Ethnobotanical Characteristics

Description

The plant is a shrub 40-60 cm tall. Stem glabrous, branched, yellowish when mature. Leaves 1.5-6 cm long, 1-2 mm broad, linear. Racemes 10-28 cm long; bracts 2 mm long, deciduous. Pedicel 2.5 mm long, twice as long or longer in fruit. Sepals 6, lobes 1-1.5 mm long, obovate. Petals 6, shorter, or as long as the sepals, the posterior the largest, the anterior and lateral ones reduced; lobes linear, 1-1.5 mm long, attached to an ovate appendage, c. 1 mm long. Disc 3 mm broad, copular, fleshy, glabrous and surrounding the stamens, filaments 1-2 mm long. Capsule oblong to ovoid, 1 cm long, 7-8 mm broad, erect, 3-notched at the apex. Seeds 16 mm long, shiny black, curved (Jongbloed, 2003; e-Floras,).

Habitat and Distribution

Usually found in sandy soils, hillsides, and mountains. Common in Southern and Eastern Iran to Pakistan and Muscat. Very common throughout mountains at a lower elevation and on alluvial gravels in the northern Emirates. Rapidly colonizes new roadsides, e.g. around Hatta (Western, 1989).

Part(s) Used

Whole plant

Traditional and Medicinal Uses

Unripe fruits eaten as treatment for digestive problems (El-Ghonemy, 1993).

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry

Plant parts studied

Dried stem and branches

General appearance

The branch is cylindrical, slender (to 2 mm in diameter), glabrous with longitudinal striations, yellow with greenish tint, brittle and breaks with light yellow internal parts.

Microscopic characteristics

The branch is almost circular in outline in transverse section. The epidermis, which is covered obvious cuticle, consists of oval to square cells that slightly protrude outwards with small arches. Beneath the epidermis are 4-5 layers of light yellow small parenchyma cells of cortex, followed by 2-3 layers of comparatively larger parenchyma cells interspersed with isolated groups of lignified fibers with thick cells walls and wide lumens. These are underlain by few layers of white distorted parenchyma cells surrounding a wide circular zone of heavily lignified vascular tissues that encircle the wide central pith zone which consist of relatively larger circular parenchyma cells with pitted walls.

Powdered plant material

The material consists of the pounded stem and branches. It is a bright yellow, coarse, homogeneous powder with a pleasant weak odor reminiscent of fennel fruit but an almost flat taste though it is somewhat aromatic. Microscopically, the powder shows fragments of the epidermal cells of the branches with their oval to square cells that embrace scattered oval stomata with wide apertures; some of the epidermal cells are distorted in shapes. The powder also shows fragments of large groups of light yellow long fibers with thick cells walls and wide lumens. These fibers are either associated with vascular tissues or isolated, and some of the isolated fibers have significant broken ends. The powder also shows small groups of bright yellow oblong sclerenchymatous cells with thick cells walls and also grayish-yellow pith cells with thick pitted walls.

Leaves and Stem

• A. Surface view of the stem showing the different forms of epidermal cells with a number of oval stomata. 
• B. TS of a portion of the stem from the periphery inwards: cells of the epidermal layer, yellow cortical parenchyma cells, isolated groups of lignified fibres, layers of white distorted parenchyma cells, then heavily lignified vascular tissues separated longitudinally by medullary rays. 
• C. Oblique TS of a portion of the stem showing the patterns of the different layers constituting the stem.  

Chemical constituents

The following chemical constituents were identified: Isobornyl acetate; Oleic acid; 1-Phenyl-3-butan-1-ol; Palmitic acid; Dimethyl diethoxy silane; stigmasterol; beta-sitosterol trimethyl silyl ester; 3’,4’,7-trimethyl quercetin (ZCHRTM unpublished work).

The following chemical studies were carried out on the plant Ochrandus aucheri in ZCHRTM labs: (Quality Control methods, 1998; Evans, 1996)

Physicochemical constants 

Loss of weight in drying at 105°C :                                          9.20
Absolute alcohol solubility             :                                         3.20
Water solubility :                                                                      17.60

Successive extractives (%)

Petroleum ether (60-80)°C :                                                      0.70
Chloroform :                                                                            1.75
Absolute alcohol :                                                                    7.25

Ash values (%)

Total ash :                                                                                 5.33
Water soluble ash :                                                                   3.33

pH values (aqueous solution)

pH of 1% solution :                                                                    5.215-5.230
pH of 10% solution :                                                                  4.860-4.862

Elemental analyses

Ash values (British Herbal Pharmacopeia)
Assay and identification of elements (AOAC International)

