Essential oils from medicinal and aromatic plants: A review of the gastroprotective and ulcer-healing activities

Gastric ulcer is an excoriated area of the gastric mucosa. It is among the predominant gastrointestinal chronic diseases. The essential oils represent an important part of the traditional pharmacopoeia in many countries and have been successfully used for gastroprotection and ulcer healing. Thus, this review presents the experimental activity of essential oils traditionally used in the gastric ulcer prevention and treatment, considering their families, part of the plant studied, bioassays, and their mechanisms of gastroprotection and ulcer healing, with the aim of stimulating novel studies in the search for a new phytomedicine to treat gastric diseases. © 2012 The Authors Fundamental and Clinical Pharmacology © 2012 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.

Phytotoxic Activities of Mediterranean Essential Oils

Twelve essential oils from Mediterranean aromatic plants were tested for their phytotoxic activity, at different doses, against the germination and the initial radicle growth of seeds of Raphanus sativus, Lactuca sativa and Lepidium sativum. The essential oils were obtained from Hyssopus officinalis, Lavandula angustifolia, Majorana hortensis, Melissa officinalis, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum vulgare, Salvia officinalis and Thymus vulgaris (Lamiaceae), Verbena officinalis (Verbenaceae), Pimpinella anisum, Foeniculum vulgare and Carum carvi (Apiaceae). The germination and radicle growth of tested seeds were affected in different ways by the oils. Thyme, balm, vervain and caraway essential oils were more active against both germination and radicle elongation.

Antimicrobial activity of propolis and essential oils and synergism between these natural products

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Collection of Fafia [Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen] in northwestern state of Parana-Brazil

Interviews were conducted with fafia (Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen) collectors from the municipal districts of Querencia do Norte and Porto Rico, where enterprises and buyers of this plant are concentrated. The results allowed us to conclude that both the adults and children make collection. Each adult collects from 50 to 150 kg of roots/day, depending on the collection area, for about 8 months/year. Collections mostly occur all over the year, but the activity becomes more intense from May to August. All families are not exclusively dedicated to fafia collection and also develop other rural activities. They have been collecting fafia for 2 to 13 years, indicating that an intensive exploitation has been present in the region for over a decade. During collection, no plant part is used for replanting the species. The roots are commercialised by regional buyers. The price of the roots varies from US $ 0.07 to US $ 0.13/kg and average gain is about US $ 2,055/family/year, representing a considerable profit for the collectors.

Production of yacon plantlet (Polymnia sonchifolia poep. et endl.) in different organic fertilization

The work was carried out in nursery of the Agronomical Science College (ASC) UNESP-Botucatu, in period from September 21(st) to October 31(st) 2000. The propagation material (rhizophores) was obtained from plants, which were cultivated in the area of ASC. The rhizophores were selected according to their vigor and size. Healthy rhizophores were chosen between 15 and 25 g, which were treated with benomil (0,6%, 10 minutes). As a basic commercial substratum Solomix((R)) was used with mixing cattle manure and chicken manure in the following proportions: T1- pure substratum; T2 - substratum + cattle manure (1:1), T3- substratum + cattle manure (2:1); T4- substratum + chicken manure (4:1). The yacon rhizophores presented good shoots in all substrata with exception of T4. For all parameters no significant difference between the pure commercial substratum and its mixture with cattle manure were observed; however, the addition the chicken manure in the studied proportions revealed harmful effect on the survival and development of the plantlets. The results indicated, that the viability of smaller size rhizophores was higher as the size conventionally used in Brazil (60 to 80 g).

Influence of organic fertilisation on leaves and essential oil production of Ocimum gratissimuim L.

The experiment was installed in Lageado Experimental Farm with aim to verify the influence of organic fertilisation (0, 4, 8 and 12 kg of manure/m(2) - with four replications) on leaves and essential oil production of Ocimum gratissimum. The harvesting was done twice (May - autumn and August - winter), and the leaves were separated for extraction of essential oil by Clevenger apparatus. The leaf production and oil content were calculated on dry mass basis. The results showed no statistical difference for organic fertilisation, although significant difference was verified for seasons. The main constituents of essential oil were eugenol and 1,8- cineole. The amount of the eugenol was higher in autumn, while the presence of other components including 1,8-cineole, beta-selinene and trans-caryophyllene were more dominant at wintertime.

Effect of substrata on the development of stem cuttings of Lippia alba (Mill.) NEBR. - Limonene-carvone chemotype

Studies were conducted to show the effect of different substrata on the development of stem cuttings of Lippia alba made of limonene-carvone chemotype. The experiment was done in the College of Agronomical Sciences, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil in 2000. The cuttings were planted in polystyrene trays consisting of 72 cells. The cuttings had about 0.20 m of length and were put in the following substrata:Fine sand (T1), commercial substratum (T2), carbonised rice peel and local soil (T3), local soil, cow manure and carbonised rice peel (T4), vermiculite (T5), and carbonised rice peel (T6). After 40 days the development of stem cuttings were evaluated. High rate of rooting of stem cuttings was verified, with average of 95 10 and no significant difference between the treatments. In relation to dry mass of aerial parts and dry mass of roots, significant differences were found. For dry mass production of aerial parts the commercial substratum (T2) and the local soil, cow manure, carbonised rice peel (T4) were optimal. For mass of roots the local soil, cow manure, carbonised rice peel (T4) proved to be the best.

