FLORA                       

       

MEDICIN PLANTS



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Our Project, in order to provide incentive as well as funding, needs a monetary impulse. Medicine in the rainforest, from the rainforest is a major wellspring from which we can draw resources and interest from. Viral diseases, including emerging and chronic viruses, are an increasing worldwide health concern. As a consequence, the discovery of new antiviral agents from plants has assumed more urgency than in the past. A number of native Amazonian medicines of plant origin are known to have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity, although only a few have been studied for their antiviral properties and immunomodulating effects.


Co-evolution between plants and their natural enemies  including insects, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, animals, humans, and viruses  is considerably more far reaching than current theories of reciprocal interactions suggest. Counter-resistance, genetic adaptability, polymorphic immune capacity, and pleomorphism among microbial agents allow for immense diversity of species and endless biochemical possibilities. It is that richness we will capitalize upon, in order to promote a use and reason for our research in the forest. In order to adapt to environmental insults, plants produce a vast number of natural products that have antimicrobial and immunomodulating potential. These include isoflavonoids, indoles, phytosterols, polysaccharides, sesquiterpenes, alkaloids, glucans, tannins, a variety of vitamins and trace minerals that function as antioxidants and co-enzymes, and many other phytochemical substances. In addition, there are a number of parallels between plant immunological activity and the immune systems of mammals, including adaptive mechanisms for viral resistance. The Amazonian region is among the earth's richest zones of biodiversity. It includes plants, animals, insects, as well as microbial organisms, and is one of nature's perfect evolutionary laboratories for plant biology.
   
There are two ways natural products are selected for investigation. The classical method is laboratory based and relies on previous taxonomic findings, phytochemical factors, immunopharmacological studies, and random screening methods. The other, which is gaining popularity among investigators, is searching traditional texts and herbal medicine usage, including oral interviews with traditional indigenous healers  the ethnobotanical route. In one study, researchers found that an ethnobotanically driven approach led to a higher percentage of active compounds isolated than the standard high volume random screening method, reporting a 125-630 times more effective yield depending on the type of virus.
 
Largely due to the AIDS epidemic, an imperative for developing effective antiviral has generated considerable activity in anti- viral screening during the last two decades. However, the search for antiviral compounds has not been easy. Relatively few antiviral drugs are available, and those approved for use often have high side-effect profiles and exhibit the potential to cause rapid resistance among targeted viral strains. An antiviral must meet three criteria: (1) it must inhibit the virus completely without affecting the host cells, (2) it must have a broad range of activity, and (3) it must not be immunosuppressive

A number of plant substances have been found to meet the basic criteria, and screenings have been performed on several thousand plant extracts and other natural products. Three have been well studied: Croton lechleri, Phyllanthus niruri, and Uncaria tomentosa. Among these, Croton and Phyllanthus have received more attention than Uncaria for their antiviral properties. Extensive research has been conducted on Curcuma, primarily for its anti-inflammatory effects and on inhibition of HIV, although primarily with species found in India
and China. Mangifera has been studied for its anti-inflammatory and antiviral activity against herpes simples II virus, although primarily with Cuban, Chinese, or Indian species. Although considered to have antiviral activity and extensively used for ceremonial purposes among Amazonian healers, few studies have been performed on the antiviral properties of the tobacco plant, Nicotiana tabacum.
 
Immunomodulating activity refers to biological or pharmacological effects of compounds on humoral or cellular aspects of the immune response. The human immune response is a highly complex and extraordinarily sophisticated system involving both innate and adaptive mechanisms Studies of how plant substances affect immune response employ mechanistic bioassay methodologies. Basic research on natural substances with immunomodulating properties is performed by assays primarily carried out on the stimulation of nonspecific immunity of the innate response, such as the efficiency of granulocytes, macrophages, complement, and natural killer cells, and their effects on phagocytosis, lymphocyte proliferation, and T-lymphocyte migration  macrophage activation by beta-1,3-D-glucan.  More recent research on immunomodulating substances includes studies on cytokine production by macrophages such as interleukin-1 (IL-1),` interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a).
   
Plants from tropical rainforests represent a rich source of potential immunomodulating substances and leads from ethno botanical practices have been the primary source of plant selection in recent years
 

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1. Picture from: http://www.tropilab.com/images/amazone/


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