Dina Mendonca
Abstract
The use of medicinal plants and folk medicine are wide spread in the world. In Africa the majority of local populations uses medicinal plants and goes to traditional healers in his search for medical care. Little has been done to validate traditional uses of plants and to evaluate the huge potential in new biological active compounds from the African flora. As part of our ongoing study of the plants of Angola, we report the isolation of new clerodanes, new iridoids and new 8,15-epoxylabdanes characterized by means of IR, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, 2D-NMR , HREIMS and X-ray analysis, with bactericide and cytotoxic. Medicinal plants, illegally called medicinal herbs, have been known and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Functions for chemical synthesis of plants such as defense against insects, fungi, diseases and herbivorous mammals. Many phytochemicals with potential or established biological activity have been identified. However, since a single plant contains a wide variety of phytochemicals, the effects of using a whole plant as a medicine are unclear. In addition, the phytochemical content and pharmacological actions, if any, of many plants with medicinal potential are not evaluated by rigorous scientific research. Herbal medicines are widely used in non-industrialized societies, mainly because they are readily available and cheaper than modern medicines. In many countries, there is little regulation of traditional medicine, but the World Health Organization coordinates a network to promote safe and rational use. Both are common threats to Medicinal plants, such as climate change and the destruction Medicinal plants require intensive management. Different species each require their own growing conditions. The World Health Organization recommends use of plant pest and disease problems to minimize rotation. Besides traditional or almost peat cultivation, conservation farming practices include maintaining organic matter in soil and to conserve water, for example with no-till cropping systems. In many medicinal and aromatic plants, the plant characters vary depending on the type of plant Herbal remedies are often hard and fibrous, requiring some form of preparation to be easy to administer. According to the Institute of Traditional Medicine, common methods include the preparation of herbal medicines with decoction, powder and extraction of alcohol, giving each case a mixture of substances. The decoction is then used in boiling the plant material to produce a liquid which can be taken or applied locally. [78] The powder material in drying the plant material and then grinding it to a powder which can be compressed into tablets. Alcohol extraction soaking the plant material in cold wine or distilled alcohol to form a tincture. Medicinal plants are widely used around the world. In most developing countries, especially in rural areas, local traditional medicine, including herbal medicine, is the only source of health care for people, while in the developed world, alternative medicine, including the use of food supplements, is being marketed aggressively. The claims of traditional medicine. drug. As of 2015, most herbal products have not been tested for safety and efficacy, and the products that are marketed in developed and supplied economic economies in an uneven underdeveloped world, sometimes contain contaminants, are dangerous. Traditional Chinese medicine uses a wide variety of plants, among other materials and techniques. Herbal drugs can cause unwanted effects and even death, through side effects of their active substances, such as falsification or contamination, overdose or inappropriate prescription. Many of these effects are known, while others remain scientifically explored. There is no reason to assume that because a product comes from nature, it must be safe: the existence of powerful natural poisons like atropine and nicotine proves that this is not true. In addition, the high standards applied to conventional medicines do not always apply to herbal medicines, and the dose may vary from treatments to environments.