Ethnopharmacology of the angiosperms of Chapada of Araripe located in Northeast of Brazil

The Chapada of Araripe located in the Northeast of Brazil, presents a great vegetal diversity. Associated with this, the region presents a great cultural plurality, which reflects in several popular knowledge, such as the use of medicinal plants in the region. The objective of this work was to carry out an ethnopharmacological bibliographic survey of angiosperms present in the region. The scientific name of species was associated with the keywords "traditional use", "traditional medicine" "traditional knowledge" and "Brazil" to collect information published and available on Pubmed, Science Direct, Scielo and Scopus Platform. Subsequently, the species with the greatest versatility of use were selected and their relative importance (RI) indexes were calculated. As a result, 92 species with medicinal potential were identified in the Chapada of Araripe, corresponding to 81 genera and 44 botanical families, with Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Malvaceae and Rubiaceae being the taxa that presented the highest number of species with 16, 6, 5 and 5 respectively. The 10 most versatile species were Anacardium occidentale (RI: 1.38), Astronium urundeuva (1.86), Copaifera langsdorffii (2.00), Hancornia speciosa (1.81), Himatanthus drasticus (1.62), Hymenaea stigonocarpa (1.89), Lafoensia pacari (1.83), Libidibia ferrea (1.43), Scoparia dulcis (1.71) and Ximenia americana L. (1.46). Finally, we emphasize that Chapada of Araripe is a region of great biological and cultural value, being important actions for the preservation of local flora and traditional knowledge.

Vegetation composition in gold post-mining land of PT. Sultra Utama Nickel, Bombana District

This study aimed to determine vegetation composition in the gold post-mining land of PT Sultra Utama Nickel in Bombana District. The method used in this research was the plotted path method by placing transects in accordance with purposive sampling technique. Transects were arranged systematically with a between-transects distance of 50 m The number of transects arranged were 18 transects with 3 plots each with size of each plot was 2 x 2 m, resulted in a total plot of 54 plots. Plant identification results showed that plant species found in the study area were 19 families, 30 genera, 34 species and 4 habitat. Results of vegetation analysis showed that of the 34 plant species found in the research location, plant species with the highest IVI value of 34.54% was Imperata cylindrica. The lowest IVI of 0.54% were found for Lygodium sp., Glochidion sp., Seleria levis Retz, Scoparia dulcis L., Sida rhombifolia L and Solanum torvum. The diversity index was 2.59, indicating moderate abundance category.

Hepatotoxic and Nephrotoxic Effect of Ethanol Leaf Extract of Scoparia Dulcis (Linn) in Wistar Rats

Scoparia dulcis (Linn) is a widespread herbal medicine; it bears an enormous number of pharmacological activities. The present study was undertaken to find out the chronic toxicity profile of oral administration of Scoparia dulcis ethanol leaf extract (SDELE) on the liver and the kidney of wistar rats. The animals were grouped into four and administered varying doses of SDELE (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg body weight and 0.2 ml distilled water respectively) for a period of fourteen weeks (100 days). The acute toxicity, body weight, relative organ weight, hematological parameters, biochemical markers for liver and kidney damage were monitored and histopathology of the liver and kidney of the rat were carried out. The LD50 of SDELE was found to be 1131 mg/kg body weight. There was a significant (p<0.05) reduction in weight of the rat administered 400 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg when compared with the control though there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the relative weight of the organs. There was also a significant increase (p<0.05) in the lymphocytes, serum level of aspartate amino transferase (ASP), alanine amino transferase (ALT), alkali phosphatase (ALP), total protein, A/G ratio, creatinine, urea, uric acid, total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and potassium ions while there was a significant decrease in HDL-cholesterol and sodium ions in the animal group administered 400 mg/kg body weight of the extract. Histopathology of the liver and kidney revealed haemorrhage and vascular congestion at 200 mg/kg doses and renal damage at 400 mg/kg body weight doses respectively. However, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in any of the parameters studied in the group administered 100 mg/kg body weight dose when compared with the controlled group. Ethanol leaf extracts of Scoparia dulcis showed hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic tendencies and should be used with caution especially when employed in the treatment of chronic diseases

Assessment of the Diversity of Medico-Magic Knowledge on Four Herbaceous Species in Benin

