PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Frutos, hojas, corteza y raíz. 

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Purgante, anticatarrales, febrífugas, desinfectante del intestino. 

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: Principios amargos: ilicina presente en las hojas. Metilxantinas: teobromina, presente en las hojas en pequeña cantidad. Taninos: Presentes en las hojas y la corteza. Otros: rutina, resina, glucósido cianogenético, pigmento amarillento presente en la corteza (ilixantina), pectina (abundante en la corteza), monoterpenos, triterpenos, compuestos fenólicos, ácidos iléxico y ursólico. 

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: Uruguay.  

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

Variation in the chloroplast genome of Ilex aquifolium (English holly), a dioecious evergreen tree native to south, west and central Europe, was analyzed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLPs) and microsatellites. Differentiation between populations was high (GST = 0.595) and evidence for phylogeog. structure was detected (NST = 0.697, significantly higher than GST). Two chloroplast lineages were inferred originating from putative glacial refugia in southern Europe (Iberia, Italy and possibly the Balkans). The GST value was higher than reported for endozoochorous hermaphrodite species and for anemochorous dioecious species investigated over a similar geog. scale. It appears that dioecy has contributed to strong differentiation between refugia and that this has been maintained following postglacial recolonization as a result of limited seed flow. Palynol. records for I. aquifolium are poor, thus these results give an important insight into patterns of glacial isolation and postglacial recolonization of this species. 

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) European Holly (Ilex aquifolium) received either charcoal-filtered air (CFA) or CFA with 70 nl l-1 O3 added for 7 h day-1 over a 28 day period.  Plants were then transferred into cooling incubators for hardening (4 °C day/2 °C night; day length 12 h) for 7 days and then to the frosting stage (2 °C day and -5, -10 or -15 °C night) for 4 days.  The plants were then placed in ambient conditions.  Treatment produced significant differences in chlorophyll fluorescence data.  Stomatal conductance was significantly higher for the O3 treatments though both showed a general decline over all temp. regimes.  O3 also significantly increased electrolyte leakage and reduced winter survival.  These results show that ambient concns. of O3 can reduce the tolerance of I. aquifolium to freezing stress, which may have serious implications for its establishment and survival.  Exposure to O3 decreases the winter hardening capability and markedly increases the frost sensitivity of Ilex aquifolium.

2) Reversed-phase preparative HPLC anal. of the methanol ext. of the seeds of Ilex aquifolium afforded two antioxidant phenylacetic acid derivs., 2,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (1) and 2,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid Me ester (2).  The structures were detd. by spectroscopic methods.  In the DPPH assay for antioxidant activity, the IC50 values of 1 and 2 were 1.50´10-3 and 2.55´10-3 mg mL-1, resp., compared to 2.88´10-5 mg mL-1 of quercetin, a natural antioxidant.

3) The accumulative behavior of holly (Ilex aquifolium l.) for heavy metals like Zn and Cd in mineralized areas in Italy was studied.  The samples of leaves, twigs, and barks from holly trees were collected and Zn, Cd, and Pb were detd. by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV).  Some samples of wood anemone (anemone nemorosa l.) and soil were also analyzed.  The data confirm a preferential Cd and Zn accumulation by holly (£16 and 1400 mg/g dry wt., resp.) depending on different vegetal organs and vegetative stages of plants.  The highest content of Pb was found in the outer portion of the holly bark.

Origin:
Native to Europe; grown occasionally in gardens at hill stations.

Action:
Leaves—diaphoretic, febrifuge. Used in catarrh, pleurisy, intermittent fever, smallpox and rheumatism. Also in jaundice.
Berries—violently emetic and purgative; employed in dropsy. Powdered berries are used as astringent to check bleeding. (Berries possess totally different qualities as compared to leaves.)

Toxicity:
Berries—violently emetic and purgative

1) GONZALEZ, Matías ; LOMBARDO, Atilio ; VALLARINO, Aida. Plantas de la medicina vulgar del Uruguay. Montevideo : Talleres Gráficos, 1937, p.9.

2) ALONSO, Jorge R. Tratado de fitomedicina : bases clínicas y farmacológicas. Buenos Aires : ISIS, 1998, p.147-148.

3) RENDELL, S.; ENNOS, R. A. Chloroplast DNA diversity of the dioecious. European tree Ilex aquifolium L. (English holly). Molecular Ecology. 2003, vol.12, nº10, p.2681-2688.
 
4) RANFORD, Jonathan; REILING, Kevin. The effect of winter stress on Ilex aquifolium L.previously fumigated with ozone.  Environmental Pollution (Amsterdam, Netherlands)  (2006),  2007, Vol.145, nº1, p.171-178.
 
5) NAHAR, Lutfun, et al.. Antioxidant phenylacetic acid derivatives from the seeds of Ilex aquifolium.  Acta Pharmaceutica (Zagreb, Croatia). 2005, vol.55, nº2, p.187-193.
 
6) CELLINI LEGITTIMO, P.; DUCCESCHI, L.; MARTINI, M. Holly (Ilex aquifolium) as zinc and cadmium accumulative indicator in biogeochemical prospecting. Chemistry and Ecology. 1998, vol.14, nº2, p.107-121.

7) ALONSO, Jorge R. Tratado de fitomedicina : bases clínicas y farmacológicas. Buenos Aires : ISIS, 1998, p. 147.

8) Khare, C.P./ Indian Medicinal Plants. -- Nueva Dheli: Springer, 2007 . - p. 836.