2018, Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part A

author(s)
Subhabrata Ghosh and Swati Sen Mandi

abstract
Murraya koenigii, commonly growing in eastern Asia, is a herb that is highly valued for its medicinal potential; leaves of this plant, commonly known as Kurry Patta, are also used widely for culinary purpose, particularly in India. Medicinal value of the plant include antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and antidiabetic activity. The active principle conferring such effect consists of carbazole alkaloids viz. Mahanine, Mahanimbine and Coumarins; the most potent being Mahanimbine. AFLP based Species Specific DNA Marker(s), identified in accessions of Murraya koenigii collected from different altitudinal regions established that all the genotypes used in this study belong to the same species viz. Murraya koenigii. Comparative HPLC analysis of the most potent active principle i.e. Mahanimbine revealed that content of this compound varies among plants growing in different altitudes: plants colleted from high altitude (viz. Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh) exhibited high content of mahanimbine in comparison to plants collected from low altitude places (viz. Kolkata and West Midnapur). This study indicates a correlation between altitude (related UV fluence) and mahanimbine content.