DNA fingerprints led to the identification of closely related plant species and it is one of the tool for assessing genetic diversity and species relationship. DNA is most stable and does not vary seasonally and with age of the plant. DNA based fingerprinting techniques plays greater role in authentication of botanicals. This review gives an outline about the importance of DNA fingerprinting, D...

Efficacy of 25 essential oils was screened against filarial vector, Culex quinquefasciatus, for their larvicidal and knockdown effects in a preliminary study. Of these, 8 oils viz. calamus oil, cinnamon oil, citronella oil, clove oil, eucalyptus oil, lemon oil, mentha oil and orange oil exhibited 100% larvicidal activity at 1000 ppm and 100% knockdown effect at 10% concentration. These 8 oils w...

p-Mentha-1,8-dien-7-al is a naturally occurring cyclic alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde that is used as a flavoring substance throughout the world. Due to the chemical structure and the potential DNA reactivity of the alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl moiety, a battery of genotoxicity assays was requested by the European Food Safety Authority. Previous genotoxicity studies on the substance gave mi...

The aim of this study was to optimize the extraction of p-menthadienol isomers and aristolone from the essential oil of Elyonurus hensii by hydrodistillation. The study of the seasonal variation in the chemical composition has shown that the plant material has been subject to a natural selection regarding the biosynthesis of the p-menthadienol isomers: during periods of water stress, the extrac...

In the present study effort have been made to find the anti-bacteria effect of six medicinal plant essential oil namely, Ocimum bascilicum (Basil oil), mentha arvensis (Cormint oil),Zingiber officinale(ginger oil),citrus limon(lemon oil), thymus mastichina (Marjoram oil) and mentha spicata (Spearmint oil) were assessed for anti bacterial activity against therefore pathogenic bacteria such as B....

A field and laboratory based experiment conducted to assess the effects of different pH ranges of simulated acid rain (2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5) was studied on chlorophyll and ascorbic acid contents in two cultivars (cv. Himalaya and cv.Kaushik) of a medicinal herb Mentha piperita. Chlorophyll and ascorbic acid contents of leaves were adversely affected at pH 2.5 and 3.5. The effects of simulated ...

Ionizing radiations produce deleterious effects in the living organisms and the rapid technological advancement has increased human exposure to ionizing radiations enormously. There is a need to protect humans against such effects of ionizing radiation. Attempts to protect against the deleterious effects of ionizing radiations by pharmacological intervention were made as early as 1949 and effor...

α-amylase inhibitors are used in the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus. This study aims to identify the α-amylase inhibitors from two medicinal plants Mentha piperita and Annona squamosa. Primarily, the extract of both leaves was prepared using methanol and water and perform the screening of phytochemicals constituents present in the extract. Aqueous and methanol extract of mentha leaves c...

BACKGROUND This is the first report testing the antibiotic resistance-modifying activity of Mentha arvensis against MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study an ethanol extract of Mentha arvensis L. and chlorpromazine were tested for their antimicrobial activity alone or in combination with conventional antibiotics against MRSA strains. RESULTS ...

The variation, in general, of the composition of the aromatic fraction and, in particular, of the enantiomeric composition of certain chiral volatile compounds of commercial Mentha pulegium L. powders caused by boiling water was evaluated. A comparison between the volatile profile of the studied herbs demonstrated that most M. pulegium L. samples contained high proportions of Mentha piperita L....