Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Commelinales
Family: Pontederiaceae
Common name: Heartleaf base
Distribution: Asia, Paciic Islands
Habitat: Rice ields, freshwater bodies
Description: This is a perennial or annual herb growing in water from a small
rhizome. Green leaves are shiny with a maximum length of 12 cm and
width of 10 cm. Inlorescence bears 5 to 25 lowers. Each lower has six
purple-blue tepals of 1 cm long each.
Compounds and activities: Two new bioactive compounds, viz., (IOZ)-1-(2,6-
dihydroxyphenyl) octadec-10-ene-1-one and (20R,24R)-campest-5-ene-
3β,4β-diol, together with nine known compounds, have been isolated from
the whole plant of this species (Row et al., 2004). Among them, the irst two
compounds showed antibiotic properties.
COMMELINA BENGHALENSIS
LINNAEUS
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Commelinales
Family: Commelinaceae
Common name: Day lower
Distribution: Asia, Africa, West Indies, North America, China
Habitat: Rice ields, ditches, moist soils
Description: It is a perennial herb. Stems are branched and some of them grow
underground and bear reduced leaves. Leaves are ovate-elliptic or oblong.
Flowers are in one or two cyme branches and are bluish violet.
Compounds and activities: The ethanol extracts of this species, containing
bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, lactones, coumarins, triterpenoids,
phenols, tannins, quinones, and saponins, were found to be active against
Candida albicans
,
E. coli
,
and
S. aureus
. The values of diameter of zone
of growth inhibition in the absolute alcohol extract of the dried plant of this
species for the above microbial species were 7, 4, and 6 mm, respectively
(Armando and Dennis, 2010). Further, the above compounds also possess
anti-inlammatory and abortifacient properties.
