ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Digestive herbal teas in the form of monoherbal infusions or in mixtures are the most commonly used form of phytotherapy in Bahía Blanca (Argentina). This practice is based on family tradition reinforced by current trends reverting to the ingestion of natural products. The objective of this work was to analyze the botanical quality of the digestive mixtures sold in Bahía Blanca as fine cut mixtures (in tea bags) and thick cut mixtures (fragmented herbs). Samples of seven mixtures sold in the form of tea bags and four as bags of fragmented herbs were studied under stereoscopic and optical microscopes and micrographic studies were carried out following conventional protocols. Observed characteristics were compared with those in the reference bibliography for verified genuine monoherbs. In the studied products a total of 21 different species were found. There was total concordance between the species declared on the label and those identified in the samples in six of the mixtures in the form of tea bags and in only one of the bags of fragmented herbs. Adulterations were found in four of the samples analyzed (one in a tea bag and three in the fragmented mixtures). The labels on only two of the tea bag samples presented complete and correct information; in the remaining samples irregularities were found related to: the taxonomic identification of the species, the absence of a lot number, date of expiry, the plant parts used and proportions of the herbs etc. The findings underline the great importance of quality controls as a tool to protect the rights of phytotherapy consumers.
ABSTRACT
The aims of the present study were to characterize for the first time the carrageenan extracted from cystocarpic stage of S. crispata collected in the Patagonian coast of Argentina, and to prepare interpolyelectrolytic complexes (IPECs) between the polysaccharide extracted from cystocarpic stage of Sarcothalia crispata and Gigartina skottsbergii thalli, and basic butylated methacrylate copolymer (Eudragit E), in order to test their potential for the controlled release of ibuprofen as model drug. The structural determination revealed that the polysaccharides extracted from S. crispata and G. skottsbergii were mainly constituted by κ-carrageenan, particularly in the case of G. skottsbergii; however, significant amounts of ι- and ν-carrageenan were also detected in both polygalactans. The differences in diad composition and possibly in their distribution along the polysaccharide chain of both carrageenans would favor a different arrangement in the resulting IPEC structure. The smaller pores observed by scanning electron microscopy in the IPEC of S. crispata suggest that the kinks in the polysaccharide backbone are evenly distributed, resulting in a slower ibuprofen release compared to the IPEC of G. skottsbergii.
Subject(s)
Carrageenan/chemistry , Delayed-Action Preparations/chemistry , Rhodophyta/chemistry , Methylmethacrylates/chemistry , Molecular StructureABSTRACT
Nonspecific acid phosphatases are a group of enzymes whose activity increases the availability of exogenous and endogenous orthophosphate either through extra- or intracellular hydrolysis of phosphate compounds. Our study demonstrates the activity of acid phosphatases in the filamentous freshwater alga Stigeoclonium tenue. These enzymes were detected following a cerium-based method in which cerium was used as an orthophosphate-capture reagent. In thalli from S. tenue from the natural environment, acid phosphatases were found in the longitudinal cell wall, plasmalemma, and vacuole. In thalli from Bold's Basal Medium culture, these enzymes were found mainly in the plasmalemma; they were scarce in the cell wall. In the thalli grown in phosphate-enriched culture medium, enzymes were found only in the plasmalemma. The low availability of orthophosphate in the medium seems to induce the transport of these enzymes to the cell wall. Its abundance, on the contrary, seems to attenuate this response without affecting the localization of acid phosphatases in the plasmalemma.
