Anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and anti-pyretic activities of Cenchrus ciliaris L.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Cenchrus ciliaris L. belongs to the family Poaceae and is found all over the world. It is native to the Cholistan desert of Pakistan where it is locally known as 'Dhaman'. Owing to high nutritional value, C. ciliaris is used as fodder while seeds are used for bread making which are consumed by locals. It also possesses medicinal value and is extensively employed to treat pain, inflammation, urinary tract infection, and tumors. AIM OF STUDY: Studies on the pharmacological activities of C. ciliaris are scarce in spite of its several traditional uses. To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive study has been conducted on anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-pyretic activity of C. ciliaris until now. Here we employed an integrative phytochemical and in - vivo framework to evaluate the potential biological activities of C. ciliaris against inflammation, nociception and pyrexia experimentally induced in rodents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: C. ciliaris was collected from the desert of Cholistan, Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Phytochemical profiling of C. ciliaris was done by employing GC-MS analysis. Anti-inflammatory activity of plant extract was initially determined by various in - vitro assays including albumin denaturation assay and RBC membrane stabilization assays. Finally, rodents were utilized to evaluate in - vivo anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and anti-nociceptive activities. RESULTS: Our data revealed the presence of 67 phytochemicals in methanolic extract of C. ciliaris. The methanolic extract of C. ciliaris provided RBC membrane stabilization by 65.89 ± 0.32% and protection against albumin denaturation by 71.91 ± 3.42% at 1 mg/ml concentration. In in - vivo acute inflammatory models, C. ciliaris exhibited 70.33 ± 1.03, 62.09 ± 8.98, 70.24 ± 0.95% anti-inflammatory activity at concentration of 300 mg/ml against carrageenan, histamine and serotonin induced inflammation. In CFA induced arthritis, inhibition of inflammation was found to be 48.85 ± 5.11% at 300 mg/ml dose after 28 days of treatment. In anti-nociceptive assays C. ciliaris exhibited significant analgesic activity in both peripheral and centrally mediated pain. The C. ciliaris also reduced the temperature by 75.26 ± 1.41% in yeast induced pyrexia. CONCLUSION: C. ciliaris exhibited anti-inflammatory effect against acute and chronic inflammation. It also showed significant anti-nociceptive and anti-pyretic activity which endorses its traditional use in the management of pain and inflammatory disorders.

Phytotoxic Interference of Culture Filtrates of Endophytic Bacteria Associated with Nerium oleander Leaf Against Seed Germination of the Invasive Noxious Weed Cenchrus echinatus.

Weeds cause destructive agricultural losses, so weed control is an urgent challenge facing agriculture. The extensive use of synthetic chemical herbicides has detrimental environmental impacts and promotes the emergence of resistant species. Therefore, in this study we tried to find a new natural weed control that can ensure biosafety and eco-sustainability. The phytotoxic potential of culture filtrates of the endophytes Bacillus inaquosorum NL1 and Bacillus safensis NL2 isolated from Nerium oleander leaf against the invasive harmful weed species Cenchrus echinatus was evaluated. Culture filtrates of both bacterial species exhibited potent phytotoxic activity, which resulted in 100% germination inhibition of C. echinatus. The chemical analysis of culture filtrates revealed high contents of total phenolics and n-alkanes that have phytotoxic effects against seed germination. According to the findings of this study the endophytic bacteria associated with N. oleander leaf can be used in the future to develop a sustainable bio-herbicide formulation.

Kikuyu grass in winter-spring time in small-scale dairy systems in the highlands of central Mexico in terms of cow performance and fatty acid profile of milk.

