Rita Yolanda Cavero

First comprehensive contribution to medical ethnobotany of Western Pyrenees

BackgroundAn ethnobotanical and medical study was carried out in the Navarre Pyrenees, an area known both for its high biological diversity and its cultural significance.As well as the compilation of an ethnopharmacological catalogue, a quantitative ethnobotanical comparison has been carried out in relation to the outcomes from other studies about the Pyrenees. A review of all drugs used in the area has also been carried out, through a study of the monographs published by the institutions and organizations responsible for the safety and efficacy of medicinal plants (WHO, ESCOP, and the E Commission of the German Department of Health) in order to ascertain the extent to which the Navarre Pyrenees ethnopharmacology has been officially evaluated.MethodsFieldwork was carried out over two years, from November 2004 to December 2006. During that time we interviewed 88 local people in 40 villages. Information was collected using semi-structured ethnobotanical interviews and the data was analyzed using quantitave indexes: Ethnobotonicity Index, Shannon-Wieners Diversity, Equitability and The Informant Consensus Factor. The official review has been performed using the official monographs published by the WHO, ESCOP and the E Commission of the German Department of Health.ResultsThe ethnobotanical and medical catalogue of the Navarre Pyrenees Area comprises 92 species, of which 39 have been mentioned by at least three interviewees. The quantitative ethnobotany results show lower values than those found in other studies about the Pyrenees; and 57.6% of the Pyrenees medical ethnobotany described does not figure in documents published by the above mentioned institutions.ConclusionThe results show a reduction in the ethnobotanical and medical knowledge in the area of study, when compared to other studies carried out in the Pyrenees. Nevertheless, the use of several species that may be regarded as possible sources for pharmacological studies is reported here such as the bark of Sambucus nigra, the roots of Fragaria vesca, or the leaves of Scrophularia nodosa. These species are not currently approved by the WHO, ESCOP and the E Commission of the German Department of Health, institutions that, apart from encouraging the greater use of plants for medicinal purposes, may help in the design of development plans for these rural areas by validating their traditional medicine.

Analyzing factors that influence the folk use and phytonomy of 18 medicinal plants in Navarra.

BackgroundThis article analyzes whether the distribution or area of use of 18 medicinal plants is influenced by ecological and cultural factors which might account for their traditional use and/or phytonymy in Navarra.This discussion may be helpful for comparative studies, touching as it does on other ethnopharmacological issues: a) which cultural and ecological factors affect the selection of medicinal plants; b) substitutions of medicinal plants in popular medicine; c) the relation between local nomenclature and uses. To analyze these questions, this paper presents an example of a species used for digestive disorders (tea and camomile: Jasonia glutinosa, J. tuberosa, Sideritis hyssopifolia, Bidens aurea, Chamaemelum nobile, Santolina chamaecyparissus...), high blood pressure (Rhamnus alaternus, Olea europaea...) or skin diseases (Hylotelephium maximum, H. telephium, Anagallis arvensis, A. foemina).MethodsFieldwork began on January 2004 and continued until December 2006. During that time we interviewed 505 informants in 218 locations in Navarra. Information was collected using semi-structured ethnobotanical interviews, and we subsequently made maps using Arc-View 8.0 program to determine the area of use of each taxon. Each map was then compared with the bioclimatic and linguistic map of Navarra, using the soil and ethnographic data for the region, and with other ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies carried out in Europe.ResultsThe results clearly show that ecological and cultural factors influence the selection of medicinal plants in this region. Climate and substrate are the most important ecological factors that influence the distribution and abundance of plants, which are the biological factors that affect medicinal plant selection.ConclusionThe study of edaphological and climatological factors, on the one hand, and culture, on the other, can help us to understand why a plant is replaced by another one for the same purposes, either in the same or in a different area. In many cases, the cultural factor means that the use of a species is more widespread than its ecological distribution. This may also explain the presence of synonyms and polysemies which are useful for discussing ethnopharmacological data.

