University of Szeged Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences Programme of Pharmacognosy Department of Pharmacognosy (original) (raw)
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Medicinal plants: traditions of yesterday and drugs of tomorrow
Molecular aspects of Medicine, 2006
Plants have provided man with all his needs in terms of shelter, clothing, food, flavours and fragrances as not the least, medicines. Plants have formed the basis of sophisticated traditional medicine systems among which are Ayurvedic, Unani, Chinese amongst others. These systems of medicine have given rise to some important drugs still in use today. Among the lesserknown systems of medicines are the African and Australian, Central and South American amongst others. The search for new molecules, nowadays, has taken a slightly different route where the science of ethnobotany and ethnopharmacognosy are being used as guide to lead the chemist towards different sources and classes of compounds. It is in this context that the flora of the tropics by virtue of its diversity has a significant role to play in being able to provide new leads. Nonetheless the issue of sovereignty and property rights should also be addressed in line with the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD). This paper highlights the above, provides an overview of the classes of molecules present in plants and gives some examples of the types of molecules and secondary metabolites that have led to the development of these pharmacologically active extracts. The paper also presents some data on the use of plant products in the development of functional foods, addresses the needs for validation of plant extracts and always stressing on safety, efficacy and quality of phyto-medications.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2005
An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants marketed in La Paz and El Alto cities in the Bolivian Andes, reported medicinal information for about 129 species, belonging to 55 vascular plant families and one uncertain lichen family. The most important family was Asteraceae with 22 species, followed by Fabaceae s.l. with 11, and Solanaceae with eight. More than 90 general medicinal indications were recorded to treat a wide range of illnesses and ailments. The highest number of species and applications were reported for digestive system disorders (stomach ailments and liver problems), musculoskeletal body system (rheumatism and the complex of contusions, luxations, sprains, and swellings), kidney and other urological problems, and gynecological disorders. Some medicinal species had magic connotations, e.g. for cleaning and protection against ailments, to bring good luck, or for Andean offerings to Pachamama, ‘Mother Nature’. In some indications, the separation between medicinal and magic plants was very narrow. Most remedies were prepared from a single species, however some applications were always prepared with a mixture of plants, e.g. for abortion, and the complex of luxations and swellings. The part of the plant most frequently used was the aerial part (29.3%) and the leaves (20.7%). The remedies were mainly prepared as a decoction (47.5%) and an infusion (28.6%). Most of species were native from Bolivia, but an important 36.4% of them were introduced from different origins. There exists a high informant consensus for species and their medicinal indications. The present urban phytotherapy represents a medicinal alternative to treat main health problems and remains closer to the cultural and social context of this society.
III WOCMAP Congress on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants - Volume 1: Bioprospecting and Ethnopharmacology, 2005
The project encompasses plants from the following families: Palmae, Lamiaceae, Acanthaceae, Leguminosae and Gesneriaceae. Regarding the pharmacology, several models have been used like antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, molluscicidal, anti-diabetes, anti-microbial and nitric oxide production inhibition. Results showed that utilizing ethnopharmacological information is a very important way to search for new bioactive molecules. It is noteworthy to mention the activity of Açaí fruit extracts in the inhibition of nitric oxide production. It was also possible to identify flavonoids responsible for the antidiabetic activity in plants belonging to the family Leguminosae. Acanthaceae extracts showed important antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities, as they are very rich in steroids and triterpenes. The same could be said about plants belonging to Lamiaceae that gave several examples of this kind of pharmacological property due to its steroid and triterpenoid compounds. One specie of Lamiaceae also produced a great amount of dihydroxylated triterpenoids with great molluscicidal potencial. Palmae species, rich in fatty acids and steroids led to enriched extracts responsible for the anti-BPH activities. Plants belonging to Gesneriaceae were antioxidant due to their flavonoid content. Polar extracts and isolated molecules, isolated from many species were able to donate hydrogen radical to DPPH.
Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2009
The science of ethnobotany is reviewed in light of its multidisciplinary contributions to natural product research for the development of pharmaceuticals and pharmacological tools. Some of the issues reviewed involve ethical and cultural perspectives of healthcare and medicinal plants. While these are not usually part of the discussion of pharmacology, cultural concerns potentially provide both challenges and insight for field and laboratory researchers. Plant evolutionary issues are also considered as they relate to development of plant chemistry and accessing this through ethnobotanical methods. The discussion includes presentation of a range of CNS-active medicinal plants that have been recently examined in the field, laboratory and/or clinic. Each of these plants is used to illustrate one or more aspects about the valuable roles of ethnobotany in pharmacological research. We conclude with consideration of mutually beneficial future collaborations between field ethnobotanists and pharmacologists.
Study of indigenous/traditional medicinal plant knowledge-An endeavour towards new drug discovery
African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines, 2015
Background: The documentation and phytochemical screening of medicinal plants has been an important way over the years for the discovery of new drugs and pharmaceutical products. Bandipora, one of the northern districts of Kashmir, India, is rich in ethnic and biological diversity. Owing to increasing demand and subsequent pressure on medicinal plants, it is highly imperative to document their traditional uses, understand their distribution and diversity, and highlight their availability in their natural habitats. To this end, the present study was carried out to elicit a firsthand wealth of information on the traditional medicinal uses of plants practiced by the local populace of this remote district. Material and Methods: Frequent field trips and plant collections were made between March 2011 to October 2012 and the methods used to gather ethnomedicinal data included semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and walk-in-the-woods with local knowledgeable elders, traditional practitioners (Bhoeris) and tribals (Gujjars and Bakkerwals). The collected data was analyzed with three quantitative tools viz. the informant consensus factor (F ic), fidelity level (FL) and use value (UV). Results: A total of 131 plant species belonging to 120 genera and 59 different families were found to be used as remedies for curing various human and livestock ailments. Out of 131 species, angiosperms comprised the highest number (124 species) followed by pteridophytes (4 species) and gymnosperms (3 species). Two dominant families were Asteraceae (16 species) and Lamiaceae (9 species). The highest informant's consensus factor (F ic) value was 0.95 for insect stings, followed by dermatological, hair ailments, anticancer/tumor (0.90 each), which indicated best agreement among informant knowledge on medicinal plant used to treat ailments in these categories while the lowest F ic value of liver disorders and fever (0.63 each) indicated less agreement among informant knowledge on medicinal plant used to treat ailments in these categories. The 100% FL was expressed by 6 plant species for dermatological disorders followed by 3, 1, 1, 1 and 1 for mouth ailments, cardiovascular, joint ailments, gastrointestinal and insect stings category respectively. Use value was high for Artemisia absinthium (0.70), Cannabis sativa and Saussurea costus (0.47 each), Calendula officinalis (0.45) and Taraxacum officinale (0.39). The lowest use value was calculated for Ranunculus arvensis (0.01), with only three people reported the utility. Conclusion: Since drug discovery from medicinal plants continues to provide new and important leads against various pharmacological targets, an effort to collect medicinal plants and their associated traditional knowledge could serve an important tool for the discovery new potent compounds because if the documented plants are subjected to thorough phytochemical and pharmacological investigations, new potent leads against various pharmacological targets could definitely be discovered as there is no doubt that botanic gems are still found in the world.
An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by inhabitants of Holguín, Eastern Region, Cuba
2018
The present study was aimed to archive the etnhnomedicinal knowledge of plants used by inhabitants of seven villages of Holguín, Eastern region, Cuba. The ethnomedicinal information was collected through interviews. The collected data were analyzed through use value (UV), informant consensus factor (Fic) and fidelity level (FL). A total of 195 species of plants distributed in 166 genera belonging to 70 families were identified for the treatment of 17 ailment categories. The most treated conditions were digestive and liver disorders. The most important species according to their use value were Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Br. ex Britton & P. Wilson (0.236) and Annona muricata L. (0.194). Cancer and tumors had the Fic value of 0.94. A total of 19 species has a highest FL of 100 percent. This was the first ethnobotanical survey conducted in Holguín region, which will contribute to preserve valuable information of medicinal plants that may otherwise be lost to future generations. Resumen: E...