Equisetum Research Articles

Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of the Genus Equisetum (Equisetaceae): A Narrative Review of the Species with Therapeutic Potential for Kidney Diseases.

The Equisetum genus, Equisetaceae family, is widely distributed worldwide and may be the oldest nonextinct genus on Earth. There are about 30 known species, which are very often used in traditional medicine with diverse applications. This review aimed to compile scientific reports about Equisetum species with relevant pharmacological properties and/or therapeutic potential for kidney diseases. Our bibliographic survey demonstrates that the most widespread traditional use of Equisetum is as a diuretic, followed by the treatment of genitourinary diseases (kidney diseases, urethritis, kidney stones, and others), inflammation, wound healing, rheumatic diseases, prostatitis, and hypertension. The most popular species from the Equisetum genus with medicinal use is E. arvense L., whose diuretic effect was confirmed in animal models and clinical trials. The species E. bogotense Kunth also demonstrated the beneficial effect of inducing diuresis in both experimental and clinical assays. Several other species have also been studied regarding their therapeutic potential, showing different biological actions. Regarding the chemical composition, it contains many active constituents, such as alkaloids, flavonoids, phenol, phytosterols, saponins, sterols, silicic acid, tannin, triterpenoids, and volatile oils. However, despite the widespread traditional use, many species need to be explored in detail for scientific validation of popular use. Indeed, the species of the Equisetum genus have great potential in the management of kidney disorders.

Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activity of the Ethanolic Extract of Equisetum myriochaetum and Molecular Docking of Its Main Metabolites (Apigenin, Kaempferol, and Quercetin) on β-Tubulin

Equisetum myriochaetum is a semi-aquatic plant found on riverbanks that is commonly used in traditional medicine as a diuretic agent. Additionally, the genus Equisetum stands out for its content of the flavonoid kaempferol, a well-known antiproliferative agent. Therefore, in this study, E. myriochaetum ethanolic extract was tested in vitro against a cervical cancer cell line (SiHa). Additionally, the antioxidative activity was evaluated through a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrilhidrazil (DPPH) assay. Finally, a molecular docking analysis of apigenin, kaempferol, and quercetin on the active site of β-tubulin was performed to investigate their potential mechanism of action. All fractions of E. myriochaetum ethanolic extract showed antioxidative activity. Fraction 14 displayed an antiproliferative capacity with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 6.78 μg/mL against SiHa cells.

Fabrication and Experimental Analysis of Treated Snake Grass Fiber Reinforced with Polyester Composite

The selection of fiber is predominant for natural fiber‐reinforced polymer composite materials, which should have easy extraction and good bonding with considerable strength. In this paper, some chemical treatments were done on the fiber material to increase interfacial bonding between the snake grass fiber (Sansevieria ehrenbergii) and polyester matrix, such as alkali treatment (NaOH), potassium permanganate treatment, sodium carbonate treatment, hydrogen peroxide treatment, and calcium carbonate treatment. The chopped snake grass fiber‐reinforced polymer composite material was prepared by keeping 25 wt.% of fiber and 30 mm fiber length reinforced with an unsaturated polyester resin that was cured with the help of the catalyst methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEPK). Cobalt naphthenate was used as an accelerator. Tribological properties were discussed for the highly potential sample with the help of a pin‐on‐disc wear tester, and the results were analysed by the Taguchi L9 orthogonal array. This paper exhibited the best mechanical and tribological properties among those chemical‐treated fibers used in fiber‐reinforced composite materials and untreated fibers used in fiber‐reinforced composite materials. CaCO3 treatment provided higher tensile strength (45 MPa), impact strength (3.35 J), and hardness (27 BHN). Finally, the mechanical and tribological characterization of the samples was done with the aid of SEM (scanning electron microscope).

