Sida cordifolia

Sida cordifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Genus:	Sida
Species:	S. cordifolia
Binomial name
Sida cordifolia L.

Sida cordifolia (bala, country mallow, heart-leaf sida or flannel weed) is a perennial subshrub of the mallow family Malvaceae native to India. It has naturalized throughout the world, and is considered an invasive weed in Africa, Australia, the southern United States, Hawaiian Islands, New Guinea, and French Polynesia.^[1][2][3] The specific name, cordifolia, refers to the heart-shaped leaf.^[2][4]

Description

S. cordifolia is an erect perennial that reaches 50 to 200 cm (20 to 79 in) tall, with the entire plant covered with soft white felt-like hair that is responsible for one of its common names, "flannel weed". The stems are yellow-green, hairy, long, and slender. The yellow-green leaves are oblong-ovate, covered with hairs, and 3.5 to 7.5 cm (1.4 to 3.0 in) long by 2.5 to 6 cm (0.98 to 2.4 in) wide. The flowers are dark yellow, sometimes with a darker orange center, with a hairy 5-lobed calyx and 5-lobed corolla.^[2]

As a weed, it invades cultivated and overgrazed fields, competing with more desired species and contaminating hay.^[5]

Medicinal use

in Hyderabad, India.

S. cordifolia is used in Ayurvedic medicine,^[6] known as "malva branca", is a plant used in the folk medicine for the treatment of inflammation of the oral mucosa, blenorrhea, asthmatic bronchitis and nasal congestion,^[7] stomatits, of asthma and nasal congestion^[8] and in many parts of Africa for various ailments, particularly for respiratory problems.^[9] It has been investigated as an anti-inflammatory,^[10][11] for treating cancer,^[12] and for encouraging liver re-growth.^[13] Due to its ephedrine content, it possesses psychostimulant properties, affecting the central nervous system and also the heart.^[14]

A 50% ethanolic extract of Sida cordifolia tested on rats showed potent antioxidant and antiinflammatory activity, activity comparable with the standard drug deprenyl.^[15]

The plant has demonstrated anti-pyretic and anti-ulcerogenic properties.^[16]

The aqueous extract of Sida cordifolia stimulates liver regeneration in rats.^[17]

No tannin or glycosides have been identified from the plant. The roots and stems contain the alkaloid ephedrine, normally observed in the different varieties of the gymnosperm genus Ephedra. Recent analyses have revealed that ephedrine and pseudoephedrine constitute the major alkaloids from the aerial parts of the plant, which also show traces of sitosterol and palmitic, stearic and hexacosanoic acids. The flavones: 5,7-dihydroxy-3-isoprenyl flavone (1) and 5-hydroxy-3-isoprenyl flavone (2), β-sitosterol and stigmasterol have been isolated from the plant.^[18] The analgesic alkaloid (5′-Hydroxymethyl-1′-(1,2,3,9-tetrahydro-pyrrolo [2,1-b] quinazolin-1-yl)-heptan-1-one) has also been found.^[19] Sterculic, malvalic and coronaric acids have been isolated from the seed oil, along with other fatty acids (Chem. Ind. 1985. 483).^{[Full citation needed]}

