Screening of Musa balbisiana Colla. seeds for antidiabetic properties and isolation of apiforol, a potential lead, with antidiabetic activity.

Background: 'Phytonutrients' have been reported to exert an incredible impact on the healthcare system and offer medical benefits including the prevention or treatment of lifestyle-associated diseases. We chose one of the most common and important plant families, Musaceae, for our present study and explored its antidiabetic potential.

Results: Seeds of the edible fruits of Musa balbisiana Colla.

Analyses between Reproductive Behavior, Genetic Diversity and Responsiveness in spp. Reveal an Adaptive Significance for Hemiclonality.

Mode of reproduction is generally considered to have long-range evolutionary implications on population survival. Because sexual reproduction produces genetically diverse genotypes, this mode of reproduction is predicted to positively influence the success potential of offspring in evolutionary arms race with parasites (Red queen) whereas, without segregation and recombination, the obligate asexual multiplication may push a species into extinction due to the steady accumulation of deleterious mutations (Muller's ratchet). However, the extent of linearity between reproductive strategies, genetic diversity and population fitness, and the contributions of different breeding strategies to population fitness are yet to be understood clearly.

Prospects for discriminating Zingiberaceae species in India using DNA barcodes.

We evaluated nine plastid (matK, rbcL, rpoC1, rpoB, rpl36-rps8, ndhJ, trnL-F, trnH-psbA, accD) and two nuclear (ITS and ITS2) barcode loci in family Zingiberaceae by analyzing 60 accessions of 20 species belonging to seven genera from India. Bidirectional sequences were recovered for every plastid locus by direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicons in all the accessions tested. However, only 35 (58%) and 40 accessions (66%) yielded ITS and ITS2 sequences, respectively, by direct sequencing.

Circumscription and lectotypification of Hedychium villosum and its variety H. villosum var. tenuiflorum (Zingiberaceae).

The nomenclatural confusion between the Indian gingers Hedychium villosum Wallich and its variety Hedychium villosum var. tenuiflorum (Wall. ex Voigt) Wall.

Significance of gingers (Zingiberaceae) in Indian System of Medicine - Ayurveda: An overview.

Background: Family Zingiberaceae consists of the large number of medicinal plants and is well-known for its use in ethnomedicine and play a major role in Indian System of Medicine, Ayurveda.

Objective: The aim of this study is the documentation of Zingiberaceous plants used in Ayurveda, adding information to the systematics, vernacular names and chemistry with experimental data.

Materials And Methods: The live plants were collected from wild and successfully conserved at Herbal Garden of Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal.

Larsenianthus, a new Asian genus of Gingers (Zingiberaceae) with four species.

Larsenianthus W. J. Kress & Mood, gen.