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Survey of Ephedra resources in the Northern Areas of Pakistan and their genetic diversity

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Abstract

More than 400 species of medicinal plants grow in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, including Ephedra plants. To investigate the wild Ephedra plant resources in the area, we surveyed the medicinal plants and collected 71 specimens from 18 collecting sites to analyze their genetic variation. The DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 (ITS 1 and 2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA and a noncoding sequence of chloroplast DNA (trn L/F) were analyzed. This DNA data analysis and external morphological features were used to confirm the species of the specimens, and it was found that E. intermedia was the major species in the area and that E. gerardiana and E. przewalskii were present sporadically. Although it inhabits a relatively small area in comparison with the northwestern Chinese provinces, the DNA sequence of E. intermedia in the Northern Areas of Pakistan was significantly more heterogeneous than the same species grown in those neighboring regions. Most of the E. intermedia specimens contained more than 0.7% ephedrine alkaloids, fulfilling the requirement of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia; thus, the Ephedra plants in the area are a genetic and medicinal resource of great importance.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No.13575010) and a grant from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sport Science and Technology for the Kanazawa University twenty-first century COE Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Nobuko Kakiuchi, Keiko Inoue, Yukimasa Kurita, Keisuke Ohkubo & Masayuki Mikage

  2. International Center for Chemical Sciences, HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

    Yoshisuke Tsuda

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  1. Nobuko Kakiuchi
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  2. Keiko Inoue
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  3. Yukimasa Kurita
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  4. Keisuke Ohkubo
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  5. Yoshisuke Tsuda
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  6. Masayuki Mikage
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Correspondence to Nobuko Kakiuchi.

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Kakiuchi, N., Inoue, K., Kurita, Y. et al. Survey of Ephedra resources in the Northern Areas of Pakistan and their genetic diversity. J Nat Med 61, 357–365 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-007-0134-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-007-0134-y

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