The ecological and economic values of Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. – A review
Muhammad Shafiq
University of Karachi
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/ce.v2i1.6749
Keywords: Alkaloids; biodiversity; biodegradability; climate change, diversity; ecology; invasive species; natural recovery; phytochemicals; pollution; revegetation; richness; seeding; species composition; street plant; Albizia lebbeck; fatty acids; tocopherols; saponin; folk medicine; stem bark extract; acetone extract; cytotoxicity; antimicrobial
Abstract
Albizia lebbeck (L. ) Benth. is an economically important multipurpose flowering woody tree species and helps in environmental management. The different parts (leaves, fruits, flowers, bark, stems, whole parts) of A. lebbeck used in medicine, agriculture, and industry traditionally for a long period of human civilization. A. lebbeck traditionally utilized in medicine, fodder, and phytoremediation. The traditional medicine is used for the treatment of asthma, cough, diarrhea, malaria, cancer, dysentery, jaundice, rheumatism, fever, dysentery, diabetes, and many skin disease problems in human beings. A few investigations have studied the phytochemicals of A. lebbeck plant material and its biological activity and active constituents and revealed the presence of protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and fatty acids, along with the prevalence of minerals and vitamins.
The germination and growth abilities of A. lebbeck respond differently to the immediate environmental conditions. A. lebbeck is playing a helping role in balancing the desert ecosystem due to its better adaptation potential to such diverse climatic conditions. Many researchers have reported that the change in climatic conditions, scarcity of water, indiscriminate discharge of various types of toxic pollutants, overgrazing, and some natural activities have been the main reasons of decline of this plant species since the last couple of decades.
The goal of this review was to search and analyze the scattered research articles information available on the ecological properties of A. lebbeck In this regard, the published research article data was searched from different electronic engines, English as Google, Google Scholar, NIH (National Library of Medicine), Conbio (Society for Conservation of Biology), PubMed and science direct covering the period 1965–2024.
The present review findings would be helpful for conservation groups, ecologists, nongovernmental organizations, governmental sectors, researchers, land managers, environmental managers, field managers, industrial sectors, and pharmaceutical sectors that are working on this aspect at regional and international levels.