A REVIEW ON PHARMACOGNOSY OF CYPERUS SPECIES

About Authors:
Honey Jain, Neha Batra
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Jaipur National University,
Jaipur

ABSTRACT
The family Cyperacea includes approximately 3000 species of which about 220 species are identified as weeds and of which 42% of these weeds are in the genus Cyperus. Both purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) and yellow nutsedge (C. esculentus L.) are problem weeds in many parts of the world. Nutsedges originate from tropical and subtropical areas. . The plant produces rhizomes, tubers, basal bulbs and fibrous roots below ground, and rosettes of leaves, scapes, and umbels above ground. C. rotutdus consists of rhizome and stolon having a number of wiry roots, stolon 10-20 cm long having a number of rhizomes, crowded together on the stolons, rhizomes bluntly conical and vary in size and thickness.The rhizomes are initially white and fleshy with scaly leaves and then become fibrous, wiry, and very dark brown with age. Purple nutsedge is readily distinguished from yellow nut sedge and other sedges by its purplish brown spikelets and scaly or wiry rhizomes that often bear chains of tubers.Phytochemical studies have shown that the major chemical components of this herb are polyphenol, flavonol glycoside, alkaloid, saponins, sesquiterpenoids and essential oil. Rhizome of the plant is used in fever,arthritis,diuretic, nervine tonic, treatment of diarrhea and dysentery ,leprosy, bronchitis, amenorrhea, and blood disorders. Leaves and seeds are rich in volatile oil and act on digestive system. Fruits are used as carminative , diuretic tonic, stomachic. Oil is fungicidal and bactericidal.

Reference Id: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1167

INTRODUCTION
The use of plants and plant products as medicines could be traced as far back as the beginning of human civilization. The earliest mention of medicinal use of plants are found in “Rigveda”which is said to have been written between 4500-1600 B.C. and is supposed to be the oldest repository of human knowledge. In India, the use of different parts of several medicinal plants to cure specific ailments has been in vague from ancient times. The indigenous system of medicine namely Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani have been in existence for several centuries. There are 3,00,000 species of higher plants that occur in nature, only about 2 percent have been screened so far.

The family Cyperacea includes approximately 3000 species of which about 220 species are identified as weeds and of which 42% of these weeds are in the genus Cyperus. Both purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) and yellow nutsedge (C. esculentus L.) are problem weeds in many parts of the world.

Cyperus rotundus Linn. (Family Cyperaceae), commonly known as ‘Nagarmotha’ is found throughout India. It is a pestiferous perennial weed with dark green glabrous culms, arising from underground tubers.Cyperus rotundts L. is a field weed known in all the Southern States as nut grass. The plant produces rhizomes, tubers, basal bulbs and fibrous roots below ground, and rosettes of leaves, scapes, and umbels above ground. They form an ingredient in poly herbal formulations like Abana , health food Amrita Bindu and Ashokarishta.

Rhizome of the plant is used in fever,arthritis,diuretic, nervine tonic, treatment of diarrhea and dysentery ,leprosy, bronchitis, amenorrhea, and blood disorders. Leaves and seeds are rich in volatile oil and act on digestive system. Fruits are used as carminative , diuretic tonic, stomachic. Oil is fungicidal and bactericidal.

Phytochemical constituents include presence of poly phenols , flavanol glycoside, saponin , essential oil and cardiac glycosides.

SYNONYMS
Sanskrit: Mustaka, V¡rida
Assam: Mutha, Somad Koophee
Bengali: Mutha, Musta
English: Nut Grass
Gujrati: Moth, Nagarmoth
Hindi: Motha, Nagarmotha
Kannad: Konnari Gadde
Malyal : Muthanga, Kari Mustan
Marath: Moth, Nagarmoth, Motha, Bimbal
Punjabi: Mutha, Motha
Tamil: Korai, Korai-Kizhangu
Telugu: Tungamustalu
Urdu: Sad Kufi

GEOGRAPHIC DESTRIBUTION
Cyperus esculentus, yellow nutsedge, is the most widespread nutsedge species in the Netherlands. Purple nutsedge has never been observed in the Netherlands. C. esculentus was introduced in the seventies of the twentieth century, probably from the USA as a contaminant of shipments of gladiolus cormlets. Given the genetic variation of this material, the introduction must have taken place on several different occasions. The gladiolus was grown on new soils each year to reduce the risk of soil borne diseases. This resulted in a quick spread of yellow nutsedge in a relatively large part of the country. In the Netherlands the species is found in crop rotations such as potato-sugar beet-winter-wheat, tree nurseries, bulb growing, maize-sugarbeet-potato and potato sugar beet- onion-winter-wheat-winter-barley.

