PARTE UTILIZADA=Used part: La planta entera fresca.

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA=Pharmacological action: Diurético, aperitivo, antiescorbútico.

POSOLOGÍA=Posology: Goteo de la orina. Se ponen 250 cm cúbicos de vino blanco en un vaso. Se le añaden 50g de miel. Se disuelve bien la mezcla y se agrega 1 cucharada de semillas secas de apio caballar. Se deja reposar toda la noche y se toma durante el día a pequeños sorbos. También se puede tomar 2 veces una en ayunas y la otra al atardecer. Esta receta antiquísima fue empleada por los peregrinos italianos, griegos y franceses hacia los siglos XV y XVI.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA=Chemical composition: Aceites esenciales, glucósidos y otros componentes parecidos al apio común, y ácidos orgánicos.

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA: Camino de Santiago.

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= GENETIC DIVERSITY AND IMPROVEMENT OF MEDICINAL PLANTS:

Evolutionary relationships among 48 genera of Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) were inferred using max. parsimony, max.-likelihood, and neighbor-joining analyses of chloroplast DNA rps16 intron and adjacent rps16 3' exon sequences.  Emphasis was placed on woody members of Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae endemic to southern Africa, a region hypothesized to be the place of origin of this largely herbaceous subfamily.  The resultant phylogenies were highly concordant and indicate that the apioid genera Polemanniopsis and Steganotaenia form a clade sister to Apiaceae subfamily Saniculoideae.  The African genera Anginon, Dracosciadium, Glia, Heteromorpha, and Polemannia also comprise a clade and likely represent the most basal elements within Apioideae.  Heteromorpha, however, is not monophyletic, with Heteromorpha arborescens (Spreng.) Chem. & Schltdl. var. abyssinica (A. Rich.) H. Wolff and Heteromorpha arborescens (Spreng.) Cham. & Schltdl. var. arborescens arising in sep. subclades.  Progressing up the trees, Annesorhiza then Bupleurum fall as successive sister taxa to all remaining Apioideae.  The major clades recognized within subfamily Apioideae are largely congruent with those inferred using other types of mol. evidence.  Sequence divergence is similar to that of other chloroplast introns, including being generally low among congeners and woody taxa.  While the rps16 intron has seen very little use in mol. systematic studies to date, this study demonstrates its ability to discern high-level relationships within Apiaceae. (2)

ÚLTIMOS AVANCES EN LA QUÍMICA Y ACTIVIDADES BACTERIOLÓGICAS EN LAS PLANTAS MEDICINALES= RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CHEMICAL AND BACTERIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES IN MEDICINAL PLANTS:

1) The crude exts. of four Algerian plants were screened for their antioxidant properties using free radical method and ascorbic acid as std. antioxidant.  Free radical scavenging activity was evaluated using 2,2'-diphenyl picrylhydrazyl.  Ascorbic acid and Crataegus oxyacantha ext. showed strong antioxidant activity with the DPPH method according to their EC50.  This activity was classified in order: ascorbic acid (1.04 mg mL-1) > Crataegus oxyacantha exts. (75 mg mL-1) > Lavandula stoechas exts. (29 mg mL-1) > Smyrnium olusatrum exts. (68 mg mL-1) > Cistus ladaniferus exts. (11.42 mg mL-1). (3)

2) The essential oils from stems, leaves, inflorescences, and both unripe and ripe infructescences of Smyrnium olusatrum L. (Umbelliferae) collected in Greece were obtained by hydrodistn. and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS.  Fifty-eight components were identified.  Among the samples analyzed, the differences obsd. were mainly quant.  All oils were characterized by the abundance of sesquiterpenes.  The major components of the stem and leaf oils were fluranoeremophil-1-one (54.3% and 28.7%, resp.) and curzerene (18.8%, 29.0%).  The main constituents of the inflorescence oil were curzerene (38.1%), germacrone (20.2%) and furanoeremophil-1-one (20.0%), while those of the unripe and ripe infructescence oils were 1b-acetoxy-furanoeudesm-4(15)-ene (22.1%, 30.8%) and curzerene (29.7%, 17.4%). (4)

3) The essential oils of fresh leaves of Eucalyptus globulus L. (Myrtaceae), and leaves and stems of Smyrnium olusatrum L. (Apiaceae), obtained by hydrodistn. in a Clevenger-type app., were analyzed by GC/MS.  Twenty compds. were characterized, representing 98.3% of the essential oil of E. globulus, with 1,8-cineole (48.6%), globulol (10.9%), trans-pinocarveol (10.7%), and a-terpineol (6.6%) as main components, while thirty-three compds. were characterized, representing 94.3% of the essential oil of S. olusatrum, with sabinene (27.1%), curzerene (13.7%), methyl-1-benzyl-2-oxocyclooctane carboxylate (12.3%), a-pinene (7.2%), cryptone (7.1%) and b-pinene (5.7%) as the major components.  The essential oils of E. globulus and S. olusatrum were tested against a wide range of fungal and bacterial strains.  Both oils showed significant antimicrobial activity. (5)

1) ALFARO, Txumari, Plantas y remedios naturales de los caminos de santiago. Barcelona: B.S.A. 2008, p. 40.

2) DOWNIE, Stephen R.; KATZ-DOWNIE, Deborah S. Phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast rps16 intron sequences reveals relationships within the woody southern African Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae.  Canadian Journal of Botany. 1999, Vol. 77, nº8, p.1120-1135.
 
3) MOHAMMEDI, Z.; ATIK, F. Antioxidant activity of four Algerian plants: Cistus ladaniferus, Crataegus oxyacantha, Lavandula stoechas and Smyrnium olusatrum. Asian Journal of Chemistry. 2011, Vol.23, nº2, p.709-712.
 
4) PAPAIOANNOU, Fotini; KOUTSAVITI, Aikaterini; TZAKOU, Olga.  Volatile constituents of different parts of Smyrnium olusatrum from Greece.  Natural Product Communications. 2010, Vol.5, nº11, p.1809-1810.
 
5) DAROUI-MOKADDEM, Habiba, et al. GC/MS analysis and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of fresh leaves of Eucalytus globulus, and leaves and stems of Smyrnium olusatrum from Constantine (Algeria).  Natural Product Communications. 2010, Vol.5, nº10, p.1669-1672.