Traditional Plants Used in Southern Brazil as a Source to Wound Healing Therapies

In southern Brazil, the biodiversity is great and the traditional use of medicinal plants for wound healing has been documented in ethnobotanical studies and pharmacological studies have assessed their wound properties and phytochemistry. Therefore, this study evaluated ethnobotanical surveys regarding medicinal plants used in southern Brazil for wound healing and studies about the healing properties of these plants published between 2000 and 2022. To retrieve articles related to the study, Web of Science, PubMed (NLM), Open Access Journals, Scielo, Lilacs, and Google Scholar, with keywords including medicinal plants, wound healing, and South of Brazil, have been used. As a result, 73 medicinal plants belonging to 39 families were found in ethnobotanical surveys as a traditional resource used for wound healing in southern Brazil, 15 of which were cited more than once. Besides, 14 of these 15 plants were also used as healing agents worldwide. The most cited plant with healing actions in southern Brazil was Symphytum officinale L. (comfrey). From 2000 to date, 44 articles scientifically demonstrated the wound-healing effects of the southern Brazilian plants found in ethnobotanical surveys reviewed. The folk medicine of southern Brazil presents a variety of medicinal plants for wound-healing purposes, and scientific data were found for some of those plants. However, the wound-healing properties of many plants have yet to be investigated, and the current literature still needs more phytochemical information about the plants studied. Aside from this, the future focus should be on the standardization of herbal extracts, and further research is required to investigate the pharmacological mechanisms. Clinical research in this area remains in its infancy and warrants more robust further clinical studies.     

Plant knowledge of the Shuhi in the Hengduan Mountains, Southwest China

The Shuhi are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group of around 1,500 people living exclusively in the Shuiluo Valley, southwest China. We documented their plant knowledge concerning wild collected species, and analyzed food, medicine, and ritual uses. Overall, uses, collection sites, and use frequencies of 136 plant species were documented. The plants were divided in fodder (46 spp.), food (43 spp.), medicine (27 spp.), ritual plants (20 spp.), fuelwood (17 spp.), plants used for construction (8 spp.), ornamentals (2 spp.), and "others" (34 spp.). Food plants mainly consist of fruits and leafy vegetables, and the uses are comparable with those of other ethnic groups in the area. Knowledge about medicinal plants is relatively limited, since traditional Shuhi healers use ritual and other healing methods instead of medicinal plants. Ritual plants play an important role relative to human well-being. Villagers and ritualists use them to keep the environment clean of malevolent spirits and to maintain a good relationship with the deities. All habitats, from the dry shrub vegetation at the valley bottom up to the alpine shrub, are used for plant collection, but 87% of all species are collected in the near vicinity of the villages around the fields and in the dry shrub vegetation. Finally, we postulate two main factors influencing wild plant use among the Shuhi: cultural values and accessibility.     

In vitro production and identification of autotetraploids of Scutellaria baicalensis

The roots of Scutellaria baicalensis are a major traditional Chinese medicine. We report research on induction, characteristics and chemical analysis of polyploid plants of S. baicalensis. Immersing calluses in 0.2% colchicine solution for 12 h prior to culture induced a high number of tetraploid plants. The induction rate reached as high as 40% of treated calluses. More than 50 lines of tetraploid plants were obtained. All tetraploid plants showed typical polyploidy characteristics. Twenty selected tetraploid lines were transferred to the field for determination of morphological characteristics and for chemical assays. Seven elite lines have been selected for further selection and breeding into new varieties for commercial production.     