Ethnoveterinary knowledge in Navarra (Iberian Peninsula)

AIM OF THE STUDY To collect, analyze and evaluate the ethnoveterinary knowledge about medicinal plants in a northern Iberian region (Navarra, 10,421 km(2), 620,377 inhabitants). METHODOLOGY Field work was conducted between 2003 and 2007, using semi-structured questionnaire and participant observation as well as transects walks in wild herbal plant collection areas. We performed semi-structured interviews with 667 informants (mean age 72; 55.47% women, 44.53% men) in 265 locations, identified the plant reported and analyzed the results, comparing them with those from other territories. RESULTS Out of 287 species reported to be used in the health field (human and veterinary medicine), 36 are linked to veterinary medicine. 69.4% of these species are new or rarely reported in veterinarian uses. The most frequently used plants were Malva sylvestris, Juglans regia and Verbena officinalis. All different plant parts were used; aerial part was exploited more frequently than other plant parts. Most remedies listed used a single ingredient, typically soaked in water. The route of administration was primarily oral followed by topical applications. These remedies are mostly for cows, calves, sheep, pigs and horses, but cover almost all domestic animal species. The main ailments treated are digestive troubles, wounds and dermatological problems, and respiratory affections. CONCLUSIONS The folk knowledge about medicinal plant use is still alive in the studied region, and a number of scarcely reported plant uses has been detected, some of them with promising phytotherapeutical applications.

Selenium, iodine, ω-3 PUFA and natural antioxidant from Melissa officinalis L.: A combination of components from healthier dry fermented sausages formulation

A new formulation of dry fermented sausage, including ingredients that improve the nutritional and health benefits of this type of product is presented. Se yeast (2g/kg), iodized salt (26g/kg), linseed:algae (3:2) emulsion (62.5g/kg), and lyophilized water extract of Melissa officinalis L. as a source of natural antioxidants (686mg/kg), yielded dry fermented sausages with technological and sensory properties similar to traditional ones. From the nutritional standpoint, a 50g portion of this product would give 100% of the recommended daily intake for Se, 70% of DRI for iodine, and 40% and 100% of the reference intake for alpha-linolenic and EPA+DHA, respectively. The omega-6/omega-3 ratio decreased from 15.7 in the control product to 1.96 in the modified one. Despite the high PUFA content, no oxidation was detected by TBARS (<0.15mgMDA/kg) and volatile compounds, showing the effectiveness of the natural antioxidants from M. officinalis. The modified formulation presented good acceptability for panelists with similar appearance, odor, taste and juiciness as the control products.

Pharmaceutical ethnobotany in Northern Navarra (Iberian Peninsula).

AIM OF THE STUDY This paper provides significant ethnobotanical information on pharmaceutical plant uses in Northern Navarra from an area known both for its high biological diversity and its cultural significance, suggesting the survival of uses lost elsewhere. Collect, analyze and evaluate the ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinal plants in Northern Navarra (Iberian Peninsula) with 4243 km(2) and 71,069 inhabitants. MATERIAL AND METHODS We performed semi-structured interviews with 253 informants (mean age 69; 61% women, 39% men) in 120 locations, identified the plant reported and analyzed the results, comparing them with those from other territories. RESULTS The informants reported data on 174 medicinal plants belonging to 63 botanical families. This work is focused on human medicinal plant uses, which represent 98% of the pharmaceutical uses (1725 use reports). The species with the highest number of cites are Chamaemelum nobile, Sambucus nigra and Verbena officinalis, with a long tradition of use in The Mountain (Navarra). All different plant parts are used; aerial part is exploited more frequently than other plant parts. Most of the listed remedies use a single ingredient, typically soaked in water. Usually, the administration is primarily oral followed by topical applications. CONCLUSIONS The main ailments treated are digestive troubles, wounds and dermatological problems, and respiratory affections. Informants reported 24 new or scarcely cited uses for 23 medicinal plants. For 35% of the species (8) we have not found bibliographical references in the scientific literature and 48% (11) have only one to three references.

Effect of lyophilized water extracts of Melissa officinalis on the stability of algae and linseed oil-in-water emulsion to be used as a functional ingredient in meat products.

Previous work pointed out the possibility to enhance the nutritional value of meat products using long chain omega-3 PUFA enriched emulsions. Oil-in-water emulsions elaborated with a mixture of algae and linseed oils (15:10) in order to be used as functional ingredient were stabilized with BHA (butylhydroxyanisol) or with a lyophilized water extract of Melissa officinalis L. (Lemon balm). The lipid profile of the oil mixture showed a high amount of DHA (31.7%), oleic (25.4%) and alpha-linolenic acid (12.7%) resulting in a very low omega-6/omega-3 ratio (0.12). The lyophilized extract of M. officinalis showed a high antioxidant activity (being 62ppm of the lyophilized water extract of Melissa equivalent to 200ppm of BHA, using the DPPH assay as reference), and high total phenolic content. Studying the oxidation process in the emulsions during 15days at room temperature, it could be concluded that this extract was as efficient as BHA in order to control the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) formation.

