2. Evolution & Natural History of Medicinal Plants Flashcards
what are the only 3 plants that make something for others to eat?
- how come we eat other plants? (3)
- fruits
- milk
- honey/nectar
*all have low toxicity!! - we can detoxify/metabolize plant toxin
- we can cook food + process + smoke
- selective breeding/agriculture
photosynthesizing plants appeared during which period?
- how long ago?
a) first branching plant was called what?
b) what other plant ish appeared slightly earlier than a)? –> what was their role ish (3)
Silurian period!
- 443 millions years ago
a) Cooksonia! = only plant!
only rocks, dirt and cooksonia
b) terrestrial fungi! (mushrooms, under the ground)
- excrete digestive enzymes and absorb externally digested nutrients
- contribute to soil formation and facilitated plant growth
*animals derive their nutrition by engulfing food = heterotrophs
plant derive their nutrition by photosynthesis = autotrophs (create their own food)
GARLIC (monograph)
- SCIENTIFIC NAME
- PART USED
- MODE OF ADMINISTRATION
- BIOACTIVE COMPOUND
- COMPOUND CLASS
- USES
- SCIENTIFIC NAME: allium sativum
- PART USED: bulb
- MODE OF ADMINISTRATION: minced bulb for internal use
- BIOACTIVE COMPOUND: alliin degraded to allicin
- COMPOUND CLASS: organosulfur + essential oil
- USES: antimicrobial + antifungal + cardioprotective (inhibition of platelet aggregation, lipid lowering)
ON EXAM!
- how is alliin converted to allicin?
- explain allicin mechanisms of action (2 main + first one has 4 sub)
- alliin is odourless –> crush garlic/break cell wall –> alliinase is released –> enzyme converts alliin to allicin –> allicin = defensive compound, meant to repel herbivores
1. as H2S donors - as precursors of hydrogen sulfide
- H2S is a gaseous signaling molecule (gasotransmitter)
- H2S induces smooth muscle relaxation, dilated blood vessels (decrease BP) –> cardioprotective effects!
- S can react with thiol groups and can inactive essential enzymes –> explains antibacterial and antifungal activity
2. as antioxidants - organosulfur compounds inhibit peroxidation of lipids and possess radical scavenging activities
DEFINITIONS:
PURGATIVE
EMETIC
ABORTIFACIENT
CONTRACEPTIVE
PURGATIVE:
- strongly laxative effect
EMETIC:
- causing vomiting
ABORTIFACIENT: causing abortion
CONTRACEPTIVE: prevents pregnancy
WHITE WILLOW (monograph):
- SCIENTIFIC NAME
- PART USED
- MODE OF ADMINISTRATION
- BIOACTIVE COMPOUND
- COMPOUND CLASS
- USES
- SCIENTIFIC NAME: salix alba
- PART USED: bark
- MODE OF ADMINISTRATION: macerated in alcohol as a tincture
- BIOACTIVE COMPOUND: salicin metabolized to salicyclic acid
- COMPOUND CLASS: alcoholic b-glucoside
- USES: anti-inflammatory (reduce pain) + analgesic
willow bark extracts’ _______ activity CANNOT be due to ___(active compound)______ alone –> explain
analgesic activity CANNOT be due to salicin alone –> other yet unidentified constituents and mechanisms also probably contribute to observed clinical effects
- white willow exerts analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects by an uncertain mechanism, but unlike aspirin, is NOT a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation or enzyme cyclo-oxygenase (COX)
QUEEN ANNE’S LACE (monograph)
- SCIENTIFIC NAME:
- PART USED:
- MODE OF ADMINISTRATION:
- BIOACTIVE COMPOUND:
- COMPOUND CLASS:
- USES:
- SCIENTIFIC NAME: daucus carota
*wild carrot - PART USED: seeds
- MODE OF ADMINISTRATION: chewed or in tincture
- BIOACTIVE COMPOUND: carotol
- COMPOUND CLASS: sesquiterpene alcohol
- USES: abortifacient (interferes with progesterone) + anti-fertility + emmenagogue
- how does queen ace’s lace cause its effects?
- its ______ contain which type of chemicals?
- seed extracts interfere with estrus cycle by having negative impact on hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis –> FSH is depleted, causing depletion of estradiol
- seeds contain steroid, flavonoids, alkaloids and polyphenols
on exam!
- doctrine of signatures –> popularized by who?
- describe doctrine?
- name plant names suggested by doctrine of signatures
- give examples of which foods are good for what part of body: - carrots avocado tomato walnut grapes
- Paracelsus! Swiss physician –> father of chemical pharmacology + father of homeopathy (like cures like)
- if a plant resembled a particular body part, its physical form was regarded as a suggestion of its use
- heartease, boneset, eyebright, toothwart, liverwort, maiderhair ferm
- carrots (eyes), avocado (uterus), tomato (heart), walnut (brain), grapes (lungs)
who developed the binomial nomenclature? when?
- how to name plants (5)
- Carl Linnaeus! in 1753
1. always in italics
2. 1st letter of genus is capitalized
3. 1st letter of species is NOT capitalized
4. first mention of species MUST include full genus, species and author (ie Atropa belladonna L.)
*author: NOT in italics, original author is in parenthesis, revising author NOT in parenthesis (ie Matteuccia struthiopteris (L.) Tod.
5. subsequent mentions include abbreviated genus, full species and excludes author (A. belladonna)
DEFINITIONS:
TINCTURE
EMMENAGOGUE
INFUSION
DECOCTION
TINCTURE: made by dissolving plant in alcohol
EMMENAGOGUE: stimulates or increases menstrual flow
INFUSION: drink prepared by soaking leaves of a plant in water
DECOCTION: extraction by boiling herbal or plant material to dissolve chemicals of the material
why were phytochemicals created ish? by who?
- [who] can do (6) things using phytochemicals
- terrestrial plants produce an arsenal of compounds that deter plant-eating animals, discourage growth of other seedlings, and inhibit soil bacteria and fungi
- plants can repel, sicken, confuse, stunt, sterilize or kill?
- few aquatic plants produce compounds against herbivores
what are 5 early strategies used by plants to survive desiccation in air and exposure to UV waves from intense sunlight?
- water loss: developed a layer of epidermal cells coated by a waxy cuticle layer (to prevent water loss)
- UV radiation: water served as a filter for direct sunlight
- flavonoid pigments: reflect UV wavelengths (that might cause oxidative damage)
- anthocyanins: flavonoids that provide most of the blue, violet and red pigments in plants
- tannins: astringent compounds that limit a plant’s palatability. accumulates in bark of woody species. can bind to digestive enzymes and interfere with digestion (to prevent people from eating!) + can cause cancers in animals and people who are chronically exposed to tannins
what are 3 types of plant defenses + examples
- physical defenses
- bark, waxy cuticles, hard shells, thorns, spines, trichomes - chemical defenses:
- alkaloids (noxious odors, repellent tastes, excessive stimulation)
- opioids: lethargy
- glycol cyanide: poison
- cardiac glycosides: poison
- lectins: bind to CHO
- oxalates: binds minerals and causes damage to gut - timing
- mast years in but trees
- jasmonates (black walnut tree) are hormones that attract parasitoid insects to fight attackers
- long-distance signalling to boost defense in other parts of plant and neighbouring plants
