Editorial

Dear Readers and Authors,

I am pleased to bring you Volume 8, Issue 4 of Pharmacognosy Com- munications. In this issue we present new research reports examining the Pharmacognosy of several important medicinal plants including a review on the Pharmacological and Phytochemical characteristics of Pothos scandens. We also present original research studies on the inhibitory properties of Alpinia caerulea (native Australian ginger) against a panel of pathogenic bacteria, and study examining the effects of Astralagus membranaceus extracts in combination with conventional antibiotics. Finally, this issue also presents a study describing the isolation and characterization of a new species of the genus Pseudomonas. The authors provided both genotypic and phenotypic characterization of this bacterium to support its characterization as a new species, for which the authors have proposed the name Pseudomonas laurentiana sp. nov. The genus Pseudomonas comprises nearly 200 species, of which many have environmental, industrial and medical importance. Several species are pathogenic and can cause significant disease. For example, Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes severe, life threatening disease in individuals suffering from cystic fibrosis. The discovery of a new Pseudomonas species may provide a novel model system for studying antimicrobial effects of new test therapies, particularly if Pseudomonas laurentiana ultimately proves to be non-pathogenic.