Nutsedges originate from tropical and subtropical areas. In the USA the species can be found in all states where cotton is grown, such as Arizona, California, New Mexico, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The species can also be found in the North and Middle of the American continent in Canada, Alaska, Cuba, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Mexico. On the South American continent, nutsedges are present in Peru, Chili, Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela. In Asia it has been reported in Japan , Indonesia, Taiwan and India. The main crops in which nutsedge infestation was found were: cotton, maize, rice, cereals, coffee, peanut, pineapple, potato, soya, sugarbeet, and 4 several vegetable crops. The distribution of yellow and purple nutsedge appears to be limited by the environment (temperature range and moisture level) rather than the means of dispersal. Purple nutsedge is limited to areas in which the average minimum air temperature is higher than -1 °C.

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DESCRIPTION
Macroscopic chahracteristics
C. rotutdus consists of rhizome and stolon having a number of wiry roots, stolon 10-20 cm long having a number of rhizomes, crowded together on the stolons, rhizomes bluntly conical and vary in size and thickness, crowned with the remains of stem and leaves forming a scaly covering, dark brown or black externally, creamish-yellow internally.It is a colonial, herbaceous, perennial with fibrous roots that typically grows from 7-40 cm tall and reproduces extensively by rhizomes and tubers. The rhizomes are initially white and fleshy with scaly leaves and then become fibrous, wiry, and very dark brown with age. Rhizomes may grow in any direction in the soil. Those growing upward and reaching the soil surface become enlarged forming a structure 2-25 mm in diameter variously called a “basal bulb, a tuberous bulb, or a corm” that produces shoots, roots, and other rhizomes. Rhizomes that grow downward or horizontally form individual tubers or chains of tubers. Individual tubers are dark reddish-brown when mature, about 12 mm thick, and vary from 10-35 mm long.The upright culms or stems are 10-50 cm tall, smooth, triangular in cross section, and support a much-branched inflorescence. Two to four leaf-like bracts subtend the inflorescence which is umbel-like consisting of 3-9 unequal length branches (sometimes referred to as rays) bearing spikes of 3-10 spikelets. Spikelets are flattened and linear ranging in length from 10-30 mm long, and generally dark reddish purple or reddish brown in color. Each of the 20 or so flowers (florets) in a spikelet are each subtended by a keeled scale (glumes) 2-5 mm long that have a green midvein and a membranous margin. The flowers are bisexual each with three stamens and a pistil bearing three stigmas. Fruit, although rarely produced, consists of a three-angled achene (nutlet).

Cyperus esculentus, yellow nut sedge, is another problematic weedy species that reproduces by tubers. It is more widespread and also grows in more temperate parts of the United States. Purple nutsedge is readily distinguished from yellow nut sedge and other sedges by its purplish brown spikelets and scaly or wiry rhizomes that often bear chains of tubers.

Microscopic characteristics
Rhizome shows single layered epidermis, followed by 2-6 layers, suberised sclerenchymatous cells; epidermis and outer sclerenchymatous layers filled with dark brown content; ground tissue of cortex consists of circular to oval, thin-walled, parenchymatous cells with small intercellular spaces; a few fibro-vascular bundles present in this region; endoderm is distinct and surrounding the stele; wide central zone beneath endodermis, composed of circular to oval, thin-walled, parenchymatous cells with intercellular spaces, numerous collateral, closed, vascular bundles surrounded by bundle sheath, scattered in this region; vessels narrow having simple reticulate, and scalariform thickening and oblique pore; simple round to oval starch grains measuring 6-28 μ in dia., a number of pigmented cells filled with reddish-brown content, present throughout the cortex and stele.

