Important Medicinal and Food Taxa (Orders and Families) in Kenya, Based on Three Quantitative Approaches.

Globally, food and medicinal plants have been documented, but their use patterns are poorly understood. Useful plants are non-random subsets of flora, prioritizing certain taxa. This study evaluates orders and families prioritized for medicine and food in Kenya, using three statistical models: Regression, Binomial, and Bayesian approaches. An extensive literature search was conducted to gather information on indigenous flora, medicinal and food plants. Regression residuals, obtained using LlNEST linear regression function, were used to quantify if taxa had unexpectedly high number of useful species relative to the overall proportion in the flora. Bayesian analysis, performed using BETA.INV function, was used to obtain superior and inferior 95% probability credible intervals for the whole flora and for all taxa. To test for the significance of individual taxa departure from the expected number, binomial analysis using BINOMDIST function was performed to obtain p-values for all taxa. The three models identified 14 positive outlier medicinal orders, all with significant values (p < 0.05). Fabales had the highest (66.16) regression residuals, while Sapindales had the highest (1.1605) R-value. Thirty-eight positive outlier medicinal families were identified; 34 were significant outliers (p < 0.05). Rutaceae (1.6808) had the highest R-value, while Fabaceae had the highest regression residuals (63.2). Sixteen positive outlier food orders were recovered; 13 were significant outliers (p < 0.05). Gentianales (45.27) had the highest regression residuals, while Sapindales (2.3654) had the highest R-value. Forty-two positive outlier food families were recovered by the three models; 30 were significant outliers (p < 0.05). Anacardiaceae (5.163) had the highest R-value, while Fabaceae had the highest (28.72) regression residuals. This study presents important medicinal and food taxa in Kenya, and adds useful data for global comparisons.

Medicinal plants used by rural Thai people to treat non-communicable diseases and related symptoms.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are becoming more common in remote regions, whereas previously they were more common in middle-class to wealthy societies. The rising prevalence and severity of NCDs has increased the demand for medical innovation in this space. In this regard, knowledge of traditional medicines used in the treatment of NCDs, by people in the remote communities of Thailand, represents an innovation opportunity. This study aims to use data on ethnomedicinal plants used by local Thai people to identify plant candidates for study of safety and efficacy against a range of specified NCDs. Data were taken from both the literature and interviews from 230 locations in Thailand. The consulted literature was published in the years from 1990 to 2020. Ethnomedicinal field observations were made in person, in villages in Nan and Chiang Rai provinces, in 2021. Data includes names of plants used to target NCDs, and names of target diseases. Important plant species were identified based on the number of use reports and use values together with results from Bayesian approach. A total of 766 plant species were recorded in the treatment of NCDs. Most of the species that were described by informants were used to target diabetes, hypertension, chronic respiratory and renal diseases. This study proposes several plant species that have potential as treatments against NCDs. Many of these important species have insufficient scientific data to support their uses. The study suggests that assessment of efficacy and safety should be the next logical steps.

Fundamental Chemistry of Essential Oils and Volatile Organic Compounds, Methods of Analysis and Authentication.

The current text provides a comprehensive introduction to essential oils, their biosynthesis, naming, analysis, and chemistry. Importantly, this text quickly brings the reader up to a level of competence in the authentication of essential oils and their components. It gives detailed descriptions of enantiomers and other forms of stereoisomers relevant to the study of natural volatiles and essential oils. The text also describes GC-MS work and provides tips on rapid calculation of arithmetic indices, how to interpret suggested names from the NIST mass spectral library, and what additional efforts are required to validate essential oils and defeat sophisticated adulteration tactics. In brief, essential oils are mixtures of volatile organic compounds that were driven out of the raw plant material in distillation, condensed into an oil that is strongly aroma emitting, and collected in a vessel as the top layer (uncommonly bottom layer) of two phase separated liquids: oil and water. Essential oils commonly include components derived from two biosynthetic groups, being terpenes (monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and their derivatives) and phenylpropanoids (aromatic ring with a propene tail). The current text provides details of how terpenes and phenylpropanoids are further categorised according to their parent skeleton, then recognised by the character of oxidation, which may be from oxygen, nitrogen, or sulphur, or the presence/absence of a double bond. The essential oil's science niche is an epicentre of individuals from diverse backgrounds, such as aromatherapy, pharmacy, synthetic and analytical chemistry, or the hobbyist. To make the science more accessible to the curious student or researcher, it was necessary to write this fundamentals-level introduction to the chemistry of essential oils (i.e., organic chemistry in the context of essential oils), which is herein presented as a comprehensive and accessible overview. Lastly, the current review constitutes the only resource that highlights common errors and explains in simplistic detail how to correctly interpret GC-MS data then accurately present the respective chemical information to the wider scientific audience. Therefore, detailed study of the contents herein will equip the individual with prerequisite knowledge necessary to effectively analyse an essential oil and make qualified judgement on its authenticity.

