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Biological screening of Uruguayan medicinal plants
217
fournaf of ~~hnopharmacoZ~gy, 39 (1993) 21 T-220
Eisevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd.
Short Communication
Biological screening of Uruguayan medicinal plants A. GonzBlez”, F. Ferreiraa, A. Vizquez”, P. Moynaa and E. Alonso Pazb ‘Cdredra de Farmacognosia y Productos Notwales and ‘Ctitedra de Boidnica FarmacPurica, Fact&ad de Quimica, Avenida General F/ores 2124. Montevideo i Uruguay)
(Received November 5, 1992: revision received May 17, 1993; accepted May 30, 1993)
Introduction Uruguay is a country with a population basically of European origin, formed by immigration waves arriving at the turn of the 19th century. During the colonial days, a small number of the native medicinal plants merged with plants of European origin to form the basis of Uruguay’s popular medicine. Other native plants were slowly added to this basic pharmacopoeia, some as the American counterparts of European plants, others by adopting their use from neighbouring countries. In 1957, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) regulated the sale of medicinal plants through Qrdenanza No. 445 (Anonymous, 1957). Whole plants, specific parts, mixtures of different plants, and extracts are sold not only in the countryside, where their use was traditionally widespread, but also in the capital city, Montevideo. This situation brings about the need of a detailed study of the therapeutic properties and the chemical composition of the plants commonly used. As stated by Trotter (1983), the most obvious solution to the problem of testing for potential biological activities in medicinal plants is to conduct a general bioassay of their extracts. Such a bioassay must be sensitive to a wide range of activities rather than directed at a particular set of compounds or reactions. In this work we use two general bioassays, the Artemia salina toxicity test developed by McLaughlin and colleagues (Meyer et al., 1982; Correspondence la: Fernando Ferreira, Critedra de Farmacognosia y Productos Naturales, Facultad de Quimica, Avenida General Flares 2124, Montevideo, Uruguay.
McLaughlin et al., 1988) and the wheat rootlet growth inhibition assay (Van Puyvelde et al., 1988). In a previous paper (Davyt et al., 1991) we presented results of the phytochemical screening of selected medicinal plants currently in use in Uruguay. Here we report the results of screening for biological activities of some of these plants together with additional plants. Materials and Methods Plant material Plants were collected from several localities near Montevideo, air dried for 2 weeks and ground to a coarse powder. A11 plants were properly identified and voucher specimens deposited in the Herbarium MFVQ, Montevideo. Plant material (10 g) was extracted in boiling distilled water (100 ml) for 5 min. The solution was filtered after cooling and the resultant volume adjusted to 100 ml. Wheat rootlet growth inhibition Wheat seeds, Triticum aestivum L. (Poaceae), cv. ‘Estanzuela ChajQ’, were germinated in the dark at room tem~rature for 48 h. Ten germinated seeds were selected at random and placed in a Petri dish with the test solution (10 ml) for 5 days under the same conditions as before. The longest rootlet from each seed was then measured and inhibition calculated as a percentage relative to the length of similar rootlets in the controls. Concentrations equivalent to 5% and 0.5% were tested (g dry plant1100 ml of solution, prepared by dilution of the original extract with distilled water). Duplicates were performed for all concen-
