Antonino De Natale | Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II" (original) (raw)

Contributions in conferences by Antonino De Natale

Book chapters by Antonino De Natale

MINISTERO PER I BENI E LE ATTIVITà CULTURALI • UFFICIO STUDI Atlante del giardino italiano 1750-1... more MINISTERO PER I BENI E LE ATTIVITà CULTURALI • UFFICIO STUDI Atlante del giardino italiano 1750-1940 Dizionario biografico di architetti, giardinieri, botanici, committenti, letterati e altri protagonisti Italia centrale e meridionale a cura di Vincenzo Cazzato ISTITUTO POLIGRAFICO E ZECCA DELLO STATO LIbRERIA DELLO STATO ATLANTE DEL gIARDINO ITALIANO • 1750-1940 Dizionario biografico di architetti, giardinieri, botanici, committenti, letterati e altri protagonisti a cura di Vincenzo Cazzato L'Atlante del giardino italiano si pone sulla scia dell'analogo progetto francese Créateurs de paysages et de jardins en France -coordinato da Michel Racine -che nel 2001 e nel 2002 ha portato alla pubblicazione di due volumi: il primo dal Rinascimento al Settecento; il secondo dall'Ottocento ai nostri giorni.

Papers by Antonino De Natale

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013

This study aims to evaluate the activity of Italian vulnerary plants against the most important o... more This study aims to evaluate the activity of Italian vulnerary plants against the most important oral pathogenic bacteria. This estimate was accomplished through a fivefold process: (a) a review of ethnobotanical and microbiological data concerning the Italian vulnerary plants; (b) the development of a scoring system to rank the plants; (c) the comparative assessment of microbiological properties; (d) the assessment of potential cytotoxic effects on keratinocyte-like cells and gingival fibroblasts in culture by XTT cell viability assay; (e) clinical evaluation of the most suitable plant extract as antibacterial agent in a home-made mouthwash. The study assays hexane (H), ethanol (E), and water (W) extracts from 72 plants. The agar diffusion method was used to evaluate the activity against Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sobrinus, Lactobacillus casei, and Actinomyces viscosus. Twenty-two plants showed appreciable activity. The extracts showing the strongest antibacterial power were those from Cotinus coggygria Scop., Equisetum hyemale L., Helichrysum litoreum Guss, Juniperus communis L., and Phyllitis scolopendrium (L.) Newman subsp. scolopendrium. The potential cytotoxic effect of these extracts was assessed. On the basis of these observations, a mouth-rinse containing the ethanolic extract of H. litoreum has been tested in vivo, resulting in reduction of the salivary concentration of S. mutans.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to in vivo test the effectiveness of an experimental... more Objectives: The aim of the present study was to in vivo test the effectiveness of an experimental green tea mouth-rinse in reducing salivary levels of Streptococci Mutans and Lactobacilli. Methods: 80 healthy patients with an age range from 10 to 18 years were recruited and randomly distributed into 2 Groups [Group A (n=40) and Group B (n=40)]. Stimulated saliva samples were collected from each subject at baseline (T0) and the plates with the samples were incubated at 37C for 48 hours on S. Mutans and Lactobacilli sensitive agar medium. Salivary colonisation of S. Mutans and Lactobacilli levels were investigated by standard Caries Risk Test (CRT) Bacteria kits. Group A subjects were instructed to rinse with 40ml of an experimental green tea mouth-rinse, for 1 minute, 3 times a day for a week, whereas Group B subjects similarly rinsed, but with 40ml of a placebo mouth-rinse. After the fourth (T1) and seventh (T2) day treatment, new saliva samples were collected and colony counts (CFU...

Polyphenols occurring in cocoa, coffee and tea can have a role in the prevention of cariogenic pr... more Polyphenols occurring in cocoa, coffee and tea can have a role in the prevention of cariogenic processes, due to their antibacterial action. Cocoa polyphenol pentamers significantly reduce biofilm formation and acid production by Streptococcus mutans and S. sanguinis. In the same way, trigonelline, caffeine and chlorogenic acid occurring in green and roasted coffee interfere with S. mutans adsorption to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite beads. Studies carried out on green, oolong and black tea indicate that tea polyphenols exert an anti-caries effect via an anti-microbial mode-of-action, and galloyl esters of (−)-epicatechin, (−)-epigallocatechin and (−)-gallocatechin show increasing antibacterial activities. The anti-cariogenic effects against α-haemolytic streptococci showed by polyphenols from cocoa, coffee, and tea suggest further studies to a possible application of these beverages in the prevention of pathogenesis of dental caries.

