Cristina Inocencio

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 SYSTEMATIC REVISION OF CAPPARIS SECTION CAPPARIS (CAPPARACEAE)1, 2

Abstract A systematic revision of Capparis sect. Capparis, from western and Central Asia, North Africa, and Europe, is presented here. The taxonomy of this section has been approached combining morphological, biogeographical and molecular data when available. Ten species are recognized, including two new species, Capparis atlantica and C. zoharyi. In addition, four new subspecies are presented: Capparis ovata subsp. myrtifolia, C. parviflora subsp. sphaerocarpa, C. sicula subsp. mesopotamica, and C. sicula subsp. sindiana. Lectotypes are designated for C. aegyptia, C. hereroensis, C. mucronifolia, C. elliptica, C. mucronifolia Boiss. subsp. rosanoviana, C. rupestris, C. ovata, C. parviflora, C. spinosa var. canescens, C. sicula subsp. herbacea, and C. sicula subsp. leucophylla. A full taxonomic treatment, keys, and distribution maps of the recognized species are provided. The two new species are illustrated.

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.

AFLP fingerprinting in Capparis subgenus Capparis related to the commercial sources of capers

A genetic fingerprinting technique (AFLP) was used to determine the relationships among Capparis spp. Genetic distances, based on AFLP data were estimated for 45 accessions of Capparis species, from Spain, Morocco and Syria. The results of this analysis support the differentiation of four of the five taxa involved. The group of plants recognised as C. spinosa on the basis of morphological characters, includes several cultivars and appears in an intermediate position between C. orientalis and C. sicula and overlaps with C. orientalis. The other two species C. aegyptia and C. ovata are separate from the rest. Capparis spinosa had a low number of unique bands in comparison with the other species. Although these results cannot confirm the hybrid origin of C. spinosa, the distribution of the bands supports this hypothesis, the most likely parental species being C. orientalis and C. sicula.

Disseminating knowledge about 'Local Food Plants' and 'Local Plant Foods'.

Ethnobotanical approaches to the study of Mediterranean food plants offer novel ways for analyzing and preserving traditional knowledge and agrobiodiversity in the Mediterranean area. This article highlights our strategy to increase the awareness within traditional knowledge systems and encourage the continuous evolution of it, avoiding the loss of substantial parts of the local cultural and biological diversity. The strategy is part of a broader stream of thought, which does attempt to disseminate information locally in a multitude of ways, e.g. through a range of publications in rural or urban zones, to people with or without formal education, to children or the elderly. This article is a very personal account of the experience of the authors, but there is an urgent need to assess the impact of such activities on a broader level, and, also, to reassess the impact researchers have on the communities. Our clear impression in all field sites has been that the simple fact that such traditional knowledge systems are the focus of scientific investigation are an essential element of giving renewed sociocultural value to such knowledge and that activities like the ones described here are of great interest to the communities we worked in.

The typification of Capparis inermis Forssk., C. sinaica Veill. and C. cartilaginea Decne. (Capparaceae)

The binomials Capparis inermis Forssk. and C. cartilaginea Decne. are neo- and lectotypified, respectively. Thus typified, C. inermis Forssk. and C. cartilaginea Decne. are conspecific, and the correct name for the taxon would be the older binomial, C. inermis Forssk., unless a current proposal to conserve C. cartilaginea against C. inermis is accepted. Capparis sinaica Veill. is lectotypified by an illustration cited in the protologue and becomes a synonym of C. aegyptia Lam. Capparis inermis Turra is an illegitimate later homonym of Forsskals name, and C. dahi Forssk. does not refer to a taxon belonging to the genus Capparis.

SENECIO GLAUCUS L. SUBSP. GLAUCUS , AN EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN TAXON IN THE SANDY SHORES OF SOUTHEASTERN SPAIN

ABSTRACT Senecio glaucus L. subsp. glaucus, a taxon considered native to the Eastern Mediterranean (Israel and Egypt), has been recognized for the first time in littoral sand beaches and dunes of southeastern Spain. A comparative study between Senecio glaucus subsp. glaucus, Senecio glaucus subsp. coronopifolius, and Senecio gallicus was made with herbarium material from Spain and Eastern Mediterranean countries. A line drawing of the Spanish plant and tables of samples of vegetation to show the ecology of this taxon in southeastern Spain are given.