PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Tallo. 

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Emenagogo (tallo), alexifármaco, antiséptico, diurético, diaforético. 

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: The chem. compn. of the essential oils from Brazilian species of the genus Aristolochia are being reported for the first time.  The oils, which were obtained by steam distn. from seven Brazilian Aristolochia species: A. gigantea, A. macroura, A. cymbifera, A. rodriguesia, A. birostris, A. papillaris and A. triangularis, were analyzed by GC/MS and found to be rich in sesquiterpenes.  The major components of the various oils were: A. birostris; b-caryophyllene 13.9, a-humulene 16.4 and germacrene A 13.3%; A. cymbifera: n-undecane 17.7 and dodecane 12.4%; A. gigantea: b-caryophyllene 8.8-19.3, germacrene D 16.3-24.9, g-elemene 0-21.6, trans-a-bergamotene 2.3-12.5, (E)-nerolidol 0-23.4, linalool 0-14.6, nerol 0-11.5 and geraniol 0-26.2%; A. macroura; d-elemene 1.2-12.4, a-copaene 2.5-13.3, b-caryophyllene (10.6-15.3%), a-humulene (15.5-20.5%), g-elemene (10.4-11.6% and (E)-nerolidol 0-33.1, farnesene 12.7; A. papillaris: calarene 13.6, a-humulene 17.7, g-cadinene 10.9 and d-cadinene 10.6%; A. rodriguesia: a-copaene 12.4, b-bourbonene 11.9 and b-elemene 10.7%; and A. triangularis: (E)-nerolidol 12.3 and decane 11.8%, resp.

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: E de Brasil hasta el NE de Argentina. 

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

In this report, a mol. phylogeny based on the plastid gene matK and on the region between the genes trnL and trnF, and a chem. relationship based on the pattern of sesquiterpenes, is proposed for Aristolochia species from southeastern Brazil.  We found that Aristolochia is a monophyletic genus and species considered to be derived contain labdanoic acids (LAs) in their leaves. The phenetic relationship recovered with sesquiterpenes did not agree with the phylogenetic relationships for Aristolochia, and three main clusters were recognized, namely, germacrene-D, germacrene-C and Z-caryophyllene groups.  The presence of different sesquiterpene structures in species that are phylogenetically closely related may reflect adaptations to avoid predation of herbivores specialized in feeding on Aristolochiaceae plants. 

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) Methanolic extracts from Achyrocline satureioides (Dc.) Lam, Aristolochia macroura Gomez, Lithraea molleoides (Vell.) Engl., Schinus molle L., unlike those from Celtis spinosa Spreng, Chenopodium ambrosioides L., Petiveria alliacea L., and Plantago major L. showed cytotoxic activity against a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, Hep G2.  Schinus molle L. was the most active (IC50=50+/-7 microg/ml).  These results call for further studies of these extracts.

1) TOURSARKISSIAN, Martín.   Plantas medicinales de Argentina : sus nombres botánicos, vulgares, usos y distribución geográfica.   Buenos Aires : Hemisferio Sur, 1980, p.11.

2) Leitao, G. G., et al. Essential oils from Brazilian Aristolochia. Journal of Essential Oil Research . 1991, vol.3, nº6, p.403-8.

3) SILVA-BRANDAO, Karina Lucas; SOLFERINI, Vera Nisaka; TRIGO, Jose Roberto.  Chemical and phylogenetic relationships among  Aristolochia  L. (Aristolochiaceae) from southeastern Brazil.  Biochemical systematics and ecology. 2006, Vol.34, nº4, p.291-302.
 
4) RUFFA, M J., et al. Cytotoxic effect of Argentine medicinal plant extracts on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line. Journal of ethnopharmacology. 2002, vol.79, nº3, p.335-9.