Shahina A. Ghazanfar

Saline and alkaline vegetation of NE Africa and the Arabian peninsula: An overview

The saline and alkaline vegetation of NE Africa and Arabia is influenced by the diverse geomorphology of the coastline and inland arid plains, and by the distribution patterns of tropical and extra-tropical plant species.A zonation of species from the sea or lake landwards is distinct and is determined by the declining influence of salinity and/or alkalinity, duration and degree of inundation, and structure of the substrate.

Ethnobotany: A Living Science for Alleviating Human Suffering

Since time immemorial, plants served as the first source of medicine to treat ailments. Man learnt about the therapeutic use of plants through trials and errors. This knowledge has been orally passed from generation to generation which led to the development of the traditional health care system, practiced in various countries of the world [1]. Ethnobotanical studies discover plant resources that can be used for targeting novel compounds leading to the development of new medicaments for treating especially complicated and minor diseases [2]. Today, ethnobotany and ethnopharmacognosy are being used for targeting new compound. Due to being rich in diversity, tropical regions may play key role in providing germplasm with new leads [1]. It is estimated that 80% of the worlds population lives in developing countries and over 80% of the worlds population rely on plant-derived medicines for their primary health care needs [3]. Based on the personal experience, people knew therapeutic potential of the medicinal plants without rationale of their efficacy. Because of advancement, we have a better understanding of the healing powers of plants due to presence of multifunctional chemical entities for treating complicated health conditions. The ethnobotany provided significant information that led to isolation of active compounds from the recent past like morphine from opium, cocaine, codeine, digitoxin, and quinine [4–6]. It is worthwhile to mention that a dozen of effective valuable drugs are discovered during the last 40 years from higher plants. The very common ones are diosgenin derived from Dioscorea deltoidea; reserpine from Rauwolfia serpentina; pilocarpine from Pilocarpus spp.; vincristine/vinblastine from Catharanthus roseus; digoxin/digitoxin from Digitalis species [7]; arteether (trade name Artemotil), a recent antimalarial drug is obtained from artemisinin-a sesquiterpene lactone isolated from Artemisia annua [8]; galantamine (also known as galanthamine, trade name Reminyl) isolated from Galanthus woronowii [9, 10]. Drug discovery from plant lore and traditional medicines are reemerging. Ethnobotanical studies exposed various medicinal plants for discovering miraculous drugs which are still available in the market. Even today, various areas of the world have a unique tradition of plant lore for alleviating human suffering as well as their domesticated animals. There is a need to document such valuable information before it is permanently lost. Based on such data, new medicaments can be predicted through undergoing experimentation which may be of potential use to treat various complicated human diseases. The plant kingdom is an implicit gold mine of new chemical compounds which are still waiting to be explored. It is estimated that there are approximately 500,000 to 750,000 species of higher plants existing on earth and less than 10% of them are examined for their biochemical constituents [11]. Keeping the importance of ethnobotany, an interdisciplinary field of study, this special issue was dedicated to the integration of past and present use of plants reporting traditional/folk medicinal use along with latest development for validation of such information through scientific studies. This special issue is a collection of seven articles portraying the use of medicinal plants and their therapeutic potential. The issue is mainly divided into two main themes; the first one describes the traditional knowledge of plants and the other one describes validation of such knowledge through in vitro assays. From ethnobotanical perspective, four articles are selected. K. C. Chinsembu carried out an ethnobotanical study from Livingstone, Southern Province, Zambia. He reported 94 medicinal plant species which are used to treat HIV/AIDS-related diseases. He stressed to confirm the antimicrobial efficacies, pharmacological parameters, cytotoxicity, and active chemical ingredients of the discovered plants. In a study carried out by M. Meragiaw et al. reported ethnobotanical enumeration of Delanta (Ethiopia) to examine the use of medicinal plants and impacts of the 1984/85 resettlement program on the local peoples knowledge on herbal medicine and its uses. They reported 133 species belonged to 116 genera and 57 families in treating 76 human and livestock ailments. Their analysis showed that the resettlement program has both positive and negative impacts on nature rehabilitation and local knowledge along with many human induced threats. S. F. Sabran et al. discovered ethnomedical knowledge of plants used for the treatment of tuberculosis by the Jakun community of Kampung Peta (Malaysia). They identified 23 plants which are used by the community for the same purpose. Dipterocarpus sublamellatus was recorded for the first time as novel species to treat tuberculosis. They urged that findings of this study are worth being further investigated for conservation strategies and are worthy of verifying their ethnomedical claims scientifically. A survey was conducted by M. A. Agbor and S. Naidoo to document ethnomedicinal use of plants by the traditional healers in treating oral health problems in Cameroon. They reported 52 plants which are being used for the management of toothache, sore throat, mouth sores, abscess, broken tooth and jaw, tooth sensitivity, mouth thrush, dental caries, gingivitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, xerostomia, oral syphilis, oral cancer, TMJ pain, halitosis, tooth bleaching, and dental extraction. From the bioactivity assessment point of view, four articles were selected. M. K. Swamy et al. investigated the effect of different solvents on the extraction of phytoconstituents of Lantana camara leaves and their antioxidant and antibacterial activities. They reported that the methanol solvent yielded the highest phenolic (92.8 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (26.5 mg RE/g) content revealing antioxidant activity. Methanol extract had the highest inhibition activity against all the tested microbes. They identified major compounds such as hexadecanoic acid (5.197%), phytol (4.528%), caryophyllene oxide (4.605%), and 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, methyl ester, (Z,Z,Z)- (3.751%) through GC-MS. A laboratory study carried out by N. Jayawardena et al. investigated antioxidant and starch hydrolase inhibitory activities of 10 spices through in vitro model of digestion mimicking the gastric and duodenal conditions. The total phenolic contents in all spice extracts had significantly increased following both gastric and duodenal digestion revealing a correlation with the antioxidant assays quantifying the water-soluble antioxidant capacity of the extracts. They concluded that the tested spices had a significant source of total phenolics, antioxidant, and starch hydrolase inhibitory activities. Finally, S. Baral et al. studied in vivo ameliorating effect of myrrh (AEM) on scopolamine-induced memory impairments using mice model. The AEM was estimated with (2E,5E)-6-hydroxy-2,6-dimethylhepta-2,4-dienal as a representative constituent through HPLC. The oral administration of AEM ameliorated the scopolamine-induced memory impairments and increased the phosphorylation of Akt and ERK in the hippocampus of mice brain. We anticipate that this special issue will provide traditional knowledge of plants existing in various traditional communities to manage and treat various diseases as well as their scientific validation through bioassay assessment.

