Conservation strategies forCommiphora wightii. An importantmedicinal plant speciesVineet Soni & P.L. SwarnkarCommiphora wightii (Arnott) Bhandari, is an importantmedicinal plant of herbal heritage of India (figure 1). InIndian languages, it is known by various names like guggulin Hindi, gukkulu and maishakshi in Tamil, guggulu inSanskrit and Indian bdellium in English. This plant isdistributed in arid areas of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan,and Arabia. In India it is found in arid, rocky tracts of Rajasthan,Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka states. However,Rajasthan and Gujarat are the main Indian commercialcenters (ATAL et al. 1975). The use of plants in the treatmentof diseases occupies an important place in Ayurveda,the traditional medicine of India (SATYAVATI 1988).The Atharva Veda, one of the four well-known HolyScriptures (Vedas) of the Hindus, is the earliest referenceto the medicinal and therapeutic properties of guggul.Sushruta Samhita (600 B.C.), a well-known Ayurvedicmedical text, describes the usefulness of the gum resinfrom the tree Commiphora wightii in the treatment of anumber of ailments, including obesity and disorders oflipid metabolism (URIZAR & MOORE 2003).The plant Commiphora wightii provides oleo gum resinmentioned by Sushruta (3000 years ago) as being a valuabledrug. The oleo gum resin commonly known as “gumguggul” or “Indian myrrh” is the economically importantproduct of Indian bdellium. The oleo gum is collected asexudates from woody stem (figure 2). In each collectingseason a guggul tree yields between 250-500 grams of dryresin, which is extracted from the bark through a processcalled tapping. A plant generally takes 10 years to reachtapping maturity under the dry climatic conditions. Thethick branches are incised during the winter to extract theoleo gum resin.Guggul gum is a mixture of 61 % resins and 29.3 % gum,in addition to 6.1 % water, 0.6 % volatile oil and 3.2 %foreign matter. During the separation of various productsfrom the complex mixture, the biologically important activeprinciples of C21 or C27 steroids are found in neutral fraction.These are guggulsterol-I, guggulsterol-II, guggulsterol-III, guggulsterol-IV, guggulsterol-V, E-guggulsterone, Zguggulsteroneand some defense related secretary ketones(KUMAR & DEV 1987). Clinical analysis revealed that theisomers E- and Z-guggulsterone [cis- and trans-4, 17(20)-pregnadiene-3, 16-dione] are responsible for the hypolipidemicactivity of gum guggul (GHORAI et al. 2000, URIZAR& MOORE 2003, WANG et al. 2004). In addition to the hypolipidemiceffect, gum guggul has been reported to have

beneficial effects on inflammation (KIMURA et al. 2001),atherosclerosis (LATA et al. 1991), ischemic heart disease(CHANDER et al. 2003), thrombosis (OLAJIDE 1999), nodulocysticacne (THAPPA & DOGRA 1994) and thyroid disorders(PANDA & KAR 1999). Currently several formulations ofguggul gum are available in the markets.Generally the oleo gum resin of the plant is collected bythe tribal people using the traditional methods i.e. theygive several deep incisions on the stem to getmaximum amount of the guggul gum. Further,they apply a paste around the incision consistingof horse or wild ass urine, oleo gum resin andcopper sulphate. This crude method increases theamount of guggul gum three to four times overthat obtained under normal tapping procedures,but the shrub becomes unfit for tapping after thenext couple of years and ultimately dies due tothe injurious effect of copper sulphate (KSHETRAPAL& SHARMA 1993). It is now believed thatunscientific tapping methods to increase yield ofoleo gum resin cause mortality of plants leadingto the extinction-danger of the species. BHATT etal. (1989) developed an improved tapping technique,which involves the use of a so-called ‘mitchiegolledge’ knife coupled with ethephon(2 chloroethylphosphonic acid, an ethylene releasingsynthetic chemical). The application ofethephon on the cuts enhances guggul gum productionseveral times over that obtained in control. But inthe long run excessive production through this technique,too, exhausts and kills the plant.Commiphora wightii has become endangered because ofits slow growing nature, poor seed setting, lack of cultivation,poor seed germination rate and excessive andFigure 1. Commiphora wightii plant growing in natural habitat at Gultahills, Jaipur, India. (Photo: RAJKUMAR, April 2003).Taxon File1 November 2006 41unscientific tapping for its gum resin by the pharmaceuticalindustries and religious purposes (BHATT et al. 1989).The demand supply gap of gum guggul is increasing veryfast. According to an estimate, the domestic demand ofgum guggul is to the tune of 300 tonnes, while the supplyis only 75 tonnes. To meet the domestic demand, presentlyIndia is importing substantial quantities of guggul. InGujarat, which is the major supplier of gum guggul in ourcountry, the present collection is not sufficient to meet theannual demand of 100 tonnes by the pharmacies in thestate. This may be viewed from the background that about25 years back, production/collection of guggul in the state

