Executive Summary : | The selection of plant species, particularly for medicinal application, could have been a tedious process if ethnopharmacology evidence were not there. Even though India accounts for two mega biodiversity centres, only a tiny percentage of endemic plants are systematically investigated, and lesser numbers are still commercially exploited. The Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) is one such family comprised of about 3540 species, about 250 present in India. Many plant species from this family have been used by the people who lived in the Western Ghats for food flavouring agents for foods and various medicinal applications. In India, it is considered a ubiquitous weed and hence has the advantage of ready availability in large quantities. Most of these species are yet to be explored to their full potential. Thus, keeping these views into consideration, the present investigation has been designed to evaluate the efficiency of the extracts, their bioactive fractions, and isolated pure phytoconstituents from some hitherto unexplored aromatic plants of the Apiaceae family. Among a wide variety of ethnomedicinal Apiaceae plants, the plant parts of Pimpinella heyneana, Heracleum aquilegifolium, and Heracleum grande have been used by the people for several medicinal applications in their day-to-day lives. Pimpinella heyneana has been used by the tribal people for wound healing, gum swelling, food poisoning treatment. The rhizome and fruits of Heracleum aquilegifolium are used as folk medicine. They are effective in indigestion, external tumours, skin diseases, and sunburn. Seed powder, root, or leaf decoction of Heracleum grande are commonly used to cure stomach pain. Though preliminary research on the plants mentioned above has been reported, no significant pharmacological research has been carried out to date. This project aims to identify biologically active lead molecules through activity-guided fraction and isolation work from three less explored indigenous plant species. Principal component analysis (PCA) will be used to find the relation between three plant species and their phytoconstituents. This project may also encourage local people to conserve and cultivate the plants for further medicinal applications. |