Review Article 2

1 Review Article 2 3 Ethnobotanical and Pharmacological importance of Western Himalayan Fir 4 Abies Pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle 5 6 Running head: ABIES PINDROW, ETHNOBOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL 7 IMPORTANCE 8 9 10 11 ABSTRACT 12 Abies pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle. or the Western Himalayan fir is a conifer that grows 13 all along the Himalayan mountains from Afghanistan to Nepal. The plant is shade loving and 14 prefer to grow roughly between 2000 – 3000 meters above sea level and often remains 15 intermixed with other species. The wood of the plant is useful for construction purposes and 16 also for making furniture. The plant is extensively used by the local people for cure of cough 17 and cold, diabetes, cataract, bladder diseases etc. The plant is also considered to be 18 carminative, astringent, antispasmodic, diuretic, tonic and antiinflammatory. It is also 19 mentioned in ayurvedic and unani system of medicines for treatment of various diseases. The 20 plant has been tested for its antiinflammatory, antidiabetic, neuroprotective, anticataract and 21 antixiolytic activities with promising outcome. The plant is rich in a number of bioactive 22 compounds including terpenoids which are largely responsible for its pharmacological 23 activity. In this review an attempt have been made to highlight the traditional usage of Abies 24 pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle along with its pharmacological importance. Efforts are 25 made to interpret the possible mechanism of action of bioactive compounds in bringing about 26 the pharmacological activities. The plant can be explored and bioprospected for an affordable 27 source of drug and nutraceutical for better management of health related issues of people of 28 Indian subcontinent. 29 Keywords: Abies pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle, antiinflammatory, antixiolytic, terpenes, 30 antioxidant. 31 INTRODUCTION 32 Himalayan mountains are a major biodiversity region in the world [1]. It is the youngest and 33 loftiest chain of the world and harbours nearly 10000 plant species of which 4000 are 34 endemics and forms an important global biodiversity hotspot [2]. The Himalayan region 35 harbors 8 families of gymnosperms representing 20 genera and 51 species [3].The conifers 36 forms a dominant proportion of gymnosperm vegetation in the Himalayan region. Abies 37 pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle or the western Himalayan fir is one such member of 38 conifer and forms a distinctive vegetation above 2000 meters along the Western Himalayan 39 region from Afghanistan to Nepal [4]. The plant finds use in ayurvedic formulation ‘Vigroll’ 40 [5]. The leaves of Abies pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle are referred to as Zarnab in Unani 41 system of medicine and are used as a remedy for fever, hypoglycemia, bronchitis, asthma, 2 42 hemoptysis and inflammatory conditions [6]. The decoction of the plant is used to treat 43 coughs, phthisis, asthma and other pulmonary infections while fresh juice is given to infants 44 for treatment of fever and respiratory infections [7]. The plant is also considered to be 45 antiperiodic, antispasmodic, stomachic, carminative, expectorant and astringent [8]. The 46 wood of the plant is also used for construction purposes and making of doors, windows, 47 houses, furniture and fuel food [9]. The plant is reported to contain terpenoids, fatty acids, 48 chalcones, flavonoids, cyclic polyol (pinitol) in their various parts and most of them are 49 reported to have biological and pharmacological activities [10]. Thus based on the available 50 reports about its importance in traditional system of medicine, an attempt have been made to 51 review Abies pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle in context of its medicinal and 52 pharmaceutical importance importance. Efforts have been made to compile the relevant and 53 appropriate information and explore arenas of further research on the plant. 54 DESCRIPTION OF PLANT 55 Abies Pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle is a tree of height 30 meters or more and having a 56 narrow pyramidal shape. The bark of the main trunk is fissured, light grey to brown in colour. 57 Leaves are arranged in spiral fashion, shiny, dark green, 1-4 cm in length having grooved 58 upper surface. Male cones are 1-2 cm in length, axilliary, ellipsoid, reddish-green; 59 microsporophyll consisting of two linear sporangia, microspore winged. Female cones are 8- 60 12 cm long, solitary or in pairs, narrowly oblong, violet or purple. Megasporophyll obovate, 61 2cm long. Seeds 1-1.2cm in length with wings twice as long as the seeds [11]. 62 DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT 63 Abies pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle is a conifer that is widely distributed in the 64 Himalayan regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal. The plant grows between 2250 65 and 3350 meters above sea level and forms important conifer species between 2100-2900 66 meters above sea level. The plant prefer to grow in cooler and moister ambient conditions 67 with deep and rich soil, a common characteristics of the northern slopes. The plant is 68 frequently associated with Picea smithiana, Cedrus deodara and Pinus wallichiana and other 69 broadleaved species namely Quercus ﬂoribunda, Q semecarpifolia, Acer caesium, Aesculus 70 indica, Ulmus wallichiana, Betula alnoides, Juglans regia, Prunus cerasoides and 71 Rhododendron arboreum [12]. 