Ces travaux de thèse concernent l’étude phytochimique de cinq plantes médicinales dont les espèces sélectionnées sont endémiques du Venezuela : Palicourea demissa Standl. et Hydrocotyle umbellata L., mais aussi Bauhinia cumanensis H.B.K, Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. et Urena sinuata L. Vingt-deux composés ont été purifiés et identifiés à partir des différents extraits étudiés ; il s’agit notamment de terpènes, de flavones et de saponines. Six de ces substances naturelles, parmi lesquelles figurent plusieurs saponines de types spirostane et ergostane, sont décrites pour la première fois. / This work is dedicated to the phytochemical study of five medicinal plants whose selected species are endemic of Venezuela: Palicourea demissa Standl., and Hydrocotyle umbellata L., but also Bauhinia cumanensis H.B.K, Guazuma ulmifolia Lam., and Urena sinuata L. Twenty-two compounds were purified and identified from the various studied extracts; they are in particular terpenes, flavones and saponins. Six of these natural products, among which appear several spirostane- and ergostane-types saponins, are described for the first time.

This work aims at knowing the conceptions and practices of the inhabitants at the community attended by the Bela União Family Health Unit, located at the city of Santa Maria/ RS, regarding the therapeutic use of medicinal plants on health care. The research has a qualitative approach and its data collecting instrument is composed by a semi-structured interview scheme and by observations. The individuals to be interviewed were selected according built relations network which involved ten individuals. The data examination was made by means of thematic analyses as proposed by Bardin (2008), that allowed to organize the data in such a way to make possible the appearance of thematic categories. While studying the emerging categories we can perceive that most of the popularized knowledge was acquired in the familiar environment, being the woman the one to retain and diffuse this knowledge. It was also observed the use of the home-made tea as a practice used in health maintenance and rehabilitation; it is a very common practice among the participants who besides using it in their day-life also mentioned the intention to cultivate herbs in their own homes. The individuals interviewed demonstrated the desire to acquire new knowledge about this subject despite the fact that most of the medicinal plants used by them have its popularized therapeutic indications similar to those found in the scientific literature. Therefore, we believe that this research has a great importance not only for nurses but also to society, because it points towards the need of an approximation between popular and scientific knowledge and, the production of projects that deal with this topic. Moreover, we suggest that nurses work in the integrality perspective, respecting people differences and social context. To do so, it is necessary to include, in nurse formation as well as in their permanent education, the knowledge of supplementary practices on health care with the use of medicinal pants. / Este trabalho tem como objetivo conhecer os saberes e práticas dos moradores da comunidade assistida pela Unidade de Saúde da Família Bela União, localizada no município de Santa Maria/ RS, no que se refere ao emprego terapêutico de plantas medicinais no cuidado à saude. A pesquisa é qualitativa e apresenta como instrumento de coleta de dados um roteiro de entrevista semi-estruturada e de observação. Os entrevistados foram selecionados de acordo com a rede de relações construída, à qual envolveu dez sujeitos. O exame dos dados foi realizado por meio da análise temática, proposta por Bardin (2008), a qual permitiu organizar os dados de tal maneira que o surgimento de categorias temáticas fosse possível. Ao estudar as categorias emergentes pode-se perceber que a maior parte do conhecimento popular foi adquirido no ambiente familiar, tendo a mulher como a detentora e a principal difusora desse saber. Foi constatado também que o uso do chá caseiro, como prática utilizada para manter ou reabilitar a saúde, é bastante comum entre os partipantes que, além de utilizá-lo no seu cotidiano, mencionam ter vontade de cultivar ervas em sua própria residência. Os entrevistados demostraram vontade de adquirir novos saberes sobre o assunto, apesar de a maioria das plantas medicinais utilizadas por eles terem suas indicações terapêuticas populares semelhantes às encontradas na literatura científica. Portanto, acreditase que a pesquisa tenha grande relevância não só para os enfermeiros, como também para a sociedade, pois aponta para uma necessária aproximação entre o saber popular e científico, bem como para a criação de projetos que trabalhem com essa temática. Além disso, sugere-se que o enfermeiro trabalhe na perspectiva da integralidade, respeitando as diferenças e o contexto social das pessoas. Para isso, torna-se necessário incluir, tanto na formação dos enfermeiros, como na educação permanente desses profissionais, conhecimentos sobre práticas complementares de cuidado com a saúde, como o uso de plantas medicinais.