Chromoblastomycosis: Masquerading as squamous cell carcinoma

Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic fungal infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue caused by one of several dematiaceous (naturally pigmented) fungi. Predominantly, an infection of the humid tropical and subtropical regions, chromoblastomycosis does occur in India, and its diagnosis is usually delayed due to the low level of clinical suspicion. Here, we present the case of a 65-year-old male who presented with gradually progressive raised lesions over the right thigh of 8 years' duration with a history of sustaining injury through horse tail. Dermatological examination revealed a well-defined, erythematous, verrucous plaque on the lower third of the right thigh and knee with ill-defined advancing margins. Histopathological examination of skin biopsy and potassium hydroxide preparation of material scraped from the surface of lesions showed characteristic “sclerotic bodies” of chromoblastomycosis, and the patient was started on anti-fungal drugs to which he responded very well with regression of most of his lesion.

Mechanical and Acoustic Properties of Alkali-Treated Sansevieria ehrenbergii/Camellia sinensis Fiber–Reinforced Hybrid Epoxy Composites: Incorporation of Glass Fiber Hybridization

The intention behind this research work was to analyse the mechanical as well as acoustic behaviour of Sansevieria ehrenbergii (snake grass) / Camellia sinensis (waste tealeaf) fibers with glass fiber (GF) – reinforcement to form the hybrid epoxy composites. Fibers of S.ehrenbergii/C.sinensis were chemically modified for their effective usage as reinforcement in hybrid composites. Five combinations of hybrid composites were fabricated using hand-operated compression molding techniques by changing the percentage weight of snake grass fiber (SGF) and waste tea leaf fiber (WTLF). The results indicated that the mechanical behaviour of SGF/WTLF composites have been substantially enhanced by hybridization with GF. Enhanced mechanical behavior of hybrid composites is observed as an incremental percentage of SGF composition. The experimental findings show that the weight fraction of 25 wt.% WTLF reinforced with SGF shows a strong acoustic absorption coefficient (AAC) of 0.59 in the frequency range of 2000–6300 Hz as well introduces the potential for acoustic sound proofing applications, such as loudspeaker design, perforated panels, sound recording, and reproduction room. The morphological behavior of hybrid composites, such as fiber pullout, matrix crack, void formation, and interfacial bond between the binder and fibers were observed using a scanning electron microscope.

Experimental investigation on mechanical properties of banana/snake grass fiber reinforced hybrid composites

Plant fibers including banana, snake grass, ramie, hemp, jute and so on are armed with enormous advantages like less weight, reliability, recyclability and environmental friendly nature. Besides the natural composites with single fibers, composites containing more than one type of fibers (hybrid composites) render a customized material design which could be used to obtain a particular property for a particular application. Current work is an attempt to manufacture and test the snake grass (SG) and banana fibers reinforced polyester composites manufactured by hand lay-up method with random fiber orientation. Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) was used as the coupling agent and cobalt naphthalene (CN) as the catalyst. Relative volume fraction of the fibers was varied between 5%–25% by weight in the ratio of 1:1. Properties like tensile strength and modulus, flexural strength and modulus and compressive strength are measured for the composites by conducting the appropriate tests according to ASTM standards. Results exhibited that tensile, flexural and compressive strength increased linearly with the fiber volume fraction while tensile and flexural modulus decreased with the increase in fiber volume fraction. Fracture surface morphology was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

NMR and LCMS analytical platforms exhibited the nephroprotective effect of Clinacanthus nutans in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in the in vitro condition

BackgroundClinacanthus nutans (C. nutans) Lind. locally known as Belalai Gajah or Sabah snake grass is a medicinal plant belonging to Acanthaceae family. In Asia, this plant is traditionally used for treating skin rashes, insects and snake bites, diabetes mellitus, fever and for diuretic effect. C. nutans has been reported to possess biological activities including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and anti-viral activities.MethodsProton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) and Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (LCMS) coupled with multivariate data analysis were employed to characterize the metabolic variations of intracellular metabolites and the compositional changes of the corresponding culture media in rat renal proximal tubular cells (NRK-52E).ResultsNMR and LCMS analysis highlighted choline, creatine, phosphocholine, valine, acetic acid, phenylalanine, leucine, glutamic acid, threonine, uridine and proline as the main metabolites which differentiated the cisplatin-induced group of NRK-52E from control cells extract. The corresponding media exhibited lactic acid, glutamine, glutamic acid and glucose-1-phosphate as the varied metabolites. The altered pathways perturbed by cisplatin nephrotoxic on NRK-52E cells included changes in amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism and glycolysis.ConclusionThe C. nutans aqueous extract (1000 μg/mL) exhibited the most potential nephroprotective effect against cisplatin toxicity on NRK-52E cell lines at 89% of viability. The protective effect could be seen through the changes of the metabolites such as choline, alanine and valine in the C. nutans pre-treated samples with those of the cisplatin-induced group.