Background: The Ethnobotanical Collection from the Libyan territories of the botanist Alessandro ... more Background: The Ethnobotanical Collection from the Libyan territories of the botanist Alessandro Trotter is included in the Oratio Comes Botanical Museum at the Faculty of Agraria at the University Federico II in Naples. Trotter explored different territories of Libya, mainly Tripolitania, between 1912-1924, collecting plant specimens and the drugs most frequently sold in the markets. The Libyan herbarium currently includes over 2300 sheets of mounted and accessioned plants. The drugs, mostly acquired by Trotter from Tripolitanian markets, were identified and packed in 87 paper sheets or boxes. Trotter added ethnobotanical information for each species when available.

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013

A manuscript classified as anonymous herbal was found in the Oratorio of Girolamini Library, in N... more A manuscript classified as anonymous herbal was found in
the Oratorio of Girolamini Library, in Naples, Italy. A close
look to the manuscript revealed that it was a latin translation
(end 12th-13th Century) of the Ishaq al Israili Liber de
diaetis particularibus, probably copied at Montecassino.
The manuscript is written in Gothic characters, however
there are still some substantial elements of a late Carolingian
minuscule of transition. The importance of the De
diaetis in the history of Western herbal medicine and dietetics
is discussed, with a focus on the role of barley as a
key plant of Ancient Greek therapy. A parchment sheet is
inserted in the manuscript and contains fragments of De
taxone and Liber medicinae ex animalibus pecoribus et bestiis
vel avibus. The position of the insertion seems not casual,
and has lead to the hypothesis that it could represent an integration
to the manuscript information on the importance
of some animals in human nutrition.

During a survey of the historical collections stored at the Herbarium of the Facolta’ di Agraria,... more During a survey of the historical collections stored at the Herbarium of the Facolta’ di Agraria, Universita’ di
Napoli (PORUN), we found 170 specimens of unknown provenance mixed within the surviving Domenico
Cirillo’s herbarium (18th century). These 170 specimens were strikingly different from the rest and had never
been studied previously. From an initial close examination, we suggested that they may date back to the 16th
to 17th century, and likely have been part of Ferrante Imperato’s historical herbarium. To test our initial hypothesis,
we employed an empirical approach to assess the age and provenance of these specimens. First of all,
we assembled the available literature regarding the history of Italian botanical collections and collectors from
the 16th to the 18th century in the political context of those years. We integrated our historical reconstruction
with results obtained by radiocarbon analyses of the specimens and mounting paper, and watermark and paleographic
analyses. Our combined results are consistent with the hypothesis that these unknown specimens
may have been part of an 80 volumes herbarium that belonged to Ferrante Imperato, one of the earliest natural
historians of our times. Our integrated methodology is novel in the field of historical specimen research and
was critical in generating our final conclusions.

Background: Ethnobotanical studies generally describe the traditional knowledge of a territory ac... more Background: Ethnobotanical studies generally describe the traditional knowledge of a territory according to a "hic et nunc" principle. The need of approaching this field also embedding historical data has been frequently acknowledged. With their long history of civilization some regions of the Mediterranean basin seem to be particularly suited for an historical approach to be adopted. Campania, a region of southern Italy, has been selected for a database implementation containing present and past information on plant uses.

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Ruta is a genus of Rutaceae family. It features mainly shrubby pl... more Ethnopharmacological relevance: Ruta is a genus of Rutaceae family. It features mainly shrubby plants, native to the Mediterranean region and present in traditional medicine of this region since Antiquity. The three most diffused species Ruta chalepensis L., Ruta graveolens L., and Ruta montana (L.) L., are morphologically poorly differentiated and were probably interchangeably used during Antiquity. Aim of the study: Hippocratic and contemporary medical applications of the Ruta genus in the Mediterranean were compared to check if they result from a continuity of use from the ancient times to nowadays. Results: Ruta spp. was mainly employed in medical preparations by Hippocratic physicians as an abortifacient and emmenagogue. In addition to gynaecological conditions, in several treatises of the Corpus Hippocraticum Ruta spp. were also recommended as a specific remedy against pulmonary diseases. Ruta spp. leaves and also roots and seeds, were administered for internal use by Hippocratic physicians after having been soaked in wine or mixed with honey or its derivatives. Contemporary traditional uses of Ruta spp. have been assessed in detail in the whole Mediterranean area. Conclusion: Nowadays, Ruta spp. is used to treat different conditions but, as a general rule, the external uses are preferred as the toxicity of the plant is widely acknowledged.