Tea is one of the oldest and most consumed beverages in the world, being mentioned as one of the best sources of phenolic compounds. These substances have been studied especially because they have antioxidant activity. The term refers to tea product herbal infusions the genus Camellia sp. Being that variations in their designations are relative to the type of process that these plants suffer. Antioxidants are substances used to preserve food through the retardation of deterioration, rancidity and discoloration resulting from autoxidation, while biological systems that protect against the damaging effects of reactions of reactive oxygen species. Various methods are used to determine the antioxidant activity of extracts and compounds isolated. One of the most widely used is to evaluate the scavenging activity of the stable free radical DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl). Other methodologies used to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of an extract are the determination of total phenolic compounds, total polyphenol content, and iron reduction technique. In this context, the objective of this study was to determine the content of bioactive compounds, characterized by its value of antioxidant activity, flavonoids and phenolic compounds in different types of tea come from the Camellia sinensis plant, namely: green tea, black tea, white tea, yellow tea and red tea. The experiment was conducted in the post harvest fruit core research, located in the Department of Plant Science, Federal University of Santa Maria, RS. The samples were extracted by infusion sachets of filter paper containing 3 g of the plant in 200 ml of distilled and deionized water by 10 minutes of infusion, at 85 °C. After extraction the samples were placed in glass containers protected from light and stored at a temperature of 0.5 °C. Determination of antioxidant activity by DPPH method was performed by evaluation of polyphenols and flavonoids (colorimetric method), and the chelating activity of Fe+2. As a result, white tea showed the highest antioxidant activity among teas evaluated considering the kidnapping of DPPH. This tea also showed the highest levels of flavonoids and phenolic compounds. Green tea showed higher antioxidant activity as measured by the percentage of ferrous ion chelating activity. Among the 20 types of teas evaluated, hibiscus tea has lowest antioxidant properties. Among the teas originating from Camellia sinensis, the red tea showed the lowest values of antioxidant activity, regardless of the method or evaluation performed, but did not differ from black tea, white and yellow in the percentage of ferrous ion chelating activity. Considering the results of EC50, ilex tea, bilberry and gorse showed intermediate antioxidant power in relation to the Camellia sinensis teas and other teas evaluated in this work. / O chá é uma das bebidas mais antigas e consumidas do mundo, sendo referido como uma das melhores fontes de compostos fenólicos. Estas substâncias têm sido alvo de estudo especialmente por apresentarem atividade antioxidante. O conceito de chá refere-se ao produto de infusões de plantas do gênero Camellia sp., sendo que as variações em suas denominações são relativas ao tipo de processo que estas plantas sofrem. Antioxidantes são substâncias usadas para conservar alimentos através do retardo da deterioração, rancidez e descoloração, decorrentes da auto-oxidação, ao mesmo tempo em que protegem os sistemas biológicos contra os efeitos danosos de reações das espécies reativas ao oxigênio. Vários métodos são utilizados para determinar a atividade antioxidante em extratos e substâncias isoladas. Um dos mais utilizados consiste em avaliar a atividade seqüestradora do radical livre estável DPPH (1,1-difenil-2-picril-hidrazil). Outras metodologias utilizadas para avaliar a capacidade antioxidante de um extrato são a determinação dos compostos fenólicos totais, o conteúdo de polifenóis totais, e a técnica de redução do ferro. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi determinar o teor de compostos bioativos, caracterizados pelo seu respectivo valor de atividade antioxidante, compostos fenólicos e flavonóides, em chás oriundos de 20 diferentes plantas, incluindo a Camellia sinensis (chá verde, chá preto, chá branco, chá amarelo e chá vermelho). O experimento foi realizado no Núcleo de Pesquisa em Pós-Colheita, localizado no departamento de Fitotecnia da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, RS. As amostras foram extraídas através da infusão de saches de papel filtro contendo 3 g da planta em 200 mL de água destilada e deionizada por 10 minutos de infusão, a 85°C. Após a extração as amostras foram acondicionadas em recipientes de vidro protegidos da ação da luz e armazenadas a temperatura de 0,5°C. A determinação da atividade antioxidante foi realizada pelo método DPPH, e pela atividade quelante de íons Fe+2. Como resultado, o chá branco apresentou a maior atividade antioxidante entre os chás avaliados, considerando o seqüestro de radical DPPH. Este chá apresentou também os maiores teores de flavonóides e polifenóis totais. O chá verde apresentou maior atividade antioxidante quando avaliada pela porcentagem de atividade quelante de íons ferroso. Entre os 20 tipos de chás avaliados, o chá de hibiscus praticamente não apresenta propriedades antioxidantes. Entre os chás oriundos da Camellia sinensis, o chá vermelho foi o que apresentou os menores valores de atividade antioxidante, independente do método ou avaliação realizada, porém não diferindo do chá preto, branco e amarelo na porcentagem de atividade quelante de íons ferroso. Considerando os resultados de EC50, chás de erva mate, carqueja e boldo apresentaram poder antioxidante intermediário em relação aos chás da planta Camellia sinensis e aos demais chás avaliados no presente trabalho.

