Piper species are aromatic plants used as spices in the kitchen, but their secondary metabolites have also shown biological effects on human health. These plants are rich in essential oils, which can be found in their fruits, seeds, leaves, branches, roots and stems. Some Piper species have simple chemical profiles, while others, such as Piper nigrum, Piper betle, and Piper auritum, contain very diverse suites of secondary metabolites. In traditional medicine, Piper species have been used worldwide to treat several diseases such as urological problems, skin, liver and stomach ailments, for wound healing, and as antipyretic and anti-inflammatory agents. In addition, Piper species could be used as natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents in food preservation. The phytochemicals and essential oils of Piper species have shown strong antioxidant activity, in comparison with synthetic antioxidants, and demonstrated antibacterial and antifungal activities against human pathogens. Moreover, Piper species possess therapeutic and preventive potential against several chronic disorders. Among the functional properties of Piper plants/extracts/active components the antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, and neuropharmacological activities of the extracts and extract-derived bioactive constituents are thought to be key effects for the protection against chronic conditions, based on preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies, besides clinical studies. Habitats and cultivation of Piper species are also covered in this review. In this current work, available literature of chemical constituents of the essential oils Piper plants, their use in traditional medicine, their applications as a food preservative, their antiparasitic activities and other important biological activities are reviewed.

Piper Species: A Comprehensive Review on Their Phytochemistry, Biological Activities and Applications.

Cymbidium orchids, including some 50 species, are the famous flowers, and they possess high commercial value in the floricultural industry. Furthermore, the values of different orchids are great differences. However, species identification is very difficult. To a certain degree, chloroplast DNA sequence data are a versatile tool for species identification and phylogenetic implications in plants. Different chloroplast loci have been utilized for evaluating phylogenetic relationships at each classification level among plant species, including at the interspecies and intraspecies levels. However, there is no evidence that a short sequence can distinguish all plant species from each other in order to infer phylogenetic relationships. Molecular markers derived from the complete chloroplast genome can provide effective tools for species identification and phylogenetic resolution. The complete nucleotide sequences of eight individuals from a total of five Cymbidium species’ chloroplast (cp) genomes were determined using Illumina sequencing technology of the total DNA via a combination of de novo and reference-guided assembly. The length of the Cymbidium cp genome is about 155 kb. The cp genomes contain 123 unique genes, and the IR regions contain 24 duplicates. Although the genomes, including genome structure, gene order and orientation, are similar to those of other orchids, they are not evolutionarily conservative. The cp genome of Cymbidium evolved moderately with more than 3% sequence divergence, which could provide enough information for phylogeny. Rapidly evolving chloroplast genome regions were identified and 11 new divergence hotspot regions were disclosed for further phylogenetic study and species identification in Orchidaceae. Phylogenomic analyses were conducted using 10 complete chloroplast genomes from seven orchid species. These data accurately identified the individuals and established the phylogenetic relationships between the species. The results reveal that phylogenomics based on organelle genome sequencing lights the species identification—organelle-scale “barcodes”, and is also an effective approach for studying whole populations and phylogenetic characteristics of Cymbidium.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2F1471-2148-13-84.pdf

Complete chloroplast genome of the genus Cymbidium: lights into the species identification, phylogenetic implications and population genetic analyses

Cancer is a serious health problem and the second leading cause of death around the globe. Present review is an attempt to provide utmost information based on ethno-pharmacological and toxicological aspects of anti-cancer plants of the world. A total of 276 articles published in English journals and containing maximum ethnomedicinal information were reviewed using several data sources such as; Google scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed and floras of different countries. A total of 199 anti-cancer plants were recorded in present review and results indicated that traditional medicines are mostly being use in developing countries for cancer treatment. Traditionally and scientifically skin and breast cancer types gained more focus. Seventy plants were reportedly analyzed for in-vitro activities while 32 plants were having in-vivo reports. Twenty nine pure compounds (mostly phenolic) were reportedly isolated from anti-cancer plants and tested against different cancer cell lines. Inspite having better efficiency of ethnomedicines as compared to synthetic drugs, several plants have also shown toxic effects on living system. Therefore, we invite researchers attention to carry out detailed ethno-pharmacological and toxicological studies on un-explored anti-cancer plants in order to provide reliable knowledge to the patients and develop novel anti-cancer drugs. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A systematic review on ethnomedicines of anti-cancer plants.

Bamboos, a group of large woody grasses belonging to the family Poaceae and subfamily Bambusoideae, are much talked about for their contribution to the environment. However, the food potential of Bamboo shoot per se remains unexploited. Literature on the nutritional and medicinal potential of bamboo shoots is scarce. This paper therefore provides insight on bamboo shoot as a food resource. Various edible species and exotic food products (fermented shoots, pickle, etc.) and recipes of bamboo shoots (bamboo beer, bamboo cookies) are consumed worldwide. Change in nutritional composition of different species of bamboo shoots with processing has also been reviewed. Bamboo shoots possess high protein, moderate fiber, and less fat content. They are also endowed for having essential amino acids, selenium, a potent antioxidant, and potassium, a healthy heart mineral. Occurrence of taxiphyllin, a cyanogenic glycoside in raw shoots, and its side effect on human health calls for the demand to innovate processing ways using scientific input to eliminate the toxic compound without disturbing the nutrient reserve. Lastly, the paper also reviews the utilization of medicinal properties acquired by bamboo shoot. Using the traditional knowledge, pharmaceutical preparations of bamboo shoots like bamboo salt, bamboo vinegar, bamboo extracts for diabetes and cholesterol control, etc. are now gaining importance. Further investigation is required by the researchers to make novel nutraceutical products and benefit the society.

