Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
NYMPHOIDES CRISTATUM
(ROXB.) O. KUNTZE
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Menyanthaceae
Common name: Crested loating heart
Distribution: Asia, China
Habitat: Canals, lakes, ponds
Description: This species has loating stems originated from a buried root
stock. Its roots are slender and tuberous. Heart-shaped leaves (5 cm
diameter) have smooth margins. There are numerous small white lowers
(3 cm wide) in which the petal lobes are crested.
Compounds and activities: The ethyl acetate extract of this species has yielded
a triterpenoid compound, viz., bet-20(29)-en-3-ol-28-oic acid, which pos-
sesses antibacterial activities against pathogenic bacteria, viz.,
Bacillus
cereus
,
B. subtilis
,
E. coli
,
and
Shigella sonnei
. The values of minimum
inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the said compound against these bacte-
rial species were found to be 64, 128, 64, and 32 µg/ml, respectively. This
compound also showed prominent cytotoxic activity and the LC
50
(median
lethal concentration) was 15.39 mg/ml (Rahman et al., 2002). Antipyretic
and hepatoprotective activities have also been recorded with this compound.
