Claudio Leto

Ethnobotanical study in the Madonie Regional Park (Central Sicily, Italy)--medicinal use of wild shrub and herbaceous plant species.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE This paper illustrates the results of an ethnobotanical study carried out in the Madonie Regional Park (Central Sicily, Italy). It specifies the medicinal uses of plants in the study area and contains the results of a quantitative analysis carried out for the first time in an area noted for its high degree of biodiversity. It also introduces 28 species not previously accounted for in the area of study for their medicinal uses, highlighting Silene flos-cuculi L. Greuter & Burdet, little known as medicinal in the Mediterranean area. AIM OF THE STUDY To understand to what extent current knowledge on medicinal-use plants is still an element of the culture within the elderly population of the Madonie Regional Park. METHODOLOGY The information was obtained using a semi-structured interview format performed on 150 informants over the age of 60 who were considered experts in plants and rural traditions. The taxa were identified and the results were analysed also using a range of quantitative ethnobotanical indices. RESULTS A census was made of 174 wild plant species, 100 of which with medicinal and veterinary uses, belonging to 49 botanical families. Of the 170 endemic species found in the Madonie Regional Park, only 2 species were cited in this study for medicinal purposes. Most of the species were used against dermatological diseases, general health and metabolic disorders. The leaves were the most-used parts of the plant and the most common preparation methods were decoction and infusion. The level of knowledge on medicinal uses of the plants was not found to be high within the elderly population, demonstrating an ongoing process of cultural erosion. CONCLUSIONS Only very few medicinal uses are widely known by all the informants and, on many occasions, a specific medicinal use was cited by only very few people. Further study is required in order to find out to what extent knowledge on the medicinal use of plants is still present in the younger generations in this area of Sicily, and what methods might be adopted in order to halt this gradual loss in knowledge.

Biomolecular Characterization of Wild Sicilian Oregano: Phytochemical Screening of Essential Oils and Extracts, and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant Activities

An extensive survey of wild Sicilian oregano was made. A total of 57 samples were collected from various sites, followed by taxonomic characterization from an agronomic perspective. Based on morphological and production characteristics obtained from the 57 samples, cluster analysis was used to divide the samples into homogeneous groups, to identify the best biotypes. All samples were analyzed for their phytochemical content, applying a cascade‐extraction protocol and hydrodistillation, to obtain the non volatile components and the essential oils, respectively. The extracts contained thirteen polyphenol derivatives, i.e., four flavanones, seven flavones, and two organic acids. Their qualitative and quantitative characterization was carried out by LC/MS analyses. The essential oils were characterized using a combination of GC‐FID and GC/MS analyses; a total of 81 components were identified. The major components of the oils were thymol, p‐cymene, and γ‐terpinene. Cluster analysis was carried out on both phytochemical profiles and resulted in the division of the oregano samples into different chemical groups. The antioxidant activity of the essential oils and extracts was investigated by the FolinCiocalteau (FC) colorimetric assay, by UV radiation‐induced peroxidation in liposomal membranes (UV‐IP test), and by determining the O

Popular uses of wild plant species for medicinal purposes in the Nebrodi Regional Park (North-Eastern Sicily, Italy)

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Study of quantitative and qualitative variations in essential oils of Sicilian Rosmarinus officinalis L.

‐scavenging activity.

Plant genetic resources and traditional knowledge on medicinal use of wild shrub and herbaceous plant species in the Etna Regional Park (Eastern Sicily, Italy)

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE The area of the Nebrodi Regional Park (North-Eastern Sicily, Italy) has been quantitatively investigated in an ethnobotanical study for the first time. A total of 90 wild species are used for medicinal purposes and the uses of 5 species have not previously been reported in ethnobotanical studies in Italy (e.g., the use of Arisarum vulgare O. Targ. Tozz. for the treatment of rheumatic pains, the use of Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke for the treatment of liver diseases). The aim of this paper was to understand to what extent current knowledge on the medicinal use of plants is still an element of the culture within the rural populations of the Nebrodi Park. Materials and methods Semi-structured interviews were carried out in the local communities within the Nebrodi Regional Park with local people retained experts in rural traditions. A total of 226 people over the age of 60 were interviewed. Local plant uses were evaluated using ethnobotanical indices (e.g., cultural importance index, index of ethnobotanical diversity, informant consensus factor) and then compared with uses in other localities in Sicily, Italy and the Mediterranean area. Results Local communities use a total number of 90 wild species belonging to 44 plant families as medicinal remedies. The majority of the species are used as treatments against gastrointestinal system. The cultural importance index showed that Malva sylvestris (1.31) and Clinopodium nepeta (0.86) are the most important species to the Nebrodi area in terms of medicinal use. The use of Brassica rupestris Raf. for therapeutic purposes is limited to Sicily and it is an innovative finding of this study. CONCLUSIONS The research shows an ongoing process of cultural erosion in an advanced stage, but quantitative indices still highlight only for those species was a natural remedy deemed highly effective.

