Home > Ethnobotanical and Nutraceutical Investigation of Wild Edible Fruits and Vegetables Used by the Tribal Communities of Lesser Himalayas - Pakistan
Ethnobotanical and Nutraceutical Investigation of Wild Edible Fruits and Vegetables Used by the Tribal Communities of Lesser Himalayas - Pakistan
Present research work is based on Ethnobotanical and nutraceutical investigation of wild edible fruits and vegetables of Lesser Himalayas, Pakistan. Ethnobotanical information was obtained through informed consent semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, market survey and focus group conversation from five major survey sites: Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra districts, Margalla Hills Islamabad and Murree. The plant samples were analysed for nutritional components (carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fibers, ash and energy vale), selected metals (Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Pb, Sr and Zn), phytochemical constituents (phenolics, flavonoids, flavonols and ascorbic acid) and antioxidant activity (DPPH scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity, Ferrous ion chelating activity, ferric ion reducing antioxidant power, Phosomolybdenum complex assay) by using standard analytical methods. A total of 80 wild edible plant species including 35 fruits (21 genera and 17 families) and 45 vegetables (38 genera and 24 families) were investigated in this study. About (57%) species of wild fruits were trees, followed by shrubs (34%), climbers (6%) and herbs (3%), whereas in the case of the vegetables herbs were dominating (89%), followed by trees (9%) and shrubs (2%). Inhabitant of the area used 50 medications based on wild edible fruits and 51 recipes based on wild edible vegetables to cure various ailments. Among wild fruit species 97% species are used as fodder; 86% as fuel; 74% in making tools handles and furniture; 86% in sheltering; 77% in fencing and as hedge plant and 80% for miscellaneous purpose. In case of vegetables 95% species are used as fodder; 9% as fuel; 4% in making tools handles/furniture and 7% each in sheltering; fencing and for miscellaneous purpose. Moraceae and Papilionoideae were most quoted botanical families of wild fruits and vegetables. Morus nigra showed highest mean culture importance values (mCI) within top ten fruit plants, followed by Morus alba, Olea ferruginea, Berberis lycium, Pyrus pashia, Ficus carica, Ficus palmata, Ziziphus mauritiana, Diospyros lotus and Ziziphus nummularia, whereas in the case of wild edible vegetables Ficus carica was most cited species, followed by Ficus palmata, Bauhinia variegata, Solanum nigrum, Amaranthus viridis, Medicago polymorpha, Chenopodium album, Cichorium intybus, Amaranthus hybridus and Vicia faba. Among the fruits, Juglans regia, Opuntia dillenii, Ziziphus nummularia, Berberis lycium, Pistacia integerrima, & Phoenix dactylifera and in wild vegetables Cichorium xxviiiintybus, Launaea procumbens, Tulipa stellata Dyropteris ramosa, Sonchus oleraceous & Lathyrus aphaca showed highest nutritional potential. Elemental analysis (mg/kg, dry weight) indicated that K exhibited highest average levels, followed by Ca, Mg, Na, Fe and Mn while lowest levels were observed for Li, Cd and Cr in the fruit and vegetable samples, which were also found rich in phytochemical contents and had good antioxidant activities. Significantly higher phenolics, flavonoids, flavonols, ascorbic acid contents and antioxidant activities were observed in Phoenix dactylifera, Juglans regia, Rosa moshata, Pistacia integerrima, Morus nigra and Pyrus pashia among the fruits, whereas among the vegetables, Origanum vulgare, Amaranthus viridis, Ficus palmata, Silene conoidea, Melilotus indicus and Bauhinia variegata showed highest potential. Mostly random and broad distribution of the nutrient, selected metals and phytochemical contents was found in the fruits and vegetables. Correlation study showed random variation of the nutrient, metals and phytochemicals in the plant samples. Antioxidant activities revealed significant correlation with most of the phytochemical contents. Correlations among the metal levels, phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activity in the fruits and vegetables were also investigated. Various groups of the fruits and vegetables were identified by cluster analysis (CA) based on their chemical composition. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed significant anthropogenic contamination of the selected metals in the fruits and vegetables mostly contributed by transportation activities, industrial emissions and domestic waste. Most of the wild edible plant species in the study areas have no protection, but acquisition of economic benefits such as genetic improvement of existing crops from their wild ancestors and nutritional requirement from these wild edibles might promote local people’s interest in the conservation and maintenance of these important and threatened species. Further exploration is still required to investigate useful and toxic compounds, pharmacological study; skill training in home gardening, biotechnological techniques to improve yields and income generation through large scale promotion of these wild edible fruits and vegetables.
