Ethnobotanical Characteristics

Description

Armed shrub or tree to 10 m tall; branches whitish brown, often zig-zagging, thinly hairy when young; stipules paired, spibous, one of each pair straight to 2.5 cm long the other shorter & hooked (up to 0.5cm long). Leaves alternate, 3-nerved from the base, ovate to elliptic, 2-4 (-6) cm long x 1.5-3 cm across, tip rounded or obtuse, margin minutely crenate-serrate, base round to sub cordate, glabrous or thinly haring beneath along the veins. Flowers in dense dusters in the axils of the leaves. Calyx x 5 – lobed, cup-shaped at base; lobes ovate – triangular, c.2 x 1.5 mm, densely pubescent, deciduous – petals yellowish, 5, free, obovate and shortly clawed, c.1.5 x 1 mm, hooded at apex. Stamens 5, opposite the petal, inserted at the base of the flat and 10- lobed disc. O vary 2-locular, loculi 1-ovulate, styles short 8 divided above into two lobes. Fruit a drupe, globose, c.1cm in diameter, glabrous, yellowish or reddish brown, edible; seeds ovate, 6-7 x 5-6 mm brown.

Habitat & Distribution

Widespread in tropical and subtropical regions. The genus Z. spina-christi is widely distributed because it is cultivated & has been naturalized across a large area from N. Africa east to Afghanistan & NE India. In UAE found in wadis, different landscape, and it is widely cultivated all over the UAE. The plant is mentioned in holy Quran and very much used in Arab countries.

Part(s) Used

Fruits, bark, seeds and leaves

Traditional & Medicinal Uses

In UAE : the fruits edible and nutritive, leaves used for chest and stomach problems, bone fractures, bleeding of uterus and for hair and skin care. In Iberis P the plant claimed to be a blood purifier, good for treatment of liver, epilepsy, dermatitis and chest problems. In different folk medicine the plant is used for scorpion stings, cough, constipation, pneumonia, headache, dysentery, intestinal worms, fever, eye diseases and inflammations of throat and pharynx.

Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry

Parts studied

Leaves

Microscopical Description

Transverse section of the leaf shows an isobilateral structure where the palisade tissue is found beneath both epidermises. The cuticle is thin and it is faintly and irregularly striated. The upper epidermis consists of large anticlinal oval to oblong cells though they look polygonal from a surface view. They have thin straight cell walls and some of them contain single emerald green crystals. The mesophyll palisade tissue consists of two layers or rod-like elongated cells with straight cell walls that are loosely held together. The cells of the palisade tissues are very rich in coloured crystalline substances; some cells contain cluster crystals of calcium oxalate or mixtures of different crystalline substances. The spongy mesophyll cells are few in number and they are round or oval in shape and very rich in cluster crystals of calcium oxalate. The vascular bundles that transverse these cells contain vessels which are scalariformly or spirally thickened. Alongside the midrib are found one to two layers of crystal sheathes of calcium oxalate rosettes. The lower epidermis cells are small in size, oval or almost square in their outlines and are covered with a thin faintly striated cuticle. Stomata are oval and anomocytic in type and they are quite abundant on the lower epidermis but no stomata were detected on the upper epidermis. Covering or glandular trichomes are not observed on any epidermis (DPS, ZCHRTM unpublished results).

• (a). TS of the leaf showing the thin irregularly striated cuticle, the anticlinal epidermal cells, the thin two-layered orange-coloured palisade cells and the spongy mesophyll with embedded vascular bundles.
• (b). Surface view of the palisade cells that underlay the upper epidermis of the leaf.
• (c). Spongy mesophyll cells of the leaf rich in coloured mases and cluster crystals of calcium oxalate (some crystals merge together forming larger masses) (Magnification: All x 400).

