Ten Medicinal Plants from Burma A literature study By Alireza Sesoltani INSTITUE OF PHARMACY THE FACULTY OF MATHEMATICS AND NATURAL SCIENCES THE UNIVERSITY OF OSLO FEBRUARY, 2011 Ten Medicinal Plants from Burma A literature study Thesis in pharmacognosy By Alireza Sesoltani Instructor Professor Berit Smestad Paulsen Department of Pharmaceutical chemistry Institue of Pharmacy The University of Oslo February 2011 Abstract In this Master thesis, there is an emphasis on scientific studies carried out to find information about the pharmacological effects and phytochemical constituents in 10 selected medicinal plants from Burma. These plants are taken from Burma collection compiled by Arnold Nordal during the period 1957-1961. Information was obtained about ethnomedicinal use, phytochemistry and biological activities of the 10 chosen plants. After a thorough search in different databases, there were great differences in scientific studies for the 10 plants. Documentation for the traditional use varied for the different plants. In two of the plants (Xylia dolabriformis Benth. and Pithecellobium lobatum Benth.) there were not found documentation that can confirm the traditional uses. In three of the plants (Antiaris toxicaria Lesch., Entada phaseoloides Merr. and Acacia pennata Willd.) there was a fair number of documentation that would confirm some of the traditional uses. In the rest of the plants (Ficus religiosa L., Mimosa pudica L., Pithecellobium dulce Benth., Albizia lebbeck Benth. and Tinospora cordifolia Miers.) there was found a reasonable number of documentations and scientific studies which would confirm most of the traditional uses of the plants. For Albizia lebbeck Benth., it is antiasthmatic, antianaphylactic, antiinflammatory, nootropic, anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, antispermatogenic, antidiarrheal, antibacterial, anthelminthic and antiulcer activities that are documented in scientific studies. For Ficus religiosa L. antitumor, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihelmintic, antimicrobial, antiamnesic, anticonvulsant, antiinflammatory and analgesic effect were documented. For Mimosa pudica L. it is antifertility, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, antibacterial, antivenom, antioxidant, antinociceptive and wound healing activity that is documented in scientific studies. Tinospora cordifolia Miers. has shown antioxidant, pro apoptotic activity, immunostimulatory, hypolipidaemic, anticancer, anti allergic, radio sensitizing, re-establishment of antioxidant defence and antiosteoporotic positive results. For Pithecellobium Dulce Benth. there was a fair number of documentations about antiinflammatory, antivenom, protease inhibition, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective and abortion inducing activity. In this thesis we have many interesting traditional indications that still have not been explained. Thus, it should be carried out several scientific studies so we may in the future be able to benefit by the properties of these medicine plants. Preface First I would like to greatly thank Professor Berit Smestad Paulsen for her availability, rapid feedback, correction of spelling errors, advice on literature search, and all kinds of scientific contribution to complete this work. I would also like to thank Librarian of Pharmaceutical Institute, Bente Katrine Rasch, for ordering several scientific articles to complete this work. I am grateful to my wife who has made it possible to carry out this task, and greatly thankful to my dear mother and sister who have always supported me and respected my decision to immigrate to Norway. At the end I would like to dedicate this thesis to my late father, Colonel Mohammadreza Sesoltani, who spent whole of his life to build up the future of his children. Thank you all. Alireza Sesoltani Oslo 27 February 2011 Contents 1 FICUS RELIGIOSA L..............................................................................................12 2 MIMOSA PUDICA L................................................................................................33 3 TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA MIERS.......................................................................51 4 ANTIARIS TOXICARIA LESCH..............................................................................74 5 ENTADA PHASEOLOIDES MERR.........................................................................91 6 ACACIA PENNATA WILLD....................................................................................107 7 PITHECELLOBIUM DULCE BENTH...................................................................124 8 PITHECELLOBIUM LOBATUM BENTH..............................................................140 9 ALBIZIA LEBBECK