Priprioka

Cyperus articulatus grows in water or near it in rivers, streams, lakes, and swamps. It is widespread across tropical and subtropical regions in Africa, southern Asia, northern Australia, the southeastern United States, the West Indies, and Latin America. In the Amazonian state of Pará the plant is still cultivated on a small scale by farmers.

Among the main components of the oil are mustakone, α-pinene, β-pinene, caryophyllene oxide, trans-pinocarveol, myrtenal, myrtenol, ledol, cyperotundone, and α-cyperone, though no single element dominates. A rhizome oil sample was dominated by terpenoids, including oxygenated sesquiterpenes at 47.49%. The main representative substances of that sample were muskatone (11.6%), cyclocolorenone (10.3%), α-pinene (8.26%), pogostol (6.36%), α-copaene (4.83%) and caryophyllene oxide (4.82%). In oils of the stems and rhizomes cultivated in Pará, the major components were α-pinene (0.7-12.9%), mustakone (7.3-14.5%) and caryophyllene oxide (4.6-28.5%). Material collected in African countries such as Egypt gave oils with different main compositions, including γ-patchoulene, caryophyllene oxide and α-cadinol. Water stress, nutrition, soil and climate conditions, and other abiotic factors can be responsible for these variations.

When the essential oil is removed from the rhizome, organic solid waste is generated that still contains significant amounts of metabolites with medicinal activity. The ethanolic extract of this residue contains mainly sesquiterpenes, with corymbolone (14.25%), cyclocolorenone (9.75%) and cadalene (8.36%) as its three major components. The rhizomes are used as a source of herbal medicines for fever and seizures and in the treatment of malaria in traditional medicine. In local Amazonian medical tradition, priprioca may be harmful to pregnant women, with adverse effects possibly including miscarriage. Priprioca fibers and rhizomes are also used in crafts.

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