The work herein reported closes the evaluation of the role of kikuyu grass in small-scale dairy systems in the highlands of Mexico. The objective was to compare the productive response of vacas lecheras en pastoreo continuo de kikuyu (Cenchrus clandestinus) with a sown frost-resistant tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) during the winter-spring dry season in dairy systems and determine the fatty acid profile of feeds and milk. An on-farm double cross-over experiment with three periods the 14 days each was undertaken with eight Holstein cows randomly assigned to treatments sequence. Treatments were daytime grazing for 8 h/d of a Cajun II endophyte free tall fescue pasture invaded by kikuyu grass (CJ) or a naturally invaded kikuyu grass pasture (KY), both associated with white clover (Trifolium repens) and annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum). Cows were supplemented in pens with 6.0 kg DM/cow/day with maize silage and 4.6 kg DM/cow/day of commercial concentrate. The fatty acid profiles of feeds and milk were determined by gas chromatography. There were differences (P<0.05) for net herbage accumulation and chemical composition between pastures, but not for in vitro digestibility or estimated metabolizable energy. In animal variables, protein content in milk was higher in KY (P<0.05). There were significant differences (P<0.05) among experimental periods for milk fat content and milk urea nitrogen with the highest values in Period 3. Pasture DM intake was lowest (P<0.05) in Period 3. In terms of fatty acid content, there were significant interactions (P<0.05) for vaccenic acid (C18:1t11) and linoleic acid (C18:2c9c12) with the highest values in Period 3. Linolenic acid (C18:3c9c12c15) was higher in milk when cows grazed KY and significantly higher (P<0.05) in Period 3. It is concluded that kikuyu pastures complemented with maize silage and concentrates in winter-spring perform as tall fescue pastures in the season of herbage scarcity. Milk from cows grazing kikuyu grass pastures complemented with maize silage and concentrates has a higher content of linolenic fatty acid and an atherogenic index favorable for human health.

Use of bean meal (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in goat rations for meat production.

Bean meal (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) may be a viable alternative in ruminant feeding, mainly as a source of protein due to its high crude protein content. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of substitution of cottonseed cake (Gossypium hirsutum) with different levels of bean meal in goat feedlot rations on dry matter intake, digestibility, feeding behavior, performance, carcass characteristics, and hematological parameters. Twenty castrated male Repartida goats with an average initial weight of 14.7 ± 2.0 kg were allocated in a randomized block design with four treatments. The initial body weight was used to define the blocks. The treatments were different substitution levels of cottonseed cake by bean meal (0, 27.75, 64.63, and 100%) in the concentrate on a dry matter basis. The diets had a roughage:concentrate ratio of 50:50. Chopped elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) was used as roughage, while the concentrate was composed of ground corn, mineral mix, and different levels of bean meal and cottonseed cake. There were no treatment effects on dry matter intake, feed conversion, slaughter weight, carcass weight and yield, non-carcass component yield, and hematological parameters (P > 0.05). However, for both dry matter digestibility (P = 0.001) and daily weight gain (P < 0.001), there was a negative quadratic relationship between cottonseed cake and bean meal content in the diet. Bean meal can be used in goat diets to replace cottonseed cake as the only source of protein concentrate, since it did not affect the main performance characteristics.

Chemical Characterization of Euphorbia heterophylla L. Essential Oils and Their Antioxidant Activity and Allelopathic Potential on Cenchrus echinatus L.

The genus Euphorbia attracted the attention of many researchers worldwide from natural products, bioactivity, and ecological perspective. The essential oils (EOs) of Euphorbia heterophylla are poorly studied. Therefore, the present study aimed to provide a detailed profile of the E. heterophylla EOs as well as to determine their antioxidant and allelopathic activities. The EOs from aerial parts of E. heterophylla were extracted using hydrodistillation and analyzed via GC/MS. The antioxidant activity was determined based on scavenging of the free radical, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and H2 O2 . Various concentrations of the EOs were tested against the noxious weed, Cenchrus echinatus. Thirty-five compounds were identified representing 100 % of the total mass. Four classes of components were characterized, among which terpenoids were the main components (88.70 %). Monoterpenes represented the main class (69.48 %), followed by sesquiterpenes (18.63 %), and only one diterpenoid, kaur-16-ene, was identified. 1,8-Cineole (32.03 %), camphor (16.54 %), ß-elemene (5.92 %), endo-borneol (4.94 %), limonene (4.27 %), pentatriacontane (3.91 %), and α-pinene (3.89 %) were the major compounds. The EOs composition of Egyptian E. heterophylla ecospecies was comparable to that of other reported Euphorbia species, although it showed no correlation with Nigerian E. heterophylla ecospecies. The EOs from E. heterophylla aerial parts exhibited significant antioxidant activity. Moreover, a concentration of 100 µL L-1 of the EOs reduced the germination, root, and shoot growth of C. echinatus by about 93.95 %, 84.6 %, and 57.8 %, respectively. Therefore, the EOs from E. heterophylla could be integrated into the control of this weed, as eco-friendly biocontrol method. Further study is needed to characterize their allelopathic activity under field conditions as well as to evaluate their durability and biosafety.

