ABSTRACT
Parietaria diffusa M. et K., Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) and Sambucus nigra L. (Caprifoliaceae) are plants usually used in popular medicine of central Italy for treating numerous diseases, first of all Herpes zoster. Several plant products have been described as potential antiviral agents, with special attention being devoted to those having retroviruses as etiological agents, including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), in which a retrovirus, the designated human immunodeficiency virus HIV, has been clearly identified as the primary cause of this disease. The present study proposes a preliminary screening of the antiviral activity of Parietaria diffusa, Sambucus nigra and Urtica dioica preparation against the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection. The feline immunodeficiency virus is a widespread lentivirus of domestic cats sharing numerous biological and pathogenic features with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). FIV infection in cats has therefore been proposed as an animal model for AIDS studies with respect to pathogenesis, chemotherapy, and vaccine development [Pedersen, N.C., 1993. Feline immunodeficiency virus infection. In: Levy, J.A. (Ed.), The Retroviridae. Plenum Press, New York; Bendinelli, M., Pistello, M., Lombardi, S., Poli, A., Garzelli, C., Matteucci, D., Ceccherini-Nelli, L., Malvaldi, G., Tozzini, F., 1995. Feline immunodeficiency virus: an interesting model for AIDS studies and an important cat pathogen. Clinical Microbiology Revue 8, 87-112; North, T.W., LaCasse, R.A., 1995. Testing anti-HIV drugs in the FIV model. Nature Medicine 1, 410-411; Matteucci, D., Pistello, M., Mazzetti, P., Giannechini, S., Isola, P., Merico, A., Zaccaro, L., Rizzati, A., Bendinelli, M., 2000. AIDS vaccination studies using feline immunodeficiency virus as a model: immunisation with inactivated whole virus suppresses viraemia levels following intravaginal challenge with infected cells but non-following intravenous challenge with cell-free virus. Vaccine 18, 119-130]. Early studies showed that some of them presented antiviral activity against infection of FIV as assayed by syncytia formation using feline kidney Crandell cells (CrFK).
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Ethnobotany , Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline/drug effects , Parietaria , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Sambucus nigra , Urtica dioica , Virus Replication/drug effects , Animals , Antiviral Agents/isolation & purification , Cats , Cells, Cultured , Disease Models, Animal , Giant Cells/drug effects , Giant Cells/virology , Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline/physiology , Italy , Kidney/drug effects , Kidney/virologyABSTRACT
Tuscany is an area rich in traditions, many of an ethnobotanical nature, and those of veterinary practice are of special interest. Almost a 100 different plant species are used to treat animals; sometimes old remedies are used to cure similar human ailments, other times the cure is used exclusively for veterinary treatment.
Subject(s)
Ethnobotany , Phytotherapy/veterinary , Plants, Medicinal/adverse effects , Animals , Female , Humans , Italy , Male , Middle Aged , Veterinary MedicineABSTRACT
The therapeutic uses and methods of administration of 70 plants in the traditional medicine of Sarrabus (south-east Sardinia, Italy) are documented. Among these species, some were not reported previously for Sardinia, while others turn out to have an original therapeutic use.
Subject(s)
Medicine, Traditional , Phytotherapy , Plant Extracts/therapeutic use , Plants, Medicinal/classification , Ethnobotany , Humans , ItalyABSTRACT
Among the more than 400 plants used in popular medicine in Tuscany, over 30 are used in the therapy of hypertension. For some of them their use is already known while for others there is no documentation. In this work we present the first results obtained from research carried out on antihypertensive plants belonging to Gentianaceae and in particular Gentiana kokiana.
Subject(s)
Antihypertensive Agents/pharmacology , Aorta/drug effects , Gentiana , Hypertension/drug therapy , Phytotherapy , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Animals , Antihypertensive Agents/administration & dosage , Antihypertensive Agents/therapeutic use , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Ethnobotany , Italy , Muscle Contraction/drug effects , Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/drug effects , Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/physiology , Plant Extracts/administration & dosage , Plant Extracts/therapeutic use , Plant Roots , Rats , Rats, WistarABSTRACT
From an ethno-pharmacobotanical point of view, Tuscany is a region with very rich and interesting traditions. The Tuscan Archipelago, particularly due to its geographical position and its history, presents a large variety of plant species used in popular medicine in numerous pathologies, including several viral infections. Over 100 species of plants are used in popular medicine in this region.
