# Evaluation of Vegetative Growth Parameters in Biofield Treated Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)

Mahendra Kumar Trivedi, Alice Branton, Dahryn Trivedi, Gopal Nayak, Mayank Gangwar, Snehasis Jana

<figure><img src="image_1.png" /></figure>

## To cite this version:

Mahendra Kumar Trivedi, Alice Branton, Dahryn Trivedi, Gopal Nayak, Mayank Gangwar, et al. Evaluation of Vegetative Growth Parameters in Biofield Treated Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus). International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 2015, 4 (6), pp.688-694. hal-01494973

HAL Id: hal-01494973

https://hal.science/hal-01494973

Submitted on 24 Mar 2017

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access
archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci-
entific research documents, whether they are pub-
lished or not. The documents may come from
teaching and research institutions in France or
abroad, or from public or private research centers.

L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est
destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents
scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non,
émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de
recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires
publics ou privés.

<figure><img src="image_2.png" /></figure>

Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
# Evaluation of Vegetative Growth Parameters in Biofield Treated Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)

Mahendra Kumar Trivedi<fnref n="1" />, Alice Branton<fnref n="1" />, Dahryn Trivedi<fnref n="1" />, Gopal Nayak<fnref n="1" />, Mayank Gangwar<fnref n="2" />, Snehasis Jana<fnref n="2" />,*

**Email address:**
publication@trivedisrl.com (S. Jana)

**To cite this article:**

Mahendra Kumar Trivedi, Alice Branton, Dahryn Trivedi, Gopal Nayak, Mayank Gangwar, Snehasis Jana. Evaluation of Vegetative Growth Parameters in Biofield Treated Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus). *International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences*. Vol. 4, No. 6, 2015, pp. 688-694. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20150406.24

**Abstract:** The objective of the study was to assess the growth contributing characters of biofield treated bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) seeds. The seeds of both crops were divided into two groups, one was kept aside and denoted as untreated, while the other group was subjected biofield energy treatment. The variabilities in growth contributing parameters were studied and compared with their control. Further the level of glutathione (GSH) in okra leaves, along with DNA fingerprinting in bottle gourd were analyzed using RAPD method. After germination, the plants of bottle gourd were reported to be strong and erect with better canopy as compared with the control. The vegetative growth of okra plants after biofield energy treatment was found to be stout with small canopy, strong steam, and more fruits per nodes, that contributed high yield as compared with the control. However, endogenous level of GSH in the leaves of okra was increased by 47.65% as compared to the untreated group, which may suggest an improved immunity of okra crops. Besides, the DNA fingerprinting data, showed polymorphism (42%) between treated and untreated samples of bottle gourd. The overall results suggest that the biofield energy treatment on bottle gourd and okra seeds, results an improved overall growth of plant and yield, which may enhance flowering and fruiting per plant. Study results conclude that the biofield energy treatment could be an alternate method to improve the crop yield in agricultural science.

**Keywords:** *Lagenaria siceraria*, *Abelmoschus esculentus*, Biofield Energy, Glutathione, DNA Fingerprinting, Polymorphism

## 1. Introduction

Some traditional medicines are derived from the vegetative plants, minerals and organic matter [1]. The calabash or bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is commonly known as long melon, lauki, ghia or dudhi in India. It is one of the first vegetative domesticated crop for human use. It can be used for many purposes such as food, medicine, etc. A total of six varieties of Lagenaria species are known, out of which L. siceraria is domesticated, while the rest are perennial, wild congeners, and dioecious in nature [2]. Bottle gourd is supposed to be originated from Africa and America [3], while it occurs in wild form in India and South Africa. However, most of the variability in terms of shape, size, and fruits are found in India [4]. It is considered as a part of complementary

and alternative therapy against many diseases (i.e., in case of high blood pressure, heart disease, liver function, nerve tonic, indigestion, ulcers, etc.) [5].