Apparatus		AA-6800 Shimadzu-Flame method
Element	Std. conc. µg/ml (ppm)	Sample conc. mg/ml	Sample absorbance	Actual conc.mg/ml	Actual conc. (%)
Cr	1, 2, 4	20	0.0000	0.0000	0.0000
Zn	0.25, 0.5, 1	20	0.217	0.010585	0.0010585
Cu	1, 2, 4	20	0.0244	0.006895	0.0006895
Fe	1, 2, 4	20	0.0760	0.03199	0.003199
K	1, 2, 4	1	0.5530	4.976	0.4976
Pb	1, 2, 4	20	0.0024	0.00361	0.000361
Cd	0.25, 0.5, 1	20	0.0023	0.000105	0.0000105
Ca	5, 10, 20	1	0.0093	1.7447	0.17447
1ppm conc. = 1µg/ml; Actual conc. (%) =Actual conc.(ppm)x0.0001 [1ppm=0.0001%]

UV Spectral studies

Ultraviolet Spectrum (USP reference)
Apparatus	Milton Roy Spectronic Genesys 5 Spectrophotometer - Milton Roy.
Sample conc. (mg / ml)	Solvent	λ max (nm)	λ min (nm)	Abs.( λ max - λ min)
1.00	Intestinal Fluid simulated without pancreatic pH=7.50.1	No shift	No shift	-
1.00	Gastric Fluid simulated without pepsin pH =1.20.1	No shift	No shift	-

Chromatographical Studies

Thin layer chromatography (TLC): Wagner and Bladt, 1996

 

 

TLC fingerprint of Petroleum ether 60-80°C (track 1) and MeOH extract (track 2)

Mobile phase Fig.	A, B& C	:	Ethyl acetate, methanol, water (100:13.5:10)
	D	:	Toluene, ethyl formate, formic acid (5:4:1)
Detection	A	:	UV 254nm
	B	:	UV 366nm
Derivatization	C&D	:	Vanillin-Sulphuric acid-vis.

Pharmacological and toxicological studies

Literature and reported information of the plant:
There is limited scientific research data and information published about this species; more work needs to be conducted for discovery the nature and value of Ochradenus aucheri.
Plant species accumulating heavy metals are in this order: Pergularia tomentosa, Eucalyptus sp. Convolvulus sp. Family Gramineae, Rhyza stricta, Ochradenus baccatus. According to the mean of BAFs, the concentration of heavy metals Cd was found to be significantly different than Cu, Pb and Zn. Thus, these plants should be described as not-excluder and can be explored further for phytoremediation of metal polluted soils. However, the practice of providing foliage and pods as fodder for livestock should be avoided. (Farraj, 2007)
The following pharmacological, safety and efficacy evaluation studies were carried out on the plant aqueous extract (Derelanko 2002; Han, 2003):

ACTIVITY	RESULTS
	Strong	Moderate	Mild	Negative
Antidiarrheal activity	√
Urine analysis				√
Effect on rabbit jejunum	√
Effect on rat fundus			√
Effect on right rat atria			√
Anesthetized rat (BP & HR)			√
Effect on Guinea pig tracheal chain				√
Acute toxicity				√
Locomotor activity test				√
Motor co-ordination (grip strength & motor activity				√
Rectal temperature				√
Body weight				√
Mortality				√

Summary of Results

The plant extract has an antidiarrheal activity and has a digestive and carminative effects. It showed no toxicity.

Antimicrobial activity

The aqueous extract of the whole plant did not show any antimicrobial activity when tested against Mycobacterium smegmatis, C. tropicalis, different strains of Staphylococcus aureus (Including ATCC 257), strains of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, strains of Streptococcus pyogenes, strains of E. coli (Including ATCC UN 109), different strains of ESBL-producing K. pneumonia, E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. 

References

• A.S. Al-Farraj and M.I. Al-Wabel(2007).Heavy metals accumulation of some plants1170-1175
• El-Ghonemy, A. A. (1993). Encyclopedia of Medicinal plants of the United Emirates. 1st Edition. University of U.A.E.
• Fawzi, M. K. (1995). Weeds in the United Arab Emirates. University of U.A.E.
• Flora of Pakistan; www.efloras.org
• Jongbloed, M. V., Feulner, G. R., Boer, B. & Western, A. R. (2003). The comprehensive Guide to the Wild Flowers of the United Arab Emirates, Erwda, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. 
• Species grown on mining area in KSA, Journal of Applied Science 2007, 7(8):
• Western, A. R. (1986).  The Flora of United Arab Emirates. An introduction. Al-ain.
• Western, A. R. (1989). The Flora of United Arab Emirates. An introduction. Publications of the U.A.E. University.