Ethnobotanical Research at the Kutukú Scientific Station, Morona-Santiago, Ecuador

Ballesteros, José; Bracco, Francesco; Cerna, Marco; Finzi, Paola Vita; Vidari, Giovanni

doi:10.1155/2016/9105746

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The oxidative stress is generally considered the starting point for the onset of several diseases (e.g., tissues acute and chronic inflammation) usually occurring through several complex mechanisms. Because the EO of P. carpunya is traditionally known to be used as treatment of generic inflammations (e.g., bronchitis, fever) [5] a preliminary antioxidant evaluation has been performed through DPPH assay. The promising results were those expressed by P. carpunya EO, suggesting both the possible efficacy of the traditional use of the leaves of P. carpunya as anti-inflammatory agent and the use of the Amazonian EO in modern preparations (e.g., antiageing products).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…P. carpunya has instead more specific and slightly different ethnomedical applications. In fact, fresh and dried leaves of P. carpunya , mainly known with the vernacular name of “ guaviduca, ” are widely used in traditional preparations (i.e., decoctions or direct application) in tropical and subtropical South American Countries to treat generic inflammations (i.e., bronchitis and fever), topical infections (i.e., vaginal candidiasis), gastrointestinal disorders (i.e., ulcers, diarrhea and parasitic intestinal infections) and generic digestive problems [4, 5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rediscovering Medicinal Amazonian Aromatic Plants: Piper carpunya (Piperaceae) Essential Oil as Paradigmatic Study

Ballesteros

Tacchini

Spagnoletti

et al. 2019

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

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Piper carpunya Ruiz & Pav. (Piperaceae) is a perennial aromatic shrub of Amazonian area of Ecuador and Peru, belonging to the ethnomedicine of these countries. The traditional preparations of the crude drug (fresh leaves used topically as is, and dried leaves in infusions or decoctions) are known for anti-inflammatory, antiulcer, antidiarrheal, antiparasitic effects, and wound healing properties. In light of this traditional evidence, chemical composition (GC-MS) and biological activity, i.e., antioxidant, antifungal (yeast) capacities, and genotoxicity, of Amazonian P. carpunya leaf essential oil (EO) have been investigated in order to valorize some of the putative ethnomedical effects. The EO was obtained through steam distillation of fresh leaves (yield: 7.6 g/kg [0.76%]; refractive index at 20°C: 1.49; density: 0.928 g/mL). Chemical characterization performed through GC-MS evidenced the presence of 21 compounds (96.2% of the total). The most abundant constituents were piperitone (26.2%), limonene (9.5%), elemicin (7.2%), and β-phellandrene (5.6%). In vitro DPPH antioxidant assay showed a weak radical scavenging ability (IC50) if compared to positive control. Low bioactivity of the EO was also demonstrated against yeast, but it showed an interesting synergistic activity (FIC index of EO+fluconazole) against Candida sp. strains. Ames test evidenced the safety of the EO concerning genotoxicity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rediscovering Medicinal Amazonian Aromatic Plants: Piper carpunya (Piperaceae) Essential Oil as Paradigmatic Study

Ballesteros

Tacchini

Spagnoletti

et al. 2019

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Self Cite

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“…At the time, an evaluation of 71 universities found that only 11 had research projects (CONESUP, 2009). Two years later, additional laws and a secretariat were created to encourage research (Del Pozo, 2010), furthermore, Project Prometheus was created to create scientific networks and to foment research in different areas (Ballesteros, Bracco, Cerna, Finzi, & Vidari, 2016;Ramos, Castro, Escalante, & Vispo, 2017;Alvarado et al, 2018). Another landmark was the categorization of universities that actively support research (Rivera García, Espinosa Manfugás, & Valdés Bencomo, 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

Ecuador publications in the Science Citation Index Expanded: institutions, subjects, citation and collaboration patterns

