VARIATION IN Berberis lycium Royle POPULATIONS FOR BERBERENE CONTENTS

Abstract

In the present study, roots from sixty eight phenotypically superior shrubs comprISing seventeen provenances (four superior shrubs from each provenance) from wide altitudinal range of Himachal Pradesh were collected and analyzed for within and between provenance variation for berberine. Berberine ranged from 1.28 to 6.36 per cent and provenance mean from 2.54 to 4.91 per cent. Maximum berberine content was found in Rajgarh, followed by Palampur, Gohar and Jamta provenances. Whereas, one of the shrub of Palampur provenance gave the highest berberine content of 6.36% and showed significant superiority over all other shrub