A) Utilization of terpenoids and allied molecules for value added products B) Comparative study of colchicine bearing plants

Abstract

PART-A Title: Utilization of terpenoids and allied molecules for value added products Introduction: Essential oils (Eos) which were once considered inactive waste products of plant metabolism and have no significant biological function, are now being realized for their importance as a means of chemical communication which the plants keep itself against competitors, predator and pathogens. The term essential oil is thought to derive from the name coined in the 16th century by the Swiss reformer of medicine, Paracelsus von Hohenheim; he named the effective component of a drug Quinta essentia . Essential oils and their components are reported to have antimycotic, antitoxigenic, and insecticidal properties. In traditional system of medicine the role of essential oil bearing plants was taken as the most effective part of the herbal drugs. With the passage of time its identity as having medicinal properties, got diverted to aromatic science. Objective: Terpenoids are widely used as perfumery agents but need some kind of attention to improve market value by simple cost cutting techniques to give value added products. Since there is an injustice with the terpenoids, their utility as bioactive molecules is yet to be properly explored. PART-B Title: Comparative study of colchicine bearing plants newlineIntroduction Colchicine a toxic natural product and secondary metabolite, originally extracted from plants of the genus Colchicum (Autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale, also known as meadow saffron ). It is used for treatment of gout and also as an anti-inflammatory agent. Aim of work Literature survey revealed that I. indica seeds contained maximum concentration of colchicine. However no data on I. indica corms have been reported yet. So it is worth to find out the concentration of colchicine in corms using sensitive techniques. However there was no literature reported on comparative data of different colchicine bearing plants.