Concepción Obón

The ethnopharmacology of Madeira and Porto Santo Islands, a review.

The ethnopharmacology of Madeira and Porto Santo Islands is extremely interesting because of the cultural and biogeographic features of this region, which make it a centre of medicinal plant diversity (richness of endemic flora, geographical isolation in the Atlantic sea, crosscultural influences, and past abundance of local healers). The medicinal flora of Madeira is composed of 259 species. Some noteworthy medicinal taxa, endemic or locally relevant, are: Acanthus mollis, Aeonium glandulosum, Aeonium glutinosum, Bidens pilosa, Borago officinalis, Chamaemelum nobile var. discoideum, Culcita macrocarpa, Echium nervosum, Euphorbia platiphylla, Helichrysum melaleucum, Helichrysum obconicum, Hypericum glandulosum, Hypericum humifussum, Kleinia repens, Laurus azorica, Monizia edulis, Ocotea foetens, Psoralea bituminosa, Rubus bollei, Rumex maderensis, Sambucus lanceolata, Scilla maderensis, Sedum brissemoretii, Sedum farinosum, Sedum nudum, Sibthorpia peregrina, Teucrium betonicum, Thymus caespititius, Trifolium squamosum and Vaccinium padifolium. Among the medicinal cryptogams, one can underline the parasitic fungus Laurobasidium lauri, which grows on the stems of Laurus azorica and is used as an antirheumatic, haemostatic, emmenagogue, insecticide and analeptic.

What is in a name? The need for accurate scientific nomenclature for plants

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE To avoid ambiguities and error, ethnopharmacological and any other research on plants requires precise and appropriate use of botanical scientific nomenclature. AIMS This paper explores problems and impacts of ambiguous or erroneous use of botanical scientific nomenclature in ethnopharmacological studies. It suggests how the frequency and impact of such errors can be reduced. APPROACH AND METHODS We assessed 214 articles published in the three first volumes of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 2012: 140(1) to 141 (3) and 214 articles in Phytomedicine (2012-2013): 19 (5) to 20 (7). RESULTS Amongst the articles reviewed 308 articles cited plant names incorrectly. Among the articles studied 9178 Latin scientific names were cited and 3445 were incorrect in some respect. Simple principles applied in a systematic way and used together with open-access reference resources could help authors, referees and editors of ethnopharmacological, phytochemical, toxicological and clinical studies to reduce ambiguity about the identity and name of the species involved and thus significantly improve the quality of the final publication. CONCLUSIONS We have identified a series of key steps needed to solve the taxonomic ambiguities and errors. Aside from reinforcing existing policies, journals will have to implement better tools to ensure the proper authentication of materials. The new electronic publishing environments offer novel ways to develop such botanical-taxonomic tools.

Assessing medicinal plants from South-Eastern Spain for potential anti-inflammatory effects targeting nuclear factor-Kappa B and other pro-inflammatory mediators.

AIM OF THE STUDY Identification of plants with anti-inflammatory activity can be successfully based on information gained through knowledge on their traditional use. This is particularly true for biodiversity-rich regions of the world such as the Mediterranean. While such approaches are often single target based, here we used a multitarget, cell-based approach focusing on the pro-inflammatory signaling cascade and especially the NF-kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway. MATERIALS AND METHODS The plants from South-Eastern Spain were chosen on the basis that they were recorded as having a traditional use against an indication related to inflammation. The primary target was the transcription factor NF-kappaB (using a luciferase-based assay in HeLa cells). In addition extracts were tested in vitro for effects on cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha) or PGE(2) in monocytes and for potential cytotoxic/pro-apoptotic action as well as for their influence on the cell cycle. RESULTS Overall, 64 medicinal plant drugs from 61 species were assessed as potential inhibitors of inflammatory mediators to levels of 100-10 microg/ml. Three plants showed the highest level of activity (50 microg/ml) in inhibiting the activation of NF-kappaB in 5.1 cells: Helichrysum stoechas (Asteraceae), Dorycnium pentaphyllum (Fabaceae, s.l.) and Phlomis almeriensis (Lamiaceae). In the tests against the cytokines it was particularly striking to find that a number of species, Bupleurum fruticosum, Chamaespartium tridentatum, Genista ramosissima, Helichrysum stoechas, Mercurialis tomentosa, Ononis ramosissima, Peganum harmala, Picnomon acarna, Retama sphaerocarpa and Santolina viscosa showed extracts that were active at inhibiting TNF-alpha (10 microg/ml). CONCLUSIONS Overall, this project has identified a series of species with an activity profile which merits further phytochemical-pharmacological investigation.

