Integrated approaches for identification of promising populations of Valeriana jatamansi in West Himalaya

Biodiversity conservation and management is a global issue of concern for biologists keeping in view the rapid rate of degradation. The present study focuses on Valeriana jatamansi, a medicinally important herb used in traditional and modern medicines. The raw material of the species is collected from the wild, which puts pressure on its natural habitat; hence, data on diversity attributes including morphological, phytochemical, antioxidant activity, and genetic diversity of V. jatamansi are analyzed to identify promising sources and to develop conservation and management strategies for target species. Neighbor joining cluster and principal component analysis was used to identify elites based on all these attributes. Based on neighbor joining cluster and principal component analysis two populations, Dunagiri and Tharali, were identified as elites and promising sources for raw material collection and conservation purposes. However, individually, each attribute prioritizes different populations. The approach of the present study can be further utilized for developing conservation planning and management of different medicinal plants of the region. This will also promote the interest of researchers in future studies and will aid in collecting plant material from a choice of population.