- Library Home /
- Search Collections /
- Open Collections /
- Browse Collections /
- UBC Theses and Dissertations /
- Ethnopharmacology of western North American plants...
Open Collections
UBC Theses and Dissertations
UBC Theses and Dissertations
Ethnopharmacology of western North American plants with special focus on the genus Artemisia L. McCutcheon, Allison R.
Abstract
This thesis is comprised of a series of investigations into the pharmacological activities of plants from western North America. In the first phase of the research, one hundred methanolic plant extracts were screened for: antibiotic, antifungal, anti-mycobacterial and antiviral activity. Eighty-nine of these extracts exhibited antibiotic activity and eighty-one exhibited antifungal activity. Nineteen extracts also showed anti-mycobacterial activity. There was a correlation (0.945) between anti-mycobacterial activity and strong activity against the fast growing, non-pathogenic Mycobacterium phlei which was used in the antibiotic screening. Twelve extracts were each active against one of the seven viruses screened. Several interesting observations arose from the analyses of the phase one screening results. There was a significant correlation between anti-mycobacterial activity and the specific usage of the plants to treat tuberculosis. Significantly higher percentages of active plants were found among those categorized as potential antibiotics and antifungals based on their traditional usage. There appeared to be correlations between activity and the taxa to which the active plants belonged and the habitats they were collected from. The phase two screening of one hundred eighty-five extracts was designed to further test these apparent correlations. In these phase two screenings, 77% of the extracts exhibited antibiotic activity. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the plants which were used medicinally were active while only 22% of the non-medicinal plants were active. Of the plants which were classified as potential antibiotics based on their traditional uses, 91% were active. The taxa with the highest percentage of active extracts were the Filicinae and the Gymnospermae. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of the extracts exhibited significant activity in the phase two antifungal screening. The taxon with the largest percentage of active extracts was the Gymnospermae (100% active). There was a great difference in the percentage of active extracts among the traditional plant medicines (32% active) compared to the non-medicinal plants (5% active). Seventy-five percent (75%) of the plants classified as potential antifungals based on their traditional uses were found to have significant activity. Throughout these phase one and two screenings, the members of the genus Artemisia L. assayed were particularity noteworthy for their broad spectrum of activity. Therefore, this genus was chosen for more extensive research on the anti-infectious properties of 74 additional samples from 30 Artemisa taxa. All of the Artemisia samples exhibited antibiotic and antifungal activity. In the antiviral assays, a total of 18 extracts inhibited the virally induced cytopathic effects. A total of twenty-nine extracts exhibited activity in the anti-mycobacterial assays. There were representative samples from each of the four Artemisia subgenera among the active extracts in each of the four screens, although it was noted that the extracts with the strongest activity in the antimycobacterial assays were all members of the subgenera Dracunculus and Tridentatae. In all of the Artemisia assays, there was as much variation in activity among samples of a taxa (species or subspecies) as there was between taxa. Samples of the Artemisia species which were most frequently cited in the ethnobotanical literature (A. dracunculus, A. frigida, A. ludoviciana and A. tridentata) were among the most active extracts in all of the assays.
Item Metadata
Title |
Ethnopharmacology of western North American plants with special focus on the genus Artemisia L.
|
Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
|
Date Issued |
1996
|
Description |
This thesis is comprised of a series of investigations into the pharmacological activities of plants from
western North America. In the first phase of the research, one hundred methanolic plant extracts were screened
for: antibiotic, antifungal, anti-mycobacterial and antiviral activity. Eighty-nine of these extracts exhibited
antibiotic activity and eighty-one exhibited antifungal activity. Nineteen extracts also showed anti-mycobacterial
activity. There was a correlation (0.945) between anti-mycobacterial activity and strong activity against the fast
growing, non-pathogenic Mycobacterium phlei which was used in the antibiotic screening. Twelve extracts were
each active against one of the seven viruses screened.
Several interesting observations arose from the analyses of the phase one screening results. There was a
significant correlation between anti-mycobacterial activity and the specific usage of the plants to treat
tuberculosis. Significantly higher percentages of active plants were found among those categorized as potential
antibiotics and antifungals based on their traditional usage. There appeared to be correlations between activity
and the taxa to which the active plants belonged and the habitats they were collected from. The phase two
screening of one hundred eighty-five extracts was designed to further test these apparent correlations.
In these phase two screenings, 77% of the extracts exhibited antibiotic activity. Seventy-five percent
(75%) of the plants which were used medicinally were active while only 22% of the non-medicinal plants were
active. Of the plants which were classified as potential antibiotics based on their traditional uses, 91% were
active. The taxa with the highest percentage of active extracts were the Filicinae and the Gymnospermae.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of the extracts exhibited significant activity in the phase two antifungal
screening. The taxon with the largest percentage of active extracts was the Gymnospermae (100% active). There
was a great difference in the percentage of active extracts among the traditional plant medicines (32% active)
compared to the non-medicinal plants (5% active). Seventy-five percent (75%) of the plants classified as
potential antifungals based on their traditional uses were found to have significant activity.
Throughout these phase one and two screenings, the members of the genus Artemisia L. assayed were
particularity noteworthy for their broad spectrum of activity. Therefore, this genus was chosen for more extensive
research on the anti-infectious properties of 74 additional samples from 30 Artemisa taxa. All of the Artemisia samples exhibited antibiotic and antifungal activity. In the antiviral assays, a total of 18 extracts inhibited the
virally induced cytopathic effects. A total of twenty-nine extracts exhibited activity in the anti-mycobacterial
assays.
There were representative samples from each of the four Artemisia subgenera among the active extracts
in each of the four screens, although it was noted that the extracts with the strongest activity in the antimycobacterial
assays were all members of the subgenera Dracunculus and Tridentatae. In all of the Artemisia
assays, there was as much variation in activity among samples of a taxa (species or subspecies) as there was
between taxa. Samples of the Artemisia species which were most frequently cited in the ethnobotanical literature
(A. dracunculus, A. frigida, A. ludoviciana and A. tridentata) were among the most active extracts in all of the
assays.
|
Extent |
16410622 bytes
|
Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
|
Language |
eng
|
Date Available |
2009-02-19
|
Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
|
Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
|
DOI |
10.14288/1.0087277
|
URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
|
Graduation Date |
1996-05
|
Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
|
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
|
Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.