Extracts affecting mitotic division in root-tip meristematic cells

Some species of Psychotria (Rubiaceae) are important in herbal medicine, where their extracts are used internally for infections of the female reproductive system, bronchitis, gastrointestinal disturbances, skin irritations, tumors, ulcers, and eye disturbances. The antiproliferative and genotoxic effects of Psychotria myriantha Mull. Arg. and P. leiocarpa Cham. et Schlecht infusions on the Allium cepa L. cell cycle were evaluated. The teas were prepared by infusing the leaves in distilled water, in two concentrations: 1.13 mg/mL and 6.78 mg/mL. Three groups of four bulbs were used for each Psychotria species. After the bulbs rooted in distilled water, they were transferred to the teas for 24 hours, except for the control that stayed in water. The rootlets were then collected, fixed in ethanol-acetic acid (3:1) for 24 hours, and stored in 70% ethanol. For each group of bulbs, 4000 cells were analyzed, calculating the mitotic indexes, submitting them to statistic analysis, using the χ ² test (p = 0.05). The results showed a decrease in mitotic index with an increase in tea concentration in both species. In P. leiocarpa, the mitotic index values differed significantly between the control and concentration of 6.78 mg/mL (χ ² = 9.863). For P. myriantha, the values referring to the mitotic index differed greatly between the control and the treatments (χ ² = 124.8). With this study, it was determined that P. myriantha and P. leiocarpa infusions possess antiproliferative effects on the A. cepa cell cycle, and teas of P. myriantha also have genotoxic activity.     

Morphology and anatomy of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Echinacea purpurea,E. angustifolia,E. pallida</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Parthenium integrifolium</Emphasis>

The Echinacea species are native to the Atlantic drainage area of the United States of America and Canada. They have been introduced as cultivated medicinal plants in Europe. Echinacea purpurea, E. angustifolia and E. pallida are the species most often used medicinally due to their immune-stimulating properties. This review is focused on morphological and anatomical characteristics of E. purpurea, E. angustifolia, E. pallida, because various species are often misidentified and specimens are often confused in the medicinal plant market.     

Plant harvest impacts and sustainability in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, S.W. Uganda

Sustainable utilization of forest resources has been widely adopted as a conservation strategy, but that sustainability has rarely been empirically tested. Plant resource extraction from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) by local communities has been legalized and controlled in areas called multiple use zones (MUZs). Through a series of systematic transects and plots, we determined harvest impacts of two mostly harvested medicinal plants of Rytigynia kigeziensis VERDC.l and Ocotea usambarensis Engl in BINP. The plots were placed in MUZs and non‐MUZs. Data on biomass production and population dynamics were collected from the plots. We also analysed forest society records for the past 3 years to determine annual plant resource offtakes from BINP. Bark production of the two plants in MUZs and non‐MUZs are not significantly different, suggesting an insignificant change in bark production because of bark harvest. Annual bark harvests of the two plants are between 0.26–1.64% of available bark stock. These are too low to cause any noticeable negative impacts and are sustainable. Annual bark harvest of R. kigeziensis and O. usambarensis should be increased from the original 1% to about 3% of available bark stock to allow more involvement of the marginalized poor people like Batwa in BINP.     

Chromium in a series of Portuguese plants used in the herbal treatment of diabetes

Chromium (Cr³⁺) is an essential micronutrient for humans. Its main action is thought to be the regulation of blood sugar, because chromium deficiency is associated with diabetic-like symptoms, and chromium supplementation is correlated with increased glucose tolerance and insulin sensivity. Some Portuguese aromatic plants are utilized as tisanes by diabetic people as medicinal plants. Their active principle is not yet known, and the importance of their chromium content in the claimed therapeutic properties should not be discarded. Therefore, determination of chromium in some Portuguese medicinal plants was performed by flameless atomic absorption. All the analyzed plants contain chromium at the normal level for this element, but the plants used to prepare tisanes to help diabetic conditions contain higher levels (2.2 μg/g dry wt ±0.88;n=11) than the others (0.88 μg/g dry wt±0.18;n=17).     