Powder characteristics
Creamish-brown; shows reddish-brown cells, reticulate and simple pittedvessels; fibre-like, closely packed sclerified cells, narrow vessels with scalariformthickness and oblique pore from the remnants of leaves simple, round to oval, starchgrains, measuring 6-28 μ in diameter.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Phytochemical studies have shown that the major chemical components of this herb are polyphenol, flavonol glycoside, alkaloid, saponins, sesquiterpenoids and essential oil.
The plant contains the following chemical constituents- Cyprotene (1), cypera-2, 4-diene (2), a-copaene (3), cyperene (4), aselinene (5), rotundene (6), valencene (7), ylanga-2, 4- diene (8), g-gurjunene (9), trans-calamenene (10), d-cadinene (11), g-calacorene (12), epi-a-selinene (13), a-muurolene (14), g-muurolene (15), cadalene (16), nootkatene (17) by comparison with a spectral library established under identical experimental conditions , cyperotundone (18), mustakone (19), cyperol (20), isocyperol (21)and a-cyperone (22).

PHARMACOLOGICAL UTILIZATION

Ø ANTIMUTAGENS AND RADICAL SCAVENGERS
This study evaluates mutagenic and antimutagenic effects of aqueous, total oligomers flavono?ds (TOF), ethyl acetate and methanol extracts from aerial parts of Cyperus rotundus with the Salmonella typhimurium assay system.In addition to antimutagenic activity, these extracts showed an important free radical scavenging activity towards the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical. TOF, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts showed IC50 value of 15, 14 and 20 g/ml, respectively.

Ø ANTIMALARIAL
Activity-guided investigation of Cyperus rotundus tubers led to the isolation of patchoulenone, caryophyllene or-oxide, 10,12-peroxycalamenene and 4, 7-dimethyl-l-tetralone.

Ø ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY
Antibacterial activity of Cyperus oil was studied for various microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus , Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, Streptococcus pyogenes , Eschirichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ) using inhibition zone method (Aromatogram). The MIC and MBC for each microbe were estimated. The oil of C. rotundus was shown a remarkable activity against gram-positive bacteria, less antibacterial activity was found against gram–negative bacteria and no activity was observed with the oil against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris.

Ø ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY
Antioxidant activity of Cyperus rotundus rhizomes extract (CRRE) was evaluveted in a series of in vitro assay involving free radicals and reactive oxygen species and IC₅₀values were determined. CRRE exhibited its scavenging effect in concentration dependent manner on superoxide anion radicals, hydroxyl radicals, nitric oxide radical, hydrogen peroxide, and property of metal chelating and reducing power. The extract was also studied for lipid peroxidation assay by thiobarbituric acid–reactive substances (TBARS) using young and aged rat brain mitochondria. The extract was also effective in preventing mitochondrial lipid peroxidation induced by FeSO₄ascorbate in concentration dependent manner.

Ø OTHERS
The tubular part of C. rotundus is one of the oldest known medicinal plants used for the treatment of dysmenorrhoea and menstrual irregularities. It was also used as analgesic, sedative, antispasmodic and to relieve diarrhea. C. rotundus has been widely investigated byseveral authors. It is a medicinal plant appearing among Indian, Chinese and Japanese traditional drugs that were used against spasms, stomach disorders and anti-inflammatory diseases (5). Other pharmacological investigations indicated that C. rotundus had remarkable hypotensive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects.

SUSCEPTIBILITY
Cyperus rotundus is susceptible to rice grassy stunt tenuivirus, rice tungro bacilliform badnavirus, and rice tungro spherical waikavirus .
Purple nutsedge is an alternate host for the fungi Fusarium and Puccinia canaliculata. It is also infected by the nematodes Meloidogyne, Rotlylenchus, and Tylenchus. Leaf scorch of purple nutsedge is caused by Ascochyta cyperiphthora. However, none of these agents causes sufficient destruction to provide sufficient control of this weedy plant.
Purple nutsedge tubers can be destroyed with repeated summer tillage because of their susceptibility to drying.

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