بھٹو صاحب اور جمعہ فقیر کی دوستی کی ہوشربا داستان ۔
’’میری بھٹو صاحب سے محبت یا عقیدت اس وجہ سے نہیں کہ وہ کوئی عظیم قسم کے کلاسکل سوشلسٹ یا مارکسٹ تھے البتہ یہ ضرور ہے کہ ان میں وہ تمام خوبیاں موجود تھیں جو ایک اچھے سوشلسٹ میں ہو نی چاہییں ۔اسی کو بھٹو ازم کہتے ہیں ۔اس فرق کو سمجھے بغیر آپ بھٹو صاحب کو بھی نہیں سمجھ سکتے ۔ہمارے بائیں بازو کے اچھے خاصے دانشور اس غلط فہمی کا شکار ہیں ۔‘‘
میں نے بھٹو صاحب کے چالیسویں کے موقع پر ان فقیر کو اپنی آنکھوں سے دیکھا تھا۔اس دن گڑی خدا بخش میں بھٹو صاحب کے مزار پر عوام کا بے پناہ رش تھا ۔جس کی وجہ سے میں اس فقیر کی طرف کوئی خاص توجہ نہ دے سکا ۔آج صبح یہ پوسٹ میری نظروں سے گزری تو اس فقیر کا چہرہ میری نظروں کے سامنے گھوم گیا ۔جس دوست نے اس کو فیس بک پر پوسٹ کیا ہے اس کو کل میں نے کسی بات کی وجہ سے ان فرینڈ کیا تھا ۔اس کے بعد اس نے اپنا تعارف کرایا اور مجھ سے اپنی کوتاہی پر معذرت کی ۔آج اتفاقاََ اس نوجوان کی پوسٹ میری نظرسے گزری ۔اس سندھی سے اردو میں ترجمہ شدہ متن سے کچھ غلطیاں میں نے نکال دی ہیں اور اگر مجھے اس کا مکمل متن مل جائے تو میں اس پر مزید تحقیق کر نے کی کوشش کروں گا ۔
ایک دوستی کی داستان ۔دوستی عام ہے لیکن اے دوست! دوست ملتا ہے بڑی مشکل سے ۔ لاڑکانہ میں لوگوں کو آج بھی ذوالفقار علی بھٹو اور ایک فقیر صفت درویش شخص جمعہ فقیر کی دوستی یاد ہو گی ۔یہ...
Sira of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the only subject that can quench the thirst of every subject in the universe and guarantee the solution of every problem. Love and Obedience to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is a must. Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi ranks high in the list of biographers through his famous book "Nashr al-Tīb" in remembrance of the Beloved Prophet (May God bless him and his family and grant them peace) which is comprehensive enough to do its function. The book is one of his excellent works in its own way. It is a valuable book in Urdu language which has been presented in an unparalleled manner. It shows the love of the Holy Prophet ﷺ as well as his teachings; mysteries and secrets which is Narrated in the style of Mathnavi Maulana Rum.
In the said article, the introduction and method of " Nashr al-Tīb fi Zikr-un-Nabi Al-Habib" will be presented. In order to know the services and style of writing and purpose of Mawlana in Sira Nigari and the only purpose of Sira Nigari is to achieve love of of the Holy Prophet and obedience to Him ﷺ.
In this study 0.5LiMn2O3.0.5LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2, a layered lithium-manganese rich nickel manganese cobalt (LMR-NMC) oxide, was a carefully selected composition for use as a cathode material in Li ion batteries. The effect of synthesis method and doping on this layered lithium-manganese rich, mixed metal oxides is presented. First part of this study deals with the effect of synthesis route on the electrochemical properties of the 0.5LiMn2O3.0.5LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 material. A comparison between Co-precipitation, low temperature (90°C) sol-gel synthesised and high temperature (120°C) sol-gel synthesised LMR composite materials is presented. The study demonstrated that synthesis procedure and conditions strongly influence the electrochemical properties of the synthesized material. Co-precipitation and sol-gel synthesised LMR composites revealed obvious differences in capacity and cycle life, which give the impression from X-ray photoelectron spectra to be strongly related to the particles‘ surface reactivity. In the second part of study, the LMR-NMC materials were doped with varying amounts of aluminium. Small amounts of Al doping to the sol-gel material were shown to improve the rate capability and cyclability, in addition to decreasing voltage fade. The results were interpreted in terms of charge discharge studies and supported by differential capacity plots, impedance measurements and cyclic voltammetry data. The electrochemistry of an aluminium doped material was revealed to be highly dependent on the degree of aluminium doping – with the behaviour of 1% doped material giving a maximum capacity of 201 mAhg-1 at 150 mAg-1 and a capacity retention of 88% after 200 cycles. An attempt has been made to study the effect of Cr doping as well on the electrochemical properties of the LMR-NMC materials. It results in an increase in the initial charge/discharge capacity of the material while decreasing the capacity retention. However, the Cr as a dopant could not be assigned as an improvement in the LMR mixed metal oxide material. The study established the comparative role of co-precipitation and sol-gel methods on the improvement of electrochemical properties of the LMR-NMC oxides. Additionally, controlled Al doped samples substantially improved the discharge capacity while maintaining capacity retention event at very high C-rate.