Ethnomedicinal uses, Pharmacological and Phytochemical Studies of Bambusa arundinaceae Retz (A Review)

Medicinal plants are a source of different types of natural products which are used in different illness. Bambusa arundinacea , commonly known as Bamboo belongs to family Poaceae (Gramineae) . In folk medicine, it has been utilized for various inflammatory disorder, strangury, wounds, piles, dislodgement of worms, cirrhosis, hard tumour and Diabetes mellitus . This plant possess antiinflammatory, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, antiglycation, laxative, antifertility, antihelmintic, insecticidal, antiarthritic and neuroprotective activities. B. arundinacea extract has also been utilized in the synthesis of nanoparticles which have enhanced the biological activities such as anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial and antiglycation. The phytochemical analysis of this plant has afforded important classes of natural products such as terpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, phenols and glycosides, etc. These natural products have been reported for various pharmacological activities which may be responsible for the different biological activities of this plant. Although, this plant has not been explored much scientifically, very few reports are available on this plant. However, this plant is gaining interest in nanomedicine field as the nanoparticles synthesized using this plant extract have shown enhancement in antidiabetic, anticancer and antimicrobial activities. The present review article will help the readers to explore more on this plant in various filed of nanotechnology, biotechnology and phytochemistry as it contains promising bioactive molecules. Moreover, some phytoconstituents especially flavonoids may be used for semisynthetic modification for development of lead molecules.


INTRODUCTION
Bambusa arundinacea, commonly known as Bamboo belongs to family Poaceae (Gramineae). It is known by various names as Bnah in Assamese, Spanish bamboo in English, Wans in Gujarati, Kanta bans in Hindi, Bansa in Urdu, Vansa in Sanskrit and Bilawar in Kashmiri 1 . It is situated upto height of 1250 m on the hills of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka in India, Peru, China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Malaysia 2,3 . The plant consists of hard stem with internode and solid node that gives strength to this plant. The nodes bears many buds from which branches evolve, this makes Bamboo different from other grass family. The plant stems are thorny tufted on a stout rootstock, with a height of 240-280 cm and diameter of 150-170 mm. It has elongated and lanceolate leaves and flowers are in the form of panicles 4 .
Bambusa arundinacea has been reported to possess important pharmacological activities such as antiinflammatoy 5 , antidiabetic 6 , antioxidant 7 , antimicrobial 8 , insecticidal 9 , antihelmintic 10 , anticancer 11 , protective effect 12 , antiarthritis 13 , etc. Muniappan et al., 5 reported that the methanolic leaves extract exhibited promising antiinflammatory activity on carrageenan and immunologicaly induced paw edema in Albino wistar rats 14 . B. arundinacea has been found to possess antimicrobial activity against a number of bacterial and fungal strains hence it could be a possible source to obtain new and effective compound to treat bacterial and fungal infections. Zubair et al., 14 reported that n-hexane and chloroform extract displayed significant antimicrobial activity against the tested pathogens while acetone, methanol and butanol extract were found to be inactive. Thamizarasan et al., 8 reported that hexane, acetone and hydroethanolic extract of this plant seeds have significant antimicrobial effect against various microorganisms. Jayarambabu et al., 15 reported the antimicrobial activity of ZnO nanoparticles using Bambusa arundinacea extract by Agar disc diffusion method against S. aureus and B. subtilis. The ethanolic extract of tender shoots of the plant possess antifertility effect as reported by Vanithakumari et al., 16 B . a r u n d i n a c e a i s e n d o w e d w i t h antihyperglycemic potential. Joshi et al., 17 reported the aqueous ethanolic extract of leaves of B. arundinacea to possess hypoglycemic activity, Nazreen et al., 6 reported the hypoglycemic effect of B. arundinacea leaves three fractions viz. ethanolic petroleum ether, chloroform in STZ induced diabetic rats. Kumar et al., 23 reported that roots ethanolic extract of this plant displayed lowering in the blood glucose level in normal and hyperglycemic rats in alloxan and OGTT methods. Macharla et al., 18 reported that the aqueous ethanolic stem extract (200 mg/kg) of Bambusa arundinaceae showed decrease in glucose level in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Jayarambabu et al., 15 reported the antidiabetic effect of Bambusa arundinaceae (BA) extract and its ZnO nanoparticles in normal and STZ induced rats. B. arundinacea has been reported to possess insecticidal 9 and antihelmintic 10 properties. B. arundinacea has been used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Anti-arthritic effect against complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) induced arthritis in female rat were investigated by Rathod et al 13 . B. arundinacea has been found to possess protecting properties as well as anti-plasmin activity in cortical neuron which were induced by N-methyldaspartate and fibrinogen and fibrin degradation (FDPs) assay, respectively as reported by Hong et al., 12 . B. arundinacea is a rich source of antioxidants. Chauhan et al.,7 reported that the methanolic extract and different fractions of young shoots of Bambusa arundinace have prominent antioxidant property. B. arundinacea synthesized nanoparticles further enhanced the biological activities. For example, Kalaiarasi et al., 11 have synthesized the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using B. arundinacea leaf extract which showed enhanced cytotoxicity on PC-3 (lung cancer) and Vero normal cell lines. Jayarambabu et al., 15 prepared zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) of BA extract exhibited strong anticancer activity against MCF-7 cell line. Patel et al., 19 reported antiglycation potential of zinc oxide nanoparticles utilizing B. arundinacea leaf extract, inhibited the formation of AGEs, decreased the level of fructosamine and formation of glycosylated Hb.

