Genetic diversity and podophyllotoxin analysis of Podophyllum hexandrum from Indian central Himalaya.

Genetic diversity among and within 10 populations of Podophyllum hexandrum was analyzed for precise assessments of genetic structure for conservation planning of wild Indian May apple (Podophyllum hexandrum) in the Central region of Himalayas. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) studies revealed variability among and within population. Twenty primer sets were evaluated, 18 primers resulted in low and poor polymorphism,where as two gave better results which were counted for final analysis. We found a higher podophyllotoxin levels among the populations. However, the existing variation in podophyllotoxin content among the populations may be due to geographical location, altitude and habitat. It was difficult to ascertain these variations as genetic variations. Whereas morphological variations may have impact on podophyllotoxin content detected in different populations of P. hexandrum. Hence we recommend that any further cultivation of this species require optimization of environmental factors in order to increase the rate of production of podophyllotoxin from any collected population.