Browsing by Author "Goel, Richa"

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Composition of the essential oil from the roots of Artemisia annua
(Springer, 2007) Goel, Divya; Goel, Richa; Singh, Vijender; Ali, Mohammed; Mallavarapu, Gopal Rao; Kumar, Sushil
Upon hydrodistillation, dried roots of Artemisia annua L. cultivar Jwarharti gave a pleasantly fragrant essential oil with a yield of 0.25%. GC and GC–MS analyses of the oil enabled the identification of 52 components representing 83.2% of the oil. The oil was rich in sesquiterpenes and oxygenated sesquiterpenes and had cis-arteannuic alcohol (25.9%), (E)-β-farnesene (6.7%), β-maaliene (6.3%), β-caryophyllene (5.5%), caryophyllene oxide (4.4%) and 2-phenylbenzaldehyde (3.5%) as its major components. The oil was found to possess considerable fumigant activity and ability to repel adult Tribolium castaneum beetles.
Cropping of the artemisinin (antimalarial drug) yielding Artemisia annua cultivars, over a ten year period in the agroclimate of north-west India, has not led to the species becoming a weed
(The National Academy of Sciences, India, 2011) Goel, Richa; Goel, Divya; Chaudhary, Swati; Sharma, Vishakha; Kumar, Sushil
The antimalarial drug artemisinin is extracted from the leaves and flowers, harvested from the naturally growing and cultivated populations, of the asteraceae plant Artemisia annua. The species is indigenous to Chongqing region of China where it is a weed and is found growing into extensive wild populations. It has become naturalized (weed) in several agroclimates of its introduction in Asia, Australia, Europe and North and South Americas. A. annua is now beginning to be cultivated in several agroclimates of India. Agrotechnologies suitable for cultivating A. annua in the Indo-gangetic and North- West Indian plains have been developed and introduced with the farmers. Here, the potential of A. annua becoming a weed, in the areas of its cultivation, has been assessed under the New Delhi agroclimatic conditions. Single plants of A. annua were observed to produce about 0.14×106 viable seeds. Cultivation of A. annua in field plots at two locations and enumeration of plants outside the plots of cultivation over a 10 year period was observed not to lead to escape of the plant into areas adjacent to the plots of A. annua cultivation. It is concluded that A. annua, despite being a prolific producer of seeds, is unlikely to become a weed in the agroclimate of north-west plains region of India. Therefore, subtropical agroclimates such as that of north-west Indian plains offer comparative advantage for the cultivation of the domesticated A. annua for artemisinin production.
Perspectives of the Artemisia annua dry leaf therapy (ALT) for malaria and of its re-purposement as an affordable cure for artemisinin-treatable illnesses
(Indian National Science Academy, 2018) Goel, Richa; Kumari, Raj; Singh, Vijender; Kumari, Renu; Srivastava, Suchi; Kumar, Sushil
Malarial diseases continue to risk the lives of more than 3 billion people in 97 countries in the world, causing sickness in several million people and death to half a million patients. The preponderate malaria causing apicomplexan protozoan parasite species Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax have become genetically resistant to most of the approved antimalarial drugs, including the artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). At this time, there is a vigorous need to make enough efforts to meet the challenge of combating multi-drug resistant malaria by (a) speeding up the trials in progress on relatively more effective, new and mechanistically different antimalarial pharmaceuticals, (b) production of effective vaccines against falciparum and vivax malaria, (c) devising of new ways to use the presently available anti-malarials such as by using three-drugs ACTs and by using the different two-drug and three-drug ACTs sequentially, and (d) induction of Artemisia annua dry leaf therapy (ALT) of recent origin, but of ancient precedent, as an effective treatment for acute and complicated malaria. Here, a perspective type review is presented of the: pre-ALT antimalarial drugs, methodology of their usage and consequences of resistance development; safety, efficacy, affordability, quality maintenance and resilience to resistance development aspects of ALT; and possibilities of ALT re-purposement for treating many infectious-metabolic disorder related- and cancerous-diseases. In conclusion, an urgent need is emphasized for pilot studies and clinical trials on ALT to attest its deployment as anti-malarial and cure for diseases beyond malaria.
Properties of the seed oil of a dwarf cultivar of the pharmaceutical silymarin producing plant Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. developed in India
(National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources-NISCAIR, 2015) Bahl, J R; Bansal, R P; Goel, Richa; Kumar, Sushil
Seeds of Silybum marianum cv SMB-5, an Indian cultivar of dwarf habit and high seed yield, were characterized for their oil content and was examined for its physico-biochemical properties. The seed oil content was low at 20±2 %. The oil had acid value of 1.5, specific gravity at 27 0C was 0.885, saponification value as 199 and iodine value equal to 97. The main fatty acid composition was: palmitic acid, 9.6 %; stearic acid, 4.7 %; oleic acid, 3.9 %; linoleic acid, 45.8 % and linolenic acid, 5.3 %. The properties of the oil of Indian genotype largely correspond with those of S. marianum oil of Canadian, Greek, Egytian, Iraqi, Iranian and Pakistani genotypes. In comparison to the commercial oils of soybean, Indian mustard, canola, groundnut, sunflower, safflower and flex, the fatty acid compositional properties of S. marianum oil were found to be unique being rich in linoleic acid.