Herbal remedies of the Maritime Indians: sterols and triterpenes of Achillea millefolium L. (Yarrow).

As part of ongoing studies of the medicinal aspects of Maritime flora, particularly the herbal remedies of the Micmac and Malecite Indians, the sterols and triterpenes of Achillea millefolium L. (Compositae), a widely used herbal remedy known commonly as yarrow, were determined. Using modern techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and combined GC-mass spectrometry, beta-sitosterol was identified as the major sterol and alpha-amyrin as the major triterpene of this plant. The sterols stigmasterol, campesterol, and cholesterol and the triterpenses beta-amyrin, taraxasterol, and pseudotaraxasterol were also identified. Successful therapeutic application of yarrow may be partly due to the presence of one or more of these compounds since many sterols and triterpenes exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities. This is the first reported occurrence of cholesterol, campesterol, and the four triterpenes in yarrow.

Sterol content and polyene antibiotic resistance in isolates of Candida krusei, Candida parakrusei, and Candida tropicalis.

Three isolates, one from each species of Candida krusei, C. parakrusei, and C. tropicalis, obtained from infected patients, were more tolerant of significantly higher concentrations of polyene antibiotics than the corresponding reference wild types. The resistant strains isolated had the same sterols as their wild-type counterparts but in lower concentrations.