Pages

“Many people praise and acknowledge the healing power of plants, but few people actually take action to prevent their extension by planting and conserving them for future generations.” (Ernest Rukangira )

Saturday, 6 December 2014

Resources about medicinal plants


Using medicinal plants in Algeria

Since the earliest times, the concern of man has been to satisfy his food needs Thereby he developed an intimate relationship with the environment surrounding him to heal, he learned at his expense to discern plant and animal resources necessary for his survival. The man gave himself up to the formidable learning of the medicinal properties of plants such attempt cost him sometimes the life, more fortunately saved him. In Algeria, collection of medicinal and aromatic plants to extract, after distillation, essential oils for the manufacture of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals as well as flavors for food products, is a virgin field. The distillation of plants is sufficiently known, but remains largely untapped, despite the availability in Algeria of large tracts of forests and fields, whose territory covers important plant resources distributed on the coasts, plains, mountains, steppes, the Sahara and around water points. We explain here the main uses of this
soft medicine in Algeria
Keywords: Natural life, medicinal plants, Algerian territory, natural resource


Phytochemical constituents of some Algerian medicinal plants
Chemical compounds that occur naturally in plants, are responsible for color and organolepticproperties. The term is generally used to refer to those chemicals that may have biological significance but are not established as essential nutrients. Scientists estimate that there may be as many different phytochemicals having the potential to affect diseases such as cancer, stroke or metabolic syndrome[1]. For centuries, plant and plant products have been used for treating various illnesses. Today, several medicinal plants and their products are still in use, being employed as home remedies, over the counter drugs as well as raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry and they represent a substantial proportion of the global drug market [2]. Plants belonging to the Labiatae family are rich in polyphenolic compounds and a large number of them are well known for their antioxidant properties[3,4].
The plant family Lamiaceae Martinov (= LabiataeAdans., the mint family) has a world-widedistribution and comprises more than 7200 species across approximately 240 genera which areclassified in seven subfamilies[5].Among them:
Saccocalyxsatureioides Coss.et Dur., called Zaater or Azir El-ibel[6] by locals It grows naturally on the dunes of the predesertic area [7]in the Ainsefra region of Naâma south western Algeria, with a blossoming period in March. This medicinal plant is used as an ingredient in numerous local traditional medicines and mostly in the care of diabetes[8]. TeucriumpoliumL. or Jaadah as it is known in west Algeria is a dwarf, pubescent, aromatic shrub possessing oval leaves with enrolled margins and dense heads of white flowers [9]. It is mainly Mediterranean and west IranoTuranian
and can be found in countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt [10]



Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of selected medicinal plants from
Algeria

Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of methanolic extract extracts of selected Algerian medicinal plants. Methods: Antioxidant activity of extracts was evaluated in terms of radical scavenging potential
(2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and β-carotene bleaching assay. Total phenolic contents and flavonoid contents were also measured. Antimicrobial activity of these plants was examined against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans.
Results: The values of IC50 ranged from 4.30 μg/mL to 486.6 μg/mL for the DPPH method, while total antioxidant activity using β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching assay ranged from 17.03% to 86.13%. It was found that Pistacia lentiscus showed the highest antioxidant capacities using DPPH
assay (IC50=4.30 μg/mL), while Populus trimula, Origanum glandulosum, Centaurea calcitrapa,Sysimbrium officinalis and Rhamnus alaternus showed the highest percent of total antioxidant activity in β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching assay. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents ranged
from 3.96 to 259.65 mg GAE/g extract and from 1.13 to 26.84 mg QE/g extract, respectively. The most interesting antimicrobial activity was obtained from Sysimbrium officinalis, Rhamnus alaternus, Origanum glandulosum, Cupressus sempervirens, Pinus halipensis and Centaurea calcitrapa.
Conclusions: The results indicated that the plants tested may be potential sources for isolation of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds.



Medicinal Plants Extracts as Source of Antifungal Agents
against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Albedinis
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis (Foa) is a soil borne fungus causing the most serious disease of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) called “Bayoud”. In the present study, five medicinal plants from the Algerian Sahara (Southwest of Algeria): Limoniastrum feei (aerial part, roots), Launeae arborescens (Batt.) Murb. (aerial part, roots), Fredolia aretioides Moq. et Coss. (aerial part, roots), Asteriscus graveolens (Forsk) (leaves, stems) and Acacia raddiana (leaves, bark), were used to evaluate their extracts for antifungal activity against Foa. Two parts from each plant were used for extraction by four solvents: methanol, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane and hexane. The antifungal test
was conducted using disc diffusion technique and relative virulence (RV) test (on potato tuber tissue). For both tests, four extract quantities were used (200, 400, 800 and 1,600µg). The relative virulence was presented as necrotic tissue weight (mg) of potato tuber tissue. Among all solvents, methanol had the best extraction yield (mean: 6.35%, minimum: 2.27%, maximum: 9.80%). The highest frequency of antifungal effect on Foa was presented by ethyl acetate extracts (32.50% of detectable effect). The best effect was
observed for ethyl acetate extract of Limoniastrum feei (aerial part). The virulence test showed a decrease in RV up to 30% for ethyl acetate extract of Launea arborescens aerial part. The increase in RV was observed mostly for hexanic extract from Fredolia aretioides reflecting its high toxicity compared to the other extracts.

