NOPR Collection:

Unequal brothers – Plant and fungal use in Guria and Racha, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Unequal brothers – Plant and fungal use in Guria and Racha, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus Authors: Bussmann; Rainer, W; Zambrana, Paniagua; Narel, Y; Shalva, Sikharulidze; Zaal, Kikvidze; Kikodze, David; Tchelidze, David; Batsatsashvili, Ketevan; Hart, RE; Robbie, E Abstract: Guria and Racha are historical provinces of Republic of Georgia, located on the South-facing macro-slope of the western part of the Greater Caucasus (Racha) and East of the Lesser Caucasus towards the Black Sea (Guria).In this study we documented traditional plant use in Guria and Racha, and hypothesized that (1) plant use knowledge in general would be higher in isolated high elevation communities, and that (2) use of home gardens would be much more restricted to lower elevation settings. Fieldwork was conducted in Lechkhumi in July–August 2014, and in Guria and Racha in July-August 2016. Interviews using semi-structured questionnaires were conducted with 32 participants (10 women and 22 men), with oral prior informed consent. We encountered 338 plant species belonging to 252 genera of 101 vascular plant families, 4 undetermined species, and 20 fungal species and 15 undetermined fungi, belonging to at least 16 genera of 16 families being used in the research region. Of these 223 species were exclusively wild-collected, 110 were grown in home gardens, and 56 were both grown in gardens and collected in the wild. Plants and their uses mostly overlapped among the areas within the region, with a slightly wider divergence in uses than in plants. The environmental fit analysis showed that a large degree of this variation was explained by differences among participant communities. The elevation of the participant community significantly fit the ordination in plant-space and explained a large degree of the variation in plant species reported but not in use-space. Gender was not significant in plant-space or use-space. Page(s): 7-33

Ethnobiological study of traditional medicine practices for the treatment of chronic leg ulcer in South eastern Nigeria

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Ethnobiological study of traditional medicine practices for the treatment of chronic leg ulcer in South eastern Nigeria Authors: Nwafor, Felix I; Tchimene, Michel K; Onyekere, Peculiar F; Nweze, Nkechinyere O; Orabueze, Celestina I Abstract: A comprehensive survey was carried out to document plants and non-plant materials used in traditional medicine practices for the treatment of chronic leg ulceration in 13 randomly selected Local Government Areas in Anambra and Enugu States of South east Nigeria. Semi-structured questionnaires as well as informal interviews were administered on 92 respondents, including specialist herbalists, local herb sellers, hunters and other groups of people rich in traditional medicine knowledge. Photography and short interviews were conducted on some of the patients met in some popular herbal clinics to obtain their perspectives of the disease. All interviewed respondents gave descriptions that fitted exactly into the general diagnosis of leg ulcer but with different methods of preparation and modes of administration of the herbal recipes. Thirty six (36) recipes prepared from 78 plants and 14 non-plant materials were documented as described by the respondents. The 78 plants spread across 41 families. Herbal products were administered orally and by topical application. This study can form a basis through which pharmaceutical industries can screen these plant species and possibly come out with useful medicines for treatment of chronic leg ulceration and other related forms of skin ulcer. Page(s): 34-42

Cytotoxic activities of some Turkish medicinal plants against HeLa cells in vitro

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Cytotoxic activities of some Turkish medicinal plants against HeLa cells in vitro Authors: Bozkurt-Guzel, Cagla; Serbetci, Tuba; Kultur, Sukran Abstract: The aim of this study was to characterize the biological activities of traditionally used medicinal plants generally collected from Kırklareli, Turkey against cancer. We evaluated the cytotoxic activities of different extracts prepared from Urtica dioica L. 1, Achillea millefolium L. ssp. pannonica 2, Malva sylvestris L. 3, Stachys cretica L. ssp . mersinaea (Boiss.) Rechf.f. (endemic) 4, Melissa officinalis L. 5, Cotinus coggyria Scop. 6, Sorbus aucuparia L. 7 , and Plantago major L. ssp. major 8 species. Ethanol (a), petroleum ether (b), dichloromethane (c) and ethyl acetate (d) fractions of each plant material were obtained. Cytotoxicity in HeLa cells was evaluated using the MTT assay. Among the extracts, 7c, 2b, 6d, 7d, 7a, 2c, and 3b showed potent cytotoxic activity with IC₅₀ values of less than 50 μg/mL, in descending order. Dichloromethane extract of S. aucuparia is considered highly active, with IC₅₀ of 15±03 (mean ± SD) μg/mL. The extracts 8a and 8b also showed good cytotoxic activity. According to the results, dichloromethane extracts of S. aucuparia had the most potent anticancer activity in HeLa cells and should be considered as a potential clinical agent. The results support the ethnomedical claims for these species and suggest further in vitro and/or in vivo studies of the active extracts. Page(s): 43-49

In vitro antibacterial and antitumor efficiency of some traditional plants from Turkey

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: In vitro antibacterial and antitumor efficiency of some traditional plants from Turkey Authors: Turker, Arzu Ucar; Yildirim, Arzu Birinci; Karakas, Fatma Pehlivan; Turker, Hakan Abstract: Traditional usages of medicinal plants can be justified scientifically with bioassays. Three different extracts (aqueous, methanol and ethanol) of 11 Turkish traditional plants [Mentha longifolia (L.) L., Lamium album subsp. crinitum (Montbret & Aucher ex Benth.) Mennema, Sideritis taurica Steph. ex Willd., Hypericum perforatum L., Hypericum linarioides Bosse, Cyanus triumfettii (All.) Dostál ex Á. Löve & D. Löve, Daphne oleoides Schreb., Anemone nemorosa L., Polygonatum orientale Desf., Cynoglossum montanum L. and Hyoscyamus niger L.] were evaluated for their antibacterial and antitumor potentials. Antibacterial activity was evaluated with 3 Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus pyogenes) and 7 Gram-negative (Serratia marcescens, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterobacter cloacae and Escheria coli) bacteria by using disc diffusion method. Ethanol and methanol extracts of S. taurica, and all extracts of H. perforatum and H. linarioides showed the best antibacterial activities against tested Gram-positive bacteria. Aqueous extract of L. album displayed the best inhibition against Streptococcus pyogenes. Antitumour potential was revealed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens-induced potato disc tumor assay. Strong antitumor activity was observed with ethanol and methanol extracts of L. album (90 % and 80 %, respectively). This study ascertained the scientific rationale behind the traditional knowledge of S. taurica, H. perforatum, H. linarioides, L. album and D. oleoides. Identification of active components should be investigated for plant extracts having strong antibacterial and antitumor activities in further studies. Page(s): 50-58