Needles of seven cultivated clones (C1 – C7) of Juniperus communis at lower altitude and three wild Juniperus species (J. communis, J. recurva and J. indica) at higher altitudes were investigated comparatively for their essential oils (EOs) yields, chemical composition, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities. The EOs yields varied from 0.26 to 0.56% (v/w) among samples. Sixty‐one volatile components were identified by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and quantified using gas chromatography GC (FID) representing 82.5 – 95.7% of the total oil. Monoterpene hydrocarbons (49.1 – 82.8%) dominated in all samples (α‐pinene, limonene and sabinene as major components). Principal component analysis (PCA) of GC data revealed that wild and cultivated Juniperus species are highly distinct due to variation in chemical composition. J. communis (wild species) displayed cytotoxicity against SiHa (human cervical cancer), A549 (human lung carcinoma) and A431 (human skin carcinoma) cells (66.4 ± 2.2%, 74.4 ± 1.4% and 57.4 ± 4.0%), respectively, at 200 μg/ml. EOs exhibited better antibacterial activity against Gram‐positive bacteria than against Gram‐negative bacteria with the highest zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 (19.2 ± 0.7) by clone‐7. As per the conclusion of the findings, EOs of clone‐2, clone‐5 and clone‐7 can be suggested to the growers of lower altitude, as there is more possibility of uses of these EOs in food and medicinal preparations.

Five Himalayan plants namely, Acorus calamus, Cedrus deodara, Aegle marmelos, Tagetes minuta and Murraya koenigii were used for the extraction of essential oils through hydrodistillation and the major volatile constituents as identified by GC and GC-MS techniques were β-asarone (91.1%), β-himachalene (45.8%), limonene (59.5%), Z-ocimene (37.9%) and α-pinene (54.2%), respectively. Essential oils were tested for their insecticidal properties against larvae of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae). Results showed that A. calamus was most toxic (LC50 = 0.29 mg mL(-1)) to P. xylostella followed by C. deodara (LC50 = 1.08 mg mL(-1)) and M. koenigii (LC50 = 1.93 mg mL(-1)) via residual toxicity bioassay. Per cent feeding deterrence index and growth inhibition was significantly higher in A. calamus (42.20 and 68.55, respectively) followed by C. deodara (35.41 and 52.47). In repellent activity studies, C. deodara showed high repellence (64.76%) followed by A. calamus (55.05%).

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The essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation from the flowering twigs of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (Asteraceae) was fractioned by chromatography. Fortythree constituents were characterized with the help of GC, GC-MS and other spectroscopic techniques. The essential oil was found to be a complex mixture of mono-and sesqui-terpenes. The cytotoxicity of the essential oil and its fractions was evaluated by sulforhodamine B (SRB) based assay against two cancer cell types viz. C-6 (rat glioma cells) and CHOK1 (Chinese hamster ovary cells). The essential oil and its fractions showed promising cytotoxicity against both cell lines. The highest activity (95.6±0.6%) was show by the essential oil on the C-6 cell line at a concentration of 400 μg/mL, which was comparable with that of the standard drug vinblastin.

A rapid and selective analytical method was developed to simultaneously quantify seven polyphenolic compounds (gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin, quercetin, kaempferol, syringic acid and p-coumaric acid). 15 phenolics of diverse groups in 80 % ethanolic extracts of jacquemont's hazelnut (Corylus jacquemontii) kernels and its byproducts from western Himalaya using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) were identified. The developed analytical method showed excellent linearity, repeatability and accuracy. Total phenols concentrations were found to be 4446, 1199 and 105 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/Kg of dried extract for jacquemont's hazelnut skin, hard shell and kernels respectively. Antioxidant potential of defatted, raw jacquemont's hazelnut skin, hard shell and kernel extracts assessed by 2,2 0 -azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), 2,2 0 -diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods were increased in a dose-dependent manner. The IC 50 values were observed as 23.12, 51.32, 136.46 and 45.73, 63.65, 169.30 lg/ml for jacquemont's hazelnut skin, hard shell, kernels by DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively. The high phenolic contents in jacquemont's hazelnut skin contributed towards their free radical scavenging capacities.

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Essential oil from Juniperus communis needles were examined in three different seasons (spring, rainy and winter) throughout the year for the analysis of yield and chemical composition. Volatiles of the needles were obtained by hydrodistillation process using clevenger type apparatus. The essential oil yield in all the seasons was not significantly changed and was found 0.29% (rainy), 0.3% (winter) and 0.33% (spring). Chemical compositions of the oils were analyzed by GC and GC-MS techniques on DB-5 capillary column resulted in identification of twenty-eight components. Identified components accounted for 91.1-93.1% of the total oils. The major class of compounds identified in present essential oil was monoterpene hydrocarbons (51.9-63.7%) with sabinene (30.1-37.1%) as the major constituent. Other compounds characterized in all the seasons were limonene (11.3-15.7%), 4-terpineol (9.1-10.5%), α-pinene (3.6-7.9%), δ-cadinene (3.7-4.6%), cis-sabinene hydrate (3.6-4.2%), myrcene (2.5-3.1%), α-terpinene (2.3-2.8%) and manool (1.3-2.2%). In this experiment winter was found to be most suitable time for the isolation of sabinene and limonene.