0378-8741/93/$06.~ 0 1993 Efsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd. Printed and Published in Ireland
218 TABLE
I
ETHNOBOTANICAL Species (Voucher,
DATA
OF MEDICINAL Common
PLANTS
name
MVFQ)
AQUIFOLIACEAE Ibex puraguariensis St. Hil. (E. Alonso Paz 3419)
Yerba
CELASTRACEAE Maytenus ilicijolia Mart. (E. Alonso Paz 3242)
Congorosa
mate
USED
IN URUGUAYAN
Part used=
Popular
LF
Int.: Stimulant, diureticC Ext.: VulneraryC
LF
Int.: Eupepticdse, contraceptivec*f Ext.: Antisepticc,
FOLK
MEDICINE
useb
antispasmodice,
astringentd,
antiasthmatic”,
vulncraryc.f
COMPOSITAE Acanthospermum australe (Loefl.) Kuntze (E. Alonso Paz 3425) Achyocline satureioides (Lam.) DfZ. (E. Alonso Paz 3406) Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC. (E. Alonso Paz 3403) Bidens pilosa L. (E. Alonso Paz 3423) Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronq. (E. Alonso Paz 3424) Eupatari~ subhastat~ Hook. et Arn. (E. Alonso Paz 3421)
Yerba
de la oveja
AE
Int.: Emmenagogues
Marceia
IF,ST
Carqueja
AE
Int.: Eupepticc.d%f, antispasmodic, emmenagoguec,d.h, Ext.: Anti-inflammatory, antisepticC Int.: Eupeptic, antihepatotoxicc.h anthelminticC
Amor
seco
AE
Ext.: Antiseptic,
Yerba
carnicera
AE
Int.: Antihepatotoxicd.h diuretich,l, antigonococcaldi antidysenteric’
Yerba
del char&a
LF
Ext.: Vulnerary’
healing,
anti-inflammato~c uricosuricd.h
EQUISETACEAE E~u~et~ giganteum L. (E. Alonso Paz 3405)
Cola de caballo
LF
Int.: Diuretic, astri~lgentd,e,f~ eupepticd, antigonococcald,h, eye washd Ext.: VulnerarydTe,h
IRIDACEAE Sisyrr~~ehium vag~nat~ Spreng (E. Alonso Paz 3401)
Canchalagua
BR
Int.: Antipyretic,
MYRTACEAE Fs~di~ incanam (Berg.) Burr (E. Alonso Paz 3252)
Araza
RT.FR
Ext.: Vulnerary’
PASSIFLORACEAE Passifrora coerulea L. (E. Alonso Paz 3420)
Mburucuyii
BR
Int.: Sedative,
Zarzaparriha
RT,LF
Int.: Astringent’,
Muraje
LF
Ext.: Rubefacientd
Yerba de la perdiz
RT,BR
Int.: Astringent’,‘j analgesic li Ext.: Vulnerary’
Chirca
LF,RT, FR
Int.: Antipyretic, astringentC Ext.: Antirheumaticc
POLYGONACEAE Muehlembeckia saggitifolia (Ort.) Meisn. (E. Alonso Paz 3229) PRIMULACEAE Anagallis arvensis L. (E. Alonso Paz 3422) ROSACEAE Margiricarpus pinnatus (Lam.) Kuntze (E. Alonso Paz 3402) SAPINDACEAE Dodonaea viscosa Jacq. (E. Alonso Paz 3404)
de1 monte
sedatived.h
eupeptic,
antidysenteric,
e~enagogued
antispasmodicd
antisyphiIiticd.~’
diuretichi
diureticd.e.’
antipyreti&
emmenagogueh,i*k
219
Species (Voucher, MVFQ) SOLANACEAE Ces~~ parqu~i L’Her. (E. Alonso Paz 3426) Jaborosa runcina6a Lam. (E. Alonso Paz 3427)
Common name
Part
Popular useb
useda
Duraznitlo negro
LF
Ext.: Vulnerary, demuicent”
Tomate de1 diablo
LF
Ext.: Anesthetich
a Plant parts: AE: aerial parts; BR: branches; FR: fruits; IF: intlorescence: LF: leaf; RT: root; ST: stem. ’ Int: internal use; Ext: external use. Table references: ’ Simoes et al., I985; d Gonz&lez et ai., 1941; ’ Ratera and Ratera, 1980; f Toursarkissian. 1980: 8 S&me&, h Arrilfaga de Maffei, I%% ’ Goyeneche, 1907; j Bandoni et al., 1971; k Gonzalez and Lombardo, I946
trations and controls. Data treatment assumed a normal dist~bution, and the average rootlet length for each concentration was used in all further calculations. Data out of the 12 SD. range were rejected.
Plant extract sofutions of different concentrations (I%, 0.5% and 0.1%) were prepared by dilution of the original aqueous extract with artificial sea water.
