A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON SPHAERANTHUS INDICUS LINN.

Abstract

Sphaeranthus indicus Linn belongs to the family Asteraceae. It grows in rice fields, dry waste places and cultivated lands in tropical parts of India. All the parts of the plant have medicinal uses. A wide range of phytochemical constituents have been reported in S. indicus which include eudesmanoids, sesquiterpenes, stigmasterol, sitosterol, geraniol, methyl chavicol. It is widely used in Ayurvedic system to treat CNS disorders like epilepsy and mental diseases and also useful in the treatment of diabetes, jaundice and leprosy. The objective of the present review was to compile an up-to-date and comprehensive information on S. indicus that cover its pharmacognosy, phytochemistry and biopotential. The presented review may give a direction for further research and may provide strong evidence to use S. indicus in development of new herbal formulations with better therapeutic activity. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Headnote

ABSTRACT

Sphaeranthus indicus Linn belongs to the family Asteraceae. It grows in rice fields, dry waste places and cultivated lands in tropical parts of India. All the parts of the plant have medicinal uses. A wide range of phytochemical constituents have been reported in S. indicus which include eudesmanoids, sesquiterpenes, stigmasterol, sitosterol, geraniol, methyl chavicol. It is widely used in Ayurvedic system to treat CNS disorders like epilepsy and mental diseases and also useful in the treatment of diabetes, jaundice and leprosy. The objective of the present review was to compile an up-to-date and comprehensive information on S. indicus that cover its pharmacognosy, phytochemistry and biopotential. The presented review may give a direction for further research and may provide strong evidence to use S. indicus in development of new herbal formulations with better therapeutic activity.

KEY WORDS: Sphaeranthus indicus, Asteraceae, Eudesmanoids, Tonic, Tuberculosis.

INTRODUCTION:

Herbal medicine is the oldest form of healthcare known to mankind. Herbs had been used by all cultures throughout history. It is an integral part of the development of modern civilization. Now a day, the use of herbal medicine is becoming more prevalent in both developing and developed countries. It is becoming more mainstream as improvements in analysis and quality control along with advances in clinical research show the value of herbal medicine in the treating and preventing disease. Herbal drugs have lesser side effects and are largely replacing synthetic drugs [Izzo et al.,2009].

Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. (Hindi- Gorakhmundi) is a much branched herb belonging to family Asteraceae. All the parts of the plant were reported to possess medicinal value. It is widely used in Ayurvedic system to treat CNS disorders like epilepsy and mental diseases and also useful in the treatment of diabetes, jaundice and leprosy [Kirtikar KR et al., 1981]. Other species are Sphaeranthus africans Linn. and Sphaeranthus alatus. It grows plentifully in rice fields [Kirtikar KR et al., 1981, Sadaf , F et al., 2006] and is distributed throughout India, Ceylon, Malay, China and Africa.

The objective of the present review was to compile an up-to-date and comprehensive information on Sphaeranthus indicus that cover its pharmacognosy, phytochemistry and biopotential.

Morphology:

Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. (Photo slide.1) is an annual herb with sessile, decurrent, obovate, bristly serrate, downy, glutinous leaves and globular heads of purple flowers. It is a branched herb distributed in wet places [Bafna, A.R. et al., 2006]. The stem is greenish in colour; roots are brown externally and internally light brown, tuberous with 10-15 cm in length and 0.1-0.4 cm in diameter with longitudinal striations and transverse scars seen at regular intervals. Odour is characteristic [Galani, V.J. et al., 2009, Bafna, A.R. et al., 2006, Cooper, E.L. et al., 2004].

Taxonomy:

The taxonomical classification of Sphaeranthus indicus [Kirtikar et al., 1981] is mentioned below:

* Kingdom: Plantae

* Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae

* Phyllum: Tracheophyta

* Subphyllum: Euphyllophytina

* Infraphyllum: Radiatopses

* Class: Magnoliopsida

* Subclass: Asteridae

* Superorder: Asteranae

* Order: Asterales

* Family: Asteraceae

* Genus: Sphaeranthus

* Species: indicus

Climatic Conditions for Cultivation:

The temperature range for cultivation of S. indicus is 10°C to 40°C. It requires an altitude of about 500-1500m. It grows well in hot and humid climate. Alluvial soil, red soil or lateritic soil is found to be more ideal for its cultivation. The pH of soil should be in the range of 6.3- 7.3. It is rainfed type of plant and is propagated during monsoon [Galani, V.J. et al., 2009].

