Abstract
Flueggea leucopyrus belongs to family Phyllanthaceae, commonly known as ‘Katupila’or ‘Heen katupila’ and has become increasingly popular as an ingredient in several traditional therapeutic systems in Sri Lanka as well as in other Asian countries. A questionnaire survey was carried out using a hundred population sample to determine the awareness of the distribution and therapeutic uses of F. leucopyrus in Sri Lanka as a preliminary survey. The aims of the present study were to interpret the phenetic variation and determine the variation of phenolic composition in leaf extracts of F. leucopyrus in different climatic zones in Sri Lanka and to develop a suitable propagation system for F. leucopyrus. Eleven floral and vegetative characters of F. leucopyrus were observed and cluster analysis was carried out to infer phenetic relationships among populations collected from localities, Colombo, Kurunegala, Puttalam and Hambanthota, .representing different climatic zones. Medicinal value of most of plants lies in phytochemicals such as phenolics, flavonoids and anthocyanidins. Thus, leaf samples were extracted into ether, and ether extracts were used to isolate phenolic compounds using 2-Dimensional paper chromatography in solvent systems, butanol: acetic acid: water; 6:7:3 and sodium formate: formic acid: water; 10:1:200. Colors of the spots were observed under UV (366nm), and Rf values were calculated. Intra specific variations were observed in the distribution of phenolics in leaves and phenetic characters of F. leucopyrus with respect to their habitats in different climatic zones. Due to low seed production in F. leucopyrus, stem cuttings (Semi-hardwood, hardwood and softwood) in three different potting media were used to evaluate the successfulness in propagation. Semi hardwood and hardwood cuttings of F. leucopyrus were well established within a period of one week in sand potting medium while softwood cutting has not responded in any of the media during the period. Medium with only coir dust was also not successful in establishing the cuttings. J. Sci. Univ. Kelaniya 9 (2014): 15-25
Highlights
Flueggea (Vern: Katupila) is a genus belongs to family Phyllanthaceae and represented by a single species, F. leucopyrus, in Sri Lanka
F. leucopyrus is commonly used as an ingredient in several traditional therapeutic systems in Sri Lanka as well as in other countries
Distribution of F. leucopyrus was found to be common in the dry zone compared to the wet zone of Sri Lanka
Summary
Flueggea (Vern: Katupila) is a genus belongs to family Phyllanthaceae and represented by a single species, F. leucopyrus, in Sri Lanka. F. leucopyrus is commonly used as an ingredient in several traditional therapeutic systems in Sri Lanka as well as in other countries. F. leucopyrus is mostly used as a remedy for burning sensation, leaves act as a disinfectant and it has anticancer properties (Ramanayake et al, 2002). The whole plant of F. leucopyrus is used in medicine for seminal weakness and as a disinfectant due to high antioxidant activity. F. leucopyrus has less anthocyanin compounds (0.34/100g), high phenolic compounds (31.7/100g) and flavonoid compounds (42.7/100g), and high antioxidant activity with the rate of 76.8 μg/ml (Karuppusamy et al, 2011). Medicinal value of most of plants lies in phytochemicals such as phenolics, flavonoids and anthocyanidins. Plant phenolics are a large groups of natural compounds widely distributed in variety of plants and these compounds have antioxidant properties with potential health benefits. A successful two-dimensional system to separate phenolic compounds is using solvents, butanol: acetic acid: water; 6:7:3 and sodium formate: formic acid: water; 10:1:100 for acid hydrolysis carried out with 2M HCl for half
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