Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Myrtales
Family: Trapaceae
Common name: Water chestnut
Distribution: India
Habitat: Ponds, lakes, tanks
Description: This herbal species has a luxuose stem, and the leaves (5 cm long)
are rhomboid shaped and reddish purple. They are alternately arranged and
crowded on the parts of the stem. Flowers are few, white, solitary, and axil-
lary, and the fruit is white and obovoid.
Compounds and activities: The aqueous extracts of its fruits have also shown
immunomodulating effects in animals, particularly in stimulating cellular
and humoral response. The immunostimulatory property (stimulation of
cellular and humoral response) of aqueous extracts of fruits of this species
was conirmed by elevated neutrophil counts signiicantly (
p
< 0.01) com-
pared to control values (Patel et al., 2010). The hydroalcoholic extracts of
fruits of this species have shown analgesic activities in test animals, besides
serving as a nervine tonic and improving learning and memory power. The
crude extracts of this species have also shown antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and
immunomodulatory properties.
WEDELIA CHINENSIS
(OSBECK) MERR
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Common name: Chinese wedelia
Distribution: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia
Habitat: Paddy ridges, moist areas
Description: It is a tender, spreading, hairy herb with branches measuring
about 50 cm. Leaves are oblong to oblong-lanceolate with a maximum
length of 5 cm. Margins of the leaves are entire, and both surfaces of the
