Investigating the morphological, nutritive, and secondary metabolite characteristics of Calotropis procera (Aiton) R. Br wild populations in certain habitats of Baluchestan, Iran

The development and implementation of effective, beneficial programs towards restoration, conservation, and appropriate utilization of medicinal plant species are feasible only through the identification of their ecological characteristics. This research was conducted with the objective of investigating the morphological, nutritive, and secondary metabolite characteristics of calotrope wild populations in certain habitats of Baluchestan, as a completely random nested design with three repetitions throughout four cities during February/March 2014. The edaphic properties of habitats were also assessed. The obtained data were compared at a 5% significance level via DMRT. The samples were collected from various regions, including the cities of (1) Iranshahr (Mand-e Bala and Sarzeh villages), (2) Chabahar (Negour and Nalent villages), (3) Nikshahr (Bandaan and Bent villages), and Khash (Baluchkan and central Khash), were compared. Results showed that the majority of the investigated characteristics were significantly different among cities and regions. In this research, Nikshahr city had the highest number of morphological characteristics. The investigated soil in Nikshahr city was more suitable regarding P and K, as compared to other regions. The plants grown in Nikshahr had the highest level of foliar N, Ca, K, and P, the highest level of floral K, and the highest level of P and K in the roots. Forty-two compounds were identified in the aerial organs and root extracts of calotrope. Among the active ingredients, 9-Octadecenamide acid with 8.3% in the aerial organ, Benzyl alcohol with 8.7% in the root, and 2,6,10-Trimethyl,14-ethylene-14-pentadecane with 27.2% in the stem-extracted latex had the highest content in this plant.