Felicia Muricata Research Articles

Physical impact of sheep grazing on arid Karoo subshrub/grass rangeland, South Africa

Grazing levels and rotational schemes need to be tailored to each individual farm or pasture, and more studies are needed on the resilience of rangelands and on separating the effects of grazing and climate. The direct short-term impact of three rates of stocking (4, 8 and 16 Small Stock Units-SSU/ha) was quantified in terms of composition and cover of arid Nama Karoo vegetation (subshrub/grass). Mature Merino wethers grazed in one hectare plots during May in 1995 and 1996 (the plots were not subjected to grazing at any other time). The basal cover of the Karoo bushes (shrubs) showed a decrease at the highest stocking rate only, with the species Phymaspermum parvifolium the most sensitive to intensive grazing. An increase in stocking rate caused a significant decrease in both canopy cover and canopy-spread cover. The canopy cover of palatable Karoo bushes such as Felicia muricata, Salsola calluna and Walafrida geniculata decreased most. Light stocking (4 SSU/ha) was apparently the least detrimental to the vegetation composition and cover. Regardless of stocking rate, an 11-month resting period was possibly sufficient for all the vegetation parameters concerned to be fully restored after grazing took place. The rangeland rapidly reacted to rainfall as the ephemeral cover increased temporarily. The higher the stocking rate was, the greater the increase in ephemerals occurring. The ecological sustainability of the Nama Karoo ecosystem, utilised by high stocking densities, is questioned. Keywords: Basal cover; canopy cover; canopy-spread cover; ephemerals; Karoo bushes; stocking rate

Felicia muricata Leaf Extract May not Completely Safe for Oral Remedies

Felicia muricata Leaf Extract May not Completely Safe for Oral Remedies

Evaluation of aqueous extract of Felicia muricata leaves for anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and antipyretic activities

Context: Felicia muricata Thunb. (Nees) (Asteraceae) leaves are used in folklore medicine of South Africa as an oral remedy for pain and inflammation. However, the efficacy of the plant part is yet to be validated with scientific experiments.Objective: The current study is an effort to investigate the anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and antipyretic activities of aqueous extract of F. muricata leaves.Materials and methods: The phytochemical screening of aqueous extract of Felicia muricata leaves and the efficacy of the extract at the doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight was investigated in experimental animals using several models of inflammation (paw edema induced by carrageenan and egg albumin), nociception (acetic acid-induced writhing, formalin-induced pain and tail immersion), and fever (brewer’s yeast-induced hyperthermia).Results: The extract contained alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and phenolics. The extract dose-dependently reduced (P <0.05) the number of writhes and stretches induced by acetic acid, number of licks induced by formalin, paw volumes induced by carrageenan and egg albumin. The reaction time by the tail of the extract-treated animals to the hot water also increased. The extract also reduced hyperthermia induced by brewer’s yeast. The highest dose (200 mg/kg body weight of the extract) produced the best result in all cases.Discussion and conclusion: This study revealed that the aqueous extract of Felicia muricata leaves possessed anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive and antipyretic activities. These findings have therefore supported the use of aqueous extract of Felicia muricata leaves in the traditional medicine of South Africa as an oral remedy for pains, inflammation, and fever.

In vitro antioxidant activity of extracts from the leaves of Felicia muricata thunb. An underutilized medicinal plant in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Felicia muricata is a medicinal plant used for the management of different human and livestock diseases in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The antioxidant potential of the leaves from this herb was investigated using its water, methanol, acetone and ethanol extracts. All the extracts were rich in phenols, proanthocyanidins and flavonols but low in flavonoids. The water extract exhibited low DPPH scavenging activity while the methanol, acetone and ethanol extracts showed higher activities. Again all the extracts showed high ABTS scavenging activity with a correlation between total phenolic content (R2 = 0.9965), DPPH (R2 = 0.982) and ABTS (R2 = 0.927). Traditionally, however, plant extracts are prepared with water as infusions, decoction and poultice. Our results have shown that both the water and ethanol extracts from Felicia muricata displayed strong antioxidant activity. Therefore, it would seem likely that both solvents were able to extract those compounds which are responsible for the antioxidant activity of F. muricata.

