ABSTRACT
Hilly areas of Pakistan including Baluchistan, North Western Frontier Province, Kashmir, and the northern areas have a very rich and diverse ora due to their diverse climatic, soil conditions, and multiple ecological regions (Sabir et al., 2003). Medicinal plant resources are not only abundant but are also rich in genetic diversity and biochemical composition. The medicinal plants and herbs are extensively used locally for treating different diseases; however, their commercial exploitation is limited owing to the lack of a scienti c basis for their use (Hussain and Khaliq, 1996). The farmers in this area are poor and the cultivated land plots are either very small or unmanageable due to soil degradation and speci c topography. Quite recently an initiative was undertaken to characterize the local plants for genetic and biochemical variation in order to improve these plants for commercial purposes. Two plant species, sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides ssp. turkestanica L.) from the northern areas of Pakistan and autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb.) from Kashmir were analyzed for their chemical and nutritional constituents.
