The pastes prepared from roots of Plumbago zeylanica Linn. and barks of Holoptelea integrifolia Roxb. are widely used by traditional healers for the treatment of arthritis in rural northern Karnataka.
For the very first time, the nutritional and physicochemical properties of the oil extracted from hackberry Celtis australis fruit were investigated with the aim of possible applications of such wild fruit oil. The physicochemical properties such as peroxide value, acidity, saponification, iodine value and total fat content of the extracted oil were examined extensively. The obtained results showed that peroxide value, acidity, saponification, iodine value and total fat content of the extracted oil were found to be 4.9 meq O2/kg fat, 0.9 mg KOH/g fat, 193.6 mg KOH/g fat, 141.52 mg I2/g fat and ~5%, respectively. The predominant fatty acid found in this wild fruit is linoleic acid which was calculated to be 73.38%±1.24. In addition, gamma-tocopherol (87%) and β-sitosterol (81.2%±1.08) were the major tocopherol and sterol compositions found in Celtis australis seed oil. Moreover, equivalent carbon number (ECN) analysis has indicated that the three linoleic acids are the main composition of the triacylglycerols extracted from Celtis australis. Also, the high value of omega 6 and β-sitosterol make this oil applicable in cosmetics and pharmaceutical applications.
This research was undertaken to evaluate the nematicidal activity of various concentrations of aqueous tinctures of 80 plant species towards L1-2 of S. papillosus. For the experiment with larvae of S. papillosus, there were used 0.19%, 0.75% and 3.00% aqueous tinctures of plants. Out of 80 tested species, nematicidal activity against L1-2 of S. papillosus was displayed by 20 plants. The greatest activity (LC50 = 0.060-0.069%) towards larvae of S. papillosus was exerted by Teucrium polium, Achillea millefolium, Genista tinctoria and Ulmus laevis. Less expressed nematicidal activity (LC50 = 0.070-0.079%) was recorded for Thalictrum minus, Stachys recta, Falcaria vulgaris, Lavatera thuringiaca. Even lower effect (LC50 = 0.080-0.089%) was shown by aqueous tinctures of Mentha × piperita, Achillea millefolium, Salvia nutans, Eryngium campestre and Cerasus fruticosa. The following plants could be arranged in declining order of effectiveness of nematicidal activity (LC50 = 0.090-0.165%) Malus sylvestris, Tragopogon orientalis, Erigeron annuus, Grindelia squarrosa, Urtica dioica, Daucus carota, Medicago sativa, Carduus acanthoides, Ulmus minor and Hieracium umbellatum. A far weaker effect on the nematodes was displayed by Bromopsis inermis and Tragopogon podolicus. Aqueous tinctures of 60 other studied species of plants exhibited low nematicidal activity in 3.00% aqueous tincture, while in 0.19% and 0.75% aqueous tinctures, no nematicidal activity was seen. The results of the research suggest that in the conditions of natural ecosystems, some species of plants of the Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae, Rosaceae, Ulmaceae and Urticaceae families could reduce vitality of free-living L1-2 larvae of S. papillosus.