Toxicological evaluation of the aqueous extract of Felicia muricata Thunb. leaves in Wistar rats.

The effect of the aqueous extract of Felicia muricata leaves at 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight in Wistar rats was evaluated for 14 days. The extract caused significant increase in white blood cell (WBC) while it decreased the large unstained cells (LUC). The red blood cell (RBC), packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), neurophils, eosinophils and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) compared favourably with the control. There was no significant difference in haemoglobin (Hb) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) at both 50 and 100 mg/kg, but at 200 mg/kg, there was slight reduction in both parameters. The extract caused progressive significant increase in platelets concentration. The lymphocytes level was significantly higher at 50 and 100 mg/kg. The extract at all doses did not significantly alter the levels of Na, K, Cl, inorganic phosphorus, urea, creatinine, total bilirubin, globulin, total protein, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDCL-C) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C). The liver- and kidneybody weight ratios were not altered by all the doses except an increase in kidney-body weight ratio by the 200 mg/kg body weight of the extract. The concentration of triacylglycerol was increased by the 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight, while that of alkaline phophatase did not follow any regular pattern. There was reduction in the concentration of aspartate aminotransferase (ALT) from 50 to 200 mg/kg body weight. The alterations on some hematological and liver function parameters were an indication that the extract possessed selective toxicity.

Effects of Drying Methods on the Chemical Composition of Essential Oil from Felicia muricata Leaves

Effects of Drying Methods on the Chemical Composition of Essential Oil from Felicia muricata Leaves

Foliar Micromorphology of Felicia muricata Thunb., A South African Medicinal Plant

The foliar micromorphology of Felicia muricata (Thunb.) Nees (Asteraceae) was observed with the JEOL (JSM-6390LV) Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Both the abaxial and adaxial surfaces were characterized by anisocytic stomata which were more prevalent on the abaxial surface than the adaxial surface. The leaves have only one type of multicellular non-glandular trichomes that are long and cylindrical, tapering to a sharp point and running parallel to the leaf surface in the direction of the apices. Crystal deposits were also observed on the surfaces of the leaves near the stomata. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy-SEM shows that Na, Al, Si, and K were the major constituents of the crystal analyzed. Since no glandular trichomes were present on the leaves of this herb, the bioactive components present in this plant may be produced in some other tissues in the leaf other than the trichomes.

Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oil from Felicia muricata Thunb. Leaves

Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oil from Felicia muricata Thunb. Leaves

Vegetation of mesas and surrounding plains in the southeastern Nama Karoo, South Africa

Plant community composition and distribution on and off isolated mesas were investigated across Nama Karoo communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Species composition and cover were measured in plots along a transect extending from the SE plains and slopes, across the plateaux, onto the NW slopes and plains of three mesas (Tafelberg, Folminkskop and Buffelskop). Data were then classified using the floristic-sociological approach, assisted by the computer package TWINSPAN. Canonical Correlation Analysis was used to analyse the relationship between vegetation and environmental patterns. Mesa communities were found to be distinctly different from plains communities, with no shared communities between the two habitats. The distribution of communities across the landscape is attributed to a soil-moisture gradient. Differences in habitat probably existed before the impact of domestic livestock, but overgrazing has likely exacerbated the differences. The potential to use mesas as sources of seeds and propagules for the surrounding degraded plains is low, since few species are shared between the two habitats. However, generalist, palatable species such as Felicia muricata, Eragrostis obtusa, Pentzia incana etc. could have some potential for future restoration. Dolerite-capped mesas such as Tafelberg and Folminkskop had a general slope community shared between the two mesas. Aspect and the expected cooler, more moist conditions on SE slopes as factors determining community composition for the dolerite mesas were overridden by soil type and associated nutrient status. In xeric sandstone mesas such as Buffelskop, soil type and associated nutrient status were overridden by aspect and slope as determinants of community composition. Mesa habitats are generally not grazed heavily by livestock due to their inaccessible nature, and are not threatened by current land use practices. Plains habitats are often degraded, a consequence of 200 years of selective grazing.

