Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
gall tumor formation in potato disc. Both ethyl acetate and piperine exhib-
ited moderate antibacterial activity against selected Gram-positive and
Gram-negative bacteria (Uddin et al., 2012).
LYTHRUM SALICARIA
LINNAEUS
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Myrtales
Family: Lythraceae
Common name: Purple loosestrife
Distribution: Europe, Asia, Northwest Africa, Southeast Australia
Habitats: Shallow waters, stream and riverbanks, lake shores, wet meadows,
pastures, and marshes
Description: It is a herbaceous, perennial lowering plant species. It grows to
1.5 m, and its stems are reddish, purple, or red to purple. The maximum
length and breadth of its lanceolated leaves are 10 cm and 15 mm, respec-
tively. They are sessile and arranged opposite or in whorls of three. The
lowers are reddish purple (10-20 mm diameter).
Compounds and activities: The total extract of this species has been reported
to possess anticancer properties and inhibit the HT 29 cell line. Similarly,
the triterpenoids containing ethyl acetate and chloroform fractions have
possessed antineoplastic and cytotoxic effects toward K562 and J47 D can-
cer cell lines (Khanavi et al.,
2011). From the methanol extracts of the seeds,
an antibacterial compound, viz., hexahydroxydiphenyl ester (vescalagin), and
antifungal compounds, viz., oleanoic acid and ursolic acid, have been isolated.
These compounds showed inhibitory action against
Staphylococcus aureus
,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
,
Escherichia coli
,
and
Candida albicans
. Further,
human health-promoting lavonoids such as vitexin, isovitexin, orientin,
and isoorientin have also been isolated from this species. This astringent
medical herb has also been used in traditional medicines for treating diar-
rhea and dysentery for all age groups, including babies. The antioxidant
activity of the seeds of this species has been tested using trolox extract
(TE), and the value recorded was 261,384 µm TE (Borchardt et al.,
2009).
