1,721,139 research outputs found
Botanical authentication and certification for consumer safety
Full text linkBotanical authentication has to be considered a fundamental step to guarantee the consumer safety of botanical food supplements. Nowdays, National and International Pharmacopoeia as well as
EMEA, ESCOP, and WHO commissions provide monographs on several medicinal and aromatic plants to get information on their traditional uses and quality control guidelines. EFSA compendium
establishes the list of medicinal and aromatic plants which it is possible to include in botanical food supplements sold in the European market.
Due to the enhancing industrial interest consistent with the continuous customer's trusted approach to "natural products", the scientific research community has required urgently to provide suitable
protocols and procedures in the quality control of the plant raw material and derivatives during the whole productive and marketing chains.
Multidisciplinary research studies combining botanical, agronomic, and phytochemical analysis should be promoted in order to guarantee important results in the establishment of feasible and
effective quality control procedures, international certification and, consequently, in the identification of customers' health risks
Factors that influence the accumulation of antioxidant compounds in aromatic plants
No full textThe use of plant producing secondary
metabolites as food preservatives is not a new invention
but a rediscovered possibility, therefore in the last
few years, besides medicinal and aromatic plants,
vegetables, fruits and nuts were also analysed testing
their possible advantageous effect on human health.
The accumulation of phenolic compounds in aromatic
plant species is affected by several factors. In accordance
with literature data, the climatic conditions
(mainly the temperature, the radiation and the amount
of the precipitation) and the agrotechnology (time and
the phenological phase of the harvesting) can be
regarded as main influencing parameters. Based on
these findings, the production parameters of a good
quality plant material containing high amounts of
antioxidant compounds have to be established especially
for the pharmaceutical and food industry. In this
review, the factors that can influence the production
of secondary metabolites in a species recently introduced
in the aromatic plant market (Prunella vulgaris
L, self-heal), are reported in comparison with garden
thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), a popular and wellknown
medicinal plant. Self-heal, from the Lamiaceae
plant family, is a plant species accumulating phenolic
compounds. It is native to Eurasia and traditionally
used in the Chinese and Indian medicine. In the plant
extract several active compounds are found possessing
antioxidant effect: ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, rosmarinic
acid, flavonoids, and antocyans. The summary
of the literature data referring to the main compounds
and their possible pharmacological effect is
discussed in the article. As the extract of this plant is
almost taste and odourless, its usage in the food
industry seems to have interesting perspectives as
natural food preservative; in some commercial products
(Rosmol and Rosmol-P) this plant species has
already been used as main ingredient. However, the
main factors influencing the amount of its active compounds
are under-evaluated. The chemical characteristics characteristics
of self-heal could be compared to a well-know
medicinal and aromatic plant, garden thyme, which is
proved to have strong antioxidant properties. Garden
thyme, also from the Lamiaceae family, shows one of
the strongest antioxidant activity among medicinal
plants. Its essential oil (mainly the components thymol
and carvacrol) and the non volatile compounds (rosmarinic
acid, carnosol, carnosic acid, flavonoids) are
both responsible for the radical chain reaction inhibitor
and the free radical scavenging effect. Several studies
confirmed its strong antioxidant activity. However,
similar to other plant species in the Lamiaceae family,
it has a characteristic smell and taste, which are less
desirable traits for an antioxidant food additive, on the contrary of self-heal
Aromatic profiling of wild and rare species growing in Turkey:Hypericum aviculariifoliumJaub. and Spach subsp. depilatum(Freyn and Bornm.) Robson var.depilatumandHypericum pruinatumBoiss. and Bal.
No full text"Different effects of newly isolated saponins on the mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of the anticancer drugs mitomycin C and bleomycin in human lymphocytes"
No full textAim of the present paper was to assess by using the in vitro micronucleus (MN) test in human lymphocytes the effect of two plant extracts isolated from Bupleurum fruticosum (saponins) on the clastogenicity and cytotoxicity of the anticancer drugs mitomycin C (MMC) and bleomycin (BLM). One saponin showed a dose-dependent MMC-induced mutagenesis inhibition together with co-genotoxic effect on BLM-treated cultures. The remaining saponin did not significantly alter MN induction of both chemotherapeutic agents whereas it enhanced BLM cytotoxicity
Analisi di composti organici volatili (VOC) di specie di papilionideae caratteristiche dell’areale mediterraneo
No full textA straightforward procedure to biosynthetise melatonin using freshly chopped Achillea millefolium L. as reagent
No full textD,L-Tryptophan as the precursor of melatonin and Achillea millefolium L. as the plant cell tissue were used in order to force the plant enzymic system to enhance the prodn. of melatonin. The biotransformation protocol was performed by adding the precursor to the freshly chopped plant material suspended in water and stirred at room temp. in total darkness. The melatonin content was evaluated by LC-DAD-ESI-MS. The precursor-treated sample gave at least six times (345 ng/gfresh plant) the melatonin amt. usually produced in young plants of A. millefolium L. (50 ng/gfresh plant). The present study shows that, in principle, adding a specific precursor to a suitable freshly chopped plant material can significantly enhance a secondary metabolite prodn
,Bryonia cretica L. subspecie dioica Tutin: inquadramento botanico, fitochimico e itoterapico (I parte)
No full text
Essential oils in medicine: principles of therapy.
No full textEssential oils (EOs) are extremely complex mixtures containing compounds of several different functional-group classes. A specific aromatic profile should be determined by gas-chromatography-mass detection methods, to define standards for their safety and efficacy. The chemical constituents of the essential oils, their flavour and their taste act both alone and in synergy, always determining a global psychosomatic action. The main therapeutic activities of the EOs are reported as spasmolythic, revulsive, anti-inflammatory and decongestant, immunomodulant, antimicrobial, antimycotic, expectorant, mucolythic, antioxidant, psychotrope, analgesic and acaricide. The use, posology, route of administration as well as toxicity and adverse effects are reviewed
- …