Trichodesma dhofaricum (Boraginaceae), a new species from the Sultanate of Oman

SummaryA new species of Trichodesma (Boraginaceae) is described from the southern region of Oman.

A New Species of Ziziphus Mill. (Rhamnaceae) from Oman

Four native species of Ziziphus (Rhamnaceae) have hitherto been recorded from the Arabian Peninsula (e.g. Al-Hubaishi & Miuller-Hohenstein 1984, Collenette 1984, Miller & Morris 1988, Mandaville 1990, Ghazanfar 1992, Wood 1997; also specimens in K). Of the two species which are trees, Z. spina-christi (L.) Desf. is the most widespread within this region, occurring from sea level to c. 2500 m (a collection from Oman at K, Insall s.n., Dec. 1978, Hail al Kabir, identified as Z. mauritiana Lam., is most probably the cultivated form of Z. spina-christi), while Z. mucronata Willd. occurs only in the mountains of western Saudi Arabia between c. 1000 1500 m. Of the two shrubby species, Z. nummularia (Burm. f.) Wight & Arn. occurs in the eastern part of the region, including the northern edge of the Wahiba Sands in Oman, and Z. leucodermis (Baker) O. Schwartz is restricted to south eastern Yemen and, in Oman, to the adjacent drier regions of the southern province of Dhofar and to the southern part of the central limestone plateau, the Jiddat al Harasis. Here we describe a new taxon, locally called qusum (qasam in Mandaville 1978), from the Hajar Mountains of northern Oman.

Typification of Zygophyllum propinquum Decne. and Z. coccineum L. (Zygophyllaceae) and a key to Tetraena in SW Asia

SummaryAn interpretive epitype for Zygophyllum propinquum Decne. and a neotype for Z. coccineum L. are designated. The new combination Tetraena propinqua Ghaz. & Osborne is made. A key to the species of Tetraena in SW Asia is provided.

A new species of Rhus (Anacardiaceae) from the Sultanate of Oman, Arabia

A new species of Rhus was identified during preparation of the Flora of Oman. It is apparently endemic to the drier eastern part of the southern province of Dhofar, Oman.

