Maytenus macrocarpa (Ruiz &amp; Pav.) Briq.: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Activity

Malaník, Milan; Treml, Jakub; Rjašková, Veronika; Tížková, Karolina; Kaucká, Petra; Kokoška, Ladislav; Kubatka, Peter; Šmejkal, Karel

doi:10.3390/molecules24122288

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 109 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Finally, while scientific research on diet plants as a whole is relatively slim, it is worth noting that Sanz-Biset and Cañigueral (2011) found quite good concordance in the available literature for the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties of diet plants (including related taxa) that were commonly valued for those purposes. For example, compounds isolated from Maytenus macrocarpa ( chuchuwasi ) have shown both anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties ( Malaník et al, 2019 ). However, the range of plants used in diets is very large, and they are valued as a means of treating a wide variety of somatic health conditions, in addition to preventing illness by ensuring general health, vitality, and resilience more globally.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amazonian Medicine and the Psychedelic Revival: Considering the “Dieta”

O’Shaughnessy

Berlowitz

2021

Front. Pharmacol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: In Peruvian Amazonian medicine, plant diets (dietas) are a fundamental and highly flexible technique with a variety of uses: from treating and preventing illness, to increasing strength and resilience, to rites of passage, to learning even medicine itself. Many of the plants used in diets are psychoactive; for example, one now well-known plant that can be dieted is Banisteriopsis caapi—the vine also used in the psychoactive brew ayahuasca. The use of ayahuasca has attracted increasing clinical attention towards Amazonian medicine in recent decades, and much work has focused on the potent DMT-containing ayahuasca brew, thus placing the tradition within the purview of psychedelic science.Aims: In comparison to ayahuasca, the properties of diets have been studied less often. Our work draws on data from Amazonian healers to examine plant diets as medical practices, while also considering their fit within the “set and setting framework” that is central to psychedelic research. We argue that the framework is not sufficiently broad for understanding diets, and thus the investigation aimed to expand the conceptual field of Amazonian medicine, particularly in the context of a renewed psychedelic science and its theoretical concepts.Design: We used qualitative data from interviews with Amazonian healers, applying a thematic analysis and contrasting findings with the available literature.Setting: Interviews were conducted in various locations in the San Martín province of Peru between 2015 and 2017.Participants: We selected and interviewed eight healers who had been extensively trained in traditional Amazonian medicine.Measures: Semi-structured interviews were used to gain insight into the healers’ personal experiences with plant diets.Conclusions: Diets are complex but understudied medical practices that should not be explained by reference to pharmacology or psychology only. Intercultural and interdisciplinary research programmes are called for in order to not only better understand plant diets, but traditional Amazonian medicine on the whole.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amazonian Medicine and the Psychedelic Revival: Considering the “Dieta”

O’Shaughnessy

Berlowitz

2021

Front. Pharmacol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…‐agarofuran sesquiterpenes (Malinik et al. 2019). Compounds found belong to various groups: dihydro‐…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Has positive effect on impaired metabolic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus and obesity (Malinik et al. 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participant Experiences on a Medicinal Plant Diet at Takiwasi Center: An In‐Depth Small‐Scale Survey

Rumlerová

Friso

Romero

et al. 2021

Anthropol of Consciousness

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The medicinal plant diet is a healing process used in traditional Amazonian medicine (TAM), and it is poorly described within the scientific literature. This work analyzes the experience of seven participants in this therapy performed at the Takiwasi Center in Peru. Semistructured interviews were performed before and after treatment, documenting participants’ motivation, psychological experience, and perceived personal changes (physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually), as well as the role played by each medicinal plant. All the interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Reasons to participate in the plant diet included self‐discovery, personal development, interest in plant medicine, and professional realization. The experience was perceived as intense and allowed participants to experience self‐acceptance, self‐discovery, mental balance, rest, cleansing, and connection with nature. Three months after the experience, participants felt physical changes (n = 6), psychological changes (n = 7), social changes (n = 5), and spiritual changes (n = 5).

show abstract

“…There is no hard evidence for that the medicinal plants had any major therapeutic effect, but it may be noted that all three of the principal medicinal plants people used for treating covid contain compounds (3,4,5) that affect the production and action of cytokines (5,7,8,9,10), which potentially might explain their alleged efficacy in combating covid-19. Other factors that may have contributed to the relatively low mortality rate are the low prevalence of obesity, high level of physical activity, or cross-immunity acquired by frequent exposition to other viral infections (11).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%