PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Corteza, raíz, hojas, tallos.

ACCION FARMACOLOGICA= Pharmacological action: Antifebrífugo.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: Análises fitoquímicas desta planta revelaram a presença de vários triterpenoides, varios flavonoides, esteroides e aminoácidos.

ZONA GEOGRAFICA= Geografical zone: América tropical, Uruguay. 

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

Use of seeds instead of leaves for the flow cytometric measurement of DNA content is of particular interest to botanists and plant ecologists, since it allows estimation of genome sizes for species having reduced leaves or that accumulate staining inhibitors within leaves, and also for species growing in regions where cytometers are not readily available. The seeds of 24 desert species, including wildflowers, cacti, shrubs, and trees were analyzed by flow cytometry. Nuclei were used from either total seeds or seed tissues, following dissection to determine the seed parts that were most suitable for genome size measurement. In addition, the mass of 100 seeds was established. The seeds of 14 species contained only cells occupying a mitotic cell cycle. For 10 other species, endoreplicated nuclei (up to 32C) were detected. Using entire seeds or their parts, it was possible to estimate genome sizes for all of the species, which ranged from 0.79 pg per 2C in Parkinsonia aculeata L. to 26.96 pg per 2C in Agave parryi Engelm., thus this kind of plant material can be used for the cytometric measuring of nuclear DNA content. However, a detailed understanding of seed biology is needed to interpret the results correctly. The relationships among genome size, seed mass, and desert growing conditions are also discussed. © 2009 NRC Canada.

Summary
Although Parkinsonia aculeata (Leguminoseae) is native to North America, at present it can be found throughouth the American continent, down to Northern Uruguay and Argentina. Also known by the common name of thornbean, this is a widely used plant in popular medicine. However, only a few pharmacological studies have focused on this species, in particular in the field of microbiology and its effects against Candida albicans.

1) GONZALEZ, Matías ; LOMBARDO, Atilio ; VALLARINO, Aida. Plantas de la medicina vulgar del Uruguay. Montevideo : Talleres Gráficos, 1937, pp.42-43.

2) LORENZI, Harri; MATOS, José de Abreu. Plantas medicinais no brasil: nativas e exóticas. Nova Odessa, SP: Instituto Plantarum, 2002. p. 285.

3) SLIWINSKA, E., et al. Measuring genome size of desert plants using dry seeds. Botany. 2009, vol.87, nº2, p.127-135.

4) Plantas medicinales autóctonas de la Argentina. Bases científicas para su aplicación en atención primaria de la salud / Jorge Alonso y Cristian Jorge Desmarchelier. - 1a ed. - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires: Corpus Libros Médicos y Científicos, 2015.