Volatile and Non-volatile Constituents of family Gentineaceae

The Himalayan region has a great wealth of medicinal plants with people having traditional medicinal knowledge. Medicinal plants have played an important role of primary health care system among the local people of Himalayan region. Since time immemorial Himalayas are famous for its rich medicinal and aromatic plant biodiversity. The varying soils, topography and occurrence of different climatic and micro-climatic zones of the region provide very congenial condition to grow a number of therapeutically important medicinal plant species. The Uttarakhand comprises of 13 districts of Kumaun and Garhwal region, 8 hilly districts collectively known as Uttarakhand Himalaya, situated in the centre of north western Himalayan region. The Uttarakhand Himalaya has a rich heritage of medicinal and aromatic flora. Several herbs possess odoriferous principles and are used as raw material for phytochemical, pharmaceuticals, perfumery, food, condiments and flavours based industries. von Chandra, Deepak