Otero ST, Ojeda QLJ, Graf BL, Armas I, Raskin I

Language: Spanish
References: 13
Page: 1-15
PDF size: 406.66 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: from the very origins of humankind, the close relationship between humans and plants led to the emergence and development of traditional herbal medicine. In Cuba, Enrique Otero, the botanical healer commonly known as "Gallego Otero", has become renowned domestically and internationally for his vast knowledge and experience in herbal medicine. For this reason, there is a pressing need for the technical evaluation of the properties of the species deployed most often as part of his treatments.
Objective: to investigate the antioxidant and antifungal potential of plant species recommended for medicinal treatment by Gallego Otero.
Methods: established procedures were applied for the preparation of plant extracts and for the antioxidant and antifungal assays. The results of each test were qualitatively scored from 0 to 3, with “0” indicating the absence of visible activity compared to the negative control, and “3” denoting the highest level of activity. Finally, the results were compared for all different plant parts tested.
Results: 51% of the species tested displayed antifungal activity, while 100% resulted in antioxidant activity. At the leaf and stem level, 88% and 98% respectively showed antioxidant activity, whereas 47% and 37% indicated antifungal activity.
Conclusions: “Screens-to-Nature” technology, used for the primary detection of biochemical activities of interest in traditional herbal medicine plants, identified antioxidant and antifungal activity in leaves and stems of 51 plant species out of all the plants selected for testing at the “Gallego Otero” Medicinal Plant Research and Development Center.

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