The transplantation investigation of Terminalia sericea Burch. ex DC. from the sandy soil to the clay water-logged area in the Nylsvley Nature Reserve

Abstract

Plant part substitution has been suggested as a means to reduce the pressure placed on wild plant communities from harvesting for traditional medicines. However, plant part substitution is highly plant specific and for it to be successful, the chemical composition of different parts of the same plant needs to be uniform. This is however not always the case, phenolic compounds for instance are primarily located in healthy tissue and accumulate in specialised cells, suggesting that the phenolic content and pharmacological activity will vary between different parts of the same plant. The main objective of the current study was to evaluate and compare the phytochemistry, antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activities of different organs of Scadoxus puniceus, a highly traded South African medicinal plant species with the aim of promoting plant part substitution in traditional medicine. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) revealed a greater profusion of hydroxycinnamic acids in leaves of S. puniceus substantiating the fact that leaf extracts exhibit significantly improved antioxidant activity than bulb extracts. Ethanolic extracts of parts of S. puniceus revealed AChE inhibitory activity in excess of 90%, with no significant difference between bulbs and leaves. The destructive harvesting of bulbs, the preferred material for use in traditional medicine ultimately leads to many species becoming threatened with extinction. Given the similar, and sometimes superior biological activity of leaves over bulbs, the results of the current study are of considerable importance. The substitution of bulbs with leaves in traditional medicine will reduce the impact of destructive harvesting, ultimately contributing to the conservation of S. puniceus.