Screening of Spanish Medicinal Plants for Antioxidant and Antifungal Activities

Abstract Dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and aqueous extracts obtained from 16 Spanish medicinal plants were screened for their antioxidant and antifungal activities. The radical scavenging capacity was evaluated by the DPPH method using a rapid screening by TLC and a spectrophotometric assay. Polar extracts obtained from Jasonia glutinosa L. (Lamiaceae), Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz (Lamiaceae), Equisetum telmateia Ehrh. (Equisetaceae), Verbena officinalis L. (Verbenaceae), and Lythrum salicaria L. (Lythraceae) showed high antioxidant properties. Among them, the methanol extract of Lythrum salicaria showed the strongest antiradical capacity with an IC50 value similar to the positive control ascorbic acid. On the contrary, the best antifungal properties against Rhizopus stolonifer were produced by ethyl acetate or dichloromethane extracts from Anthemis arvensis L. subsp. arvensis (Asteraceae), Tanacetum parthenium, Santolina chamaecyparissus L. subsp. squarrosa Nyman (Asteraceae), Anagallis arvensis L. (Primulaceae) and the methanol extract of Anagallis foemina Miller (Primulaceae). The dichloromethane extract of Anthemis arvensis subsp. arvensis was the best inhibitor of fungus growth.

High in omega-3 fatty acids bologna-type sausages stabilized with an aqueous-ethanol extract of Melissa officinalis.

A new formulation of bologna-type sausage enriched in ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (8.75% linseed oil) was developed, using a lyophilized aqueous-ethanolic extract of Melissa officinalis. A comparison with the effectiveness of butylhydroxy anisole (BHA) synthetic antioxidant to decrease the oxidation of PUFAs was performed. The formulation increased the ω-3 PUFAs content, especially α-linolenic acid, decreasing significantly the ω-6/ω-3 ratio from 17.3 to 1.9, and also the Atherogenic Index and Thrombogenic Index (0.38-0.31 and 1.03-0.54, respectively). Modified sausages with BHA and Melissa extract showed significantly lower peroxides value (2.62 and 6.11 meq O₂/kg) and thiobarbituric acid value (0.26 and 0.27 mg malondialdehyde/kg) and higher antioxidant capacity (hydrophilic fraction ABTS: 0.45 and 0.74 meq Trolox/g product; lipofilic fraction ABTS: 0.44 and 0.37 meq Trolox/g product) than those without these ingredients (16.49 meq O₂/kg, 2.08 mg malondialdehyde /kg, 0.26 and 0.27 meq Trolox/g product, respectively). Sensorial tests showed that acceptability of the new formulations was similar to control products.

Pharmaceutical ethnobotany in the Middle Navarra (Iberian Peninsula).

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE This paper provides significant ethnobotanical information on pharmaceutical plant uses in the Middle Navarra (Iberian Peninsula). Collect, analyze and evaluate the ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinal plants in this area with 3622.2 km(2) and 404,634 inhabitants. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed semi-structured interviews with 276 informants (mean age 72; 46% women, 54% men) in 111 locations, identified the plant reported and analyzed the results, comparing them with those from other territories. RESULTS The informants reported data on 198 medicinal plants belonging to 60 botanical families. This work is focused on human medicinal plant uses, which represent 98% of the pharmaceutical uses (1401 use reports). The species with the highest number of cites are Santolina chamaecyparissus ssp. squarrosa, Jasonia glutinosa and Chamaemelum nobile with a long tradition of use in Navarra. All different plant parts are used; aerial part is exploited more frequently than other plant parts. Most of the listed remedies use a single ingredient, typically soaked in water. The most common mode of administration is oral, while the second most common is topical. CONCLUSIONS The main ailments treated are digestive troubles, wounds and dermatological problems, and respiratory affections. Informants reported 80 new or scarcely cited uses for 14 medicinal plants. For 36% of the species (5) we have not found bibliographical references in the scientific literature and 64% (9) have only one to three references.

Healthy reduced-fat bologna sausages enriched in ALA and DHA and stabilized with Melissa officinalis extract

Reduced-energy and reduced-fat Bologna products enriched with ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids were formulated by replacing the pork back-fat by an oil-in-water emulsion containing a mixture of linseed-algae oil stabilized with a lyophilized Melissa officinalis extract. Healthier composition and lipid profile was obtained: 85 kcal/100 g, 3.6% fat, 0.6 g ALA and 0.44 g DHA per 100 g of product and ω-6/ω-3 ratio of 0.4. Technological and sensory problems were not detected in the new formulations. Reformulation did not cause oxidation problems during 32 days of storage under refrigeration. The results suggest that it is possible to obtain reduced-fat Bologna-type sausages rich in ALA and DHA and stabilized with natural antioxidants, applying the appropriate technology without significant effects on the sensory quality, yielding interesting products from a nutritional point of view.