*Abelmoschus esculentus* is commonly known as okra or lady's finger, is an important vegetative crop throughout the tropics and subtropics region in warm temperate zones of the World. However, it is considered to be native to tropical Africa [6]. It is well distributed and cultivated in Indian subcontinent and are harvested as immature fruits and eaten as a vegetable. The content of oil in seeds is about 15%, and it is an important source of protein, minerals, vitamins and roughage [7]. However, its fresh tender pods were used to cure leucorrhea, constipation, spermatorrhea, jaundice, and diabetes. Its mucilage component is also used to treat different gastrointestinal disorders [8]. Although, the plants of okra are correlated with its benefits in few diseases, but most of the

<footnote n="1">¹Trivedi Global Inc., Henderson, USA</footnote>

<footnote n="2">²Trivedi Science Research Laboratory Pvt. Ltd., Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India</footnote>
problems are associated with seed and soil borne pathogens, which finally results in a low final yield of the crops [9, 10], and different advanced methods have been adopted for the seeds to increase the yield [11]. Some alternate methods are required to improve the yield of vegetative crops, which could restrict the crop infections and lead to improve the yield.

Biofield energy treatment is one of the alternative approaches recently reported to alter the agricultural crops crop yield [12, 13]. Biofield therapy (the electromagnetic field) is one type of energy medicine, which comes under the category of complementary and alternate medicine (CAM). Use of energy medicine is prescribed and included under CAM category by National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH/NCCIM) [14]. It involves the use of human biofield, which will regulate and concentrate the bioenergy and transmit it into any living or non-living object. Thus, the human has the ability to harness the energy from the environment and can transmit it into useful way. Now, a days, biofield therapies has been widely practiced and reported with several benefits in medical science [15-17]. Mr. Mahendra Kumar Trivedi, is one of the well-known biofield therapy practitioner, and possesses a unique biofield energy. His unique biofield energy treatment is popularly known as The Trivedi Effect®. The results of biofield treatment have been reported in the field of agricultural science that improves the yields and growth of vegetative plants [18, 19].

Inspired by the previous results of biofield treatment, and importance of vegetative crops, the present study was designed to evaluate the effect of biofield energy treatment on bottle gourd and okra seeds. Genetic variability parameters of bottle gourd (DNA fingerprinting) using standard molecular method were performed, while level of glutathione (GSH) in okra leaves after biofield treatment was studied.

## 2. Materials and Methods

Bottle gourd (Lageneria siceraria) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) were selected for present study for its economic importance. Nirmal-200 variety of bottle gourd was procured from Nirmal Seeds, Jalgoan, Maharashtra, India, while F1 hybrid okra variety was purchased from Syngenta India Ltd, Pune, Maharashtra, India. Each variety of the seeds was divided into two parts, one part was considered as control, as untreated. The other part was coded as treated and subjected to Mr. Trivedi's biofield energy treatment. Both variety of seeds were cultivated in Shahapur agricultural land in Maharashtra for growth analysis. Further, the cultivation practices were the same as for all the plants; i.e., the control plants were given standard irrigation, fertilization, pesticides and fungicides, whereas the treated plants were given only irrigation. The sampling was done for laboratory analysis at three developmental stages, i.e., pre-flowering, flowering and post-flowering. Further, the level of GSH was estimated in control and treated okra crop leaves. The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was done in bottle gourd using Ultrapure Genomic DNA Prep Kit; Cat KT 83

(Bangalore Genei, India).

### 2.1. Biofield Treatment Strategy

The treated groups of seeds were subjected to Mr. Trivedi's biofield energy treatment under standard laboratory conditions. Mr. Trivedi provided the unique biofield treatment through his energy transmission process to the treated group of both seeds without touch. The treated samples were assessed for the growth germination of seedlings, leaves, length of plant, and rate of infections. Variability in different growth contributing parameters of control and treated crops were compared [18].

### 2.2. Analysis of Growth and Related Parameters of Crops

Control and treated seeds of bottle gourd and okra were cultivated under similar conditions. Vegetative growth of the crops with respect to plant height, canopy, shape of leaves, flowering conditions, infection rate, etc. were analyzed and compared with respect to the control groups [19].

