Abstract
Cogon grass Imperata cylindrica is a perennial grass belonging to the family Poaceae, and the rhizome-root portion of which is used for the treatment of bacterial infections, ringworms and other skin infections. Among the Mizo people they are directly consumed or juiced for the treatment of intestinal infection. Its chemical and biological properties are poorly documented. In this study, a methanol extract of the rhizome-root was prepared by hot extraction in a Soxhlet apparatus. Standard chemical tests were conducted. The presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates including reducing sugars, phytosterols, tannins, saponins and proteins were confirmed as the major bio-compounds. Free radical-scavenging activities were also determined. The plant extract indicated concentration-dependent scavenging activity on DPPH with an inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 2.14 µg/ml. H2O2 was similarly scavenged, in which the IC50 was 2.221 µg/ml. Our results suggest that I. cylindrica has important medicinal values.
Highlights
Cogon grass Imperata cylindrica (L.) Räuschel belongs to a perennial rhizomatous grass and is is native to Southeast Asian and Australian regions
Cogon grass were collected during AugustOctober in 2017 from a forest in Ngopa village, Champhai district, Mizoram, India, which is located between 23.8861° latitude north and 93.2119° longitude east
A herbarium specimen was prepared for the whole plant which was identified at the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Shillong, Meghalaya, and is maintained at the herbarium section of the Department of Botany, Pachhunga University College, Aizawl, Mizoram
Summary
Cogon grass Imperata cylindrica (L.) Räuschel belongs to a perennial rhizomatous grass and is is native to Southeast Asian and Australian regions It serves as an important construction material for thatching in many Asian tribal houses because of its water-tight and tough fibre. Cogon grass is disgracefully nominated in the list of 100 “World’s Worst” invaders by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group It is included in the Federal Noxious Weeds List from the United States Department of Agriculture. The Mizo people has long used the rhizome in infections for its effective antibacterial activity such as in skin injury, cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea. It is sometimes used as in skin infections such as in ringworms. In Mizoram, the plant propagates very quickly during Monsoon after slash-and-burn (jhum) cultivation
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