NASTIC MOVEMENTS DUE TO TURGOR PRESSURE IN PLANT
Dr. Dhrubo Jyoti Sen*
ABSTRACT
Mimosa pudica commonly called Touch Me Not plant all over the world, Chui Mui plant in India and Makahiya plant in Philippines is an amazing herb with wonderful medicinal uses and health benefits. All parts of this plant have medicinal uses. In India, it is used in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani forms of medicine for treating various diseases. Mimosa pudica belongs to the genus Mimosa and family Fabaceae. This plant is native to Central America and South America but it is found commonly all over India. This plant growing abundantly like weed in the farm and it is hard to remove this plant as it is covered in thorns. Touch me not plant produces beautiful pink flowers and small green leaves that closes or droops in the night or when touched. This plant can be found commonly in waste lands, cultivated lands and even along road sides in cities. Since it is a very popular plant, extensive studies have been done on the plant scientifically proving many of the traditional remedies it is used in. Phytochemical screening of touch me not plant leaf extract showed the presence of flavonoids, glycosides, terpenoids, alkaloids, coumarins, saponins, tannins, phenols and quinines. The root extract showed the presence of fatty acids, glycosides, essential oils, tannins, amino acids, alkaloids, phytosterol and flavonoids. Some of the important phytochemical compounds isolated from touch me not plant are mimosine, jasmonic acid, betulinic acid, stigmasterol, Beta-sitosterol, 2-hyrdoxymethyl-chroman-4-one, dimethyl ammonium salt and mimopudine.
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