Amazonian useful plants described in the book "Le Pays des Amazones" (1885) of the Brazilian propagandist Baron de Santa-Anna Nery: a historical and ethnobotanical perspective.

BACKGROUND: Frederico José de Santa-Anna Nery (1848-1901) was a Brazilian Baron who referred to himself as a "volunteer propagandist" for Brazil in Europe, serving as an immigration agent to publicize the living conditions in the Amazon region, advocating for its development and modernization at the end of the nineteenth century. Santa-Anna Nery's most famous book is "Le Pays des Amazones" (The Lands of the Amazons), first published in 1885, which the author dedicated a chapter to introduce and report on the Amazonian useful plant species and its relationship with humans. The aim of this work is to understand the historical context and ethnobotanical value of the plant species in the Brazilian Amazon at the end of the nineteenth century through an analysis of the book "Le Pays des Amazones" (1885) by Baron de Santa-Anna Nery, as well as to bring to light the historical importance of this very influential propagandist, who has been forgotten nowadays. METHODS: The original book "Le Pays des Amazones" (1885), as well as the original 3rd edition and its translated version into Portuguese, was carefully analyzed and all information about plants was systematized, with botanical names being updated. Finally, using the scientific name of medicinal plants alone or in combination with their traditional use, a search was carried out in databases in order to indicate current pharmacological studies that provide evidence about the described traditional uses. RESULTS: A total of 156 plant species were identified in the book, although 132 species had their scientific names updated. These species belong to 45 different families, with Fabaceae and Arecaceae the most represented, and 109 plants are Brazilian native. Considering only the 36 medicinal plants, the main medicinal indications reported were astringent, purgative/laxative, stimulant and tonic, vermifuge, febrifuge, sudorific, emetic, diuretic and antidysenteric. Regarding other useful plants (non-medicinal), 97 species were cited for food, constructions and buildings, spices and condiments, ornaments and objects, carpentry, textile fibers, gums, oils, balms and essences, pigments and tanning, hunting and fishing. CONCLUSIONS: When the book "Le Pays des Amazones" is analyzed from a timeless perspective, with a particular focus on historical ethnobotany, it is possible to observe the economic, social, and political importance of many useful plants for the Amazon at the end of the nineteenth century and how the relationship between local people, indigenous communities, and immigrants was established with plant biodiversity.

In vitro and in vivo antimalarial potential of oleoresin obtained from Copaifera reticulata Ducke (Fabaceae) in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.

BACKGROUND: In view of the wide variety of the flora of the Amazon region, many plants have been studied in the search for new antimalarial agents. Copaifera reticulata is a tree distributed throughout the Amazon region which contains an oleoresin rich in sesquiterpenes and diterpenes with ß-caryophyllene as the major compound. The oleoresin has demonstrated antiparasitic activity against Leishmania amazonensis. Because of this previously reported activity, this oleoresin would be expected to also have antimalarial activity. PURPOSE: In this study we evaluated the in vitro and in vivo antimalarial potential of C. reticulata oleoresin. METHODS: In vitro assays were done using P. falciparum W2 and 3D7 strains and the human fibroblast cell line 26VA Wi-4. For in vivo analysis, BALB/c mice were infected with approximately 106 erythrocytes parasitized by P. berghei and their parasitemia levels were observed over 7 days of treatment with C. reticulata; hematological and biochemical parameters were analyzed at the end of experiment. RESULTS: The oleoresin of C. reticulata containing the sesquiterpenes ß-caryophyllene (41.7%) and ß-bisabolene (18.6%) was active against the P. falciparum W2 and 3D7 strains (IC50 = 1.66 and 2.54 µg/ml, respectively) and showed low cytotoxicity against the 26VA Wi-4 cell line (IC50 > 100 µg/ml). The C. reticulata oleoresin reduced the parasitemia levels of infected animals and doses of 200 and 100 mg/kg/day reached a rate of parasitemia elimination resembling that obtained with artemisinin 100 mg/kg/day. In addition, treatment with oleoresin improved the hypoglycemic, hematologic, hepatic and renal parameters of the infected animals. CONCLUSION: The oleoresin of C. reticulata has antimalarial properties and future investigations are necessary to elucidate its mechanism of action.