Background. Ethnobotanical knowledge on four herbaceous species, Acmella uliginosa (Sw.) Cass., Momordica charantia L., Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn., and Scoparia dulcis L., in Benin was investigated. Methods. Herbal medicine traders in six different markets were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The linear regression test was performed to check for the influence of respondent’s age on ethnobotanical uses they hold. Relative frequency citation, fidelity level, use value, and Rahman similarity index were calculated to assess the diversity of medico-magic knowledge. The Informant Consensus Factor is not applicable in this study since we are dealing neither with the diversity of medicinal plants used by a community of people nor with a great number of plant species used for medicinal purposes, nor the diversity of plant species used in the treatment of a specific or group of ailments. Results. The respondent's age did not influence the ethnobotanical uses they hold on the species. All thirty-six informants surveyed traded Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn., Momordica charantia L., and Scoparia dulcis L., and the majority traded Acmella uliginosa (Sw.) Cass. The respondent's age does not influence the diversity of ethnobotanical uses they hold on the study species. Purchase in traders’ own markets was the predominant source of Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn., Momordica charantia L., and Scoparia dulcis L. while Acmella uliginosa (Sw.) Cass. was mostly purchased in other more distant markets. A noticeable proportion of traders also collect Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn. and Momordica charantia L. from wild populations. Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn. was the species most demanded by customers followed by Momordica charantia L. Traders confirmed the scarcity of all species in recent years and climate change and destruction of natural habitats for logging were the most cited causes. The entire plant of Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn. was used mainly to treat malaria, diabetes, and constipation, and decoction with oral administration was the most frequent preparation for malaria treatment. To treat diabetes, informants mixed Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn. with Momordica charantia L. used as a decoction with oral administration. Momordica charantia L. was also used to treat measles and chicken pox. Acmella uliginosa (Sw.) Cass. and Scoparia dulcis L. were mostly used for their spiritual use for luck, predominantly by chewing fresh leaves or flowers, and by bathing with the ground plant mixed with soap, respectively. Overall, Momordica charantia L. had the greatest use value followed by Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn. The majority of traders do not plant the species. Conclusions. The harvesting and trade of the species threaten their natural populations and urgent tools, including in situ and ex situ conservation, are needed to ensure their long-term sustainable exploitation.

Thành phần flavonoid và hoạt tính kháng viêm của cây cam thảo nam Scoparia dulcis

Cam thảo nam (Scoparia dulcis) được sử dụng trong điều trị các bệnh về đường tiêu hóa, đái tháo đường, cao huyết áp, bảo vệ gan... Nghiên cứu này trình bày kết quả về hoạt tính kháng viêm của cao chiết và quá trình phân lập chất từ lá cam thảo nam. Bằng các phương pháp sắc ký, hai flavonoid đã được phân lập và xác định cấu trúc hóa học là apigenin 7-O-rutinoside và isoquercitrin. Trên mô hình kháng viêm thông qua ức chế việc tạo thành nitric oxide, cao chiết cồn tổng, cao phân đoạn ethyl acetate, methanol có tác dụng kháng viêm.

Metabolic Changes of Cholangiocarcinoma Cells in Response to Coniferyl Alcohol Treatment

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a major cause of mortality in Northeast Thailand with about 14,000 deaths each year. There is an urgent necessity for novel drug discovery to increase effective treatment possibilities. A recent study reported that lignin derived from Scoparia dulcis can cause CCA cell inhibition. However, there is no evidence on the inhibitory effect of coniferyl alcohol (CA), which is recognized as a major monolignol-monomer forming a very complex structure of lignin. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of CA on CCA cell apoptosis. We demonstrated that a half-inhibitory concentration of CA on KKU-100 cells at 48 h and 72 h was 361.87 ± 30.58 and 268.27 ± 18.61 μg/mL, respectively, and on KKU-213 cells 184.37 ± 11.15 and 151.03 ± 24.99 μg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, CA induced CCA cell apoptosis as demonstrated by annexin V/PI staining in correspondence with an increase in the BAX/Bcl-2 ratio. A metabonomic study indicated that CA significantly decreased the intracellular concentrations of glutathione and succinate in KKU-213 cells and increased dihydrogen acetone phosphate levels in KKU-100 cells treated with 200 µg/mL of CA compared to the control group. In conclusion, CA induced cellular metabolic changes which are involved in the antioxidant defense mechanism, glycerophospholipid metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. CA may serve as a potent anticancer agent for CCA treatment by inducing CCA cellular apoptosis.