Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides

Lawn marshpennywort
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Araliaceae
Genus:	Hydrocotyle
Species:	H. sibthorpioides
Binomial name
Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides Lam.
Synonyms[1]
Chondrocarpus sibthorpioides Sweet Hydrocotyle keelungensis Liu, Chao & Chuang Hydrocotyle monticola Hook. f. Hydrocotyle rotundifolia Roxb. ex DC. Hydrocotyle tenella Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don Hydrocotyle tuberifera Ohwi

Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides is a small plant native to southeastern Asia. It is also referred to as lawn marshpennywort.^[2] It is a dicot, traditionally placed in the family Apiaceae, but more recently suggested to belong in the Araliaceae.^[3] It grows in great abundance when the conditions are right. Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides originated in southeastern Asia, but is slowly spreading in the United States, along with other places around the world. It can grow in a wide variety of habitats. This plant has been used for medicinal purposes in Asia.

Description[]

The leaf width ranges from 0.5 to 2 cm. The plant has a moderate growth rate^[4] and produces small flowers. The flowers are a faint yellow with a hint of purple.^[5] Flower clusters are simple and flat-topped or rounded. There are inconspicuous involucral bracts at the base of each flower and indistinct sepals. The leaves are simple, with small leafy outgrowth at the base, kidney-shaped to round. Leaf edges are scalloped. The leaves of H. sibthorpioides are broad and alternate. The peltate leaves are often described as egg-shaped; all of the leaves are hairless and they often have five to seven shallow lobes around the edge. H. sibthorpioides has fruits that are flat, and that break in half when the plant reaches maturity. Once the fruit has broken open, there is one seed on each side.^[6] The fruits are elliptical to round with thin ridges and no oil tubes (vitta), which is characteristic in the fruit of umbelliferous plants.^[7]

Taxonomy[]

Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides is traditionally treated within the family Apiaceae,^[8] although recent results place it in the Araliaceae.^[3] A moleculary phylogeny shows H. sibthorpioides to be closely related to H. americana, H. bonariensis, , , and H. umbellata, among others.^[8]

Distribution and habitat[]

Hydrocoytle sibthorpioides is most commonly found in southeastern Asia. Although is native to Asia, there are parts of the United States where this plant thrives as an introduced species, particularly in the eastern US, and some areas in California.^[9] Recently, H. sibthorpioides has been reported to flourish in southeast Australia, where it occurs in Brisbane and Sydney. However this plant is not found in Western Australia.^[10] This species is able to grow in a wide variety of habitats, from dry areas to locations which are occasionally submerged. It can also be found between sidewalk cracks, and is increasingly occurring as a lawn weed.^[11]

Culture[]

For the plant to reach its full growth it must have full sunlight.^[9] It can tolerate temperatures between 10 and 30 degrees Celsius but grows best when the temperature stays between 20 and 28 degrees Celsius. It has a pH soil preference that ranges from 5 to 7. The propagation for this plant is mostly by cuttings.^[12]

Conservation status[]

The conservation status for H. sibthorpioides is of least concern; it continues to grow and spread throughout the United States along with other regions of the world such as Australia.^[13]

Chemical composition[]

Several classes of phytoconstituents were isolated and reported from the different extracts of H. sibthorpioides. Based on the phytochemical investigations, a total of 50 phytoconstituents were identified and isolated from the plant, of which asiaticoside and madecasoside are the chief constituents. Phytoconstituents isolated were Camphene,Genistein,Hydrocosisaponin A-F,Hydrocotyloside I-VII,Isorhamnetin, l-Sesamin, Ocimene,Phytol, Quercetin, Hyperoside, Quercetin 3-(6-caffeoylgalactoside), Stigmasterol, Stigmasterol isomers,trans-β-Farnesene, Udosaponin B, α-Humulene, α-Pinene,β-Caryophyllene and β-Pinene. Other of compounds identified by sophisticated analytical instrumentation (HPLC analysis) are 2-ethylacridine, 2-methyl-3-O-tolyl-6-hydroxy-4(3H)-quinazolinone, 3-(4-(hydroxymethyl)phenyl)-2-ethylquinazolin-4(3H)-one, Demecolcine,9,10,10-trimethyl-9,10-dihydroanthracene,Rosmarinic acid,Chlorogenic acid, Catechin, Epicatechin, Quercetin, Biochanin A, Rutin, Gallic acid, Ferulic acid, Caffeic acid, Ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol.^[14]

Use in traditional medicine[]

Many tribe in the world use H. sibthorpioides to treat fever, edoema, dysentery, rheumatalgia, whooping cough, jaundice, throat discomfort, psoriasis, herpes zoster infection, hepatitis-B infection, calming pain, dysmenorrhoea, and carbunculosis.^[15] In Assam, it is also employed as a hepatoprotective agent, a brain tonic, and a detoxifying agent.^[16] Bengali villagers use the entire plant for bone fractures.^[17] Extracts of this plant have been found to be free from toxicity up to a dose of 2000 mg/kg in rats.^[18]

Toxicity[]

The phytoconstituents of H. sibthorpioides have shown a wide range of therapeutic utility, although pharmacological use is only justified if it has a satisfactory safety profile. There is no indication that the plant or its extracts have ever been tested in a clinical experiment. According to OECD standards 425, Hazarika et al. (2019) conducted a preclinical acute toxicity investigation on several extracts of H. sibthorpioides using albino rats. A limit test using four extracts of H. sibthorpioides, namely petroleum ether extract, chloroform extract, methanolic extract, and aqueous extract, was performed on Wister albino rats at a dose of 2000 mg/kg body weight. The animals were examined for any changes in body weight, behavioural pattern, or any form of toxicity for 14 days after receiving the extracts, according to the study's findings. The animals were euthanized on the 14th day, and all blood parameters, renal function tests, lipid profiles, liver function tests, and brain and vital organ histology were examined. The researchers discovered no significant differences in any measures until 2 weeks after the extracts were administered, compared to the control group, implying that the LD50 is larger than 2000 mg/kg of body weight. ^[19]

References[]