was to the tune of 500 tones (National Bank for Agricultureand Rural Development, s. dat.). As a result ofincreasing exploitation, on 30 March 1994 the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forest, Government of India has bannedthe export of this high valued medicinal plant species(SHANKAR & MAJUMDAR s. dat.). Presently some researchinstitutes in India i.e. the Central Institute of Medicinaland Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) Lucknow, the CentralDrug Research Institute (CDRI) Lucknow, the CentralArid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) Jodhpur are carryingout research on Commiphora wightii mostly related tothe conservation of genetic resources and development ofsuperior oleo gum strains.To identify high guggulsterone yielding ecotypes weanalysed the oleo gum resins collected from Commiphorawightii plants growing wild at twelve different geographicallocations of Rajasthan state, India. Wide variationsranging from 0.60 % to 2.85 % were observed inguggulsterone contents. An interesting relationship betweenthe guggulsterone yield data and rainfall was alsoobserved in the present investigations. Higher yield ofguggulsterone (>1.66 %) was found in the area havingrainfall between 40-50 cm/year, while low guggulsteronecontents were recorded in the plants growing in veryhigh (50-90 cm/year) or low (10-40 cm/year) rainfallarea. However, the lowest guggulsterone contents wererecorded in the plants growing under highest rain fedarea. Identification of high guggulsterone yielding ecotypesof guggul plants has paved the way for multiplicationand mass propagation through tissue culture andvegetative propagation methods as well as selection ofsuitable geographical locality for large-scale cultivationof this high valued medicinal plant.We developed an in vitro method for the propagation ofthis endangered medicinal plant species through theplant tissue culture techniques. In order to screen higherguggulsterone yielding plants of Commiphora wightii,oleo gum resin samples were collected from 56 plantsgrowing naturally at 12 different geographical locationsof Rajasthan. On the basis of phytochemical analysisplants having higher yield were multiplied vegetativelyin the research nursery at the Birla Institute of ScientificResearch, Jaipur and were used as a source of explantsfor all morphogenetic work.Guggul seeds are polyembryonic in nature (GUPTA et al.1996, PRAKASH et al. 2000). We found that embryo cultureis a rapid method for in vitro mass propagation ofCommiphora wightii as compared to shoot tip and nodalexplant culture. Due to presence of polyembryony, 2-4plants can rapidly propagate through one seed. Theembryo possessed natural dormancy that could be broken

only using appropriate hormonal regime.Besides vegetative mulitiplication and embryo culture,we isolated the guggulsterone contents from the aerialstems of Commiphora wightii plants. Though theamount of guggulsterone contents recorded was verylow in the aerial stems as compared to the oleo gumresin, the yield can be enhanced using elite plant propagationmethod coupled with improvised extraction technique.The study concluded that this highly valued medicinalplant species can be conserved through in vitro and invivo mass propagation methods and the guggulsteronecontents can be isolated from the aerial branches of theplant thereby saving the entire plant.Figure 2. Exudation of oleo gum resin from woody stem ofCommiphora wightii (Photo: RAJKUMAR, April 2003).