### 2.3. Estimation of Glutathione in Okra Leaves

For the extraction of GSH, approximate 5 gm of okra leaves were crushed and mixed with 5 mL of 80% ice-cold methanol (as a solvent). Further, the extract was sonicated for 10 minutes, and 1 mL of 5% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) was added to the extract. This sample was used for the analysis of GSH content. The GSH levels were estimated as per reported method of Moron *et al*. and TCA was taken as blank [20].

### 2.4. DNA Fingerprinting in Bottle Gourd

#### 2.4.1. Isolation of Plant Genomic DNA Using CTAB Method

After germination when the plants were reached the appropriate stage, leaves disc were harvested from each plant. Genomic DNA was isolated according to standard cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) method [21]. Approximately 200 mg of plant tissues (seeds) were grinded to a fine paste in approximately 500 µL of CTAB buffer. The mixture (CTAB/plant extract) was transferred to a microcentrifuge tube, and incubated for about 15 min at 55°C in a recirculating water bath. After incubation, the mixture was centrifuged at 12000g for 5 min and the supernatant was transferred to a clean microcentrifuge tube. After mixing with chloroform and iso-amyl alcohol followed by centrifugation the aqueous layers were isolated which contains the DNA. Then, ammonium acetate followed by chilled absolute ethanol were added, to precipitate the DNA content and stored at -20°C. The RNase treatment was provided to remove any RNA material followed by washing with DNA free sterile solution. The quantity of genomic DNA was measured at 260 nm using spectrophotometer [22].

#### 2.4.2. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD)

**Analysis**

DNA concentration was considered about 25 ng/µL using distilled deionized water for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) experiment. The RAPD analysis was performed on the treated
mustard seeds using five RAPD primers, which were labeled as RPL 4A, RPL 5A, RPL 6A, RPL 13A, and RPL 19A. The PCR mixture including 2.5 µL each of buffer, 4.0 mM each of dNTP, 2.5 µM each of primer, 5.0 µL (approximately 20 ng) of each genomic DNA, 2U each of *Thermus aquaticus* (*Taq*) polymerase, 1.5 µL of MgCl₂ and 9.5 µL of water in a total of 25 µL with the following PCR amplification protocol; initial denaturation at 94°C for 7 min, followed by 8 cycles of annealing at 94°C for 45 sec, annealing at 35°C for 1 min, and extension at 72°C for 1.5 min. Further 35 Final extension cycle was carried out at 72°C for 10 min. Amplified PCR products (12 µL of each) from control and treated samples were loaded on to 1.5% agarose gel and resolved by electrophoresis at 75 volts. Each fragment was estimated using 100 bp ladder (Genei™; Cat # RMBD19S). The gel was subsequently stained with ethidium bromide and viewed under UV-light [23]. Photographs were documented subsequently. The following formula was used for calculation of percentage of polymorphism.

$$ \text{Percent polymorphism} = A/B \times 100 $$

Where, A = number of polymorphic bands in treated plant; and B = number of polymorphic bands in the control plant.

# 3. Results and Discussion

## 3.1. Effect of Biofield Treatment on Different Growth Contributing Parameters of Bottle Gourd

The results of growth attributes of bottle gourd in control and biofield treated seeds after germination were evaluated and compared. Control or untreated seeds of crops after germination showed larger and thicker leaves, with presence of yellow spots in majority of the crops (Fig. 1a). The stems of the bottle gourd plants were soft and tender. The crop or fruits of plants were largely infected with diseases and showed signs of attack by insects. Much of the fruits in control group were deformed or infected with pest (Fig. 1c).

Bottle gourd plants generally grow as climbers, but, after receiving of Mr. Trivedi's biofield energy treatment, it was reported for the first time that most of the plants were germinated and grew like other plants; stands erect for approximately 45 days, and then converted into climbers. The stems of the biofield treated plants were strong, that may be the possible reason that plants were erect for a longer duration as compared with the control. The shape and size of leaves were completely altered with better canopy as compared with the control. The leaves were thinner and all of the leaves were pointing towards the sun shows the good sign of growth. The color of the leaves were bright green, uniform and completely different from normal bottle gourd plants (Fig. 1b). As compared to the control group, there were more hairs on the leaves in biofield treated plants, which showed a good defense mechanism against insect attack. The crop of treated plants was absolutely disease free as compared with the control (Fig. 1d).