Prostaglandin Synthesis Inhibitory Activity in Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho Medicinal Plants

Twenty-six plants used by Zulu healers for the treatment of pain and inflammation were assayed for cyclooxygenase inhibitory activity. The plant parts used by the traditional healers were dried and milled. Ethanol and aqueous extracts of the plants were prepared and assayed. Several plant extracts exhibited high inhibitory activity in the assay. Among these were Acacia rehmanniana, Cryptocarya latifolia, Dichrostachys cinerea, Erythrophleum lasianthum, Euclea natalensis, Felicia muricata, Mohria caffrorum, Phygelius capensis, Siphonochilus aethiopicus, Trichilia emetica and Turraea floribunda. The ethanol extracts generally showed higher activity than the aqueous extracts. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pollen Wall Ontogeny of Felicia muricata (Asteraceae: Astereae)

Abstract Pollen wall development in Felicia muricata Thunb. Nees (Asteraceae) was investigated by electron microscopy after addition of the lypophilic dye malachite green to the primary fixative. Pollen wall formation commences with the deposition of fibrillar electron dense units which represent future interbacular spaces. Radially arranged trilammelate structures develop between the fibrillar units. Sporopollenin is deposited in the trilammelate structures. After release of the microspores from the tetrad, formation of interbacular spaces is accompanied by disintegration of fibrillar units. Endexine formation occurs on white lines of unit membrane dimensions. Intine formation follows the pattern described for most angiosperms. Observation of bead-like globules and pollenkitt with a membraneous structure is presumed to be related to the addition of malachite green to the fixative.

The classification of the vegetation of Korannaberg, eastern Orange Free State, South Africa. II. Grassland communities

The grassland vegetation of the Koranna Conservancy was classified using TWINSPAN and then refined by means of the Braun-Blanquet technique. The analysis resulted in the identification of the Harpochloa falx – Trachypogon spicatus Grassland, the Eragrostis plana – Felicia muricata Grassland and the Melinis nerviglume – Enneapogon scoparius Grassland, which can be divided into nine habitat-related plant communities. Descriptions of these communities include diagnostic species as well as prominent species. Habitat features include topography, geological formations, aspect, slope and soil factors such as soil type, depth and rockiness of the soil surface.

Fever: Role of Pyrogens and Cryogens

The biology of cytokines is one of the most rapidly growing areas of biomedical research. It is understandable why the assumption was made several years ago that EP was equivalent to IL-1 (both alpha and beta) and subsequently to IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, and TNF. However, as more data have been obtained, it has become clearer that many cytokines and hormones are capable of participating in the febrile response. It is also becoming apparent that EPs and ECs might influence body temperature during nonpathological states, perhaps contributing to the elevation in temperature during or after exercise, the circadian variation in temperature, and others. Medical textbooks have begun to list IL-1 as the EP. As I attempted to make clear in this review, evidence that IL-1 alpha is a circulating EP is poor. The evidence is considerably stronger that IL-1 beta is an EP, at least during LPS-induced fever in rodents. The point I have tried to emphasize is that before any cytokine or hormone can be characterized as an EP or EC (or, for that matter, as being involved in any of the acute phase responses), clearly established rules must be followed, which are patterned after the traditional criteria used by Koch to distinguish a pathogenic microorganism from a benign one. As summarized in Tables 4 and 5, there are many candidates for EPs and ECs, but much more experimental evidence is essential before we gain a clear understanding of the relationship between contact with an exogenous pyrogen, the release of EPs and ECs, and the development of fever.