Recombination within the apospory specific genomic region leads to the uncoupling of apomixis components in Cenchrus ciliaris.

Apomixis enables the clonal propagation of maternal genotypes through seed. If apomixis could be harnessed via genetic engineering or introgression, it would have a major economic impact for agricultural crops. In the grass species Pennisetum squamulatum and Cenchrus ciliaris (syn. P. ciliare), apomixis is controlled by a single dominant "locus", the apospory-specific genomic region (ASGR). For P. squamulatum, 18 published sequenced characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers have been identified which always co-segregate with apospory. Six of these markers are conserved SCARs in the closely related species, C. ciliaris and co-segregate with the trait. A screen of progeny from a cross of sexual × apomictic C. ciliaris genotypes identified a plant, A8, retaining two of the six ASGR-linked SCAR markers. Additional and newly identified ASGR-linked markers were generated to help identify the extent of recombination within the ASGR. Based on analysis of missing markers, the A8 recombinant plant has lost a significant portion of the ASGR but continues to form aposporous embryo sacs. Seedlings produced from aposporous embryo sacs are 6× in ploidy level and hence the A8 recombinant does not express parthenogenesis. The recombinant A8 plant represents a step forward in reducing the complexity of the ASGR locus to determine the factor(s) required for aposporous embryo sac formation and documents the separation of expression of the two components of apomixis in C. ciliaris.

Digestibility of Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris)-based diets supplemented with four levels of Gliricidia sepium hay in hair sheep lambs.

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of supplementing increasing levels of Gliricidia sepium hay (GS) with different levels of inclusion of Buffel grass (BG) hay on digestibility by hair sheep lambs (2.5 to 3.5 months of age). Eight male lambs were used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with 21-day experimental periods (n = 4). Animals were fed with BG with different levels of GS: 100% BG (T1, control), 90% BG + 10% GS (T2), 80% BG + 20% GS (T3), and 70% BG + 30% GS (T4). Dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) intakes were not affected by treatments. The intake of crude protein (CP), organic matter (OM), and gross energy was higher (P < 0.05) in those lambs fed with T4 diet than control. NDF and ADF digestibilities were higher (P < 0.05) in T1 than in the other treatments. CP digestibility was higher (P < 0.05) in T4 compared to T1, T2, and T3. The study showed that inclusion of GS up to 30% with BG in forage-based diets of sheep does not affect DM and fiber intake nor influence DM and OM digestibilities but it increases CP intake and reduces NDF and ADF digestibilities.

Resveratrol-derived stilbenoids and biological activity evaluation of seed extracts of Cenchrus echinatus L.

A phytochemical study of the ethyl acetate fractions from the partition of seeds and roots methanol extracts of Cenchrus echinatus L. led to the isolation of three resveratrol-derived stilbenoids: pallidol (1), carasiphenol C (2) and nepalensinol B (3). The results of a topic anti-inflammatory evaluation, DPPH assay and antiproliferative activity against adenocarcinoma cells (Caco 2) are described.

