Panicum annulatum (Fluggé) A.Rich.

Gen info
- Poaceae or Gramineae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants known as "grasses", which includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in home and pasture. There are about 780 genera and about 12,000 species.
- Poaceae is the fifth largest plant family, following Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Fabaceae, and Rubiaceae.   The Poaceae family is the most economically important plant family, which provides staple foods from domesticated cereal crops such as wheat, rice, barley and millet and is also a source of food for meat  producing animals. It provides  through direct consumption about 51% of human dietary energy needs. (7)
- Eriochloa is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, commonly called "cupgrass."

Botany
Bakwit is a densely tufted grass with a straight, slender stem, growing up to 22 to 90 centimeters high from a branched base, the culms erect or ascending from a bent base. Leaf blades are flat, 2.5 to 10 centimeters long, with villous axils and rachis, the pedicels with several long hairs. Flower stalk has numerous branches in opposite arrangement with the racemes nodding. Fruit is tiny and oblong with a pointed end, connected to the small stalk by a headlike structure or callus that is somewhat violet in color. Silky hairs grow from the base, covering the body of the fruit.

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines. (5)
- Annual semi-aquatic grass.
- In damp grasslands, waste places, paddy fields, and along ditches in Manila, Quezon City and the suburbs.
- Occurs in the Pacific Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, Palau, and Japan; China, Cambodia, Thailand, Australia.

Properties
- A weed with high seed productivity. Seeds easily dispersed by water and animals.
- Study has shown hepatoprotective properties.

Constituents
- Biochemical composition yielded (% DW) moisture content 61.24 ± 0.22%, total protein 1.78 ± 0.19%, total lipids 2.95 ± 0.03%, total soluble sugar 0.83 ± 0.1%, and total starch 10.79 ± 0.18%. (4)

Uses
Folkloric
No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
Others
• Fodder: Considered a good fodder grass. In Ethiopia, reportedly highly desirable to cattle and sheep, desirable to goats, and least desirable to camels. (6)

Studies
• Hepatoprotective: Study of aqueous and ethanol extracts from Eriochloa procera showed the aqueous extract had the highest hepatoprotective effect. (1) The restorative effects by an aqueous extracts of Eriochloa procera (Retz.) C. Hubb from CCl4 induced liver injury were studied in mice. The results demonstrated that the extracts in dose of 9 g/kg exhibited the good effect in this experimental model. (2)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Restorative Effect by Eriochloa procera (Retz.) C. Hubb. from CCl4 Induced Liver Injury / Vien Duoc Lieu / National Institute of Medicinal Materials (NIMM) /
(2)
Study on the hepatoprotective effects of Eriochloa procera (Retz.) C. Hubb. / Le Thi Kim Loan Bui Thi Bang, Le Thi Van Thu / TC Pharmaceuticals . - 2007. -No 3 +4. -P. 111-114.
(3)
Eriochloa procera (Retz.) C.E.Hubb. / Synonyms / The Plant List
(4)
An Assessment of Nutrient Content of Different Grass Species of Similipal Tiger Reserve, Orissa / J.K. Patra, R.R. Mishra, S.D. Rout and H.N. Thatoi / World Journal of Agricultural Sciences 7 (1): 37-41, 2011
(5)
Eriochloa procera /   KEW: Plants of the World Online Asheber  Tegegn,
(6)
Changes in plant species composition and diversity . . . Ethiopian rangelands /   Asheber Tegegn et al /  Livestock Research for Rural Development 23
(7)
Poaceae / Wikipedia

DOI: 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)