Citation Hussan Ara Begum, Muhammad Hamayun, Noor Shad, TabassumYaseen and Fayaz Asad. Nutritional analysis of some selected medicinal plants of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Pure and Applied Biology. Vol. 7, Issue 3, pp955-964. http://dx. AbstractPlant biodiversity contribute significantly to human health, nourishing and nurturing them and alleviating their acute and chronic diseases. Plants not only served as curing agents since long but also providing basic nutrients like carbohydrates, protein, fat etc. These nutrients have essential role in supporting human body requirements for vigor, used in different physiological and morphological functions. In present study, Cucumis sativus, Portulaca oleracea, Malus baccata, Saxifraga flagillaris, Geranium wallichianum and Monotheca buxifolia, were assessed for their nutritional and proximate composition (ash, moisture, protein, carbohydrates and fat) subjected to Association of Official Analytical Chemist (AOAC) procedure based to their ethno botanical importance. In results, the comparative assessment of these selected plants showed that Carbohydrates was highest in Monotheca buxifolia (74.27%), followed by Geranium wallichianum (64.68%) and Saxifraga flagillaris (62.79%). Ash content was highest in Portulaca oleracea (26.44%), followed by Malus baccata (22.83%) and Cucumis sativus (20%). Malus baccata possessed highest percentage of moisture (18.69%). Saxifraga flagillaris has highest percentage of protein (4.37%). Cucumis sativus consisted of highest percentage of fat (14%). It is concluded from the present study that medicinal plants play crucial role in human life and are praiseworthy springs of food nutrients and therapeutics associate in human health.

T he growth and development of plants depend upon energy obtained from the sunlight. A slight change in the wave length of light can alter the whole plant physiology and biochemistry (Schmitt and Wulff, 1993). Light waves of 400-700 nm wavelengths have greater effect on a plant's responses which cause Abstract | Due to the depletion in the ozone layer, solar UV radiation at the earth's surface is increasing, impacting economically important plants. The current study assesses the effects of UV radiation on germination, growth, chlorophyll content and fresh and dry weight of Brassica rapa L. and Eruca sativa L. Some seeds of Brassica rapa L. and Eruca sativa L. were placed in petri plates, and were exposed to UV light for 30, 60 and 120 mins daily. The source of UV light was a UV box having a UV Tube. The UV exposure on the seeds reduced the germination percentage in both species. The germination percentage in control was recorded as 19.35%, while it was 18.65% in 30min and 19.00% in 120min exposures. Root and shoot growth of the seedlings was markedly reduced by increasing UV radiation. The shoot length was 2.40mm in control, 2.75mm in 30min, 1.50mm in 60min and 1.60mm in 120min of exposure to the UV light. The root length in control was 1.38mm, 0.90mm in 30min, 1.00mm in 60min and 1.17mm in 120min exposure. The UV irradiations affected the chlorophyll contents positively, and therefore, the total quantity of chlorophyll content increased, compared to the control. The chlorophyll content in the control was 6.90 (µmol m-2) of leaf area while treatment showed 8.08 (µmol m-2) in 30min, 8.01 (µmol m-2) in 60min and 10.01 (µmol m-2) in 120min exposure. In both species, fresh and dry weights were decreased, as compared to the control set. The fresh weight of the control was 0.85g, 0.65g in 30min, 0.78g in 60min and 0.61g in 120min exposure. The dry weight of the control was recorded to be 0.70g, 0.60g in 30min, 0.62g in 60min and 0.50g in 120min exposure. It was concluded that ultraviolet radiation decreased the radicle and plumule lengths in Brassica rapa and Eruca sativa while increasing their chlorophyll content.

Medicinal plants are best sources to treat various illnesses with them. So they might prove be a good source of developing novel herbicides. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential inhibition effects of Cucumis sativus, Portulaca oleracea, Malus baccata, Saxifraga flagillaris, Geranium wallichianum and Monotheca buxifolia powdered material on germination of Lactuca sativa seeds. Sandwich method was used for determining phytotoxicity of these plants in terms of radicle and plumule length of Lactuca sativa seeds with different amounts of 10, 20, and 40mg of powdered plant material. Cucumis sativus and Monotheca buxifolia were found the most phytotoxic among the selected medicinal plants at all concentration. The results can be sum off as Monotheca buxifolia > Cucumis sativus > Malus baccata > Saxifraga flagillaris > Geranium wallichianum > Portulaca oleraceae. From the results it can be assumed that the phyto-toxic effects of the aforementioned plants could be helpful in searching and development of new pharmaceuticals that can be used as positive sources for the development of new weedicides.