Download Plants With Medicinal Qualities

Plants With Medicinal
Qualities
Andrew Ferguson
Kumar Patel
Tye Throneberry
Ginkgo biloba
• Ginkgo biloba is one of the most
commonly used herbal medicines in the
world.
• It has been used for thousands of years in
China.
• The Ginkgo was thought to be extinct in
the wild, but it is now known to grow wild
in two areas in China.
Ginkgo biloba
• Ginkgos are deciduous trees that, when
full grown, range from 60-120 feet tall.
• The species originated in China 180
million years ago, and there are over 100
Ginkgo trees in China that are reportedly
over 1000 years old.
• They are very hardy trees. 8 Ginkgos
survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
and are still alive today.
Morphology
• The Ginkgo has bi-lobed leaves with veins
that extend out from the center.
• Each tree is either male or female.
• The branches grow in length by the growth
of shoots from the bases of the leaves.
• Male plants produce pollen cones, and
female plants have two ovules at the end
of stalks that form seeds upon pollination.
Taxonomy
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Common Name: Maidenhair Tree
Division: Ginkgophyta
Class: Ginkgoopsida
Order: Ginkgoales
Family: Ginkgoaceae
Genus: Ginkgo
Species: Ginkgo biloba
Taxonomy
• Ginkgo means “silver apricot”
• biloba means “bi-lobed” - referring to the
two lobed leaves of the plant.
• G. biloba is a living fossil, and it is the only
plant from its division, class, order, family,
or genus that is still alive. It has no
botanical relationships.
Distribution and Habitat
• Ginkgo trees can be found in many
temperate and subtropical areas including
North, Central, and South America, Africa,
China, and Australia.
• The Ginkgo grows best in moist, deep,
sandy soils near rivers, but it can grow in
almost any set of conditions.
History of Use
• Ginkgo seeds and leaves have been used
in traditional Chinese medicine to treat
asthma, coughs, bladder irritability, and
uterine fluxes.
• The leaves were eaten as early as 200AD
in China to increase blood flow to the
lungs and treat diarrhea.
Uses
• Ginkgo biloba has a very unique chemical
composition that accounts for the multiple
effects it produces.
• Its extract, EGB 761, contains many
functional groups which also help to
account for the multiple effects it
produces.
EGb 761
Uses
• EGb 761 produces four main effects
1. Vasodilation and protection of the
circulatory system.
2. Protection of the nervous system.
3. Protection against retinal diseases.
4. Protection against otorhinolaryngeal
diseases.
Uses
• Something unique about EGb 761 is that it
does not act solely as an activator or an
inhibitor. Instead, it may act as either one,
promoting either the activation or inhibition
of processes that maintain regular
behavior of the body.
Uses
• In the US, Ginkgo is an herbal medication,
but in Europe – particularly in Germany
and France – Ginkgo is prescribed by
doctors to treat many conditions and
diseases associated with aging.
• Dimentia, Alzheimer’s, macular
degeneration, glaucoma, mood disorders,
and sexual dysfunction.
Uses
• Ginko also protects against free radicals,
which improves the survival of many
primary auditory and optical nerves. Its
vasodilating properties are the method by
which it cures sexual dysfunction. It has
beneficial effects on memory and attention
span due to its stimulation of the
hippocampus.
Controversy
• While Ginkgo seems to cause few problems to those
who take it, many are still skeptical of its effectiveness.
• Ginkgo may be beneficial, but so are many of its
alternatives.
• For people who only feel right about treating themselves
with herbal medications, ginkgo may be a good
alternative to prescribed medicines.
• Many people take ginkgo for its memory enhancing
properties.
• Even if the perceived results are just a product of the
placebo effect, they are still results.
Ephedra: Taxonomy
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Division: Gnetophyta
Class: Gnetopsida
Order: Ephedrales
Family: Ephedraceae
Genus: Ephedra
Species: Ephedra sinica
Ephedra sinica
• Ephedra sinica is an ephedrine containing
member of the Ephedra genus.
• Its common names are “Ma Huang” and
“Ephedra”
• Ephedra was the active ingredient in the
recently banned Fen Phen drug.
Ephedra: Botanical Relationships
• Many, but not all, of the species in the
Ephedra genus contain alkaloids.
• E. sinica traditionally has the highest
alkaloid content: 1-3% of the plant is
composed of alkaloids, and 40-90% of
these alkaloids are ephedrine.
• Ephedrine is an alkaloid that is the active
ingredient that produces the desired
effects of ingesting the plant.
Ephedra sinica
• Ephedra sinica is a small evergreen bush
that occurs in dry climates over a wide
area, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere.
• The plant originated in Pakistan and
Northern China about 30 million years
ago, but it can now be found across
Southern Europe, North Africa, Southwest
and Central Asia, South America, and in
the Southwestern areas of the US.
Harvesting Ephedrine
• The usefual part of E. sinica is primarily
the dried, young branch.
• Sometimes, the root or whole plant is
used. Ephedrine found in dietary
supplements is usually either a formation
of powdered stems and aerial portion or a
dried extract. Dried extracts contain more
ephedrine alkaloids by weight, due to the
extraction process.