Effect of Extraction Conditions on The Phytochemical Properties of Clinacanthus nutans Using Pressurized Hot Water Extraction (PHWE) Technique

Clinacanthus nutan is an important herb species from the family Acanthaceae and is commonly found in Southeast Asia. It is also known as snake grass, or ‘belalai gajah’ in malay. The leaves of C. nutan can be used to make a refreshing juice or tea, or even consumed raw as ‘ulam’, a traditional malay salad. In this work, the leaves, stems, and a mixture of both leaves and stems of C. nutan are first dried in an oven at 50°C for 24 hours and then grounded into a powder. Then, pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) is used to extract phytochemicals from the powdered samples at 120°C for 20 minutes. This work investigates the effects of three important parameters for extraction; the sample particle size (<63 to 500μm), solventto-sample ratio (10:2 to 50:2 v/w), and sample weight (0.5 to 3.0g) on the extracted phytochemicals’ total phenolic compounds (TPC), total flavonoid compounds (TFC), and 2,2-dipheny1-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity. The experiments are carried out in triplicate and the results are analyzed using Minitab. Phytochemicals extracted from 2g leaf powder samples of particle size <63μm using a solvent-tosample ratio of 50:2 (v/w) resulted in the most favorable results for TPC, TFC, and DPPH scavenging activity. The results are found to be significant with the

Antagonistic Drug-herb Interactions between Clinacanthus nutans and Cyclophosphamide on WRL 68 Cell Line

Clinacanthus nutans (Acanthaceae), locally known as Sabah snake grass, is popularly taken as prevention as well as treatment for cancer in Malaysia, despite lack of concrete clinical evidence. However, it is crucial to evaluate potential antagonistic, additive, or synergistic interactions that may result from the co-treatment of this plant in chemotherapy. In this study, we demonstrate the drug-herb interaction using combination treatment of C. nutans extracts and cyclophosphamide on the WRL 68 cell line. Materials and Methods: Aqueous and 70% ethanol extract of C. nutans leaves were prepared using decoction and maceration methods. MTT assay was used to test single treatment as well as the combination of C. nutans extract and cyclophosphamide. Phytochemical profiling and flavonoid were identified using HPLC. Results: C. nutans ethanolic extract exhibits low antiproliferative activity. A combination of ethanolic extract of C. nutans and cyclophosphamide at various concentrations resulted in antagonism with combination index values of 1.413, 1.482, and 1.525. Flavonoids identified in the phytochemical profile of both extracts were schaftoside, isoorientin, orientin, and vitexin. High flavonoids level in C. nutans ethanolic extract could potentially interact with metabolic enzymes of the cell line, which might have affected metabolism and activated the cyclophosphamide. The in vitro data suggested that there was a potential for drug-herb interactions, which could negatively affect the chemotherapeutic outcomes. Further investigation should be done in vivo and clinical research model.

In Vitro Responses of Plant Growth Factors on Growth, Yield, Phenolics Content and Antioxidant Activities of Clinacanthus nutans (Sabah Snake Grass).

