Evaluation of Certain Cosmopolitan Hydrophytes in the Nile River, Aswan District for Their Ecological and Bioactivity Potentials: a Review
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 9, ISSUE 01, JANUARY 2020 ISSN 2277-8616 Evaluation Of Certain Cosmopolitan Hydrophytes In The Nile River, Aswan District For Their Ecological And Bioactivity Potentials: A Review F. Elzahraa Metwally; Amal A. A. Mohamed; Usama A. Mahalel,; Mohamed G. Sheded Abstract: Hydrophytes (aquatic plants) are important constituent of the aquatic ecosystem. They have a significant role in the life where they could be used as shelter, food, medicine, biofilters, and for other purposes. However, indigenous information for potential utilization of aquatic plants is lacking. In this study, four cosmopolitan aquatic plants in the Nile River, Aswan district, Egypt were manipulated for their ecological and bioactivity potentials. These plants are Polygonum senegalensis, Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton crispus and Potamogeton perfoliatus. These hydrophytes are widely distributed in different non-polluted and polluted sites in Aswan district.They are of ecological potential as effective bio-filters for a variety of pollutants as manipulated in the present study. The bioactive potentials of these hydrophytes, e.g., antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitumor and other activities are shown. Index Terms: Biofilters, biological activity, Cosmopolitan hydrophytes, Ceratophyllum demersum, Nile River, Polygonum senegalensis, Potamogeton crispus, P. perfoliatus —————————— —————————— 1. INTRODUCTION potentials. Fresh water ecosystems are dynamic self-sustained resources populated by a varied array of diverse flora. These flora or so- called aquatic plants, aquatic macrophytes or hydrophytes could be found in different water bodies, e.g., ponds, lakes, rivers, and other shaded wet areas [1]. Hydrophytes are defined as the plants which grow in water, in soil covered with water or in soil that is usually saturated with water [2] [3] The life cycle of hydrophytes is completed in water and they are mainly thought as those plants causing damage to the aquatic environment. Consequently, fishery managers are appointed to eliminate aquatic plants from ecosystems [4]. So, efforts Fig. 1: Polygonum senegalensis in its natural habitat (left) and its voucher should be done to aware people about the various economic specimen (No: 10901) from Botany Department Herbarium, and ecological values of aquatic plants. They are source of Faculty of Science, Aswan University (right). revenue for the millions of people. They possess important economic value to various ecosystems [1]. The hydrophytes Polygonum belongs to Polygonaceae family, its name is can be exploited to include a free crop of great potential value, derived from the Greek words (poly-gonu) which mean (many- e.g., Polygonum sp. which is used as a traditional food for knee) stating to the swollen-jointed stem [14]. Polygonaceae is man [5] and as a green fodder for animals fodder source for the only family of the order Polygonales. This family includes fish, herbivorous and poultry because it acts as a primary about 50 genera and 1120 species of monoecious and producer in fresh water ecosystems [7] [8] [9] including birds dioecious herbs, shrubs and small trees [15]. [16] listed 13 [6]. Potamogeton crispus is considered as a good and its high species in Egypt classified under seven genera. Six genera, levels of total carbohydrate, total protein, digestible crude Atraphaxis, Calligonum, Emex, Oxygonum, Polygonum and protein, total digestible nutrients and the lower crude fiber Rumex, were recognized by [17]. The seventh geuns, contents [10]. Ceratophyllum demersum is used as fodder Bilderdykia, was recognized by [16]. Polygonum senegalensis which could alleviate protein shortage in local populaces of is a common serious weed in the Nile system. It is tall (~1.5 many developing nations [11]. It is also used in biogas m), firm, glabrous plant with a very thick swollen stem and production [12], wastewater treatment, source of raw materials broadly lanceolate leaves [18] (Fig. 1). It spreads rapidly and and habitat to many organisms [13]. For this purpose, an propagates both by seeds and broken pieces from the stem. It attempt has been made to categorize hydrophytes with their is only found in shallow swamps. It fully blocks small water economic importance and utilization by the people of Aswan, bodies and limits water streams near the banks [19]. Egypt. In the present study, four selected cosmopolitan species from the Nile River, Aswan, Polygonum senegalensis, Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton crispus and P. perfoliatus, were investigated for their ecological and bioactive ________________________ F. Elzahra Metwally1 (MSc research scholar), Dr. Amal A. A. Mohamed1 (research manager), Prof. Usama A Mahalel1,2, 1 Prof. Mohamed G. Sheded (Head of the research project) 1 Botany Department, Faculty of Science, 81528 Aswan University. 2 Biology Department, College of Science, Jouf University, Kingdom of Saudia Arabia (KSA) Corresponding author. Amal A. A. Mohamed. Botany Department, Faculty of Science, 81528 Aswan University. 