scholarly journals Using Medicinal Plants in Valmalenco (Italian Alps): From Tradition to Scientific Approaches

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (18) ◽  
pp. 4144
Author(s):  
Martina Bottoni ◽  
Fabrizia Milani ◽  
Lorenzo Colombo ◽  
Kevin Nallio ◽  
Paola Sira Colombo ◽  
...  

This ethnobotanical survey was carried out in Caspoggio (Valmalenco, SO, Italy) with the purpose of investigating the traditional uses of medicinal plants. Moreover, a bibliographic research meant to validate or refute the uses, focusing on the potentially responsible compounds, was performed. Fifty-nine species, attributable to 30 families (Asteraceae, Pinaceae, Malvaceae, and Lamiaceae the most cited), were mentioned. Arnica montana, anti-inflammatory for traumas and musculoskeletal pains; Pinus mugo, expectorant; Malva sylvestris, anti-inflammatory and soothing; Achillea moschata, digestive. The compounds, responsible for the therapeutic activities, are often polyphenols and terpenoids: helenanin in A. montana, α-pinene, δ-3-carene, and limonene in P. mugo, gossypin and malvin in M. sylvestris, luteolin and apigenin in A. moschata. Scientific evidence for at least one of the traditional activities described was found for 50 species but only in 26 out of 196 works consulted, it is possible to make a comparison between investigated extracts and traditional preparations. This study is thus a stimulus to new phytochemical investigations, mimicking as much as possible the traditional preparations. This work is part of the European Interreg Italy-Switzerland B-ICE project, aimed at creating a management model for the ongoing climate change and searching for new sources of territory valorization as attractions for tourists.

2019 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. D. S. L. Pio ◽  
A. L. Lavor ◽  
C. M. D. Damasceno ◽  
P. M. N. Menezes ◽  
F. S. Silva ◽  
...  

Abstract This study aimed to carry out an ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by inhabitants of the Rodeadouro Island, Jatoba Island and Massangano Island, located in The Submedium São Francisco River Valley. Also phytochemicals and preliminary pharmacological tests were performed to species most cited by the community. Ethnobotanical data were collected through observation visits and semi-structured interviews with 12 key informants. We calculated the relative importance (RI), the percentage of agreement related to the main uses (cAMU) and use value (UV). The aerial parts of Rhaphiodon echinus (Ness & Mart.) Schauer were used to obtain the lyophilizate (LYO-Re), crude ethanol extract (CEE-Re) and their hexanic (HEX-Re), chloroform (CLO-Re) and ethyl acetate (EA-Re) fractions. The microdilution technique was used for determining Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for selected microorganisms. Already the spasmolytic effect was evaluated in isolated uterus fragments of Wistar rats, pre contracted with KCl 60 mM. We found 34 species cited, belonging to 22 families. The most plants were grown by locals. There were 51 different diseases, but the main indication was infectious and parasitic diseases. The species R. echinus was the most reported and it was indicated for urinary tract infection and dysmenorrhea. The screening revealed a higher prevalence of flavonoids, tannins, lignans and saponins in LYO-Re and AE-Re. Already terpene compounds were more present in HEX-Re and CLO-Re. The RE-Re fraction stood out with strong effect against E. coli and S. aureus while CEE-Re has moderate effect against gram-negative bacteria. The evaluation of the spasmolytic activity showed that LYO-Re, CEE-Re and HEX-Re fractions have similar activity, with partial effect and concentration-dependent response. This work brought about knowledge and use of medicinal plants by the riparian of the São Francisco River. It also revealed the importance of other methodologies for scientific evidence for the popular use of R. echinus.