42 Medicinal Plant Conservation 12ReferencesATAL, C.K., GUPTA, O. P. & S.H. AFAQ (1975): Commiphorawightii: source of guggul in Indian system of medicine. –Economic Botany 29: 208-218.BHATT, J.R., NAIR, M.N.B. & H.Y. MOHAN RAM (1989):Enhancement of oleo-gum resin production in Commiphorawightii by improved tapping technique. – Current Science58(7): 349-357.CHANDER, R., RIZVI, F., KHANNA, A.K. & R. PRATAP (2003):Cardioprotective activity of synthetic guggulsterone (E- andZ-isomers) in isoproterenol induced mycocardial ischemia inrats: a comparative study. – Indian Journal of ClinicalBiochemistry 18(2): 71-79.GHORAI, M., MANDAL, S.C., PAL, M., PAL, S. P. & B.P. SAHA(2000): A comparative study on hypocholesterolaemic effectof allicin, whole germinated seeds of bengal gram and guggulipidof gum gugglu. – Phytotherapy Research 14: 200-202.GUPTA, P., SHIVANNA, K.R. & H.Y. MOHAN RAM (1996): Apomixisand polyembryony in guggul plant, Commiphora wightii.– Annals of Botany 78: 67-72.KIMURA, I., YOSHIKAWA, M., KOBAYASHI, S., SUGIHARA, Y., SUZUKI,M., OOMINAMI, H., MURAKAMI, T., MATSUDA, H. & V.V.DOIPHODE (2001): New triterpenes, myrrhanol-A and myrrhanone-A, from guggul-gum resins, and their potent anti-inflammatoryeffect on adjuvant-induced air-pouch granuloma of mice.– Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 11(8): 985-9.KSHETRAPAL, S. & R. SHARMA (1993): Studies on the effectvarious plant extracts on the sprouting behaviour of cuttingsof Commiphora wightii (Arnott) Bhandari and C. agallochaEngl. – Journal of Indian Botanical Society 72: 73-75.KUMAR, V. & S. DEV (1987): Chemistry of Ayurvedic crudedrugs-V11: Guggulu-6 absolute stereochemistry of guggulsterols.– Tetrahedron 43: 5933-5948.LATA, S., K.K. SAXENA, V. BHASIN, R.S. SAXENA, A. KUMAR &V.K. SRIVASTAVA (1991): Beneficial effects of Allium sativum,Allium cepa and Commiphora mukul on experimental hyperlipidemiaand atherosclerosis - a comparative evaluation. –Journal of Postgraduate Medicine 37: 132-135.

National Bank for Agriculture And Rural Development (s.dat.): Indian Bdellium – promising medicinal plant for wastelandsof dry. Retrieved on 22 May 2003 from www.nabard.org/whats/guggul.htm (viewed 23.5.2006).OLAJIDE, O. A. (1999): Investigation of the effects of selectedmedicinal plants of experimental thrombosis. – PhytotherapyResearch 13(3): 231-232.PRAKASH, J., KASERA, P.K. & D.D. CHAWAN (2000): A reporton polyembryony in Commiphora wightii from Thar desert,India. – Current Science 78(10): 1185-1187.PANDA, S. & A. KAR (1999): Guggulu (Commiphora mukul)induces triiodothyronine production: possible involvement oflipid peroxidation. – Life Sciences 65(12): 137-141.SATYAVATI, G.V. (1988): Gum guggul (Commiphora mukul) –the success story of an ancient insight leading to a moderndiscovery. – Indian Journal of Medical Research 87: 327-335.SHANKAR, D. & B. MAJUMDAR (s.dat.): Beyond the biodiversityconvention: the challenges facing the biocultural heritageof India’s medicinal plants. Retrieved on 18 March 2005 fromwww.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/W7261E/W7261e11.htm.THAPPA, D.M. & J. DOGRA (1994): Nodulocystic acne: oral gugulipidversus tetracycline. – Journal of Dermatology 21: 729-731.URIZAR, N. L. & D.D. MOORE (2003): Guggulipid: a naturalcholesterol lowering agent. – Annual Reviews of Nutrition 23:303-313.WANG, X., GREILBERGER, J., LEDINSKI, G., KAGER, G., PAIGEN,B. & G. JÜRGENS (2004): The hypolipidemic natural productCommiphora mukul and its component guggulsterone inhibitoxidative modification of LDL. – Atherosclerosis 172 (2):239-246.Vineet Soni • Department of Botany and Biotechnology •Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Applied Sciences • ShriRam Ki Nangal, EPIP Gate, Sitapura • Jaipur, Rajasthan- 303905 • India • Tel.: ++91/9829009377 • Email:vineetuor@rediffmail.com.P. L. Swankar • Department of Botany • University ofRajasthan • Jaipur, Rajasthan - 302001 • India • E-mailplswarnkar@rediffmail.com.