The genus Laggera (Asteraceae) – Ethnobotanical and Ethnopharmacological Information,Chemical Composition as well as Biological Activities of Its Essential Oils and Extracts: A Review

Most species of the genus Laggera are often used in traditional and folk medicines for the treatment of jaundice, inflammation, leukemia, removing phlegm, bronchitis and bacterial diseases. The essential oils obtained from Laggera plants are rich sources of oxygenated monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. Among oxygenated monoterpenes, aromatic ether 2,5‐dimethoxy‐p‐cymene is the most abundant and dominant compound of many essential oils of the Laggera species. Till today, to the best of our knowledge, chemical compounds of the essential oils and/or extracts of only eight Laggera species were reported from different countries. Thus, this review presents the chemical compositions and biological activities of the essential oils of these plants studied in thirteen countries. In addition, it discusses the reported ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological information as well as biological activities of the extracts and some of the isolated compounds of Laggera plants species.     

Medicinal plants and regional traders in Mexico: physiographic differences and conservational challenge

A dynamic exchange of wild medicinal plants between different physiographic areas in Mexico is documented through the study of two regional trade warehouses. These warehouses receive medicinal species from their own botanical environments (31%) but also from other remote places of gathering (69%). A list of medicinal plants from external sources at these warehouses is presented, including their zones of origin and uses as reported by traders. Ecological diversity allows the configuration of a commercial network between regional traders; market produce varies according to the physiographic zones involved. Regional warehouses and traders are the basic units in this network and link diverse economies, natural environments and cultures. Within this setting, according to merchants’ testimony, the access to some wild, external species is progressively hampered, as it is the case ofValeriana edulis orSmilax aristolochiaefolia, as a result of increased national and foreign demand. Mediante el estudio de dos centros regionales de acopio de plantas medicinales se detecta un dinámico intercambio de especies silvestres entre diversas provincias fisiográficas mexicanas. Estas bodegas reciben plantas provenientes de su propia región (31%), pero tambión de zonas remotas de colecta (69%). Se presenta una relatión de especies provenientes de zonas lejanas de acuerdo con sus fuentes y usos según los acopiadores. La diversidad ecológica permite la conformatión de una red comercial cuya oferta diferencial puede ser analizada en términos espaciales a través de las provincias fisiogréficas involucra-das. Los centros de acopio y acopiadores regionales constituyen unidades básicas en esta red, enlazando diversas economías, ambientes naturales y culturas. En este contexto, la disponibi-lidad de ciertas especies silvestres en los últimos aúos ha disminuúdo de acuerdo con los acopiadores, por ejemplo Valeriana edulis o Smilax aristolochiaefolia, dada una creciente de-manda national y extranjera.     

Diversity of fungal endophytes in some medicinal plants of Himachal Pradesh,India

Fungal endophytes were isolated from surface sterilised leaf segments of five medicinal plants collected from Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh, India. A total of 373 fungal strains belonging to 15 fungal genera and 18 species, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. clavatus, A. variecolor, Penicillium chrsogenum, Alternaria alternata, Curvularia lunata, Haplosporium sp., Phoma sp., Nigrospora sp., Colletotrichum sp., Cladosporium sp., Stemphylium sp., Fusarium sp., Geotrichum sp., Phomopsis sp., Trichoderma sp., Rhizopus sp. and some sterile mycelium were isolated from all the plants. The relative frequency, isolation rate and colonisation rates of endophytes were used to study the endophytic diversity. The results showed that the highest colonisation rate (93.05%) was observed in Adhathoda vasica, while it was 91.66% in Ocimum sanctum, 85% in Viola odorata, 82.81% Cannabis sativa and lowest (61.11%) in Withania somnifera. Moreover, reading the richness and diversity of the endophytic fungi, the highest was obtained for O. sanctum, W. somnifera and C. sativa having eight species each, while lowest (6 and 4) was obtained from A. vasica and V. odorata, respectively. As the role of endophytic organisms in defensive mechanisms of plants is now well established, the present study is an important step to find new and interesting endophytes among the medicinal plants.     

