Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) is a well-known medicinal plant species from the Asteraceae family often referred to as the “star among medicinal species.” Nowadays it is a highly favored and much used medicinal plant in folk and traditional medicine. Its multitherapeutic, cosmetic, and nutritional values have been established through years of traditional and scientific use and research. Chamomile has an established domestic (Indian) and international market, which is increasing day by day. The plant available in the market many a times is adulterated and substituted by close relatives of chamomile. This article briefly reviews the medicinal uses along with botany and cultivation techniques. Since chamomile is a rich source of natural products, details on chemical constituents of essential oil and plant parts as well as their pharmacological properties are included. Furthermore, particular emphasis is given to the biochemistry, biotechnology, market demand, and trade of the plant. This is an attempt to compile and document information on different aspects of chamomile and highlight the need for research and development.
Ginger is an important spice crop grown in the mid-hills of Nepal for cash income. 60 ginger producers were sampled using a simple random sampling technique. Primary data collection was done via questionnaire survey as well as via focus group discussion (FGD), key informant interview (KII) and rapid market appraisal (RMA). The collected data was analyzed using MS Excel and SPSS. Average area under ginger cultivation was 0.13 ha. Average cost of production and the productivity of ginger was NRs. 4,20,000/ha and 14.44 ton/ha respectively. The average selling price of fresh ginger was NRs. 29.34 whereas average selling price of dried ginger was NRs. 201.42. The Benefit Cost ratio of ginger production in the study area was 1.53. The major production related problem could be solved by making consulting services and input supplies more reliable and readily available. Development of the market information system may help in decreasing the dependency of farmers on middlemen. Establishment of farmer-run collection and processing centers in strategic levels could be a sustainable way to address various problems related to marketing of ginger in the study area.
Acacia is a fast-growing plant that has high potential in commercial plantations in tropical areas. It is already being grown as a plantation crop for building and industrial raw materials, as well as for reforestation of difficult sites. Extensive cultivation of this promising tree would enrich the natural resources besides being useful for industrial raw material, waste land management, and afforestation. In addition, Acacia exhibits extensive medicinal values. In view of the medicinal importance of Acacia nilotica and the therapeutic utility of flavonoids, an attempt has been made to isolate novel flavonoids from the wood of cultivated A. nilotica. The extraction of crude ethanol extract from the A. nilotica wood was followed by fractionation with chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol in increasing order of polarity of the solvent. The mixed ethyl acetate and methanol extract afforded three pure compounds through column chromtomatography and fractional crystallization. Among the isolated phenolic compounds, a new acylated flavonoidic glycoside, tricin-4′-O-β-(6′′-hydroxycinnamic)-glucoside (1) was isolated from the wood of A. nilotica together with two known compounds, gallic acid and apigenin. Their structures were established by chemical evidence, spectroscopic techniques (FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, HSQC, HMBC, and ESI-MS), and by comparison with already existing spectroscopic data. The yield of novel tricin glucoside showed that it make up to 0.0786% of mixed ethyl acetate and acetone extract.
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