This special issue on the genus Hypericum (family Hypericaceae) consists of 12 articles focusing on recent advancements related to biosynthetic pathways, biotechnology, molecular biology, genomics, pharmacology, and related disciplines. Hypericum is well-known for its medicinal properties. There are about 487 Hypericum spp., which are distributed across every continent except Antarctica. Althou...

Corolla chirality, the pinwheel arrangement of petals within a flower, is found throughout the core eudicots. In 15 families, different chiral type flowers (i.e., right or left rotated corolla) exist on the same plant, and this condition is referred to as unfixed/enantiomorphic corolla chirality. There are no investigations on the significance of unfixed floral chirality on directed pollen move...

diseases in the world. It constitutes a public health problem in more than 90 countries, inhabited by about 40% of the world’s population. The World Health Organisation estimates that there are 300—500 million malaria cases annually, causing 2—3 million deaths, mostly in children under five years old. Africa accounts for over 90% of malaria mortality. Malaria also has significant economic impac...

The production, handling, processing and marketing of over-the-counter medicinal products manufactured from plants is virtually unregulated. This can include dietary supplements, functional foods and nutraceuticals, any of which may contain botanical constituents. Of particular concern is the possible presence of human pathogens in products offered at retail. A review of literature is presented...

Effects of topical administration of ethanolic extract of Malvastrum Tricuspidatum ointment was studied respectively on two types of wound models in wistar rats, (i) the incision and (ii) the dead space wound model. The ointment of the ethanolic extract of Malvastrum Tricuspidatum produced significant response in both of the wound types tested. In the incision model the extract treated wounds w...

Because cultivation of exotic woody ornamental plants has led to establishment of a number of invasive species, there is considerable interest in breeding methods to reduce the propensity for spread. We review progress in conventional breeding and transgenic biotechnology approaches to producing sterile forms of ornamental woody plants. Conventional forms of inducing sterility, including induct...