scholarly journals The co-evolution of people, plants, and parasites: biological and cultural adaptations to malaria

2003 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina L. Etkin
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Plant Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Darwinian Evolution ◽  
Cultural Adaptations ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Genetic Traits ◽  
Human Effort ◽  
Pharmaceutical Agents ◽  
Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase ◽  
Drug Resistant Strains

The urgency generated by drug-resistant strains of malaria has accelerated anti-malarial drug research over the last two decades. While synthetic pharmaceutical agents continue to dominate research, attention increasingly has been directed to natural products. The present paper explores the larger context in which plant use occurs and considers how the selection of medicinal plants has evolved over millennia as part of the larger human effort to mediate illness. First attention is directed to indigenous medicinal plants whose anti-malarial activity is based on an oxidant mode of action, by which intracellular constituents lose electrons (become more electropositive). Next, parallels are drawn between these plant substances and a suite of malaria-protective genetic traits: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency; haemoglobins S, C and E; α- and β-thalassemias. These erythrocyte anomalies are classic examples of Darwinian evolution, occurring in high frequency in populations who have experienced considerable selective pressure from malaria. Characterized by discrete loci and pathophysiologies, they are united through the phenomenon of increased erythrocyte oxidation. In this model, then, oxidant anti-malarial plants are culturally constructed analogues, and molecular mimics, of these genetic adaptations. To further reinforce the scheme, it is noted that the anti-malarial action of pharmaceutical agents such as chloroquine and mefloquine duplicates both the genetic anomalies and the folk therapeutic models based in oxidant plants. This discussion coheres around a theoretical foundation that relates plant secondary metabolites (oxidants) to plasmodial biochemistry and human biological and cultural adaptations to malaria. Co-evolution provides a theoretical link that illuminates how medical cultures manage the relationships among humans, plants, herbivores and their respective pathogens.

scholarly journals Features of the rhiospheric microbiota of medicinal plants

2019 ◽  
pp. 61-65
Author(s):  
H.O. Zhatova ◽  
L.M. Bondarieva ◽  
Y.V. Koplyk
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Medicinal Plant ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Plant Residues ◽  
Trophic Groups ◽  
Mentha Longifolia ◽  
Number Of Microorganisms ◽  
Bergenia Crassifolia

Medicinal plants are the source of biologically active compounds that are in constant demand for the pharmacological industry. Active production of plant secondary metabolites is possible only under optimal conditions of plant growth and development. The state of medicinal plants is controlled not only by genotype and environmental conditions but by the qualitative and quantitative composition of their microbiota as well. The study of the structure and function of the rhizospheric communities of medicinal plants is important for obtaining of high quality medicinal raw materials. Microorganisms are the constant companions of higher plants, which can be used as a medicinal raw material. The rhizosphere microbiota is highly specific, even between different varieties of the same plant species. Each plant species has a specific microbiome of the rhizosphere, depending on the existing soil community. The rhizosphere of medicinal plants is marked by a special highly specific microbiome due to the specificity of root exudates.  Active cell secretion of the roots provides nutrient substrates with microorganisms that form strong associations both inside the root tissues and on the root surface as well as in the soil around the roots. The purpose of the research was to study the effect of medicinal plants of different systematic groups on the composition of the microbial communities of the rhizosphere. The experiments were conducted in 2018–2019 at the nursery medicinal plant plot of the Department of ecology and botany of Sumy National Agrarian University. Ecological-trophic groups of microorganisms associated with the roots of medicinal plants in the experiment were represented by ammonifying bacteria, nitrogen-fixing bacteria and bacterias that destroyed of plant residues (cellulose-destroying bacteria). In the analysis of the total number of microorganisms of the rhizosphere revealed differences in the quantitative and qualitative composition of microbiota, due to the specific features of a medicinal plant. Positive influence on the development of microflora in the area of the roots and individual ecological-trophic groups had Mentha longifolia (L)., and a negative effect was observed in plants of Bergenia crassifolia L. It has been established that the number of microorganisms and the diversity of ecological-trophic groups is due to the belonging of a medicinal plant to a particular taxon. The number of microorganisms and their diversity decreased in the direction of: Mentha longifolia – Lysimachia vulgaris – Aristolochia clematitis – Achillea submillefolium – Bergenia crassifolia.

