The present study was aimed to assess the variation in the phytochemical constituents with altitude and the antibacterial potency of two medicinally important species, Ajuga bracteosa and Ajuga parviflora, growing in Kashmir valley. The methanolic extracts of both the species from different populations with varying altitudes were subjected to quantitative estimation of various phytochemicals by using various spectrophotometric techniques. It was observed that mean values of the analyzed phytochemical constituents varied significantly (p≤0.05) across the populations. Phytochemicals such as phenols, flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids and alkaloids were present in all the sampled populations but their quantity varied significantly across the populations. With the decrease in altitude the content of various phytochemicals gets reduced. The high altitude plants exposed to the extreme environmental conditions possess a good content of secondary metabolites altering their stress tolerance and thus enhancing their medicinal activity. The present study further revealed that the methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of the two medicinal plant species under study; A. bracteosa and A. parviflora plant extracts possess potent antibacterial activity against two gram positive bacterial strains (B. subtilis, S. aureus) and two gram negative bacterial strains (E. coli, P. vulgaris). Therefore, these plants may prove as source of certain potent antibacterial molecules.
An experiment was conducted to study the effect of graded concentrations of foliar applied growth retardants (cycocel and B-nine) on the growth and flowering of Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Flirt. Uniform rooted cuttings raised in pot soil culture received spray applications of growth retardants viz., cycocel and B-nine prepared in 0.1% Tween 80. Cycocel was applied at 1000, 2500 and 5000 mgL -1 , whereas B-nine was applied at 100, 250 and 500 mgL -1 concentrations. Plants were sprayed at 2 and 6 weeks after transplantation. Visual observations, plant height, fresh mass, dry mass, number of laterals, number of inflorescences and inflorescence diameter were recorded at periodic intervals. Cycocel treated plants recorded a significant increase in fresh and dry mass of whole plants, leaves and roots, whereas B-nine treated plants were comparable with the controls. Cycocel and B-nine treated plants showed early emergence of buds and inflorescences, whereas no significant effect was recorded on number of laterals. Cycocel application resulted in the increase in inflorescence number. The present results suggest that the treatment effect may be cultivar dependant as many other cultivars of chrysanthemums have been chemically tailored with desired effects using cycocel and B-nine.
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