Research Projects

Centella asiatica (L.) Gotu kola, also known as Urban, Indian Pennywort, or Mandookparni, is a major herbal plant with strong market opportunities in the herbal sector. In Ayurveda, C. asiatica is known as Madhya Rasayana, a drug that decreases mental exhaustion and improves intelligence. It is available in the market as liposomal tablets, powder, cream or tincture. Centellosides, viz., asiatic acid (ASA), madecassic acid (MDA), asiaticoside (ASI) and madecassoside (MAD), are the major bioactive entities. Despite high industrial demand, the gross productivity of the crop in India is poor, leading to low net profit when compared with other herbal species [Suryanarayana et al., 2022 J Plant Nutrition, 46, 245-260]. There is a need to improve the concentration of active compounds as well as enhance fresh herb yield through advanced weed management agrotechnologies, which can enhance phytochemical composition and functional constituents of C. asiatica, especially when grown as an organically cultivated crop. In this project, it has been achieved by selective weed cultivation followed by extraction of metabolites through the standard solvent method for metabolite profiling (GC-MS, LC-MS/MS) in order to identify responsible phytochemicals for bioherbicidal activity. The extracts would be subjected to screening under laboratory-controlled in vitro conditions, through seed germination and seedling vigour assays. It is followed by in vivo phytotoxicity assays on C. asiatica and common weeds, evaluating their selectivity and efficacy. Candidate metabolites/molecules from weed extracts will be evaluated for pharmacokinetic properties, toxicity, and physicochemical characteristics through in silico approach to determine their herbicide-likeliness. Additionally, transcriptome profiling of C. asiatica and selected weeds upon treatment with bioherbicide would also be analyzed to determine the involved proteins in affected metabolic pathways. This will help reveal the underlying molecular mechanisms of herbicide action, stress responses. Further structure-based studies, including molecular docking, pharmacophore modeling, R-group alteration, functionalisation, MEP mapping, Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation analysis may also be conducted to explore molecular interactions and guide compound optimization. The project is expected to deliver weed-based bioherbicidal formulations that are safe, effective, and scalable. It will also identify marker compounds and genes for formulation standardization and regulation. By transforming invasive plant biomass into beneficial agricultural inputs, the project promotes sustainability and provides a low-cost organic farming package for small and marginal farmers cultivating C. asiatica. Overall, it integrates phytochemistry, molecular biology, and computational biology into a unified green agrotechnology framework.