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Medicinal Plants for Eczema
Published in Namrita Lall, Medicinal Plants for Cosmetics, Health and Diseases, 2022
Aspalathus linearis (Burm f.) R. Dahlgren (Figure 5.4), commonly known as rooibos tea, is part of the Fabaceae family and is natively found in the Cedarberg Mountains within the Western Cape Province (Lall and Kishore, 2014; McKay and Blumberg, 2007). This shrub-like leguminous bush is used worldwide as a beverage and for its medicinal properties (McKay and Blumberg, 2007). The shoots, which contain the leaves and stems, are used; however, the method used to prepare the plant material is different (Joubert and de Beer, 2011; Joubert et al., 2008).
Applications of Indigenous Knowledges in the 21st Century
Published in David R. Katerere, Wendy Applequist, Oluwaseyi M. Aboyade, Chamunorwa Togo, Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge for the Modern Era, 2019
In addition to beers and fermented beverages, several indigenous plant species are used to make herbal teas. These include rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis), honeybush (Cyclopia genistoides, C. intermedia and C. subternata), bush tea (Athrixia phylicoides), buchu tea (Agathosma betulina), rose pelargonium tea (Pelargonium capitatum), and cancer bush/kankerbos tea (Sutherlandia frutescens) in Southern Africa (see van Wyk & Gericke, 2003). Most of these teas have health benefits and are now commercialized. The currency and increasing popularity of indigenous teas is proof of their relevance in the 21st century.
Pharmacological activity of Aspalathus linearis extracts: pre-clinical research in view of prospective neuroprotection
Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, 2023
Aspalathus linearis (Burm.f.) Dahlg. (Fabaceae, Crotalariae) is an endemic fynbos plant of South Africa. Its leaves serve to prepare commonly known rooibos teas. The infusions gained popularity all over the world losing presumably only to black tea (Camellia sinensis). The research on the constituents of the rooibos tea revealed the abundance of polyphenols, linked with pharmacological activity of infusions, as well as some unique and rarely met constituents as aspalathin and nothofagin pointing to its specific actions. Phenolic compounds demonstrate different biological effects that may affect neurodegenerative processes, i.e. primarily antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic activity. In this article, the current research on the pharmacological activity of A. linearis infusions that could be of importance in view of neurodegenerative processes as well as its prospective neuroprotective mechanism is discussed.
Differential Cytotoxicity of Rooibos and Green Tea Extracts against Primary Rat Hepatocytes and Human Liver and Colon Cancer Cells – Causal Role of Major Flavonoids
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2021
Sedicka Samodien, Maryna de Kock, Elizabeth Joubert, Sonja Swanevelder, Wentzel C. A. Gelderblom
It has been well established that the antioxidant activity of green tea (GT) flavanols is strongly associated with their suggested chemopreventive properties (7, 8). These flavanols target many cellular pathways leading to alterations in proliferative and/or apoptotic indices and hence interfere with the different stages of cancer development In Vivo (9). The South African herbal tea, rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), especially green rooibos, the unoxidized product (also referred to as “unfermented” rooibos), has been the focus of several studies, demonstrating antioxidant activity of extracts and flavonoid constituents (10, 11). Several other biological characteristics of rooibos that relate to antiviral, phytoestrogenic, anti-diabetes and anti-inflammatory properties are well established (12–15). In Vivo studies indicated that rooibos exhibited anticancer properties in skin (16), liver (17) and esophagus (18) in experimental animals. Recently, a rooibos extract was reported to inhibit proliferation of castration-resistant prostate cancer cells In Vitro, emphasizing the role of the flavonoid constituents in its chemopreventive properties (19). The most abundant flavonoid in green rooibos, the dihydrochalcone, aspalathin (20), exhibits comparable antioxidant properties to epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) (11), the most abundant green tea flavanol. Aspalathin is reported to induce hypoglycemic effects in animal models related to metabolic activity and cellular mechanisms by improving glucose and lipid metabolism (21, 22). Nothofagin, structurally related to aspalathin, also exhibits similar antioxidant characteristics in aqueous environments (11). Luteolin, a minor flavonoid of rooibos, and the aglycone of two other major rooibos flavonoids, orientin and isoorientin, exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy and neuroprotective properties (23, 24). Other flavonoids, including orientin, isoorientin, vitextin, isovitexin, isoquercitrin, rutin and hyperoside (20), have been shown to exhibit a wide range of biological activities including anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative and anticancer properties (25–30).