1984;
Four-sample replications of each concentration and a control (artificial sea water) were placed in 24-well multidishes. Hatching of the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) eggs was induced in Petri dishes with artificial sea water (Marinemix; Forty Fathoms, Maine, USA) at room temperature. After 48 h, naupfii were separated from the shelfs and unhatched eggs, and fO individuals were piaced in each test solution. After 24 h the surviving brine shrimps were counted under a stereo microscope. Deaths below
TABLE 2 WHEAT ROOTLET GROWTH
Plants
Achyrociine
austrate
safureioides
Anagallis
arvensis
Baccharis
trimera
Bidens pilosa Cestram parquii Conyza bonariensis Dodonaea
viscosa
Equisetum
giganteum
Eupatorium
su&hastatum
IIex ~ragaar~e~is runeinn ta
~arg~~~~arp~ .Maytenus
Psidium
pinnatus
~i~~i~o~ia
Muehlenbeckia Passijlora
AND Artemia
salina
sagittifoiia
coerulea incanum
Sisyrrinchium
vaginaturn
0.5”
5h
23 -10 71 52 -9 -8 -15 58 -30 -50 -56 48 -13 -li 4 -28 13
7% 58 77 8% 38 33 -7 100 -21 68 47 7% 5% 64 9% 26 82 10
-II
TOXICITY (ASTT) TEST RESULTSa ASTT(%r)
WRGIT(%)
Acanthaspermum
Jaborosa
INHIBITION (WRGIT)
oc 0 0 0 5 0
0.th
0.5b
)b
10
10
100
3 0 0 8 3 3 5 0 10 5 0 0
63 3 8 0 0 0 10 3 5 0 3 0 30 5 0 3
28 20 0 0 13 10 45 13 3 3 0 15 13 0 0
5 LOO 5% 90 2% 15 3 25 80 13 0 0 5 20 23 3 18
0
0
0
3
are expressed as percent inhibition or percent toxicity. Negative values in the WRGI test indicate growth stimulation. bExtract concentrations are expressed as dry plant weight equivalent fg) per 100 ml of solution. ‘Column for concentration 0 corresponds to the control. aResults
220
10% in the controls was accepted as valid. Calculations were performed using the average of the replicates.
for advice in the development assays.
of the biological
References (1957) Ordenanza 445: Resolucidn del Poder Ejecufivo No 34.059, Ministerio de Salud Publica, Uruguay. Arrillaga de Maffei, B. (1969) Plantas Medicinales. Nuestra
Results and Discussion
Anonymous
The Artemia safina toxicity test and the wheat rootiet growth inhibition assay were used in the present study. No clear relationship of the folk use and the bioassay resuhs could be observed (Tables I and 2). AS shown in Table 2, seven of the plants: Acan-
Tierra, Montevideo. Bandoni, A.L., Mendiondo, M.E., Rondina, M.E. and Coussio, J.D. (1971) Survey ofArgentineMedicinal Plants 1: Folklore and phyt~hemical screening. ~~oydiu 35, 69-80. Davy& D., Dellacassa, E., Ferreira, F., Menendez, P., Moyna, P. and Vazquez, A. (1991) Phytochemical screening of Uruguayan medicinal plants. Fifoterapia 62, 519-521. Gonzalez, M., Lombardo, A. and Valarino, A.J. (1941) Plantas de la Medicina Popular del Uruguay. Talleres Graficos. Montevideo. Gonzalez, M. and Lombardo, A. (1946) Anotaciones de Fitoterapia Vernacula del Uruguay. Revista FarmacPurica
thospermum australe, Anagallis arvensis, Baccharis trimera, Dodonaea viscosa, Jaborosa runcinata, Muehlenbeckia sagittifolia and Psidium incanum,
showed considerable concentration-related growth inhibition (over 75% at the 5% concentration) in the WRGI test. Of these, only three (Anagaflis arvensis, Baccharis trimera and Dodonaea viscosaf produced over 50% inhibition at 0.5% concentration. Three plants showed a strong concentrationrelated toxic activity on brine shrimp: Achyrocline satureioides, Baccharis trimera and Equisetum giganteum. Only A. satureioides appeared to be toxic at the lowest concentration tested. The first two are the most widely used medicinal plants in the country. Wheat rootlet growth stimulation (50% over control) was observed with the Eupatorium subhastatum and Ilex para~ariensis extracts at the low concentration (Table 2). ~quisetum ~iganteum (Table 2) produced growth stimulation at both the concentrations tested, although to a lesser degree. Since I. paraguariensis is an important crop tree in the region, further studies on the active compound(s) could have economic significance. Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank IPICS (Uppsala, Sweden), CYTED-D and PEDECIBA for grants that made this work possible. Thanks are also due to Drs. Hans BIanck and Goran Dave (Sweden),
88, l-16.
