Chemical diversity among Andrographis paniculata Nees (Kalmegh) and assessing climate suitable regions for elite germplasm distr ibution in India

Andrographis paniculata Nees. (kalmegh) is an important medicinal herb, endowed with wide range of medicinal and pharmacological properties against a variety of ailments. The therapeutic activity of this plant is attributed to diterpene lactones of which andrographolide is the major constituent. Phytochemical evaluation of A. paniculata germplasm for active compound andrographolide by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) revealed a wide range of phytochemical variation in andrographolide content varying from 1.15–2.44% with standard deviation of 0.26. DIVA-GIS grid maps were generated to study the diversity of A. paniculata germplasm. Ecological niche modeling for A. paniculata germplasm has been analyzed using Maximum Entropy method. Potential states identif ied for the distribution elite germplasm of Andrographis paniculata based on the generated model are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. These states of India could be targeted for future exploration missions, selection of cultivation sites of elite germplasm based on climate suitability and for identifying in-situ conservation areas, and for managing other related genetic resources activities in the climate change regime.