Pelargonium sidoides DC. (Geraniaceae) root extracts are used in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa as a traditional medicine for the treatment of respiratory tract and gastro-intestinal infections. Ethanolic extracts are used globally as herbal treatments for bronchitis, asthma and as an immune system booster. Despite documented exploitation of wild populations by illegal harvesters, this species has not been awarded a protected status. The high level of harvest in the years preceding this study prompted this investigation of the prospects for sustainable root harvest through wild harvest and greenhouse cultivation. A novel method was developed for the purification of umckalin, a bioactive constituent in root extracts, such that the root umckalin concentrations of wild and cultivated plants could be quantified by HPLC. As part of the cultivation experiments, the concentration of umckalin in roots was measured for plants across part of the species’ distribution range in the Eastern Cape Province. This survey revealed that root umckalin concentrations were inversely related to the average annual rainfall of the collection site (r² = 0.94, p = 0.007) and directly related to soil pH (r² = 0.97, p = 0.002). Thus, the possibility of inducing high umckalin concentrations in greenhouse-cultivated plants was investigated by subjecting plants to rapid and prolonged water stress treatments. Two leaf applied hormone treatments (cytokinin and gibberellin) and a root competition treatment with a fast growing annual (Conyza albida) were also investigated based on the potential function of umckalin in P. sidoides plants. These five treatments did not significantly affect root umckalin concentrations compared to well-watered controls. The results of further experiments suggested that umckalin production may have been influenced by the geographical origin and genetics of plants rather than environmental variation. Following wild harvest experiments, the regrowth of replanted shoots from which a standard proportion of the root was harvested showed that water availability affected shoot survival but not root regrowth rate. Regrowth rates were low, questioning the viability of wild harvest. In contrast, greenhouse cultivated plants showed ca. six times greater growth rates, supporting the cultivation of roots to supply future market demand.

No description available.