Ethnomedicinal uses
Bambusa arundinacea are arboreous grasses known to mankind since a long time and is utilized as a food and shelter by native people 20,21 . It is used in various application such as making traditional and musical instruments, boat rafts, construction, furnitures and flooring, fencing and fodder for cattles, utensils for cooking, and in management of waste water 22 .
In folk medicine, Bambusa arundinacea is used for the treatment of many inflammatory disorders 23 . The plant stem and leaves are acidic and used as a laxative, in blood diseases, kapha, inflammation, piles and bile disorders 24 . It is also used in constringent and kidney disorders in Ayurveda. The extract of leaves bud is used in menstrual discharge, leaves infusion for eye wash and used internally for bronchitis, gonorrhoea and fever 9 . The acrid seed are used for liver dysfunction and urinary discharges 2 . The root ointment is a remedy for liver cirrhosis and tumors 1 . The leaves are emmenagogue and used for sciatica, fibrositis, gastic and liver diseases, lung bronchitis, and gonorrhea whereas flower juices is used in deafness and ear pain. The bark is used as a cure for eruptions 25 . The manna is sweet, acrid, tonic which is used for blood diseases, lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and tuberculosis. Besides this, it is also used for fever, haemoglobin deficient anaemia, hepatitis and leprosy. Tabasheer (dried bamboo sap) containing 97% silicon dioxide is used as a tonic for cough and asthma. The leaves of this plant are used by tribal women in Madras for abortion of a child by chewing it two times a day 26 . In Kanyakumari Kani tribes, the seeds of this plant increase the fertility and therefore it is in large demands for the improvement of fertility in this area 27 . The leaf juice is used for osteoarthritis, osteoporosis for making the cartilage and bones strong, for strengthening arterial walls, teeth and nails and reduces psoriasis and dermatitis. Traditional practitioner's uses 2-3 cups of B. arundinacea Retz. leaf decoction three times a day for months to treat diabetes mellitus 5 .
without any ulcerogenic effect. Therefore, the amalgamation of extract of this plant with modern medicationcould produce antiinflammatory drugs that could be of advantage in treating inflammatory problems such as rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. B. arundinacea ethanolic and hydroalcoholic extract displayed in vitro anti-inflammatory activity with IC 50 of 700 and 212 μg/mL, respectively whereas ibuprofen displayed IC 50 of 118.33 μg/ mL 28 . Also, the ethanolic leaves extract at 100 mg/ kg and 200 mg/kg exhibited promising analgesic and antipyretic effect in dose dependent manner 29 .
These results indicate that B. arundinacea has the potential to reduce inflammation with less side effects.