Callus induction and shoot regeneration in Sempervivum tectorum

Leaf and shoot explants of Sempervivum tectorum L., taken from 14- and 30-day-old plants germinated in vitro, have been studied by using Murashige-Skoog and White basal media with cytokinins (benzyladenine, kinetin) and auxins (indoleacetic acid, naphthaleneacetic acid, indolebutyric acid) in various concentrations. Explants taken from 14-day-old plants died but 30-day-old leaves and shoots produced yellow and soft, as well as green and hard calluses on Murashige-Skoog medium with 4.4–8.8 M benzyladenine and 0.57 M indoleacetic acid. Shoot organogenesis was induced from green, hard callus in a medium with 2.2 M benzyladenine plus either 1.1 M indoleacetic acid or 2.5 M indolebutyric acid. Whole plants were grown on Murashige-Skoog medium without plant growth regulators. On the other hand, White medium was not suitable for raising Sempervivum tectorum in vitro.Abbreviations BA benzyladenine - IAA indoleacetic acid - IBA indolebutyric acid - MS Murashige-Skoog - NAA napthaleneacetic acid - W White     

Approaches to valuing plant medicines: the economics of culture or the culture of economics?

This paper explores the scope and limitations of the economic valuation of biodiversity. How and why is this a useful exercise, but in what way is its usefulness constrained? These issues are discussed with particular reference to cultural values within the context of medicinal plants and phytopharmaceutical development. It is argued that whilst economic valuation is an extremely important and necessary aid to formulating conservation policy, it probably is not that informative about the motivations of people in their use of certain natural resources. This is especially true for the case of medicinal plants where belief systems about the causes of disease and therefore strategies for healing are important. The paper reviews studies which have attempted to put monetary values on medicinal plants and the option values of pharmaceuticals developed from plants, and discusses the applicability of the various approaches. The implications for conservation policy, and for likely collaboration between social and natural scientists is discussed.     

Resprouting of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Echinacea angustifolia</Emphasis> Augments Sustainability of Wild Medicinal Plant Populations

Resprouting of Echinacea angustifolia Augments Sustainability of Wild Medicinal Plant Populations. Overharvest of wild Echinacea species root has been a significant concern to the herbal industry. Harvesters of wild Echinacea angustifolia showed us that even after harvesting the top 15 to 20 cm of root, some plants resprout. We marked locations of harvested plants at sites in Kansas and Montana and reexamined them two years later to see if they resprouted from remaining root reserves. Approximately 50% of the roots resprouted at both Kansas and Montana sampling sites, despite droughty weather conditions in Montana. The length of root harvested significantly affected the ability of the plant to resprout. Those plants that were more shallowly harvested and had less root length removed were more likely to resprout. These data indicate that echinacea stands can recover over time from intensive harvest if periods of nonharvest occur. Our echinacea harvest study emphasizes that the entire biology of medicinal plants must be considered when evaluating their conservation status.     

Medicinal plants of Erute county,Lira district,Uganda with particular reference to their conservation

A medicinal plant study was carried out in eighteen parishes and 54 villages of Erute county, Lira district, Uganda. Parishes and villages were selected using stratified random sampling techniques. Questionnaires, interviews and discussions with the local people were used to obtain information on the names of the plants, their medicinal uses and conservation methods. The number of the medicinal plants species used was 180 belonging to 144 genera and 57 families of flowering plants. The major families recorded for medicinal purpose included Fabaceae (37 species), Asteraceae (26 species), Euphorbiaceae (eleven species), Vitaceae (eight species), Verbenaceae (seven species), Poaceae (six species), Solanaceae (five species), and Rubiaceae (four species). There is a need for putting in place measures to conserve these plants. Unfortunately, most of the healers or users were not interested in cultivation of the plants. The situation could worsen with the social changes and demand for land for agriculture in the district.     

