Ethnopharmacological survey of endemic plants used in ethnomedicinal knowledge of Soqotra Island.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Due to the long biogeographical isolation since ancient times, Soqotra Island (southern Yemen) is rich in medicinal endemic plants. However, information on their traditional therapeutic knowledge is scarce in scientific literature and still not completely documented. AIM OF THE STUDY: (1) Documentation and search the native traditional therapeutic knowledge focusing on the medicinal plants which are endemic to Soqotra (2) Identification of the important endemic plants treating diseases by quantitative analysis of the collected data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethnobotanical data were collected from 105 local informants through open interviews, semi-structured questionnaires and field survey in February 1990 to document the traditional medicinal plants in Soqotra Island. Of them we reported in this study the data of the endemic species, due to their wide biodiversity in the island. The quantitative data were analyzed for use reports (URs) and the informant consensus factor (ICF). The reported diseases were classified according to the International Classification of Primary Care-2 (ICPC-2). New reported medicinal plants in this study were identified compared to literature review. The level of traditional Soqotri knowledge among Islanders was observed during 1990-2003. RESULTS: In the study, 86 medicinal endemic plants with 7654 therapeutic URs were explored for 69 ailments types belongs to 11 (ICPC-2) groups. The highest ICF value (0.99) were calculated for both eye and ear diseases categories, followed by general and unspecified ailments (0.98), digestive and skin (0.97 for each), and musculoskeletal ailments (0.96) among all diseases categories. While the highest URs (2276) were identified for skin diseases, followed by digestive diseases (URs = 2146). All the 86 recorded medicinal plant species were endemic to Soqotra, belonging to 57 genera and 29 families. Euphorbiaceae and Burseraceae were the dominant families, followed by Apocynaceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae. Shrubs were the dominant growth form (41 species, 47.67%), followed by herbs (27; 31.4%), and trees (14; 16.28%). Leaves (45 species; 31.25%) were the most frequently used parts, followed by stems (34 species; 23.61%) and barks (species 23; 15.97%). The most cited preparation method was paste for 51 species followed by liquid exudates (48 species) and powder (26 species). Based on the comparative literature review, we recorded 36 new endemic medicinal plants and reported new traditional therapeutic uses for the remaining 50 endemic plants for the first time. On the other hand, all the reported endemic medicinal plants have been enlisted in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, of them 21 endemic species enlisted as highest threatened species. CONCLUSION: According to the quantitative data analyzed, Soqotra Island has a valuable traditional knowledge in several medicinal endemic plants that used by local people in the primary health care until the study time at 1990. This study emphasizes the importance of early time in documenting traditional indigenous knowledge before losing and to protect and conserve the endemic plants against highly endangered. Consequently, these ethnomedicinal data could be used in the future as guide for pharmacological and phytochemical studies to discover new therapeutic drugs.

Wild edible plants traditionally collected and used in southern Yemen.

BACKGROUND: The local wild edible plants (WEPs) are still used traditionally in the rural communities in Yemen, but this traditional knowledge is still undocumented and has been never reported before. Therefore, this study is the first ethnobotanical survey on WEPs conducted in Yemen. METHODS: The study is based on two field surveys made in two periods 1988-1992 and 2014-2016 to document the wild plants used as edible by local indigenous peoples in 23 districts belonged to five governorates, in southern Yemen. Information data were collected by oral face-to-face interviews from 250 informants. Citations numbers were calculated for each species. RESULTS: A total of 58 plant species belonged to 37 genera and 21 families are reported as wild edible plants consumed in southern Yemen. Apocynaceae was the dominant plant family with 18 species followed by Asteraceae (6) and Malvaceae (5). The most widely used edible parts are stem, leaf and fruit with more than 17 species for each. Herbs were reported as the most important sources (31 species), followed by shrubs (16) and trees (9). Most of reported wild edibles (48 species parts) are consumed in raw form; only 12 of them are cooked. Seven wild edible plants were collected in dry season, 16 species throughout the year and 38 in rainy season. In this study, 58 wild plants were reported for the first time as food in Yemen. Comparing the southern Yemeni findings to those from other world countries, 12 of them are new WEPs eaten only in southern Yemen, while 46 species are shared in the use in different world countries practically in East Africa and Arab countries. CONCLUSIONS: The results data reflect the strong relationship between the local peoples and the local WEPs as potential sources insure food security. The traditional use of these WEPs is attributed to food shortage, nutritional values and local cultural tradition. The study is of great importance in preserving the traditional and knowledge heritage from being lost due to the risks of time, war and immigration.

