effects on phytoestrogen content and the efficacy of phytoestrogen-rich extract in alleviating post-menopausal symptoms (PMS). Bioactive phytoestrogens were quantified using HPTLC, and unhydrolyzed and hydrolysed extracts were assessed for oestrogenic, anti-proliferative, MAO-A inhibition, ROS quenching, and PL inhibition potential through in-vitro models. In-silico analysis of quantified phytoestrogens against PMS-related proteins was conducted. Hydrolysis increased phytoestrogen content significantly, particularly biochanin-A (56.48-fold), daidzein (22.2-fold), genistein (10.77-fold), and formononetin (5.26-fold). The hydrolysed extract demonstrated improved efficacy in in-vitro models, including reduced IC50 in oestrogenic activity, decreased cell proliferation, increased MAO-A inhibition, and de-creased IC50 for lipase. High binding energies of phytoestrogens against ERβ, MAO-A, and PL supported their potential in managing post-menopausal symptoms. The study scientifically validated T. repens for women's health at menopause, highlighting acid-hydrolysis for enhancing therapeutic activity. T. repens could be explored commercially as an alternative to T. pratense.

Dandruff is a chronic scalp condition and the mildest form of seborrheic dermatitis, associated with microbial dysbiosis primarily involving Malassezia furfur and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Conventional anti-dandruff treatments are often limited by recurrence and reliance on synthetic antifungal agents. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a synergistic, oil-based herbal formulation with antimicrobial activity against dandruff-causing microorganisms. The herbal constituent, Eucalyptus citriodora (EC) oil, individually signifies its efficacy against key dandruff-causing microbes, while Centella asiatica and Wedelia trilobata were included for their complementary bioactive and skin-healing properties. A total of three formulations (F1, F2, and F3), containing 8, 10, and 12% EC oil, respectively, were tested for antimicrobial efficacy. The optimized formulations (F2 and F3) exhibited significant antimicrobial activity, resulting in 1.8–1.9-fold and 2.0–2.5-fold reductions in M. furfur and S. epidermidis cell viability, respectively. Fluorescence-based LIVE/DEAD viability assays and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed membrane disruption and structural damage in the treated cells of M. furfur. In addition, molecular docking and dynamics simulations demonstrated strong binding affinities of Eucalyptus citriodora oil constituents toward lanosterol 14α-demethylase (LDM), suggesting disruption of the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway as a plausible antifungal mechanism. The obtained findings indicated that the formulated herbal combination exerts a multi-targeted antimicrobial effect and represents a promising natural alternative for controlling microbial populations involved in dandruff pathogenesis.

Ageratum conyzoides L., recognized globally as a noxious weed, holds significant value in traditional medicine, particularly in treating cuts, wounds, and tick infestations. This study focuses on identifying specific germplasms of this plant, rich in therapeutically valuable metabolites, across various phytogeographical zones in India. Using the Reverse Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Photodiode Array Detection (RP-HPLC-PDA) method, we analyzed 110 samples to quantify five key bioactive markers: Precocene-I (PRC-I), Coumarin (CM), Caryophyllene (CAR), Caryophyllene Oxide (CAO), and Humulene (HUM). Our findings revealed distinct geographical variations in these compounds. The highest concentrations of PRC-I (7.86±1.36 %) was found in sample NAC-12, CM (1.50±0.46 %) and HUM (0.0099±0.0004 %) in NAC-104, while CAR (6.33±0.87 %) and CAO (6.23±0.18 %) were predominant in NAC-01 and NAC-02, respectively. Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM) was used to predict the climatic suitability of regions for high yield of these metabolites. The ENM results showed that annual precipitation (Bio 12), precipitation of the coldest quarter (Bio 19) and minimum temperature of coldest month (Bio 6) were the principal climatic factors influencing metabolite content. Geographically, the Indo-Gangetic plain, Indus plain, and Central India were identified as suitable for higher content of PRC-I, CAO, CAR, whereas the North Eastern region favoured high content of CM and HUM. This study underscores the importance of bioactive marker-based assessment in understanding chemotypic diversity and demonstrates the effective use of ENM in predicting optimal habitats for harvesting specific chemotypes. These insights pave the way for location-specific cultivation strategies and targeted procurement of metabolite-rich germplasms, contributing to sustainable sourcing and conservation efforts, as well as to the advancement of herbal product standardization and efficacy.