Clinacanthus nutans, commonly known as Sabah snake grass, is one of the more important medicinal plants in Malaysia’s herbal industry. C. nutans has gained the attention of medical practitioners due to its wide range of bioactive compounds responsible for various biological activities, such as anti-cancer, anti-venom and anti-viral activities. Due to its high pharmacological properties, the species has been overexploited to meet the demands of the pharmaceutical industry. The present study was conducted to establish a suitable in vitro culture procedure for the mass propagation of C. nutans. Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium, supplemented with different types of cytokinins, auxins, basal medium strength and sucrose concentrations, were tested. Based on the results, a full-strength MS basal medium supplemented with 12 µM 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 30 g/L sucrose was recorded as the best outcome for all the parameters measured including the regeneration percentage, number of shoots, length of shoots, number of leaves and fresh weight of leaves. In the analysis of the phenolics content and antioxidant activities, tissue-cultured leaf extracts assayed at 100 °C exhibited the highest phenolic content and antioxidant activities. The propagation of C. nutans via a plant tissue culture technique was recorded to be able to produce high phenolic contents as well as exhibit high antioxidant activities.

Alterations in Herbage Yield, Antioxidant Activities, Phytochemical Contents, and Bioactive Compounds of Sabah Snake Grass (Clinacanthus Nutans L.) with Regards to Harvesting Age and Harvesting Frequency

Sabah snake grass or Clinacanthus nutans has drawn public interest having significant economic benefits attributable to the presence of phytochemicals and several interesting bioactive constituents that may differ according to harvesting age and harvesting frequency. The current study was aimed to evaluate the effect of harvesting age and harvesting frequency towards herbal yield, antioxidant activities, phytochemicals synthesis, and bioactive compounds of C. nutans. A factorial randomized completely block design with five replications was used to illustrate the relationship between herbal yield, DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, total phenolic and flavonoid content affected by harvesting age (week 8, 12, and 16 after transplanting), and harvesting frequency (harvest 1, 2, and 3). The bioactive compounds by HPLC were also determined to describe the interaction effect between both harvesting age and harvesting frequency. The yield, antioxidant activities, and phytochemical contents were gradually increased as the plant grew, with the highest recorded during week 16. However, the synthesis and activities of phytochemicals were reduced in subsequent harvests despite the increment of the herbal yield. All bioactive compounds were found to be influenced insignificantly and significantly by harvesting age and harvesting frequency, respectively, specifically to shaftoside, iso-orientin, and orientin. Among all constituents, shaftoside was the main compound at various harvesting ages and harvesting frequencies. These results indicated that harvesting at week 16 with 1st harvest frequency might enhance the yield while sustaining the high synthesis of polyphenols and antioxidant activities of C. nutans.

Keraphyton gen. nov., a new Late Devonian fern-like plant from Australia.

The first plants related to the ferns are represented by several extinct groups that emerged during the Devonian. Among them, the iridopterids are closely allied to the sphenopsids, a group represented today by the genus Equisetum. They have been documented in Middle to early Late Devonian deposits of Laurussia and the Kazakhstan plate. Their Gondwanan record is poor, with occurrences limited to Venezuela and Morocco. Here we describe a new genus from a late Late Devonian locality of New South Wales. It is represented by a single anatomically preserved large stem characterized by a star-shaped vascular system with protoxylem strands located at rib tips, and by a lack of secondary tissues. Within the first fern-like plants, this stem shares the largest number of characters with iridopterid axes but differs by the pattern of its vascular system. Keraphyton mawsoniae gen. et sp. nov. adds a new record of early fern-like plants in eastern Gondwana. It provides new insights into the anatomical diversity within this key group of plants and supports the distinctiveness of the Australian flora in the latest Devonian.

Microwave-assisted extraction optimization of Sabah snake grass (Clinacanthus nutans Lindau) herbal infusion and evaluation of antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity in vitro

Clinacanthus nutans is a great medicinal herb with high polyphenols content and had been used in its infusion form to treat illness. In this paper, microwave-assisted extraction of C. nutans tea infusion was investigated by using central composite design combined with response surface methodology. The influence factors of microwave power (80 - 800 W); brewing time duration (0 – 240 s) and extraction time duration (60 s – 300 s) on total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activity (DPPH) and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity (AChE) were investigated. The optimum extraction conditions were determined as follows: microwave power X1, 560 W; brewing duration, X2, 60 s and extraction time, X3, 240 s. Under this optimal extraction conditions, the responses were as followed: Total phenolic content (251.58±10.98 mg GAE/L); Total flavonoid content (102.21±5.16 mg RE/L); DPPH (62.22±0.03%) and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity (AChE) of 24.77±0.12%. Results demonstrated that MAE could be used to extract bioactive constituents having antioxidant and anti-acetylcholinesterase properties that may benefit in Alzheimer’s disease.

