piper auritum

The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant activity of hexane extracts from leaves of Piper auritum (HS). Eight complementary in vitro test methods were used, including inhibition of DPPH· radicals, nitric oxide, superoxide anion, ion-chelating, ABTS, oxygen radical absorbance capacity, β-carotene bleaching and peroxy radical scavenging. The results indicated that HS possesses high antioxidant activity. To add to these finding we tested the effect against oxidative stress in liver, pancreas and kidney in diabetic rats...

Leishmaniasis is one of the most important parasitic infections, but current treatments are unsatisfactory due to their toxicity, cost and resistance. Therefore, the development of new antileishmanial compounds is imperative. Many people who live in endemic areas use plants as an alternative to treat the disease. In this paper, we characterised the essential oil from Piper auritum, evaluated its cytotoxicity and determined its antileishmanial activity. The chromatogram obtained by gas chromatography revealed 60 peaks and we found that safrole was the most abundant compound, composing 87% of the oil...

BACKGROUND: Plants have been used by humans since the ancient times, for eating, for clothing and for curing illnesses. The noxious effects of many medicinal plants are still ignored, mainly during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: To identify the use of medicinal plants (MP) in pregnant women in primary care medicine. METHODS: A descriptive, prospective study was carried out in 300 pregnant women from two primary care clinics. They were interviewed to identify the use of MP, the age of the pregnancy which MP were more used with and the medical indication for its use...

The validity of the published description of Hyla rufitela is questioned because the origin of the described tadpoles does not correspond to the distribution of this species. The present description, based on tadpoles that were hatched from two egg masses from the Caribbean lowland of Costa Rica, includes tadpoles raised to adult frogs to verify the species. The newly described tadpoles differ from the previously described and illustrated ones not only in color but also by its more slender body shape (body height:body length, 0...

The effects of litter cover on the germination of seeds of three tropical rainforest, pioneer tree species (Cecropia obtusifolia, Heliocarpus appendiculatus and Piper auritum) was investigated. Germination of seeds of all tree species was partially or totally inhibited when the seeds were covered with litter, whereas uncovered seeds or seeds covered with paper instead of litter germinated. Seed size was directly correlated with the capacity of the germinated seeds to emerge through the litter. In soil experiments in the greenhouse, seedling emergence from the soil was inhibited by the presence of litter on the soil surface...

Methanol and aqueous extracts from fi ve plant species, used in traditional medicine in Guatemala for the treatment of microbial infections, were tested in vitro for their ability to scavenge DPPH, OH(.) and O(2) (-) radicals and to inhibit lipoperoxidation (LPO) in order to establish a relationship between their antioxidant activities and their effects against infectious agents. Acalypha guatemalensis, Ocimum micranthum and Smilax spinosa possessed a significant activity against both the three free radicals assayed and LPO; Guazuma ulmifolia showed effects against DPPH and OH(...

Artemia salina L. (Artemiidae), the brine shrimp larva, is an invertebrate used in the alternative test to determine toxicity of chemical and natural products. In this study the Medium Lethal Concentrations (LC50 value) of 20 plant extracts, Aloe vera (L.) Burm. F. (Aloeaceae), Artemisia absinthium L. (Asteraceae); Citrus aurantium L. (Rutaceae); Cymbopogon citratus (DC. Ex Nees) Stapf (Poaceae); Datura stramonium L. (Solanaceae); Justicia pectoralis Jacq. (Acanthaceae); Musa x paradisiaca L. (Musaceae); Ocimum basilicum L...

Knowledge about mutagenic properties of plants commonly used in traditional medicine is limited. A screening for genotoxic activity was carried out in aqueous or alcoholic extracts prepared from 13 medicinal plants widely used as folk medicine in Cuba: Lepidium virginicum L. (Brassicaceae): Plantago major L. and Plantago lanceolata L. (Plantaginaceae); Ortosiphon aristatus Blume, Mentha x piperita L., Melissa officinalis L. and Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng. (Lamiaceae); Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf (Poaceae); Passiflora incarnata L...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.