Lecture 2 - Evolution and Natural History of Medicinal Plants

Question 1

Based on the Geologic Timeline, when did the Earth form?

Answer 1

4.6 billion years ago

Question 2

___________________ plants appeared during the Silurian Period (443 million years ago)

Answer 2

Photosynthesizing

Question 3

First branching plant was called ____________

Answer 3

Cooksonia

Question 4

______________ appeared slightly earlier than Cooksonia

Answer 4

Terrestrial fungi

Question 5

Fungi excrete _______________ and absorb externally digested nutrients

Answer 5

digestive enzymes

Question 6

• Animals derive their nutrition by engulfing ______

- Plant derive their nutrition by ___________

Answer 6

food

photosynthesis

Question 7

T or F: Terrestrial fungi contributed to soil formation and facilitated plant growth

Answer 7

T

Question 8

During the Devonian Period, early plants used ____________ in their roots

Answer 8

symbiotic fungi

Question 9

Fungi have a _______ body and a large network of underground _________

Answer 9

fruiting

hyphae

Question 10

In 1843, geologists in Gaspé discovered a fungi that was _______ taller than all other plants at the time. _______________ dominated between 420-350 million years ago

Answer 10

8x

Prototaxites

Question 11

Prototaxites were _________

Answer 11

giant fungi

Question 12

T or F: No plants appreciate you, the main purpose of the plants are to reproduce and survive

Answer 12

T

Question 13

______________ had hundreds of sharp teeth designed to eat conifers

Answer 13

Hydrosaurs

Question 14

Terrestrial plants produce an arsenal of compounds to:

Answer 14

• deter plant-eating animals
• discourage the growth of other seedlings
• inhibit soil bacteria and fungi

Question 15

T or F: Plants can repel, sicken, confuse, stunt, sterilize, or kill

Answer 15

T

Question 16

Few aquatic plants produce compounds against ____________

Answer 16

herbivores

Question 17

T or F: on land, plants had to survive desiccation in the air and exposure to UV waves from intense sunlight

Answer 17

T

Question 18

Early plant strategies for:

• water loss:
• UV radiation:
• Flavonoid pigments:
• Anthocyanins:
• Tannins:

Answer 18

• Water loss: developed a layer of epidermal cells coated by a waxy cuticle layer
• UV radiation: water served as a filter for direct sunlight
• Flavonoid pigments: reflect UV wavelengths
• 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 the bark of woody species. Can bind to digestive enzymes and interfere with digestion. Can cause cancers in animals and people who are chronically exposed to tannins

Question 19

Name some physical plant defesnes:

Answer 19

• bark
• waxy cuticles
• hard shells, thorns
• spines
• trichomes

Question 20

Name some plant chemical defenses:

Answer 20

• alkaloids (noxious odors)
• opioids (lethargy)
• glycol cyanide (poison)
• cardiac glycosides (poison)
• lectins (binds to CHO)
• oxalates (binds minerals and causes damage to gut)

Question 21

Name some plant timing defenses:

Answer 21

• Mast years in nut trees
• Jasmonates are hormones that attract parasitoid insects to fight attackers
• long-distance signaling to boost defense in other parts of the plant and neighbouring plants

Question 22

How do you identify a flavonoid:

Answer 22

6-3-6 (benzene rings)

Question 23

Nut meg is an _________________

Answer 23

hallucinogen

Question 24

Wild Yam active agent (Diosgenin) followed by multiple chemical reactions, __________ is produced

Answer 24

progesterone

Question 25

Their diverse, complex metabolic effects have been used as medicines since ancient times:

Answer 25

phytochemicals

Question 26

T or F: phytochemicals, many evolved as natural deterrents and toxins

Answer 26

T

Question 27

Some phytochemicals have:

Answer 27

- immediate deterrent effects - some regulate life cycles and development to affect future generations of herbivores - some interfere with brain activity and neural function

Question 28

Vomiting is normally caused by __________

Answer 28

alkaloids

Question 29

How did human know which plants were safe to eat?

Answer 29

- trial and error - generational familiarity - observing animals - processing and transformation

Question 30

Explain the Universal Edibility Test: (SCCTCS)

Answer 30

- Separate - Contact - Cook - Taste - Chew - Swallow

Question 31

________ is the only taste that is dangerous

Answer 31

Bitter

Question 32

________ was used to repel snakes and discourage tapeworms

Answer 32

Garlic

Question 33

Garlic Sheet: - Scientific name: - Family: - Part used: - Mode of administration: - Bioactive compound: - Compound class: - Uses:

Answer 33

-Allium sativum -Amaryllidaceae -Bulb Mined bulb for internal use -Alliin degraded to Allicin -Organosulfur/essential oil -Antimicrobial, Antifungal, cardioprotective (lipid lowering and inhibition of platelet aggregation)

