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ABSTRACT:-In the present study different species of Ocimum (Ocimum basilicum and O. sanctum) were collected from different agro-ecological zones of the world and compared for their phenotypic (qualitative and quantitative) and biochemical trait. Comparatively high variation was seen for seed germination, canopy and spikes/plant, florets/spike and leaf area. A UPGMA cluster, grouped the 9 Ocimum genotypes into two major clusters on the basis of total seed protein and phenotypic characters, except Siam Queen and Lime basil stand alone, respectively. Euclidian distance for morphological traits ranged from 3.60 to 7.26. Conversely on the basis of total seed proteins genetic distances ranged from 0.11 to 1.00.
Due to greater genetic diversity in Ocimum germplasm and its suitability for commercial cultivation even in the area under small holdings, the investigation suggest its genetic as well as biochemical investigation for the production of commercial varieties and exploitation of the plant for economic benefits of the local communities.
Key Words: Ocimum; Diversity; Seed Protein; Morphology; Pakistan.
INTRODUCTION The genus Ocimum is the most popular herbs in the world. It belongs to the Family Lamiaceae, sub family Ocimoideae and includes over 150 different species of herbs and shrubs distributed in tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Central and South America (Darrah,1980; Vieira and Fontes, 1999; Paton et al., 1999; Simon et al., 1999). The genus Ocimum, has long been acclaimed for its diversity (James et al., 1999). Basil is often referred as the "King of the herbs, being widely utilized due to its economic, nutritional, industrial and medicinal importance (Simpson and Conner, 1986; Simon et al., 1990; Khosla, 1995; Javanmardi et al., 2002; 2003; Carovic et al., 2007). Extracts of the plant are used in traditional medicines, and have been shown to contain biologically active constituents that are insecticidal, nematicidal, fungistatic, or antimicrobial (Simon, 1990; Albuquerque 1996).
Most commercial basil cultivars available inthe market belong to the species O. basilicum. O. basilicum populations contans high methylcinnamate, methylchavicol, linalool, flavonol-glycosides and rosmarinic acid was present in both flower and leaf tissues (Vieira and Fontes, 1999; Javanmardi et al., 2002; Kosar et al., 2005; Nguyen and Niemeyer, 2008). Lee and Scagel (2009) reported the presence of chicoric acid in basil leaves. Chicoric acid itself has been reported to inhibit HIV integrase (Charvat et al.,...