A comparative assessment of zootherapeutic remedies from selected areas in Albania, Italy, Spain and Nepal.

Abstract Zootherapy is the treatment of human ailments with remedies derived from animals and their products. Despite its prevalence in traditional medical practices worldwide, research on this phenomenon has often been neglected in comparison to medicinal plant research. Interviews regarding zootherapeutic traditions were conducted with informants from Albania, Italy, Nepal and Spain. We identified 80 species used in zootherapeutic remedies, representing 4 phyla in the animal kingdom: Annelida, Arthropoda, Chordata, and Mollusca. Remedies were ranked by consensus indices. Our studies show that the selection of medicinal fauna is mediated by human subsistence patterns. Concepts of health and disease differ among our study sites in the Mediterranean and Asia, and these differences also play a substantive role in the selection and use of animal-based remedies.

Review of Food and Medicinal Uses of Capparis L. Subgenus Capparis (Capparidaceae)

Capers of commerce are immature flower buds which have been pickled either in vinegar or preserved in granular salt. Semi-mature fruits and young shoots with small leaves may also be pickled for use as a condiment. The use of capers can be traced to the prehistory. Although Capparis spinosa from the western Mediterranean is the most widely used species, the subgenus comprises 23 species and subspecies occupying large territories from the Atlantic coasts to the Pacific in the Old World. We have recorded medicinal and food uses for 19 species.RésuméLas alcaparras del comercio son botones florales encurtidos en vinagre o preservados en sal gruesa. Los frutos inmaduros y los brotes tiernos provistos de hojitas también se utilizan encurtidos como condimento. El uso de las alcaparras se remonta hasta la prehistoria. Aunque la especie Capparis spinosa, que habita la region mediterrdnea occidental es la mas utilizada, el subgenero comprende 23 especies y subespecies que se extienden desde las costas Atlánticas hasta el Pacífico en Africa, Asia, Europa y Oceanía. Se han registrado usos para 19 especies y subespecies, que son de interés alimentario y medicinal.

Gathered Food Plants in the Mountains of Castilla–La Mancha (Spain): Ethnobotany and Multivariate Analysis

Gathered food plants (GFPs) (wild and weeds) are crucial for understanding traditional Mediterranean diets. Combining open interviews and free-listing questionnaires, we identified 215 GFP items, i.e., 53 fungi and 162 from 154 vascular plant species. The variation in frequency and in salience among the items follows a rectangular hyperbola. Highly salient species were Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke, Scolymus hispanicus L., and Pleurotus eryngii (DC.: Fr.) Quélet. Salience and frequency showed no correlation with the expected health benefits of each species. Regional frequency in the Mediterranean and local frequency are directly related. Thus, local food plants are much less “local” than expected.Different types of culinary preparations provide the most information in the cluster analysis of variables. The cluster analysis of items produced a tree with 10 clusters that form culture-specific logical entities, allowing people to structure their environment. Within each cluster, plant species are replaced and incorporated provided they resemble the general profile. This allows innovation and adaptation on a local level and explains the differences between adjacent localities in the list of species. Two types of clusters or species complexes are described: “species-labeled” and “uses-labeled.” Lastly, we discuss the underlying empirical basis of the ethnoclassification in the Mediterranean area.