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 1.** Effect of biofield energy treatment on bottle gourd (a) leaf of control plants were reported as highly infected (b) biofield treated plant leaves were free from any kind of disease or pest attack, (c) control plants fruit showed infected and unhealthy bottle gourd resulted in less vegetative yield, (d) biofield treated seeds showed healthy bottle gourd and quite free from infections with high yield. C: Control; T: Treated.</figcaption></figure>

According to Aladjadjiyan, 2010, most of the seeds are having paramagnetic behavior. While exposing the seeds with external magnetic fields, behaviors of seed particles orient themselves in the direction of the applied external field. The impact of the external magnetic field was reported with increased seeds energy and ultimately improved final yield [24]. Biofield treatment on bottle gourd seeds might improve the internal field of the seeds after treatment, and resulted in improved agronomical characteristics of the crop as compared with the control.

## 3.2. Effect of Biofield Treatment on Different Growth Contributing Parameters of Okra

The vegetative growth and canopy of the plants in control and treated group were analyzed and compared. The plants in control group were reported with more height and a large canopy. The leaves were very broad in size with rough surfaces and many were diseased with yellow dots, even the veins were yellowish in color and the color of leaves were not uniform in the untreated crops (Fig. 2a). The stem was analyzed as tenderer and easily bendable, due to which, many plants fell down, as they could not bear their own weight that contributed poor crop yield in the control group. The gap between the internodes of okra control plants was larger, that depicted less fruiting which causes the overall less yield (Fig. 2b). The stalk of the fruit in control was tough for plucking. The skin was thin, and, when cut, the fruit was found to have more seeds than the treated plants (Fig. 2c). The shape and color of the fruits were not uniform, while the fruit had less hair. The control fruits were of usual stickiness, and the crop had the fair incidence of infection.

On the other hand, the growth of the biofield treated plants was stout, with average plant height and had a small canopy (Fig. 2d). So, it can be concluded that biofield treated okra
crops were strong and may contribute to high yield as compared with the control. The shape of the leaves were different from the control group of plants. There was less vegetative growth, and the leaves were not broad in size, rather the leaves were narrow with even green coloring and smooth surfaces. The stem was very strong and sturdy and it was not easily bendable. The color of the flowers was quite different from the control group. The internode gap was much smaller as compared to the control, and almost every node produced fruit, yielding more crop than the control plants. The stalk of the fruit was tender and it could be easily plucked (Fig. 2e). There were fewer seeds in the fruit, and the skin of the fruit was thick (Fig. 2f). The shape of the fruit was very uniform in all the treated plants. There was more hair on the fruit, which may help to prevent the insect attack. The taste of the fruit was exceptionally smooth and crisp, similar to that of cucumber. The fruit was only 10% as sticky as compared to the control group. The treated crops were reported as disease free as compared with the control. Plant population, growth, and canopy of the plant are the major yield contributing parameters, which overall contributes the final yield of okra.

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 2.** Effect of biofield energy treatment on okra (a) leaf of control plants were reported with high pest attack that leads to infection (b) control seeds of okra results in infected fruits with curved shape fruit (c) cross section of control showed more seeds (d) biofield treated group showed healthy leaves free from infection (e) biofield treated okra fruits are long, fresh, and free from infection, less vegetative yield (f) cross section of biofield treated okra fruit showed less seeds with high yield. C: Control; T: Treated.</figcaption></figure>

Okra is the multipurpose crop because of various uses of the fresh leaves, buds, flowers, pods, stems, and seeds [25].

Further, okra contains important oils and rich source of protein, which made it more important for medicinal properties such as antioxidant and different pharmacological activities [26].

