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Family Cyperaceae
Pugo-pugo
Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb..
MULLUMBIMBY COUCH
Duan ye shui wu gong

Scientific names Common names
Cyperus brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk. Bibi-inok (Bon.) 
Cyperus cruciformis (Schrad. ex Schult.) Endl. Busikad (Tag.)
Kyllinga aurata Nees Kadkadot (Ig.)
Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb. Pugo-pugo (C. Bis.) 
Kyllinga cruciata Nees.                              [Invalid] Green kyllinga (Engl.)
Kyllinga cruciformis Schrad. ex Schult. Green water sedge (Engl.)
Kyllinga elongata Kunth Kyllinga weed (Engl.) 
Kyllinga fuscata Miq. Mullumbimby couch (Engl.)
Kyllinga gracilis Kunth Short leaved kyllinga (Engl.)
Kyllinga hohenackeri Hochst. ex Steud. Shortleaf spikesedge (Engl.)
Kyllinga honollulu Steud. ex Jard.  
Kyllinga intermedia R.Br.  
Kyllinga intricata Cherm.  
Kyllinga laxa Schrad. ex Nees  
Kyllinga longiculmis Miq.  
Kyllinga nivea Pers.  
Kyllinga oligostachys Boeckeler  
Kyllinga sororia Kunth  
Kyllinga tenuis Baldwin  
Kyllinga tenuissima Steud.  
Kyllinga tricephala Salisb.  
Mariscus kyllingioides Steud.  
Schoenus capitatus Crantz  
Cyperus brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk. is a synonym of Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb. The Plant List
Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb. is an accepted name. The Plant List

Other vernacular names
VIETNAMESE: Co bac dau la ngan.
CHINESE: Duan ye shui wu gong.
HAWAIIAN: Kaluhā, Kili'o'opu, Manunēnē, Mau'u mokae.
INDIA: Keyabon.
INDONESIA: Rumput sadanan, Rumput kapas, Jukut pendul, Teki, Jakut pendul.
JAPANESE: Himekugu.
MALAY: Rumput teki, Rumput sekepet burit, Kancing baju jantan, Katob perenggang.
MANGAREVAN: Mutie iwa.
MAORI: Mauku 'ōniāni, Tumu 'enua.
PALAUAN: Deus, Esechesiding
SAMOAN: Tuisē, Tuisē, Tuse.
SATAWALESE: Fithin nar.
SPANISH: Fosforito, juncia corta.
TAHITIAN: Mo'u upo'lo.
THAI: Yaa kok dok khaao, Yaa hua mong.
TONGAN: Pakopako.
VIETNAMESE: B[aj]c d[aaf]u l[as] ng[aws]n.
YAPESE: Bwogorewau, Nikamoyr.

Botany
Pugo-pugo is an annual herb with slender stems, 10 to 50 centimeters high, usually scattered, rising from slender creeping rootstocks. Leaves are narrow, 3 to 10 centimeters long and less than 3 millimeters wide; shining green. Spikes are mostly solitary, ovoid, green to white, 8 millimeters long or less. Spikelets very numerous, lanceolate, about 3 millimeters long, with the keel of the flowering glume not winged. Whole inflorescence is subtended by 3 long leafy bracts. Fruit is a nut, about 1 millimeters long and compressed.

Distribution
- Throughout the Philippines, at low to medium altitudes, especially in open grasslands, waste places, along dikes, rice paddies and other moist places, at low and medium altitudes.
- Pantropic.

Constituents
- Study for essential oil from underground parts yielded 23 components, the main components of which were manoyl oxide (44.08%), ß-pinene (13.58%), cyperene (7.63%), and y-terpineol (7.37%). (11)
- Study of leaf essential oil yielded 33 compounds accounting for 96.1% of the oil composition. Major essential oil constituents were α-cadinol (40.3 %), τ-muurolol (19.5 %), and germacrene D-4-ol (12.5 %) with smaller amounts of δ-cadinene (2.9 %), and germacrene D (4.0 %). (13)

Properties
- Kyllinga leaves are glossier than turfgrass leaves. Also, they have a distinctive "minty sweet" scent when leaves are mowed or crushed.