Antimicrobial effect
B. arundinacea could be a possible source to obtain new and effective compound to treat bacterial and fungal infections. B. arundinacea has been found to possess antimicrobial activity against a number of bacterial and fungal strains. 2,6 dimethoxy-p-benzoquinone isolated from bamboo extract inhibits the growth of Candida albicans, Trichophyton interdigitale, Microsporum gypseum, Peniciilium. chrysogenum, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and P. aeruginosa 30 .
Zubair et al., 14 reported that n-hexane and chloroform extract displayed significant a n t i m i c r o b i a l a c t i v i t y a g a i n s t t h e t e s t e d p a th o g e n s w h i l e a c e to n e , m e th a n o l a n d butanol extract were found to be inactive. Table 1 showed that n-hexane extract showed g o o d i n h i b i t o r y a c t i v i t y a g a i n s t E . c o l i , P. multocida, and B. subtilis with MIC 3.81 μg/ mL, 5.28 μg/mL and 5.26 μg/mL, respectively whereas it was inactive on tested fungal strains. Chloroform extract displayed moderate inhibition on S. aureus and B. subtilis with MIC 15.5 μg/mL and 10.7 μg/mL, respectively while it was inactive against E. coli. Acetone e x t r a c t w a s f o u n d t o b e a c t i v e a g a i n s t G. lucidum with MIC = 4.00 μg/mL only while it did not show any inhibitory activity against A. alternata, E. coli, and S. aureus.

Antiinflammatory, analgesic and antiulcer activity
B. arundinacea is reported for the treatment of many inflammatory conditions. It has been found that the methanolic leaves extract exhibited antiinflammatory activity on carrageenan and immunologicaly induced paw edema in Albino wistar rats 5 . The effect was found to be significant, compared to positive control, phenylbutazone. However, amalgamation of extract and phenylbutazone when administered orally in Albino rats resulted in enhanced a n t i i n f l a m m a t o r y a c t i v i t y e x p e r i m e n t a l l y

Antifertility effect
The ethanolic extract of tender shoots of the plant exhibits antifertility effect 16 . The administration of plant extract at 300 mg/kg in male rats for 7 days caused a fertility reduction in male rats and the reduction was 15% for control rats and 23% for tested rats after a seven day recovery period. The protein serum as well as effect of oxaloacetic and pyruvic transaminase was non toxic on the rats.  17 reported that BA leaves aqueous extract at 1000 mg/kg produced a promising decrease in blood glucose level to 260 mg/dL at 3 h in STZ induced diabetic rats. Whereas in OGTT method, the extract increased blood glucose significantly at 30 min as shown Fig. 3. rats. As observed from Fig. 5, Group II, III, IV, V and VII showed suppression of blood glucose level at 6 h significantly (p<0.01) compared to zero hour to its respective group.

Fig. 3. OGTT in euglycemic rats treated with
Bambusa arundinacea extract Nazreen et al., 6 reported the hypoglycemic effect of B. arundinacea leaves three fractions viz. ethanolic petroleum ether, chloroform in STZ induced diabetic rats showed that chloroform was the most potent in lowering the blood glucose at 150 mg/ kg b.w., compared to glibenclamide, positive control. Also, this fraction did not cause any ulceration, decreased GSH level and increased LPO, AST and ALP enzymes Fig. 4.
Kumar et al., 31 reported that roots ethanolic extract of this plant displayed lowering in the blood glucose level in normal and hyperglycemic rats in alloxan and OGTT methods. Macharla et al., 18 reported that the aqueous ethanolic stem extract (200mg/kg) of Bambusa arundinaceae showed decrease in glucose level in alloxan induced diabetic Jayarambabu et al., 15 reported the antidiabetic effect of Bambusa arundinaceae (BA) extract and its ZnO nanoparticles. As shown in Fig. 6, BA extract and ZnO-NPs did not produce reduction in blood glucose levels in normal rats. Whereas in STZ induced diabetic rats, ZnO NPs significantly dropped the blood glucose levels at 200 mg/kg after 14 days of oral administration than BA extract. Moreover, the histopathology of liver after treatment with BA extract and ZnO-NPs displayed normal architecture, and the hepatocytes were observed Fig. 7. contain 0.03% hydrogen cyanide, benzene carboxylic acid and cyanogenic glucosides viz. taxiphyllin which are reported to be fatal on mosquito larvae. Bamboo shoots can resists insects, laterites, pH and hemp thus they have antiseptic and antilarval properties 9 .