A New Antimicrobial Phenylpropanol from the Leaves of Tabernaemontana inconspicua Stapf. (Apocynaceae) Inhibits Pathogenic Gram-Negative Bacteria.

A chemical investigation of the leaves of Tabernaemontana inconspicua Stapf. led to the isolation of a new phenylpropanol derivative, namely irisdichototin G (1), together with nine known compounds, including one polyol derivative, dambonitol (2); three alkaloids, 10-hydroxycoronaridine (3), voacristine (4) and vobasine (5); two triterpenes lupeol (6), betulinic acid (7) and three sterols, sitosterol (8), sitosterol-3-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (9) and stigmasterol (10). The structure of the new compound, as well as those of the known ones, was established by means of spectroscopic methods: NMR analysis (1H and 13C NMR, 1H-1H-COSY, HSQC, HMBC and NOESY), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS) and comparisons with previously reported data. Among the known compounds, compound 2 was firstly reported from the family Apocynaceae. Compounds 1-5 were tested for their antimicrobial effects against three Gram-negative organisms associated with human wound and systemic infections, namely Haemophilus influenzae 9435337A, Klebsiella pneumoniae 17102005 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 2137659B. Compounds 1, 3, and 5 showed significant antimicrobial effects with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 62.5 µg/mL, 62.5 µg/mL and 7.81 µg/mL, respectively, against Haemophilus influenzae, whereas compounds 1 and 5 showed significant antimicrobial effects, with a MIC value of 31.25 µg/mL against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, compound 3 showed significant antimicrobial activity, with a MIC value of 31.25 µg/mL against Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Comparative Metabolomics of Reproductive Organs in the Genus Aesculus (Sapindaceae) Reveals That Immature Fruits Are a Key Organ of Procyanidin Accumulation and Bioactivity.

Fruit from A. hippocastanum L. are used commercially for chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). The isomeric mixture of pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins (ß-aescin) exert anti-inflammatory effects. Hence, research has focused on ß-aescin, yet the diversity, accumulation, and bioactivity of organ-specific secondary metabolites represent missed pharmacological opportunities. To this end, we applied an untargeted metabolomics approach by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to the chemical profiles of flowers, immature fruits, and pedicels from 40 specimens across 18 species of Aesculus. Principal component analysis (PCA), orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS-DA), and molecular networking revealed stronger chemical differences between plant organs, than between species. Flowers are rich in glycosylated flavonoids, pedicels in organic acids and flavonoid aglycones, and immature fruits in monomeric flavan-3-ols and procyanidins. Although a high diversity of flavonoids and procyanidins was observed, the relative amounts differed by plant organ. Fruit extracts demonstrated the strongest antifungal (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and antioxidant activity, likely from the procyanidins. Overall, secondary metabolite profiles are organ-specific, and fruits accumulate antifungal and antioxidant compounds. Due to the chemical similarity between species, similar effects may be achieved between species. This creates incentives for further exploration of the entire genus, in bioprospecting for potential therapeutic leads.

