Genus: Acampe to Arundina
01 Jan 2016-pp 85-130
TL;DR: Twenty-seven species in 12 genera (Acampe, Acriopsis, Aerides, Agrostophyllum, Amitostigma, Anacamptis, Anoectochilus, Antigonium, Apostasia, Appendiculata, Arachnis and Arundina) are described and several are illustrated.
Abstract: Twenty-seven species in 12 genera (Acampe, Acriopsis, Aerides, Agrostophyllum, Amitostigma, Anacamptis, Anoectochilus, Antigonium, Apostasia, Appendiculata, Arachnis and Arundina) are described and several are illustrated. Anoectochilus has been shown through surrogate markers to have hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, lipid-lowering, cytotoxic, anabolic and immunomodulatory properties. In animal experiments, Anoectochilus formosanus extracts enhanced memory retention, promoted foetal lung maturation and prevented bone loss. Usage of three endemic Amitostigma species is confined to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Anacamptis species have long usage as sources of salep in Europe and the Middle East, whereas their tubers are collected from northern Iran for local and export markets. The remaining herbs are mostly tropical lowland species that play a role in native medicine. Phytochemical data for Aerides, Agrostophyllum, Anoectochilus and Arundina are presented.
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28 Feb 1980
TL;DR: In "Medicinal Plants of East and Southeast Asia, " the medicinal properties of "Acanthus ilicifolius" are described along with those of hundreds of other plants.
Abstract: In Indonesia, the roots of "Acanthus ilicifolius" are chewed and laid on wounds caused by poisoned arrows; in Burma, the shoots are used to treat snakebite and the leaves to ease the pains of rheumatism; in China, the roots are a remedy for chronic fever; and in the Philippines, a decoction is considered effective against asthma. One plant used by different peoples in different ways, but all seemingly effective.In "Medicinal Plants of East and Southeast Asia, " the medicinal properties of "Acanthus ilicifolius" are described along with those of hundreds of other plants. Students of pharmacology, economic botany, anthropology and many other fields will find this a useful reference volume. Libraries of colleges and universities, arboreta and herbaria will find this to be a source of references linking botany, chemistry, medicine, and folklore. The book is a browser's delight for the lay reader with an interest in how different people use plant materials. The entries are listed in alphabetical order, encyclopedia-fashion for easy reference, and are written in simple language suitable for the general reader and scholar alike. Each entry gives the scientific name of the plant, its distribution, and a description of its uses in different locales supported by an extensive bibliography and references to sources in herbaria. The area covered includes Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, north to the Philippines, China and Korea.Five indexes are supplied including: plants listed according to the attributed therapeutic properties; various disorders; and scientific names. There are forty-eight pages of references.
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Abstract: Blue-green algae are found in lakes, ponds, rivers and brackish waters throughout the world. In case of excessive growth such as bloom formation, these bacteria can produce inherent toxins in quantities causing toxicity in mammals, including humans. These cyanotoxins include cyclic peptides and alkaloids. Among the cyclic peptides are the microcystins and the nodularins. The alkaloids include anatoxin-a, anatoxin-a(S), cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxins (STXs), aplysiatoxins and lyngbyatoxin. Both biological and chemical methods are used to determine cyanotoxins. Bioassays and biochemical assays are nonspecific, so they can only be used as screening methods. HPLC has some good prospects. For the subsequent detection of these toxins different detectors may be used, ranging from simple UV-spectrometry via fluorescence detection to various types of MS. The main problem in the determination of cyanobacterial toxins is the lack of reference materials of all relevant toxins. In general, toxicity data on cyanotoxins are rather scarce. A majority of toxicity data are known to be of microcystin-LR. For nodularins, data from a few animal studies are available. For the alkaloids, limited toxicity data exist for anatoxin-a, cylindrospermopsin and STX. Risk assessment for acute exposure could be relevant for some types of exposure. Nevertheless, no acute reference doses have formally been derived thus far. For STX(s), many countries have established tolerance levels in bivalves, but these limits were set in view of STX(s) as biotoxins, accumulating in marine shellfish. Official regulations for other cyanotoxins have not been established, although some (provisional) guideline values have been derived for microcystins in drinking water by WHO and several countries.
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TL;DR: Cyanobacteria play vital roles in aquatic food webs, yet production, accumulation, and toxicity patterns of MCs within aquaticFood webs remain obscure.
Abstract: Cyanobacteria possess many adaptations to develop population maxima or “blooms” in lakes and reservoirs. A potential consequence of freshwater blooms of many cyanobacterial species is the production of potent toxins, including the cyclic hepatotoxins, microcystins (MCs). Approximately 70 MC variants have been isolated. Their toxicity to humans and other animals is well studied, because of public health concerns. This review focuses instead on the production and degradation of MCs in freshwater environments and their effects on aquatic organisms. Genetic research has revealed the existence of MC-related genes, yet the expression of these genes seems to be regulated by complex mechanisms and is influenced by environmental factors. In natural water bodies, the species composition of cyanobacterial communities and the ratio of toxic to nontoxic species and strains are largely responsible for total toxin production. Cyanobacteria play vital roles in aquatic food webs, yet production, accumulation, and toxicity...
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