Eryngium maritimum: A Rich Medicinal Plant of Polyphenols and Flavonoids
Compounds with Antioxidant, Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities
                                                                                                                  
Abstract: In this study Eryngium maritimum roots were collected from plants grown at Tlemcen in west Algeria. They were powdered and extracted why to assess, the one hand, total phenolic and flavonoid content,
on the other hand, antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal activities of (methanol extract, acetone extract, ethyl acetate fraction and butanol fraction). The results showed that the amount of total phenolic and flavonoid
content was higher in acetone extract (55.80±2.75 mg PE/g DW, 1.505±0.013 mg RE/g DW) than methanol extract (46.72±4.69 mg PE/g DW, 1.138±0.016 mg RE/g DW). Higher Free Radical Scavenging and iron reducing power of butanol extract was observed (0.0104±0.0004 and 0.1139±0.0112 mg/mL). Results of antibacterial activity showed that Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus were inhibited by all the extract. Thus, only methanol and butanol extract was active against
Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results showed that ethyl acetate extract revealed the strongest activity against all the test fungi specially, toward Aspergillus flavus (10 mm at 50 mg/mL).


Relative importance of the exploitation of medicinal plants in traditional
medicine in the Northeastern Sahara

The objective of this study was to highlight the relative importance related to the exploitation of medicinal plants in the South East of Algeria. For this reason, the ethnobotanical survey was conducted in a very
systematic way, a record of 10 successive dwellings was collected within rural and urban areas in both Ouargla and Touggourt. This was followed by an analysis of results by the application of some ecological clues. The
investigation led to the identification of 65 species covering 36 families that treat several diseases. On one hand,the centesimal frequency of use is the highest in the rural area of Ouargla (QRO) with 95.23% and in
descending order for the species Artemisia herba alba Asso. (chih), Mentha spicata L. (naa naa), Origanum vulgare L. (zaatar) and Juniperus communis L. (aaraar), on the other hand. The four classes of constancy are
present, but the accidental species are very important in the four (04) districts. The type of distribution calculated for all species of medicinal plants in different areas showed a contagious distribution. And the
application of automatic classification showed that urban sites are very similar. In the end, this approach has identified the species and has reported the first results obtained by the ecological analysis to better understand
the exploitation of species in the studied area.


Etude ethnobotanique des plantes médicinales et aromatiques dans le sud algérien : le Touat et le Tidikelt


Caract´erisation et variabilit´e des plantes `a parfum aromatiques et m´edicinales de Corse et de l’Ouest
alg´erien



Activités antioxydantes des polyphenols extraits de plantes médicinales
de la pharmacopée traditionnelle d’Algérie ABSTRACT: Oxidative stress is responsible for several diseases. This phenomenal has moved researchers into action in looking for new remedies «antioxidants». In this context, the study of the antioxidant activity of hydro-ethanolic extracts of eight
(08) plants used in Algerian pharmacopoeia has been performed. These plants are from Laghouat region ((Atlas Sahara). The extracts from these eight plants were obtained by ultrasound assisted extraction. The quantitative estimation of flavonoids,flavanones and total phenols by the spectophotometric method showed that the eight extracts contain these compounds. The evaluation of antioxidant capacity by the method of free radical scavenging test showed that all of the extracts have a
very good reductive activity, especially for Arbutus undo extract which presented a percentage of inhibition equal to 90% with an EC50 estimated to 0.006 mg/ml. On the other hand, the FRAP test revealed that the Zizyphus lotus extract has the best reducing power than those of the other extracts, but it remains relatively low compared to the ascorbic acid used as
positive control.

Deuxième rapport national sur l’état des ressources phytogénétiques


Pour survivre, ces plantes adoptent des stratégies de défense envers les herbivores.Cette stratégie est soit mécanique,comme l'acacias et ses épines très dures de plus de 8 cm de long, soit chimique, avec les plantes toxiques comme l'euphorbe Sont indiqués le nom français, le nom scientifique et le nom tamahaq, la langue locale des Touareg.