西藏米林县珍稀濒危药用植物优先保护评价

通过设置样方和路线踏查,对米林县的野生药用植物资源进行调查,并利用多个指标定量计算各濒危植物的优先保护值,确定其珍稀濒危物种优先保护序列,对珍稀濒危药用植物的种类、药效和入药部位多样性进行了分析。结果表明:米林县共有药用保护植物37科72属97种,分别占药用植物总科数、总属数、总种数的48.05%、32.00%、30.70%。其中,被子植物有35科69属95种,裸子植物有2科2属2种。97种珍稀濒危药用植物中,处于Ⅰ级保护的药用植物有9科11属11种,处于Ⅱ级保护的药用植物有18科25属27种,处于Ⅲ级保护的药用植物有28科46属59种。从珍稀濒危药用植物的药效来看,清热功效和补虚功效的药用植物较多,分别有32种和20种,各占濒危药用植物总种数的32.99%、20.62%;从药用部位统计,根与根茎类和全草类的药用植物分别有34种和26种,占珍稀濒危药用植物总数比例较大,分别为35.05%、26.80%。该区评估的优先保护等级和濒危等级与保护植物名录有一定差异,桃儿七在本区的保护等级由Ⅲ级升为Ⅰ级,另外有7种植物的濒危程度在本区加强。基于调查和研究结果分析了米林县珍稀濒危药用植物的致濒原因,并就此提出了一些具体的保护建议和措施。     

不同药用植物根际土壤原核微生物多样性研究

为研究不同药用植物根际土壤中的原核微生物多样性,分别采集白术(Atractylodes macrocephala)、白芍(Paeonia sterniana)、牡丹(Paeonia suffruticosa)、玄参(Scrophularia ningpoensis)四种药用植物的根际土壤以及非种植区的土壤,针对16S rRNA基因的V3～V4区进行测序,分析土壤细菌群落的组成。结果表明,药用植物根际土壤中的细菌群落多样性指数显著高于非种植区土壤。五组样本的优势类群差异不大,总体相对丰度较高的有变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、芽单胞菌门(Gemmatimonadetes)、绿弯菌门(Chloroflexi)等,药用植物根际中的放线菌相对丰度高于非种植区。属水平上四种药用植物根际细菌和非种植区的群落结构有较大差异,四种中药材的根际土壤中各自富集了特异性的有益细菌属。药用植物根际土壤中的NMD1、Dongia、Gaiella、Streptomyces等相对丰度高于非种植区,而非种植区土壤中Lysoba...     

广西龙胜红瑶传统药用植物的民族植物学知识

瑶族是一个拥有悠久历史和灿烂文化的民族,红瑶是其中一个分支,因妇女服饰上的花纹图案以大红色为主而得名,其生活习俗饱含民族特色,对植物尤其是药用植物的利用方式,与其他民族不同。该研究采用经典的民族植物学理论和方法,访问调查了广西龙胜红瑶传统药用植物种类,根据植物拉丁名、中文名、当地名、用途、用法及药用部位,对其进行民族植物学编目,并与《中国药典》作了比较。结果表明:共记录到药用植物95种,隶属于57科83属,其中蔷薇科、百合科种类最多,分别含有7种,显示龙胜红瑶传统药用植物资源的多样性;全株入药的植物种类41种,占总数的43.16%;根入药的种类为23种,占总数的24.21%;叶入药的种类为13种,占总数的13.68%。药用植物的药用部位以全株、根及叶为主;治疗风湿类疾病的药物比重最大,为23.47%,推测与其生活的环境有关;与《中国药典》比较,发现71种植物未被其收录,另有17种虽被收录但主治功效不同,有7种被收录且主治功效大致相同,为新型中药的研发提供了借鉴。同时,还探讨了龙胜红瑶传统药用植物的药用价值、资源现状及文化传承的问题。     

Antifungal activity of extracts from five Egyptian wild medicinal plants against late blight disease of tomato