On the Trail of an Ancient Middle Eastern Ethnobotany: Traditional Wild Food Plants Gathered by Ormuri Speakers in Kaniguram, NW Pakistan.

An ethnobotanical field study focusing on traditional wild food botanical taxa was carried out in Kaniguram, South Waziristan, Pakistan, among Ormur (or Burki or Baraki) peoples, which represent a diasporic minority group, as well as among the surrounding Pashtuns. Through sixty semi-structured interviews, fifty-two wild food plants (taxa) were recorded, and they were primarily used raw as snacks and cooked as vegetables. Comparative analysis found a remarkable overlap of the quoted plant uses between the two studied groups, which may reflect complex socio-cultural adaptations Ormur speakers faced. Ormur people retain a rich knowledge of anthropogenic weeds and the phytonyms reveal important commonalities with Persian and Kurdish phytonyms, which may indicate their possible horticultural-driven human ecological origin from the Middle East. Some novel or rare food uses of Cirsiumarvense, Nannorrhops ritchiana, Periploca aphylla, Perovskia atriplicifolia, Viscum album,Oxalis corniculata and Withania coagulans were documented. Since the Ormuri language represents a moribund language, still spoken by only a few thousand speakers in NW Pakistan and Afghanistan, it is recommended that the traditional bio-cultural and gastronomical heritage of this minority group be appropriately protected and bolstered in future rural development programs.

ß-Caryophyllene: A Single Volatile Component of n-Hexane Extract of Dracaena cinnabari Resin.

The pure Soqotri resin of Dracaena cinnabari Balf.f. (Dracaenaceae) has no volatile smell due to its low content of volatile constituents. Although it is insoluble in n-Hexane, we found that the resin, when suspended in n-Hexane within five days at 5 °C, led to the extraction of a small portion of a single volatile liquid constituent, which was identified by GC-MS as sesquiterpene ß-caryophyllene. This method of extracting the volatile constituents using hexane under cooling is very suitable for resins of the Dracaena species because these resins usually contain very few volatile terpenes and/or non-terpenes, and they may contain only one volatile terpene per resin as this study result. ß-Caryophyllene was identified and separated for the first time from the Soqotri standard resin of Dracaena cinnabari. Therefore, ß-caryophyllene, as a new chemical property, can support to evaluate the purity of the Soqotri resin. Moreover, a big mass of D. cinnabari resin can yield concentrated ß-caryophyllene as a liquid extract for further pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.

Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in central Abyan governorate, Yemen.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Traditional medicinal plant knowledge in Yemen is still only passed on orally from one generation to another. A few studies, mostly very limited in scope, have been dedicated to this indigenous knowledge so far. This paper presents the results of the first extensive field study in southern mainland Yemen, undertaken in three communities in the central region of Abyan governorate. The study is aimed to preserve the heritage of this indigenous knowledge and to explore and select local medicinal plants that promise high pharmacological efficacy for further pharmacological and phytochemical investigations. METHODS: 356 indigenous informants (273 males, 83 females) were interviewed about the modes of application and uses of the medicinal plants in the region. The ethnobotanical data were recorded by semi-structured face-to-face interviews, substantiated by specimen collections and taxonomic identifications and quantitative data analysis including informant consensus factor (ICF) and number of use-reports. RESULTS: In total, 195 medicinal plant species (170 wild and 25 cultivated) belonging to 138 genera and 55 flowering plant families, were recorded for the treatment of 155 different ailments classified into 16 categories. Apocynaceae (25 species), Fabaceae (18 species), Euphorbiaceae (16 species) and Asteraceae (14 species) were the most frequently used plant families. Paste (86) followed by unprepared plant exudates (77) and decoction (55) were the most common herbal preparation modes. Dermal application (51.8%) was the most common administration route. The highest number of use reports and the maximum number of used medicinal plants were recorded for treatment of skin and gastrointestinal ailments. Forty-five species have never been reported in the ethnomedicinal literature before. Plant species with the most citations were Aloe vacillans Forssk. (malaria), Solanum incanum L. (tooth decay), Caralluma awdeliana (Deflers) A. Berger (diabetes), Tribulus terrestris L. (kidney stones), Aristolochia bracteolata Lam. (snake poison), Hydnora abyssinica A.Br. (stomach ulcer), Indigofera oblongifolia Forssk. (urine retention) and Chrozophora oblongifolia (Delile) A. Juss ex Spreng (haemorrhoids). CONCLUSIONS: Significant traditional knowledge of the uses of local medicinal plant species was recorded for the first time for central Abyan in particular and southern Yemen in general. The study shows that the medicinal plants still play an important role in the primary health care in the study area. The ethnobotanical results provide a basis for further pharmacological, biological, pharmacognostical, and phytochemical investigations.

Ethnobotanical Survey of Dracaena cinnabari and Investigation of the Pharmacognostical Properties, Antifungal and Antioxidant Activity of Its Resin.

Dracaena cinnabari Balf. f. (Dracaenaceae) is an important plant endemic to Soqotra Island, Yemen. Dragon's blood (Dam Alakhwin) is the resin that exudes from the plant stem. The ethnobotanical survey was carried out by semi-structured questionnaires and open interviews to document the ethnobotanical data of the plant. According to the collected ethnobotanical data, the resin of D. cinnabari is widely used in the traditional folk medicine in Soqotra for treatment of dermal, dental, eye and gastrointestinal diseases in humans. The resin samples found on the local Yemeni markets were partly or totally substituted by different adulterants. Organoleptic properties, solubility and extractive value were demonstrated as preliminary methods to identify the authentic pure Soqotri resin as well as the adulterants. In addition, the resin extracts and its solution in methanol were investigated for their in vitro antifungal activities against six human pathogenic fungal strains by the agar diffusion method, for antioxidant activities using the DPPH assay and for cytotoxic activity using the neutral red uptake assay. The crude authentic resin dissolves completely in methanol. In comparison with different resin extracts, the methanolic solution of the whole resin showed the strongest biological activities. It showed strong antifungal activity, especially against Microsporum gypseum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes besides antioxidant activities and toxicity against FL-cells. These findings confirm and explain the traditional uses of the resin for the treatment of skin diseases and mouth fungal infections.

Hierarchical cluster analysis and chemical characterisation of Myrtus communis L. essential oil from Yemen region and its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-colorectal adenocarcinoma properties.

The hydrodistilled essential oil obtained from the dried leaves of Myrtus communis, collected in Yemen, was analysed by GC-MS. Forty-one compounds were identified, representing 96.3% of the total oil. The major constituents of essential oil were oxygenated monoterpenoids (87.1%), linalool (29.1%), 1,8-cineole (18.4%), α-terpineol (10.8%), geraniol (7.3%) and linalyl acetate (7.4%). The essential oil was assessed for its antimicrobial activity using a disc diffusion assay and resulted in moderate to potent antibacterial and antifungal activities targeting mainly Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The oil moderately reduced the diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radical (IC50 = 4.2 µL/mL or 4.1 mg/mL). In vitro cytotoxicity evaluation against HT29 (human colonic adenocarcinoma cells) showed that the essential oil exhibited a moderate antitumor effect with IC50 of 110 ± 4 µg/mL. Hierarchical cluster analysis of M. communis has been carried out based on the chemical compositions of 99 samples reported in the literature, including Yemeni sample.

Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of the Volatile Oil of Ganoderma pfeifferi Bres.