PLACE DES PLANTES SPONTANEES DANS LA MEDICINE TRADITIONNELLE DE LA REGION DE OUARGLA
(SAHARA SEPTENTRIONAL EST)

Une enquête auprès de la population locale, a permis d’inventorier 37 espèces dont, 27 ont pu être échantillonnées sur terrain. Les familles les plus importantes sont les Composées (13,51%), les Graminées (10,81%), les Chénopodiacées (8,10 %) et les Labiées (8,10%). Les maladies dominantes sont, la pathologie digestive (26,38%), les algies diverses (15,27), les
dermatoses (13,88 %), la pathologie broncho-pulmonaire et les affections internes avec 12,50% chacune, la pathologie féminine et les piqûres de scorpion avec 9,72 % chacune. L’administration orale, qui regroupe la majorité des modes de préparation : infusion, macération, décoction, tisane, poudre interne est la plus préconisée. Les parties utilisées, sont
respectivement les feuilles, les tiges, les fruits, les racines et les inflorescences.


Extraction, composition et propriétés physico-chimiques de l'huile
essentielle du Géranium Rosat (Pelargonium graveolens L.) cultivé dans
la plaine de Mitidja (Algérie).

Notre étude se veut une plaidoirie pour booster la culture d’une plante aromatique et médicinale, le géranium rosat (Pelargonium
graveolens), largement répandue jadis en Algérie. L’extraction de sa fraction aromatique offre de nouvelles perspectives en aromathérapie
via la mise au point de nouvelles préparations galéniques à visée thérapeutique.L’extraction des huiles essentielles de la plante, accomplie par hydrodistillation juste après la floraison, a donné un rendement de 0,2%
légèrement supérieur à celui des normes AFNOR (0,15%).
Des coupes microscopiques au niveau des tiges par la technique de double coloration (vert de méthyle-rouge Congo) ont révélé la présence
de structures sécrétrices superficielles (poils glandulaires) à l’origine d’une cinétique rapide lors de l’extraction.Les résultats des analyses physico-chimiques de l’huile essentielle sont en accord avec ceux des normes AFNOR. L’analyse de sacomposition chimique par chromatographie gazeuse-spectrométrie de masse a permis de classer cette huile en « chémotype citronellolcultivar Chine » reconnue pour sa richesse en citronellol, formate de citronellyle, géraniol avec, respectivement, des taux de 33,2, 10,5 et 5,4%. De part sa composition chimique, cette huile essentielle pourrait trouver moult utilisations en thérapeutique.
Mots-Clés : Géranium rosat, Pelargonium graveolens, Huile essentielle, Mitidja, Citronellol, Géraniol.


EXTRACTION ET ETUDE DES HUILES ESSENTIELLES DE LA SALVIA
OFFICINALIS.L CUEILLIE DANS DEUX REGIONS DIFFERENTES DE
LA TUNISIE

ABSTRACT: Extraction and a study of essential oils of Salvia officinalis from two different regions in Tunisia. The composition of the essential oils of the aerial parts of Salvia officinalis, obtained by hydrodistillation, collected from two areas in Tunisia, was analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID.
The essential oils of the organic phase and those extracted from the aqueous phase, obtained from the two plants materials collected, have a different chemical composition. More than 90% of the total of components was detected. The main components are: α−thujone (26,49%-
10,58%), β-thujone (13,09%-3,09%), 1,8-cineol (31,89%-8,58%), camphor (40,14%-2,10%), the viridiflorol (18,96%-1,73%) and the caryophyllene (9,04%-0,5%). The chemotype of the
Salvia officinalis studied is the α−thujone.


Composition chimique et activité antimicrobienne des
huiles essentielles de Thymus algeriensis Boiss. & Reut. et
Thymus ciliatus (Desf.) Benth. du Maroc


Antioxidant potential of African medicinal plants
Considerable evidence have accumulated to implicate
cellular damage arising from reactive oxygen species
(ROS), at least in part, in the etiology and
pathophysiology of human diseases such as
neurodegenerative disorders (e.g. Alzeimer disease,
Parkinson disease, multiple schlerosis, Down’s
syndrome), inflammation, viral infections, autoimmune
pathologies, and digestive system disorders such as
gastrointestinal inflammation and ulcer ( Reppeto and
Llesuy, 2002; Aruoma, 2003; Surh and Fergusson,
2003). In living systems, free-radicals are generated as
part of the body’s normal metabolic process, and the free
radical chain reactions are usually produced in the
mitochondrial respiratory chain, liver mixed function
oxidases, by bacterial leucocytes, through xanthine
oxidase activity, atmospheric pollutants, and from
transitional metal catalysts, drugs and xenobiotics. In
addition, chemical mobilization of fat stores under
various conditions such as lactation, exercise, fever,
infection and even fasting, can result in increased radical
activity and damage, in particular, to the immune and
nervous systems, while the stress hormones (adrenalin
and noradrenalin) secreted by the adrenal glands under
conditions of continuing and excessive emotional stress,
are metabolised into simpler, albeit, free radical
molecules.

