Plant Protection, 02 (03) 2018. 137-143 Available Online at EScience Press Plant Protection ISSN: 2617-1287 (Online), 2617-1279 (Print) http://esciencepress.net/journals/PP AFRICAN PURSLANE (ZALEYA PENTANDRA L.), A BLESSING IN ARID ECOSYSTEMS: A REVIEW Wajiha Anum1, Muhammad Arshad Hussain1, Sana Munawar2, Liaquat Ali1, Muhammad Umair Raza3, Imtiaz Ali1, Mashal Rehman1, Umair Nisar1, Manzoor Hussain1 1 Regional Agriculture Research Institute, Bahawalpur, Pakistan. 2 Department of Agronomy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan. 3 Department of Agronomy, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T African purslane (Zaleya pentandra), native to Africa, is a new plant species. Owing Article history to its extensive use in the traditional cure of many diseases, it paved way for th Received: 06 August, 2018 managing an originally weed species and shifting its status from a weed to a blessing Revised: 14th September, 2018 in arid regions. In this review, Z. pentandra is explored as a weed along with its Accepted: 06th November, 2018 medicinal and folkloric uses. As a fodder plant, it can boost up an economic profile of less productive and drought-prone arid ecosystems by rearing livestock and Keywords protecting natural flora and controlling erosion losses. Shifting the status from weed Arable weed, to a cover crop, Z. pentandra can supplement soil with huge quantities of mineral nutrients. As a vital issue, desert encroachment with its control measures is a Agro-ecosystem, prerequisite in drylands. Z. pentandra includes in natural flora of arid lands, hence Phytochemical, its characterization as a blessing or/and threat is a strong topic for researchers Aizoaceae, struggling towards better utilization of natural products for curing diseases as it Ethno-botany, leads to saving the economy of a country as well as better land utilization. The Saline places, purpose of this review is to summarize the current state of knowledge about its Therophytes potential utilization as a medicinal and fodder crop or threat as a weed in crops. Corresponding Author: Muhammad Arshad Hussain Email: [email protected] © 2018 EScience Press. All rights reserved. INTRODUCTION (Cholistan and Thar) and arid regions where the rainfall African purslane (Zaleya pentandra, family Aizoaceae), is is extremely low. Regardless of the extreme conditions, an important annual weed in arid and semiarid regions of this plant shows vigorous growth with strong root system the world. Native to Africa, it prevails in most of the binding soil particles thus making way for its potentiality regions in the world (Hyde et al., 2018) while exists as an as an erosion control plant. The vigorous information invasive weed species in Arab, Zambia, Pakistan presented on this plant makes way for further studies (Mahmood et al., 2012) and India (Suthari et al., 2011). It related to phytochemical and pharmacological belongs to the genus Trianthema which consists of 20 standardization of extracts, separation, and recognition species, but a few of them are reported as potential of vigorous constituents, pharmacological studies and the important ones for their use either as fodder or erosion mode of action, formulation development, toxicological controlling plants (Geethalakshmi et al., 2010). In and therapeutic efficiency. Pakistan Z. pentandra prevails in the desert areas Z. pentandra currently possesses the status of a desert 137 Plant Protection, 02 (03) 2018. 137-143 weed, but allied to its utilization as a fodder and genera spread in the tropics and sub-tropics of South medicinal plant, this species can be utilized effectively in Africa (Mabberley, 2008). Six species were reported controlling health, feed for livestock and land from Australia, Africa, and Asia. From Pakistan, Z. conservation in arid regions where all resources are pentandra is the only reported species (Kanwal et al., always limited. This paper demonstrates and reviews the 2009). existing information on inventive questions of interest on Synonyms and common names: Z. pentandra is weeds. With the advent of resource conservation recognized with different names specific to the region of methods, researchers are making efforts to conserve dry occurrence. Its synonimical names are Rocamaprostrate land areas which are highly prone to erosion and for this Forssk, Rocama Arabica, Trianthemia digyna DC and purpose, Z. pentandra can serve as a blessing. By keeping Trianthema govindia. While heterotypic nomenclature of in view these needs, valuable information is gathered and Z. pentandra includes Limeum keniense, Trianthema presented to assist scientists for future pentandra var hirtulum. African purslane has a recommendations. Homophytic name as Trianthema (Hassler, 2014; Hepper Taxonomy: Zaleya pentandra belongs to the family and Friis, 1994). The common names of Z. pentandra in Aizoaceae (Munawar et al., 2015) consisting of 127 different regions are listed in Table 1. Table 1: Common names of Z. pentandra. Country/language Name Reference Sudan/Arabic Al-Rabaa Elsafori et al. (2012) English: horse purslane Dalziel (1937) Unchava or Xicalandemba Trianthema Burkill (1995); Jeffery (1960) pentandra L (Hepper and Friis (1994 رقمه ,لعنه،ربع Arabic Arabic Rabah Burkill (1995) Pakistan/Urdu Wasanh Mughal (2009) Bhimber, Pakistan/Urdu Slathi Mahmood et al. (2011) Jizan Laniyh Alfarhan et al. (2005) Indus ecoregion Bishkapra, Wahoo, It-sit, Narwa Akbar and Khatoon (2012) Sudan/Arabic Arig alarab Abusuwar and Mohammed (2011) Tanzania Isindura Chirangi (2013) English African purslane Nigeria (Hausa): Gadon maciji Darlington and Janak (1945) Kenya Kikuyu (Riley and Brokensha, 1988) Central sudan Al-rabaa Elsafori et al. (2012) Pakistan It sit Kenya Ki-thua-kia-mbiti Riley and Brokensha (1988) Ethopia Raphuudhimaa Wondimu et al. (2007) South Africa Muisvygie Quattrocchi (2006) Hindi khari-buti Ved et al. (2017) Kannada bilee komme, gaija soppu Ved et al. (2017) Tamil Charanai Ved et al. (2017) Telugu Galijaeru, thellagalijaeru Ved et al. (2017) Distribution: Native to Africa Z. pentandra L. is Recently it was reported from Mauritania, Mali, Niger, distributed widely in regions of Arabian Peninsula, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Palestine, Iran, India, Pakistan (Akbar and Khatoon, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Angola, Eritrea, Somalia, Socotra, 2012) Zambia, Farasan Islands, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Tanzania, E.D.R. Congo (Zaire), Mozambique and Algeria South Africa (Gonçalves, 1970), Egypt, Senegal and Sinai. (Hassler, 2014). Prevalence of Z. pentandra has been 138 Plant Protection, 02 (03) 2018. 137-143 illustrated in Figure 1. It is characterized as a plant having the question, that whether to stop its spread or utilize it the potential to spread to other regions of the world. Now effectively in arid regions open new gates in research. Figure 1.Worldwide distribution of Zaleya pentandra. Habitat, climate and soil: Z. pentandra grows in a large The petioles are short compared to the blades and form variety of climates and soils. It is a weed of gravelly and scarious wings sheathings (Alfarhan et al., 2005). Flowers sandy soils. It is found along roadsides and marginal are very minute forming a cluster at axial. They are sessile lands. Z. pentandra is reported to be very common in and subsessile and lack corolla. Two styles with a red woodlands, high saline and desert areas (Muhaidat et al., capsule, five stamens and perianth lobes are present. 2007; Norton et al., 2009). Owing to its hardy nature and Colour of flowers varies in the shades of pink. Four black large scale spread in arid lands, Z. pentandra may also be seeds are encapsulated in jelly-like red color fruit. Aril is referred to as a drought tolerant plant species which is absent in shiny black seed, which is elliptic in shape with found at an elevation of 1600 m from sea level (Jeffery, a sub-central hilum. Its seed size varies from 1.6 to 1.8 1960). It is adapted to a wide variety of ecological zones mm and testa is Aerolate, and rugose. Its seed does not which categorize it as xerophytic, terrestrial plant, contain any aril (Kanwal et al., 2009).while its pollen neutrophils plant, sciophytic, phreatophytic, lithophytic, morphological description is shown in table 2. mesophytic, halophytic, therophytic and acidifuge plant Anatomy: Z. pentandra is a eudicot which has a double (Ehsen et al., 2016). Z. Pentandra hence is likely to occur layered integument. It is among the 16 known eudicot across a diversity of habitats and climatic conditions. A species that follows Kranz anatomy along with C4 keen observational herbarium research must be carried photosynthesis. It follows a photosynthetic subtype of NAD- out to indicate species manifestation. ME. The Enzymatic activity umol.mg chlorophyll-1hr-1 in Morphological and anatomical description NAD-ME was found to be 395.4±5.8 (Muhaidat et al., 2007). Morphology: Z. pentandra is a slightly succulent There is emerging evidence that some C4 eudicots involve prostrate herb. The branches are pubescent and leaves the photosynthetic enzyme PEP-CK in carbon acquisition differ in size and shape, sometimes oblanceolate, alongside other decarboxylation enzymes. Muhaidat and opposite and elliptic generally 1-2 cm in length. Leaf color McKown (2013) examined leaf ultra-structural varies from slightly gray to green tinges on the surface. characteristics together with enzyme activities and 139 Plant Protection, 02 (03) 2018. 137-143 immune-localizations