scholarly journals Plant-Based Solutions to Global Livestock Anthelmintic Resistance

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine E. French
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Anthelmintic Resistance ◽  
Intestinal Parasites ◽  
Plant Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Livestock Health

Anthelmintic resistance in livestock is increasing globally. Livestock intestinal parasites now develop resistance to synthetic anthelmintics within 2–10 years, collectively costing billions of dollars annually in lost revenue around the world.  Over-reliance on commercial drugs and dips and changes in livestock management practices are key drivers of this trend.  To date, current research has focused on identifying new anthelmintics from bacterial and fungal sources or even synthesizing new drugs that target parasite metabolism or reproduction. Plant-derived anthelmintics are a promising alternative, yet to date major research funders and scientists have overlooked this option. Until the mid-20th century, rural communities relied on plant-based methods of controlling livestock parasites. These methods include feeding livestock specific medicinal plants and trees, grazing livestock on herbal leys, and changing where livestock grazed based on ecological factors (e.g., flooding) that increased parasite burdens. Many historic texts and ethnological accounts record the ethnobotanical knowledge of rural communities and the plants they used to control livestock intestinal parasites. Some traditions persist today yet the farmers, graziers, and shepherds who hold this knowledge are rapidly disappearing and with them perhaps a potential long-term solution to anthelmintic resistance. This short perspective piece will cover recent research using ethnobotanical data as a means to identifying potential new anthelmintics; the morphological, physiological, and metabolic effect of plant secondary metabolites on parasites; and an overview of “best practices” which can reduce bias in assessments of plant bioactivity and increase reproducibility of test results. This will hopefully bring recent advances in ethnobiology, chemistry, and ecology to new audiences, and, potentially, spark new interest in using medicinal plants to improve livestock health.

scholarly journals Plant Secondary Metabolites Produced in Response to Abiotic Stresses Has Potential Application in Pharmaceutical Product Development

Molecules ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 313
Author(s):  
Karma Yeshi ◽  
Darren Crayn ◽  
Edita Ritmejerytė ◽  
Phurpa Wangchuk
Keyword(s):  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Plant Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Pharmacological Activities ◽  
Alternative Source ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industries

Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) are vital for human health and constitute the skeletal framework of many pharmaceutical drugs. Indeed, more than 25% of the existing drugs belong to PSMs. One of the continuing challenges for drug discovery and pharmaceutical industries is gaining access to natural products, including medicinal plants. This bottleneck is heightened for endangered species prohibited for large sample collection, even if they show biological hits. While cultivating the pharmaceutically interesting plant species may be a solution, it is not always possible to grow the organism outside its natural habitat. Plants affected by abiotic stress present a potential alternative source for drug discovery. In order to overcome abiotic environmental stressors, plants may mount a defense response by producing a diversity of PSMs to avoid cells and tissue damage. Plants either synthesize new chemicals or increase the concentration (in most instances) of existing chemicals, including the prominent bioactive lead compounds morphine, camptothecin, catharanthine, epicatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), quercetin, resveratrol, and kaempferol. Most PSMs produced under various abiotic stress conditions are plant defense chemicals and are functionally anti-inflammatory and antioxidative. The major PSM groups are terpenoids, followed by alkaloids and phenolic compounds. We have searched the literature on plants affected by abiotic stress (primarily studied in the simulated growth conditions) and their PSMs (including pharmacological activities) from PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE Ovid, Google Scholar, Databases, and journal websites. We used search keywords: “stress-affected plants,” “plant secondary metabolites, “abiotic stress,” “climatic influence,” “pharmacological activities,” “bioactive compounds,” “drug discovery,” and “medicinal plants” and retrieved published literature between 1973 to 2021. This review provides an overview of variation in bioactive phytochemical production in plants under various abiotic stress and their potential in the biodiscovery of therapeutic drugs. We excluded studies on the effects of biotic stress on PSMs.