Antiarthritic activity
B. arundinacea has been used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Anti-arthritic effect against complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) induced arthritis in female rat were investigated 13 . The methanolic plant extract at 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg b.w. for 21 days displayed dose dependent reduction in erosion of bone and enlargement of spleen, compared to control, But the reduction was not as significant as dexamethasone (5 mg/kg i.p.)

Antihelmintic Activity
B. arundinacea root ethanolic extract has been endowed with antihelmintic property. The anthelmintic activity of the extract has been investigated in Pheretima posthuma. It has been observed that the extract at 10, 20 and 50 mg/mL were found to be lethal for Pheritima posthuma. The antihemintic effect was comparable to Albendazole, (10 mg/mL) and Piperazine citrate (15 mg/mL) positive control 10 .

Protective effects
B. arundinacea has been found to possess protecting properties as well as anti-plasmin activity in cortical neuron which were induced by N-methyldaspartate and fibrinogen and fibrin degradation (FDPs) assay, respectively 12 . It has been observed that B. arundinacea pyrolyzates treated neuronal cells increases the cell viability, compared to untreated cells. Furthermore, B. arundinacea pyrolyzates treated cortical neurons when stained by Hoechst 33342 showed decline in apoptosis following NMDA exposure. Besides this, pyrolyzates of B. arundinacea showed antiplasmin activity. Pyrolyzate isolated from bamboo have antiapoptotic effect and it can be used for ischemic injury treatment as the amalgamation of NMDA receptor antagonists, GABAergic drugs ,glucocorticosteroids, and heparin are used for delay in post ischemic injury.

Anticancer activity
Kalaiarasi et al., 11 have synthesized the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using B. arundinacea leaf extract and screened for cytotoxicity on PC-3 (lung cancer) and Vero normal cell lines. The AgNPs were characterized by FTIR, TEM and SEM. The FTIR spectra of BaAgNPs showed intense peaks at 3396 cm -1 , 3211 cm -1 , 2286 cm -1 , 1402 cm -1 for NH stretching, S-H stretching, C=C stretching (alkenes) and C=C stretching Fig. 9.    Fig. 10A. The size of the synthesized AgNPs obtained ranged between 32 to 46.65 nm. TEM images for the biosynthesized AgNPs showed that the particles were spherically shaped with an average size ranging from 30 nm to 90 nm for AgNPs Fig. 10B.