### 3.3. Estimation of Glutathione Level in Okra Leaves

Effect of Mr. Trivedi's biofield energy treatment on okra seeds showed 0.512 mM GSH concentration in the control group plants leaves, while 0.756 mM in treated group. Overall, 47.65% increased level of GSH was reported after biofield treatment as compared with the control. GSH is one of the important chemical entities in plants involved for detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Different studies have been reported that are in support of the role of GSH in oxidative stress. Stress can be induced due to exposure to chemical oxidants [27], gaseous pollutants [28], high air temperatures, and water stress [29]. The plant GSH system, as an essential component of the cellular anti-oxidative defense system is regarded as stress marker in drought tolerance conditions, which control and manage the ROS level. Biofield treatment increases the level of GSH, which suggested that the treated plants might have higher immunity power than the control group plants, and can resist in environmental stress condition.

*Abelmoschus esculentus* fruit is commonly used as vegetable, but reported for different medicinal properties such as antidiabetic [30], hypolipidemic [31], *in vitro* antioxidant properties [32], and many more. Oxidative stress plays a considerable role in the pathogenesis and progression of diabetes because of increased free radical and reduced antioxidant defense. It was reported that okra peel and seed powder have significant *in vivo* antioxidant property in diabetic rats [33]. Our experimental results showed enhanced GSH level in biofield treated seeds, hence it is presumed that biofield treated okra seeds might be rich in its biological activity as an antidiabetic effect, along with better crop yield.

### 3.4. DNA Fingerprinting of Biofield Treated Bottle Gourd by RAPD Analysis

Biofield energy treated bottle gourd was analyzed and compared with the control for their epidemiological relatedness and genetic characteristics. Genetic similarity or mutations between the biofield treated and the control group was analyzed using RAPD. It required a short nucleotide random primers, which were unrelated to known DNA sequences of the target genome. DNA polymorphism can be efficiently detected using PCR primers and identify inter-strain variations among plant species after biofield treatment. The degree of relatedness and genetic mapping can be correlated between similar or different treated samples [34].

Random amplified polymorphic-DNA fragment patterns of control and treated bottle gourd samples were generated using five RAPD primers, and 100 base pair DNA ladder. The results of DNA polymorphism in control and treated using five primers are presented in Fig. 3. The DNA profiles of treated group were compared with their respective control. The
polymorphic bands observed using five different primers in control and treated samples were marked by arrows. The RAPD patterns using five designed primers in biofield treated bottle gourd sample showed some unique, common and dissimilar bands as compared with the control. DNA polymorphism analyzed by RAPD analysis, showed different banding pattern in terms of total number of bands, and common, and unique bands, which are summarized in Table 1. The percentage of polymorphism between samples were varied in all the five primers, while level of polymorphism using five primers were ranged from 12 to 88% between control and treated samples. However, level of polymorphism between control and treated groups using RPL 4A, RPL 5A, RPL 6A, RPL 13A, and RPL 19A was found to be 30, 40, 88, 42, and 12%, respectively. The highest change in DNA sequence was observed with RPL 6A primer; however minimum polymorphism was detected with RPL 19A primer in treated group as compared to the control. RAPD also explains the relevant degree of genetic diversity. Overall, RAPD showed that polymorphism was detected between control and treated samples. The percentage of true polymorphism observed between control and treated samples of bottle gourd seed sample was an average value of 42%.

<table><caption>**Table 1.** DNA polymorphism of bottle gourd analyzed after biofield treatment using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis.</caption><thead><tr><th rowspan="2">S. No.</th><th rowspan="2">Primer</th><th rowspan="2">Band Scored</th><th rowspan="2">Common bands in control and treated</th><th colspan="2">Unique band</th></tr><tr><th>Control</th><th>Treated</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1.</td><td>RPL 4A</td><td>12</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>2.</td><td>RPL 5A</td><td>6</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>3.</td><td>RPL 6A</td><td>13</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>4.</td><td>RPL 13A</td><td>9</td><td>5</td><td>-</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>5.</td><td>RPL 19A</td><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>-</td><td>1</td></tr></tbody></table>

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 3.** Random amplified polymorphic-DNA fragment patterns of biofield treated bottle gourd generated using eight RAPD primers, RPL 4A, RPL 5A, RPL 6A, RPL 13A, and RPL 19A. M: 100 bp DNA Ladder; Lane 1: Control; Lane 2: Treated.</figcaption></figure>

However, this technique has the potential to detect polymorphism throughout the entire genome. After biofield treatment, higher number of polymorphic bands indicated that the genotypes selected in bottle gourd possess a higher degree of polymorphism. However, wide level of genetic variability has been reported in bottle gourd plant [35].

