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Herbal Products in Antihypertensive Therapy
Published in Dilip Ghosh, Pulok K. Mukherjee, Natural Medicines, 2019
Fernão C. Braga, Steyner F. Côrtes
The genus Crataegus (Rosaceae) comprises almost 300 species of trees and shrubs. Preparations from the leaves and flowers of some Crataegus species (hawthorn) have been used for treating CVD since the late 1800s (Hobbs and Foster 1990). Over 20 species of Crataegus are used as medicinal plants worldwide, and based on their efficacy and safety the species Crataegus oxyacantha L. and Crataegus monogyna Jacq. are listed in the pharmacopoeias of France (1998), England (2000), Germany (DAB, 1997) and Switzerland (1997), as well as in the European Pharmacopoeia (1998; Rastogi et al. 2016).
Potential Impacts of Environmental Pollution on the Growth and Metabolism of Medicinal Plants
Published in Azamal Husen, Environmental Pollution and Medicinal Plants, 2022
Nisha Rani, Madhavi Joshi, Anand Sagar, Hardeep Rai Sharma
The most apparent effect of climate change as suggested by evidence on vegetation is a shift in phenology, i.e. the timing of life cycle events in plants mainly in relation to climate and distribution (IPCC 2007). In response to changing weather patterns and temperature, early flowering and shifts in geographical ranges in some medicinal and aromatic plants have been reported. Although in the first instance this seems of little importance, it presents great challenges to survival. Studies by Walther et al. (2002) indicates the emergence of an early spring since 1960, and this accelerated onset of spring has caused perceptible changes in phonological events such as the timing of plant budburst, first leafing and flowering, fruit and seed dispersal, etc. Temperature-driven early blooming can be damaging for areas prone to chilly spells late in the spring. If these two events are followed by one another within a few days, those early buds or fruits freeze, potentially affecting or killing the yield of some economically beneficial plants (Zobayed et al. 2005). Similar results have been observed in the medicinal plant bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis) belonging to the family Papaveraceae (Shea 2008). As data from the Nature Calendar indicates, many medicinal plants such as horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum, Hippocastanaceae) and hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna; C. laevigata, Rosaceae) started blooming earlier in the UK (Cavaliere 2009). Such variations in geographic range and phenology, and unpredictable shifts in species qualities, could threaten the usability of these plants as medicine.
Plants growing in Colombia as sources of active ingredients for sunscreens
Published in International Journal of Radiation Biology, 2021
Jorge Luis Fuentes, Diego Armando Villamizar Mantilla, Silvia Juliana Flores González, Luis Alberto Núñez, Elena E. Stashenko
The present work evidenced that plants grown in Colombia contain compounds that can be useful as sunscreen ingredients. Seven plant extracts from families Asteraceae (2), Labiatae (1), Myrtaceae (1), Piperaceae (2), and Verbenaceae (1), resulted with high UVB protection efficacy (30.0 ≤ SPFin vitro ≤ 59.9) indicating their potential in UVB photoprotection. In contrast, only four of them showed broad-spectrum protection efficacy (λc ≥ 370 nm), suggesting poor UVA protection efficacy of the studied plant species extracts. Previous studies had shown the sunscreen properties of some plant species (Table 3). Nunes et al. (2018) and Guimarães de Sousa et al. (2020) found high UVB protection efficacy of the extracts obtained from Boerhavia difusa, Dimorphandra gardneriana, Lippia microphylla and Momordica charantia species. Likewise, the Baccharis antioquensis, Morella parvifolia and Pentacalia pulchella plant extracts presented high UVA-UVB protective efficacies (Mejía‐Giraldo et al. 2016a, Puertas-Mejía et al. 2018). In contrast, the Crataegus monogyna, Helichrysum arenarium and Sambucus nigra extracts showed high UVA photoprotective efficacy, but poor UVB photoprotection (Jarzycka et al. 2013). Like these studies, our results confirm the high potential of the plant extracts as a source of photoprotective molecules.
Mexican hawthorn (Crataegus gracilior J. B. Phipps) stems and leaves induce cell death on breast cancer cells
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2020
Juan Maldonado-Cubas, Exsal M. Albores-Méndez, Eduardo San Martín-Martínez, Cinthya N. Quiroz-Reyes, Gerardo E. González-Córdova, Rocio G. Casañas-Pimentel
Crataegus monogyna is another Crataegus species that has been studied for its anticancer activity. The extract of the flower buds of this species, obtained in a methanol:water mixture, is rich in flavonoids and phenolic acids. This extract showed antiproliferative activity against different human cancer cells (breast adenocarcinoma cells, non-small cell lung, and cervical, and hepatocellular carcinoma cells). The extracts of the fruits of this species in three phenological stages showed antiproliferative activity against cancer cells, but to a lesser extend (9). Recently, Gawel et al. (10) reported that a mixture of methanolic extracts (MIX2), prepared from the fruits of C. monogyna (and of other vegetal species), possesses important anticancer properties against human cervical adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma cells. This mixture reduced the migration, proliferation, and adhesion of tumor cells, as well as the expression of various multidrug resistance genes, including the ABCB1 gene that encodes for glycoprotein P. Moreover, in vitro studies showed that this mixture sensitized tumor cells (HeLa) to doxorubicin, reducing the cell’s survival rate when MIX2 and doxorubicin were applied in combination. The authors of this study suggested that MIX2 could be used to modulate the drug resistance phenotype of tumors in anticancer treatments.
MIX2: A Novel Natural Multi-Component Modulator of Multidrug-Resistance and Hallmarks of Cancer Cells
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2019
Agata M. Gawel, Marlena Godlewska, Marta Grech-Baran, Anna Stachurska, Damian Gawel
The ripened fruits of herbal plants common to most European countries: Prunus spinosa L. (blackthorn), Crataegus monogyna Jacq. (hawthorn), Sorbus aucuparia L. (rowan), and Euonymus europaeus L. (spindle) were collected in October 2016 in the buffer zone of Kampinos National Park, Poland (GPS coordinates: 52.359733, 20.262950; 52.359983, 20.258283; 52.341800, 20.268950; 52.341250, 20.269350, respectively). Site selection, harvest and primary processing were conducted in accordance to the WHO Guidelines on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices for Medicinal Plants (29). The collected material was identified based on morphological characters by Marta Grech-Baran according to Rutkowski (30). Voucher specimen were deposited in the repository at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences (No. 161010-2, 161010-3, 161010-7, 161010-9 for Prunus spinosa L., Crataegus monogyna Jacq., Sorbus aucuparia L., and Euonymus europaeus L., respectively). 15 g of the obtained berries (whole fruits with seeds and peel) were washed with sterile deionized water, homogenized, complemented with 15 ml of 100% methanol (MeOH; Merck Millipore, Darmstadt, Germany) and stored for 1 month at 4 °C. Next, the extracts were filtered (0.22 μm filter; Merck Millipore) and pooled into one mixture, in a 1:1:1:1 volumetric ratio. This composition, called MIX2, was stored at −20 °C.