Encyclopedia
Please note this is a comparison between Version 2 by Rita Xu and Version 1 by Chabaco Armijos.
The use of plants as therapeutic agents is part of the traditional medicine that is practiced by many indigenous communities in Ecuador.
- medicinal plants
- Ecuador
- traditional uses
1. Introduction
The geographic location of Ecuador, together with its geological features, makes the country’s biodiversity one of the richest in the world. Ecuador is, indeed, considered among the 17 megadiverse countries, accounting for about 10% of the entire world plant species, and every year new plants are discovered and added to the long list of the species already known. This fact makes Ecuador an invaluable source of potentially new natural products of biological and pharmaceutical interest, such as carnosol, tiliroside [1], and dehydroleucodine (DL) [2]. Moreover, most plants are considered to be medicinal, where they are a fundamental part of the health systems of several Ecuadorian ethnic groups [3]. The knowledge of traditional healer practitioners has been maintained over hundreds or even thousands of years [4]. Therefore, herbal remedies have gained acceptance thanks to the apparent efficacy and safety of plants over the centuries [5]. As a result, several doctors, especially in government intercultural health districts, practice integrated forms of modern and traditional medicine nowadays.
Scientific evidence of the therapeutic efficacy and absence of toxicity in Ecuadorian medicinal plants and their products has started to be collected only in the last few decades by the researchers of several groups in different Ecuadorian Universities. This scientific activity has increased dramatically in recent years, thanks to the support of the Ecuadorian people and government authorities, who consider the sustainable use of biodiversity resources a possible source of economic wealth.
Many of the scientific articles mentioned in this review refer to studies that were carried out on plants and traditional preparations from southern Ecuador, especially from the province of Loja (
Figure 1), which has a long tradition in exporting medicinal plants of great importance for human health, such as quina (
Cinchona spp.) and condurango (
Marsdenia condurango Rchb.f.).
Figure 1. Provinces of Ecuador.
2. Phytochemical and Biological Activity Data
For each species, the vernacular name and some botanical information, when available, are indicated, together with the traditional use and the phytochemical and the biological activity data when available. The structures of some characteristic compounds are reported in
Figure 2
,
Figure 3
,
Figure 4
,
Figure 5
,
Figure 6
,
Figure 7
,
Figure 8
,
Figure 9
,
Figure 10
,
Figure 11
,
Figure 12
and
Figure 13
.
Figure 2.
Structures of compounds
1
from
Pseudodranassa
spp.,
2
and
3
from
Baccharis obtusifolia
,
4
and
5
from
Gynoxis verrucosa
,
6
from
Hedyosmum racemosum
, and
7
from
Clusia latipes
.
Figure 3. Structures of compounds 8–12 from Bejaria resinosa and 13–16 from Croton ferrugineus.
Figure 4. Structures of compounds 17–23 from Croton thurifer.
Figure 5. Structures of compounds 24–27 from Otholobium mexicanum.
Figure 6.
Structures of compounds
28
and
29
from
Lepechinia heteromorpha
;
30
–
33
from
L. mutica
;
28
–
30
and
34
from
L. paniculata
; and
33
,
35
, and
36
from
L. radula
.
Figure 7. Structures of compounds 37–39 from Grias neubertii and 40–45 from Gaiadendron punctatum.
Figure 8.
Structures of compounds
46
–
50
from
Huperzia compacta
,
H. columnaris
, and
H. tetragona
;
51
and
52
from
H. brevifolia
and
H. espinosana
; and
53
–
56
from
H. crassa
.
Figure 9.
Structures of compounds
57
–
60
from
Piper barbatum
;
61
and
62
from
P. coruscans
;
62
and
63
from
P. ecuadorense
;
64
–
66
from
Piper lanceifolium
; and
61
,
62
,
67
and
68
from
P. pubinervulum
.
Figure 10. Structures of compounds 69–73 from Piper subscutatum.
Figure 11. Structures of compounds 74–80 from Muehlenbeckia tamnifolia.
Figure 12. Structures of compounds 81–84 from Oreocallis grandiflora and 85–87 from Roupala montana.
Figure 13.
Structures of compounds
88
–
110
from
Arcytophyllum thymifolium
and
111
from
Siparuna echinata
.
References
- Ramírez, J.; Suarez, A.I.; Bec, N.; Armijos, C.; Gilardoni, G.; Larroque, C.; Vidari, G. Carnosol from Lepechinia mutica and tiliroside from Vallea stipularis: Two promising inhibitors of BuChE. Rev. Bras. Farm. 2018, 28, 559–563.
- Ordóñez, P.E.; Quave, C.L.; Reynolds, W.F.; Varughese, K.I.; Berry, B.; Breen, P.J.; Malagón, O.; Vidari, G.; Smeltzer, M.S.; Compadre, C.M. Corrigendum to Sesquiterpene lactones from Gynoxys verrucosa and their anti-MRSA activity. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2016, 186, 392.
- Malagón, O.; Ramírez, J.; Andrade, J.M.; Morocho, V.; Armijos, C.; Gilardoni, G. Phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology of the ecuadorian flora. A review. Nat. Prod. Commun. 2016, 11, 297–314.
- Armijos, C.; Gilardoni, G.; Amay, L.; Lozano, A.; Bracco, F.; Ramírez, J.; Bec, N.; Larroque, C.; Finzi, P.V.; Vidari, G. Phytochemical and ethnomedicinal study of Huperzia species used in the traditional medicine of Saraguros in Southern Ecuador; AChE and MAO inhibitory activity. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2016, 193, 546–554.
- WHO. Traditional medicine. In Proceedings of the Fifty-Sixth World Health Assembly, Geneva, Switzerland, 31 March 2003.
More
