Altitudinal variation of antioxidants and secondary metabolite profile in rhizomes of Hedychium spicatum

Abstract

newline xi newlineAbstract newlineInvestigating the influence of altitudinal variations is a promising approach to understand the relative importance of various environmental factors that affect the growth and development of a plant. Altitudinal variations provide a multi stressor environment which influence the antioxidants and secondary metabolites of plants. The current investigation unveils the impact of altitudinal variations on rhizomes of Hedychium spicatum Buch. Ham. ex. D. Don. which is an important medicinal plant growing at various elevations in Himachal Pradesh. An attempt was made to depict the variation in antioxidants and secondary metabolites in the rhizomes. The study was conducted for two years. A clear increasing pattern of radical scavenging antioxidants was observed with increase in altitude similarly enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants were also observed to be increased with increase in elevation which shows that antioxidant potential of rhizomes from higher elevation was more than lower ones. Among various nutrients starch content also showed a positive correlation with altitude. Also the secondary metabolite profile of the essential oil of rhizomes of H. spicatum was also analyzed by GC-MS along the altitudinal gradient which showed the presence of 63 major compounds from all sites. 3-Carene, and#945;-pinene, were the major compounds present at all sites where as there were specific compounds which were particularly present at a particular elevation. There were variations in constituents of the essential oil of rhizomes from all sites which can be attributed to growing conditions of the sites. Along with biochemical variations physical variations were also studied along the various elevations but there was no clear pattern along altitude however best physical properties were observed by rhizomes from a mid-altitude range. The present study concludes that altitude has profound effect on biochemical as well as physiological properties of the rhizomes of Hedychium spicatum Buch. Ham.ex D. Don. and the results of the various tests and analysis reveal that altitude range of 2000 2400 m is best for the wild growth and cultivation of H. spicatum rhizomes. newlineKeywords: Antioxidants, Secondary metabolite, Altitude, Hedychium spicatum, GC-MS, Essential oil. newlinexii