Medicinal Plants Used for Treating Mild Covid-19 Symptoms Among Thai Karen and Hmong.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is causing many severe problems globally, and it is not known for how long it will last. The only hope we have for dealing with the problem is to produce sufficient vaccines and administer them efficiently. However, the current demand for vaccines greatly exceeds the supply, and many people will suffer from the disease for still some time. Moreover, the period for immunity obtained by the vaccines remains unknown, and we cannot predict how long the world will suffer the COVID-19 infections. Therefore, there will be a continued demand for treatments of its symptoms. An alternative solution for providing such treatment is the use of traditional medicinal plants. Aims: To document medicinal plants used by Hmong and Karen in Thailand to treat mild symptoms of COVID-19. Methods: Traditional knowledge about ethnomedicinal plants used by Hmong and Karen in Thailand for treating mild symptoms listed by WHO as associated with COVID 19, was collected in field interviews and extracted from the literature. Results: We identified 491 plant species used medicinally by both ethnic groups to treat fever, cough, diarrhea, muscle pain and ache, rash, headache, sore throat, and conjunctivitis. Of the 491 species 60 were mentioned at least five times in the literature or in our field data. Of these 60 species, we propose the most commonly used ones for treatments of mild COVID-19 symptoms. Ten of these most commonly mentioned species were used for treatments of fever, nine for treatment of cough, four for treatment of diarrhea, two for treatment of rash, and a single species was used to treat muscle pain and headache. Conclusion: This study suggests alternative treatments for mild symptoms of COVID-19 with medicinal plants that are traditionally used by the ethnic minority groups of the Hmong and Karen in Thailand. Although COVID-19 is a new disease, its mild symptoms are shared with many other diseases. Traditional knowledge on medicinal plants used by the Thai Karen and Hmong could help in the treatments of these symptoms associated with COVID-19. Many of the proposed plants were used abundantly by both ethnic groups, and other studies on biological activities support their efficacy in such treatments.

Ethnomedicinal Plant Knowledge of the Karen in Thailand.

The Thai Karen, the largest hill-tribe in Thailand, guard substantial ethnomedicinal plant knowledge, as documented in several studies that targeted single villages. Here, we have compiled information from all the reliable and published sources to present a comprehensive overview of the Karen ethnomedicinal plant knowledge. Our dataset covers 31 Karen villages distributed over eight provinces in Thailand. We used the Cultural Importance Index (CI) to determine which species were the most valuable to the Karen and the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) to evaluate how well distributed the knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants was in various medicinal use categories. In the 31 Karen villages, we found 3188 reports of ethnomedicinal plant uses of 732 species in 150 plant families. Chromolaena odorata, Biancaea sappan, and Tinospora crispa were the most important medicinal plants, with the highest CI values. The Leguminosae, Asteraceae, Zingiberaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae, Acanthaceae, Apocynaceae, and Menispermaceae were the families with the highest CI values in the mentioned order. A high proportion of all the 3188 Karen use reports were used to treat digestive, general and unspecified, musculoskeletal, and skin disorders.

Using ICPC-2 Standard to Identify Thai Zingiberaceae of Pharmacological Interest.

The Economic Botany Data Collection Standard (EBDCS) is a widely used standard among ethnobotanists. However, this standard classifies ethnomedicinal uses into categories based on local peoples' perception. It is difficult to apply in pharmacological research. The International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC), now updated to ICPC-2, is more related to medical terms, but is rarely used among ethnobotanists. This study aims to apply the ICPC-2 to classify metadata of the ethnomedicinal uses of Zingiberaceae plants in Thailand, in order to identify important medicinal taxa for future research. Data on the ethnomedicinal uses of Thai gingers were collected from 62 theses, journal articles, scientific reports and a book, published between 1990 and 2019. Scientific plant names were updated using The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) website. Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) was used to identify the medicinal issues commonly treated with gingers, and the Cultural Importance Index (CI) was used to identify species that might have pharmacological potential. We found records of 76 ginger species with ethnomedicinal uses, and together they had 771 use reports. The gingers were commonly used for treatments related to digestive system conditions, particularly abdominal pain and flatulence. Gingers remain exceedingly important in Thai ethnomedicine, with a high number of useful species. They are used to treat a variety of health conditions, but most commonly such ones that are related to the digestive system. Apart from the popular studied ginger, Curcuma longa, we identified a number of other useful gingers in Thailand.

Anti-Infectious Plants of The Thai Karen: A Meta-Analysis.

Pharmacology has developed many drugs to treat infections, but many people, especially in developing countries, cannot afford to purchase them, and still depend on traditional knowledge and local medicinal plants to fight off infections. In addition, numerous microbes have developed resistance to the pharmaceutical drugs developed to fight them, and for many, such as Covid-19, effective drugs remain to be found. Ethnomedicinal knowledge is useful, not only for local people as a source of medicine for primary health care, but also for new pharmacological discoveries. This study aimed to identify the plants that the Karen, the largest hill-tribe ethnic minority in northern and western Thailand, use for treatments of infectious diseases. We present a meta-analysis of data from 16 ethnobotanical studies of 25 Karen villages with the aim of understanding traditional knowledge and treatments and point to potential plants for further pharmacological development. The Karen used 127 plant species from 59 plant families to treat infections and infectious diseases. The Cultural Important Index (CI) showed that the Leguminosae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Lauraceae, Apocynaceae, Menispermaceae, and Lamiaceae were the most commonly used families. As for species, Cleidion javanicum, Tinospora crispa, Litsea cubeba, Aesculus assamica, Tadehagi triquetrum, Senna alata, Tithonia diversifolia, Embelia sessiliflora, and Combretum indicum were the most commonly used in treatments of infectious diseases. We suggest that these plant species should be the first to be pharmacologically tested for possible development of medicines, and the remaining species registered should subsequently undergo testing.