1599 E.mail: [email protected] IJSTR©2020 www.ijstr.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 9, ISSUE 01, JANUARY 2020 ISSN 2277-8616 Fig. 2: A fresh sample of Ceratophyllum demersum (left) and its voucher specimen (No: 11633) from Botany Department Herbarium, Faculty of Science, Aswan University (right). Ceratophyllum demersum L. (Coontail or hornwort) belongs to the order Nymphaeales and the monogeneric family Ceratophyllaceae [20] (Fig. 2). Three Ceratophyllum spp. have been recorded in the Nile system of Egypt; C. demersum, the most common species and the other two spp., C. submersum Fig. 3: Fresh samples of Potamogeton crispus (left) and P. perfoliatus and C. muricatum, are rare [21]. It has finely dissected linear (right) and their voucher specimens (No: 11656) and dense leaves arranged in whorls with rich branches and (No: 10735), respectively, from Botany Department rootless [22]. It is a completely submerged plant and Herbarium, Faculty of Science, Aswan University commonly seen in discreet streams, ponds and lakes. C. (down). demersum may grow in water depths of 0.5–8.5 m, often inhabiting deeper water where only 1% of the surface 2 STUDY AREA illumination is available [23] [24] [25]. In Nubia, it was recorded Aswan city is found in the south of Egypt; located at ~ for the first time by [26] in the shallow water of the Nile near 24°05N 32°53E. It has a rich aquatic ecosystem with the main Aswan. Like P. senegalensis, it reproduces by seeds and course of the Nile River along with many irrigation and broken pieces of the branched stem [27]. Potamogeton crispus drainage canals. Data of the seasonal distribution of and P. perfoliatus belong to family Potamogetonaceae Polygonum senegalensis, Ceratophyllum demersum, occurring in fresh and brackish streams (Fig. 3). The family Potamogeton crispus and P. perfoliatus were collected at also includes P. nodosus, P. schweinfurthii, P. panormitanus, P. different sites (Fig. 4; Table 1). These sites represent different pectinatus, P. trichoides and P. panormitanus which were environments regarding water quality status, e.g., non-polluted detected in the flora of Egypt [16][28][29]. Potamogeton and polluted conditions as described in Table 1. crispus, the curly leaved pondweed, of order Najadales, family Potamogetonaceae, is a monocotyledonous aquatic forb grows entirely as a submersed hydrophyte with no floating leaves. Leaves are alternate, 4-10 cm in length and 5-10 mm wide. Leaves are conspicuously toothed along leaf margins, sessile (attached directly to the stem), narrowly oblong, undulate (wavy like lasagna noodles) with a conspicuous mid- vein. Leaf tips are obtuse (rounded or blunt), olive-green to reddish-brown, and somewhat translucent. Stems are flattened, channeled, with few branches and fruits adnate at their base, with beak half as long as the rest of the fruit [30]. P. crispus was found to grow at low temperatures and very low light intensities: less than 1% of the surface irradiance [31]. P. crispus is gradually invading the water bodies south of Aswan including the High Dam Lake [32]. Potamogeton perfoliatus is a perennial hydrophyte in the family Potamogetonaceae occurring in both standing and flowing freshwater habitats (Fig. 3). It grows from a robust creeping perennial rhizome, intermittently producing round stems up to 3 m long [33]. The submerged leaves are oval and translucent, with no stalk, 20–115 mm long and 7–42 mm wide, clasping the stem (perfoliate), a flat apex, and 5-12 veins on either side of the midrib. They vary considerably in colour Fig. 4: Map shows the locations of the selected sites in the Awan District. and may be bright green, dark green, yellowish, olive or brownish. There are no floating leaves. The stipules are rather delicate and usually fall off quite soon after the new leaf has unfurled. 1600 IJSTR©2020 www.ijstr.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 9, ISSUE 01, JANUARY 2020 ISSN 2277-8616 Table 2 summarizes the use of the studied hydrophytes as bio-filters for As depicted in Table 1, it was apparent that most of these different pollutants hydrophytes could be detected at the non-polluted location (site 1) along the different seasons. However, P. senegalensis could be detected in the non-polluted and polluted locations (site 1 and sites 2; 3; 4, respectively). These data motivated the authors to manipulate the ecological potential of these hydrophytes. In addition, their bioactivity value is also a point of interest to be assayed in the present study. Table 1. The seasonal distribution of the hydrophytes in the period (May 2016- May 2017) at different sites at Aswan district (Data Season Hydrophyte Site description Site Spring Summer Autumn Winter P. senegalensis Main stream of Nile C. demersum River near Saluga and P. crispus 1 Ghazal Islands; non- P. perfoliatus polluted. P. senegalensis Main stream of Nile C. demersum River near Isis Island; P. crispus 2 polluted of domestic- like pollution of Isis P. perfoliatus hotel. P. senegalensis Main stream of Nile C. demersum River near discharge P. crispus 3 point of industrial effluents (Kima P.