The genus Berberis has high significance in Indian and other traditional systems of medicine due to the presence of iso-quinoline alkaloids. This study was conducted to record the metabolic variation in eight Berberis spp. collected from the Western Himalayan region. The RP-HPLC-PDA chromatogram separates the markers jatrorrhizine, palmatine and berberine at specific retention time, 11.45, 16.41 and 18.15 min respectively. The method was validated on linearity, precision and recovery indices as per International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines. The maximum content of berberine, palmatine and jatrorrhizine was found in Berberis asiatica (1.74% ± 0.032, 1.63% ± 0.028 and 0.264% ± 0.012, respectively) on % dry weight basis. This study will help in phyto-marker-based identification and differentiation of various Berberis species, which can be used as an alternative to the official drug Daruharidra i.e. Berberis aristata.

Entada rheedii seeds are a rich source of protein (23.99% ± 0.07), starch (42.04% ± 0.05) and potassium (1670.15 ppm ± 116.732). HPTLC-UV analysis (seeds) reveals galactose in considerable amount, that is, 2.60% ± 0.008. Additionally, the species is low in fat and anti-nutrient metabolites like tannin. Interestingly, the proximates in Entada seeds was found comparable with the commonly consumed legumes like cowpea, green gram, and so on. The species exhibits promising anti-radical, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic activity. Data advocates the folklore use of E. rheedii seeds and can be a promising alternative source of dietary nutrition, fortified with medicinal value. Standardization and validation of scientific knowledge will bring such underutilized, low-cost legumes into daily dietary intake and are a promising source for Protein-Energy-Malnutrition.

Aconitum spp. are important medicinal plants mentioned in Ayurveda as Ativisa or Vatsanabha. The present study aims to evaluate anti-rheumatic potential in seven Aconitum species and correlation with aconitine and hypaconitine content. Anti-rheumatic potential was analyzed through in vitro xanthine oxidase inhibition, anti-inflammatory and ROS scavenging assays; and quantification of aconitine and hypaconitine with RP-HPLC method validated as per ICH guidelines. The findings reveal that A. palmatum possessed the most promising response (IC50 =12.68±0.15 μg/ml) followed by A. ferox (IC50 =12.912±1.87 μg/ml) for xanthin oxidase inhibition. We observed a wide variation in aconitine and hypaconitine content ranging from 0.018 %-1.37 % and 0.0051 %-0.077 % respectively on dry weight basis. Aconitine and hypaconitine showed moderate positive correlation (r=0.68 and 0.59 respectively) with anti-rheumatic potential. The study identifies potential alternative species of Aconitum that can help in sustainable availability of quality raw material.

The slumping level of estrogen and serotonin in menopausal women is directly associated with the occurrence of menopausal symptoms where, estrogen receptor-β (ERβ) and monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) are directly involved. The present investigation aimed for validation of promising plants traditionally used to alleviate menopausal symptoms with ERβ mediated MAO-A inhibition potential through in silico disease-target network construction using Cytoscape plugins followed by molecular docking of phytomolecules through AutoDock vina. ADMET parameters of identified bioactive phytomolecules were analysed through swissADME and ProTox II. The efficacy of promising plant leads was further established through in vitro ERβ competitive binding, MAO-A inhibition, enzyme kinetics and free radical quenching assays. In silico analysis suggested glabrene (ΔG = -9.7 Kcal/mol) as most promising against ERβ in comparison to 17β-estradiol (ΔG = -11.4 Kcal/mol) whereas liquiritigenin (ΔG = -9.4 Kcal/mol) showed potential binding with MAO-A in comparison to standard harmine (ΔG = -8.8 Kcal/mol). In vitro analysis of promising plants segregated Glycyrrhiza glabra (IC50 = 0.052 ± 0.007 μg/ml) as most promising, followed by Hypericum perforatum (IC50 = 0.084 ± 0.01 μg/ml), Trifolium pratense (IC50 = 0.514 ± 0.01 μg/ml) and Rumex nepalensis (IC50 = 2.568 ± 0.11 μg/ml). The enzyme kinetics of promising plant leads showed reversible and competitive nature of inhibition against MAO-A. The potency of plant extracts in quenching free radicals was at par with ascorbic acid. The identified four potent medicinal plants with ERβ selective, MAO-A inhibitory and free radical quenching abilities could be used against menopausal symptoms however, finding needs to be validated further for menopausal symptoms in in vivo conditions for drug development.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

