Ginseng is the root of plants in the genus Panax, such as Korean ginseng (P. ginseng), South China ginseng (P. notoginseng), and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius), characterized by the presence of ginsenosides and gintonin. Ginseng is common in the cuisines and medicines of China and Korea.
Tetranychus urticae is a species of plant-feeding mite generally considered to be a pest. It is the most widely known member of the family Tetranychidae or spider mites. Its genome was fully sequenced in 2011, and was the first genome sequence from any chelicerate.
Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Of the more than 2,000 described species, many are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also act as a vector for several plant diseases. Some ants live in symbiotic relationships with them, protecting them from predators and feeding off the honeydew which they excrete.
Spider mites are members of the family Tetranychidae, which includes about 1,200 species. They are part of the subclass Acari (mites). Spider mites generally live on the undersides of leaves of plants, where they may spin protective silk webs, and can cause damage by puncturing the plant cells to feed. Spider mites are known to feed on several hundred species of plants.
Nicandra physalodes is a species of flowering plant in subfamily Solanoideae of the nightshade family. It is known by the common names apple-of-Peru and shoo-fly plant. It is thought originally to have been native to western South America, including Peru, and is known elsewhere as an introduced and ruderal species – sometimes as a weed – in tropical, subtropical and, to a lesser extent, temperate areas all over the world. It has also long been cultivated as an ornamental plant for its attractive flowers and curious fruits and has been adopted into the traditional medicine of countries far-removed from its original home.
Treehoppers and thorn bugs are members of the family Membracidae, a group of insects related to the cicadas and the leafhoppers. About 3,200 species of treehoppers in over 400 genera are known. They are found on all continents except Antarctica; only five species are known from Europe. Individual treehoppers usually live for only a few months.
Alternaria is a genus of Deuteromycetes fungi. All species are known as major plant pathogens. They are also common allergens in humans, growing indoors and causing hay fever or hypersensitivity reactions that sometimes lead to asthma. They are present in the human mycobiome and readily cause opportunistic infections in immunocompromised people such as AIDS patients.
Alternaria dianthicola is a fungal plant pathogen, including Withania somnifera tree leaves in India.
Withania is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, with 19 to 23 species that are native to parts of North Africa, western Asia, south Asia, southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands. Withania was initially included within Physalis by Linnaeus in 1753 but has since become its own genus. This grouping was due to the shared feature of an inflated Calyx that surrounds and protects the fruit.
Withanolides are a group of at least 300 naturally occurring steroids built on an ergostane skeleton. They occur as secondary metabolites primarily in genera of the Nightshade family, for example in the tomatillo.
Withaferin A is a steroidal lactone, derived from Acnistus arborescens, Withania somnifera and other members of family Solanaceae. It is the first member of the withanolide class of ergostane type product to be discovered.
Phenacoccus manihoti is a mealybug insect species.
Little cherry disease or LChD, sometimes referred to as little cherry, K & S little cherry or sour cherry decline, is a viral infectious disease that affects cherry trees, most notably sweet cherries and sour cherries . Little cherry disease should not be confused with cherry buckskin disease, which is caused by Phytoplasma. Note that both diseases are among the diseases referred to as cherry decline.
Withania coagulans is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, native to Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent. Within the genus Withania, W. somnifera (Ashwagandha) and W. coagulans are economically significant, and are cultivated in several regions for their use in Ayurveda. It is claimed to help control diabetes. The berries contain a rennet-like protease that can be used to clot milk for cheese production. The plant is prone to leaf spot disease caused by Alternaria alternata.
Durai Sundar is an Indian computational biologist, bioinformatician and the current Head of the Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He is known for his studies in the fields of genome editing tool designing, biological studies of natural drugs and metabolic engineering as well as for his participation in the Indo-Japanese collaborative research initiatives on anti-cancer drug development and is a life member of the National Academy of Sciences, India.
Phenacoccus solenopsis, the cotton mealybug or solenopsis mealybug, is a species of mealybug in the family Pseudococcidae. Having originated in North America, it has spread to other parts of the world and become a major pest of cotton crops.
Clinical trials on ayurveda refers to any clinical trials done on ayurvedic treatment. Ayurveda is a traditional medicine system in India and like other cultural medical practices includes both conventional medicine and also complementary and alternative medicine. When there are clinical trials in ayurveda, the focus tends to be on practices in alternative medicine.
Scymnus (Scymnus) nubilus, is a species of lady beetle found in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, China, and Asia Minor.
Scymnus (Pullus) coccivora, is a species of lady beetle found in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Pakistan and probably in Thailand, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago and Papua New Guinea.
