Agroforestry actions of the articulafito project - value chains in medicinal plants. (Special Issue: Saberes agroecologicos e sistemas alimentares na America Latina e Caribe.)

The article presents an account of the experience carried out during the COVID-19 syndemic, from the implementation actions of agroforestry systems aimed at productive inclusion, health and quality of life in the Koyakati Village - Mae Maria Indigenous Land -, in Bom Jesus do Tocantins-southeast of Para. These actions are part of the ArticulaFito project and result from a diagnosis of the national production base of medicinal plants and socio-biodiversity products, where the need for recovery and conservation of degraded areas was identified as a factor of fragility of productive relations, especially with regard to territories of populations and traditional communities, pressured by predatory production models that negatively impact the ways of life and health of these populations. The Value Links-B methodology was applied in the diagnosis with a view to drawing up an action plan aimed at the challenges diagnosed in the chain of Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.), a species categorized as threatened with extinction due to population decline. Then, it indicates the agroforestry systems, to guarantee the adequate management of the native agroextractive species and, in this way, to conserve biodiversity, as well as guarantee the access to the raw material. The implementation actions of the Agroecological Experimentation Unit (UEA) are described here, with the objective of strengthening production systems and, thus, generating employment and income, in order to improve health indicators in these territories.

A review of the health benefits of tea: implications of the biochemical properties of the bioactive constituents

Tea is the second-most drank and refreshing beverage after water since the time immemorial. Tea harbours more than 4000 bioactive compounds viz, different classes of polyphenols, unique amino acid L-Theanine, alkaloids (Caffeine, Theobromine), and Volatile Flavor Compounds (VFC). Tea's polyphenols make its inherent therapeutic potential unlimited. Tea's significance in managing cancer, diabetes, stomach ulcer, influenza, neurological diseases, etc. is well-documented. However, advantageous biochemical capabilities of tea have yet to be fully utilised. Hence, this review aims at to examine tea's variety, drinking habits, biochemistry, and therapeutic qualities. A number of significant online resources, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, and others, were searched for various research works on tea and its health-promoting qualities by using keywords like tea, health benefits, bioactive components against diseases, etc. Current review highlighted that drinking a cup or more green tea is recommended for improving antioxidant status and to manage diabetes and obesity related problem. However after detailed review work on tea it become clear that not only green tea but also other varies of tea like black, white tea are also harbour lots of bioactive molecules since they are processed from same plant. Tea improves antioxidant status and manages diabetes and obesity. It also helps prevent and cure, heart disease, malignancy, digestive dysfunction, and metabolic disorders including obesity and diabetes. Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), found in tea, has been shown to reduce complications from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV 2) infection. When taken in its traditional form to manage ailments, tea is sometimes controversial due to a lack of confirming evidence of its benefits. The paper covers the numerous health advantages of tea, focusing on the specific components contributing to such benefits, and stresses the value of diverse brewing processes.

The association between green tea consumption with cardiovascular related mortality: a meta-analysis

Background: Tea (green or black) are among the most widely consumed beverages in adults worldwide. Recently, numerous studies claimed that green tea intake have been associated with reduced mortality, including cardiovascular disease related mortality. This study was aimed to investigate the association between green tea consumption with cardiovascular related mortality. Subjects and Method: This was a systematic review and meta-analysis study used articles which published in 2000 to 2021 from online databases, such as PubMed, ResearchGate, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and EBSCO. The dependent variable was cardiovascular related mortality. The independent variables was green tea consumption. The data was analyzed by RevMan 5.3 software. This study used the eligibility criteria with the PICO model, populations: COVID-19 general adults, intervention: >1 cups green tea consumption. comparison: null or <1 cup green tea consumption, outcome: cardiovascular related mortality. The inclusion criteria were an article describing the effect or relationship of green tea consumption with cardiovascular related mortality, original research, and study of cohort contain effect size of hazard ratio and match with the intervention design. The keywords used to search the database were "green tea" AND "cardiovascular" AND "mortality" OR "Death" AND cohort.

