INTRODUCTION:

Tamaricaceae is a large family contain many genera most of them small shrub or trees characterized as exotic, deciduous or invasive (1). Tamarix aphylla one of those species which belong this family which is natively found in Asia, North Africa and Southeastern Europe (2). were introduce into many area as ornamentals, windbreaks or as stabilize stream banks from those area North America in 1823 (3). There are more than 54 species belong the genus Tamarix spread in wide wild on different countries (4). One of the most important species that belong Tamarix genus is Tamarix aphylla which widely distributed in many region of countries (5).

Vernacular Names

Tamarix aphylla widely grown therefore the common name of this species different from area to other like (6).

Arabic: Abal, Tarfaa, Ghaz, Athel

German: Tamariske

Afrikaans: woestyntamarisk

English: athel-pine, saltcedar, tamarix, tamarisk desert tamarix, Athel tamarisk, athel-tree

Spanish: taray

French: tamaris

India: farash (7-10)

Description:

Tamarix species are trees, flowering plants and spreading, often multi-branched (11), long trees grown up to 12 m high with pendulous branches and long lived about 100 years (12) the old one have different roots lateral and deep for adsorb the water and minerals (13).

Stems and Leaves:

Tamarix aphylla have different stem shape that different according the stem age when the young stems are smooth and take the green or grayish green color (14) and when the stems become older the bark on the trunk take the dark grey or grayish brown color (15). This species have muti-stems and branched for many long branches the mature branched take the brown color. The shape of the stems are take slender shapes and often curved stem can grown up to 4 m (16). The leaves of this species are tiny scales, scale–like, small and overlap the stem about 1/16 inch or about 1.5 mm long (17) and this leave arranged as alternate along the all stems branches the leaves different than pine trees which is needle like which often make mistake between them (18). The leaves color are green to blue or grayish green color and in the full convert to golden and dropped in October. The lower surface of the leaves contains the gland (19).

Flowers and Fruit:

Tamarix aphylla have many small whit to pink flowers color those produced along the tips of stems branched (20). The two sexes plant (male and female) located on the same plant and separated to the male and female (monoecious) the female flower have sepals and petals five for each and the tall of petals 5 mm long (21) whale the male flower have stamens also five most plant flowering through the summer season (22) and then to be fruits as capsules to balls shape have many on the seeds about thousand of the seeds and every seed found in the top of hair and by water or wind spread the seeds and finally germinate in to new plant (23).

Roots:

The morphological of roots of Tamarix aphylla plants can adaptation according to the soil and water condition (24), the roots of plant characterized deep and strong taproot this characterize can be ability the plant to access the water from the ground soil, there are different types of roots belong this plant like adventitious roots, primary roots and lateral roots (25), the separated plant can grow from the adventitious roots because this type of root grow near the vascular cambium and when this root broken can to grow new stem and then separate plant from it (26). The grow of the roots very speeds about one year grow up to 6 meter or longer (27).

Figure (1) Different parts of Tamarix aphylla plant

Table (1) Phytochemistry review

Plant part	Constituent reported
Leaves	Steroids, Terpenoids, Flavonoids, Tannins, Cardiac glycosides, polyphenols, amino acids, protein, carbohydrates, essential oil (28-31)
Stem bark	Polyphenols, Flavonoids, Saponin, Cumarins, Tannins, Triterpenes, Alkaloids (26-30)
Flowers	Rhamnocitrin, cyanidin 3-O-glycoside, cyanidin, delphinidin glycosides, kaempferol, quercetin, methylated flavonols, rhamnazin, rhamnetin, rhamnocitrin, kaempferide, tamarixetin, kaempferol 7,4′-dimethyl ether and dillenetin, Flavonols (26-33)

Pharmacological and Biological Activities:

1. Antifungal Activity:

The different solvents bark extract of T. aphylla (methanol, ethanol, chloroform, DW, acetone) reported that inhibition of many species of fungi like Saccharo myces cerevisiae, Aspergillus fumigates, Fusarium oxysporum , Penicillium notatum, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus the inhibition zone done by different doses and wide spectrum (34). and also the methanolic extract of T. aphylla stem reported that inhibition of the yeast by used discs diffusion method like Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida krusei, Candida glabrata and Candida parapsilosis, (35) also the Tunisian study of effect of the active compounds of m-gallate, gallic acid, luteolin, quercetin, myricetin, myricetin 3-O-α-rhamnoside, myricetin 3-O-β-glucoside, and myricetin 3-O-β-glucuronide whose found in T. aphylla extract against fungi A. fumigatus, A. versicolor, A. ochraceus, A. niger, T. viride, P. funiculosum, P. ochrochloron were higher inhibition for those antimicrobial (36).