Parts utilized
· Whole plant.
· Collect year round, wash under the sun.

Properties
- Prepared drug minty tasting and neutral-natured.
- Decongestant, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimalarial.

- Studies have shown antioxidant, antiviral, anxiolytic, CNS depressant, hepatoprotective, anti-aggressive properties.

Uses
Edibility
· In Paraguay folk medicine, rhizomes used as a refreshing drink.
Folkloric
· Colds with fever; when taken internally, has a perspiring (sudorific) effect.
· Whooping cough, bronchitis, swelling pain in the throat, malaria.
· Snake bites, furuncles, sprains: Apply poultice of pounded fresh leaves.
· Skin pruritus: Decoction may be used as an external wash.

· In India, used for dysentery - ten fresh tubers made into paste and consumed with rice; once daily for three days.
· Used for liver disease.
· Malays used the rhizome for poulticing sore legs. Leaves used for diarrhea. For treating scurf, pounded roots applied to affected area. (10)
· In Paraguay folk medicine, used as digestive, diuretic, sedative, tonic, antispasmodic, and sudorific.

Studies
CNS Depressant Activity / Sedative Effect: Study of crude hydro-alcoholic rhizome extract of Kyllinga brevifolia on mice showed increase gastrointestinal transit, decrease spontaneous locomotor activity, piloerection, passivity, catatonia and stereotyped behavior. It also showed a significant dose-dependent increase in hypnotic effect induced by pentobarbital. Oral administration of doses up to 3,000 mg/kg did not provoke any toxic symptoms. Results explain it traditional use to alleviate stress and as a sedative agent. (1)
Flavonoids / Antiviral: Study yielded two known flavonoids glycosides and a new quercetin. triglycoside, a compound that showed moderate antiviral activity.
Anxiolytic / Sedative / Rhizomes: Study evaluated the putative sedative, anxiolytic effects of crude hydro-alcoholic extract and fractions of rhizomes of K. brevifolia in male male using open filed, hole board, rota-rod, and elevated plus maze (EPM) test. Results showed a weak sedative and interesting anxiolytic-like effect in mice and suggests a potential for use in the treatment of anxiety in humans. (5)
Hepatoprotective: Study evaluated a methanolic extract of whole plant of K. brevifolia in male Wistar albino rats showed significant protection against CCl4-induced hepatocellular injury. (7)
• Anti-Aggressive Activity / Rhizomes: Study evaluated the anti-aggressive activity of hydroethanolic extract of rhizomes and various fractions on aggressive behavior in isolated-induced aggression model in male mice. Results showed a general anti-offensive aggressive activity and suggests a potential in the treatment of reactive aggression in humans. (9)
• Antioxidant: In an in vitro study of 31 medicinal wetland plants in Taiwan, Kylinga brevifolia was one of seven that showed high antioxidant activity and high total polyphenolic contents. (12)
• Silver Nanoparticles / Methylene Blue Removal: Study reports on the green synthesis of nanocatalyst K. brevifolia-mediated silver nanoparticles. KBE functioned as capping agent for stabilization of AgNPs. KBE + AgNPs is more benign to the environment and is the preferred reducing agent. The NPs showed effectiveness for degradation of MB dyes, with potential to degrade other types of toxic dyes used in textile industry. (14) (15)
• Bioremediation of Textile Dyes Wastewater / Bacteria from Mining Soils and Wetlands: New bacteria obtained from contaminated soils surrounding coal, aluminum, salt mines, and wetlands were separated, synthesized and characterized. Study showed the soils and waters have five dispersed bacteria. The bacteria were evaluated for potential removal activity of basic blue 41 and disperse red 177 dyes. Study of removal mechanism showed biodegradation to be the governing mechanism. Results suggest natural and locally available bacteria showed great efficiency for removal of dyes from aqueous solution with any unsafe by-product, and can be utilized for other water pollutants. (16)

Availability
Wild-crafted. 


