Research Article
Assessment of Viability, Germination and Efficacy of Pre-treatments in Seeds of Jurinea dolomiaea, a Critically Endangered Medicinal and Aromatic Herb of Alpine Himalaya, from the Perspective of Conservation
Rajender Kumar Sharma1*, Anju K. Chhibber1, Vidisha Saxena2, Mukesh Kandpal2, Manpuran Swami2 and Sumit Sagar2
1Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi, India
2Botany (Hons), III year (2020), Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi, India
*Corresponding author: Rajender Kumar Sharma, Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi,
India Email: rksharmabio@yahoo.co.in Tel.: +91 011 26439565/ +91 9958598104 Fax: +91 011 26449396
Copyright: © Sharma RK, et al. 2023. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Article Information: Submission: 13/10/2022; Accepted: 12/01/2023; Published: 16/01/2023
Abstract
Jurinea dolomiaea Boiss. (Asteraceae) commonly known as dhoop, found in high alpine Himalayas are rich in aromatic resin therefore, used as incense
locally as well as in dhoop industry. The species also valued for its medicinal importance to cure colic, puerperal fever, gout, rheumatism, poultice to eruptions,
and as stimulant. Further, its antibacterial, antimicrobial, antioxidative and anticancerous properties also have been reported. Currently, Jurinea dolomiaea has
an endangered population status due to unsystematic collection and overexploitation. Therefore, seed germination features were investigated. The seed
showed 96% viability and were non-dormant; 70% germination occurred within 10 days in control. Seed pre-treatments (GA3, 0.1 mM and cold-stratification)
enhanced the germination further and their role in germination improvement especially in alpine species is well known. Surprisingly, we did not find any
previous report on seed germination behavior of Jurinea dolomiaea and reporting it first time. The findings clearly indicated the suitability of seeds for propagation
and conservation of Jurinea dolomiaea, an endangered medicinal and aromatic herb.