A review of the antioxidant potential of medicinal plant species

Medicinal plants of the caatinga (semi-arid) vegetation of NE Brazil: a quantitative approach.

A review of botanical phytochemicals with mosquitocidal potential.

There is evidence concerning the participation of reactive oxygen species in the etiology and physiopathology of human diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders, inflammation, viral infections, autoimmune pathologies, and digestive system disorders such as gastrointestinal inflammation and gastric ulcer. The role of these reactive oxygen species in several diseases and the potential antioxidant protective effect of natural compounds on affected tissues are topics of high current interest. To consider a natural compound or a drug as an antioxidant substance it is necessary to investigate its antioxidant properties in vitro and then to evaluate its antioxidant functions in biological systems. In this review article, we shall consider the role of natural antioxidants derived from popular plants to reduce or prevent the oxidative stress in gastric ulcer induced by ethanol.

http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bjmbr/v35n5/4375.pdf

Antioxidant properties of natural compounds used in popular medicine for gastric ulcers

In vitro antiplasmodial activity of medicinal plants native to or naturalised in South Africa.

Insecticidal activity against Aedes aegypti larvae of some medicinal South American plants

Achyrocline satureioides (Lam.) DC. (Compositae) is a medicinal herb used in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay for its choleret- ic, antispasmodic and hepatoprotective properties. The presence of the flavonoid quercetin and its derivatives, and of different phenolic acids such as caffeic, chlorogenic and isochlorogenic acids in the aerial parts of this plant has led us to study the antioxidant activity of its extracts using different bioassays. The inhibition of luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence by the aqueous and methanolic extracts was used to show that their total reactive antioxidant potential index (TRAP; in µM Trolox equivalents) was 91.0 ± 15.4 and 128.1 ± 20.1 µM, respectively, while the total antioxidant reactivity index (TAR) was calculated to be 1537 ± 148 and 1910 ± 171 µM. Only the methanolic extract was capable of reducing iron (II)-dependent DNA damage. Lipid peroxidation was assessed by two different methods. The aque- ous extract reduced hydroperoxide-initiated chemiluminescence in rat liver homogenates at all concentrations in a dose-dependent manner, with a calculated IC50 = 225 µg/ml, while the methanolic extract was only effective at higher concentrations (100 and 1000 µg/ml). Both aqueous and methanolic extracts were capable of reducing the produc- tion of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in rat liver homogenates, with an IC50 >1000 µg/ml. The results obtained suggest that the extracts of A. satureioides possess significant free radical scavenging and antioxidant activity in vitro, a fact that should encour- age future in vivo studies.

/pdf/antioxidant-and-free-radical-scavenging-effects-in-extracts-3ozc0eh4fy.pdf

G. Ciccia

Papers

Insecticidal activity against Aedes aegypti larvae of some medicinal South American plants

Antioxidant and free radical scavenging effects in extracts of the medicinal herb Achyrocline satureioides (Lam.) DC. ("marcela")

Cytotoxic and DNA interaction activities of extracts from medicinal plants used in Argentina.

Antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities in extracts from medicinal trees used in the 'Caatinga' region in northeastern Brazil.

Ritual and medicinal plants of the Ese'ejas of the Amazonian rainforest (Madre de Dios, Perú)