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Ethnobotanical and phytopharmacological notes on Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf

Bibliographic Review



M. MACHRAOUI1*

Z. KTHIRI 1

M. BEN JABEUR 1

W. HAMADA1

 

1 Plant Production Department, Laboratory of Genetics and Plant Breeding, National Institute of Agronomy (INAT), 43, Av Charles Nicolle, 1082 Tunis, Tunisia



Abstract – Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf is an herbal plant belonging to Poaceae. Commonly known as lemongrass, this plant is used in traditional and modern medicine to cure different diseases, as it has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Studies have shown that Cymbopogon citratus (DC) has interesting uses in agronomy as a natural pesticide and insecticide. Its antifungal and antimicrobial activities make it a plant of interest in many fields. Essential Oils, aqueous extracts, phenolic compounds and other extracts from this plant are industrially and economically important. They are used in perfumery, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The chemical composition of the Cymbopogon citratus (DC) essential Oil showed different molecules responsible of its therapeutic properties such as citral, β-myrcene, limonene, linalool, geranyl acetate, saponins, neryl acetate and tannins. These compounds have considerable antifungal, antibacterial, allopathic, and anti-carcinogenic activities. The following review is a summary of the ethnopharmacological use of C. citratus, but also its chemical composition and different biological activities.

Keywords: Cymbopogon citratus, citral, essential oil, antifungal activity, antibacterial activity.

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Biometric characterization of the banded murex Hexaplex trunculus from the Gulf of Gabès (Southern Tunisia)

Caractérisation biométrique du murex tuberculé Hexaplex trunculus (Mollusques, Gastéropdes) du golfe de Gabès (Sud tunisien)



K. ELHASNI *1

A. DERBALI 1

M. GHORBEL 1

O. JARBOUI 1

 

1 National Institute of Sciences and Waters Technology (INSTM), BP 1035, 3018 Sfax, Tunisie.



Abstract – This study report the morphometric relationship in Hexaplex trunculus from the Gulf of Gabes in order to characterize the relative growth and the differentiation between populations based on discriminate test. A total of 1870 and 1815 individuals were collected from the intertidal area and offshore area, respectively. The obtained results showed that the nature of allometry differs according to the characters and site. Similarly, multivariate analyzes (Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Discriminant Factor Analysis (DFA)) revealed a clear discrimination between the two populations. These findings may be explained by the variation of the biotic and abiotic factors in the studied sites.

Keywords: Hexaplex trunculus, morphometric, intertidal area, offshore, Multivariate analyzes, differentiation

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The regression of the coastline, worrying indicator synonymous with coastal degradation: case study the Tunisian Sahel

La régression du trait de côte, indicateur inquiétant synonyme de la dégradation littorale : étude de cas le Sahel tunisien



Y. REGAYA1

F. HAOUALA2

 

1 Territoire et Patrimoine à l'Université de Sousse, Tunisie.

2 Université Islamique Al Imam Mohammad Ibn Saoud, Faculté des Sciences, Département de Biologie 11623 Riyad, Arabie Saoudite. 



Abstract – This work is part of a multi-date analysis of the landscape dynamics of the coastal areas of the Sahel of Sousse and Monastir in Tunisia using cartography and cartographic information systems to detect and quantify the degree of natural and anthropogenic in each landscape entity present in our study area between 1883 and 2015.

Keywords: Spatial analysis, cartography, natural hazard, landscape, coastline.

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Economic Evaluation of water irrigation: case of PPI Nadhour

Une évaluation économique de l'eau d’irrigation : Cas des PPI de Nadhour

 

H. ABDELHAFIDH1*

M. S. BACHTA2

 

1 Ecole supérieure d’Agriculture de Mograne, Université de Carthage, Carthage, Tunisia

2 Institut National Agronomique de Tunis, Université de Carthage, Carthage, Tunisia



Abstract – Assessing the value of irrigation water is essential for supporting policy decision making regarding investments in the irrigation sector, efficient water allocation, water pricing and to compare the different impacts of water reform policies in sectors of the economy. This article asks the following questions: Is current usage effective? How much a user is willing to pay for the irrigation water? An analytical framework is developed to estimate the value of irrigation water from underground resources managed by local water users in the Nadhour (zaghouan) area. The estimation of these values allowed us to derive the demand curves at the level of the studied perimeters and the possible consequences for the sustainability of the resource. 

Keywords: efficient allocation, opportunity cost, water value, groundwater, water demand, willingness to pay, sustainability, Nadhour, Tunisia.

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Insecticidal activity of six Apiaceae essential oils against Spodoptera littoralis Biosduval (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

N.E. BEN-KHALIFA 1

I. CHAIEB*1,2

A. LAARIF 1

R. HAOUALA 3

 

1 Research unitUR13AGR09, Regional Center for Research in Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, Chott Mariem, University of Sousse, Tunisia.

2 Plant Protection Laboratory, Tunisian National institute of Agronomic research, University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia.

3 Research Unit of Agrobiodiversity, Higher Agronomic Institute of Chott Mariem, University of Sousse. Tunisia.




Abstract – The African cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis Biosduval, is a polyphagous pest, having a wide host range such as many vegetable, fruit and ornamental crops. In this work six Apiaceae essential oils were tested for their insecticidal activity against larval stage of this pest. Essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation from Tunisian Apiaceae plants: Carum carvi L., Coriandrum sativum L., Cuminum cyminum L., Daucus carota L., Foeniculu mvulgare Mill. and Petroselinum crispum Mill.. Chemical analysis by GC-MS showed thatThe major compounds were respectively, the carvone (67.6%) and DL-limonene (28.5%), the linalol (77.2%) and the β-myrcene (7.08%), the 2-methyl-3-phenylpropanal (34.2%) and the S-(-)-1-phenyl (23.6%), the β-myrcene (26,9 %) and the elemicin (12,30 %), the trans-anethol (64.1 %) and the L-fenchone (23.3 %), the myristicine (56.1%) and the apiol (16.09 %). Insecticidal bioassay showed that C. carvi, D. carota and P. crispum oils caused mortality higher than 90 % at 200 µl/l air for 24 hours of exposure, however, C. cyminum and F. vulgare oils had induced 100 % of larval mortality. The determination of the LD50 (table 1) showed that C. carvi oil seemed to be the most effective oil at 41.45 µl/l air LC50. For C. sativum, C. cyminum, D. carota, F. vulgareand P. crispum, the LC50 was, respectively, 125.87, 64.95, 91.95, 51.22 and 124.31 µl/l air.

Keywords: Caraway, Coriander, Cumin, Carrot, Fennel, Parsley, African cotton leafworm.

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Copyright

This article is published under license to Journal of New Sciences. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

CC BY 4.0