Medicinal plants

About: Medicinal plants is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3816 publications have been published within this topic receiving 108681 citations. The topic is also known as: medicinal herbs & medicinal plants.

Is it safe to consume traditional medicinal plants during pregnancy

Abstract: The popularity of natural medicine is growing worldwide. Unlike conventional licensed medicines, herbal medicine practices are usually not supported by effectiveness, efficacy, or safety studies, which raise concerns about potential risks involved in their usage, particularly in high-risk patients such as pregnant women where teratogenicity is a concern. Despite a lack of science-based evidence, the use of herbal products for the management of pregnancy-associated challenges is common, due to the common notion that they are free of toxic effects and adverse reactions because they are "natural." The lack of concern about utilizing herbal remedies during pregnancy is strengthened by the lack of regulation in most countries for their marketing. However, plant-based remedies are not free of adverse reactions. Medicinal plants and herbal remedies contain substances that can be toxic to the human body and the fetus. Potential effects of indiscriminate use of medicinal plants are embryotoxicity, teratogenic, and abortifacient effects. Some plant constituents can cross the placenta and reach the fetus. Phytochemicals and their metabolites are known to induce stimulation of uterine contraction and hormone imbalance that could result in abortion. The alterations to the hormonal profile can affect conception, induce teratogenic activity, and halt the pregnancy or produce a congenital malformation. Due to the wide range of modes of action of phytochemicals, some medicinal plants may be safe to use during certain trimesters of pregnancy and harmful at other stages. This manuscript reviews available scientific information concerning potential health hazards associated with the consumption of herbal medicines during pregnancy, highlighting those herbs that should be avoided due to their potential abortifacient and/or teratogenic activity. We focused on plants that were tested by preclinical studies, and studies of these plants are summarized. Common therapeutic use of these herbs, estimated effects, toxicological effects, and animal studies of these plants is summarized. The literature reviewed suggests that consumption of the following medicinal plants should be avoided during pregnancy: Abrus precatorius, Achyranthes aspera, Ailanthus excelsa, Aloe vera, Aristolochia indica, Areca catechu, Bambusa vulgaris, Cassia occidentalis, Cicer arietinum, Cimicifuga racemose, Dolichandrone falcate, Ginkgo biloba, Hydrastis canadensis, Indigofera trifoliate, Lavandula latifolia, Maytenus ilicifolia, Momordica cymbalaria, Moringa oleifera, Musa rosacea, Oxalis corniculate, Phytolacca dodecandra, Plumeria rubra, Ricinus communis, Ruta graveolens, Stachys lavandulifolia, Senna alata, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Vitus agnus-castus, and Valeriana officinalis.

The folk-medicinal plants of Kadişehri (Yozgat – Turkey)

Abstract: This paper contains significant ethnobotanical information on folk-medicinal plants and their ethnopharmacological uses in Kadisehri. The aim of the study was mainly to collect and identify the plants used therapeutically by the local people, and to make available information about traditional herbal medicine. It was undertaken during the period 2011–2012 and is based on plants collected during field work. Fifty-six plants used in folk-medicine and belonging to 34 families were identified in this study. Of these, 48 species were wild, and 8 species were cultivated plants. The most common families were Rosaceae (12.5%), Lamiaceae (8.9%) and Asteraceae (7.1%); and the most common preparations were decoctions (36.7%). In addition, a cultural importance index ( CI ) and use report ( UR ) were calculated for each species. Based on the CI , the most important plants were Cydonia oblonga (0.77), Ecballium elaterium (0.66), Urtica urens (0.66), Vitis vinifera (0.66), Plantago lanceolata (0.65), Plantago major subsp. major (0.65) and Rosa canina (0.62). We found three species of plant ( Astragalus noaeanus , Populus ×canescens and Salvia cyanescens ) which had never before been reported to have medicinal properties.

Antioxidant activity and phenolic content of some medicinal plants traditionally used in Northern Iraq

Abstract: Several herbal plants have been used as therapeutics in Iraqi traditional medicine and phenolic content and antioxidant activity may contribute to their pharmacological effects. The total phenolic contents (TPC) and the antioxidant activities of water and ethanol extracts of 14 medicinal plants which had been used in Iraqi traditional medicine were investigated. The TPC were measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method. The antioxidant activity was assessed by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and the scavenging activity towards 2, 2′-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH)-radical. Antioxidant activities as measured by FRAP and the scavenging activity towards DPPH radical was significantly correlated with TPC among all the plants studied. In most of the plants the TPC and the antioxidant activity of the ethanol extracts were significantly higher (P< 0.05) than that of water alone extracts. The results suggest that phenolic compounds are the significant contributors to the antioxidant activity of the medicinal plants studied. This study shows that the studied plants are good sources of free-radical scavenging compounds and may explain their traditional medicinal application. Therefore, ingestion of extracts from these plants may help to prevent in vivo oxidative damage associated with diseases and illnesses, for which the local traditional healers used some of these plants.