Seasonal Variation in the Phytochemical Constituents of Two Ajuga Species

Abstract

Medicinal plants are the natural repositories of secondary metabolites that can be used for therapeutic purposes. The content of these secondary metabolites or phytochemical constituents varies at different growing seasons of the plants. The phytochemical constituents of Ajuga bracteosa and Ajuga parviflora varied significantly in their proportion at different stages of development and among different populations. The content of phenols and flavonoids was found to be maximum at the flowering stage as compared to the pre-flowering and post flowering stages in both the species. The saponins also show the same trend as that of phenols and flavonoids, being highest at the flowering stage in both the species of Ajuga. However, the terpenoids and alkaloids exhibited a different trend; the maximum terpenoid and alkaloid content was found to be higher at the post-flowering stage as compared to flowering and pre-flowering stage in both the species of Ajuga. Since the content of secondary metabolites (active principles) of some plants vary in different seasons of the year, so the therapeutic potential of medicinal plants is also likely to vary during different seasons of the year.

Keywords: Ajuga bracteosa, Ajuga parviflora, secondary metabolites, phenols, flavonoids

Cite this Article

Gulzar S, Hassan A, Nawchoo IA. Seasonal Variation in the Phytochemical Constituents of Two Ajuga Species. Research & Reviews: Journal of Crop Science and Technology. 2017; 6(3):
25–31p.