As the modern science has progressed significantly in last few decades, every aspect of humanity has been transformed by the S&T interventions worldwide. In this process, traditional medicine systems, have been benefitted largely as the scientific analysis and validation of traditional claims has facilitated the acceptance of herbal medicines among users and stakeholders globally. In current times, there is resurgence of herbal products due to various factors like adverse effects of modern medicines, high cost, and increasing cases of drug resistance etc. Herbal medicines are playing significant role in health care needs of a large population especially in developing countries. However, there are a number of challenges before herbal drug industry including the quality of raw material, availability of authentic raw material, standardization of SOPs, and maintaining batch to batch consistency. The chemotaxonomic approach can be a very sustainable way for utilizing our natural resources which is under threat due to increasing deforestation, habitat loss, and other anthropogenic interventions. Chemotaxonomic study on medicinal plants containing industrially viable metabolites is a way ahead. The identification of intra-specific metabolic variability in medicinal plant, collected from their natural habitat will lead to the selection of elite germplasms (high metabolite containing species). The promotion of commercial cultivation at targeted (identified) locations will maintain the sustainable available of good quality raw material (QRM) to the industry and subsequently, the biodiversity loss of natural population of medicinal plants can also be checked. The chemotaxonomic studies on several species like Centella asiatica, Plumbago zeylanica, Gloriosa superba, Coleus forskohlii, Costus speciosus etc are promising examples to look upon. The next step, after chemical constancy of raw material and/or finished herbal product is standardized, is to ensure the biological safety via intervention of sophisticated hyphenated techniques, bioassays, bio-response profile, biological gene expression profile, biomarker based activity assessment, metabolomics, proteomics etc. and clinical validation as per international norms. In a nutshell, the current strategy in herbal product development is translating towards a new horizon which is amalgamation of traditional knowledge with modern sophisticated techniques to maintain the chemical and biological identity of raw materials i.e. ingredients used as well as the finished products/formulations. And the application of chemotaxonomy is the key in regulating the quality and sustainable availability of quality raw material for herbal drug industries.

Centella asiatica (L.) is used in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, gastro-intestinal problems, and wound healing in the Ayurveda system of medicine. The species is well-known for its rich triterpenoid centellosides constituents, which are extensively used in the preparation of various pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Identification of elite chemotypes based on bioactive marker contents, characterizing their climatic niches, and delineating the potential areas of cultivation for bioactive compound-based elite germplasms, can help largescale commercial cultivation of C. asiatica with targeted bioactive compounds. We quantified four bioactive compounds i.e., madecassoside, asiaticoside, madecassic acid, and asiatic acid in 109 samples of C. asiatica collected from different phyto-geographical regions of India using HPTLC. Ecological niche modeling (ENM) was used to identify the major climatic factors associated with high metabolite content, and also predict the potential areas of cultivation where the contents are expected to be highest for each bio-marker based elite chemotypes. The contents of asiatic acid, madecassic acid, asiaticoside and madecassoside varied between 0.02-3.2 %, 0.02-3.06 %, 0.018-4.3 %, and 0.01-4.8 %, respectively. Several samples from Western Ghats and Deccan Plateau were identified as elite chemotypes with high centelloside contents. The individual metabolite-specific ENM revealed that temperature annual range, annual precipitation, precipitation of wettest month, precipitation seasonality, and precipitation of coldest quarter were the dominant climatic factors associated with high contents of centellosides. Areas with high climatic suitability for production of the selected four metabolites were restricted to the Western Ghats, Northeast India, Eastern Himalaya, and Western Himalaya. Such areas identified through ENM should be suitable for commercial cultivation of chemotypes with specific metabolite contents. The protocol established in this study would help sustainable availability of metabolite-specific Quality Raw Material (QRM) and Quality Planting Materials (QPM) for the industry in respect of other medicinal plants as well.