Microscopy:

The root showed secondary characters and has a circular outline. Open vascular bundle are observed. Secondary phloem consisted of sieve tubes, companion cells and phloem parenchyma, while secondary xylem consisted of tracheids, vessels, fibers and xylem parenchyma.

The leaf is dorsiventral and shows abundant trichomes of varying types on both the epidermis. Simple trichomes are three to four celled, thick walled and measure 130.8- 145.2 µm in length and 29.0-43.5 µm in width. Trichomes are straight/knee shaped, with a swollen base and with collapsed cell at the middle or at the apex.

The stem shows cork with two to three layers of parenchymatous cells covered with papillose cuticle having trichomes. Medullary rays are pitted, lignified and about unitetraseriate [Vikani KV et al., 2008].

General Methods for Extraction of Phytoconstituents:

1) Soxhlet method

The plant material should be powdered and extracted in Soxhlet apparatus for 48 h using ethanol. The extracts obtained should be filtered through Whatman filter paper and concentrated by vacuum evaporation [A K Nandkarni 2002 and J B Harborne 1998] .

2) Maceration method

The flowers of S. indicus should be powdered and soaked in 50% ethanol with occasional shaking for 10 days and then concentrated using a rotary vacuum evaporator under reducing pressure and controlled temperature at 40°C. A semi-solid mass of dark brown colour will be obtained, which is then subjected to lyophillization and finally brown powder will be obtained [Farzana Sadaf et al., 2006 and J B Harborne 1998] .

Phytochemistry

Eudesmanoids such as 11α, 13-dihydro-3α, 7α-dihydroxy-4,5-epoxy-6β,7-eudesmanolide, 11α,13-dihydro-7α-acetoxy-3β-hydroxy-6β, 7- eudesm-4-enolide and 3-keto-β-eudesmol have been isolated from S . indicus [Pujar PP et al., 2007]. The plant is reported to contain deep cherry colored essential oil having methyl chavicol (Fig.1), d-cadinene (Fig.2), α-ionone (Fig.3), p-methoxycinnamaldehyde (Fig. 4), α- terpinene (Fig.5), citral (Fig.6), geraniol (Fig.7), geranyl acetate, β-ionone (Fig.8), oscimene (Fig.9), eugenol (Fig.10), sphaeranthene, sphaeranthol, Indicusene [Dhar ML et al., 1968, Farzana Sadaf et al., 2006] and alkaloid sphaeranthine [Basu NK et al., 2006]. Carbohydrates such as arabinose, galactose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, raffinose and rhamnose have been reported from leaves of S. indicus [Yadava RN et al., 1998]. A sesquiterpene lactone, 7- hydroxyeudesm-4-en-6, 12-olide, and a sesquiterpene acid, 2-hydroxycostic acid, along with the known compounds, β-eudesmol and ilicic acid, have been isolated from the acetone extract of S. indicus.

Biopotential of S. indicus:

1) Analgesic activity

The analgesic activity was evaluated by two methods-Acetic acid induced writhing method in albino mice and tail flick latency method in albino rats respectively. The ethanolic extract of S. indicus in different doses (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) exhibited dose dependent and significant analgesic activity in both models of pain [Nanda et al., 2009].

2) Hepatoprotective activity

The hepatoprotective effect of aqueous and methanolic extracts of flower heads of S. indicus on Acetaminophen-induced heptotoxicity was studied in rats. As compared to aqueous extract, significant decrease in liver function markers such as serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin and total protein, was observed while using methanolic extract of S. indicus with same dose [Tiwari et al., 2009, Nayak et al., 2007] .

3) Anticonvulsant activity

Different extracts of the whole parts of plant of S. indicus like benzene, chloroform, ethanol and water extract was studied for its anticonvulsant effect on maximal electroshock- induced seizures and pentylenetetrazole, picrotoxin, bicuculline and N-methyl-dl- aspartic acid-induced seizures in mice. Ethanol extract (200-400 mg/kg) significantly reduced the duration of seizures induced by maximal electroshock (MES). The aqueous extract (400 mg/kg) significantly reduced the latency, but did not alter the incidence of seizures elicited by maximal electroshock to any significant extent [Sander et al., 1996, Harborne 1998].

