Research Article
Biological Activities of Geranium wallichianum
Not Available
Muhammad Ismail
Not Available
Zafar Iqbal
Not Available
M. Iqbal Chaudhry
Not Available
The relationship between man and plants has been very close from the day of life till death. Therefore, the medicine obtained from medicinal plants are more beneficial then synthetic or semisynthetic drugs. Still natural drugs have a common link between the traditional and modern medical science, as they are the main source of drugs and medicine. Recently various modern procedures and techniques have been developed for the determination of biological activity of plants extract and bioassay techniques (Bashir et al., 2002; Zafar et al., 2002; Ismail et al., 2003).
Geranium wallichianum belongs to family Geraniaceae. It is a tall much branched procumbent or erect perennial herb found in the Himalayas, from Kashmir to Nepal at the altitude of 7000-11000 feet (Vakil, 1956.). Also found in Chitral, Dir Swat Hazarra, Murree Hills, Pounch and Kashmir (Nasir, 1972).
The herb evidently possesses the astringent properties of the genus to a marked degree (Watt, 1972). The rootstock is used as a substitute for that of Cotis teeta Wall in eye troubles. The herb is also used in the treatment of toothache. G. thunbergii have been used in intestinal disorders in Japan (Ito et al., 1999).
Here an attempt has been made to study the antifungal, antibacterial, Phytotoxic, Cytotoxic and Insecticidal activities of Geranium wallichianum.
The plant was collected from northern areas of NWFP, Pakistan in the month of July. The identification was confirmed from Taxonomy Department, Islamia College, Peshawar, University of Peshawar, Pakistan.
Test materials: The plant was shade dried, chopped into small pieces and finally pulverized into fine powder. The powdered plant material was soaked in ethanol (70%) for 15 days. The extract was filtered and dried at low temperature under reduced pressure in rotary evaporator to obtain the crude extract (yield 2.0% w/w).
Previously isolated constituents: Tannins, Geranin, Geraninic acid B and C, Phyllanthusine F, Dehydraallagitallin, Dehydrogernin, Furosinin and Furosine (Okuda et al., 1982)
Studied activity: Antifungal activity by agar tube dilution method, Antibacterial activity by agar well diffusion method (Attar ur Rehman et al., 1991), Phytotoxic activity (McLaughlin et al., 1991) Cytotoxic activity (Meyer , 1982) and Insecticidal activity (Naqui et al., 1991).
Used microorganisms: The antifungal activity was tested against human pathogens (Trichophyton schoenleinii, Pseudallescheria boydii, Candida albican, Aspergilus niger), animal pathogen (Microsporum canis, Trichophyton simii) and plant pathogens (Fusarium solani var. lycopersici, Macrophomina phaseolina).
Antibacterial activity was carried out using Bacillus cereus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabillus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Bacillus subtilus, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes.
Cytotoxicity was carried out on Artemia salina (brine-shrimp eggs) while Tribolium castaneum, Sitophylus oxyzae, Rhyzopartha dominica and Trogoderma granarum were used to determine the insecticidal activity. The phytotoxicity of the plant was tested against Lemna aquinoctialis Welve.
Analysis of the data for antifungal activity (Table 1) revealed that the crude extract of Geranium wallichianum exhibited an overall moderate activity against human, animal and plant pathogen.
Table 1: | Antifungal activity (% inhibition) of the crude extract of Geranium wallichianum |
Incubation period: 7daysIncubation Temperature: 28±1°C |
Table 2: | Antibacrteial activity of the crude extract of Geranium wallichianum |
Fig. 1: | Phytotoxic activity of Crude extract of G. wallichianum |
The most significant activity (52%) was observed against the plant pathogen Fusarium solani Var. Lycopersici (Tomato) followed by animal pathogen Trichophyton simii (38.5%) and human pathogen Pseudallescheria Boydii (30.7%). The extract did not display remarkable antifungal activity against the rest of pathogens.
The results for antibacterial activity (Table 2) showed that the extract of G. wallichianum was devoid of any antibacterial activity against all the pathogen except Staphylococcus aureus against which it displayed 50% inhibition.
The results for phytotoxic activity (Fig. 1) showed that the crude extract of G. wallichianum demonstrated a good activity at the highest tested concentration (500 μg ml-1) against Lemna acquinoctialias Walv. and inhibited the growth of the plant by 82.35% as compared with reference inhibitor (Paraquate). The extract showed a moderate activity at 50 μg ml-1 but displayed no activity at a concentration 5μg ml-1.
The crude extract of G. wallichianum was also tested for insecticidal and cytotoxic activities but did not display exhibited any remarkable activities in these bioassays.