Abstract

Cultivation is cost effective for conservation and sustainable supply of rare and high value medicinal plants. Assessment of productivity and quality testing validates cultivation and improves trade prospective. Picrorhiza kurroa is a recently domesticated Himalayan medicinal herb. Despite, specific habitat preference above 3000 m in natural habitats, P. kurroa is cultivated successfully below 3000 m under diverse cultivation conditions. In addition to roots/rhizomes, the leaves of P. kurroa are known to contain picrosides (I & II). Therefore, it is inevitable to assess production (roots/rhizomes and leaves), and picroside content (in roots/rhizomes and leaves) of cultivated P. kurroa. A total 12 locations having different age group crop were selected for assessing the production of roots/rhizomes and leaves, and HPLC method was used for estimation of picrosides (I & II) content. Production of roots/rhizomes and leaves (on dry weight basis) of less than two years old crop was 1146.67±95.04 to 1583.33±420.63kg/ha and 1146.67±298.72 to 1396.67±110.15kg/ha respectively. Crop having more than two years, but less than three years age, produced 1760.00±79.37 to 2316.67±330.05 kg/ha roots/rhizomes and 1256.67±11.55 to 2180.00±208.81 kg/ha leaves. Productivity of roots/rhizomes and leaves was 2996.67±90.18 to 3546.67±173.88 kg/ha and 3046.67±56.86 to 3423.33±299.56 kg/ha, respectively for the crop that has completed three years.  Irrespective of age of crop and variability in cultivation conditions, picroside I content in roots/rhizomes was from 0.54 to 2.43%, while it was 1.42 to 4.42% in leaves. Picroside II content was from 4.72 to 8.62% in root/rhizomes and from 1.93 to 7.03% in leaves. Production of roots/rhizomes and leaves of P. kurroa under cultivation (ex-situ) is encouraging and based on picroside content in different plant parts, the quality of cultivated P. kurroa is comparable to naturally growing (in-situ) plants.

Keywords: Picrorhiza kurroa, cultivation, roots/rhizomes, leaves production, picrosides (I&II).