India is one of the most diverse country in the world having a rich repository of high values, endemic and rare medicinal plants along with four biodiversity hotspots. Apart from varying topography, soil, rainfall, temperature, humidity at different phyto-geographical regions provide an opportunity to raise huge medicinally important diversified plants together with microbial diversity. The expended medicinal plants reserved the unexplored niche of microflora which is an enormous group of microbes interacting with host plants to make a symbiotic association, serving as a valuable micro-ecosystem for plant health management. The microbial association with plants facilitates nutrients, minerals and growing conditions for the development. They also provides beneficial attributes to host by eliciting the defense responses, enhance disease resistance, growth induction as well as enhances the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds. Microbial diversity due to microclimatic variations leads differences in the phenology, metabolism, physiology, chemical profile, morphology of plants and even boosting plant immunity to fight further stresses. The application of diversified microflora can conduct an exploration of plant-microbe interactions and convey the active interplay during the production of medicinal importance herbal compounds. These obscure niches of medicinal plants associated microflora needed exploration as a biopesticide for future prospects likewise diminution of the pathogenicity and triggering the biosynthesis level of medicinal importance herbal moieties.

Background: The genus Gloriosa is commercially valued due to its colchicine metabolite, which is clinically used in gout and as an antimitotic agent. Objectives: The study was a comparative pharmacognostical evaluation and simultaneous high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) quantification of bioactive alkaloids in G. superba, G. lutea and G. rothschildiana. In vitro anti-gout activity was also established. Materials and Methods: Pharmacognostical studies and metabolic variations were analyzed per the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India and validated HPTLC method. Inhibition of protein denaturation, hydroxyl radical scavenging and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay evaluated the anti-gout activity. Results: The morpho-anatomical studies suggest that the target species are similar with no characteristic difference, apart from the flower colour. The pharmacognostic standards were also established as per the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India to ensure the quality of raw material. Quantification of colchicine and gloriosine content through validated HPTLC method reveals significant variation, ranging from 0.046% to 0.860%, and from 0.040% to 0.198% on dry wt. basis. The maximum content of both the targeted metabolites was in G. superba, followed by G. lutea and G. rothschildiana. The highest in vitro anti-gout and radical scavenging activity among the three species was in G. superba. Conclusion: The pharmacognostic standards of three Gloriosa species were established, and this opens avenues for chemotaxonomic studies on G. lutea and G. rothschildiana from different phytogeographical zones of India for the identification of their elite germplasm. The study also led to the identification of alternate species of G. superba which can be explored commercially to meet the industrial demand for colchicine.

Background: Tick and tick-borne diseases significantly affect the animal husbandry sector worldwide. To overcome this menace, chemically synthesized acaricides are being used. However, these acaricides are toxic to the animals, pose environmental threat and also have led to the development of resistance in ticks. Objectives: Search for safe and efficacious plant-based alternatives to the chemical acaricides and to assess chemical variability among intra-specific germplasms. Materials and Methods: Ageratum conyzoides L. samples were collected from different locations and pharmacognostic analysis was performed. The plant extract was subjected to chromatographic profiling and quantification of three bioactive markers precocene I, precocene II, and caryophyllene oxide followed by in vitro anti-tick activity through the adult immersion test. Results: Precocene I content ranged from 0.001% to 0.019% while precocene II and caryophyllene oxide content varied from 0.003% to 0.11%. In the Indus plain samples, adult tick mortality (%) ranged from 15.0 ± 2.9 to 78.5 ± 4.1, whereas in the Central India, it ranged from 30.0 ± 12.9 to 81.4 ± 7.7 at 8% concentration of plant extract. Precocene II showed weak positive correlation (r = 0.11) with tick mortality. The results indicate that there is considerable variation in the marker compounds content and anti-tick potential of the plant extracts analyzed. There is significant (P < 0.05) variation in marker compound content as well as anti-tick potential of A. conyzoides. Conclusion: The results indicate there apart from the analyzed marker compounds there might be some other phytomolecules playing a role in the tick mortality which needs further investigation.

