There are many evidences pointing to oxidative stress as the promoter of the development of many degenerative diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegeneration. It has been suggested that a diet rich in antioxidants would be beneicial to human health. To determine the antioxidant capacity of the diferent sources of antioxidants, they have diferent chemical methods used, in vitro cells, laboratory animals, and recently nanoparticles. This chapter provides an account of the main antioxidant evaluation methods applied to phenolic compounds, recounting their advantages and disadvantages, as well as a relection on the parameters that should always care to obtain reproducible results.

<p align="left"><strong>Background</strong>: <em>Salvia circinata</em> is an endemic species of Mexico used in the folk medicine of Santiago Huauclilla, Oaxaca, mainly as remedy for gastrointestinal diseases.</p><p align="left"><strong>Hypothesis</strong>: If the extracts of <em>Salvia circinata</em> have secondary metabolites with antinociceptive activity, then the behavior of nociception in the model of “whriting” in mice will decrease.</p><p align="left"><strong>Specie studied</strong>:<strong> </strong><em>Salvia circinata </em>Cav. (Lamiaceae).</p><p align="left"><strong>Study site and years of study</strong>: <em>Salvia circinata </em>was collected in Santiago Huauclilla, Oaxaca, in July 2014.</p><p align="left"><strong>Methods</strong>: Firstly, the acute toxicity of <em>S. circinata</em> extracts was evaluated to calculate the LD₅₀with OECD method. Then, dose-response curves of the antinociceptive effect of <em>S. circinata</em> organic and aqueous extracts (1, 10, 30, 100, and 300 mg/kg) were obtained in the writhing test in mice. Furthermore, chromatographic techniques were applied to isolate the compounds and were identified by comparison of the values of ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and ESIMS reported in the literature.</p><p align="left"><strong>Results</strong>: Our data showed significant antinociceptive activity in all the tested extracts. Amarisolide A and pedalitin were isolated in the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts, respectively and assayed at doses of 1, 5 and 10 mg/kg, i.p. All the compounds decreased nociception in mice in at least 50 % from a minimal dosage of 1 mg/kg, i.p. and in a similar manner than the reference drug ketorolac (1 mg/kg, i.p.).</p><p align="left"><strong>Conclusions</strong>: Our findings give evidence that <em>Salvia circinata </em>possesses antinociceptive activity depending on the presence of several known bioactive constituents, reinforcing its use in the Mexican traditional medicine to alleviate abdominal pain.</p>

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Medicinal and aromatic plants in Mexico have been studied and explored through history. Day by day there is an increase in ethnobotanical, taxonomic, or phytochemical studies, providing an encouraging picture of research in Mexico and to support its use in traditional medicine. Chemical and biological exploration permit to provide solutions to the treatment of diseases. With this background, the objective of this chapter is to show the potential of endemic medicinal and aromatic plants in Mexico.

A number of species of the genus Erythrina are rich in secondary metabolites, particularly phenolics and alkaloids that exhibit interesting anti-inflammatory, anti-plasmodial, bactericidal, curariform and fungicidal activities. Unfortunately, the isolation of these compounds through the extraction of organs and seeds of whole plants is becoming more difficult since the natural growing areas of many of the species, and particularly of Erythrina americana, are being urbanised. Plant tissue culture not only constitutes a viable method through which to preserve the species, but may also represent a constant and stable source of target alkaloids. Currently, however, in vitro systems, and especially cell suspension cultures, only accumulate low levels of the desired products. A number of strategies for increasing production have been proposed, the most successful of which involves elicitation of suspension cells with plant growth regulators. In this context, excellent results have been reported following elicitation of cell cultures derived from different species and genera with jasmonic acid and methyl jasmonate. The present paper provides a brief review of the novel approaches to the use of Erythrina alkaloids that have recently been described, and of the advances that have been made in the formation of tissue cultures of E. americana and their subsequent elicitation in attempts to augment alkaloid accumulation.

Calia secundiflora (Ortega) Yakovlev (Fabaceae) is considered a medicinal plant in Mexico but has scarcely been used because of the toxicity of its quinolizidine alkaloids. Several quinolizidine alkaloids have shown bactericidal, nematicidal, and fungicidal activities. The purpose of this study was to identify the alkaloids in the seeds and evaluate the activity of the organic extract on several phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria. An in vitro bioassay was conducted with species of the following phytopathogenic fungi: Alternaria solani, Fusarium oxysporum and Monilia fructicola; and of the following bacteria Pseudomonas sp., Xanthomonas campestris and Erwinia carotovora. Cytisine, lupinine, anagyrine, sparteine, N-methylcytisine, 5,6-dehydrolupanine, and lupanine were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in the extract of seeds; the most abundant compound of the extract was cytisine. It was observed that the crude extract of Calia secundiflora was moderately active on bacteria and more potent on phytopathogenic fungi. In contrast cytisine showed the opposite effects.

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A profile of endogenous hormones and sugars in leaves and pseudobulbs of Laelia anceps subsp. anceps (Orchidaceae) plants induced and non-induced to flowering by the effect of different doses of exogenous gibberellic acid (GA3), considering the current and back growth structures (CGS and BGS), were investigated. A factorial experiment with five doses of GA3 and two growth structures was designed. Adult plants with undifferentiated vegetative buds were selected and sprayed with doses of 0, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 mg GA3 L−1. The main results showed a strong interaction between GA3 dose and growth structures, which promoted the highest kinetin (KIN) concentration in CGS. Exogenous GA3 increased endogenous GA3 in leaves and pseudobulbs induced (I-Leaf and I-PSB) and non-induced (NI-Leaf and NI-PSB) to flowering. For sugar concentration, the 400 mg L−1 GA3 dose promotes significant interaction with the CGS in NI-PSB. In general, the hormone profile revealed opposite balances of endogenous hormone concentrations for KIN, zeatin (ZEA), trans-zeatin (T-ZEA), indoleacetic acid (IAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and GA3, not only for growth structures but also for vegetative organs analyzed, depending on whether the plants were induced or not induced to flowering, with the highest concentration of endogenous hormones in pseudobulbs. Likewise, different sugar concentration balances were observed. These balances of both endogenous hormones and sugars are likely to be involved in the flowering of L. anceps.