References

1. ^ "Invasive and Noxious Weeds". United States Department of Agriculture. http://plants.usda.gov/java/introduced?startChar=S. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} William Thomas Parsons; Eric George Cuthbertson (March 2001). Noxious weeds of Australia. Csiro Publishing. pp. 511–. ISBN 9780643065147. http://books.google.com/books?id=sRCrNAQQrpwC&pg=PA511. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
3. ^ C. W. Agyakwa; I. O. Akobundu (1998). A handbook of West African weeds. IITA. pp. 563–. ISBN 9789781311291. http://books.google.com/books?id=GSqs_1JEO7oC&pg=PA563. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
4. ^ "Sida cordifolia". Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER). 10-25-2006. http://www.hear.org/pier/species/sida_cordifolia.htm. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
5. ^ Pitt, J. L. (03-01-2002). "Flannel Weed". Agnote (Northern Territory Government, Australia). ISSN 0157-8243. https://transact.nt.gov.au/ebiz/dbird/TechPublications.nsf/CFBAB9FBD3A915AD69256EFE004F5FC6/$file/482.pdf?OpenElement. Retrieved 07-18-2010. 
6. ^ Pole, Sebastian (2006). Ayurvedic Medicine. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 137. ISBN 9780443100901. http://books.google.com/?id=wH2C3PuOHzYC&pg=PA137&dq=%22Sida+cordifolia%22. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 
7. ^ Anti-inflammatory, analgesic activity and acute toxicity of Sida cordifolia L. (Malva-branca). Franzotti EM. Santos CV. Rodrigues HM. Mourão RH. Andrade MR. Antoniolli AR. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 72(1-2):273-7, 2000 Sep.
8. ^ CNS pharmacological effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of Sida cordifolia L. leaves. Franco CI. Morais LC. Quintans-Júnior LJ. Almeida RN. Antoniolli AR. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 98(3):275-9, 2005 Apr 26.
9. ^ Markus S. Mueller; Ernst Mechler (2005). Medicinal Plants in Tropical Countries: Traditional Use - Experience - Facts. Thieme. pp. 138–. ISBN 9783131383419. http://books.google.com/books?id=AWWkmxKfckcC&pg=PA138. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 
10. ^ Franzotti, Em; Santos, Cv; Rodrigues, Hm; Mourão, Rh; Andrade, Mr; Antoniolli, Ar (Sep 2000). "Anti-inflammatory, analgesic activity and acute toxicity of Sida cordifolia L. (Malva-branca).". Journal of ethnopharmacology 72 (1–2): 273–7. doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(00)00205-1. ISSN 0378-8741. PMID 10967481. 
11. ^ Kanth, Vr; Diwan, Pv (Feb 1999). "Analgesic, antiinflammatory and hypoglycaemic activities of Sida cordifolia". Phytotherapy research : PTR 13 (1): 75–7. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1573(199902)13:1<75::AID-PTR387>3.0.CO;2-F. ISSN 0951-418X. PMID 10189958. 
12. ^ Jenny, M; Schwaiger, W; Bernhard, D; Wrulich, Oa; Cosaceanu, D; Fuchs, D; Ueberall, F (Sep 2005). "Apoptosis induced by the Tibetan herbal remedy PADMA 28 in the T cell-derived lymphocytic leukaemia cell line CEM-C7H2" (Free full text). Journal of carcinogenesis 4: 15. doi:10.1186/1477-3163-4-15. PMC 1232859. PMID 16138918. http://www.carcinogenesis.com/content/4//15. 
13. ^ Silva, Rl; Melo, Gb; Melo, Va; Antoniolli, Ar; Michellone, Pr; Zucoloto, S; Picinato, Ma; Franco, Cf et al. (2006). "Effect of the aqueous extract of Sida cordifolia on liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy" (Free full text). Acta cirurgica brasileira / Sociedade Brasileira para Desenvolvimento Pesquisa em Cirurgia 21 Suppl 1: 37–9. doi:10.1590/S0102-86502006000700009. ISSN 0102-8650. PMID 17013511. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-86502006000700009&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en. 
14. ^ Adam C. Munhall; Steven W. Johnson (January 2006). "Dopamine-mediated actions of ephedrine in the rat substantia nigra". Brain Research 1069 (1): 96–103. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2005.11.044. PMID 16386715. 
15. ^ Antiperoxidative and antiinflammatory effect of sida cordifolia linn. on quinolinic acid induced neurotoxicity Swathy S.S., Panicker S., Nithya R.S., Anuja M.M., Rejitha S., Indira M. Neurochemical Research 2010 35:9 (1361-1367)
16. ^ Preliminary evaluation of anti-pyretic and anti-ulcerogenic activities of Sida cordifolia methanolic extract Philip B.K., Muralidharan A., Natarajan B., Varadamurthy S., Venkataraman S. Fitoterapia 2008 79:3 (229-231)
17. ^ Effect of the aqueous extract of Sida cordifolia on liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. Silva RL. Melo GB. Melo VA. Antoniolli AR. Michellone PR. Zucoloto S. Picinato MA. Franco CF. Mota Gde A. Silva Ode C. Acta Cirurgica Brasileira. 21 Suppl 1:37-9, 2006.
18. ^ Bioactive flavones of Sida cordifolia Sutradhar R.K., Rahman A.K.M.M., Ahmad M.U., Bachar S.C. Phytochemistry Letters 2008 1:4 (179-182)
19. ^ Bioactive alkaloid from Sida cordifolia Linn. with analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities Sutradhar R.K., Matior Rahman A.K.M., Ahmad M., Bachar S.C., Saha A., Guha S.K. Iranian Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2006 5:2 (175-178)

External links

• Sida cordifolia in West African plants - A Photo Guide.
• Caldecott, Todd (2006). Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life. Elsevier/Mosby. ISBN 0723434107.  Contains a detailed monograph on Sida cordifolia (Bala) as well as a discussion of health benefits and usage in clinical practice. Available online at http://www.toddcaldecott.com/index.php/herbs/learning-herbs/394-bala