The stem and branches have silvery white colour with a pink tint. They bear stiff covering trichomes and leaves or leaves remaining are found at their numerous inter nodes. Dark brown scars are left by falling leaves. The branches are brittle and their outer layer separate on breaking.

Microscopically، the powder shown many free conical، warty، tapering covering trichomes of various lengths and sizes; the comparatively smaller ones belong to leaves while the significantly large ones are detached from stem and branches. The powder also shows light orange-brown fragments of leaf exhibiting compact endings of palisade cells rounded in outlines; some of these fragments bear many covering trichomes. There are also many grey or grayish-brown fragments of fibro-vascular tissues of branches، some are thick and closely packed، in addition to many fragments of light brown bark cells polygonal or almost square in outlines.

Moltkiopsis ciliata (Forssk.) I.M. Johnston (Halam or Hamat) also known as Lithospermum callosum Vahl. Blonging to family Boriginaceae is very common on coastal sands north and inland of Abu Dhabi, especially along margins of depressions; thrives in loose sand around Dubai, Sharjah and further north(Western, 1989).Whole plant is used as a drug, pulp made from fresh plant are hemostatic (LoutfyBoulos, 1983), plant possesses wound healing,anti-tumor, antimicrobial and antithrombotic (Sa, 1981).

Figure 1

Pharmacognosy & Phytochemistry:

The stem and branches have silvery white colour with a pink tint. They bear stiff covering trichomes and leaves or leaves remaining are found at their numerous inter nodes. Dark brown scars are left by falling leaves. The branches are brittle and their outer layer separate on breaking.

Microscopically، the powder shown many free conical، warty، tapering covering trichomes of various lengths and sizes; the comparatively smaller ones belong to leaves while the significantly large ones are detached from stem and branches. The powder also shows light orange-brown fragments of leaf exhibiting compact endings of palisade cells rounded in outlines; some of these fragments bear many covering trichomes. There are also many grey or grayish-brown fragments of fibro-vascular tissues of branches، some are thick and closely packed، in addition to many fragments of light brown bark cells polygonal or almost square in outlines.

Parts studied:leaf and stem

Figure 2

TS of a portion of the leaf near the margin of the lamina with the epidermises bearing conical warty trichomes. Three layers of the palisade tissues beneath the upper epidermis and above the lower one. Atthe centre is the spongy mesophyll whose cells contain yellowish-brown materials.

urface view of a portion of the stem showin the almost rectangular colourless epiderma cells with their thick cell walls. The photo also shows some detached epidermal tapering covering trichomes.

Atransverse section of a representative portion of the stem showing its different layers and zones: the small epidermal cells، layers of grayish cortical cells، layers of brownish polygonal cortical cells، layers of compressed cells surrounding a large zone of heavily lignified vascular tissues then the pith cells part of which separate give a large hollow area.

Chemical constituents: Beta acetoxy isovalerylalkanin, Betabeta dimethyl acryl shikonin (salam, 1981). Benzoyl shikonin; betasitosterol, polyhydroxyterpine, kaempferol 4’-methyl ester-3-o-glucoside (Khafagy. 1981).

The following chemical studies have been carried out (Quality Control methods, 1998; Evans, 1996) on the aerial part of the plant Maltkiopsis ciliata (ZCHRTM unpublished work):

Physicochemical constituents (%):

Loss of weight in drying at 1050c        : 11.40Absolute alcohol solubility    : 1.60

Water solubility                                     : 12.00

Successive extractives (%)

Petroleum ether (60-800)                       : 1.00

Chloroform                                           : 0.70

Absolute alcohol                                   : 1.60

Ash values(%)

Total ash                                               : 17.10

Water solubleash                                  : 5.10

Acid insoluble ash (10% HCl)              : 1.60

pH values(aqueous solution)

pH of 1% solution                                : 8.362-8.396

pH of 10%solution                              : 7.960-7.970

Elemental analyses:

Table 1

1ppm conc. = 1µg/ml;Actual conc. (%) =Actualconc.(ppm)x0.0001 [1ppm=0.0001%]

UV Spectralstudies:

Table 2

Intestinal Fluidsimulated without pancreatic pH=7.5±0.1

Gastric Fluid simulated withoutpepsin pH=1.2±0.1

Thin layer chromatography (TLC): Wagner (1996)-Reference

Figure 3

TLC fingerprint of Petroleum ether -60-80o track 1) and Methanol extract (track 2) Mobilephase Fig. A&C:Toluene, ethyl formate,formic acid (5:4:1)

B: Ethyl acetate, methanol, water (100:13.5:10) D: Toluene, ethyl acetate (93:7)

Detection                                               A: UV 254nm B&C: UV366nm

Derivatization              D: Vanillin-Sulphuric acid -vis

The toxicological and pharmacological Studies:

Information contained in the literature about the plant:

Moltkiopsis sp. is a desert plant spreadingfrom Morocco in North Africa to Saudi Arabia and palatable to camels. It is one theplants that was not pharmacologically studied.

At high polluted localities Ambient O3 pollution lead to a significant decreasein total sugars، pigments and antioxidant enzymes activity in cultivated plants species. The results also showed that Bougainvillea spp. was more sensitive plant to O3 pollution compared to other cultivated plant species، while in non- cultivated Moltkiopsis ciliata has more resistance than other plants. This investigation concluded that ozone pollution is responsible for the plant damage in industrial cities of KSA. (Akram, 2010)

The results on the pharmacological and Toxicological studiescarried out at ZCHRTM labs. on the aqueous

Moltkiopsis ciliata extract (Derelanko 2002; Han, 2003) have been given in the following table:

Table 3

Both 70%alcohol and the water extracts showed significant decrease in prothrombin time. Spasmogenic activity of the plant designates the purgative nature of the plant extract in relieving constipation and gastrointestinal spasms. The plant extract causes very mild relaxation indicating mild Antiurolithic effect.

Effect of Moltkiopsis 70% alcohol extracton

Figure 4