Goyeneche, B. (1907) Diccionario de Medicina Rural. Vdzquez, Gomez y Compania. Paysandu, Uruguay. Meyer, B.N., Ferrigni, N.R., Putnam, J.E., Jacobson, L.B., Nichols, D.E. and McLaughlin. J.L. f 1982) Brine shrimp: A convenient general bioassay for active plants constituents. Planta Medica 45, 31-34.
McLaughlin, J.L., Chang, C.-J. and Smith. D.L. (1988) Simple bioassays for the detection and isolation of bioactive natural products. In: P. Delaveau (Ed.), Plantes Medicinales et Substances D’Origine Naturalle. Universite D’Angers, Angers. pp. 225-252. Ratera, EL. and Ratera, M.O. (1980) Plantas de la Flora Argentina Empleadas en Medicina Popular. Hemisferio Sur, Buenos Aires. Schmeda, G. (1984) The constituents of Achyroclinr satureioides DC. Rev&a ~a~~no~eri~ana de Quimica 15, 134-13s.
Simoes, C.M.G., Auler Men&, L., Schenkel, E.P., Irgang, B. and Stehmann, J. (1986) Plantas da ‘~edjcina Popular no Rio Grande do Sul. Ed. da Universidade. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre. Toursarkissian, M. (1980) Plantas Medicinales de la Argenrina. Hemisferio Sur, Buenos Aires. Trotter, R.T.11. (1983) Ethnography and bioassay: Combined methods for a preliminary screening of home remedies for potential pharmacological activity. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 8, 113-l 19. Van Puyvelde, L., De Kimpe, N., Ayobangira, F.-X.. Costa, J.. Nshimyukiza, P., Boily, Y., Hakizamungu, E. and Schamp. N. (1988) Wheat rootlet growth inhibition test of Rwandese medicinal plants: Active principles of ~efraden~a riparia and Diploloph~um Africans. 233-246.
Journaf of ~~hnop~arma~o~ogy 24,
fournaf of ~~hnopharmacoZ~gy, 39 (1993) 21 T-220
Eisevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd.
Short Communication
Biological screening of Uruguayan medicinal plants A. GonzBlez”, F. Ferreiraa, A. Vizquez”, P. Moynaa and E. Alonso Pazb ‘Cdredra de Farmacognosia y Productos Notwales and ‘Ctitedra de Boidnica FarmacPurica, Fact&ad de Quimica, Avenida General F/ores 2124. Montevideo i Uruguay)
(Received November 5, 1992: revision received May 17, 1993; accepted May 30, 1993)
Introduction Uruguay is a country with a population basically of European origin, formed by immigration waves arriving at the turn of the 19th century. During the colonial days, a small number of the native medicinal plants merged with plants of European origin to form the basis of Uruguay’s popular medicine. Other native plants were slowly added to this basic pharmacopoeia, some as the American counterparts of European plants, others by adopting their use from neighbouring countries. In 1957, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) regulated the sale of medicinal plants through Qrdenanza No. 445 (Anonymous, 1957). Whole plants, specific parts, mixtures of different plants, and extracts are sold not only in the countryside, where their use was traditionally widespread, but also in the capital city, Montevideo. This situation brings about the need of a detailed study of the therapeutic properties and the chemical composition of the plants commonly used. As stated by Trotter (1983), the most obvious solution to the problem of testing for potential biological activities in medicinal plants is to conduct a general bioassay of their extracts. Such a bioassay must be sensitive to a wide range of activities rather than directed at a particular set of compounds or reactions. In this work we use two general bioassays, the Artemia salina toxicity test developed by McLaughlin and colleagues (Meyer et al., 1982; Correspondence la: Fernando Ferreira, Critedra de Farmacognosia y Productos Naturales, Facultad de Quimica, Avenida General Flares 2124, Montevideo, Uruguay.
