Flavonoids are a category of plant-derived compounds which exhibit a large number of health-related effects. One of the most well-known and studied flavonoids is kaempferol, which can be found in a wide variety of herbs and plant families. Apart from their anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory effects, kaempferol and its associated compounds also exhibit antibacterial, antifungal, and antiprotozoal activities. The development of drugs and treatment schemes based on these compounds is becoming increasingly important in the face of emerging resistance of numerous pathogens as well as complex molecular interactions between various drug therapies. In addition, many of the kaempferol-containing plants are used in traditional systems all over the world for centuries to treat numerous conditions. Due to its variety of sources and associated compounds, some molecular mechanisms of kaempferol antimicrobial activity are well known while others are still under analysis. This paper thoroughly documents the vegetal and food sources of kaempferol as well as the most recent and significant studies regarding its antimicrobial applications.

Background: Romanian ethnopediatrics has a long history of medicinal plant use. The main objective of the present review was to identify, collect, systematize, and prioritize the available bibliographical data related to medicinal plants traditionally used to treat various pediatric diseases in Romania during the 1860s-1970s. Methods: Information was mainly obtained by manual systematic search in various relevant historical works focused on the traditional use of medicinal plants in Romania (1860s-1970s), found in the Archives of Romanian Academy Library and National Romanian Library. Results: A total of 153 medicinal plants belonging to 52 families were identified as having ethnopediatric significance. The plant traditional indications, targeted body systems, parts used, and way of administration were provided. We have also proposed one index (expressed as percentage) in order to assess the ethnopediatric applicability area of species: ethnopediatric relative therapeutic versatility (ERTV), which was calculated on the basis of the number of distinct uses mentioned for a species. The species identified to have the highest ERTV scores were Dryopteris filix-mas (100%), Gratiola officinalis (85.71%), Allium sativum (71.42%), Eryngium planum (71.42%), Juglans regia (71.42%), Matricaria chamomilla (71.42%), Plantago major (71.42%). Conclusions: The present study exposed for the first time to the international scientific community important ethnopediatric information contained in several local Romanian bibliographical resources that could guide the local and international researchers towards new directions of plant valorization.

A clinical study of 191 workers in the silicon carbide production industry was carried out in order to determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms (wheezing, dyspnoea and breathlessness after exercise). Such symptoms occurred in 50 (26.1%) subjects, of whom 24 accepted testing for bronchial reactivity. Of these 24, 19 (79.2%) were positive. These findings suggest that exposure to SiC may be associated with bronchial hyper-reactivity. Positive results were more frequent in women than in men, while differences between smokers and non-smokers were insignificant, a phenomenon that has often been noted in persons exposed to massive risk.

The taste of a herb influences its use in traditional medicine. A molecular basis for the taste-based patterns ruling the distribution of herbal (ethno) pharmacological activities may not be excluded. This study investigated the potential correlations between the anti-inflammatory activity (AIA) and the phytocompound taste and/or its chemical class. The study relies on information gathered by an extensive literature (articles, books, databases) search and made public as PlantMolecularTasteDB. Out of a total of 1527 phytotastants with reliably documented taste and structure available in PlantMolecularTasteDB, 592 (for each of which at least 40 hits were found on PubMed searches) were included in the statistical analysis. A list of 1836 putative molecular targets of these phytotastants was afterwards generated with SwissTargetPrediction tool. These targets were systematically evaluated for their potential role in inflammation using an international databases search. The correlations between phytochemical taste and AIA, between chemical class and AIA, and between the taste and the number of inflammation related targets were statistically analyzed. Phytochemical taste may be a better predictor of AIA than the chemical class. Bitter phytocompounds have a higher probability of exerting AIA when compared with otherwise phytotastants. Moreover, bitter phytotastants act upon more inflammation related targets than non-bitter tasting compounds.