RESUMEN
Renealmia alpinia (R. alpinia) typically occurs in the tropical rainforests of Mexico to Peru, Brazil through the Antilles, Guyana, Suriname, Colombia and Venezuela. It has traditionally been used against snakebite in Colombia. In addition to the common local use for pain, R. alpinia has been used as an antipyretic and antiemetic to treat wounds, malignant ulcers, epilepsy and fungal infections. The species of the Zingiberaceae family are famous for their use as spices and herbs. This review provides information on the traditional use of plants in the Zingiberaceae family, Renealmia genus, and specifically R. alpinia. We conducted a narrative review in English and Spanish in electronic databases, such as ScienceDirect, Napralert, PubMed, ScFinder, SciElo, during August 2011 to March 2013. We were interested in their applications in ethnomedicine and their chemical components, providing a major and methodical revision. We found 120 sources, 98 of which were selected as they contained essential information. This study has stimulated the development of a new work, which aims to isolate and evaluate metabolites from R. alpinia leads toward the development of a phytotherapeutic product, which might be accessible to the population. Studies on the toxicity and safety of R. alpinia are insufficient to provide information on the ethnomedical use of this species. Thus, the present review summarizes information about R. alpinia and proposes possible scope of future research to fill gaps identified in this narrative review.
RESUMEN
Renealmia alpinia (R. alpinia) typically occurs in the tropical rainforests of Mexico to Peru, Brazil through the Antilles, Guyana, Suriname, Colombia and Venezuela. It has traditionally been used against snakebite in Colombia. In addition to the common local use for pain, R. alpinia has been used as an antipyretic and antiemetic to treat wounds, malignant ulcers, epilepsy and fungal infections. The species of the Zingiberaceae family are famous for their use as spices and herbs. This review provides information on the traditional use of plants in the Zingiberaceae family, Renealmia genus, and specifically R. alpinia. We conducted a narrative review in English and Spanish in electronic databases, such as ScienceDirect, Napralert, PubMed, ScFinder, SciElo, during August 2011 to March 2013. We were interested in their applications in ethnomedicine and their chemical components, providing a major and methodical revision. We found 120 sources, 98 of which were selected as they contained essential information. This study has stimulated the development of a new work, which aims to isolate and evaluate metabolites from R. alpinia leads toward the development of a phytotherapeutic product, which might be accessible to the population. Studies on the toxicity and safety of R. alpinia are insufficient to provide information on the ethnomedical use of this species. Thus, the present review summarizes information about R. alpinia and proposes possible scope of future research to fill gaps identified in this narrative review.
RESUMEN
Los extractos vegetales constituyen una fuente rica de moléculas farmacológicamente activas, cuya aplicación en medicina tradicional permite un acercamiento a potenciales actividades biológicas. En este trabajo se evalúa la capacidad inhibitoria de extractos etanólicos de hojas, raicillas y fracciones obtenidas por cromatografía en columna de Renealmia alpinia (Rottb) Mass, cultivada in vitro, sobre los efectos hemolítico indirecto, proteolítico y coagulante inducidos por el veneno de Bothrops asper. La actividad hemolítica indirecta es inhibida en mayor medida por la fracción 7-8 (47,3 ± 2,20%), seguida en su orden por los extractos de raicillas (32,6 #177; 6,90%) y hojas (24,2 ± 4,43%) de origen in vitro y hojas ex vitro (16,2 ± 3,88%). La actividad proteolítica se inhibe ampliamente por los extractos de hojas tanto in vitro como ex vitro sin diferencias significativas. Contra la actividad coagulante se registra una mayor neutralización por parte de las raicillas in vitro (81,73 ± 9,94s). Se descarta un potencial mecanismo de acción proteolítico de Renealmia alpinia sobre el veneno de Bothrops asper dado que no se producen cambios en los patrones electroforéticos del veneno. Los resultados viabilizan la aplicación de Renealmia alpinia como coadyuvante en el tratamiento del accidente ofídico y sustentan la utilidad de la micropropagación para la producción masiva de componentes activos.
Plant extracts are a rich source of pharmacologically active molecules. Their application allows a tradicional medicine approach to potential biological acitivities. This paper evaluates the inhibitory capacity of ethanolic extracts of leaves and little roots and also fractions chromatographically fractions obtained from Renealmia alpinia (Rottb) Mass, cultured in vitro, on the indirect hemolytic activity, proteolytic activity and coagulant activity induced by the Bothrops asper venom. Indirect hemolytic activity is inhibited to a greater extent by the fraction 7-8 (47.3 ± 2.20%) followed in order by the extracts from little roots (32.6 ± 6.90%) and leaves (24.2 ± 4.43%). They came from in vitro and ex vitro leaves (16.2 ± 3.88%). The proteolytic activity is largely inhibited by the leaves extracts in vitro and ex vitro without significant differences between them. Little roots in vitro showed the highest neutralization effect on coagulant activity (81.73 ± 9.949s). Proteolytic activity from Renealmia alpinia extracts on Bothrops asper venom is ruled out since there are not changes in the electrophoretic pattern of the venom. The results make possible the implementation of Renealmia alpinia as adjuvant for the treatment of ophidic accidents and sustain the value of micropropagation for mass production of active components.