72 73 74 ETHNOBOTANICAL USES 75 Abies pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle is used extensively by the inhabitants of Himalayan 76 region for both non medicinal and medicinal purposes. The plant is used for construction 77 purpose and also as furniture and fuelwood. Medicinally, the plant is used for treatment of 78 various ailments including cough, fevers etc. The various Ethnobotanical use of the plant is 79 depicted in table 1. 80 81 Table 1: Ethnobotanical use of Abies pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle across various 82 Himalayan regions. 3 S.No. Region Vernacular Ethnobotanical uses Reference Name 1. Poonch Tung Wood: Timber for building bridges, [13] Valley, beams and furniture. Pakistan Branches: Fuel occupied Cones: Decorative purpose. Kashmir Inner Bark: Powder of inner bark used for treatment asthma. 2. Ayubia Fir Wood: Used for manufacture of [14] National Park, furniture and beams of houses and Abbottabad, as fuelwood. Pakistan 3. Pakistan Fir Wood: Used as fuel [15] occupied Bark and Leaves: Used as fodder Kashmir 4. Neelam Rewar, Fir Root: Decoction used for treatment [16] Valley, of cough, phthisis and bronchitis. Muzaffarabad, Leaf: Juice used for treatment of Pakistan dentition aches in infants. occupied Powder of leaf is used for treatment Kashmir of cough, bronchitis and fever. Wood: Used for construction of doors, windows, houses, furniture and as fuelwood. 5. Lilownai Achar Trunk & Cones: Used for [17] 4 Valley, treatment of Kidney stone and Pakistan antirheumatic. 6. Kurram Shandi beejur Wood: Used as timber [18] Agency, Resin: Applied for treatment of tick Pakistan bites. 7. Shogran Western Plant: Used for the treatment of [19] valley, Himalayan Fir expectorant, respiratory disorders, Pakistan fever, antioxidant, carminative, digestive disorders, astringent, antispasmodic, diuretic, tonic and antiinflammatory. 8. Koh-e-safaid Bejoor Seeds: Antidiabetic [20] range, Pakistan 9. Kaghan Paludar, Leaves: Tincture or decoction of [21] Valley, Rewar the dried leaves are used for Pakistan treatment of cough, asthma, chronic bronchitis phthisis and cataract. They are also used for treating diseases of the bladder and other pulmonary diseases. Juice of fresh leaves used to treat dentition ache and fever of infants and chest problems. 10. Bangus Budul Bark: Red part of bark is chipped [22] 5 Valley, to pieces, boiled in water and added Kashmir, to sugar and milk and consumed to India get relief from sickness. 11. Jammu and Badul, Wood: Used for packing cakes, [23] Kashmir Drewar, Tung construction of buildings and furniture. Branches: Used as fuel. Leaf: Grounded leaves mixed with honey is used to treat cough and cold. Leaves also used to cure asthma. 12. Mornaula Rago Resin and Bark: Used for the [24] reserve forest, treatment of rheumatism and fuel. Kumaon, India 13. Kedarnath Western Bark: Extract is used for treatment [25] wildlife Himalayan Fir of cough and bronchitis. sanctuary, Garhwal, India 14. Nanda devi Ragu Leaf: Paste is used to reduce [26] biosphere swelling of injured parts. reserve, India Wood: Used for construction purpose and making furniture. 6 15. Theog forest Thaneira, Leaf: Leaf paste is applied to udder [27] division, Tosh of cow to treat clotting of milk and Himachal swelling of udder. Pradesh, India 16. Baitadi and Himisin Woods: Used as prayed flag, [28] Darchula fuelwood, furniture, butter churners, district, Nepal medicine, and agricultural implements. 83 84 85 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION 86 Abies pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle has been extensively studied for its chemical 87 constituents. Almost all parts of the plant is rich in bioactive compounds. The stem of the 88 plant is rich in chalcones and flavonones. Okanin; Okanin-4’-O-β-glucopyranoside; Butein- 89 4’-O-β-D-glucopyranoside represents the chalcones from the stem while the flavonoid is 90 represented by 8,3’4’-trihydroxyflavonone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside . The leaf of the plant 91 contains a number of compounds including hydrocarbons of various chain lengths, a 92 heterocyclic ketone (maltol), fatty acids, terpenes, terpene alcohols, terpene esters, cyclic 93 polyol (Pinitol) and carboxylic acid (shikimic acid) . The essential oil of the plant contains 94 largely terpenes, terpene alcohols, terpene esters and terpene ketones. The various 95 compounds present in different plant parts of Abies pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) Royle is 96 depicted in table 2 and chemical structures of selected compounds are presented in figures 1, 97 2 and 3 respectively. 98 99 7 100 101 Figure 1: Chemical structures of selected terpenes found in Abies pindrow (Royle ex D. Don) 102 Royle.

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