Amazon Dreaming with ValX™

1. Central Nervous System Pharmacological Effects of Plants from Northern Peruvian Andes: Valeriana adscendens, Iresine herbstii and Brugmansia arborea

Anna Capasso 1 and Vincenzo De Feo 1

1 Universitàà degli Studi di Salerno, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Fisciano, Italy

Pharmaceutical Biology
2002, Vol.40, No.4, pp. 274-293

Maytenus macrocarpa ‘Chu Chu Huasi’

2. Chuchuhuasha - a drug used in folk medicine in the Amazonian and Andean areas. Achemical study of Maytenus laevis.

Gonzalez JG; delle Monache G; delle Monache F; Marini-Bettol GB

J Ethnopharmacol, 5: 1, 1982 Jan, 73-7

6. Antiulcerogenic effects of two Maytenus species in laboratory animals.

Souza-Formigoni ML; Oliveira MG; Monteiro MG; da Silveira-Filho NG; Braz S; Carlini EA

J Ethnopharmacol, 34: 1, 1991 Aug, 21-7

7. Effects of Uncaria tomentosa total alkaloid and its components on experimental amnesia in mice: elucidation using the passive avoidance test.

Mohamed AF, Matsumoto K, Tabata K, Takayama H, Kitajima M, Watanabe H.

Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Natural Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan.

PMID: 11197086 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Matricaria ‘Chamomile’

11. Hypnotic activities of chamomile and passiflora extracts in sleep-disturbed rats.

Shinomiya K, Inoue T, Utsu Y, Tokunaga S, Masuoka T, Ohmori A, Kamei C.

Biol Pharm Bull. 2005 May;28(5):808-10.

PMID: 15863883 [PubMed - in process]

Valerianaceae ‘ValX™’

1. Central Nervous System Pharmacological Effects of Plants from Northern Peruvian Andes: Valeriana adscendens, Iresine herbstii and Brugmansia arborea

Anna Capasso 1 and Vincenzo De Feo 1

1 Universitàà degli Studi di Salerno, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Fisciano, Italy

Pharmaceutical Biology
2002, Vol.40, No.4, pp. 274-293

Traditional medicine is a primary source for the study of medicinal plants. In some countries, knowledge about the therapeutic use of medicinal plants is very deep and very often ?magical? plants also are used to diagnose and treat illnesses. The study of these plants can help in the research of metabolites active on the central nervous system. Valeriana adscendens Trel. (Valerianaceae), Iresine herbstii Hook. (Amaranthaceae) and Brugmansia arborea (L.) Lagerheim (Solanaceae) are used in the northern Peruvian Andes for magic-therapeutic purposes. The traditional healers use V. adscendens and I. herbstii with the ritual aim to expel bad spirits from the body. Furthermore, I. herbstii was used in association with other plants, such as Trichocereus pachanoi Britt. et Rose, for divination, to diagnose diseases, and to take possession of another identity. Also, species of Brugmansia have been reported to be used during ritual practices for magical and curative purposes.

Since there are no data in the literature about the chemical composition and pharmacological properties of these plants, the present paper reports the results of some pharmacological tests performed with V. adscendens, I. herbstii and B. arborea and a chemical study of these plants in order to ascertain the nature of their central nervous system activity. The tests considered to evaluate the central nervous system activity were: locomotor activity, motor coordination, pentobarbital-induced sleep, stereotyped behaviour, catalepsy, nociceptive assays and transmurally stimulated guinea-pig ileum. Moreover, three pure alkaloids isolated from B. arborea were evaluated for their effects on in vitro morphine withdrawal.

We also evaluated the effects of V. adscendens extracts on GABA uptake and amino acids neurotransmitters content in mice synaptosomes. The results of our experiments indicate that all the above tested plants were able to reduce significantly the central nervous system activity of the animals. Furthermore, the chemical study performed for B. arborea indicated the possible constituents respon-sible for the central activity. The reduction of motor coordination and stereotyped behaviour together with induced locomotor activity support the possibility that all the studied plants act as psychotropic agents, thus confirming their ritual use.

2. Chuchuhuasha - a drug used in folk medicine in the Amazonian and Andean areas. Achemical study of Maytenus laevis.

Gonzalez JG; delle Monache G; delle Monache F; Marini-Bettol GB

J Ethnopharmacol, 5: 1, 1982 Jan, 73-7

In the high Amazonian basin a plant named chuchuasha, (or chuchuaso) is used in traditional medicine for several purposes in the form of an alcoholic extract. This plant, a Maytenus species, most probably Maytenus laevis, grows in the subandean region of the Amazonian basin (Peru, Ecuador, Colombia). Antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties were recently attributed to the extracts of the root bark of the plant. The composition of the extract of M. laevis from the Putumayo area of Colombia was studied in order to establish the active principle responsible for these activities. The presence of phenoldienones (tingenone, 22-hydroxytingenone), a catechin (4’-methyl-(-)-epigallocatechin) and proanthocyanidins (Ouratea-proanthocyanidins A and B) was established. The biological activities of these compounds confirm the properties of the extracts of the plant claimed by traditional medicine.

