Abstract
Bidens pilosa L., a less-known cultivated tea species was collected from cold desert of Ladakh Himalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, India during 2004. The freshly harvested leaves are used in preparation of ‘Ladakhi tea’ locally known as ‘Saja’ or ‘Soljaa’ in cold desert of Ladakh Himalaya, Western Himalaya, Jammu and Kashmir. The local inhabitants were growing this species in their kitchen garden for this use. In the present communication, the method of preparation of this beverage is also discussed.
References
Ambasta SP, Ramachandran K, Kashyapa K, Chand R (1986) Useful plants of India. Publication and information directorate. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi
Arora RK, Pandey A (1996) Wild edible plants of India: diversity, conservation and use. National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi
Babu CR (1977) Herbaceous flora of Dehradun. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi
Ballabh B, Chaurasia OP, Ahmed Z (2007) Herbal products from high altitude plants of Ladakh Himalaya. Curr Sci 92(12):1664–1665
Bhatt KC, Gaur RD (1992) A contribution to the ethnobotany of Rajis in Pithoragarh district. Acta Botanica indica 20:76–83
Bhatt KC, Silas RA (1989–90) Traditional beverages and their importance in the folk life of Bhotiyas in UP Himalaya. JOHSARD 13–14:56–62
Bhatt KC, Bisht MK, Gaur RD (1991) Flavouring and masticatory plants: a case study of Bhotias. J Econ Tax Bot 15(1):41–45
Chaudhary RP, Gupta VNP (2004) Cleyera japonica Thunb. var. wallichiana (DC.) Sealy (Theaceae): A tea-beverage plant of Himalayas. Econ Bot 58:114–117. doi:10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0114:NOEP]2.0.CO;2
Chiang YM, Chuang DY, Wang SY, Kuo YH, Tsai PW, Shyur LF (2004) Metabolite profiling and chemopreventive bioactivity of plant extracts from Bidens pilosa. J Ethnopharmacol 95(2–3):409–419. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2004.08.010
Chin HW, Lin CC, Tang KS (1996) The hepatoprotective effects of Taiwan folk medicine ham-hong-chho in rats. Am J Chin Med 24:231–240. doi:10.1142/S0192415X96000293
Dakshini KMM, Prithipalsingh (1984) Taxonomy of Bidens section Psilocarpaea (Asteraceae-Heliantheae-Coreopsidinae) in India. Proc Indiana Acad Sci (Plant Sci) 93(2):165–177
Dimo T, Rakotonirina SV, Tan PV, Azay J, Dongo E, Cros G (2002) Leaf methanol extract of Bidens pilosa prevents and attenuates the hypertension induced by high-fructose diet in Wistar rats. J Ethnopharmacol 83:183–191. doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(02)00162-9
Jeffrey C (2001) Compositae (Asteraceae) In: Hanelt P and Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (eds) Mansfeld’s encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops, Vol IV. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, New York, pp 2129
Kachroo P, Sapru BL, Dhar U (1977) Flora of Ladakh: an ecological and taxonomical appraisal. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, p 26
Kunkel G (1984) Plants for human consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, Koenigatein
Murashige T, Skoog F (1962) A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco cultures. Physiol Plant 15:473–497. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3054.1962.tb08052.x
Murti SK (2001) Flora of cold desert of western Himalaya, vol. I. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata
Mvere B (2004) Bidens pilosa L. Record from Protabase. In: Grubben GJH, Denton OA (eds) PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), Wageningen
Pereira RL, Ibrahim T, Lucchetti L, da Silva AJ, Goncalves de Moraes VL (1999) Immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effects of methanolic extract and the polyacetylene isolated from Bidens pilosa L. Immunopharmacology 43:31–37. doi:10.1016/S0162-3109(99)00039-9
Purohit A, Maikhuri RK, Rao KS, Nautiyal S (2002) Revitalizing drink: an assessment of traditional knowledge system in Bhotia community of Central Himalaya, India. Indian J Tradit Knowl 1(1):72–80
Sherff EE (1937) The genus Bidens. Field Mus Natl Hist Publ Chic 16:1–700
Singh NP, Singh DK, Uniyal BP (2002) Flora of Jammu and Kashmir, vol. 1. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata
Sundararajan P, Dey A, Smith A, Doss AG, Rajappan M, Natarajan S (2006) Studies of anticancer and antipyretic activity of Bidens pilosa whole plant. Afr Health Sci 6(1):27–30
Watt G (1971) A dictionary of the economic products of India (Reprint ed) Cosmo Publ., Delhi
Wealth India (1948–1992) The Wealth of India-raw materials, vols. ii & 2 Supplements. Publication and information directorate, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi
Acknowledgments
Authors express their sincere thanks to Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi and World Bank funded National Agricultural Technology Project on Sustainable Management of Plant Biodiversity for executing and providing need based support to run this programme. We are also thankful to the Director, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources for providing opportunity to visit the difficult terrain of Ladakh for germplasm collection. Thanks are also due to Dr. Prithipalsingh, Reader, Department of Botany, University of Delhi for helping in identification of material.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bhatt, K.C., Sharma, N. & Pandey, A. ‘Ladakhi tea’ Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae): a cultivated species in the cold desert of Ladakh Himalaya, India. Genet Resour Crop Evol 56, 879–882 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-009-9441-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-009-9441-3