Many South Africans continue to use traditional medicine in their daily lives as an alternative form of health care, also as part of their cultural heritage. Medicinal plants are proving to be an important source of novel drugs, and the knowledge provided by traditional healers is a useful tool in the search for antimicrobials. The antimicrobial activity of <M. villosus was investigated against ten bacteria and six fungi. The antibacterial assay showed that the root extract had the highest inhibition against the Gram-positive bacteria at the minimum inhibition concentration of o.1 mg/ml, as well as against the Gram-negative, E. coli, at the MIC of 1.0 mg/ml. Antifungal activity was witnessed against Cladosporium cladosporoide, C. cucumerinum&C sphaerosperum all at the minimum inhibitory concentration of 1.0 mg/ml. An attempt was made to isolate and identify the active antimicrobial compounds. A flavonol, quercetin was isolated and identified by means of UV spectral graphs, and TLC comparison of the plant extract and standard. However, a second isolated antibacterial compound could not be identified fully but it can be said that it is a triterpenoid. / Dissertation (MSc (Botany))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Plant Science / unrestricted

Introduction: Despite the tremendous advances made with regard to synthetic organic medicinals within the last two decades, heavy reliance is still placed on plant products. This is especially true of the anthracene derivatives used medicinally as purgatives, and which are derived principally from senna, cascara, rhubarb, frangula and aloes. While particular attention has been paid to the chemistry of the former group in recent years, aloes has been largely neglected, possibly due to the fact that the Aloe species are confined largely to areas where extensive research facilities are lacking, such as Africa , India and the West Indies. Thus research in Europe has been confined largely to the lump aloes of commerce, derived from relatively few species. In 1953 a comprehensive report by Hodge (103) appeared on "The Drug Aloes of Commerce, with Special Reference to the Cape Species". Hodge observed that South Africa abounds in species just as abundant as A.ferox, (which is the prime source of Cape aloes), and advised that a systematic chemical survey might show certain of these to be not only higher yielders of bitter aloetic juice but also sources of a superior drug product. Consequently an investigation along these lines is presented here, and it is observed that several species apart from A.ferox not only contain aloin, but also yield a large volume of aloetic juice. Only pharmacologic studies can reveal if the juice of these species is as safe as that of A.ferox, but without doubt they could be used for the extraction of crystalline aloin. Concurrently, the distribution of the Aloe resins, said by some to be purgative themselves, has been studied. The investigation has revealed that the structurally similar compound homonataloin enjoys an equally wide distribution as aloin. However, almost invariably it is confined to small species yielding little aloetic juice, apart from which nothing is known regarding its pharmacologic properties. It is interesting to note that the resin distribution in the homonataloin-containing species is very similar to that of the aloin-containing species, but differs widely from. that of the species containing neither of these principles. Apart from aloin and homonataloin, aloinoside and chrysophanol also occur in Aloe species, and together with the resins, these indicate that when all the South African Aloe species have been investigated, they may well be of chemotaxonomic value. Within the comparatively short space of the last decade some work has been performed on aspects of the metabolism of such anthracene-containing species as Rheum, Rhamnus and Rumex. These investigations have shown that the anthracene derivatives are not merely waste products, but perform definite metabolic functions. The latter portion of this work has been devoted to this relatively neglected aspect of the Aloe species.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of non-infectious diseases that cause hyperglycemia. DM symptoms were first clinically described by ancient Greek physicians whose prescriptions included plant-based remedies. Today, DM affects >400 million people globally and prevalence rates are rapidly increasing in developing countries where basic healthcare relies on local knowledge of botanical remedies. Many developing countries are home to diverse peoples and plants—providing fodder for varied plant-selection strategies and unique botanical pharmacopoeias. I addressed the plant-selection strategies used in a multi-ethnic, developing country, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), to ascertain their role in shaping the local antidiabetic pharmacopoeia and to assess their benefits and risks in identifying safe and useful remedies. Using literature reviews, field surveys, and laboratory bioassays, I completed three categories of analysis. Ethnobotanical analyses showed that T&T’s antidiabetic pharmacopoeia is primarily of recent origin as >50% of the 48 historical DM remedies were Neotropical natives, including congenerics of well-known medicinal Paleotropical genera. Nevertheless, conservative knowledge transmission was also evident as several Paleotropical species of T&T’s pharmacopoeia, including Momordica charantia and Catharanthus roseus were also used in Africa, India and across the Caribbean. Paleotropical natives with a long history of use are likely to be safer remedies. Ethno-medicinal analyses of the pre- and post-2000 DM remedies of T&T, totaling 99 species, suggest that the centuries-old hot/cold folk disease-model was the model predominantly used in plant-selection. Parallels found between T&T folk concepts and biomedical mechanisms of DM provide probable bases for efficacy but the chronic use of purgatives and bitter-tasting plants is likely to be risky. Phytochemical analyses revealed that 69% of the tested plant extracts contained phenolic compounds, with more than half producing >80% alpha-glucosidase inhibition. Phenolic content and alpha-glucosidase inhibition were strongly correlated among food plants used as medicines, suggesting higher probability of selection as a result of non-target effects. The medicinal use of food plants may provide the best margins of safety and efficacy in identifying antidiabetic remedies. Together, these analyses showed how culture-specific plant-selection strategies can identify safe, useful remedies for developing countries to address their increasing DM prevalence in a cost-effective and sustainable manner.

