Imperata cylindrica: a noxious weed of pharmacological potentials

Abstract

Imperata cylindrica (L.) Ruschel (family Poaceae) is a perennial grass known in different traditional medicines in Southeast Asia for the treatment of a wide range of infectious diseases, particularly of bacterial infections. It is also used as an antifungal remedy in ringworms and other skin infections. It is ethnically unique to the Mizo tribes for the use of the leaves are as the main construction materials for thatched roofs in traditional houses, and the rhizome-roots are used directly as anthelmintic agents. Crushed and juiced, or directly chewed, they are consumed for the treatment of intestinal infection, and are known to be effective for both tapeworm and roundworm species. Practically nothing is known about its chemical and biological properties. A methanol extract was prepared using Soxhlet apparatus. A series of standard phytochemical screening was performed which indicated the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates including reducing sugars, phytosterols, tannins, saponins and proteins as major bio-compounds. There are no indications of glycosides and flavonoids, which are usually important bioactive compounds in many medicinal plants. The antioxidant activities of the plant extract were assessed by free radicals scavenging assays using 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). The plant extract showed concentration-dependent scavenging activity on DPPH with an inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of 2.14 g/ml. Similar activity was shown for scavenging H 2 O 2 , with an IC 50 of 2.221 g/ml. These findings provide an evidence that I. cylindrica has promising pharmacological properties that warrant further investigations.