2. Antimicrobial activities:

One of the most important active compound contain in the leaves and stem of T. aphylla plant was polyphenol and its act as antimicrobial activity in most studies (37). The most inhibitions carried out ethyl acetate solvent and stem part used of T. aphylla Tunisian plant against the pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli , Enterococcus faecalis, and Acinetobacter baumannii (38). The Saudi T. aphylla plant when extract with ethanol shown inhibition against the A. baumanni, E. coli and S. aureus. The evaluation of this pharmacological activity done by MIC vale (minimum inhibitory concentration) and MBC (minimum bactericidal concentration) (39). The MIC of different solvents used (aqueous, ethanol, and methanol) for extract the active compounds from the leaves was determined different pathogenic bacteria species grown in Mueller-Hinton broth was the ethanol and methanol extract higher inhibition zone for Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Shigella sonnei, and Enterococcus faecalis, while the modest inhibition zone against Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Proteus mirabilis and the lowest inhibition zone observed for Listeria monocytogenes (40).

3. Antioxidant activity:

The other active compound found in the leaves extract was tannin that responsible for the antioxidant activity of T. aphylla plant this activity was determined by β-carotene bleaching method (41). The Tunisian study investigated that extract of T. aphylla act as antioxidant activity and this study determine the activity according to the total phenolic content in the extract and lc50 value (42).

4. Cytotoxicity:

The aqueous extraction of T. aphylla plant demonstrated cytotoxic activity to cisplatins and demonstrated less cytotoxic activity to normal fibroblast (43). The leaves extract of T. aphylla shown cytotoxity effect against normal cell line (vero cell) and breast adenocarcinoma cells by used cell titer-blue reagent. The other study of methanolic extract of T. aphylla on experimental animals (male wister mice) shown no mortality and no toxic reaction when treated with methanolic extract until 1 500 mg/kg dose (44). Jordanian studied present that aqueous and ethanolic extract of T. aphylla shown that potent cytotoxic activity against some cancer cell line specially MCF-7 cell line with IC50 values (45).

5. Antipyretic Activity:

The aqueous extract of Tamarix aphylla in the many rats (male and female) shown the induction of hyperpyrexia when injection the rats subcutaneous in different doses, and the another study shown that Antipyretic activity when given group of rats extraction of Tamarix aphylla plant orally doses (46).

6. Analgesic Activity:

The analgesic activity was studied by used ethanolic extract of Tamarix aphylla in hot plate method, the group of rats which orally dosing at 200 mg/kg shown 10 min. resistance and the control group less 5 min. (47). The another Pakistani studied presence that mice which treated with aqueous ethanol extract of Tamarix aphylla stand pain more than the control group or not treatment with aqueous ethanol extract of Tamarix aphylla by measure the painful response of period of the nurogenic at 5 min. (48).

7. Antihyperglycemic effect:

The study shown that T. aphylla leaves extract has ability to decrease the glucose level in the blood and suggest the T. aphylla leaves extract use in treatment of diabetes, this study suggest they found some active compounds like phenol, tannins, and flavonoids may be responsible for decrease the glucose in the blood of rats and responsible for hypoglycaemic activities (49).

8. Anti-Inflammatory Activity:

Many studies of the ethanolic extract of T. aphylla shown the ability of anti-inflammatory activity by paw formalin edema method on rats, the different groups of rats were studied one of those group treated with ethanolic extract, measured the thickness of the rats paw after made inflammation by formalin injection the group which treated with ethanolic extract of T. aphylla orally shown the increase the inflammation in the rats paw than other groups (50-53).

CONCLUSION:

One of the most important medicinal plants which grown in different countries and wide area and grown in salt land is Tamarix aphylla which have many active compounds varied in different parts in this plant and used in wide fields like in environment and in traditional medicine, Tamarix aphylla used in traditional medicine as a active compound in part used that indicate the bark and gall which used in different diseases such as aphrodisiac and tonic, astringent because contain the major active compound is tannin and traditionally used for treatment of the skin diseases such as eczema and also used for hepatitis , syphilis and scaly skin disease. Also all other active compounds responsible for different activities and responsible for other treatment as mentioned.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

The authors would like to thank Mustansiriyah University (www.uomustansiriyah.edu.iq) Baghdad–Iraq of its support in the present work.

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Received on 15.02.2019 Modified on 14.03.2019

Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 2019; 12(7): 3219-3222.

DOI: 10.5958/0974-360X.2019.00541.9