Bamboo shoots: a novel source of nutrition and medicine

A systematic review on Piper longum L.: Bridging traditional knowledge and pharmacological evidence for future translational research

Thailand is located in the tropical rain forest zone above the equator. This geographically supports very rich biodiversity, including the genus Piper (Piperaceae). Thirty-eight species of Piper, from out of over 1,000 species in the world, have been discovered recently (1998-2006) by the authors. Plant morphology and plant use information were recorded via observation, market surveys, and interviews with traditional healers and local peoples. In this paper we provide ethnobotanical and botanical descriptions and illustrations of eight Piper species that are popularly used among Thai people as vegetables, spices, decoration and medicines and for traditional ceremonies. These species consist of P. betle L., P. longum L., P. nigrum L., P. pendulispicum C.DC., P. retrofractum Vahl, P. sarmentosum Roxb., P. wallichii (Miquel) Handel-Mazetti and a newly described Piper sp.

/pdf/ethnobotany-of-the-genus-piper-piperaceae-in-thailand-ev7mymy78i.pdf

Ethnobotany of the Genus Piper (Piperaceae) in Thailand

Two new species of Curcuma, C. sattayasaii A. Chaveerach & R. Sudmoon and C. zedoaroides A. Chaveerach & T. Tanee with rhizomes traditionally used for many decades as cobra-bite antidotes are described and illustrated. Curcuma sattayasaii is similar to C. longa L., but differs in rhizome horizontally branching on ground; coma bracts pinkish-white or pinkish-pale green; corolla pale yellow with orange tip; labellum pale orange with an orange central band; anther crest very short, broadly ovate, wider than long. Curcuma zedoaroides is similar to C. zedoaria (Christm.) Roscoe, but differs in rhizome branching pattern; the protruding secondary rhizomes curved down; blades oblong to oblong-lanceolate; peduncle glabrous; fertile and coma bracts glabrous; corolla lobes pale yellow to white, lateral lobe ovate, dorsal lobe broadly ovate. The new taxa have been found in

Two new species of Curcuma (Zingiberaceae) used as cobra-bite antidotes

The objective of the research is to achieve molecular markers for an economical, ornamental plant group in agriculture worldwide. These plants, Cymbidium aloifolium, Cymbidium atropurpureum, Cymbidium bicolor, Cymbidium chloranthum, Cymbidium dayanum, Cymbidium devonianum, Cymbidium ensifolium, Cymbidium finlaysonianum, Cymbidium haematodes, Cymbidium insigne, Cymbidium lancifolium, Cymbidium lowianum, Cymbidium mastersii, Cymbidium munronianum, Cymbidium rectum, Cymbidium roseum, Cymbidium sinense, Cymbidium tigrinum, and Cymbidium tracyanum in Thailand have been explored, collected and identified. DNA barcoding for a species specific marker was performed in order to provide further rapid, accurate, and automatable species identification for plants lacking flowers or having incomplete morphological characteristics and for the young plants that are massively grown on orchid cutting flower farms. The sequences of four standard regions as barcodes were tested for genetic distances. The genetic distances, means nucleotide variations in tag sequences based on rpoB, rpoC1, matK, and trnH-psbA spacer region sequences of the 19 species ranging from 0.012 to 0.546, 0.018 to 0.546, 0.052 to 0.385, and 0.026 to 0.528, respectively. DNA barcoding shows promise for molecular-based identification of Cymbidium species. The sequences have been deposited in GenBank.

	 

	Key words: Cymbidium, matK, rpoB, rpoC1, species diversity, trnH-psbA.

DNA barcoding of the Cymbidium species (Orchidaceae) in Thailand

Nepenthes species are well known for their ornamentally attractive pitchers. The species diversity was randomly surveyed in some conservation areas of Thailand and three species were found, namely N. gracilis Korth., N. mirabilis Druce. and N. smilesii Hemsl. Young plants as unknown species from Chatuchak market were added in plant sampled set. Thirty two Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) primers were screened and 13 successful primers were used to produce DNA banding patterns for constructing a dendrogram. The dendrogram is potentially power tool to identify unknown species from Chatuchak market, differentiate species population, population by geographical areas and sex determination. The geographical area of N. mirabilis was specified to Southern and Northeastern regions and finally, subdivided into exact areas according to province. Male and female plants of N. gracilis at Phu Wua Wildlife Sanctuary and N. mirabilis at Bung Khonglong non-hunting area were determined. Two unknown species from Chatuchak market were analyzed to be N. mirabilis with the genetic similarities (S) 77.2 to 84.7. Be more sex specific in all sample studied, 37 Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were investigated. The result shows that only one RAPD primer show high resolution results at about 750 bp specific male-related marker.

Piya Mokkamul

Papers

Ethnobotany of the Genus Piper (Piperaceae) in Thailand

Two new species of Curcuma (Zingiberaceae) used as cobra-bite antidotes

DNA barcoding of the Cymbidium species (Orchidaceae) in Thailand

Species identification and sex determination of the genus Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae).

The Species Diversity of the Genus Piper from Thailand