Variation in chemical composition of Harpagophytum species as function of age and locality
Abstract
English: Dried tubers, growing on secondary roots of Harpagophytum procumbens subsp. procumbens
are widely used as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory medicine against arthritis and other
chronic pain conditions. Tubers are harvested in large quantities from South Africa,
Botswana and Namibia. The dried material is exported to European countries. This industry
makes a big contribution to poverty alleviation in rural areas. The large quantities exported
(about 600 tons per annum), has raised concerns about the sustainability of wild harvesting.
Apart from threatening the plant with extinction, overexploitation of the resource will also
threaten the economic survival of rural communities.
This thesis aims to study the variation in chemical composition between samples from
different regions, species, harvesting regimes and age of tubers. Only tubers from secondary
roots are removed and a large percentage of harvested plants survive. This thesis is part of a
bigger study of which the aim is to determine the optimum wild harvesting regime resulting
in the best yield of the active ingredient in a sustainable harvesting industry.
Plant material (tubers) was collected from December 2007 to February 2008 in the North
West Province, Limpopo Province, Namibia, Caprivi in Zimbabwe. In the North West
Province, plant materials were collected in 6 different areas and/or farms: Cassel, Ganyesa,
Moswana, Molopo Nature Reserve, Terra firma and Lafras. Samples from Cassel represents
tubers from the same plants with different inter harvest periods (one to five years).
The freshly collected tubers were sliced, sun dried and analysed with HPLC-UV for six
different analytes (harpagide, harpagoside, 8-p-coumaroylharpagide, verbascoside,
isoverbascoside and 6-acetylacteoside). These analytes can be divided into two structurally
related groups.
An analytical method was developed to quantify the six analytes routinely. The method is
based on water and methanol as eluent and a reverse phase analytical column. A stepwise
isocratic procedure ( 3% MeOH for 1 min, 50% MeOH for 20 min, column cleanup with 95%
MeOH for 5 min and regeneration with 3% MeOH for 5 min) was found to be the best for our purposes. The method was validated for specificity, accuracy, precision, robustness and
linearity. Internal standards were used for calibration.
The data from more than one thousand analyzed samples were statistically processed using
StatSoft, inc. (2008), STATISTICA, version 8.0. to answer the following questions:
1. Are there meaningful differences in chemical composition between populations from the
five different inter harvest periods (1 to 5 years) at Cassel in the North West Province (Are
there meaningful differences in chemical composition of tubers that are one, two, three, four
or five years old?).
2. Are there meaningful differences in chemical composition between the six populations
from the North West Province (Cassel, Ganayesa, Moswana, Terra Firma, Lafras and Molopo
Nature Reserve)?
3 Are there meaningful differences in the chemical composition of populations from North
West Province and Namibia?
4. Are there meaningful differences in the chemical composition of populations from North
West Province/ Namibia (H. procumbens subsp. procumbens, from the Northern Province (H.
zeyheri subsp. zeyheri) and from Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls) (H. zeyheri subsp. sublobatum)?
Factor analysis of the six variables (harpagide, harpagoside, 8-p-coumaroylharpagide,
verbascoside, isoverbascoside and 6-acetylacteoside) yielded two, three or four factors
depending on the level of degree of variance that we required. Multivariate and univariate
analysis (MANOVA and ANOVA) of normal and transformed data indicated highly
significant differences. Levine’s test was used to test homogeneity of variances.
In correlation analysis all six variables were used because the factors did match clusters based
on the chemical structure of the six variables. In all four experiments significant variations
were observed and described.
Cluster analysis, using scatter plots of three factors (factor 1: verbascoside, isoverbascoside
and 6-acetylacteoside, factor 2: harpagide and factor 3: 8-p-coumaroylharpagide) identified
three distinct populations. These three populations are from three different geographical
regions and correspond with the corresponding taxonomic classification of the different
populations. (H. zeyheri subsp. zeyheri from the Limpopo Province, H. zeyheri subsp. sublobatum from Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls) and Captivi and H. procumbens subsp.
procumbens from the North West province and Namibia. Afrikaans: Gedroogte sekondêre wortels van Harpagophytum procumbens subsp. procumbens (Burch.)
de Candolle ex Meissner word algemeen vir medisinale gebruik geneem vir pynverligtende
en anti-inflamatoriese werking teen artitis en ander chroniese pyn toestande. Die plant groei
wild in veral Suid Afrika, Botswana en Namibïe waar die oes en verkope hiervan ’n groot
bydrae maak tot armoede verligting in arm afgeleë gebiede. Na raming word tot 600 ton
gedroogte wortels per jaar na Europa uitgevoer en ontstaan die vrese dat hierdie wild
groeiende plant se volhoubare ontginning bedreig word. Nie alleen kan oorontginning die
plant uitwis nie, maar dit kan die ekonomiese oorlewing van arm gemeenskappe bedreig wat
hierop berus as bron van inkomste.
Die doel van hierdie projek was om die chemiese samestelling te ontleed van a) wortels uit
verskillende streke, b) wortels van verskillende Harpagophytum spesies, c) die gereeldheid
van oesting en d) plant ouderdom. Hierdie tesis vorm deel van ’n groter projek om die oes
kondisies te bepaal wat sal lei tot die produksie van wortels met verhoogde vlakke van
aktiewe komponente met medisinale waarde, met ’n oog op volhoubare verbouing van die
plant.
Plant materiaal is tussen Desember 2007 en Februarie 2008 versamel in die Noord Wes
Provinsie, Limpopo Provinsie, Namibia, Caprivi en Zimbabwe. Die plante is oopgegrawe en
slegs die sywortels is versigtig geoes om nie die voortbestaan van die plant te benadeel nie.
Die vesamelde wortels is verwerk en met HPLC geanaliseer en die vlakke van ses
verskillende analiete (harpagied, harpagosied, 8-p-rumaroiehylharpagied, verbaskosied,
isoverbaskosied en 6-asetielakteosied) is gekwantifiseer.
Meer as ’n duisend datapunte is statisties ontleed om te bepaal of daar betekenisvolle
verskille is in die chemiese samestelling van sywortels is wat:
van een tot vyf jaar oud is vanaf dieselfde lokaliteit?
vanuit ses verskillends populasies in die Noord Wes Provinsie?
vaniut die Noord Wes Provinsie en Namibia?
vanuit die Noord Wes Provinsie/Namibie, die Limpopo Provinsie en Zimbabwe?
Die rekenaar program, Statistica, is gebruik vir die analisering van die data en het ingesluit
die faktor analise van die ses veranderlikes (die ses geanaliseerde analiete) wat twee, drie en
vier faktore onderskeidelik opgelewer het. Multivariate en univariate analises van
ongetransformeerde en getransformeerde data het hoogs betekenisvolle verskille uitgewys,
terwyl korrelasie analises betekenisvolle variasies uitgewys het. Kluster analises het drie
diskrete populasies uitgewys wat korreleer met die diskrete geografiese areas waar materiaal
versamel is asook die verskillende spesies wat in hierdie areas aangetref word.
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