4) Anthelmintic activity

The ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the whole plant of S. indicus Linn. were used against Pheretima posthuma and Ascardia galli. The extract was used in following concentrations-10, 50, 100 mg/ml to determine time of paralysis and time of death of worms. The most significant activity was observed at the highest concentration of 100 mg/mL against both types of worms. Albendazole (10 mg/ml) and distilled water were included as standard reference and control, respectively [Lal et al., 1976] .

5) Antimicrobial activity

It was found that aqueous extracts of flowers of S. indicus exhibited antibacterial activity. Antimicrobial Activity of S. indicus L. was studied by V. Duraipandiyan et al., [Sohoni JS et al., 1988]. Hexane extracts of flower and aerial parts of S.indicus showed good antibacterial activity against gram positive organisms. Also coli forms were used to study the antimicrobial activity of S. indicus flower extracts. This investigation revealed that the aqueous extract of S. indicus flower produced good inhibitory zones against test organism.

6) Anti hyperlipidemic activity

Antihyperlipidemic activity of alcoholic extract of S. indicus Linn. flower heads was studied in atherogenic diet induced hyperlipidemia in rats. S. indicus extract (500 mg/kg/day, p.o. for 8 days) was found to cause a marked decrease in body weight, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). Also a significant rise in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was observed after treatment with S. indicus extract [Pande VV et al., 2009].

7) Anti inflammatory activity

Ethanolic extract of S. indicus was used in albino rats for this study. The anti- inflammatory activity was evaluated using acute inflammatory model like carrageenan induced paw edema and chronic inflammatory model like cotton pellet induced granuloma respectively. The ethanolic extract in different doses (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) exhibited dose dependent and significant antiinflammatory activity in acute (carageenan induced hind paw edema, p < 0.05) and chronic (cotton pellet granuloma formation, p < 0.05) model of inflammation [A K Nandkarni 2002, Winter CA et al., 1957].

8) Antioxidant activity

The free radical scavenging activity of the plant S. indicus was studied by using different antioxidants models of screening. The ethanolic extract at 1000 microgram/ml showed maximum scavenging of the radical cation, 2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6- sulphonate) (ABTS) observed upto 41.99 % followed by scavenging of the stable radical 1,1-diphenyl, 2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) (33.27%), superoxide dismutase (25.14 %) and nitric oxide radical (22.36%) at the same concentration. Total antioxidant capacity of the extract was found to be 160.85 nmol/g against Ascorbic acid as standard indicating good antioxidant potential of plant. [Tiwari Bk et al., 2009, Shiwarkar A et al., 2006].

9) Antihyperglycemic activity

The 50% ethanolic extract of plant was reported to possess hypoglycemic activity. Antihyperglycemic effect of alcoholic extract of S. indicus was evaluated in the nicotinamide (120 mg/kg, i.p.) and streptozotocin (60 mg/kg, i.p.) induced diabetes in rats. Fasting normal rats treated with the alcoholic extract of S. indicus showed significant improvement in oral glucose tolerance test. Oral administration of S. indicus for 15 days resulted in a significant decrease in blood glucose levels and increase in hepatic glycogen and plasma insulin levels [Prabhu KS et al., 2008].

10) Neuroleptic activity

Neuroleptic activity of hydroalcoholic extract of whole plant of S. indicus has been reported. Hydroalcoholic extract of whole herb of S. indicus (100, 200 and 500 mg/kg, p.o.) produced catalepsy, potentiated haloperidol- induced catalepsy and antagonized apomorphine-induced stereotypy [Galani, V.J. et al., 2009].

CONCLUSION:

The scientific studies and research data available on Sphaeranthus indicus indicated enormous biopotential of this plant. It is reported to contain eudesmanoids, eudesmanolides, sesquiterpene lactone, sterol glycoside, flavanoids, and essential oil. There is no doubt that this plant is a reservoir of potentially useful phyto-constituents which can serve as a lead for the synthesis of newer class of synthetic medicines. Clinical studies with standardized extract and isolated constituents need to be performed to find out unexploited use of this plant.

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Cite this article

Pawar Harshal A & Therani Deepika (2012), A comprehensive review on Sphaeranthus indicus Linn., Global J Res. Med. Plants & Indigen. Med., Volume 1(9), 404-410

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