scholarly journals Advances and challenges on the in vitro production of secondary metabolites from medicinal plants

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Carlos Cardoso ◽  
Maria Eduarda BS de Oliveira ◽  
Fernanda de CI Cardoso
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Plant Secondary Metabolites ◽  
In Vitro Production ◽  
In Vitro Techniques ◽  
Horticultural Plants ◽  
Vitro Production

ABSTRACT The production of secondary metabolites from medicinal plants, also called Plant-Derived Medicinal Compounds (PDMC), is gaining ground in the last decade. Concomitant to the increase in the knowledge about pharmacological properties of these compounds, horticultural plants are becoming the most important, sustainable and low-cost biomass source to obtain high-complex PDMCs to be used as medicaments. Biotechnological tools, including plant cell and tissue culture and plant genetic transformation, are increasingly being employed to produce high quality and rare PDMC under in vitro conditions. The proper use of these technologies requires studies in organogenesis to allow for better control of in vitro plant development and, thus, to the production of specific tissues and activation of biochemical routes that result in the biosynthesis of the target PDMCs. Either biotic or abiotic factors, called elicitors, are responsible for triggering the PDMC synthesis. In vitro techniques, when compared to the conventional cultivation of medicinal plants in greenhouse or in the field, have the advantages of (1) producing PDMCs in sterile and controlled environmental conditions, allowing better control of the developmental processes, such as organogenesis, and (2) producing tissues with high PDMC contents, due to the efficient use of different biotic and abiotic elicitors. Nevertheless, the process has many challenges, e.g., the establishment of step-by-step protocols for in vitro biomass and PDMC production, both involving and being affected by many factors. Other limitations are the high costs in opposition to the relatively cheaper alternative of growing medicinal plants conventionally. This paper aims to quickly review the general origin of plant secondary metabolites, the leading techniques and recent advances for PDMC in vitro production, and the challenges around the use of this promising technology.

Anti-mycobacterial Constituents from Medicinal Plants; A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nandan Sarkar ◽  
Yadu Nandan Dey ◽  
Dharmendra Kumar ◽  
Mogana R
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Review Article ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Drug Resistant ◽  
Drug Discovery And Development ◽  
Resistant Strains ◽  
Drug Resistant Strains

: Effective treatment of tuberculosis has been hindered by the emergence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium therapeutic facilities tuberculosis. With the global resurgence of tuberculosis with the development of multidrug-resistant cases, there is a call for the development of new drugs to combat these diseases. Throughout history, natural products have afforded a rich source of compounds that have found many applications in the fields of medicine, pharmacy and biology, and continued to play a significant role in the drug discovery and development process. This review article depicts the various potential plant extracts as well as plant-derived phytoconstituents against the H37rv, the most persistent strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its multidrug strains.

scholarly journals Effect of Polyploidy Induction on Natural Metabolite Production in Medicinal Plants

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 899
Author(s):  
Hadi Madani ◽  
Ainoa Escrich ◽  
Bahman Hosseini ◽  
Raul Sanchez-Muñoz ◽  
Abbas Khojasteh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Chromosome Doubling ◽  
Culture Media ◽  
Plant Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Metabolite Production ◽  
Induction Process ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Natural Metabolite

Polyploidy plays an important role in plant diversification and speciation. The ploidy level of plants is associated with morphological and biochemical characteristics, and its modification has been used as a strategy to alter the quantitative and qualitative patterns of secondary metabolite production in different medicinal plants. Polyploidization can be induced by many anti-mitotic agents, among which colchicine, oryzalin, and trifluralin are the most common. Other variables involved in the induction process include the culture media, explant types, and exposure times. Due to the effects of polyploidization on plant growth and development, chromosome doubling has been applied in plant breeding to increase the levels of target compounds and improve morphological characteristics. Prompted by the importance of herbal medicines and the increasing demand for drugs based on plant secondary metabolites, this review presents an overview of how polyploidy can be used to enhance metabolite production in medicinal plants.