In a first study of the volatile oil of the mushroom basidiomycete Ganoderma pfeifferi Bres., the chemical composition and antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the oil were investigated. The volatile oil was obtained from the fresh fruiting bodies of Ganoderma pfeifferi Bres. By hydrodistillation extraction and analyzed by GC-MS. The antimicrobial activity of the oil was evaluated against five bacteria strains and two types of fungi strains, using disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods. In addition, the antioxidant activity of the oil was determined using DPPH assay. Four volatile compounds representing 90.5% of the total oil were identified. The majority of the essential oil was dominated by 1-octen-3-ol (amyl vinyl carbinol) 1 (73.6%) followed by 1-octen-3-ol acetate 2 (12.4%), phenylacetaldehyde 3 (3.0%) and 6-camphenol 4 (1.5%). The results showed that the Gram-positive bacteria species are more sensitive to the essential oil than Gram-negative bacteria. The oil showed strong antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus as well as Candida albicans. Moreover, the oil exhibited strong radical scavenging activity in the DPPH assay. This first report on the chemical composition and biological properties of G. pfeifferi volatile oil makes its pharmaceutical uses rational and provides a basis in the biological and phytochemical investigations of the volatile oils of Ganodermataceae species.

Evaluation of Antileishmanial Activity of Albaha Medicinal Plants against Leishmania amazonensis.

Sixteen methanolic extracts obtained from thirteen plant species, selected either from ethnobotanical or chemotaxonomical data, were screened for their antileishmanial activity against Leishmania amazonensis. The cytotoxic activity against normal peritoneal macrophages from normal BALB/c mice was also determined. Eight extracts had IC50 values ranging from <12.5 to 37.8 µg/mL against promastigotes. Achillea biebersteinii flower, Euphorbia helioscopia, and Solanum incanum leaf extracts showed antileishmanial activities with IC50 between <12.5-26.9 µg/mL and acceptable selectivity indices of 8-5. The other leishmanicidal plant extracts, with IC50 ranging from 18.0 to 29.5 µg/mL, exhibited low selectivity indices.

Chemical composition, antimicrobial, antiradical and anticholinesterase activity of the essential oil of Pulicaria stephanocarpa from Soqotra.

The chemical composition of the hydrodistilled leaf essential oil from Pulicaria stephanocarpa Balf. Fil was determined by GC-MS analysis, and its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticholinesterase (AChE) activities were evaluated. Eighty-three compounds were identified representing 97.2% of the total oil. (E)-Caryophyllene 13.4%, (E)-nerolidol 8.5%, caryophyllene oxide 8.5%, alpha-cadinol 8.2% spathulenol 6.8% and tau-cadinol 4.7%, were the main components. Antimicrobial activity of the oil, evaluated using the disc diffusion and broth dilution methods, demonstrated the highest susceptibility on Gram-positive bacteria and Candida albicans. The free radical scavenging ability of the oil was assessed by the DPPH assay to show antiradical activity with IC50 of 330 microg/mL. Moreover, the oil revealed an AChE inhibitory activity of 47% at a concentration of 200 microg/mL using Ellman's method.

Antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of selected medicinal plants from Yemen.

Ninety crude extracts, including dichloromethane, methanol and aqueous extracts from 30 medicinal plants used in the Yemeni ethnomedicine to treat common infections, were screened in vitro for antimicrobial activities against three Gram-positive bacteria and two Gram-negative bacteria, Candida maltosa and five opportunistic human fungal pathogens (two yeasts, three hyphomycetes). Most of the plants showed antibacterial activities. Extracts from Tamarindus indica flowers and Ficus vasta fruits have been the most active. Of the 30 plants tested, 13 showed antifungal activity (40%) against one ore more human pathogenic fungi. The strongest inhibition was exhibited by Azima tetracantha (fruits), Sansevieria ehrenbergii (fruits) and Solanum incanum (fruits). Ten methanol extracts, especially those of Acacia asak barks and Solanum nigrum fruits, showed effective free radical scavenging activities in the DPPH assay. Remarkable cytotoxic activity against FL-cells was shown only for five plants, among them Plicosepalus curviflorus (stems).