6. Antiulcerogenic effects of two Maytenus species in laboratory animals.

Souza-Formigoni ML; Oliveira MG; Monteiro MG; da Silveira-Filho NG; Braz S; Carlini EA

J Ethnopharmacol, 34: 1, 1991 Aug, 21-7

Leaves of Maytenus species are commonly used in Brazil for the treatment of gastric ulcers, dyspepsias and other gastric problems. The present study evaluated the antiulcerogenic potential of a boiling water extract of equal parts of M. aquifolium and M. ilicifolia leaves against ulcer lesions induced by indomethacin and cold-restraint stress in rats. Ranitidine and cimetidine were used as reference drugs. The oral and intraperitoneal administration of the extract had a potent antiulcerogenic effect against both types of ulcers. The extract was shown to cause an increase in volume and pH of gastric juice of the animals with the pH effects comparable to those of cimetidine. The results tend to confirm the popular use of the plant.

Unicaria tomentosa ‘Cat’s Claw’

7. Effects of Uncaria tomentosa total alkaloid and its components on experimental amnesia in mice: elucidation using the passive avoidance test.

Mohamed AF, Matsumoto K, Tabata K, Takayama H, Kitajima M, Watanabe H.

Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Natural Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan.

The effects of Uncaria tomentosa total alkaloid and its oxindole alkaloid components, uncarine E, uncarine C, mitraphylline, rhynchophylline and isorhynchophylline, on the impairment of retention performance caused by amnesic drugs were investigated using a step-down-type passive avoidance test in mice. In this test, the retention performance of animals treated with the amnesic and test drugs before training was assessed 24 h after training. Uncaria tomentosa total alkaloid (10-20 mg kg(-1), i.p.) and the alkaloid components (10-40 mg kg(-1), i.p.), as well as the muscarinic receptor agonist oxotremorine (0.01 mg kg(-1), i.p.), significantly attenuated the deficit in retention performance induced by the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine (3 mg kg(-1), i.p.). The effective doses of uncarine C and mitraphylline were larger than those of other alkaloid components. Uncarine E (20 mg kg(-1), i.p.) also blocked the impairment of passive avoidance performance caused by the nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine (15 mg kg(-1), i.p.) and the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist (+/-)-3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP; 7.5 mg kg(-1), i.p.), but it failed to affect the deficit caused by the benzodiazepine receptor agonist diazepam (2 mg kg(-1), i.p.). Rhynchophylline significantly reduced the mecamylamine-induced deficit in passive avoidance behaviour, but it failed to attenuate the effects of CPP and diazepam. These results suggest that Uncaria tomentosa total alkaloids exert a beneficial effect on memory impairment induced by the dysfunction of cholinergic systems in the brain and that the effect of the total alkaloids is partly attributed to the oxindole alkaloids tested. Moreover, these findings raised the possibility that the glutamatergic systems are implicated in the anti-amnesic effect of uncarine E.

PMID: 11197086 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Matricaria ‘Chamomile’

11. Hypnotic activities of chamomile and passiflora extracts in sleep-disturbed rats.

Shinomiya K, Inoue T, Utsu Y, Tokunaga S, Masuoka T, Ohmori A, Kamei C.

Biol Pharm Bull. 2005 May;28(5):808-10.

In the present study, we investigated hypnotic activities of chamomile and passiflora extracts using sleep-disturbed model rats. A significant decrease in sleep latency was observed with chamomile extract at a dose of 300 mg/kg, while passiflora extract showed no effects on sleep latency even at a dose of 3000 mg/kg. No significant effects were observed with both herbal extracts on total times of wakefulness, non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep and REM sleep. Flumazenil, a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, at a dose of 3 mg/kg showed a significant antagonistic effect on the shortening in sleep latency induced by chamomile extract. No significant effects were observed with chamomile and passiflora extracts on delta activity during non-REM sleep. In conclusion, chamomile extract is a herb having benzodiazepine-like hypnotic activity.

PMID: 15863883 [PubMed - in process]

Note: The benzodiazepines are a class of drugs with hypnotic, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, amnestic and muscle relaxant properties. Benzodiazepines are often used for short-term relief of severe, disabling anxiety or insomnia. Long-term use can be problematic due to the development of tolerance and dependency. They are believed to act on the GABA receptor GABAA, the activation of which dampens higher neuronal activity.