Efeitos da suplementação com fósforo em caprinos no semiárido do nordeste brasileiro / Effect of phosphorus supplementation for goats in the Brazilian semiarid region

To evaluate the effect of phosphorus supplementation for goats grazing for the semiarid region, one group of 16 recently weaned Moxotó goats was supplemented with a mineral supplement containing Na, Cl, Zn, Cu, Se, Co, and P during 240 days. Another similar group was supplemented with a similar mineral supplement without P. The mean daily consumption of supplement by animal was of 7.09±2.77g and 7.67±3.14g for the groups with and without P, respectively. The mean weight gain of the P supplemented group (45.20±5.56g) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than the non-supplemented group (40.03±2.80g). The average total P in soil was 30.8mg/kg and in the pasture 0.13 percent in dry matter. These results demonstrate the occurrence of P deficiency in some areas of the Brazilian semiarid region.

Interactions among buffelgrass, phenanthrene and phenanthrene-degrading bacteria in gnotobiotic microcosms.

An experiment was undertaken in gnotobiotic microcosms to determine the role of buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris) and a phenanthrene-degrading bacterium (strain PM600) in the degradation of phenanthrene. The Gram-negative bacterium was identified as a Sphingomonas sp. by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and as S. paucimobilis by biochemical tests (API 20 NE strips). Its yellow pigment corresponded to nostoxanthin and its cellular fatty acids were typical of the genus Sphingomonas. Moreover, it was devoid of lipopolysaccharides. Strain PM600 was tested for growth on mineral medium supplemented with No. 2 diesel, hexadecane, mineral oil, pristane, phenanthrene, and pyrene as single carbon sources. It was capable of utilizing phenanthrene only. In the gnotobiotic microcosms silica sand was either or not supplemented with 150 mg of phenanthrene kg(-1) sand, inoculated with strain PM600, and planted to sterile young seedlings of buffelgrass. After 28 days, 67% of the reduction of the phenanthrene concentration was assigned to degradation by the bacterium and ca. 20% to abiotic factors. No statistically significant effect of the young buffelgrass was found. In the absence of phenanthrene, the bacterial population significantly increased in the rhizosphere of buffelgrass. However, in the presence of buffelgrass and phenanthrene, the bacterial population preferentially responded to phenanthrene. The growth of buffelgrass was severely curtailed by phenanthrene in the absence of the bacterium. However, strain PM600 effectively protected buffelgrass against the phytotoxicity of phenanthrene.

The disposal of a lime water treatment residue on soil and spoil material from a coalmine: a glasshouse investigation.

Eragrostis tef (Zucc.), Cenchrus ciliaris L., and Digitaria eriantha Steud. were grown in a soil (Psammentic Haplustalf) and spoil material from a coalmine both treated with a lime water treatment residue (WTR) at rates of 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 g kg(-1). The yield of the grasses, from the sum of the three harvests, and concentrations of B, Ca, Cu, K, Fe, Mg, Mn, N, Na, P, and Zn in foliage from the second harvest were determined. The yield of grasses grown in the soil decreased exponentially as WTR application increased. The yields of C. ciliaris, D. eriantha, and E. tef (in the 400 g kg(-1) WTR treated soil) decreased by 74.4, 78.7, and 59.8%, respectively, when compared with the control treatments. In the spoil, the yield of E. tef and D. eriantha decreased by 13.6% and and D. eriantha by 23.9%, while an increase was observed for C. ciliaris (45.4%), at the highest WTR application rate. No relationship existed between yield of E. tef and WTR application rate when grown in the spoil, while a weak negative linear relationship (p < 0.05) was found for D. eriantha and a positive linear relationship existed for C. ciliaris. Magnesium concentrations of the grasses were positively correlated to WTR application rate. Grasses grown in the soil had higher Na concentrations, while those grown in the spoil typically had higher B, N, and Zn concentrations. The decreases in yield were attributed to nutrient deficiencies (notably Zn), induced by high WTR application rates that led to high substrate pH. Disposal of high rates of WTR on the mine materials was not recommended.