Conservation Strategies of the Red Listed Brackenridgea zanguebarica Oliv. in Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Brackenridgea zanguebarica Oliv. (Ochnaceae) commonly known as “Yellow Peeling Plane”, is an important medicinal plant species, and one of the most threatened tree species that is endemic to Thengwe village in Vhembe District, South Africa. It is widely harvested for traditional purposes and difficult to propagate sexually and asexually. Nowadays, it has become threatened and this unique plant population is believed to be declining in the Brackenridgea Nature Reserve (BNR). According to the Red List of South African plants, B. zanguebarica is considered a critically endangered medicinal plant. All these facts combined with a lack of knowledge on the conservation of this species prompted this study on its conservation. To ascertain the effective conservation and proper management of this multipurpose tree, this study was conducted with the aim to improve its conservation strategy by investigating current threats to the existence of B. zangueberica, the chemical constituents from the different plant parts, the propagation methods of the species, and the factors delaying the germination of its seeds. In this study, an assessment of the current population threats was important as a first step in conservation; this would update the status of the species in its natural habitat. The current status of Brackenridgea zanguebarica was conducted through an extensive field survey in the Brackenridgea Nature Reserve (BNR), where a belt transect method was deployed to record quantitative information, while the harvesting damage was estimated using a sliding scale from 0 to 5. The structure of the populations in terms of the stem diameter size classes showed a bell shape vi pattern. About 60% of individuals showed some signs of plant parts extraction as the stem bark was reported to be the main plant part harvested. The population structure, however, was dominated by juvenile plants due to the selective harvesting of mature individuals; this hinders fruit production leading to poor or slow seed production. The present study aimed to compare the chemical constituents and the antimicrobial activities of some parts of this plant species. The extracts were screened for phytochemicals using standard methods. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was carried out to compare the chemical constituents using various solvent systems of varying polarity. Agar well diffusion and broth microdilution methods were used to evaluate the antimicrobial activity and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of plant extracts respectively, against three bacteria and four fungi. The phytochemical analysis revealed a close similarity of various phytoconstituents of the three plant parts (stem bark, twigs and leaves). TLC analysis showed a slight difference in the acetone extract of different plant parts with more bands on the leaves than the stem bark and twigs. Acetone extracts of the three plant parts exhibited varying degrees of antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida glabrata, while none of the extracts showed any activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Candida albicans, C. krusei, and C. parapsilosis. However, analysis of the antibacterial activity of various extracts revealed that the best inhibitory activity was produced by the stem bark extract compared to the leaf and twig extract. vii The sustainable way to meet the growing demand of Brackenridgea zanguebarica is to increase its availability through propagation practices. Unfortunately, the conservation of B. zanguebarica is hampered by lack of information on how it can be propagated. Sexual and asexual propagations were conducted to determine an efficient method to increase the number of individuals of this plant species. Seed propagation was carried out to study the effect of various pre-treatments on germination, in order to understand the germination requirements; vegetative propagation was conducted to assess if B. zanguebarica could be successfully propagated via stem cuttings if the appropriate growth hormones and growing media were applied. Brackenridgea zanguebarica seed did not germinate at all under any of the conditions tested. However, the results, showed the potential of propagating this species from stem cutting despite the poor results obtained. Thus B. zanguebarica was found to be difficult to propagate sexually and asexually. Seeds serve as a means of reproduction and a vital element to ensure the survival of plant species. Seed germination is controlled by a number of factors. The propagation of B. zanguebarica via seed is very difficult and research has not been undertaken to understand possible factors that may delay its germination. This study was aimed to investigate and describe both the morphological and anatomical features of B. zanguebarica seed, in order to identify structural features implicated in its poor germination. To achieve this goal, a morphological and anatomical study was conducted based on the observation of seeds under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). Water uptake potential was assessed by the increase in seed mass. The morpho-anatomical analysis indicated that some structures of the seed, such as seed coat, and the presence of endosperm viii surrounding the embryo that consisted of two prominent cotyledons, seem to greatly hinder the germination of this species. The research findings provided information regarding the seed structure which is one important step in identifying useful techniques to improve seed germination for conservation purposes.