High‐pressure processing treatment for ready‐to‐drink Sabah Snake Grass juice

High‐pressure processing treatment for ready‐to‐drink Sabah Snake Grass juice

The History of Herbivory on Sphenophytes: A New Calamitalean with an Insect Gall from the Upper Pennsylvanian of Portugal and a Review of Arthropod Herbivory on an Ancient Lineage

Premise of research. Sphenophytes are a modestly diverse lineage of vascular plants with a persistent record extending from the late Paleozoic to the present. However, patterns of arthropod herbivory on sphenophytes are poorly known because of a scattered literature, which we address in this report.Methodology. We document the 315-million-year-long record of sphenophyte-arthropod herbivory by focusing on the bookends of that record—namely, the Pennsylvanian and the present day. We add to this milieu a gall association on a newly described sphenophyte from the Upper Pennsylvanian of Portugal.Pivotal results. Earliest-known sphenophyte herbivory is Early Pennsylvanian, when virtually all interactions involved piercing-and-sucking damage by stylate insect mouthparts and lesions from cutting-and-slicing ovipositors. An exception is a newly discovered calamitalean (Annularia paisii sp. nov.) that harbored a newly discovered insect-induced gall (Paleogallus carpannularites ichnosp. nov.) that is similar to a modern fern gall. This discovery suggests that Late Pennsylvanian interactions were more diverse than previously suspected. By the end of the Pennsylvanian, the component community of one whole-plant calamitalean species had 12 damage types (DTs), only one of which was nonpuncturing damage. Shifts to external foliage feeding, mining, and galling are evident during the Late Triassic. A Middle Jurassic renewal of interactions was followed by a decrease in documented DTs present in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Fifteen modern species of the genus Equisetum, the sole surviving sphenophyte lineage, exhibit four herbivory patterns. First, almost all documented herbivory is confined to the seven species of Equisetum (horsetails), not subgenus Hippochaete (scouring rushes). Second, there are diversification events of four genera of herbivores—a beetle, two sawflies, and a fly—on subgenus Equisetum. Third, this arthropod herbivory is approximately evenly split among monophagy, oligophagy, and polyphagy. Fourth, the herbivore component community of Equisetum arvense L. (field horsetail) is diverse, representing 10 major feeding modes, comparable to a modern angiosperm species; there are considerably more feeding modes for E. arvense than there are for Pennsylvanian calamitaleans.Conclusions. Pennsylvanian sphenophytes supported few folivores, and there was a major shift in the modes of sphenophyte herbivory after the Paleozoic. Considerable modern herbivory is localized on E. arvense.

Species distribution modelling of the genus Equisetum subgenus Equisetum for the territory of Russia

Horsetails are a complex taxonomic and systematic group. Therefore, the study of the geographical distribution of these species is necessary for a better understanding of the phylogeny of this family. We concluded an analysis of the distribution of 5 species of horsetail of the subgenus Equisetum (Equisetum, Equisetaceae): E. arvense L., E. fluviatile L., E. palustre L., E. pratense Ehrh., E. sylvaticum L. using the maximum entropy method implemented in the MaxEnt program. Modeling was carried out using climate variables from the WorldClim global climate base. Simulation results show good simulation quality. In 3 out of 5 species, the AUC of the test sample was in the range of 0.9–1, and in 2 species — 0.8–0.9. In general, for most species, a plausible picture of their intended distribution has developed. The obtained models suggest that the territory of Russia is favorable enough for the growth of horsetails. Analysis of the contribution of 14 bioclimatic variables to the distribution of the studied species revealed that the most important variables are: annual mean temperature, isotermality, temperature seasonality, max temperature of warmest month, temperature annual range, mean temperature of warmest quarter, mean temperature of driest quarter, mean temperature of coldest quarter, annual precipitation, precipitation of wettest month, precipitation seasonality, precipitation of driest quarter, precipitation of warmest quarter, and precipitation of coldest quarter.