International Conference on Pharmaceutical Material, Engineering and Applied Science (ICOPMES) 2020

This proceedings contains 13 papers focusing on the effect of green tea extract in modulating the antibacterial activity of standard antibiotics against clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii, in silico screening of Ziziphus spina-christi and Strychnos ligustrine compounds as a proteinase inhibitor of SARS-COV-2, antioxidant and antifungal propterties of palu shallot (Allium ascalonicum var. aggregatum), probiotic properties and safety of lactic acid bactera isolated from South Sulawesi ethnic cheese, pharmacognostics of 2 Orthoshipon aristatus varieties and effect of honey consumption after physical exercises on electrolytes and blood sugar levels, among others.

Freeing us from pandemic alienation: tea-based online expressive arts therapy. (Special Issue: Art-based research in health and well-being during the pandemic.)

This article creatively presents a framework of conducting expressive arts therapy online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim is to help people tap into the four modes of being through multimodal arts to respond to the alienation in each of them due to the pandemic. Tea, which has similarities with watercolour but is more natural and easily accessible, serves as the core art material in the creative process. This article includes experience of the participants who voluntarily joined a one-off online workshop, giving a clearer picture of the therapeutic process and changes. The relevance of tea to the four modes of being is discussed, and the ways in which the framework can be implemented are explored.

Retroactive therapy monitoring in the context of the pandemic with Covid-19

Coronavirus diseases, especially infections in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic, currently make up most of the medical work in the private practice area of internal medicine and general medicine. There is a therapeutic dilemma as to which strategies are successful in prevention and treatment. Regardless of this, therapies for prophylaxis and treatment of infections using strategies from phytotherapy are hardly considered in the general hectic pace. Protective but still experimental strategies suggest that a blockade of specific viral adhesion factors by natural substances can change the viral entry point. This could significantly change both the docking behavior of the virus particles and the disposition to disease. From the field of natural substances, there are many plants that contain a large amount of tannins. These secondary phytonutrients contain so-called proanthocyanidins, hydrolyzable tannins and lamiacene tannins. In particular, proanthocyanidins (green tea, sorrel herb, rockrose herb, etc.) occur frequently in medicinal plants and can be used for prophylaxis and, if necessary, therapy, so that the use of highly concentrated tannin extracts in local therapy can significantly inhibit the docking behavior of viruses. With this knowledge, 125 patients have been in a family doctor's practice (male=68, female=57, average age 54.6 years;diseases: hypertension, osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes mellitus, etc.) since February 2020 for a period of at least 6 weeks treated (Cystus 052 organic throat lozenges 3 x 2, Nisita nasal ointment 2 x daily). Patients were regularly checked clinically using laboratory tests. This collective could be subdivided into a prophylactic group (n=81) of fewer and into a group of highly endangered (n=44) patients (medical staff, nursing staff, fire fighters, rescue services, etc.). In addition to regular temperature measurements by the patients themselves, but also by means of laboratory parameters (blood count, CRP, procalcitonin, etc.), the mode of infection (if infection occurred: yes-no) was checked regularly.

Medicinal and aromatic plants consumption habits of consumers in the Coronavirus pandemic

Living conditions in Turkey has been changed considerably during Covid-19 pandemic. This phase has changed people's normal lives, habits such as eating, resting, and shopping and pushed them to different pursuits. This study aimed to obtain data on the consumption preferences of medicinal and aromatic plants. The survey was conducted in the autumn of 2020. Choices and health services that are effective in the consumption of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant (MAP) of consumers are estimated by statistics and logit regression model to the data obtained from the surveys. It was determined that the coronavirus pandemic increased the consumption of medicinal and aromatic plants by 76%. The plants with the highest consumption during the pandemic were recorded as rosehip, linden, mint, and ginger. Green tea and udihindi were the most consumed medicinal and aromatic plants per month. According to logit regression analysis results;age, duration of use, price, benefit, side effect, access to the chemical, additive, and hope variables increased the consumption of medicinal and aromatic plants and the likelihood of purchasing during the pandemic. It is thought that consumption of MAPs will become widespread and increase during the pandemic.