Virendra Singh
Seabuckthorn (Hippophae L.) is a multipurpose shrub or small tree, which grows widely in cold regions of Asia, Europe and also introduced in North America and South America. The plant has potential in health food, cosmetics and health protection and environmental conservation. This fourth volume of the book entitled 'Seabuckthorn (Hippophae L.)-A Multipurpose Wonder Plant' has fifty excellent papers, including case studies and some reviews by experts from several countries like Russia, China, India, Canada, Finland, Romania and Germany etc. The book has been divided in nine sections. The first section on 'Propagation and Cultivation' has five papers, which deal with propagation and management practices of seabuckthorn. The second section has six papers and deals with 'Genetics & Breeding' of seabuckthorn. The third section has five papers and deals with 'Molecular Biology & Biotechnology'. The fourth section on 'Physiology' has two papers. The fifth section 'Chemistry & Biochemistry' has 7 papers, which deal with bioactive compounds like vitamins, fatty acids, carotenoids, flavonoids, sterols, tannins, fatty acids, amino acids and their dynamics in seabuckthorn fruit and leaves. The sixth section on 'Pharmacology' has fourteen papers, which deal with the studies on the experimental and clinical trials conducted on the efficacy of seabuckthorn oil and leaf extracts on various diseases of skin, cardiovascular system, diabetes, memory disorders, and wounds etc. The seventh section has three papers and deals with 'Processing Technologies' for extraction of juice and oil and development of their products. The eighth section on 'Environmental Conservation' deals with the role of seabuckthorn in control of soil erosion and debris flow and improvement of soil. The ninth section 'Miscellaneous' has five papers, which deal with studies on the animal feed, pest control, development of seabuckthorn fruit harvesters and morphology of seabuckthorn seeds and pollens. The book will prove very useful to the researchers, environmentalists, herbal medicine industry, policy makers and all those interesting in knowing more about this multipurpose wonder plant and harnessing its nutritional, health, economic and ecological potential.