Updated June 2019 / July 2017 / February 2013


IMAGE SOURCE / PUBLIC DOMAIN / Killinga brevifolia (Cyperus brevifolia) Rottb. var. leiolepis (Fr. et Sav.) Hara / Show_ryu / 7 July 2009 / Wikimedia Commons

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Acute toxicity and general pharmacological effect on central nervous system of the crude rhizome extract of Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb. / M C Hellion-Ibarrola et al / Journal of Ethnopharmacology, September 1999;
Volume 66, Issue 3: pp 271-27
/ doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(99)00002-1
(2)
Characterisation of new oligoglycosidic compounds in two Chinese medicinal herbs
/ Sandra Apers et al / Phytochemical Analysis• Volume 13 Issue 4, Pages 202 - 206 / DOI 10.1002/pca.642
(3)
Medicinal plants used against dysentery, diarrhea and cholera by the tribes of erstwhile Kament district of Arunachal Pradesh / A Kar and S K Borthakur / Natural Product Radiance, Vol 7(2), 2008, pp 176-181.
(4)
Kyllinga weeds defy some herbicides / Todd Lowe; Bert McCarty, Ph.D.; and Ted Whitwell, Ph.D. / Golf Course Management
(5)
Anxiolytic-like and sedative effects of Kyllinga brevifolia in mice / María del Carmen Hellión-Ibarrola*; Yenny Montalbetti; Olga Y. Heinichen; María L. Kennedy; Miguel A. Campuzano; Derlis A. Ibarrola / Rev. bras. farmacogn., Nov-Dec 2012; 22(6) / http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-695X2012005000112
(6)
Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb., Cyperaceae / Common names / Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk / PIER
(7)
HEPATOPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF KYLLINGA BREVIFOLIA ON CARBON TETRACHLORIDE INDUCED LIVER DAMAGE IN RATS / Bhattasri Sree Charan / International Journal of Pharmacology Research / 1(1), 2011, 16-20.
(8)
Kyllinga brevifolia / Synonyms / The Plant List
(9)
Evaluation of Anti-Aggressive Activity of Kyllinga brevifolia in Rodent Model of Aggression  / M.C. Hellión-Ibarrola, M.L. Kennedy, M.A. Campuzano, Y. Montalbetti, O.Y. Heinichen and D.A. Ibarrol / Journal of Advanced Clinical Phamacology, 2014; 1: pp 3-7 /
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14205/2312-3710.2014.01.01.1
(10)
Kyllinga brevifolia / Traditional Malay Medicinal Plants / Muhamad bin Zakaria
(11)
Composition of the essential oils of three Cyperus species from Congo / Victor N’goka*, Pierette Lokanga Tchiyamba and Flore Victoire Foungui Otoungou / African Journal of Plant Science, Vol. 8(11), pp. 473-481, November 2014 / DOI: 10.5897/AJPS12.178
(12)
In vitro antioxidant properties and total phenolic contents of wetland medicinal plants in Taiwan. / Yu-Ling Ho; Shyh-Shyun Huang; Jeng-Shyan Deng; Yaw-Huei Lin; Yuan-Shiun Chang; Guan-Jhong Huang / Botanical Studies, 2012; Vol 53, Issue 1: pp 55-66.
(13)
Leaf Essential Oil Composition of Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb. from Nepal / Prajwal Paudel, Prabodh Satyal, Ganesh Khadka and William N. Setzer* / Journal of essential oil-bearing plants (JEOP), December 2012 /
DOI: 10.1080/0972060X.2012.10644131
(14)
Synthesis colloidal Kyllinga brevifolia-mediated silver nanoparticles at different temperature for methylene blue removal / Norain Isa, Siti Halima Sarijo, A Azizan, Zainovia Lockman / AIP Conference Proceedings, September 2017;  1877(1):070001 / DOI: 10.1063/1.4999887
(15)
Methylene blue dye removal on silver nanoparticles reduced by Kyllinga brevifolia / Norain Isa et al / Environmental Science and Pollution Research, April 2019; 26(11): pp 11482-11295
(16)
Bioremediation of Textile Dyes Wastewater: Potential of Bacterial Isolates from a Mining Soils and Wetlands / K Seifpanahi-Shabani, A Eyvazkhani, P Heidan / PCCC, Spring 2019; 12(3) Art 3: pp 155-161

It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)

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