ÚLTIMOS AVANCES EN LA QUÍMICA Y ACTIVIDADES BACTERIOLÓGICAS EN LAS PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants, last advances on chemistry and bacteria activities on the medicinal herbs

1) Dietary fiber and bioactive compds. are widely used as functional ingredients in processed foods.  The market in this field is competitive and the development of new types of quality ingredients for the food industry is on the rise.  Opuntia ficus-indica (cactus pear) produces edible tender stems (cladodes) and fruits with a high nutritional value in terms of minerals, protein, dietary fiber and phytochems.; however, around 20% of fresh wt. of cladodes and 45% of fresh wt. of fruits are byproducts.  The objective of this study was therefore to det. the nutritional value of byproducts obtained from cladodes and fruits from two varieties of Opuntia ficus-indica, examg. their dietary fiber and natural antioxidant compd. contents in order to obtain quality ingredients for functional foods and increase the added value of these byproducts.

2) The applicability of pectinases and cellulases as soft hydrolyzing agents on flavonol glycosides was investigated for identification and quantification of flavonol aglycons in cactus pear fruit.  Freeze-dried samples of cactus pear fruit's peel (cactus pear peels) and onions were treated with com. pectinase and cellulase prepns. at 50 °C for different time periods (up to 16 h).  Addnl. isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside and quercetin-3,4'-O-diglucoside were used as model compds.  In parallel, samples of cactus pear peels and onions were treated by the traditional acidic hydrolysis using HCl.  Following hydrolysis, flavonols were characterized using HPLC-DAD.  Enzymically, all model compds. and plant material were highly hydrolysable.  Flavonol glycosides were completely hydrolyzed after 16 h (cactus pear) and 4 h (onion), resp.  While the acidic hydrolysis caused degrdn. of the flavonols and produced protocatechuic acid as a degrdn. product, the enzymic hydrolysis gave gentle effects and did not produce any protocatechuic acid at all.

3) We report Opuntia ficus-indica mediated synthesis of colloidal silver nanoparticles.  Detection and characterization of nanoparticles were carried out by UV-Vis- and Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy, SEM and X-ray Diffraction anal. resp.  The aim of the present study was synthesis of silver nanoparticles, assessment of their antibacterial activity, and study of possible mechanism involved.  The silver nanoparticles in combination with com. available antibiotics showed a remarkable antibacterial activity.  Some of the com. available antibiotics in combination with silver nanoparticles showed remarkable activity.  However, the max. activity was demonstrated by Ampicillin followed by Streptomycin and Vancomycin.  On the basis of the information obtained in this work, two-step mechanism has been proposed as bioredn. and formation of an intermediate complex leading to formation of capped nanoparticles.

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs

Opuntia ficus-indica is a long-domesticated cactus crop that is important in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world. The biogeographic and evolutionary origins of this species have been obscured through ancient and widespread cultivation and naturalization. The origin of O. ficus-indica is investigated through the use of Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of nrITS DNA sequences. These analyses support the following hypotheses: that O. ficus-indica is a close relative of a group of arborescent, fleshy-fruited prickly pears from central and southern Mexico; that the center of domestication for this species is in central Mexico; and that the taxonomic concept of O. ficus-indica may include clones derived from multiple lineages and therefore be polyphyletic.

PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Toda la planta.

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Antirreumático.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: Filocladios, abundantes mucílagos. Flores: flavonoides (opuntiaflavonósido), mucílagos. Frutos: pectina, taninos, vitamina C, carotenoides, beta-xantinas.

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: América. 

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Enfermedad o síntoma
Problemas renales

Parte utilizada
Flor

Forma de preparación
Infusión

Modo de administración
Vía oral

Origen
Tucumán, Argentina

1) TOURSARKISSIAN, Martín. Plantas medicinales de Argentina : sus nombres botánicos, vulgares, usos y distribución geográfica. Buenos Aires : Hemisferio Sur, 1980, p.19.

2) Fitoterapia : vademecum de prescripción: plantas medicinales. 3ª. ed. Barcelona : Masson, 1999, p. 381.

3) GRIFFITH, M.P. The origins of an important cactus crop, Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae): New molecular evidence. American Journal of Botany.2004, vol.91, nº11, p.1915-1921.
 
4) BENSADON, Sara, et al. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition (New York, NY, United States). 2010, vol.65, nº3, p.210-216.
 
5) MOUSSA-AYOUB, et al. Identification and quantification of flavonol aglycons in cactus pear (Opuntia ficus indica) fruit using a commercial pectinase and cellulase preparation.  Food Chemistry. 2011, vol.124, nº3, p.1177-1184.
 
6) GADE, Aniket, et al. Biofabrication of silver nanoparticles by Opuntia ficus-indica: in vitro antibacterial activity and study of the mechanism involved in the synthesis. Current Nanoscience. 2010, vol.6, nº4, p.370-375.

7) Ceballos, Sergio J.; Perea Mario C./ Boletín Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Plantas Medicinales y Aromáticas, vol 13, no 1, 2014. - p. 47 - 68