Utility Potential ofParthenium hysterophorusfor Its Strategic Management

Abstract

Parthenium hysterophorus, one of the world's most dangerous weeds, is responsible for huge losses to the biodiversity, agriculture, economy, and health of livestock and human beings. High competitive success rate and adaptability of the species enable it to dominate diverse types of habitats. Various weed control strategies are being used globally to reduce its population to manageable levels. But owing to many limitations associated with the conventional methods, management of Parthenium still remains a challenge. Recently large scale utilization has been taken up as a holistic approach for the control of weeds. Parthenium hysterophorus can be managed by exploiting this weed in diverse fields. In agriculture, it can be used either as green manure or after composting. Industrially it can be used for producing various value added products. The weed also exhibits many environmental applications. Chemical constituents of Parthenium show extensive range of pharmacological activities suggesting its role as a chemotherapeutic agent. This review briefly discusses the problem of Parthenium and enlists its possible utilities which can open new avenues for effective management of this violent weed.

Socioeconomic and ecological consequences of Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) in Boset Woreda, Ethiopia

“…Parthenium, the most obnoxious, allergenic, and environmental pollutant weed (Maszura et al, 2018), which is supposed to have originated in the area surrounding the Gulf of Mexico, Southern USA (Adkins and Shabbir, 2014), West Indies, and Central South America (Bagachi et al, 2016). The aggressive (Maszura et al, 2018) and pernicious weed (Saini et al, 2014) is recognized as one of the top ten worst weeds in the world (Zelalem and Tora, 2019) and has colonized and naturalized in many regions of the world, including Asia, Australia and Africa (Royimani et al, 2018). African countries are at high risk of invasion (Bagachi et al, 2016;Bobo and Abdeta, 2016) and in Africa, Parthenium has become prevalent in the eastern and southern parts of the continent (Royimani et al, 2018).…”

Inhibition of Helicobacter pylori growth and its colonization factors by Parthenium hysterophorus extracts

“…Although this plant has been described as allergenic due to the presence of parthenin and other sesquiterpene lactones (Maishi et al, 1998), several beneficial and pharmacological properties have been proposed for the plant and its chemical constituents (for a review see Saini et al, 2014). These include anti-cancer effects (Venkataiah et al, 2003), hypoglycemic activity (Patel et al, 2008), antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities (Pandey et al, 2012) and so forth.…”

Parthenium weed: uses and abuses.

“…The second major reason is the management of parthenium weed over the past three decades has been broadly ineffective, despite major efforts (DWSR, 2010). However, it is noteworthy that the existing reviews on parthenium weed (Patel, 2011;Kushwaha and Maurya, 2012;Saini et al, 2014;Bapat and Jaspal, 2016) have refrained from commenting specifically on the issue of deliberate cultivation, or sustaining its populations for utilization. The majority of published studies, collated in the above reviews, only demonstrate bioactivity in parthenium weed extracts in laboratory or greenhouse studies, which is not unique to this species.…”

“…In our view, the above suggestion is yet to be proven. The premise that utilization should be considered as a new strategy for controlling this unmanageable weed (Saini et al, 2014) has to be balanced with the established evidence of negative effects of the species on the welfare of societies, environment and agriculture.…”

“…Despite the well-documented negative impacts of parthenium weed, there is a large volume of published research, over three decades, that indicates both actual and potential uses of the weed and opportunities for further exploitation. There are a number of reviews of beneficial uses, which have largely originated from India (Pandey, 2009;Patel, 2011;Kushwaha and Maurya, 2012;Saini et al, 2014). The current review adds to the above, providing an update and a critical appraisal, focusing on the actual uses of the plant in different countries, and its demonstrable potential uses, based on published results.…”