Organoleptic characteristics

Appearance:                                                                               Solid powder
Colour:                                                                                        Light green
Odour:                                                                                        Aromatic
Taste:                                                                                         Slightly bitter

Physicochemical constants

Loss in weight on drying at 105°C (%):   8.60-8.80

Solubilities ( % )

Alcohol solubility (%):                                                                14.40
Water solubility (%):                                                                    25.60-26.80
10% ethanolic extractive (%):                                                      Not done

Ash values (%)

Total ash:                                                                                     10.00
Water soluble ash:                                                                       4.00
Acid-insoluble ash:                                                                       0.80

Successive extractive (%)

Petroleum ether (60-80C):                                                           4.35
Chloroform:                                                                                  3.40
Absolute alcohol:                                                                         14.35
Distilled water:                                                                              Not done

pH values

pH of 1% solution :                                                                      5.92
pH of 10% solution:                                                                     5.55

The above results are under process of publication (DPS, ZCHRTM unpublished results).

Chemical constituents

Steroids, β-sitosterol , β- D- glucoside , condensed tannins, and four saponin glycosides, namely 3-0-α- -L-fucopyranosyl (1→ 2) -P-D-glucopyranosyl (1→3) -[α- L- airabinopyranosyl] jujubogenin, 3-0-[α-D- fucopyranosyl (1→2)-β- D-glucopyranosyl -4- sulphate(1→3) -α- L-arabinopyranosyl] jujubogenin, 3-0[β-Dglucopyranosyl (1 →2) -α-L- rhamnopyranosyl (1→3)α-L-arabinopyranosyl] jujubogenin, and 3 -0[α-L- fucopyranosyl (1→2)- β-D-arabinopyranosyl (1→3)-P- Dglucopyranosyl (1→3)- α-L- arabinopyranasyl]. Jujubogenin have been isolated from the leaves. The free sugars Viz. fructose, raffinose, sucrose, glucose, galactose, rhamnose have also been isolated from different parts of the plants .(Kamil 1994; M A M etal. 1984, Ghazanfar 1999; DPS, ZCHRTM unpublished results).

Pharmacological and Toxicological studies 

The antidiarrheal effects of the methanol extract of Zizyphus spina-Christi stem bark have been reported (Adzu et. al., 2003). Different extracts and fractions of the leaves, fruits and seeds of Zizyphus showed antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial activities (Shaht et. al., 2001). The effect of the aqueous extract of Zizyphus due to neuromuscular blockade. The aqueous extract of the plant is reported to possess antinociceptive activity (Adzu et. al., 2001). Zizyphus lotus (methanolic extract) was found to possess the strong mollusuicidal activity (Lahlou et. al., 2002). The inhibitory activity of the various cyclopeptides and peptide alkaloids from Zizyphus spina Christ on Ca was found to correlate well with their sedative activity (Hwang et. al., 2001).
The pharmacological and toxicological studies carried out in our laboratory and the results in brief, on Zizyphus spina-Christi (10% ethanolic extract) have been given below. The results presented without references showed unpublished data (DBMS, ZCHRTM, unpublished results).

1.) Ethanolic Extract 10%

Summary of the results

The 10% extract of the plant showed significant anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities. However, antinociceptitive activity was found significant only in writhing test. 10% extract also showed antidiabetic activity following sub acute administration. The extract failed to show any effect on blood pressure studies. There were no significant toxicological effects observed on acute administration. However, sub-acute administration daily for 90 days showed some alteration in biochemical and haematological parameters. No teratogenicity and mutagenicity were observed.

2.) Aqueous Extract

Summary of results

The aqueous extract showed significant anti-inflammatory activity. The extract failed to show antinociceptive activity using hot plate method and also did not have any effect on blood pressure on acute administration. The extract was found effective in lowering of blood glucose following 5 days administration of the extract. No toxic signs and symptoms were recorded on acute administration. However, the animals showed some alteration in biochemical and haematological parameters on sub-chronic administration. No teratogenic and mutagenic effects were observed.

Antimicrobial activity

Different extracts and fraction of the leaves, fruits and seeds of Ziziphus showed antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial activities (Shahat et al. 2001).

References

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