RAPD molecular markers are widely accepted as the important tools for crop improvement in vegetable crops [36]. Using different RAPD markers, important information for genetic diversity can be evaluated for different plant species samples. Further, analysis of population genetics, pedigree analysis and taxonomic discrimination can be easily studied and compared [23]. Several research reports have shown that DNA fingerprinting using RAPD method is a powerful tool for evaluation of discriminating differences at inter- and intra-population among several organisms including plants [37]. Plants phenotypic plasticity was reported to be higher than animals in different environmental conditions, while their changes in DNA can easily be monitored phenotypically. Biofield energy treatment might be a new approach which can alter the genetic variability of the plant, and results in high crop yield as compared with the control. Biofield treatment has been reported with increased yield and plant growth with high immunity. However, content of chlorophyll was reported as consistently higher with genetic variability among species using RAPD fingerprinting [19]. The biofield treatment on ginseng, blueberry [12]; and lettuce, tomato were reported [13] with an improved overall agronomical characteristics of crops.

Biofield treatment on bottle gourd and okra results in improved different growth contributing characteristics as compared with the control. GSH level in okra leaves and genetic variability on bottle gourd were reported after biofield treatment. This suggests that Mr. Trivedi's biofield energy treatment might have the capability to interact with the plant genome, and could improve the final yield of crop with higher immunity. According to Naz *et al.* magnetic field treatment before sowing of okra seeds were reported with enhanced germination, growth, and final yield of crop [38]. Another study conducted by Anand *et al.* shown enhanced seedling growth, leaf water status, photosynthesis, and an improved growth rate under the influence of magnetic field before sowing the seeds of maize (Zea mays L.) [39]. Electromagnetic field therapy now considered as a novel tool to enhance the germination and seedling vigor of many important vegetative crops such as onion (Allium cepa L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.) seeds [40]. Human biofield energy involves the use of low electromagnetic field, which was harnessed by the biofield practitioner from the environment and transmitted in the living or non-living material [41]. Thus, the improved growth attributes in bottle gourd and okra, after biofield treatment might be due to increased photosynthetic rate, which can enhance flower and fruits per plant [42]. It can also be suggested that biofield energy treatment might activate the ions, polarization of dipoles in the living cells, possibly the biochemical, physiological, and metabolic alterations in the crops. Therefore, biofield energy treatment, might be considered as an alternative approach in agricultural science to
improve the germination rate, growth, increased level of
important phytohormones, and overall yield of bottle gourd
and okra crops.

4. Conclusions

The study findings conclude that the biofield energy
treatment on bottle gourd and okra showed an improved
growth contributing characteristics such as germination,
vegetative growth, plant canopy, green, brighter and healthy
fruits and leaves as compared to their respective control.
Biofield treated okra crops were strong and may contribute to
high yield due to more hairs on the fruit, which may help to
prevent the insect attack as compared with the control. Further,
47.65% increased level of GSH was reported after biofield
treatment, which suggested that crops might be more resistant
towards infections and can also contribute better medicinal
properties as compared with the control okra. Although, the
percentage of true polymorphism was also observed between
control and treated bottle gourd seed sample on an average
value of 42% using RAPD analysis. Overall, it can be
concluded that biofield treatment could be a better future
aspect in agricultural research in terms of vegetative growth,
overall yield, and their related parameters.

Abbreviations

ROS: Reactive oxygen species; GSH: Glutathione; RAPD: Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA; PCR: Polymerase chain reaction; NIH: National Institutes of Health; NCCIM: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health; CAM: Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge the generosity to Bangalore Genei
Private Limited, for conducting RAPD analysis. Authors are
grateful to Trivedi science, Trivedi testimonials and Trivedi
master wellness for their support throughout the work.

References

[1] Petrovska BB (2012) Historical review of medicinal plants' usage. Pharmacogn Rev 6: 1-5.