A REVIEW ON NATURAL FIBERS: EXTRACTION PROCESS AND PROPERTIES OF GRASS FIBERS

Today, research on natural fibers as composite reinforcement aims to study the extraction process, physical properties, chemical properties and mechanical properties of natural fiber. Natural fiber attracts researchers because it has high specific strength, light density, low cost, good mechanical properties, nonabrasive, environmentally friendly and biodegradable in nature. A brief review has been carried out for using abundant natural fibers available in Indonesia. This paper present a review of Mendong grass, Snake grass, Kusha grass, Arundo donax L, Sansevieria ehrenbergii, Sansevieria cylindrica, Elephant grass, Napier grass, Sansevieria trifasciata, Broom grass, Sisal, Corn husks, and Belulang grass.

Evaluation of Clinacanthus nutans leaves extract on Prothrombin Time and Activated Partial Prothrombin Time test

Limitations in existing anticoagulants have prompted a search for the natural origin of anticoagulants. Since there is an increasing need to source for pharmacological and medicinal materials from a plant source, thus an exploratory effort towards identifying and characterizing new anticoagulants from plants is worthwhile. Clinacanthus nutans (C. nutans) commonly known as Sabah snake grass belongs to Acanthaceae family was chosen since it has therapeutic and medicinal benefits. This plant possessed anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic activities. This study was carried out to identify the anticoagulant activities of C. nutans leaves in aqueous and methanol extracts at different concentrations based on prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT). The dried leaves of C. nutans were ground into a fine powder and extracted using aqueous and methanol. Anticoagulant assays of PT and aPTT were done on three different concentrations of C. nutans aqueous and methanol extracts (10 mg/mL, 20 mg/mL, and 30 mg/mL) and control group respectively. PT and aPTT of plasma samples were prolonged in both types of extracts (p&lt;0.05). This study highlights that the anticoagulant activity of aqueous and methanol extracts of C.nutans affects the intrinsic and extrinsic pathway, possibly due to the inhibitory action of the clotting factors. These results suggested that aqueous and methanol extracts of C. nutans exhibited anticoagulant activity at certain concentrations.

Clinacanthus nutans: Its potential against diabetic vascular diseases

Diabetes is an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, with approximately 80% of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity linked to vascular complications such as atherosclerosis. It has been estimated that up to one-third of patients with diabetes mellitus use some form of complementary and/or alternative medicine. One plant that has received attention from diabetic patients for its perceived antidiabetic properties is Clinacanthus nutans, a member of the Acanthaceae family that is known as snake grass. Ethnomedical applications of this herb have been identified for the treatment of certain conditions, including fever, diabetes, skin rashes, and insect bites. This review aims to assess the potential of C. nutans to be used in the prevention and/or treatment of diabetic vasculopathy. Evidence for antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and dyslipidemic properties of C. nutans, as shown from experimental studies, is presented and discussed. Diabetes, inflammation, and hyperlipidemia are known to play significant roles in the initiation and severity of diabetic cardiovascular disease; thus, targeting these factors might be beneficial for preventing and/or treating diabetic vasculopathy.

Experimental Study on Mechanical Properties of Randomly Oriented Natural Fiber Hybrid Composites

Natural fibers such as banana, sisal, snake grass, coir, hemp, jute and so on are armed with enormous advantages like less weight, reliability, recyclability and environmental friendly nature. Such fibers may enhance the system’s performance by acting as additives with the thermoplastics in different perspectives. Besides the natural composites, hybrid composites facilitate the design of material with specific property matched to an application. In the present work an attempt has been made to manufacture and test the banana and snake grass short fiber reinforced hybrid polyester composites in random orientation and random lay-up. Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide was used as the coupling agent and Cobalt Naphthalene as the catalyst. Hand layup technique was used to manufacture the composites. Relative volume fraction of the fibers was varied between 2.5-12.5% in the ratio 1:1. Properties like tensile strength and modulus, flexural strength and modulus are measured for the composites by conducting the appropriate tests according to ASTM standards.