Historical Use
• Ephedra has been used in traditional
Chinese medicine for over 5000 years.
• Historically, it was used to treat colds, the
flu, fever, chills, headaches, edema, joint
and bone pain, and it was used as a
diuretic.
Uses of Ephedra
• When combined with caffeine, ephedrine
has been shown to promote
thermogenesis, fat loss, and muscle gain
in a collection of controlled trials.
• Ephedrine acts as a general stimulant on
the nervous system, making the body feel
more energized.
Controversy
• Taking too much ephedrine can produce toxic effects
that include peripheral vasconstriction and cardiac
palpitations which lead to increased blood pressure and
increased heart rate.
• More adverse effects of ephedrine may target the central
nervous system – these effects include nervousness,
anxiety, tremors, weakness, irritability, and insomnia.
• All of these adverse effects increase with higher doses,
and overdose can lead to nausea, vomiting, fever,
palpitations, tachycardia, hypertension, paranoid
psychosis, respiratory depression, convulsions, and
even coma.
Controversy
• On February 6, 2004, the FDA banned the sale
of dietary supplements containing ephedrine
alkaloids on the grounds that they “pose an
unreasonable risk to those who use [them].”
• The FDA had reports of over 16,000 adverse
events associated with the use of ephedrine
alkaloid containing dietary supplements. These
supplements caused heart palpitations,
insomnia, and tremors, among other things.
Controversy
• Drugs that contain ephedrine alkaloids had
been previously monitored and regulated
by the FDA, and it was unreasonable to
not regulate the dietary supplements. On
August 21, 2006, a circuit court upheld the
FDA’s decision to ban ephedra as a
dietary supplement.
Summary
• While ephedrine has been shown to
promote weight loss and give the user an
increased feeling of energy, the risks seem
to outweigh the rewards.
• Exercise and proper diet are safer, more
effective ways to lose weight and increase
metabolic rate and energy levels.
Hawthorn
• Hawthorn is a plant that was used in
traditional Chinese medicine as a digestive
aid.
• Recently, it has been used to treat people
with high blood pressure and mild heart
failure in Europe.
Hawthorn: Taxonomy
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Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Maloideae
Genus:Crataegus
Species: Crataegus laevigata
Hawthorn: Taxonomy and
Morphology
• The Rosaceae family is a large family of plants,
with about 3,000-4,000 species in 100-120
genuses. Traditionally it has been divided into
four subfamilies: Rosoideae, Spiraeoideae,
Maloideae, and Amygdaloideae.
• These subfamilies are primarily diagnosed by
the structure of the fruits, although this approach
is not followed universally.
• Crataegus laevigata is native to Europe around
30 million years ago.
Hawthorn: Morphology
• Hawthorn comes from shrubs that grow from 5-15 m tall,
characterized by their small pome fruit and thorny
branches. The bark is smooth and gray in younger
shrubs. In older trees, the bark has narrow ridges.
• The fruits are sometimes known as "haws", from which
the first part of the name “Hawthorn” was derived.
• The rest of the name comes from the thorns that grow
from the branches, and are 1-3 cm long. The leaves
grow spirally on long shoots and in clusters on the
branches or twigs.
• The leaves themselves have lobed or serrate margins
and are somewhat variable shape.
Hawthorn Habitat
• Hawthorn comes from an extremely hardy tree.
• There are over 1000 species that are
remarkably similar, and even professional
foresters do not try to identify each tree by its
species. Instead, they are grouped together.
• The shrubs tend to hybridize and adapt to the
environment they are planted in, but they prefer
more moist soils in fertile areas.
• The shrubs can grow in partial sunlight, but they
grow better in full sunlight.
Uses
• In traditional Chinese medicine, hawthorn
was used primarily as a digestive aid, but
recently it has been used to treat other
ailments.
• In Europe, Hawthorn has been particularly
widely used.
• Topically, hawthorn leaf has been used to
treat boils, sores, and ulcers.
Uses
• Orally, hawthorn leaf preparations are
used to prevent and treat coronary
circulation problems.
• They can also be used to increase cardiac
output reduced by hypertension or
pulmonary disease, and to treat chronic
arrhythmias, hypotension, and other heart
conditions.
Hawthorn Controversy
• Hawthorn, as with Ginkgo, does not have
many adverse effects.
• Sources did say to avoid hawthorn if you
are pregnant or breast feeding.
• The only adverse effect to hawthorn is that
it may have no effect at all. As with many
herbal treatments, studies produced a
variety of conclusions concerning the
effectiveness of hawthorn.
Herbal Treatment Pros
• Herbal medications may be beneficial to
us either directly or indirectly via the
placebo effect.
• Most herbal medications have few adverse
effects, and overdose is not usually a life
threatening concern.
• Herbal medications are more affordable
than most prescription medications
Herbal Treatment Cons
• Herbal treatment may be a waste of money,
because often it fails to produce any effect at all.
• Herbal treatments are usually not as effective as
prescribed treatments.
• Herbal treatments can’t cure some diseases and
ailments that prescribed treatments can.
• Even the herbal treatment books we consulted
said to visit a physician if symptoms persisted for
a certain period of time, indicating that while
herbal treatments can help, there is no herbal
substitute for many treatments.