PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Rizoma.

ACCION FARMACOLOGICA= Pharmacological action: Antigonorreico (rizoma), diurético.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: Extended daylength substantially increases the total mass of subtropical forages. An experiment was designed with four forages to determine the result of altered plant growth as a result of extended daylength on concentrations of beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol. Pure stands of Florakirk and Tifton-85 bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), Florona stargrass (Cynodon nlemfuensis Vanderyst) and Pensacola bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Fluegge) were established in central Florida during the summer of 1997. Individual grass plots were exposed to two daylength treatments, extended (artificial light used to maintain daylength at 15 h) and normal daylength, conducted over a seven-month period. Samples were harvested at distances of 4m 'behind' the light and 1.0 m 'in front' of the light. Samples were collected and analyzed for beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol at six sample dates from late fall to early spring. Extended daylength increased forage yields from 32 to 258% over normal daylength. However, there was no difference between forage alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene concentrations of the grasses between normal and extended daylength. Tifton-85 had the lowest mean forage concentrations of beta-carotene (37 ugg-1) and alpha-tocopherol (22.6 ugg-1). January forages had the lowest concentrations of alpha-tocopherol while the lowest beta-carotene concentrations were found in February. Frost dramatically reduced both beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol concentrations. Forage concentrations of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene were not substantially affected by increased daylength and were able to meet livestock requirements. However, concentrations of these vitamins were low from October to January.

ZONA GEOGRAFICA= Geografical zone: América. 

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs:

The present work intends to clarify the phylogenetic relationships among the species of Paspalum L. belonging to the informal groups Notata/Linearia and Dilatata, and to raise some preliminary hypotheses on the phylogeny of the genus as a whole. A combined dataset including morphological and molecular characters was used to analyze 28 species of Paspalum plus some representatives of related genera of the tribe Paniceae. Analyses were performed using both parsimony and maximum likelihood. The monophyly of Paspalum is not supported nor contradicted. The circumscription of informal groups of Paspalum is discussed, as well as the cladistic treatment of allopolyploid taxa, especially those comprising the Dilatata group. The relationships of members of the Dilatata with their putative progenitors is confirmed, but the monophyly of the group as a whole is not. A close relationship between P. dilatatum Poir. and P. lividum Trin. ex Schltdl. is shown. Our analysis is consistent with the monophyly of a group comprising Notata+Linearia, with a monophyletic Notata group nested within it. The delimitation of the core Notata is proposed by including P. conduplicatum Canto-Dorow, Valls and Longhi-Wagner, P. notatum Flüggé, P. minus E. Fourn., P. pumilum Nees and P. subciliatum Chase. © Springer 2006.

1) TOURSARKISSIAN, Martín. Plantas medicinales de Argentina : sus nombres botánicos, vulgares, usos y distribución geográfica. Buenos Aires : Hemisferio Sur, 1980, p.58.

2) ARIZMENDI-MALDONADO, D., et al. Alpha-tocopherol and Beta-carotene concentrations in tropical grasses as affected by increasing daylength. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 2003, vol.34, nº3-4, p.519-530.
 
3) SOUZA-CHIES, T., et al. A preliminary approach to the phylogeny of the genus Paspalum (Poaceae). Genetica. 2006, vol.126, nº1-2, p.15-32.