Indications for the speed and timing of past altitudinal treeline shifts are often contradictory.... more Indications for the speed and timing of past altitudinal treeline shifts are often contradictory. Partly, this may be due to interpretation difficulties of pollen records, which are generally regional rather than local proxies. We used pedoanthracology, the identification and dating of macroscopic soil charcoal, to study vegetation history around the treeline in the northern Ecuadorian Andes. Pedoanthracology offers a complementary method to pollen-based vegetation reconstructions by providing records with high spatial detail on a local scale. The modern vegetation is tussock grass páramo (tropical alpine vegetation) and upper montane cloud forest, and the treeline is located at ca. 3600 m. Charcoal was collected from soils in the páramo (at 3890 and 3810 m) and in the forest (at 3540 m), and represents a sequence for the entire Holocene. The presence of páramo taxa throughout all three soil profiles, especially in combination with the absence of forest taxa, shows that the treeline in the study area has moved up to its present position only late in the Holocene (after ca. 5850 cal years BP). The treeline may have been situated between 3600 m and 3800 m at some time after ca. 4900 cal years BP, or it may never have been higher than it is today. The presence of charcoal throughout the profiles also shows that fires have occurred in this area at least since the beginning of the Holocene. These results contradict interpretations of palaeological data from Colombia, which suggest a rapid treeline rise at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. They also contradict the hypothesis that man-made fires have destroyed large extents of forest above the modern treeline. Instead, páramo fires have probably contributed to the slowness of treeline rise during the Holocene.

The flora of the beaches of the National Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano has been assessed in ... more The flora of the beaches of the National Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano has been assessed in order to have a complete and actual list of vascular species. A total of 302 entities has been recorded; comparing these results with the floristic data pubblished in papers referring to the same area, new species has been detected, but 44 previously recorded entities have not been confirmed. Concerning the new records, the presence of Anagallis arvensis L. subsp. parviflora (Hoffmagg. et Link) Cout., Datura innoxia Miller and Gazania rigens (L.) Gaertner resulted remarkable, being 3 of the 5 new records for the Campania region. According to the Mediterranean-type climate of the area, the flora showed a high percentage of both Steno- and Euri-Mediterranean species; very high resulted the percentage of Cosmopolitian entities (24,3 % of the total) with a 4 % coming from the surroinding crop areas. Few Endemic species have been recorded (1 %) mainly due to the type of investigated habitats and also because of the presence of several anthropic activities mainly during summer time.

An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in the territory of Montecorvino Rovella (MR), inland Camp... more An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in the territory of Montecorvino Rovella (MR), inland Campania, Italy. Information on traditional uses of 95 botanical taxa was collected; more than half of which are used to treat a wide range of diseases, ranging from pains of different origins, to skin problems, and diseases of the respiratory system. For each medicinal species, data were collected including the vernacular names, preparation, plant part, and therapeutic use. Twenty-four out of the 57 medicinal plants listed have a therapeutic use not previously reported in Campania and neighbouring regions. Plant uses by Montecorvino inhabitants are compared with those described in medical and botanical literature by Campanian authors from the last three centuries.

The flora of the Island of Ischia (Bay of Naples) ― A survey of the flora of the island of Ischia... more The flora of the Island of Ischia (Bay of Naples) ― A survey of the flora of the island of Ischia, in the Bay of Naples, southern Italy was carried out through field research and research in herbaria and in the literature. The flora was found to comprise 668 taxa, including 150 new taxa for Ischia. But 333 taxa that had been recorded previously were not found. This loss of species from the flora probably reflects the extensive disturbance by humans since ancient times. On the island still survive some rare taxa and interesting species under a phytogeographic point of view such as Limonium inarimense (Guss.) Pignatti, Woodwardia radicans (L.) Sm. and Cyperus polystachyos Rottb. while Bassia saxicola (Guss.) A. J. Scott could not be found in its locus classicus on the maritime cliffs. Analyses of the flora in terms of life forms and phytochorological spectra show that the flora of Ischia is dominated by Therophytes (42%) and Mediterranean species (43,6%). A lower number of Italian endemics (2.4%) were found than in the other areas of the Bay of Naples. This is probably related to the young age of the volcanic soils of the island while the high number of widespread species (30,7%) may also be probably related to disturbance from human exploitation. Eurasian and eastern species are less numerous than in the other areas of the coastal belt of the Bay of Naples. Compared to the second half of XIX century, the flora of Ischia shows a decrease of cosmopolitan and widespread species, probably due to the decrease of agricultural exploitation of the island.

The urban flora of Naples-This work presents the results of a study concerning the urban flora of... more The urban flora of Naples-This work presents the results of a study concerning the urban flora of Naples. The study was integrated with a careful bibliographic comparasion aimed at pointing out the presence of entities alredy signaled in other floristic works. The study regarded works published from the end of the eighteenth century to today. The whole floristic contingent of the urban areas in Naples is of 984 entities. Only 659 entities of this contingent belong to the present flora; for 178 of these entities we present the first report for the area under study. We did not find again 481 entities already reported for the same area. New data are besides reported on the distribution of Silene apetala Willd. and Eragrostis minor Host. The urban flora of Naples present middle mediterranean character (34,6%); togheter with antropic character emerging from the high presence of wide distribution species (34%) and the reduced presence of endemic entities (2,1%).