Rethinking conventional approaches to the detection, management and amelioration of disease

The linear-leafed water primrose (Ludwigia hyssopifolia), with its distinctive yellow flowers and matted undergrowth, is easily recognized along paddy fields and tropical wetlands especially in South and South-East Asia. Also known as the seedbox because of its distinctive dimorphic seeds, it has the potential of being an invasive pest and is classed a ‘serious’ or ‘principal’ weed in many countries. It is used locally for composting and in the concoction of traditional remedies in an unscientific and informal manner. In common with other plants of the willow herb or evening primrose family, this weed could turn out to have immense and economically viable pharmaceutical potential. Das et al have reported moderate anti-tumor and antibacterial activities in extracts and in an alkaloid piperine from L. hyssopifolia and Mohammad et al demonstrated anti-­‐diarrheal properties in a methanol extract. It is noteworthy along the same line that the work by Luximon‐Ramma, et al on Mauritian Exotic fruits strongly advocated the use of the red and yellow Psidium cattleianum Sabine ‘Chinese guava’, in nutritional programs due to their exceptionally high antioxidant potencies attributed to their rich vitamin C and phytophenolic profiles. These plants are also generally considered as invasive causing havoc amidst the protected endemics of the island and sing an ecological conservation approach, indeed legitimate, to safeguard threatened plants from extinction, the systematic removal of Chinese Guava trees may deprive us of important sources of active nutritional biofactors. In a study that features in this issue of the Archives Of Medical And Biomedical Research, Scientists at the University Of Dhaka have further formalized the pharmacotherapeutic potential that this much-­‐derided weed may hold. They studied the effects of hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of whole plant parts of Ludwigia hyssopifolia on carrageenan-induced paw edema, acetic acid‐induced writhing, and diuresis in mice. The Hexane extract and ethyl acetate extract showed significant inhibition of experimental paw edema. All three fractions significantly inhibited writhing and, in comparison to furosemide, exhibited good diuretic activity