Ashley Glenn

Toxicity of medicinal plants used in traditional medicine in Northern Peru

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE The plant species reported here are traditionally used in Northern Peru for a wide range of illnesses. Most remedies are prepared as ethanol or aqueous extracts and then ingested. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential toxicity of these extracts. MATERIALS AND METHODS The toxicity of ethanolic and water extracts of 341 plant species was determined using a brine-shrimp assay. RESULTS Overall 24% of the species in water extract and 76% of the species in alcoholic extract showed elevated toxicity levels to brine-shrimp. Although in most cases multiple extracts of the same species showed very similar toxicity values, in some cases the toxicity of different extracts of the same species varied from non-toxic to highly toxic. CONCLUSIONS Traditional preparation methods take different toxicity levels in aqueous and ethanol extracts into account when choosing the appropriate solvent for the preparation of a remedy.

Medicinal plants used in Northern Peru for reproductive problems and female health

Infections of the reproductive tract, complications after childbirth, and reproductive problems continue to be a major health challenge worldwide. An impressive number of plant species is traditionally used to remedy such afflictions, and some have been investigated for their efficacy with positive results. A total of 105 plant species belonging to 91 genera and 62 families were documented and identified as herbal remedies for reproductive problems in Northern Peru. Most species used were Asteraceae (9.52%), followed by Lamiaceae and Fabaceae (8.57% and 6.67%). The most important families are clearly represented very similarly to their overall importance in the local pharmacopoeia. The majority of herbal preparations for reproductive afflictions were prepared from the leaves of plants (22.72%), the whole plant (21.97%), and stems (21.21%), while other plant parts were used less frequently. More than 60% of the cases fresh plant material was used to prepare remedies. Over 70% of the remedies were applied orally, while the remaining ones were applied topically. Many remedies were prepared as mixtures of multiple ingredients.Little scientific evidence exists to prove the efficacy of the species employed as reproductive disorder remedies in Northern Peru. Only 34% of the plants found or their congeners have been studied at all for their medicinal properties. The information gained on frequently used traditional remedies might give some leads for future targets for further analysis in order to develop new drugs.

Herbal mixtures in traditional medicine in Northern Peru

The investigation of plant mixtures used in traditional medicine in Northern Peru yielded a total of 974 herbal preparations used to treat 164 different afflictions. Psychosomatic disorders were, with almost 30% of all recipes applied, the most important afflictions treated. In most cases, healers used only one or two mixtures to treat an illness. However, up to 49 different preparations were used to treat the same disease. This indicates a high degree of experimentation. Altogether 330 plant species, representing almost 65% of the medicinal flora used in the region were applied in mixtures. The overwhelming number of plant mixtures contained 2-7 different plant species, although in the most extreme case 27 distinct species were included. The cluster analysis confirmed that mixtures used for applications like inflammations, infections and blood purification, as well as cough, cold, bronchitis or other respiratory disorders, or urinary infection and kidney problems had similar floristic compositions. Mixtures used for nervous system disorders, anxiety and heart problems often had a similar composition

Traditional knowledge for modern ailments - plants used for the treatment of diabetes and cancer in Northern Peru

more often used than characteristic for the overall medicinal preparations found in the region, while whole plants were employed less frequently. This indicates that the local healers count on a very well developed knowledge about the properties of different plant parts. In almost 60% of the cases fresh plant material was used to prepare remedies, which differs little from the average herbal preparation mode in Northern Peru. Over 90% of the remedies were applied orally. This is significantly different from the regional average of application. Over half of all remedies were prepared as mixtures with multiple ingredients by boiling plant material either in water or in sugarcane spirit. Little scientific evidence exists to date to prove the efficacy of the species employed as anti-cancer and anti-diabetic remedies in Northern Peru. Only 38.71% of the plants found to be used for diabetes treatments and 17.65% employed as anti-cancer remedies or related species in the same genus have been studied at all. Traditional medicines are still the main and often only choice for a large part of the global population. The information gained on frequently used traditional remedies against cancer and diabetes related illnesses might give some leads for future targets for further analysis in order to develop new drugs. However, more detailed scientific studies are desperately needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the remedies employed traditionally.