[2] Decker-Walters DS, Wilkins-Ellert M, Chung SM, Staub JE (2004) Discovery and genetic assessment of wild bottle gourd [*Lagenaraia siceraria* (Mol.) Standley; *Cucurbitaceae*] from Zimbabwe. Econ Bot 58: 501-508.

[3] Whitaker TW, Kelly JC, Pennington CW, Rands RL (1971) Men across the sea. University of Texas Press, Austin.

[4] Sirohi PS, Sivakami N (1991) Genetic variability in cucurbits bottle gourd. Indian Hortic 36: 44-45.

[5] Prajapati RP, Kalariya M, Parmar SK, Sheth NR (2010) Phytochemical and pharmacological review of *Lagenaria sicereria*. J Ayurveda Integr Med 1: 266-272.

[6] Hammon S, Van Sloten DH (1989) Characterization and evaluation of okra. In The Use of Plant Genetic Resources. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

[7] Rashid MM (1999) Sabji Biggan. Rashid Publishing House, Dhaka.

[8] Chopra RN, Nayar SL, Chopra IC (1956) Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, New Delhi, India.

[9] Mohan S, Devasenapathy D, Venilla C, Gill MS (2010) Pest and disease management in organic ecosystem. IPM Booklet, Tamil Nadu University, India.

[10] Begum M (2006) Studies on seed-borne fungal diseases of okra [*Abelmoschus esculentus* L. (Moench)] and their management. PhD Thesis, University of Mysore, India.

[11] Begum M, Lokesh S, Ravishankar RV, Shailaja MD, Kumar TV, et al (2005) Evaluation of certain storage conditions for okra (*Abelmoschus esculentus* (L.) Moench) seeds against potential fungal pathogens. Int J Agric Biol 7: 550-554.

[12] Sances F, Flora E, Patil S, Spence A, Shinde V (2013) Impact of biofield treatment on ginseng and organic blueberry yield. Agrivita J Agric Sci 35: 22-29.

[13] Shinde V, Sances F, Patil S, Spence A (2012) Impact of biofield treatment on growth and yield of lettuce and tomato. Aust J Basic Appl Sci 6: 100-105.

[14] NIH, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. CAM Basics. Publication 347. [October 2, 2008]. Available at: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/

[15] Movaffaghi Z, Hassanpoor M, Farsi M, Hooshmand P, Abrishami F (2006) Effects of therapeutic touch on blood hemoglobin and hematocrit level. J Holist Nurs 24: 41-48.

[16] Olson M, Sneed N, LaVia M, Virella G, Bonadonna R, et al. (1997) Stress-induced immunosuppression and therapeutic touch. Altern Ther Health Med 3: 68-74.

[17] Wirth DP (1990) The effect of none contact therapeutic touch on the healing rate of full thickness dermal wounds. Subtle Energies 1: 1-20.

[18] Lenssen AW (2013) Biofield and fungicide seed treatment influences on soybean productivity, seed quality and weed community. Agricultural Journal 8: 138-143.

[19] Nayak G, Altekar N (2015) Effect of biofield treatment on plant growth and adaptation. J Environ Health Sci 1: 1-9.

[20] Moron MS, Depierre JW, Mannervik B (1979) Levels of glutathione, glutathione reductase and glutathione S-transferase activities in rat lung and liver. Biochim Biophys Acta 582: 67-78.

[21] Green MR, Sambrook J (2012) Molecular cloning: A laboratory manual. (3rdedn), Cold Spring Harbor, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, NY.

[22] Borges A, Rosa MS, Recchia GH, QueirozSilva JRD, Bressan EDA, et al. (2009) CTAB methods for DNA extraction of sweet potato for microsatellite analysis. Sci Agric (Piracicaba Braz) 66: 529-534.

[23] Welsh JW, McClelland M (1990) Fingerprinting genomes using PCR with arbitrary primers. Nucleic Acids Res 18: 7213-7218.
[24] Aladjadjiyan A (2010) Influence of stationary magnetic field on lentil seeds. Int Agrophys 24: 321-324.