McLaughlin et al., 1988) and the wheat rootlet growth inhibition assay (Van Puyvelde et al., 1988). In a previous paper (Davyt et al., 1991) we presented results of the phytochemical screening of selected medicinal plants currently in use in Uruguay. Here we report the results of screening for biological activities of some of these plants together with additional plants. Materials and Methods Plant material Plants were collected from several localities near Montevideo, air dried for 2 weeks and ground to a coarse powder. A11 plants were properly identified and voucher specimens deposited in the Herbarium MFVQ, Montevideo. Plant material (10 g) was extracted in boiling distilled water (100 ml) for 5 min. The solution was filtered after cooling and the resultant volume adjusted to 100 ml. Wheat rootlet growth inhibition Wheat seeds, Triticum aestivum L. (Poaceae), cv. ‘Estanzuela ChajQ’, were germinated in the dark at room tem~rature for 48 h. Ten germinated seeds were selected at random and placed in a Petri dish with the test solution (10 ml) for 5 days under the same conditions as before. The longest rootlet from each seed was then measured and inhibition calculated as a percentage relative to the length of similar rootlets in the controls. Concentrations equivalent to 5% and 0.5% were tested (g dry plant1100 ml of solution, prepared by dilution of the original extract with distilled water). Duplicates were performed for all concen-
0378-8741/93/$06.~ 0 1993 Efsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd. Printed and Published in Ireland
218 TABLE
I
ETHNOBOTANICAL Species (Voucher,
DATA
OF MEDICINAL Common
PLANTS
name
MVFQ)
AQUIFOLIACEAE Ibex puraguariensis St. Hil. (E. Alonso Paz 3419)
Yerba
CELASTRACEAE Maytenus ilicijolia Mart. (E. Alonso Paz 3242)
Congorosa
mate
USED
IN URUGUAYAN
Part used=
Popular
LF
Int.: Stimulant, diureticC Ext.: VulneraryC
LF
Int.: Eupepticdse, contraceptivec*f Ext.: Antisepticc,
FOLK
MEDICINE
useb
antispasmodice,
astringentd,
antiasthmatic”,
vulncraryc.f
COMPOSITAE Acanthospermum australe (Loefl.) Kuntze (E. Alonso Paz 3425) Achyocline satureioides (Lam.) DfZ. (E. Alonso Paz 3406) Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC. (E. Alonso Paz 3403) Bidens pilosa L. (E. Alonso Paz 3423) Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronq. (E. Alonso Paz 3424) Eupatari~ subhastat~ Hook. et Arn. (E. Alonso Paz 3421)
Yerba
de la oveja
AE
Int.: Emmenagogues
Marceia
IF,ST
Carqueja
AE
Int.: Eupepticc.d%f, antispasmodic, emmenagoguec,d.h, Ext.: Anti-inflammatory, antisepticC Int.: Eupeptic, antihepatotoxicc.h anthelminticC
Amor
seco
AE
Ext.: Antiseptic,
Yerba
carnicera
AE
Int.: Antihepatotoxicd.h diuretich,l, antigonococcaldi antidysenteric’
Yerba
del char&a
LF
Ext.: Vulnerary’
healing,
anti-inflammato~c uricosuricd.h
EQUISETACEAE E~u~et~ giganteum L. (E. Alonso Paz 3405)
Cola de caballo
LF
Int.: Diuretic, astri~lgentd,e,f~ eupepticd, antigonococcald,h, eye washd Ext.: VulnerarydTe,h
IRIDACEAE Sisyrr~~ehium vag~nat~ Spreng (E. Alonso Paz 3401)
Canchalagua
BR
Int.: Antipyretic,
MYRTACEAE Fs~di~ incanam (Berg.) Burr (E. Alonso Paz 3252)
Araza
RT.FR
Ext.: Vulnerary’
PASSIFLORACEAE Passifrora coerulea L. (E. Alonso Paz 3420)
Mburucuyii
BR
Int.: Sedative,
Zarzaparriha
RT,LF
Int.: Astringent’,
Muraje
LF
Ext.: Rubefacientd
Yerba de la perdiz
RT,BR
Int.: Astringent’,‘j analgesic li Ext.: Vulnerary’
Chirca
LF,RT, FR
Int.: Antipyretic, astringentC Ext.: Antirheumaticc
POLYGONACEAE Muehlembeckia saggitifolia (Ort.) Meisn. (E. Alonso Paz 3229) PRIMULACEAE Anagallis arvensis L. (E. Alonso Paz 3422) ROSACEAE Margiricarpus pinnatus (Lam.) Kuntze (E. Alonso Paz 3402) SAPINDACEAE Dodonaea viscosa Jacq. (E. Alonso Paz 3404)
de1 monte
sedatived.h
eupeptic,
antidysenteric,
e~enagogued
antispasmodicd
antisyphiIiticd.~’
diuretichi
diureticd.e.’