This study was carried out to evaluate the antifungal potential of water and ethanol extracts from aerial parts of five wild medicinal plants collected from Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, and the extracts were tested in vitro and in vivo against Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight disease of tomato. The five wild medicinal plants used for the study were Asclepias sinaica, Farsetia aegyptia, Hypericum sinaicum, Phagnalon sinaicum and Salvia aegyptiaca. Ethanol extracts were more effective on the pathogen than water extracts at all concentrations used. Water and ethanol extracts of all plants tested reduced mycelial growth and inhibited spore germination of the pathogen with varying degrees. Water and ethanolic extracts also reduced the disease infection with pathogen comparing with control in detached leaves technique. In all experiments, extracts of A. sinaica and F. aegyptia were most effective on the pathogen than other plant extracts. In plot experiment, the water and ethanolic extracts of A. sinaica and F. aegyptia gave the most reduction of late blight disease severity comparing with control. Also, data indicated that after the application of plant extracts, there was an increase in fruit yield of tomato corresponding with the reduction of disease severity . Scanning electron microscopy revealed a negative alteration of pathogen hyphae treated with A. sinaica extract at 20%. This concentration of the same plant extract also reflected in dramatic changes in the cyto-morphology of pathogen hyphae as observed by transmission electron microscopy. These changes resulted in an increase in vacuolisation and lipid contents with consequent reduction of cytoplasm with alteration of cell wall and plasmalemma. The overall results suggested that the use of these Egyptian wild medicinal plant extracts was promising, effective and environment-friendly management measure against Phytophthora blight of tomato and thus, may be used in the production of organically grown vegetables.     

Polyherbal formulation exerts wound healing,anti-inflammatory,angiogenic and antimicrobial properties: Potential role in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a common and devastating complication in diabetic patients and is associated with an elevated risk of amputation and mortality. DFU remains a major therapeutic challenge due to poor understanding of its underlying pathogenesis. This complication is characterized by impaired wound healing; however, mechanisms causing this impairment are complicated and involve interactions between many different cell types and infections. In addition to other conventional DFU treatments, herbal foot baths are also common, although little is known about their mechanisms of action, and they contain a wide variety of herbal ingredients. In this study, we aimed to examine the effects of three polyherbal formulations consisting of medicinal plants used in traditional Thai herbal foot baths on wound healing, anti-inflammation, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix modulation using high-concentration glucose-treated human keratinocytes, in addition to antibacterial evaluation. Our results showed that formulation 3 (F3) possessed the greatest potential to restore the impairment of keratinocytes caused by high glucose concentrations. We found that F3 could inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, accelerate wound healing, and upregulate the expression of TIMP-1, VEGF, and TGF-β, and downregulate the expression of TNF-α, IL-6, and MMP-9. Collectively, these data support the potential of F3 for therapeutic development in the treatment of DFU.     

Medicinal plants for helminth parasite control: facts and fiction

The use of medicinal plants for the prevention and treatment of gastro-intestinal parasitism has its origin in ethnoveterinary medicine. Although until recently the majority of the evidence on the antiparasitic activity of medicinal plants was anecdotal and lacked scientific validity, there is currently an increasing number of controlled experimental studies that aim to verify and quantify such plant activity. There are indeed a large number of plants whose anthelmintic activity has been demonstrated under controlled experimentation, either through feeding the whole plant or administering plant extracts to parasitised hosts. However, contrary to traditional expectation, there are also a great number of plants with purported antiparasitic properties, which have not been reproduced under experimental conditions. In this paper, we discuss the source of such inconsistencies between ethnoveterinary wisdom and scientific experimentation. We focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the existing methodologies used in the controlled studies to determine the activity of antiparasitic plants. We discuss issues like the seasonal and environmental variability of the plant composition, and how this can affect their antiparasitic properties and highlight the importance of identifying the mechanisms of action of such plants and the target parasite species. In addition to their antiparasitic properties, medicinal plants may also have anti-nutritional properties, which can affect animal performance and behaviour. For this reason, we emphasise the need for considering additional dimensions when evaluating medicinal plants. We also question whether using similar criteria as those used for the evaluation of anthelmintics is the way forward. We propose that a holistic approach is required to evaluate the potential of medicinal plants in parasite control and maximise their benefits on parasitised hosts.