Ayurveda is an age old system of medicine which utilizes thousands of medicinal plants, rich in secondary metabolites for their therapeutic benefits and phenolic compounds are important one. Plant phenolic compounds are one of the major group of phytomolecules having tremendous therapeutic and nutraceutical potential. Indian medicinal plants like Emblica, Terminalia spp., Withania, Tinospora etc. are some of the potential source of bioactive phenolics and had been used from ages in various Ayurvedic formulations and were scientifically validated too. In this contribution, a brief account of some common Indian medicinal plants rich in bioactive phenolics are summarized along with their therapeutic action on human health and disease. The vast array of phenolics in these plants makes them a suitable candidate for modern medicine, nutraceutical supplements, immuno-modulatory formulations etc. With the advent of modern separation tools and techniques, it is now possible to identify, isolate and purify desired phytoconstituents from plant extracts. This further opens the avenues of utilizing medicinal plants or plant constituents/metabolites as super food for strengthening the body and maintaining the healthy work-life balance. The need of the hour is to identify therapeutically potential phenolics rich plants and development of herbal formulations for human welfare.

Rhipicephalus microplus is posing a serious threat to productive animal husbandry. Excessive use of synthetic chemicals in tick management has led to the development of resistant tick populations. Characterization of resistance to deltamethrin, cypermethrin, coumaphos and ivermectin in ticks is necessary to develop a suitable and sustainable control strategy. Based on adult immersion test and larval packet test, the resistance ratios (RR50) for adults and larvae of R. microplus populations from two Indian states ranged from 3.8 to 19.4 and 1.35–25.0 against deltamethrin, 0.061–26.3 and 0.22–19.2 against cypermethrin, and 0.2–9.5 and 0.01–3.1 against coumaphos, respectively, were recorded. Moreover, the RR50 for adults ranged from 0.212 to 3.87 against ivermectin. The RR50 for different acaricides was significantly (p<0.01) correlated with esterases, Glutathione S-transferase and monooxygenase activity. A point mutation at the 190th position of the domain II S4–5 linker region of the sodium channel gene in synthetic pyrethroids (SP) resistant populations was also detected. An antitick natural formulation prepared from the plant Azeratum conyzoides and containing two major compounds, Precocene-I (7‑methoxy-2, 2-dimethyl 2H-chromene) and Precocene II (6, 7-dimethoxy-2, 2-dimethyl- 3-chromene), was developed and tested against the resistant ticks. The LC50 values of the natural formulation against the resistant populations were in the range of 4.31–5.33% irrespective of their RR50 values. Multi-acaricide resistant populations of R. microplus are established in India and the A. conyzoides based natural formulation can be used for its management.