antipyreti&
emmenagogueh,i*k
219
Species (Voucher, MVFQ) SOLANACEAE Ces~~ parqu~i L’Her. (E. Alonso Paz 3426) Jaborosa runcina6a Lam. (E. Alonso Paz 3427)
Common name
Part
Popular useb
useda
Duraznitlo negro
LF
Ext.: Vulnerary, demuicent”
Tomate de1 diablo
LF
Ext.: Anesthetich
a Plant parts: AE: aerial parts; BR: branches; FR: fruits; IF: intlorescence: LF: leaf; RT: root; ST: stem. ’ Int: internal use; Ext: external use. Table references: ’ Simoes et al., I985; d Gonz&lez et ai., 1941; ’ Ratera and Ratera, 1980; f Toursarkissian. 1980: 8 S&me&, h Arrilfaga de Maffei, I%% ’ Goyeneche, 1907; j Bandoni et al., 1971; k Gonzalez and Lombardo, I946
trations and controls. Data treatment assumed a normal dist~bution, and the average rootlet length for each concentration was used in all further calculations. Data out of the 12 SD. range were rejected.
Plant extract sofutions of different concentrations (I%, 0.5% and 0.1%) were prepared by dilution of the original aqueous extract with artificial sea water.
1984;
Four-sample replications of each concentration and a control (artificial sea water) were placed in 24-well multidishes. Hatching of the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) eggs was induced in Petri dishes with artificial sea water (Marinemix; Forty Fathoms, Maine, USA) at room temperature. After 48 h, naupfii were separated from the shelfs and unhatched eggs, and fO individuals were piaced in each test solution. After 24 h the surviving brine shrimps were counted under a stereo microscope. Deaths below
TABLE 2 WHEAT ROOTLET GROWTH
Plants
Achyrociine
austrate
safureioides
Anagallis
arvensis
Baccharis
trimera
Bidens pilosa Cestram parquii Conyza bonariensis Dodonaea
viscosa
Equisetum
giganteum
Eupatorium
su&hastatum
IIex ~ragaar~e~is runeinn ta
~arg~~~~arp~ .Maytenus
Psidium
pinnatus
~i~~i~o~ia
Muehlenbeckia Passijlora
AND Artemia
salina
sagittifoiia
coerulea incanum
Sisyrrinchium
vaginaturn
0.5”
5h
23 -10 71 52 -9 -8 -15 58 -30 -50 -56 48 -13 -li 4 -28 13
7% 58 77 8% 38 33 -7 100 -21 68 47 7% 5% 64 9% 26 82 10
-II
TOXICITY (ASTT) TEST RESULTSa ASTT(%r)
WRGIT(%)
Acanthaspermum
Jaborosa
INHIBITION (WRGIT)
oc 0 0 0 5 0
0.th
0.5b
)b
10
10
100
3 0 0 8 3 3 5 0 10 5 0 0
63 3 8 0 0 0 10 3 5 0 3 0 30 5 0 3
28 20 0 0 13 10 45 13 3 3 0 15 13 0 0
5 LOO 5% 90 2% 15 3 25 80 13 0 0 5 20 23 3 18
0
0
0
3
are expressed as percent inhibition or percent toxicity. Negative values in the WRGI test indicate growth stimulation. bExtract concentrations are expressed as dry plant weight equivalent fg) per 100 ml of solution. ‘Column for concentration 0 corresponds to the control. aResults
220
10% in the controls was accepted as valid. Calculations were performed using the average of the replicates.
