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Wild Plants of Northern Peru
Published in Mahendra Rai, Shandesh Bhattarai, Chistiane M. Feitosa, Wild Plants, 2020
Fidel A. Torres-Guevara, Mayar L. Ganoza-Yupanqui, Luz A. Suárez-Rebaza, Gonzalo R. Malca-García, Rainer W. Bussmann
In Huancabamba Province, the cloud forest surrounding the Blanco River, a headwater of the Chinchipe river, is dominated by the “romerillo” (Podocarpus oleifolius), the only native tropical forest conifer of South America, and species such as “mountain cedar” (Cedrela lilloi), Grossulariaceae, Juglandaceae, Myrtaceae, Lauraceae, and Moraceae, and Chilean myrtle, which are typical species of mountain forests. Tree ferns of the genus Cyathea spp. and epiphytic bromeliads (Tillandsia spp.), as well as Puya spp., indicate the high humidity of the environment. The herbaceous vegetation is dominated by Asteraceae, Labiatae, Polemoniaceae (Cantua sp.), or Araceae (Anturium sp.). These herbs are accompanied by others with high potential for nutritional or medicinal use, such as wild species of Physalis spp., Solanum caripense, Solanum quitoense, Cucurbitaceae, and wild tomatoes (Lycopersicon spp.), as well as diverse types of bromeliads, a preferred food of the spectacled bear, and diverse species of orchids flowering in different months of the year (Torres Guevara 2006). These cloud forests are intermediate spaces between the lowland forests of the Amazon and the moorlands, with important functions for regional ecological dynamism, and provide high-potential economic opportunities.
Clinical Toxicology of Marine Coelenterate Injuries
Published in Jürg Meier, Julian White, Handbook of: Clinical Toxicology of Animal Venoms and Poisons, 2017
John Williamson, Joseph Burnett
Again, this contains a vast array of venomous coelenterates, with regular and numerous human stingings. Along with the adjoining Indo-Pacific region, these waters contain many stinging corals (e.g. millepora), hydroids, hard and soft corals and jellyfish. Physalia physalis and perhaps Catostylus are among the most plentiful, although the latter’s sting is insignificant.
Miscellaneous Withanolides
Published in Amritpal Singh Saroya, Contemporary Phytomedicines, 2017
Physalins are steroidal constituents of Physalis plants which possess an unusual 13,14-seco-16,24-cyclo-steroidal ring skeleton. Chief sources of physalins are Physalins were isolated from Physalis species, Physalis alkekengi, P. angulata, and P lancifolia.
Macrophage polarization: an effective approach to targeted therapy of inflammatory bowel disease
Published in Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, 2021
Yaoyao Du, Lan Rong, Yuanhua Cong, Lan Shen, Ning Zhang, Bing Wang
Physalinsare modified steroids isolated from Physalis alkekengi L. (Solanaceae) [183]. Physalin D has a high content and is an active ingredient in physalins with minimal cytotoxicity. It exerts anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-tumor, and proapoptotic effects and has strong immunomodulatory function [184]. Ding et al. revealed for the first time that physalin D has the ability to regulate the polarization of macrophages [185]. The experimental results showed that physalin D treatment increased the expression of CD206, decreased the expression of iNOS in M1 macrophages, and prevented LPS/IFN-γ from repolarizing M2 phenotype toward M1 phenotype [185]. These results prove that physalin D can not only polarize M1 macrophages toward M2 macrophages but also protect M2 macrophages to maintain the M2 phenotype. From protein level analysis, physalin D upregulated the levels of Arg1 and IRF4 and down regulated the levels of iNOS and IRF5. This ability has also been verified in invivo experiments; at the molecular level, the polarization function can be attributed to physalin D inhibiting STAT1 activation and nuclear translocation associated with M1 polarization and promoting STAT6 activation and nuclear translocation associated with M2 polarization [185].
Spontaneous tension pneumocephalus and pneumoventricle in ecchordosis physaliphora: case report of a rare presentation and review of the literature
Published in British Journal of Neurosurgery, 2020
Prajwal Ghimire, Jonathan Shapey, Istvan Bodi, Steve Connor, Nicholas Thomas, Konstantinos Barkas
Echordosis physaliphora is a rare benign notochordal tumour1,2 which is a challenging diagnosis to make and is based upon a combination of clinical, imaging, and histopathological evidence. Physaliphora consists of Physalis, a word derived from Greek vocabulary meaning “bladder or blow up”. The first medical description of pathological ectopic notochordal tissue at the posterior clivus was published in 1856 by Luschka3 and described as physaliphora by Virchow in 1857.4 Muller theorized the notochordal origin of the lesion in 18585 and Rippert in 18946 coined the term ‘ecchordosis’. EP has been classified according to various aspects of the lesion including its clinical presentation,7–11 anatomical location,12–17 size18 and neuroradiological appearance14,19–23 and grading based on its aggressiveness18 (Table 1). EP may present with a variety of clinical symptoms and signs and is very difficult to diagnose on the sole basis of the clinical features (Table 2).
Two sulfonate metabolites of physalin A in rats
Published in Xenobiotica, 2018
Hongxia Liu, Kai Wang, Guiyang Xia, Kun Wang, Liwei Chai, Paul Owusu Donkor, Liqin Ding, Feng Qiu
Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii (Solanaceae), a traditional Chinese medicine (“Jindenglong” in Chinese), has been widely used in China for the treatment of sore throat, cough, eczema, hepatitis, urinary problems and tumors (Chinese Pharmacopoeia Committee, 2015). Physalins, classified as steroids with 13,14-seco-16,24-cycloergostane skeleton (Kawai et al., 1994; Taga et al., 1991), are the characteristic and active constituents of P. alkekengi var. franchetii (Yang et al., 2016; Shu et al., 2016). In particular, physalin A (Figure 1) is a major physalin constituent found in P. alkekengi var. franchetii. Physalin A has been reported to show multiple bioactivities, such as anti-tumor (Han et al., 2011; Zhu et al., 2016) and anti-inflammatory (Ji et al., 2012) activities. Our early study demonstrated that physalin A induced both apoptosis and autophagy in A375-S2 human melanoma cells (He et al., 2013a, 2013b, 2014) and could be applied for the treatment of some cancers in the future.