Nepal is an excellent repository of cultural heritage and has a rich tradition of folk practices for wild plants utilization.Local plant-based therapy is a common practice in the rural communities of Nepal.About 80% o...Nepal is an excellent repository of cultural heritage and has a rich tradition of folk practices for wild plants utilization.Local plant-based therapy is a common practice in the rural communities of Nepal.About 80% of the total population in Nepal use traditional herbal medicines for primary health.care and approximately 1700 species of plants is currently being utilized as medicines,both in the crude form as well as processed drugs.Given their extensive range of knowledge on medicinal plants utilization,indigenous people remain the ultimate source for retrieving this information for the purpose of application,particularly in modern medicines.Many studies in Nepal have reported previously undoc.umented use of several medicinal plants with high consensus among the informants regarding their uses.Swertia chirayita,Paris polyphylla,Aconitum spicatum,Dactylorhiza hatagirea,Nardostachys grandiflora and Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora are some of the valuable and widely used medicinal plants in Nepal.A high degree of consensus on the use of these Himalayan plants likely suggests their strong therapeutic potential.Since ethnobotanical investigations in the past have led to the development of important anticancer drugs:podophyllotoxin and reserpine as well as drugs,such as vinblastine to treat hyperten.sion,careful and systematic screening of compounds isolated from the Himalayan plants could provide good opportunity for the discovery of new medicines to treat life-threatening human diseases.Particu.larly species with new use reports have lesser known pharmacological potential due to lack of system.atic and reliable studies.Future researches should therefore,be directed towards isolating bio-active compounds from these potentially valuable plants and systematically assessing their pharmacological properties.Because Nepal possesses enormous potential in pharmaceutical research,the "One Belt One Road" initiative of China could provide a great platform in promoting the research-based drug discovery in Nepal.展开更多
Functional traits are predictors of plants in response to environmental stimuli. They represent specific functional adaptations to various environmental stresses. This study deals with the variation in plant functiona...Functional traits are predictors of plants in response to environmental stimuli. They represent specific functional adaptations to various environmental stresses. This study deals with the variation in plant functional traits along elevation gradient and land-use types in Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal. Two field investigations in April and September, 2011 were made to collect samples. Sampling was done from 2200 - 3800 m asl varying approx. 400 m. East and west facing aspects of each valley were chosen. In each aspect four land-use type categories including disturbed (cultivated land, exploited forest and meadow) and less disturbed natural forest were selected. A transect of 25 m long and 2.5 m wide was laid. Different eight traits of plants including lifeform, plant height, clonality, spinescence, leaf dry matter content, stem specific density, twig dry matter content and twig drying time were examined for 60 plant species belonging to 31 families, collected from 40 sampled plots. Nine different types of growth forms were recorded. Plant height of the investigated species ranged from 0.03 - 15 m. The stolon consisting species were dominant in exploited forests. Diversity of clonal species was more in meadow and non-clonal species were dominant in all the altitudes. Only eight species consisted of spines. In the disturbed land-use categories, we found high variation in a particular trait. Correlation analyses revealed the significant relationship (p < 0.01) among different traits. Herbs and shrubs were dominant at higher elevation and in disturbed land-use categories. Species from high altitude were mostly short basal herbs, while spinescence and tall trees were observed at lower altitudes. Species recorded in meadows and exploited forests showed high variation in traits due to disturbance mainly grazing, fire, litter collection and trampling. Altitudinal variation, climatic conditions and disturbance most strongly influence trait expression in the study area.展开更多
文摘Nepal is an excellent repository of cultural heritage and has a rich tradition of folk practices for wild plants utilization.Local plant-based therapy is a common practice in the rural communities of Nepal.About 80% of the total population in Nepal use traditional herbal medicines for primary health.care and approximately 1700 species of plants is currently being utilized as medicines,both in the crude form as well as processed drugs.Given their extensive range of knowledge on medicinal plants utilization,indigenous people remain the ultimate source for retrieving this information for the purpose of application,particularly in modern medicines.Many studies in Nepal have reported previously undoc.umented use of several medicinal plants with high consensus among the informants regarding their uses.Swertia chirayita,Paris polyphylla,Aconitum spicatum,Dactylorhiza hatagirea,Nardostachys grandiflora and Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora are some of the valuable and widely used medicinal plants in Nepal.A high degree of consensus on the use of these Himalayan plants likely suggests their strong therapeutic potential.Since ethnobotanical investigations in the past have led to the development of important anticancer drugs:podophyllotoxin and reserpine as well as drugs,such as vinblastine to treat hyperten.sion,careful and systematic screening of compounds isolated from the Himalayan plants could provide good opportunity for the discovery of new medicines to treat life-threatening human diseases.Particu.larly species with new use reports have lesser known pharmacological potential due to lack of system.atic and reliable studies.Future researches should therefore,be directed towards isolating bio-active compounds from these potentially valuable plants and systematically assessing their pharmacological properties.Because Nepal possesses enormous potential in pharmaceutical research,the "One Belt One Road" initiative of China could provide a great platform in promoting the research-based drug discovery in Nepal.
文摘Functional traits are predictors of plants in response to environmental stimuli. They represent specific functional adaptations to various environmental stresses. This study deals with the variation in plant functional traits along elevation gradient and land-use types in Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal. Two field investigations in April and September, 2011 were made to collect samples. Sampling was done from 2200 - 3800 m asl varying approx. 400 m. East and west facing aspects of each valley were chosen. In each aspect four land-use type categories including disturbed (cultivated land, exploited forest and meadow) and less disturbed natural forest were selected. A transect of 25 m long and 2.5 m wide was laid. Different eight traits of plants including lifeform, plant height, clonality, spinescence, leaf dry matter content, stem specific density, twig dry matter content and twig drying time were examined for 60 plant species belonging to 31 families, collected from 40 sampled plots. Nine different types of growth forms were recorded. Plant height of the investigated species ranged from 0.03 - 15 m. The stolon consisting species were dominant in exploited forests. Diversity of clonal species was more in meadow and non-clonal species were dominant in all the altitudes. Only eight species consisted of spines. In the disturbed land-use categories, we found high variation in a particular trait. Correlation analyses revealed the significant relationship (p < 0.01) among different traits. Herbs and shrubs were dominant at higher elevation and in disturbed land-use categories. Species from high altitude were mostly short basal herbs, while spinescence and tall trees were observed at lower altitudes. Species recorded in meadows and exploited forests showed high variation in traits due to disturbance mainly grazing, fire, litter collection and trampling. Altitudinal variation, climatic conditions and disturbance most strongly influence trait expression in the study area.