The recent COVID-19 outbreak caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus has sparked a new spectrum of investigations, research and studies in multifarious directions. Efforts are being made around the world for discovery of effective vaccines/drugs against COVID-19. In this context, Ayurveda, an alternative traditional system of medicine in India may work as an adjuvant therapy in compromised patients. We selected 40 herbal leads on the basis of their traditional applications. The phytomolecules from these leads were further screened through in-silico molecular docking against two main targets of SARS-CoV-2 i.e. the spike protein (S;structural protein) and the main protease (MPRO;non-structural protein). Out of the selected 40, 12 phytomolecules were able to block or stabilize the major functional sites of the main protease and spike protein. Among these, Ginsenoside, Glycyrrhizic acid, Hespiridin and Tribulosin exhibited high binding energy with both main protease and spike protein. Etoposide showed good binding energy only with Spike protein and Teniposide had high binding energy only with main protease. The above phytocompounds showed promising binding efficiency with target proteins indicating their possible applications against SARS-CoV-2. However, these findings need to be validated through in vitro and in vivo experiments with above mentioned potential molecules as candidate drugs for the management of COVID-19. In addition, there is an opportunity for the development of formulations through different permutations and combinations of these phytomolecules to harness their synergistic potential.

Costus speciosus is a rich source of commercially important compound Diosgenin, distributed in different regions of India. The present investigation was aimed to quantify diosgenin through High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography in 34 germplasms of Costus speciosus and also to identify the superior sources and to correlate the macronutrients of rhizospheric soil. The starch content varied in microscopic examination and correlated inversely (r=-0.266) with diosgenin content. Findings revealed that the extraction process with acid hydrolysis yielded higher diosgenin content (0.15-1.88 %) as compared to non-hydrolysis (0.009-0.368 %) procedure. Germplasms from Uttar Pradesh (NBCS-4), Jharkhand (NBCS-39) and Bihar (NBCS-2) were identified as elite chemotypes based on hierarchical clustering analysis. The phosphorous content of respective rhizospheric soil correlated positively (r=0.742) with diosgenin content. Findings of present study are useful to identify the new agrotechniques. The elite germplasms can also be used as quality planting material for large scale cultivation in order to assure a sustained supply to the herbal drug industry.

Cover Picture. Diosgenin is a commercially viable aglycone molecule and is therapeutically valuable as it is key precursor in corticosteroid synthesis at industrial scale. The preferred natural source of Diosgenin, worldwide is Dioscorea spp., and the species is continuously facing threat of biodiversity loss due to over exploitation. Alternatively, the yield of diosgenin from natural resources varies significantly from one population to other depending upon the phytogeographical determinants. In the present context, an alternative species C. speciosus as a source of diosgenin was explored and a comprehensive analysis of variation in its diosgenin content (rhizomes) was carried out in the germplasm(s) collected from different locations of the Indo-Gangetic Plain (India). In due course of study, a systematic collection strategy was adopted to cover the maximum possible variation existing in the natural population of species, its growth stage, season of collection etc. Further the extraction process also plays a very crucial role to set the diosgenin in free form (therapeutically active form) for quantification. The effect of soil micro/macronutrients on the diosgenin content has been established. The chemotaxonomic study on C. speciosus will result in identification of elite (diosgenin rich) germplasm(s) of species and its commercial cultivation at site specific locations will lead to the identification of good quality planting materials. This will ultimately ensure the sustainable availability of good quality raw material to the herbal drug industries and also decrease the burden on natural resources. Moreover, the development of suitable agro techniques for elite germplasm(s) of C. speciosus will uplift the availability of raw material and socio-economic upliftment of local inhabitants in area's having similar phytogeographical location, as reported by Sharad Srivastava et al. in their full paper at 10.1002/cbdv.202000977.

Gloriosa superba L. has economic significance due to colchicine, a bioactive compound used for gout. In present study metabolic and molecular variability in natural population of species was analyzed and correlated with edaphic and climatic factors. Thirty populations (wild) of G. superba were mapped from 10 different eco-regions of India at an elevation range of 10-1526 m, having no morphotypic variations. The two known biologically active alkaloids colchicine (ranged from 0.015-0.516%) and gloriosine (0.19-0.44%) were significantly varied (p < 0.05) among populations, leading to the identification of four elite chemotypes. Molecular variability from ISSR data divides the population in different sub clusters at intra-specific level, presenting the high similarity percentage with bootstrap value of 66-100%. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that elite chemotypes are related to temperature, precipitation and aridity gradient. The rhizospheric soil selenium was significantly correlated with colchicine content in G. superba.