Page 156 - AWSAR 2.0

132 || AWSAR Awarded Popular Science Stories - 2019
myself along with my mentor and colleagues conducted several field trips to different parts of country to collect germplasms of Jungli pudina.”
“Is this plant not found in Lucknow,” she interrupted. “No...no, it’s not
so,” I could understand her
genuine concern. “Have you
experienced some apples are
sweet while some are very sour,”
I asked her.
“Yes, and I don’t like sour apples,” she replied with a strange expression.
“Okay, fine,” I’ll tell you something about it. “Plants growing in different environments are exposed to different sets of climatic conditions and, therefore, their phytochemicals also vary accordingly. This is one of the reasons, why we find variations in the taste of a fruit,”, I explained wanting her to explore the wonders of nature.
“Plants can’t move to protect themselves from excess sunlight, rain, insects, pathogens, grazing animals and such other environmental conditions and, therefore, they have developed a strong defense mechanisme through the secondary metabolites. These are chemical compounds, which allow plants to survive unfavourable conditions and protect them from diseases.However,accordingtothestressesthey are exposed to, the content of phytochemicals in the plants also varies. There are many plants that survive only in specific locations due to their specific growth requirements. That’s why we need to collect plants from different places to identify the superior plant material, which we call a chemotype of the plant. A chemotype contains an higher amount of a certain chemical compound which may be responsible for a
particular activity,” I delved a tad heavily onone of my research objectives “identification of elite chemotypes”.
“Have you found any variations in the plants you collected?” she asked. “Yes, we found significant intraspecific variations in the content of targeted bioactive compounds in plants collected from within and among different phytogeographical zones,” I
answered.
“Oh, I see.” She was
looking relaxed now. “So, have you got the medicine ready for use?” curious, she continued.
“Yes, of course,” I replied. We have completed final testing of our formulation. At the lab scale it is showing promising activity, which has also been validated on the field animals. We have standardized the protocols for quality control of
the raw material and also identified the locations from where superior quality raw material (QRM) can be obtained for industrial production point of view. This will be the first herbal formulation for controlling ticks. It can act as a substitute for the harmful synthetic chemical-based acaricides and will be very useful in protecting our cattle and pet animals from ticks. Our famers and cattle raisers will not have to expend much on acaricides as this plant-based formulation will be cheaper with no side effects. Now, we are negotiating with the companies for the transfer of technology to make it available to society.
“Okay, This was the why you were not able to come home on weekends. You are doing a great job. I’ll tell my friends about it also.” Now, I’ll not complaint again. “Thank you so much,” I was happy to convince her.
“Plants can’t move to protect themselves from excess sunlight, rain, insects, pathogens, grazing animals and such other environmental conditions and, therefore, they have developed a strong defense mechanisme through the secondary metabolites. These are chemical compounds, which allow plants to survive unfavourable conditions and protect them from diseases.