High-Value Plant Species Used for the Treatment of "Fever" by the Karen Hill Tribe People.

The symptom "fever" is generally not itself a terminal condition. However, it does occur with common mild to severe ailments afflicting the world population. Several allopathic medicines are available to attenuate fever by targeting the pathogen or the symptom itself. However, many people in marginal civilizations are obligated to use locally grown medicinal plants due to limited access to common pharmaceuticals. The Karen ethnic group is the biggest ethnic minority group in the hill-tribes of Thailand. They utilise a vast repertoire of medicinal plant species. Since many modern drugs were discovered out of traditional therapies, it is possible to discover new allopathic drugs in the treatment of fever and associated pathogens from the Karen people. Thus, this study aims to identify and record the ethnomedicinal plants they used for the treatment of "fever". The names of plants used by the Thai Karen people for the treatment of fever were mined from publications on ethnomedicinal uses. Useful plant species and families were identified using the Cultural Importance Index (CI). With the mined data, 125 plant species from 52 families were identified, distributed across 25 Karen villages. A chemical cross-examination of these species provided valuable insights into chemical classes worthy of further investigation in the context of fever and associated pathogens.

Important Medicinal Plant Families in Thailand.

Throughout the world, surveys have been conducted at the country level to answer research questions pertaining to ethnomedicinal usage patterns. This study is focused on Thailand, which has never been surveyed systematically in this way. We mined 16,000 records of medicinal plant use from 64 scientific reports, which were published from 1990 to 2014. In total, 2,187 plant species were cited as being useful for medicinal purposes. The overall aim was to reveal the relative importance of the plant families for pharmacological research. To determine the most important medicinal plant families, we use a combination of three statistical approaches: linear regression, Binomial analysis, and Bayesian analysis. At the regional level, 19 plant families repeatedly stood out as being the most important from an ethnomedicinal perspective.

Ethnomedicinal plant diversity in Thailand.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Plants have provided medicine to humans for thousands of years, and in most parts of the world people still use traditional plant-derived medicine. Knowledge related to traditional use provides an important alternative to unavailable or expensive western medicine in many rural communities. At the same time, ethnomedicinal discoveries are valuable for the development of modern medicine. Unfortunately, globalization and urbanization causes the disappearance of much traditional medicinal plant knowledge. AIM OF THE STUDY: To review available ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinal plants in Thailand and to estimate its diversity. METHODS: Information about ethnomedicinal uses of plants in Thailand was extracted from 64 scientific reports, books, and theses produced between 1990 and 2014. Plant identifications in the primary sources were updated to currently accepted names following The Plant List website and the species were assigned to family following the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Use Values (UV) were calculated to estimate the importance of medicinal plant species (UVs) and families (UVf). Medicinal use categories, plant parts used, preparations of the medicine, and their applications were noted for each use report. RESULTS: We found 16,789 use reports for 2187 plant species in 206 families. These data came from 19 ethnic groups living in 121 villages throughout Thailand. The health conditions most commonly treated with medicinal plants were in the categories digestive system disorders, infections/infestations, nutritional disorders, muscular-skeletal system disorders, and genitourinary system disorders. Plant families with very high use values were Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Acanthaceae, Lamiaceae, and Zingiberaceae and species with very high use values were Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M.King & H.Rob., Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC., and Cheilocostus speciosus (J.Koenig) C.D.Specht. Stems and leaves were the most used plant parts, but also other parts of the plants were used in medicinal recipes. The most common way of using the medicinal plants was as a decoction in water. CONCLUSION: We found 2187 plant species that were used in traditional medicine in Thailand. Of these a few hundred had high use values, suggesting that they may produce bioactive compounds with strong physiological effects.