Antimicrobial activity of nine medicinal plants growing in the south
of Algeria

Methanolic and aqueous extracts of nine Algerian plant species used in folk medicine were investigated for their antimicrobial activities against five bacteria strains: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter
aerogenes and one fungus: Candida albicans . The plants exhibited important antimicrobial activity with a significant difference between the different plants. The most active plants were Tamarix gallica, Rhetinolepis sp and Muscari Comosun. Most of the tested plant extracts were active against Candida albicans. Of all extracts, the Methanolic extract of Rhetinolepis sp was
the most active (diameter ranges between 15mm and 22mm) whereas, the aqueous extract of Tamarix Gallica was the most active of all tested aqueous extracts (Diameter ranges between 10
mm and 17 mm).

Antibacterial, antioxidant and acute toxicity tests on flavonoids extracted from some medicinal plants

Flavonoids are well-known for their many therapeutic and pharmaceutical effects. In this study, we tested the antibacterial activity
of 11 flavonoids extracted from some medicinal plants by the agar diffusion method. Then, we measured their antioxidant activity using
the DPPH (2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical assay and we also tested their acute toxicity effect on mice.
The results showed that apigenin-7-O-glucoside was more active against the Gram-positive bacteria and quercetin was more active against the
Gram-negative ones. Also, quercetin and diosmin showed the best antioxidant activity. Quercetin, apigenin-7-O-glucoside, luteolin-7-O-glucoside
and luteolin-3'-O-glucuronide gave the best acute toxicity values. It can be concluded that quercetin was the most interesting compound
for all the tested activities. Also, we observed that the presence or the absence of substitutions in flavonoids influenced significantly the results obtained, whereas the substitution type had a low impact.


Phytotherapy of Diabetes in West Algeria

Medicinal plants have been used since remote times in
folk medicine and they are now a part of the people inheritage.
Through North African countries, todays folk medicine has been
boosted as a consequence of hard economic conditions. Because
of its geographical situation, climate and soil composition,
Tlemcen's region offers a wide variety of plants and flowers.
The frequent usage of medicinal plants in the Tlemcen's
region by diabetics prompted us in development of these
plants. This induced us to set up traditional hypoglycaemic
plants sample survey with a view to setting forth the benefit
they could bring about for patients affected by diabetes. The
results gathered from 634 inquiry forms (435 women and
199 men) were separated into two groups: diabetics using
medicinal plants (62 %) and using industrial hypoglycaemic
medicines (38 %). Those results showed that phytotherapy
was widely adopted by west Algerian society. The survey
undertaken allowed us to observe that more than 58 plants
were used in traditional care of diabetes of which the most
used were Trigonella foenum graecum L. (Leguminosae),
Citrullus colocynthis L. Schrad. (Cucurbitaceae), Saccocalyx
satureioïdes Coss. and Dur. (Labiatae), Berberis vulgaris L.
(Berberidaceae) and Aloe vera Trabut (Liliaceae). Moreover,
present findings showed that non-insulin dependent patients
used more medicinal plants than insulin-dependent patients.



Some medicinal plants of Arabian Pennisula

Many nations of the world have traditional medicine. Arabs were the first to distil alcohol. The existence and use of plants to treat human diseases is as old as man. Some plants have opportunity, either to be or of being transferred from their original natural environment to another. To determine whether
traditional medicines were available for the treatment of diseases in Arabian Pennisula, a literature review of the plants used by Arabs was completed which led to identification of about 150 medicinal plants used in the treatment of human diseases in the Pennisula. Some of the listed plants are already
available in Nigeria perhaps as a result of interaction between Arabs/Jews from Middle East and ArabBarbas,
Tuaregs, Fulanis and Hausas in Africa through trans Sahara trade and pilgrimages.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Recent Posts

Traditional healing

Traditional healing

Medicinal trees

Medicinal trees

grain.org - english

Biodiversity Policy & Practice - Daily RSS Feed

Rainforest Portal RSS News Feed

What's New on the Biosafety Protocol

Rainforest Portal RSS News Feed