Fig. 10. SEM (A) and TEM (B) of synthesized AgNPs of Bambusa arundinaceae extract
The synthesized silver nanoparticles showed IC 50 values of the PC3 cells and Vero cells were 73.57 and 84.88 µg/mL and 93.58 and 96.41µg/ mL for BaAgNPs. The effect of NPs on the growth of normal cell lines (Vero) did not exhibit significant cytotoxicity at their lower concentrations (Fig. 11). The percentages of the apoptotic bodies by AO/ EtBr staining were found to be 76% and 62% for BaAgNPs and BnAgNPs, respectively Fig. 12.  Jayarambabu et al., 15 prepared zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) of BA extract exhibited strong anticancer activity against MCF-7 cell line. As shown in Fig. 13 (a,b), SEM images of the obtained nanoparticles were agglomerated, and most of them are in spherical. From TEM Fig. 13  (c,d), the sizes of the particles were observed in the range of ~7-20 nm.   Patel et al., 19 reported that zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) utilizing B. arundinacea leaf extract inhibited the formation of AGEs, decreased the level of fructosamine and formation of glycosylated Hb. The antiglycation potential of zinc oxide nanoparticles, ZnO NPs which was prepared from zinc acetate using sodium hydroxide were investigated. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, and TEM analysis as shown in Fig. 16. The FT IR spectra of ZnO NPs showed a sharp and intense peak at 681 cm -1 for Zn-O stretching, 1430 cm -1 for C-C stretching, 1600 to 1800 cm -1 for C=O, and 2854 cm -1 for O-H stretching of carboxylic acid. The Result of TEM showed that ZnO NPs are spherical and some oval particles with an aevarge size of 80 nm. The synthesized ZnO NPs were tested for degree of glycation of albumin by measuring fluorescence intensity. The increased fluorescent intensity in BSA/glucose reaction indicates the level of glycated BSA increased over a period of time. As observed from Fig.  17, ZnO-Nps showed significant inhibition on glycation reaction, compared to control. Also, ZnO NPs treated glycation of albumin and AG treated glycation of albumin showed significant inhibition of glycated albumin (43.41% and 55.19% respectively) when compared to the untreated glycated control. Moreover, these nanoparticles inhibit the glycosylation of hemoglobin significantly when compared to the control (Fig. 18). Table 3 illustrates the preventive effect of green synthesized ZnO NPs on the formation of hemoglobin glycosylation. The study suggests biologically synthesized zinc nanoparticles showed the strong antiglycation potential and considered as a potential source of therapeutic agents for AGEs related disorder.    (Fig. 19). Tabasheer (dried bamboo sap) is white, crystalline and sweet Fig. 19. Compounds isolated from B. arundinacea siliceous matter near the shoots joint 33,34 . Shoot of the plant contain various substances such as ethanedioic acid, hydrogen cyanide, waxes, and benzene carboxylic acid 35 , fiferuloyl arabinose hexasaccharide and taxiphyllin (1) 36 . The seed of the plant contains various amino acids and other essential organic molecules such as phenylalanine, thiamine, lysine, leucine, histidine, aginine, cysteine, isoleucine, lysine, valine, methionine, tyrosine, riboflavin, niacin and thiamine. The leaves of the plant contains mainly gluteline, betain, methionine, cholin, lysine, nuclease, urease and proteolytic enzymes. 37 Tanaka et al., 38 have reported isoorientin(2), tricin glucoside (3), p-hydroxy cinnamic acid(4), lyoniresinol 3α-O-βD-glucopyranoside(5), 3, 4, 5-trimethoxyphenol-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), koaburaside(7), 2, 6 dimethoxy-p-benzoquinone (8) and sinapic aldehyde(9) from the leaves of the plant. The plant also contains 3′,3,6,7-tetramethoxy-4′,5,8-trihydroxy flavones(10), p-anisidic acid(11), 4′-hydroxy 3-hydroxy flavane (12) and hemicelluloses 39,40 . Nazreen et al., isolated 17, 20, 20-tri demethyl-20 α-isopranyl oleanane(13), eicosanyl dicarboxylic acid (14) stigmasterol (15), Stigmastrol glucopyranoside(16), α-amyrin acetic acid (17) and ursolic glucopyranoside(18) from the chloroform fraction of this plant 41 .

CONCLUSION
Bambusa arundinacea is endowed with important pharmacological activities such as antiinflammatory, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, insecticidal, antihelmintic, and anticancer. It is also rich in phenolic and flavonoid bioactive molecules. Moreover, the nanoparticles using this plant extract have shown remarkable enhancement in various biological activities. Although, this plant has not been explored much scientifically, very few reports are available on this plant. The present review article will help the readers to explore more on this plant in various filed of nanotechnology, biotechnology and phytochemistry as it contains promising bioactive molecules.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Author acknowledges Departmemt of Chemistry, Al-Baha University for the required facilities.