Growth and nutritional qualities of three ocimum species as affected by methods of propagation

Morphology, Growth Variability and Chemical Composition of Indian and Nigerian Accession of Ocimum Species Grown in India

“…These functions have been associated with the presence of plant components such as proteins, vitamins, fibres, several kinds of secondary metabolites (Bhattacharya et al, 2014), essential oils and phenolic compounds (Joshi et al, 2011). The genus Ocimum belongs to the family Lamiaceae and consist of about 30-35 species indigenous to tropical regions of Asia, Africa, central and south America (Okunlola et al, 2017;Paton, 1992). These plant species have been reported to possess antidiabetic (Gholap andKar, 2004), antioxidant (Akinmoladun et al, 2007;Bhattacharya et al, 2014;Joshi et al, 2011;Siti et al, 2018) anti-asthmatic (Singh and Agrawal, 1991), anti-inflammatory (Mequanint et al, 2011;Singh and Agrawal, 1991;Singh et al, 1996), antimicrobial (Dambolena et al, 2010Joshi et al, 2011;Nakamura et al, 1999), anti-stress (Gupta et al, 2007) and anticancer (Prashar et al, 1998) activities.…”

“…The nutritional value of genus the Ocimum may vary with species, growing location and processing method. For example, differences in the protein content (7 and 25%) (Dry weight basis) of these species have been reported in different parts of the world including Nigeria (Okunlola et al, 2017) and India (Barua et al, 2015;Siti et al, 2018). In India, Ocimum sanctum Linn also known as Tulsi or Holy Basil is an Ayurvedic herb of Southeast Asia with a long history of traditional uses (Singh and Chaudhuri, 2018).…”

“…Besides the afore-mentioned therapeutic uses of the species, Ocimum sanctum can also be consumed as herbal tea, to treat cough, cold and malaria (Prakash and Gupta, 2005). However, In Nigeria and many African countries, Ocimum americanum, Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum gratissimum are the most important and popular members of these species (Okunlola et al, 2017). Due to the growing demand of medicinal plants in many parts of the world, researchers are now focusing on the possibility of increasing their production either through micropropagation (Okunlola et al, 2017;Saha et al, 2010;Saha et al, 2012) or macro-propagation (Ehiagbonare, 2007).…”

“…However, In Nigeria and many African countries, Ocimum americanum, Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum gratissimum are the most important and popular members of these species (Okunlola et al, 2017). Due to the growing demand of medicinal plants in many parts of the world, researchers are now focusing on the possibility of increasing their production either through micropropagation (Okunlola et al, 2017;Saha et al, 2010;Saha et al, 2012) or macro-propagation (Ehiagbonare, 2007). Ocimum species are generally propagated using both seeds and stem cutting, but farmers have problems with cultivating plants from seeds due to their low viability (Okunlola et al, 2017).…”

“…Due to the growing demand of medicinal plants in many parts of the world, researchers are now focusing on the possibility of increasing their production either through micropropagation (Okunlola et al, 2017;Saha et al, 2010;Saha et al, 2012) or macro-propagation (Ehiagbonare, 2007). Ocimum species are generally propagated using both seeds and stem cutting, but farmers have problems with cultivating plants from seeds due to their low viability (Okunlola et al, 2017). Many factors such as the method of propagation, specie type, as well as growing conditions may influence the growth pattern and phytochemical constituents of Ocimum plants.…”