Calahorrano¹,

Mónge-Nájera

Wang

et al. 2020

RBT

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Introduction: Ecuador, a country of 17 million inhabitants with a medium human development index of 0.75, has a small scientific productivity in relation to its size and population. Objective: To analyze Ecuador publications in the Science Citation Index Expanded, focusing on productivity, subjects, institutions, citations, and trends. Methods: We analyzed scientific publications by authors from Ecuador from 1900 to 2017 in the Science Citation Index Expanded and compared it with other tropical countries. Results: We found 16 document types (7 806 articles). The three most productive institutions were Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, and Escuela Politécnica Nacional. USA and Spain were the most frequent collaborating countries. Most articles were in English and ecology, botany, and zoology were common, but no field produced over 8 % of articles. However, ecology represents 11.3 % of the total citations. The most cited papers in the database were from large international biology and physics projects with minimal participation of Ecuadorean scientists. Article citations occurs mostly after the SCI stops counting. Conclusion: Science in Ecuador is growing but needs to greatly increase collaboration among Ecuadorean institutions to reduce its dependence on foreing projects. However, this study did not include articles published by the hundreds of Ecuadorean journals not covered by the SCI Expanded.

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“…Each cultural group in South Africa has different medical solutions for the prevention and curing of the same disease [3]. Hence, several ethnic groups use traditional knowledge to cure various infectious diseases caused by parasites, bacteria and viruses in addition to the treatment of poisonings caused by snakes and scorpions as well as skin diseases, inflammations, bronchial conditions, fever and pains [4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the anti-HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer activities and cytotoxicity of two fermented commercial herbal concoctions sold in Limpopo Province of South Africa

Ntlhamu

Ndhlala

Masoko

2021

BMC Complement Med Ther

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Background and objectives The use of herbal concoctions is very popular in South Africa, including Limpopo Province. The herbal concoctions are claimed to be capable of treating numerous illnesses such as ulcers, cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, certain STDs, blood cleansing to mention but a few. The focus of this study was to evaluate the anti-HIV 1 reverse transcriptase, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous activities as well as cytotoxic effects of 2 fermented herbal concoctions used for the treatment of the related ailments in Limpopo province of South Africa. Method Two fermented herbal concoctions obtained from a herbalist in Polokwane were extracted with 80% acetone. The anti-HIV activity of the herbal concoctions was determined using the anti-HIV reverse transcriptase assay. The anti-cancer and cytotoxic effects of the herbal concoctions were evaluated using cancerous Human Colon (HT-29) cells and the normal human Hepatoma cells (C3A) respectively. Results Notable anti-HIV reverse transcriptase activity was observed from the 80% acetone fraction of herbal concoction 1 (IC50 38.031 μg/mL) which exhibited better activity than the positive control Lamivudine (IC50 40.90 μg/mL). There was variation in the anti-inflammation activity as determined by the sPL2, 15-LOX and COX enzyme assays. The only concerning matter was the high COX-1 activity in some of the extracts, which is not desirable due to the mucosal protection action of COX-1 enzyme. The herbal concoctions did not exhibit cytotoxic effects on normal human cells, however, toxicity against cancerous cells was observed. Conclusion The herbal concoctions displayed some considerable pharmacological effects against various ailments as claimed by the herbalist. More work to ascertain the toxicity of both concoctions against cancerous cells need to be followed as this could lead to the discovery of anticancer drugs.

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Ethnobotanical Research at the Kutukú Scientific Station, Morona-Santiago, Ecuador

Cited by 19 publications

References 23 publications

Rediscovering Medicinal Amazonian Aromatic Plants: Piper carpunya (Piperaceae) Essential Oil as Paradigmatic Study

Rediscovering Medicinal Amazonian Aromatic Plants: Piper carpunya (Piperaceae) Essential Oil as Paradigmatic Study

Ecuador publications in the Science Citation Index Expanded: institutions, subjects, citation and collaboration patterns

Exploring the anti-HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer activities and cytotoxicity of two fermented commercial herbal concoctions sold in Limpopo Province of South Africa

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