1Highland Agriculture Research and Extension Station, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, Kargil, Ladakh-194103, Jammu and Kashmir
2Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, Kargil, Ladakh-194103, Jammu and Kashmir
*Author for Correspondence: E-mail: arajleh@yahoo.co.in
Online published on 17 November, 2012.
Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is a multipurpose tree with fruits and flowers being used by locals since ages for its medicinal value. This species is commonly known as ‘Sersing’ and represented by five different morpho-variants in the Ladakh region. The present study was carried out to find out phytochemical differences among these five morpho-variants of Russian olive with the help of chromatographic studies. The chemical profiles of fruit and flower extracts obtained using TLC indicate diversity among the variants. Similarly, gas chromatograms of fruit volatiles presented clear evidence of qualitative as well as quantitative differences among the variants. In fruits, presence of stigmasterol was also reported. This study was the first attempt to obtain intra-species diversity through chemical profiling using chromatographic techniques which can be used as fingerprints for identification of these variants.
Chemical diversity, Chromatograph, Russian olive, Secondary metabolites, Stigmasterol
