Traditional system of medicine have been in vogue since ages. Amla is one of the herbal plant used in Unani medicine having very versatile actions.The word “Amla” is derived from an Arabic word ...‘ambalji’ and in Persian it is called ‘amlah’. In english is commonly known by the name of Indian gooseberry. It is used as medicinally since centuries. Each and every part of the Amla tree is used medicinally but more commonly its fruit is used. It is mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world. All the information on the plant available in Urdu, Persian, Arabic language in classical Unani literature available in different libraries of India from recent to past were searched, for phyto-chemical and pharmacological activities and computerized databases such as Medline, Pubmed, Ovid SP, Google Scholar and Science-direct were searched. In unani classical texts, the temperament of Amlais mentioned as Barid 1°Yabis 2° and its actions are Qabiz, Muqawwie Meda, Muqawwie Shaar. The chemical constituents like amino acids alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, lysine and proline are present in major quantity. Several pharmacological studies have been carried out on it like anti-ulcer, immune modulatory, anti-inflammatory, antitussive and gastroprotective etc. It is used both as single as well as in compound formulations as an main ingredient like Jawarish Amla, Jawarishshahi, Anushdaru and Itrifalat. Through this review an attempt has made to reveal the Unani aspect of Amla and describe Unani pharmacological activities in the light of recent experiemental studies.
Plant biomass, antioxidant enzymes activity, ions accumulation and proline level in four soybean cultivars were investigated atdifferent NaCl concentrations (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 mM) applied to ...plants 15 days after sowing. There was a significant decrease in plant biomass and soluble protein content with each NaCl treatment. Accumulation of Na+ and Cl- was maximum in roots, followed by the stem and leaves in all the treated cultivars; Pusa 9712 being the top accumulator. On the contrary, K+ and Ca2+ ion concentrations were inhibited in all the treated cultivars. Activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase) and proline content increased significantly in all the cultivars with each NaCl treatment. The maximum increase was found in Pusa 9712. However, catalase activity decreased in all the cultivars except in Pusa 9712. On the whole, Pusa 9712 was most efficient in managing protection against salinity stress.
This study assesses the effect of NaCl (80 and 160 mM) and CaCl2 (10 mM) solutions, alone and in combination, to 30-day-old seedlings of Cichorium intybus L. Observations were made at 30 day ...intervals from the time of treatment till harvest (180 days after sowing). Application of NaCI resulted in significant decreases in lengths of root and stem, in dry weights of root, stem and leaves and in the leaf area, as compared with control. The reduction was less with the combined application of NaCI and CaCI2 than with the NaCI treatment alone. On the contrary treatment of CaCl2, alone promoted the above variables. Proline content in the leaves was enhanced with NaCl and CaCI, alone as well as with the NaCI + CaCI2 treatments; the maximum (six-fold) enhancement was observed with the combined treatments, compared with NaCl (four-fold increase) and CaCl2 (two-fold increase) alone. The sodium (Na+) and Chloride (CI) contents in different plant parts increased both with NaCI and with NaCI+ CaCI2 treatments. The maximum accumulation was observed in leaves, followed by that in stem and root. The potassium (K+) and calcium (Ca2+) contents decreased under NaCl stress, but increased with CaCI2 treatment. Thus, calcium ameliorated the deleterious effects of NaCI stress and stimulated the plant metabolism and growth.
The effect of plant growth regulators (PGRs) and carbohydrate sources on callus induction, callus growth, and plant regeneration in foxglove was examined. Explants were transferred onto MS medium ...with various levels of PGRs and carbohydrates to determine the optimum explant and effective combinations of PGR treatment. For callus induction 6.0 mg L-1 of a-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and 3.0 mg L-1 of benzyl-aminopurine (BA) were very responsive. Addition of cytokinins (BA and kinetin) at 0.5-3.0 mg L-1 to media containing NAA enhanced callus growth. Shoot regeneration was best achieved in MS + 6.0 mg L-1 of BA. Adenine sulphate (Ade) and casein hydrolysate (Ch) were added to the medium as a nitrogen source to improve plant growth and maximum growth was obtained on medium supplemented with 1.5 mg L-1 of kinetin + 0.5 mg L-1 of IAA + 500 mg L-1 of Ch. Carbohydrates also influenced callus production and shoot regeneration potentiality. Among all the tested carbohydrates (sucrose, maltose, fructose, and glucose) and concentrations (3.0-6.0 g L-1), the optimum carbohydrate concentration was 3.0 g L-1 and was applied to all carbohydrate cases.
The effect of NaCl and CaCl2 on growth parameters, ionic relations, and proline level in senna (Cassia angustifolia) plant was investigated in a pot culture experiment using NaCl (80 mM and 160 mM), ...CaCl2 (5 mM and 10 mM), and the combined salt of NaCl + CaCl2 (80 mM + 10 mM and 160 mM + 10 mM). These treatments were given to the growing plant separately at pre-flowering (A1), flowering (A2) and post-flowering (A3) stages. Observations were recorded at 15-day intervals from the time of treatments till harvest. Compared to the controls, biomass of the root, shoot, and leaf decreased significantly with each NaCl treatment, whereas the reverse was observed with CaCl2 treatments. Combined treatments of NaCl + CaCl2 applied at different stages reduced the biomass, but this reduction was less than the one observed with NaCl treatments alone. However, proline accumulation in the leaves was 8 times higher than in the controls with treatment of 160 mM NaCl + 10 mM CaCl2, whereas it was 5 times higher with NaCl (160 mM) alone. The concentration of K(+) and Ca(2+) was inhibited with NaCl treatments, while Na(+) and Cl(-) levels increased in the different plant parts. CaCl2 treatment enhanced the K(+) and Ca(2+) concentration, while the combined treatments mitigated the adverse effect caused by NaCl. Thus calcium could alleviate the NaCl-induced inhibition of plant growth via the maintenance of net K(+) to Na(+) selectivity and the enhancement of proline accumulation in the leaves.
Application of zinc (Zn) 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 μ g zinc sulfate (ZnSO4)/g of soil reduced the foliage and the total growth of pigeon pea Cajanus cajan (Linn.) Huth. The root-shoot length ratio, ...varying little with age, was relatively low in the treated plants. Decrease in dry weights of stem and root was more pronounced in the late stages of plant development. The root-shoot dry weight ratio, maximum in the flowering stage, was lower in treated plants than in the control. Number of pods per plant declined, showing a positive correlation with Zn concentration. Net photosynthetic rate, declining with plant age, was significantly low in the treated plants. Density and size of stomata and trichomes, stomatal conductance, intercellular carbon dioxide concentration, quantity of green pigments, nitrate reductase activity, and the nitrate and protein contents in the leaves also declined significantly. Proportion of vascular tissues both in stems and roots increased with plant age with a concomitant reduction of pith and cortex. Under zinc stress, the relative proportion of tissues varied inconsistently. Dimensions of vessel elements and fibers in stems and roots, increasing with the plant age, were always smaller in the treated plants. The vulnerability factor and mesomorphic ratio of treated plants declined, suggesting induction of water stress due to zinc treatments. Accumulation of Zn2 + in different plant parts was considerably high at each developmental stage of the treated plants, and showed a positive correlation with Zn in the soil.
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