BENTH..................................................................................147 10 XYLIA DOLABRIFORMIS BENTH........................................................................168 11 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................177 Abridgement α= Alfa β= beta γ= gamma M= molar concentration μM= micro molar concentration nM= nano molar concentration i.p= intraperitoneally i.v= intravenous ED50= effective dose which gives required effect in the 50 % of population under test. IC50= Concentration of a substance required to kill 50 % of test organisms. LD50= lethal dose which causes death in 50% test population. μg= microgram mg= milligram g= gram Kg= kilogram l = litre ml= millilitre min= minute i.p. = intraperitoneal i.v. = intravenous i.m. = intramuscular p.o. = peroral m = meter cm = centimetre mm= millimetre ppm = parts per million in vivo = in the living organism. Often used in conjunction with medical studies conducted on animals or humans. Such studies are considerably more complex than in vitro studies, but provide the best scientific evidence for the effect of the tested substances. in vitro = in test tubes. Often refer to medical research laboratory where it is not used living organisms, but where the trial takes place in cells in an environment outside the body. etc. =et cetera w/v = weight per volume v/v = volume per volume Introduction In this thesis it will be focused on the scientific studies carried out on 10 selected medicinal plants from the Burma collection compiled by Arnold Nordal in the period of 1957-1961. Selected medicinal plants of burma 1 Ficus religiosa L. 2 Mimosa pudica L. 3 Tinospora cordifolia MIERS. 4 Antiaris toxicaria LESCH. 5 Entada phaseoloides MERR. 6 Acacia pennata WILLD. 7 Pithecellobium dulce BENTH. 8 Pithecellobium lobatum BENTH. 9 Albizia lebbeck BENTH. 10 Xylia dolabriformis BENTH. The purposes of this thesis • Finding the traditional use of plants in Burma and other countries. • Find scientific support to the traditional use of plants. • Find interesting studies on the biological, pharmacological and toxicological activities of plants. • Finding the chemical structures of the ingredients with documented biological activity. • Discuss and decide on the biological and toxicological findings of the plants and see if the traditional uses of the plants have scientific support based on available data. Structure of thesis Latin name Introduction Synonym names Finding in literature Family description Morphologic description Traditional medicinal use Phytochemistry and structures Bioactivity Clinical studies and therapeutic activities Side effects and toxicity Conclusion References Pictures references Evaluation of the efficacy and safety The practice of medical plant is widespread, so it is important to identify and evaluate the most common medicinal plants used in relation to efficacy and safety. It can be easy to think that a herbal remedy which used traditionally for many years, is proof enough that this is a safe treatment, but it is not. Botanical Nomenclature Being able to name things are said to be the first step toward knowledge and in research is important for communication with clear definitions of things. The Botanical Code ICBN is the internationally recognized rules and recommendations on plant nomenclature. The code will ensure that each taxonomic group (taxon) only has a common proper name. According to ICBN, plant species shall have binomial names whose family name comes first, followed by species epithet (McNeill, 2006) [3]. The Basionym is the first valid published name of a taxon (Flat Rock, 2005) [4]. The correct name for research’s seeking is the oldest published name. A correct name must also cite any probable previous authors as part of the correct plant name to be valid (McNeill, 2006). Author citing is an important part of the name to show the connection to the source of the name. What the synonym name is may be difficult to understand for a non-botanist. Nomenclature in botany is constantly changing, and a plant can go under several Latin names. There are two ways a plant can get a scientific synonym name, the new arrangement of the plant to a new genus (a recombining), or it may be that a later discovery that was perceived as a distinct species should belong to an already named art (Flat Rock, 2005). Literature and systematization Plant searches in this study were based on binomial name and synonym name. Trivial names were not matching as it abounds with various trivial names according to language, dialect and place. The work has included a review of ethnomedicinal, phytochemical and pharmacological literature. Scientific journals are the main source of information in this study. It can be difficult to look for individual journals to search for information. The alternative