Early rooting in Rosemary's (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) cuttings under the influence of chemical treatments and collecting time

The present work aimed to verify the early rooting development and the root production in rosemary's (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) cuttings under the influence of treatments with sythetics auxins, boric acid and collecting time. The branches were collected at the end of the season and the stakes were prepared and placed into solutions containing NAA or IBA (25, 50, 75 and 100 pppm) without and with boric acid and then removed to a chamber of nebulization (all experimental work). In all the experimentes, the branches were collected after 30 days, the mean number of rooted cuttings was calculated, along with the mean number of roots per stakes and the dry weight of roots. The end of winter outstood as the best season for all analysed parameters.

Produção de folhas, óleo essencial e anatomia foliar quantitativa de Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. (Verbenaceae) em diferentes níveis de sombreamento e épocas de colheita

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Horticultura) - FCA

Atividade antimicrobiana de plantas medicinais e aromáticas pertencentes à CPMA - Coleção de Plantas Medicinais e Aromáticas do CPQBA - UNICAMP

The increase of the antimicrobial resistance and its propagation around the world are the biggest threats to the public health care and to the treatment of diseases caused by microorganisms. Nowadays the antimicrobial resistance has increased abruptly. The essential oils are volatile and aromatic compounds derived from parts of plants as flowers, leafs, fruits, seeds, roots, sprouts, among others. The activity of extracts and essential oils of several plant species have been recognized and studied by empirical methods since a long time, but its antimicrobial activities were confirmed recently. Medicinal plants are used in folk medicine as medicines, antibiotic, analgesic, sedative and anti-inflammatory. The use of medicinal plants like source of medicines is an alternative of therapeutics for diseases treatment. In Brazil, studies with this goal are very important, once medicinal plants have been used as a choice of treatment and prevention of infections and diseases in health areas. Considering the fact that some products from medicinal plants have antimicrobial properties it is expected that using screening programs, new potential medicaments could be developed. Otherwise, scientific researches focused on determining therapeutic potential of plants are limited, there are lack of scientific studies which confirms the potential antibiotics properties of a large number of plants. The aim of the present study is determinate the antimicrobial activity of 10 medicinal species belonging to CPMA - Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants from CPQBA/UNICAMP. The minimal inhibitory (MIC) and minimal bactericidal or fungicidal concentration (MBC) will be determined against the bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella choleraesuis, Staphylococcus aureus and the yeast Candida albicans. Furthermore, will be conducted chemical identification and fractionation of essential oils and extract with better activity

An integrated approach to identification and conservation of medicinal plants in the tropical forest - A Brazilian experience

An integrated and interdisciplinary research programme with native medicinal plants from tropical forests has been performed in order to obtain new forest products for sustainable use in regional markets vis-à-vis ecosystem conservation. For the success of this programme ethnopharmacological studies are very important with respect to (i) identification of useful plants including medicinal and aromatic species; (ii) recuperation and preservation of traditional knowledge about native plants; and (iii) identification of potential plants with economic value. The plants are selected with a view to evaluate efficacy and safety (pharmacological and toxicological studies), and phytochemical profile and quality control (phytochemical and chromatographic characterization). These studies are very important to add value to plant products and also to mitigate unscrupulous exploitation of medicinal plants by local communities, since multiple use of plants represents an excellent strategy for sustaining the tropical ecosystem through ex situ and in situ conservation. Thus, conservation of tropical resources is possible in conjunction with improvements in the quality of life of the traditional communities and production of new products with therapeutic, cosmetic and 'cosmeceutic' value. © NIAB 2005.

Eucalyptus ESTs associated with resistance to herbicide inhibitors of aromatic and branched-chain amino acid synthesis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Electrochemical oxidation of wastewater containing aromatic amines using a flow electrolytic reactor

Aromatic amines are environmental pollutants and represent one of the most important classes of industrial and natural chemicals. Some types of complex effluents containing these chemical species, mainly those originated from chemicals plants are not fully efficiently treated by conventional processes. In this work, the use of electrochemical technology through an electrolytic pilot scale flow reactor is considered for treatment of wastewater of a chemical industry manufacturer of antioxidant and anti-ozonant substances used in rubber. Experimental results showed that was possible to remove between 65% and 95% of apparent colour and chemical oxygen demand removal between 30 and 90% in 60 min of treatment, with energy consumption rate from 26 kWh m-3 to 31 kWh m-3. Absorbance, total organic carbon and toxicity analyses resulted in no formation of toxic by-products. The results suggest that the presented electrochemical process is a suitable method for treating this type of wastewater, mainly when pre-treated by aeration. Copyright © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.