Some flavonoids and the diterpene borjatriol from some spanish Sideritis species

Key Word Index--Sider~s; Labiatae; excretory flavones; 8-hydmxyflavone glycosides; chemotaxonomy; phylogeny; ecology. Abstract--An HPLC and TLC analysis of the vacuolar and epicuticular flavonoids from Spanish Sideritis species has been carried out, and the distribution of these compounds has been used as a chemotaxonomic approach to the systematic prob- lems of this genus. Generally, a correlation between the flavonoid patterns and the morphological and genetic data has been found. Epicuticular flavonoids accumulate in the phyletically more advanced species while the primitive species were devoid of external flavonoids. Excretory flavonoids also seem to increase in species growing in semi-arid habitats.

Production of an anthocyanin‐rich food colourant from Thymus moroderi and its application in foods

BACKGROUND Anthocyanins and other polyphenols from flowers and bracts of Thymus sp. are studied. An anthocyanin-rich food colourant with interesting high antioxidant activity from Thymus moroderi has been obtained, and applied to colour foods. RESULTS Anthocyanins and other polyphenols from T. moroderi and another five Thymus sp. were extracted in methanol/hydrochloric acid 0.1 mol L(-1) (50/50, v/v) 2 h stirring at 50 °C. They were identified and quantified by HPLC-PDA-MS and UHPLC-PDA-fluorescence, as total individual polyphenols. Total polyphenols were also determined. Flowers had higher anthocyanins and other polyphenols concentrations than bracts; for example, total polyphenols content of T. moroderi were 131.58 and 61.98 g GAE kg(-1) vegetal tissue, respectively. A liquid concentrated colourant was obtained from T. moroderi using water/citric acid as solvent. It was characterised and compared with other two commercial anthocyanin-rich food colourants from red grape skin and red carrot (colour strength of 1.7 and 3.6 AU, respectively). T. moroderi colourant had 1.2 AU colour strength, and high storage stability (>97.1% remaining colour after 110 days at 4 °C). It showed a higher polyphenols content than commercial colourants. Its antioxidant activity was 0.707 mmol Trolox eq. g(-1) plant dry weight, 69.5 times higher than red carrot. The three colourants were applied to colour yogurts, giving pinky tonalities. The colour did not change evidently (ΔE*(ab)  < 3) when stored under refrigeration during 1 month. CONCLUSIONS T. moroderi can be a source of anthocyanin-rich food colourant (E-163) with both high polyphenols content and high antioxidant activity. This colourant gives a stable colour to a yogurt during 1 month. These results expand the use of natural colourants.

Distribution of 8-Hydroxyflavone glycosides and flavonoid aglycones in some Spanish Sideritis species

Abstract The occurrence of the anti-inflammatory flavonoids hypolaetin 8-glucoside, cirsiliol and sideritoflavone, and other flavonoids has been investigated in taxonomically related taxa of the genus Sideritis by HPLC. All the analysed taxa showed very similar flavonoid aglycone patterns, while they had clear differences in the flavonoid glycoside patterns. The analyses of flavonoid glycosides allowed the differentiation of five different groups of Sideritis taxa. There is a correlation between the chemical groups and the geographical location of the analysed taxa. In S. mugronensis, S. tragoriganum and S. reverchonii , the flavonoids hypolaetin 8-glucuronide, hypolaetin 4′-methyl ether 8-glucoside and 8-glucuronide have also been identified, this being the first time that these substances are reported in the Labiatae.

A review of the nomenclature and typification of the Canary Islands endemic palm, Phoenix canariensis (Arecaceae)

The nomenclature of the Canary Island endemic palm, Phoenix canariensis, is reviewed. It is concluded that Hermann Wildpret is the correct author of Phoenix canariensis. Phoenix canariensis, P. cycadifolia Regel and P. jubae (Webb & Berthel.) Webb ex H. Christ. are lectotypified.