RESUMEN
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes the potential of plants used in secular traditional medicine and considers this an important source of evidence to assess their effectiveness and safety. Brazil is rich in biodiversity and traditional uses based on the Amerindian culture. However, many processes started with the arrival of the Portuguese in the year 1500. The successive economic cycles, for example, led to destruction of native vegetation and an intense cultural erosion. As a consequence, the information about the use of plants in the past centuries are dispersed and without interpretation. In this study a methodology to evidence the traditionality of Brazilian plants was demonstrated using data about barbatimão barks (Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville - Fabaceae) and Copaiba oleoresin (Copaifera spp. - Fabaceae) in wound healing, was established. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data about use of the plants were recovered from bibliography published between 1576 and 2011. The books (101) were classified using weights, considering the date of publication and the source of Information. Older books that describe primary information received weight 10, while books written more recently and with secondary information received weight 0.4. A score for each category of medicinal use was calculated based on the books weights and the frequency of citation. A review about the current use of both plants was also performed from ethnobotanical studies published in journals. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The traditional secular use of barks of barbatimão and oleoresin of copaiba to treat wounds was confirmed based on the historic bibliographic research. The most frequent use of barbatimão in a timeline of 500 years of Brazil's history, was as astringent, whereas for copaíba was as healing of skin and mucosal lesions. The continuous and current use of these plants to treat wounds, confirmed by recent ethnobotanical studies, is an indicative of the resilience of these remedies and their effectiveness. CONCLUSION: The use of preparations containing barbatimão barks and copaiba oleoresin can be considered effective in the treatment of wounds. Nonetheless, it is necessary to improve the quality of the formulas as established by WHO.
Asunto(s)
Fabaceae/clasificación , Medicina Tradicional/métodos , Corteza de la Planta , Preparaciones de Plantas/clasificación , Obras Médicas de Referencia , Cicatrización de Heridas/efectos de los fármacos , Analgésicos/clasificación , Analgésicos/farmacología , Analgésicos/uso terapéutico , Antiinflamatorios/clasificación , Antiinflamatorios/farmacología , Antiinflamatorios/uso terapéutico , Astringentes/clasificación , Astringentes/farmacología , Astringentes/uso terapéutico , Brasil/etnología , Humanos , Corteza de la Planta/clasificación , Preparaciones de Plantas/farmacología , Preparaciones de Plantas/uso terapéutico , Plantas Medicinales/clasificación , Resinas de Plantas/clasificación , Resinas de Plantas/farmacología , Resinas de Plantas/uso terapéuticoRESUMEN
Astringency, an orosensory sensation associated with dietary tannins, contributes to food appetitiveness/aversiveness. However, astringency perception varies greatly among individuals. This study examined whether genetically homogeneous naïve mice display appetitiveness/aversiveness when provided with tannin-containing drink solutions. Ingestion of serial dilutions of tannic acid (TA) by inbred mice (A/Snell) was assessed by a one-bottle preference test. Drink intake was far predominant at night (circadian rhythm). TA concentration-dependently inhibited daily drink consumption. Overnight consumption of TA solutions (range = 0.5-8 g/L) decreased linearly to zero during the first night and was recovered significantly during subsequent nights. TA also inhibited drink consumption in another two inbred mouse strains. The protein fraction of saliva collected from naive mice was markedly reactive with TA at the concentrations shown to affect drink consumption. Thus, testing for drink ingestion in inbred mice during short-term (overnight) exposure to tannin-containing liquid foods represents an advantageous animal model for assessing astringency.
Asunto(s)
Astringentes/farmacología , Conducta Animal/efectos de los fármacos , Ingestión de Líquidos/efectos de los fármacos , Taninos/farmacología , Percepción del Gusto/efectos de los fármacos , Animales , Humanos , Masculino , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C3H , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Modelos AnimalesRESUMEN
Aluminium (Al) stress is an important factor limiting crop yields in acid soils. Despite this, very little is known about the mechanisms of resistance to this stress in woody plants. To understand the mechanisms of Al-toxicity and response in blueberries, we compared the impact of Al-stress in Al-resistant and Al-sensitive genotypes using Vaccinium corymbosum L. (Ericaceae) as a plant model. We investigated the effect of Al-stress on the physiological performance, oxidative metabolism and expression of genes that encode antioxidant enzymes in two V. corymbosum cultivars maintained hydroponically with AlCl(3) (0 and 100 µM). Microscopic analyses of Al-treated root tips suggested a higher degree of Al-induced morphological injury in Bluegold (sensitive genotype) compared to Brigitta (resistant genotype). Furthermore, the results indicated that Brigitta had a greater ability to control oxidative stress under Al-toxicity, as reflected by enhancement of several antioxidative and physiological properties (radical scavenging activity: RSA, superoxide dismutase: SOD and catalase: CAT; maximum quantum yield: Fv/Fm, effective quantum yield: ФPSII, electron transport rate: ETR and non-photochemical quenching: NPQ). Finally, we analyzed the expression of genes homologous to GST and ALDH, which were identified in a global expression analysis. In the resistant genotype, the expression of these genes in response to Al-stress was greater in leaves than in roots.