scholarly journals Antibacterial activity of combined medicinal plants extract against multiple drug resistant strains

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. S151-S154
Author(s):  
Rafiqul Islam ◽  
Md. Shahedur Rahman ◽  
Riad Hossain ◽  
Nazmun Nahar ◽  
Belal Hossin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibacterial Activity ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Multiple Drug ◽  
Drug Resistant ◽  
Multiple Drug Resistant ◽  
Resistant Strains ◽  
Drug Resistant Strains ◽  
Plants Extract

scholarly journals A Review on Cardioprotective Mechanism of Chemical Constituents of Medicinal Plants

2021 ◽  
pp. 104-114
Author(s):  
Sreya Kosanam ◽  
Rajeshwari Pasupula
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Cardiac Glycosides ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Plant Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Cardiac Diseases ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Open Access Journals

Plants are the major source of human living. Since the beginning of the era, plants have been used for medicinal purposes. There is dire to explore the mechanism of chemical constituents in plants and particularly saponins, cardiac glycosides, and flavonoids due to their mechanism to save damaged cells in cardiac muscle. Databases like Google Scholar, Medline, PubMed, and the Directory of Open Access Journals were searched to find the articles describing the cardioprotective mechanism of medicinal plants. Saponin, flavonoids, glycoside, steroid, alkaloids, tannin, phenol, phlorotannin, terpenoids, and anthraquinone are chemical constituents in plants that enhance cardioprotection activity and decreases cardiac abnormalities. The current review article provides data on the use of medicinal plants, specifically against cardiac diseases, as well as an investigation of molecules/phytoconstituents as plant secondary metabolites for their cardioprotective potential.

scholarly journals Utilization of Plants for Medicinal Purposes and Concerns with Endangered Plant Species from Ghana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred Ofori Agyemang ◽  
Bernard Kofi Turkson ◽  
Michael Frimpong Baidoo ◽  
Isaac Kingsley Amponsah ◽  
Merlin Lincoln Kwao Mensah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Medicinal Plant ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Medicinal Plant Species ◽  
Herbal Products ◽  
Endangered Medicinal Plant ◽  
Important Relationship ◽  
Pharmaceutical Agents ◽  
Drug Leads

There has always been a strong human dependency on plants for health purposes and such an important relationship should be sustained. Plants remain a repository of drug leads for discovering new pharmaceutical agents for prevention, treatment and improving the quality of health for many people globally. In the effort to improve healthcare services, Ghana put up the Recommended Essential Herbal Medicine List (REHML) consisting of products that are used in the treatment of both Communicable and non-Communicable diseases. To inspire confidence among prescribers and clients of the products it has become necessary to validate the plants and their products. The aim of the study was to identify the medicinal plants' species in the herbal products in Ghana’s REHML commonly used for treatment, the conditions being treated with them and finding published research for the plants therapeutic use. Medicinal plants on the REHML with chances of getting extinct were also assessed. The REHML of Ghana and the Ghana Herbal Pharmacopoeia were reviewed for the required information. Electronic databases; PubMed and Scopus, as well as online search engines, Google Scholar and Google were used to obtain information on the identified medicinal plants and their families. A total of 167 medicinal plant species were found to be used in 180 products as compiled in the Ghana REHML and these belonged to 63 botanical families. Most of the medicinal plants are collected from the wild making sustainability and bio-conservation a challenge. Decoctions, creams and ointments are the commonest dosage forms. The REHML of Ghana caters for 13 disease areas using 180 finished herbal products. These products are made from 167 medicinal plants, 16 of which are in the group of medicinal plants classified as endangered species. There should be a conscious effort to bio-conserve these endangered medicinal plant species so that there can be continuous supply for use in the preparation of herbal products for healthcare purposes. 

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