Study of quantitative and qualitative variations in essential oils of Sicilian oregano biotypes

In this study the chemical characterisation of 10 Sicilian Rosmarinus officinalis L. biotypes essential oils is reported. The main goal of this work was to analyse the relationship between the essential oils yield and the geographical distribution of the species plants. The essential oils were analysed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis statistical methods were used to cluster biotypes according to the essential oils chemical composition. The essential oil yield ranged from 0.8 to 2.3 (v/w). In total 82 compounds have been identified, these represent 96.7–99.9% of the essential oil. The most represented compounds in the essential oils were 1.8-cineole, linalool, α-terpineol, verbenone, α-pinene, limonene, bornyl acetate and terpinolene. The results show that the essential oil yield of the 10 biotypes is affected by the environmental characteristics of the sampling sites while the chemical composition is linked to the genetic characteristics of different biotypes.

Agronomical and chemical characterisation of Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav. biotypes from Sicily, Italy

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE This paper illustrates the results of a study carried out in the Etna Regional Park (Eastern Sicily, Italy) concerning the traditional knowledge on medicinal use of wild plant species. It contains the results of a quantitative analysis carried out for the first time. A total of 71 wild species are used for medicinal purposes. Two species, Astracantha sicula (Biv.) Greuter and Trifolium phleoides Willd., are little known as medicinal in the Mediterranean area. The main aim of the study was to understand to what extent current knowledge on the medicinal use of plants is still an element of the culture within the elderly population of the Etna Regional Park. A further aim was to identify species not previously reported as medicinal in the Mediterranean area with a potential agricultural interest. METHODOLOGY The information was obtained using a semi-structured interview format performed on a sample of 196 people over the age of 60 who were considered experts in rural traditions. The plant uses were compared with other medical-ethnobotanical studies carried out in other areas of Sicily, Italy and various other Mediterranean countries. A number of quantitative indices were also used in order to verify the incidence of the species cited in the study within the culture and traditional medicine. RESULTS Local communities currently use a total number of 71 wild species (34 families) as remedies for medicinal purposes. Most of the species were used as treatments against metabolic disorders and for general health. The leaves and the aerial parts of plants are the most-used parts of the plant and the most common preparation methods are decoction and direct application of plant parts. Astracantha sicula and Trifolium phleoides have never been documented as a species with medicinal properties in the Mediterranean literature. CONCLUSIONS Only very few medicinal uses are widely known by all the informants and, on many occasions, a specific medicinal use is cited by only very few people. The quantitative analysis shows that the level of traditional knowledge on medicinal use of plants in the study area is poor, highlighting a considerably advanced state of cultural erosion.

Essential oil characteristics of wild Sicilian oregano populations in relation to environmental conditions

Essential oil (EO) was extracted using hydrodistillation from samples of Origanum vulgare subspecies hirtum (Link) Ietswaart, gathered from the wild in various parts of Sicily, Italy; GC-FID and GC-MS analyses were subsequently performed. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between essential oil yields and the geographical distribution of oregano wild populations based on variations in environmental factors as collection sites. Moreover, the purpose was to group Origanum vulgare subspecies hirtum biotypes according to the chemical composition of the EO. The seven principal components in the EO was thymol (24.0–54.4%), γ-terpinene (9.8–30.5%), ρ-cymene (5.2–18.7%), α-terpinene (2.7–5.7%), carvacrol (0.3–8.3%), terpinen-4-ol (0.5–9.4%) and trans-sabinene hydrate (0.0–12.8%). All the biotypes analyzed were identified as thymol-chemotype. Statistical analysis shows that essential oil yields are mostly affected by weather/climate and topographic characteristics of the collection sites.

A survey of wild plant species for food use in Sicily (Italy) – results of a 3-year study in four Regional Parks

In this study, the agronomical and chemical characterisation of 13 Sicilian biotypes of Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav., grown under the same agricultural and environmental condition, are reported. The main morpho-productive parameters and quali-quantitative profile of essential oils (EOs) were determined. The EOs were analysed by gas chromatography-flame ionisation detector and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis statistical methods were used to group biotypes according to the EOs chemical composition. The EO yield ranged between 4.6 and 8.1 (v/w). A total of 38 EO compounds have been identified. The compounds mostly represented were α-pinene, myrcene, α-terpinene, p-cymene, γ-terpinene, borneol, carvacrol and β-caryophyllene. In all biotypes, the carvacrol (67.4–79.5%) was the main compound, confirming that T. capitata is a carvacrol chemotype. The results showed that all Sicilian Thymbra biotypes have a good adaptation to the climatic conditions of the test environment.

Wild Sicilian Rosemary: Phytochemical and Morphological Screening and Antioxidant Activity Evaluation of Extracts and Essential Oils

A study was carried out on the essential oil of Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum (Link) Ietswaart taken from thirteen wild populations found in different parts of Sicily, Italy. The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship that exists between essentials oil extracted from Sicilian wild populations of O. vulgare ssp. hirtum (Link) Ietswaart and various weather/climate and topographic factors in order to provide more information on aspects that influence the production potential of this species. The essential oils from the samples were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by a combination of gas chromatography–flame ionization detector (GC–FID) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC–MS); seventy-one components were fully identified, however, three main components were characteristic of the examined samples accounting for a significant amount of all oils: thymol (24.0–54.4%), γ-terpinene (9.8–30.5%) and p-cymene (5.2–18.7%). Analyses highlighted a different qualitative and quantitative essential oil composition compared with other wild populations in the Mediterranean area and in relation to the different weather/climate and topographic characteristics of the collection sites. These differences are probably due to a mixture of genetic and environmental factors, which influence secondary metabolite biosynthesis: the basis of essential oils.