α- and β-pinene are well-known representatives of the monoterpenes group, and are found in many plants’ essential oils. A wide range of pharmacological activities have been reported, including antibiotic resistance modulation, anticoagulant, antitumor, antimicrobial, antimalarial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-Leishmania, and analgesic effects. This article aims to summarize the most prominent effects of α- and β-pinene, namely their cytogenetic, gastroprotective, anxiolytic, cytoprotective, anticonvulsant, and neuroprotective effects, as well as their effects against H2O2-stimulated oxidative stress, pancreatitis, stress-stimulated hyperthermia, and pulpal pain. Finally, we will also discuss the bioavailability, administration, as well as their biological activity and clinical applications.

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Understanding the species richness and β-diversity patterns along elevation gradients can aid in formulating effective conservation strategies particularly in areas where local anthropogenic stresses and climate change are quite significant as in the Himalaya. Thus, we studied macrolichen richness and β-diversity along elevational gradients at three sites, namely Kashmir (2200 to 3800 m a.m.s.l), Uttarakhand (2000–3700 m a.m.s.l) and Sikkim (1700 to 4000 m a.m.s.l) which cover much of the Indian Himalayan Arc. In all, 245 macrolichen species belonging to 77 genera and 26 families were collected from the three sites. Only 11 species, 20 genera and 11 families were common among the three transects. Despite the differences in species composition, the dominant functional groups in the three sites were the same: foliose, fruticose and corticolous forms. The hump-shaped elevation pattern in species richness was exhibited by most of the lichen groups, though an inverse hump-shaped pattern was also observed in certain cases. β-diversity (βsor) based on all pairs of comparisons along an elevation gradient varied from 0.48 to 0.58 in Kashmir, 0.03 to 0.63 in Uttarakhand and 0.46 to 0.77 in Sikkim. The contribution of turnover to β-diversity was more than nestedness at all the three transects. Along elevation β-diversity and its components of turnover and nestedness varied significantly with elevation. While species turnover increased significantly along the elevation in all the three transects, nestedness decreased significantly in Kashmir and Sikkim transects but increased significantly in the Uttarakhand transect. Except for the Kashmir Himalayan elevation transect, stepwise β-diversity and its components of turnover and nestedness did not vary significantly with elevation. The present study, the first of its kind in the Himalayan region, clearly brings out that macrolichen species richness, β-diversity, and its components of turnover and nestedness vary along the elevation gradients across the Himalayan Arc. It also highlights that contribution of turnover to β-diversity is higher in comparison to nestedness at all the three transects. The variations in species richness and diversity along elevation gradients underpin the importance of considering elevational gradients in planning conservation strategies.

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Plant biodiversity of some of the high-altitude national parks of Indian Himalaya is increasingly experiencing anthropogenic pressure. Consequently, plant species composition, vegetation structure, and diversity patterns of these protected areas are assumed to be substantially altered. However, limited efforts are made to quantify the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on the species richness of such high-altitude national parks of Indian Himalaya. To overcome this data gap, this study is aimed at quantifying the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on the vegetation community patterns of two Indian Himalayan National Parks along elevation transects, i.e., the Valley of Flowers National Park (VoFNP, altitude ranging from 3,200 to 6,700 m a.s.l.) and the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP, altitude ranging from 1,500 to 6,000 m a.s.l.), Uttarakhand, India. The impact of anthropogenic disturbances along the elevation zone (3,200–4,500 m) on the vegetation community patterns was assessed by comparing plant species richness and diversity between selected disturbed and undisturbed sites along the altitudinal gradient. The disturbed sites, near to pathways within each national park, experienced the frequent human interventions than the undisturbed sites which were beyond 25–50 m from the pathway within each national park. Diversity profiles calculated as hill numbers (q = 0, 1, 2) showed significant variation between disturbed and undisturbed sites exhibiting high level of disturbance, especially in VoFNP. The non-metric multidimensional scaling of species composition data along the elevation of both national parks indicated that heterogeneously grouped plant species were much higher for disturbed sites than undisturbed ones. The quantum of anthropogenic pressure on disturbed sites of both VoFNP and GHNP was discernible through statistically significant lower values of soil moisture, bulk density, porosity, potassium, and phosphorous content than the undisturbed sites. As a consequence, disturbed sites were clearly noted to have lower numbers of threatened and endemic species (20 and 17, respectively) in comparison with undisturbed sites (32 and 31, respectively). The canonical correlation analyses of species compositions and soil properties of VoFNP and GHNP indicated that soil moisture and pH were the two major factors that control species composition for both disturbed and undisturbed sites, whereas soil porosity played a major role in species composition of undisturbed sites. The disturbed sites of lower elevation zones (3,200–3,500 m) of both parks were found with a higher density of invasive species (i.e., Polygonum polystachyum, Impatiens sulcata, Cuscuta europaea, etc.). Our study indicated that anthropogenic pressures on the high-altitude national parks of India not only altered the soil properties, but potentially threatened the species composition, thus accelerating urgent need to implement mitigation measures for restoration of degrading habitat of the native, endemic, and threatened plants in both the parks.

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