[25] Yonas M, Garelew W, Debela A (2014) Multivariate analysis among okra (*Abelmoschus esculentus* (L.) moench) collection in South Western Ethiopia. J Plant Sci 9: 43-50.

[26] Gemede HF, Ratta N, Haki GD, Woldegiorgis AZ, Beyene F (2015) Nutritional quality and health benefits of okra (*Abelmoschus esculentus*): A review. J Food Process Technol 6: 458.

[27] Iturbe-Ormaetxe I, Escuredo PR, Arrese-Igor C, Becana M (1998) Oxidative damage in pea plants exposed to water deficit or paraquat. Plant Physiol 116: 173-181.

[28] Grill D, Esterbauer H, Hellig K (1982) Further studies on the plants by catalase inhibitors. Plant Physiol 79: 1044-1047.

[29] Loggini B, Scartazza A, Brugnoli E, Navari-Izzo F (1999) Antioxidative defense system, pigment composition, and photosynthetic efficiency in two wheat cultivars subjected to drought. Plant Physiol 119: 1091-1100.

[30] Subrahmanyam GV, Sushma M, Alekya A, Neeraja CH, Harsha HSS, et al. (2011) Antidiabetic activity of *Abelmoschus esculentus* fruit extract. Int J Res Pharm Chem 1: 17-20.

[31] Ngoc TH, Ngo QN, Van ATT, Phung NV (2008) Hypolipidemic effect of extracts from *Abelmoschus esculentus* L. (*Malvaceae*) on tyloxapol-induced hyperlipidemia in mice. Mahidol University Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 35: 42-46.

[32] Khomsug P, Thongjaroenbuangam W, Pakdeenarong N, Suttajit M, Chantiratikul P (2010) Antioxidative activities and phenolic content from okra (*Abelmoschus esculentus* L.) Res J Biol Sci 5: 310-313.

[33] Sabitha V, Ramachandran S, Naveen KR, Panneerselvam K (2012) Investigation of *in vivo* antioxidant property of *Abelmoschus esculentus* (L.) moench. fruit seed and peel powders in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. J Ayurveda Integr Med 3: 188-193.

[34] Nybom H, Weising K, Rotter B (2014) DNA fingerprinting in botany: Past, present, future. Investig Genet 5: 1.

[35] Srivastava D, Khan NA, Shamim M, Yadav P, Pandey P, et al. (2014) Assessment of the genetic diversity in bottle gourd (*Lagenaria siceraria* [Molina] Standl.) genotypes using SDS-PAGE and RAPD Markers. Natl Acad Sci Lett 37: 155-161.

[36] Raj M, Prasanna NKP, Peter KB (1993) Bitter gourd *Momordica* ssp. In: Berg BO, Kalo G (eds) Genetic improvement of vegetable crops. Pergmon Press, Oxford.

[37] Archak S, Karihaloo JL, Jain A (2002) RAPD markers reveal narrowing genetic base of Indian tomato cultivars. Curr Sci 82: 1139-1143.

[38] Naz A, Jamil Y, ul Haq Z, Iqbal M, Ahmad MR, et al. (2012) Enhancement in the germination, growth and yield of okra (*Abelmoschus esculentus*) using pre-sowing magnetic treatment of seeds. Indian J Biochem Biophys 49: 211-214.

[39] Anand A, Nagarajan S, Verma AP, Joshi DK, Pathak PC, et al. (2012) Pre-treatment of seeds with static magnetic field ameliorates soil water stress in seedlings of maize (*Zea mays* L.). Indian J Biochem Biophysics 49: 63-70.

[40] Alexander MP, Doijode SD (1995) Electromagnetic field, a novel tool to increase germination and seedling vigour of conserved onion (*Allium cepa* L.) and rice (*Oryza sativa* L.) seeds with low viability. Plant Genet Resour Newslett 104: 1-5.

[41] Schwartz GE, Simon WL, Carmona R (2007) The energy healing experiments: Science reveals our natural power to heal. (1stedn), Atria Books.

[42] Podlesny J (2004) The effect of magnetic stimulation of seeds on growth, development and yielding of crops. Acta Agrophysica 4: 459-473.