Question 34

What enzyme is responsible for the transformation from alliin to allicin:

Answer 34

alliinase

Question 35

What are the 2 oily mediums of allicin:

Answer 35

- vinyldithiins | - ajoenes

Question 36

What is the aqueous medium of Allicin:

Answer 36

-allyl sulfides

Question 37

Allicin mechanisms of actions as antioxidants:

Answer 37

-organosulfur compounds inhibit peroxidation of lipids and possess radical scavenging activities

Question 38

Allicin mechanisms of actions as H2S donors:

Answer 38

- As precursors of hydrogen sulfide - a colourless, flammable, and toxic gas that smells like rotten eggs - H2S is a gaseous signaling molecule (gasotransmitter) - H2S: induces smooth muscle relaxation, dilates blood vessels, explains garlic's cardioprotective effects - can react with thiol groups and can inactivate essential enzymes; explains antimicrobial and antifungal activity

Question 39

Origin of the vampire is the disease ___________, diseases caused by irregularities in the production of _______

Answer 39

porphyria | heme

Question 40

People who suffer from Porphyria also have an intolerance to foods that have a high sulphur content such as _____

Answer 40

Garlic

Question 41

God of healing (Ancient Greece) =

Answer 41

Asclepius

Question 42

Medicines given by Hippocrates (Ancient Greece) were mostly ______ and _____ to restore balance of the 4 bodily humors

Answer 42

Purgatives | Emetics

Question 43

What are the 4 bodily humors:

Answer 43

- yellow bile - black bile - blood - phlegm

Question 44

Strongly laxative in effect =

Answer 44

purgative

Question 45

causing vomiting =

Answer 45

emetic

Question 46

Dioscorides advocated the use of a decoction of __________ (Salix alba) for painful gout

Answer 46

white willow

Question 47

_________ an alcoholic B-glucoside, is commonly found in the bark of willows and poplars. This eventually lead to the development of _________

Answer 47

- Salicin | - Aspirin (Acetylsalicylic acid) in 1899

Question 48

White Willow - Sheet - Scientific name: - Family: - Part used: - Mode of administration: - Bioactive compound: - Compound class: - Uses:

Answer 48

- Salix alba - Salicaceae - Bark - Macerated in alcohol as a tincture - Salicin metabolized to salicylic acid - Alcoholic B-glucoside - Anti-inflammatory

Question 49

T or F: White willow extract may be used instead of aspirin if you have digestive issues when taking aspirin

Answer 49

T

Question 50

Recent clinical trials indicate that a high-potency standardized extract has analgesic activity, but with fewer side effects than standard drug treatments. Pharmacokinetic studies have demonstrated that this activity cannot be due to salicin alone and other yet unidentified constituents and mechanisms also probably contribute to the observed clinical effects.

Answer 50

White willow (not a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation like aspirin)

Question 51

In Ancient Rome, _______________ was ingested by women to limit births

Answer 51

Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus Carota)

Question 52

Abortifacient =

Answer 52

causing abortion

Question 53

Contraceptive =

Answer 53

prevents pregnancy

Question 54

tincture =

Answer 54

made by dissolving the plant in alcohol

Question 55

emmenagogue =

Answer 55

stimulates or increases menstrual flow

Question 56

``` Queen Anne's Lace - Sheet Scientific name: Family: Part used: Mode of administration: Bioactive compound: Compound class: Uses: ```

Answer 56

``` Daucus carota Apicaceae Seeds Chewed or in a tincture Carotol Sesquiterpene alcohol Abortifacient - interferes with progesterone, anti-fertility, emmenagogue ```

Question 57

The seeds of Queen Anne's Lace contain:

Answer 57

- steroids - flavonoids - alkaloids - polyphenols

Question 58

T or F: The seeds of Queen Anne's Lace interfere in the estrus cycle by having a negative impact on the hypothalamus - pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis

Answer 58

T

Question 59

Queen Anne's lace has which effect on FSH:

Answer 59

-FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) is depleted, causing a depletion in estradiol

Question 60

Doctrine of Signatures was popularized by ___________, if a plant resembled a particular body part, it's physical form was regarded as a suggestion for its use

Answer 60

Paracelsus

Question 61

Where did the Black Plague start and which bacterium caused it

Answer 61

- It started in Genova - Italy | - Yesinia pestis

Question 62

In 1753, __________ developed his own system of binomial nomenclature

Answer 62

Carl Linnaeus

Question 63

T or F: Linnaea borealis was used to treat childhood fevers and cramps with a decoction of the stems

Answer 63

T

Question 64

Friedrich Wohler discovered _____

Answer 64

urea

Question 65

Many plant compounds have not yet been successfully synthesized or are too expensive to synthesize :

Answer 65

- morphine - cocaine - ergotamine - podophyllin - digitalis - atropine - reserpine