Ethnobotany and bioactive compounds in leaf of Bixa orellana L. and its

Plant Science Research 34 (1&2) : 93-96, 2012
ISSN 0972-8546

Ethnobotany and bioactive compounds in leaf of

Bixa orellana L. and its

toxicity to

Artemia salina L.

S. Kumar, P. K. Tripathy and P. K. Jena

ΨDepartment of Botany, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack- 753003, India

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article history:

Received : 14 November 2012

Received in revised form : 11 December 2012

Accepted : 13 December 2012

A B S T R A C T

Bixa orellana

L. (Kum Kum) belonging to the family Bixaceae is a indegineous plant in Odisha.

It is also cultivated at some places. The leaves and fruits of the plant are used as dye and

as natural lipstick. They are also used as dye for colouring the vegetables and dishes. The

plant and its parts are used in treatment of different diseases by the rural and some peripheral

tribal communities of Odisha, such as those residing in Simlipal Biosphere Reserve Forest.

Experiments were designed to study the ethnobotanical use of the plant among tribal groups

of SBR, Odisha and the bioactive compounds presents in the plant and or its leaves and

also whether the leaf extracts posses any toxic effect or not. The results revealed the potent

bioactive compounds in the leaves of

Bixa orellana L. The study further exhibited that the

leaf extracts posses no toxic action against

Artemia salina L., an experimental arthropod.

Thus the studies emphasize upon the potent bioactive compounds present in the leaves of

Bixa orellana

L. without any toxic effect.

Keywords

:

Bixa orellana

ethnobotany

bioactive compounds

toxicity

© 2012 Orissa Botanical Society