Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
HYGROPHILA SPINOSA
(K. SCHUM) HEINE
(=
HYGROPHILA AURICULATA
)
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Common name: Marsh barbel, starthorn
Distribution: India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Malaysia, Nepal
Habitat: Wetlands, along banks of freshwater and stagnant ditches
Description: This is a perennial, subquadrangular, and stout herb that has an
unbranched erect stem of 1.5 m height. Leaves are oblong, lanceolate, or
oblanceolate. Purple-blue lowers of 3.5 cm long are present in a whorl of
eight at each node.
Compounds and activities: The alkaloids of this species have also shown anti-
bacterial activities against Gram-positive bacteria, viz.,
Bacillus subtilis
,
B. cereus
,
and
Staphylococcus aureus
,
and Gram- negative
Proteus vulgaris
.
The MIC value of stem methanol extract and lower ethyl acetate extract of
this species against
Bacillus subtilis
was 0.5 mg/ml, and MIC values of its
lower and leaf extracts against
Proteus vulgaris
were 0.031 and 0.25 mg/ml,
respectively (Jani et al.,
2012). This plant is also used in traditional medi-
cines for treating cough, pain, inlammation, urinary infection, edema,
gout, and urethral discharge. The bioactive compounds isolated from the
stem and leaves of this species include saponins, alkaloids, steroids, tannins,
lavonoids, and triterpenoids. These compounds possess antipyretic, antidia-
betic, antinociceptive, antitumor, anti-inlammatory, antioxidant, analgesic,
hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, hematinic (hematopoietic), diuretic, free rad-
ical scavenging, androgenic, anabolic, and antihelmintic activities (Kshirsagar
et al.,
2010).