Asunto(s)
Compuestos de Aluminio/farmacología , Aluminio , Astringentes/farmacología , Arándanos Azules (Planta)/enzimología , Cloruros/farmacología , Resistencia a Medicamentos/efectos de los fármacos , Oxidorreductasas/biosíntesis , Proteínas de Plantas/biosíntesis , Raíces de Plantas/enzimología , Estrés Fisiológico/efectos de los fármacos , Cloruro de Aluminio , Antioxidantes/metabolismo , Arándanos Azules (Planta)/genética , Resistencia a Medicamentos/fisiología , Regulación Enzimológica de la Expresión Génica/efectos de los fármacos , Regulación Enzimológica de la Expresión Génica/fisiología , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas/efectos de los fármacos , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas/fisiología , Genotipo , Oxidación-Reducción/efectos de los fármacos , Estrés Oxidativo/efectos de los fármacos , Oxidorreductasas/genética , Proteínas de Plantas/genética , Raíces de Plantas/genética , Especificidad de la EspecieRESUMEN
Aluminum, a very abundant metal, could play a toxic role in several pathological processes, including neurodegeneration. Although the effects of Al(III) on biological membranes have been extensively described, direct information concerning the molecular basis of its biological activity is rather scanty. To examine aluminum challenges on cell membranes, various concentrations of AlCl3 in aqueous solutions were incubated with human erythrocytes, isolated toad skin, and molecular models of biomembranes. The latter consisted of multilayers of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine and dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine, representing phospholipid classes located in the outer and inner monolayers of the human erythrocyte membrane. These specimens were studied by scanning electron microscopy, electrophysiological measurements, and x-ray diffraction. The results indicate that Al(III) in the concentration range of 10-100 microM induced the following structural and functional effects: (i) change in the normal discoid shape of human erythrocytes to echinocytes due to the accumulation of Al(III) ions in the outer moiety of the red cell membrane; (ii) perturbation of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine, and to a lesser extent of dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine bilayers, and (iii) decrease in the short-circuit current and in the potential difference of the isolated toad skin, effects that are in accordance with a time-dependent modulation of ion transport in response to changes in the molecular structure of the lipid bilayer.
Asunto(s)
Compuestos de Aluminio/farmacología , Aluminio/toxicidad , Astringentes/farmacología , Membrana Celular/efectos de los fármacos , Cloruros/farmacología , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales/efectos adversos , Eritrocitos/efectos de los fármacos , Piel/efectos de los fármacos , Cloruro de Aluminio , Animales , Anuros/metabolismo , Membrana Celular/metabolismo , Membrana Celular/ultraestructura , Relación Dosis-Respuesta a Droga , Eritrocitos/metabolismo , Eritrocitos/ultraestructura , Humanos , Lípidos de la Membrana/metabolismo , Potenciales de la Membrana/efectos de los fármacos , Potenciales de la Membrana/fisiología , Microscopía Electrónica de Rastreo , Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/inducido químicamente , Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/metabolismo , Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/fisiopatología , Piel/metabolismo , Piel/ultraestructura , ATPasa Intercambiadora de Sodio-Potasio/efectos de los fármacos , ATPasa Intercambiadora de Sodio-Potasio/metabolismo , Difracción de Rayos XRESUMEN
We conducted an experiment to determine the effects of concentration and astringency of extractable and bound condensed tannins (CT) in tropical legumes on intake, digestibility, and nitrogen (N) utilization by sheep. The test legumes (Desmodium ovalifolium and Flemingia macrophylla) had similar concentrations of extractable CT (90 g/kg DM) but different concentrations of bound CT and astringency of tannins. Chopped, sun-dried forage of each legume was sprayed with either water (control) or polyethylene glycol (PEG, 35 g/kg of DM) to bind extractable CT and fed daily (26 g/kg BW) to eight sheep with ruminal and duodenal cannulas. The sheep also received starch-extracted cassava meal intraruminally (4 g/kg BW) as a constant source of readily fermentable carbohydrates. Intake of the two legumes was not different (P > .05), but it increased an average of 10% (P < .01) when extractable CT were reduced from 90 to 50 g/kg of DM with PEG. Ruminal and total tract digestibilities of OM, NDF, and ADF were greater (P < .01) with D. ovalifolium than with F. macrophylla and increased for both legumes with the addition of PEG. Greater (P < .01) N flow to the duodenum, N absorbed from the intestine, and fecal N were observed with F. macrophylla than with D. ovalifolium. Extraction of CT with PEG resulted in less (P < .05) ruminal escape protein and less (P < .01) fecal N with both legumes, but apparent postruminal N digestion was not affected. Changes in the concentration of extractable CT in tropical legumes can significantly affect forage intake, digestion, and N utilization by sheep.