for advice in the development assays.
of the biological
References (1957) Ordenanza 445: Resolucidn del Poder Ejecufivo No 34.059, Ministerio de Salud Publica, Uruguay. Arrillaga de Maffei, B. (1969) Plantas Medicinales. Nuestra
Results and Discussion
Anonymous
The Artemia safina toxicity test and the wheat rootiet growth inhibition assay were used in the present study. No clear relationship of the folk use and the bioassay resuhs could be observed (Tables I and 2). AS shown in Table 2, seven of the plants: Acan-
Tierra, Montevideo. Bandoni, A.L., Mendiondo, M.E., Rondina, M.E. and Coussio, J.D. (1971) Survey ofArgentineMedicinal Plants 1: Folklore and phyt~hemical screening. ~~oydiu 35, 69-80. Davy& D., Dellacassa, E., Ferreira, F., Menendez, P., Moyna, P. and Vazquez, A. (1991) Phytochemical screening of Uruguayan medicinal plants. Fifoterapia 62, 519-521. Gonzalez, M., Lombardo, A. and Valarino, A.J. (1941) Plantas de la Medicina Popular del Uruguay. Talleres Graficos. Montevideo. Gonzalez, M. and Lombardo, A. (1946) Anotaciones de Fitoterapia Vernacula del Uruguay. Revista FarmacPurica
thospermum australe, Anagallis arvensis, Baccharis trimera, Dodonaea viscosa, Jaborosa runcinata, Muehlenbeckia sagittifolia and Psidium incanum,
showed considerable concentration-related growth inhibition (over 75% at the 5% concentration) in the WRGI test. Of these, only three (Anagaflis arvensis, Baccharis trimera and Dodonaea viscosaf produced over 50% inhibition at 0.5% concentration. Three plants showed a strong concentrationrelated toxic activity on brine shrimp: Achyrocline satureioides, Baccharis trimera and Equisetum giganteum. Only A. satureioides appeared to be toxic at the lowest concentration tested. The first two are the most widely used medicinal plants in the country. Wheat rootlet growth stimulation (50% over control) was observed with the Eupatorium subhastatum and Ilex para~ariensis extracts at the low concentration (Table 2). ~quisetum ~iganteum (Table 2) produced growth stimulation at both the concentrations tested, although to a lesser degree. Since I. paraguariensis is an important crop tree in the region, further studies on the active compound(s) could have economic significance. Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank IPICS (Uppsala, Sweden), CYTED-D and PEDECIBA for grants that made this work possible. Thanks are also due to Drs. Hans BIanck and Goran Dave (Sweden),
88, l-16.
Goyeneche, B. (1907) Diccionario de Medicina Rural. Vdzquez, Gomez y Compania. Paysandu, Uruguay. Meyer, B.N., Ferrigni, N.R., Putnam, J.E., Jacobson, L.B., Nichols, D.E. and McLaughlin. J.L. f 1982) Brine shrimp: A convenient general bioassay for active plants constituents. Planta Medica 45, 31-34.
McLaughlin, J.L., Chang, C.-J. and Smith. D.L. (1988) Simple bioassays for the detection and isolation of bioactive natural products. In: P. Delaveau (Ed.), Plantes Medicinales et Substances D’Origine Naturalle. Universite D’Angers, Angers. pp. 225-252. Ratera, EL. and Ratera, M.O. (1980) Plantas de la Flora Argentina Empleadas en Medicina Popular. Hemisferio Sur, Buenos Aires. Schmeda, G. (1984) The constituents of Achyroclinr satureioides DC. Rev&a ~a~~no~eri~ana de Quimica 15, 134-13s.
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