PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Planta entera. 

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: estomacal, tónico, antifebrífugo, diurético, amargo. 

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: Los constituyentes bioactivos más conocidos de esta planta son las lactonas sesquiterpénicas. Una de ellas es la cnicina, un germacranólido, cuya actividad biológica ha sido bien estudiada. Otros productos naturales de Centaurea calcitrapa son los esteroles beta-sitosterol y beta-amirina, p-hidroxiacetofenona, los lignanos matairesinol y arctigenina (Kurawaya, et al., 1975; Davidar, et al., 1989). De las flores se han aislado flavonoides apigenina-7-glucósido, cianidina-3-glucósido y cianidina 3.5-diglucósido y de las partes aéreas las chalconas (E)- y (Z)-1,3-difenil-2-propen-I-ona. El estudio de los componentes volátiles de las flores, hojas y ramas por cromatografía de gases/espectrometría de masa indicó la presencia de 54 compuestos, de los cuales se identificaron cis- y trans-theaspiranos por primera vez en especies de Compositae. Se reporta además la presencia de los siguientes compuestos alcanos (alcohol isoamílico, aplotaxeno), alcaloides (metilantranilato, colina), flavonoides (astragalina, flavona glicósido C, 5,7-dihiroxi-3`-4`-6` trimetoxiflavona, luteolina, naringinina, rutina, quercetina), benzenoides (centaurea chalcona 6 y 7), múltiples monoterpenos y triterpenos, y compuestos azufrados como 2-2`-5 penta-1-3 diinibithienil. 

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: Uruguay. 

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

Plant aspartic proteinases (APs) were isolated from several sources and studied for milk-clotting ability. Extn. of milk-clotting proteinases from intact plants is labor intensive and so, plant cell cultures is a viable alternative to obtain clotting enzymes. The aim of this work was to isolate APs from established suspension cell cultures of Centaurea calcitrapa and evaluate it's the potential interest for milk clotting. Plant cell ext. was purified by ionic-exchange and hydrophobic-interaction chromatogs. Results suggest that the milk-clotting proteinases from cell cultures are synthesized as a 66-kDa proenzyme which originates a 50-kDa mature enzyme. The enzyme inhibition of 92% by pepstatin at 10 uM proved it to be an aspartate proteinase. The clotting time for purified APs suggests that these exts. may be used in the prodn. of dairy products of weak paste or conjugated with other com. rennets. 

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) An abandoned cinnabar mining area located in the South-West of Spain has been studied with the aim of assessing its mercury pollution level and enhancing the knowledge about the Hg soil/plant relationship.  To do so, soils and plants were sampled near an inactive smelter and around two mining sites present in this area.  Crit. total Hg concns. were found in the close environs of pollutant sources.  These also show high levels of elemental Hg (up to 8 mg kg-1), but quite low exchangeable Hg contents (0.008-0.038 mg kg-1).  Most plant specimens display in their aboveground tissues Hg concns. comprised in the range 0.1-10 mg kg-1, with a great proportion (50%) showing crit. levels.  Greater Hg contents were found in plant specimens growing in soils with higher elemental Hg concns.  The plant species displaying the greatest Hg levels are either perennial species of small-medium size and/or showing medium-highly corrugated leaves, or annual plants of small size.  Marrubium vulgare L., Bromus madritensis L. and Trifolium angustifolium L. are the plant species with the highest Hg contents (37.6, 12.7 and 9.0 mg kg-1, resp.).  Leaf sp. surface seems an important feature in the atm. Hg uptake by plants.

2) The essential oil of the aerial parts of Centaurea calcitrapa from Algeria was obtained by steam distn. in yield 0.01% and first time analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS techniques.  Over 60 compds. were identified, representing 77.7% of the total components detected.  The major constituents were beta-caryophyllene (5.3%), 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (4.7%), (Z)-beta-farnesene (4.2%) and heptanal (4.2%).  These results show remarkable qual. and quant. differences with previously reported studies for Centaurea calcitrapa.

1) GONZALEZ, Matías ; LOMBARDO, Atilio ; VALLARINO, Aida. Plantas de la medicina vulgar del Uruguay. Montevideo : Talleres Gráficos, 1937, p.6 .

2) 270 (doscientos setenta) plantas medicinales iberoamericanas. Santiago de Bogotá : CYTED-SECAB, 1995, p.95-97.

3) RAPOSO, Sara; DOMINGOS, Ana. Purification and characterization milk-clotting aspartic proteinases from Centaurea calcitrapa cell suspension cultures. Process Biochemistry (Amsterdam, Netherlands) . ,2008 vol.43, nº2, p.139-144.
 
4) GARCIA-SANCHEZ, A., et al. Mercury in soils and plants in an abandoned cinnabar mining area (SW Spain). Journal of Hazardous Materials . 2009, vol.168, nº2-3, p.1319-1324.
 
5) DOB, Tahar, et al. Essential oil composition of Centaurea calcitrapa L. from Algeria. Journal of Essential Oil Research . 2009, vol.21, nº3, p.216-219.