The ability of insulin to stimulate glucose uptake into muscle and adipose tissue is central to the maintenance of whole-body glucose homeostasis. Deregulation of insulin action manifests itself as insulin resistance, a key component of type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance is also observed in HIV patients receiving protease inhibitors. An agent that can reversibly induce an insulin-resistant state would be a very useful tool in developing model systems that mimic the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance can arise from defects in insulin signal transduction, changes in the expression of proteins or genes that are targets of insulin action, cross talk from other hormonal systems or metabolic abnormalities. Deterioration of the insulin-receptor-signalling pathway at different levels leading to decreased levels of signalling pathway intermediates and/or decreased activation through phosphorylation accounts for the evolution from an insulin-resistant state to type 2 diabetes. In addition, defects in GLUT4 glucose transporter translocation are observed, further fuelling impairments in skeletal muscle glucose uptake. Levels of insulin-induced GLUT4 translocation in the skeletal muscle of type 2 diabetic patients are typically reduced by 90%. Many cellular pathways & their intermediates are in some way or another linked to insulin signalling. This study focused on three of these namely the PI3-kinase/Akt pathway, the Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) cascade and the AMP Kinase pathway, with successful monitoring of the PI3-K pathway. Investigations involved observing and evaluating the effects of various compounds as well as an indigenous medicinal plant, Sutherlandia frutescens on the activities of key insulin signalling pathway intermediates within the three fore mentioned pathways including Akt, AMPK and MEK1/2 as well as membrane surface GLUT4 levels. Scientific research has in the past leant heavily on Western blotting as the method of choice for gaining vital information relating to signal transduction pathways, however for research into cellular mechanisms the negatives of this method outweigh the positives. The drawbacks include a need for large amount of cells, multiple washing steps which may be disadvantageous to any weak and transient interactions as well as lysing of cells which may interfere with the maintenance of the subcellular localisation of a specific signalling event. Based on these, the need for a better method in terms of speed & reliability to monitor phosphorylation states of signal transduction pathway intermediates & GLUT4 translocation was evident and was one VII of the main aims & successes of this study. The method created used the mouse muscle cell line C2C12 in conjunction with the quick, sensitive method of flow cytometry which allowed us to monitor these processes in these cells through immune-labelling. Adherent cell cultures such as the C2C12 cell line pose the problem of possible damage to plasma membrane receptors (including insulin receptors) during harvesting to obtain a cell suspension for flow cytometry. We however used C2C12 mouse myocytes to optimize a method yielding insulin responsive cells in suspension that were successfully used for flow cytometry after immunelabelling of insulin signalling intermediates. Insulin (0.1μM) significantly raised the levels of both P-Akt and GLUT4 above basal levels. This effect was shown to be dose dependent. At a concentration of 50μg/ml, Sutherlandia frutescens was able to act as an insulin-mimetic in terms of its ability to increase P-Akt levels, GLUT4 translocation and glucose utilisation in an acute manner. These increases could be reduced with the addition of wortmannin, a PI3-K inhibitor. Therefore, these results suggest the mechanism of the plant extract’s insulin-like activity may be in part due to the activation of the insulin signalling pathway leading to GLUT4 translocation, which involves the phosphorylation of insulin receptor- and subsequent PI3-K activity, leading to P-Akt activity. These results provide further evidence of this plant extract’s anti-diabetic potential. The effect of Sutherlandia frutescens on insulin secretion, calcium signalling and proliferation in INS-1 rat pancreatic cells was also investigated and it was found to increase the activities of all of these processes. However no change in the levels of GLUT2 glucose transporter was seen. Ritonavir is prescribed by the South African Department of Health in co-formulation with other protease inhibitors within its second regime in the treatment of HIV and AIDS. Using C2C12 cells, ritonavir decreased glucose uptake acutely and had no effect on GLUT4 translocation however surprisingly increased P-Akt levels. In conclusion, it was found that Sutherlandia frutescens has antidiabetic benefits, diverse in nature depending on tissue type as well as length of time administered. The establishment of novel flow cytometry techniques to assess antidiabetic properties using in vitro cell culture was achieved. These methods will be useful in the future for the assessment of insulin sensitivity and in the identification of novel compounds that stimulate the insulin signalling pathways.

No description available.