Genetic and phytochemical investigations for understanding population variability of the medicinally important tree Saraca asoca to help develop conservation strategies

A comprehensive review on Saraca asoca (Fabaceae) - Historical perspective, traditional uses, biological activities, and conservation

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Saraca asoca (Roxb.)W.J.de Wilde, (Fabaceae) is a plant of significant medicinal value in traditional Indian medicine, with a long history of use in the treatment of gynaecological disorders and other ailments, and is held in high esteem. This plant has long existed in Indian tradition and is revered as sacred.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This work aimed to explore the taxonomic revision of Saraca asoca from ancient times to the present and to evaluate the ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological information associated with traditional use and develop a roadmap for conservative strategies of species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study draws on a comprehensive range of herbal, traditional, ethnobotanical, and ethnopharmacological information, including ancient Ayurvedic textbooks and various databases, using a single keyword or a combination of multiple keywords.

RESULTS

This review establishes a roadmap for understanding the traditional history of medicinal plants, particularly Saraca, and highlights the transfer of traditional knowledge from pharmacopoeias, materia medica, and classical textbooks over many centuries. The study also emphasises the importance of conservation strategies to protect Saraca as a valuable resource for healthcare and suggests that more research is needed to systematically evaluate its phytochemical, pharmacological, and clinical properties, as well as to develop safety, pharmacology, and toxicology reports for traditional formulations.

CONCLUSIONS

In light of this study, S. asoca could be considered an important source of potential herbal drugs. The review concludes with a call for further research and conservation efforts to protect Saraca and other traditional medicinal plants for the benefit of current and future generations.

Decipher the inhibitory potential of phytocompounds from Leptadenia reticulata on dopamine D2 receptor to enhance prolactin secretion

Dopamine is secreted by the hypothalamus, which inhibits the proliferation and effectiveness of lactotroph cells that release prolactin via dopamine D2 receptor (D2R). D2R activation inhibits lactotroph cell prolactin synthesis and regulates prolactin gene expression. Although, commercial medications are available for hypogalactia and agalactia, various plant sources significantly alleviate these problems. Leptadenia reticulata (Jivanti) is one of the important medicinal plants often consumed by nursing mothers to improve breast milk production. However, mechanism and chemical constituents involved in the inhibition of D2R by Jivanti is unclear. Therefore, in this study the phytocompounds reported from Jivanti were used for in-silico analysis to predict D2R inhibitory potential. The binding affinity value of campesterol and β-sitosterol (- 10.1 and -10.0 kcal/mol) with D2R has high revealed by molecular docking and stable interaction reveled by molecular dynamics simulation. Thus, these lead compounds could exert more D2R inhibitory activity resulting into prolactin release, which may lead to an increase in breast milk production. Although all selected compounds had fine permeation, non-toxic, and non-carcinogenic characteristics predicted by ADMET, campesterol had good solubility, absorption characteristics compared to other. Therefore, Jivanti, which is traditionally known medicinal plant, could be explored as a medication candidate to boost breast milk production.

Population Genetics Coupled Chemical Profiling for Conservation Implications of Decalepis salicifolia (Bedd. ex Hook.f.) Venter, an Endemic and Critically Endangered Species of Western Ghats, India

Information on the genetic diversity and population structure is essential for developing conservational management programs, especially for threatened species. Decalepis salicifolia (Bedd. ex Hook.f.) Venter is a steno-endemic and critically endangered species of the south Western Ghats of India. The present study used ISSR markers as well as essential oil profiling to reveal the extent and distribution of genetic as well as the chemical diversity of all the twelve known populations of D. salicifolia. A total of 84 amplicons generated using 17 ISSR primers represented an overall 72.34% polymorphism. The highest percentage of polymorphic loci was recorded in the population of Theemalai (40.48%) and lowest in Kokanmalai (4.76%) with an average of 20.04% across all the studied populations. At the species level, the Nei's genetic diversity observed was 0.255 ± 0.186, while Shannon's information index observed was 0.385 ± 0.260. The genetic similarity-based unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic average dendrogram grouped the populations according to their geographic locations, which was corroborated by principal component analysis and Bayesian clustering. Distribution of genetic variance through analysis of molecular variance indicated that 38% variance resides within the population, and 62% variance resides among the populations (P < 0.001). Gas chromatography analyses of root volatiles showed significant variation in the percent content of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde. The Mantel test analyses showed a positive correlation between the genetic versus geographic distances. Based on the results, both ex situ and in situ conservation strategies are suggested to maximally preserve the genetic resources of this endangered species.

Population genetic and phytochemical dataset of Saraca asoca: A traditionally important medicinal tree

The data presented in this article is in support of the research paper "Genetic and phytochemical investigations for understanding population variability of the medicinally important tree Saraca asoca to help develop conservation strategies" Hegde et al., 2018. This article provides PCR based Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) and HPLC datasets of 106 individual samples of Saraca asoca collected from various geographical ranges of the Western Ghats of India. The ISSR data includes information on genetic diversity and images of population structures generated through amplified DNA products from samples of Saraca asoca leaf. Phytochemical data obtained from HPLC includes concentration (mg/g) of gallic acid (GA), catechin (CAT), and epicatechin (EPI). The data also presents information obtained from various statistical analysis viz. standard error of the mean values, distribution variables, prediction accuracy, and multiple logistic regression analysis.