Author(s):  
Vania Jesus Dos Santos de Oliveiraa

Com a expansão da indústria farmacêutica, o consumo de plantas medicinais perdeu espaço, entretanto, os altos custos destes fármacos, contribuiu para o ressurgimento do uso de plantas medicinais. Este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar como se configura a produção científica sobre levantamento etnobotânico das plantas medicinais no Brasil. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa da literatura nas bases de dados: Lilacs e Scielo, totalizando 16 publicações nos últimos cinco anos. Os resultados revelaram que no ano de 2014 houve um acréscimo em pesquisas sobre levantamento etnobotânico, isto devido à grande importância que, atualmente, vem se dando para utilização de produtos naturais. Pode-se perceber que a maior concentração dos estudos ocorre na região Nordeste, em seguida aparece as regiões Norte, Sul e Sudeste. Quanto aos Estados, o destaque é para o Ceará, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul e Amazonas. Por meio da análise dos achados científicos, nota-se que a revista de Plantas Medicinais – RBPM apresentou uma maior frequência de artigos publicados sobre levantamento etnobotânico. A maioria dos artigos adotou a abordagem qualitativa, natureza descritiva e as entrevistas representaram o instrumento de coleta de dados mais utilizado. Conclui-se que ao analisar as evidências científicas sobre levantamento etnobotânico, observa-se que outras regiões do Brasil devem explorar esse tipo de pesquisa para favorecer o mundo científico com mais informações sobre plantas medicinais em todo Brasil. Entretanto, as metodologias utilizadas nos artigos sobre levantamento etnobotânico encontram-se adequadas quanto as abordagens e métodos escolhidos pelos pesquisadores, assim também como instrumento de coleta de dados.Palavras-chave: Medicina Tradicional. Educação em Saúde. Plantas Medicinais.AbstractWith the pharmaceutical industry expansion, the consumption of medicinal plants lost ground, however, the high costs of these drugs have contributed to the resurgence of the medicinal plants use. This study aims to evaluate the configuration of the scientific literature on ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in Brazil. This was an integrative review of the literature in databases: Lilacs and Scielo, totaling 16 publications in the past five years. The results revealed that in 2014 there was an increase in research on ethnobotanical survey, this is due to the great importance that has been given currently to the use of natural products. It is possible to notice that the highest concentration of studies occurs in the Northeast followed by North, South and Southeast. As for the states the highlight is to Ceara, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Amazonas. By analyzing the scientific findings, it is realized that the magazine of Medicinal Plants - RBPM showed a higher frequency of articles published on ethnobotanical survey. Most of the articles adopted the qualitative approach, descriptive and the interviews represented the most widely used data collection instrument. It is concluded that when analyzing the scientific evidence on ethnobotanical survey, it is observed that other regions of Brazil should explore this kind of research to promote the scientific world with more information about medicinal plants throughout Brazil. However, the methodologies used in the articles on ethnobotanical survey are suitable regardingthe approaches and methods chosen by the researchers, as well as data collection instrument.Keywords: Traditional Medicine. Health Education. Medicinal Plants


Planta Medica ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Gholipour ◽  
S Samadi ◽  
M Isazadeh Arai ◽  
A Sonboli

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Soutter ◽  
René Mõttus

Although the scientific evidence of anthropogenic climate change continues to grow, public discourse still reflects a high level of scepticism and political polarisation towards anthropogenic climate change. In this study (N = 499) we attempted to replicate and expand upon an earlier finding that environmental terminology (“climate change” versus “global warming”) could partly explain political polarisation in environmental scepticism (Schuldt, Konrath, & Schwarz, 2011). Participants completed a series of online questionnaires assessing personality traits, political preferences, belief in environmental phenomenon, and various pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. Those with a Conservative political orientation and/or party voting believed less in both climate change and global warming compared to those with a Liberal orientation and/or party voting. Furthermore, there was an interaction between continuously measured political orientation, but not party voting, and question wording on beliefs in environmental phenomena. Personality traits did not confound these effects. Furthermore, continuously measured political orientation was associated with pro-environmental attitudes, after controlling for personality traits, age, gender, area lived in, income, and education. The personality domains of Openness, and Conscientiousness, were consistently associated with pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours, whereas Agreeableness was associated with pro-environmental attitudes but not with behaviours. This study highlights the importance of examining personality traits and political preferences together and suggests ways in which policy interventions can best be optimised to account for these individual differences.


Author(s):  
Ayda Hosseinkhani ◽  
Bijan Ziaeian ◽  
Kamran Hessami ◽  
Mohammad Mehdi Zarshenas ◽  
Ali Kashkooe ◽  
...  

Background: Cough is one of the most common medical symptoms for which medical advice is sought. Although cough is a protective reflex responsible for clearing the airways from secretions and foreign bodies, it can be a troublesome symptom that causes discomfort to patients. Due to the increasing interest in herbal remedies in the both developed and developing countries, in the current study, we aimed to overview medicinal herbs containing essential oils used as antitussive agents according to the Traditional Persian Medicine [TPM] textbooks. We summarized the relevant scientific evidence on their possible pharmacological actions. Methods: To collect the evidence for treatment of cough or “seaal” [cough in ancient books] from TPM sources, five main medicinal Persian manuscripts were studied. The antitussive herbs were listed and their scientific names were identified and authenticated in accordance with botanical reference books. ScienceDirect and PubMed online databases were searched for related mechanisms of action of the reported medicinal plants. Results: The number of 49 herbs containing essential oils were recommended in TPM for the treatment of cough; 21 of them had at least one known mechanism of action for cough suppression in the scientific literature. According to this review, most of the cited medicinal plants were assessed for either nitric oxide inhibitory or antitussive/expectorant activities. Conclusion: In addition to advantageous effects of antitussive herbs noted by TPM, the present review highlighted some recent evidence-based data on these promising candidates that could be used as an outline for future research on their medicinal use.


2012 ◽  
Vol 281 ◽  
pp. 152-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weifeng Wang ◽  
Changhui Peng ◽  
Daniel D. Kneeshaw ◽  
Guy R. Larocque ◽  
Xinzhang Song ◽  
...  

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