Sabkha Regions of Tropical East Africa

Sabkhat in the region of tropical East Africa (treated here as Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania) are comparatively small in area and limited mostly to lake basins in the Eastern Rift and a few coastal areas. A relatively large inland sabkha lies in North Kenya, west of Lake Turkana, associated with the Chalbi Desert (a former lake). The chief plants of saline flats that surround the saline lakes in Kenya and Uganda include Cyperus laevigatus, Sporobolus spicatus and Dactyloctenium spp. The coastal sabkhat, flooded only at spring tides, are occupied by monospecific stands of stunted Avicennia marina. At the more open parts of the Avicennia fringe Arthrocnemum indicum, Paspalum vaginatum, Sesuvium portulacastrum, Sporobolus virginicus, S. spicatus, S. kentrophyllus, Pedalium murex and Suaeda monoica form the main associates. In the inland sabkhat low rainfall and high potential evaporation have resulted in an arid and saline landscape dominated by grasses Aristida adscensionis, A. mutabilis, Drake-Brockmania somalensis, Sporobolus consimilis, S. virginicus and Psilolemma jaegeri, and the subshrubs Duosperma eremophilum and Indigofera spinosa. Lagenantha nogalensis occurs on gypsophilous soils and Dasysphaera prostrata on saline soils at the edges of Lake Turkana and the Chalbi Desert. Stunted woody vegetation is dominated by Acacia reficiens and in drainage channels by Salvadora persica. Floristically the coastal sabkhat of tropical East Africa fall in the Zanzibar-Inhambane regional mosaic and the inland sabkhat in the Somalia-Masai regional centre of endemism. There are no endemic genera in the coastal sabkhat, but all of the nine East African mangrove species occur in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. In the inland sabkhat, the Somalia-Masai regional centre of endemism includes the endemic genera Drake-Brockmania and Dasysphaera. There is no arid-zone agriculture in the inland sabkhat region and nomadic pastoralists, depending on their livestock for subsistence, are the main occupants; Duosperma and Indigofera are amongst some of the important food plants of livestock (camels). Salt deposits are harvested from the extensive flats surrounding the saline and soda lakes, and the mangrove is an important economic resource as a nursery for fish and crustaceans, as well as a source of poles, timber and firewood. Over-harvesting of wood and conversion to saltpans and aquaculture, housing and industry is a threat to many parts of the mangrove area. There are no strict nature reserves in the inland sabkhat of tropical East Africa designated for the protection of arid landscapes and its flora; however the Mount Kulal Biosphere Reserve in northern Kenya covers the salt desert and lake ecosystems; Lake Manyara and Amboseli Biosphere Reserves also partly cover the saline and alkaline ecosystems. Mangrove areas are included in Watamu Marine National Park, Kiunga National Marine Reserve and Ras Tenewi Marine National Park in Kenya, and in Mafia Island Marine Park, Jozani National Park and Sadaani Game Reserve in Tanzania. Other areas of East African mangrove are included in forest reserves, with varying degrees of protection.

Edible Wild Plants: A Case Study from Oman

Plants have been used for the benefit of man since ancient times. Be it for food, clothing, shelter, medicines, cosmetic or making utilitarian objects, plants have served man’s most needs. In recent decades, in the Arabian Peninsula, plastic and metal, synthetic medicines, synthetic dyes and perfumes have largely taken over from the traditional uses of plants. Only a handful of species, such as the date palm, are still widely used for making utilitarian objects, and a few plant species used in traditional medicine. The main uses of medicinal plants are for curing colds, coughs, colic, and in a few cases, for those conditions or diseases where modern medical treatment is unsatisfactory. In Oman, the use of traditional fragrances such as frankincense and rose water is still popular. Pasturing is still the most common form of animal husbandry, and favourite fodder plants are lopped regularly throughout rural Oman. The use of edible wild plants, common a few decades ago has sharply declined; this can be attributed to the dying knowledge of the wild flora. The few wild plants that are still consumed and liked in certain parts of Oman need proper investigation and brought into cultivation to increase their availability to the communities and people of Oman and beyond.

Scrophularia amadiyana (Scrophulariaceae), a new species from Iraq and a key to Scrophularia in Iraq

SummaryA new species, Scrophularia amadiyana is described and illustrated. It resembles S. gracilis Blakelock in habit but can be differentiated by its glandular-pubescent, oblong calyx lobes which are without scarious margins, smaller glandular capsules and seeds that are longitudinally ridged and obscurely pitted. The species is known so far from a single location in Iraq growing on mountain slopes in Kurdistan where it is reported to be frequent, and is assessed here as Data Deficient.

Validating the combination Cerastium dichotomum var. inflatum (Caryophyllaceae)

SummaryA new combination Cerastium dichotomum var. inflatum invalidly published in Flora of Iraq Volume 5 Part 1 is here validated.