Publisher's Synopsis
Andrographis, also known as "King of Bitters," is a member of the plant family Acanthaceae. The leaves and stems of the plant are used to extract the active phytochemicals. The most medicinally active phytochemical is andrographolide. Andrographis paniculata has been reported as having antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, choleretic, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic, and adaptogenic effects. Due to its "blood purifying" activity it is recommended for use in cases of leprosy, gonorrhea, scabies, boils, skin eruptions, and chronic and seasonal fevers. A primary modern use of A. paniculata is for the prevention and treatment of the common cold. It appears to have antithrombotic actions, suggesting a possible benefit in cardiovascular disease. Pharmacological and clinical studies suggest the potential for beneficial effects in diseases like cancer and HIV infections. Most of medicinal plants, even today, are collected from the wild. The continued commercial exploitation of these plants has resulted in receding the population of many species in their natural habitat. Consequently, cultivation of these plants is urgently needed to ensure their availability to the industry as well as to people associated with traditional system of medicine.The Himalayan Subtropical Pine Forests are the largest in the Indo-Pacific region. They stretch throughout most of the 3,000-km length of the world's youngest and highest mountain range, the Himalayas. The dominant species in this belt of subtropical pine forest is Chir pine. Although Champion and Seth indicate the presence of large areas of Chir pine in Arunachal Pradesh, the easternmost extent of large areas of Chir pine is in Bhutan. Thus Chir pine is a native of the interranges and principal valleys of the Himalaya; beginning from Afghanistan in the west and ending in Bhutan in the east it extends through Pakistan, India, and Nepal. In India its forests are found in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, parts of Sikkim, West Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh. Compared with the adjacent broadleaf forests, this ecoregion is neither exceptionally rich in species nor high in endemic species. The total area under Chir forests is estimated to be 8,90,000 hectares and occurs between 450m and 2300m altitude.Chir pine is the fastest growing among the conifers found in the Himalayas. The species is hardy, frugal in its soil requirements, and adapted to degraded sites which are deficient in nutrients. It grows with ease both on deep soils which should be well drained and on skeletal soils. Being a light demanding species, it easily rehabilitates exposed sites where most of broad leaved species rarely succeed. Chir pine being highly resistant to fire is better suited for tracts where complete fire protection is difficult to ensure. But the Chir pine forest has continued to be a neglected area for the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants. Also there is scanty information on the role and development of medicinal plant wealth as a part of Chir pine forest ecosystem. On the other hand with dwindling supplies from natural resources and increasing global demand, there is need to cultivate medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) to ensure their regular supplies as well as conservation. So for promoting their cultivation and conservation several approaches are feasible such as integrating MAPs as lower strata species in multistrata systems, cultivating short cycle medicinal and aromatic plants as intercrops in existing stands of plantation tree crops, and new forest plantations. Hence considering the medicinal importance of Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata) for human health and well-being, present studies were undertaken on the possibility
