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

The Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) is an evergreen shrub typical of the Mediterranean area; it is an interesting plant with multipurpose use.  The ornamental use takes into account the prodn. of green cut branches for indoor decoration and prodn. of pot plants for gardening.  In this species, there is a great variability in the natural germplasm around the Mediterranean coasts for type and size of fruit, plant architecture, leaf size and internode length.  Selected genotypes have been successfully sterilized and cultured in vitro.  The shoots were multiplied on MS (16) salts and vitamins, with 0.5 mg/L BA and 0.2 mg/L IAA.  Clones showed variation of multiplication rate and rooting percentage.  IAA or IBA at 0.5 mg/L increased the rooting percentage and noticed differences in root no. and length.  The sucrose concn. can affect rooting, such as light intensity during the in vitro rooting phase can modulate biomass prodn. and chlorophyll content.  The combination of these factors enhanced the frequency rate of acclimatization.

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) Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) berries exts. were prepd. with solvents at different polarity (water, ethanol, and Et acetate) and analyzed using different in vitro tests in order to evaluate their antioxidant properties.  Antiradical and total antioxidant activities were measured with DPPH and FRAP tests, resp.  Their ability to protect biol. mols. was assessed using the cholesterol and LDL oxidn. assays.  In addn., phenolic compds. and unsatd. fatty acids compn. was analyzed by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS/MS.  Ethanol and water exts. showed the highest amt. of extd. compds., but the highest antiradical and antioxidant activities were found in ethanol and Et acetate exts.  These exts. were also the ones with the highest content of phenolic compds.  In addn., our results showed a highly significant correlation between the amt. of total phenols and antiradical (R 2 = 0.9993) or antioxidant activities (R 2 = 0.9985) in these exts.  HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS analyses showed significant quant. and qual. differences among these three exts.  The Et acetate ext. had the highest protective effect in assays of thermal (140 °C) cholesterol degrdn. and Cu2+-mediated LDL oxidn., inhibiting the redn. of polyunsatd. fatty acids and cholesterol, and the increase of their oxidative products.  These results suggest that because of these properties, myrtle berries could be used in dietary supplements prepns. or as food additives.

2) The fruits of eight myrtles, Myrtus communis L. accessions from the Mediterranean region of Turkey were evaluated for their antioxidant activities and fatty acid contents.  The antioxidant activities of the fruit exts. were detd. by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and beta-carotene-linoleic acid assays.  The fatty acid contents of fruits were detd. by using gas chromatog.  The methanol exts. of fruits exhibited a high level of free radical scavenging activity.  There was a wide range (74.51-91.65%) of antioxidant activity among the accessions in the beta-carotene-linoleic acid assay.  The amt. of total phenolics (TP) was detd. to be between 44.41-74.44 mg Gallic acid equiv. (GAE)/mg, on a dry wt. basis.  Oleic acid was the dominant fatty acid (67.07%), followed by palmitic (10.24%), and stearic acid (8.19%), resp.  Thus, future utilization of myrtle fruit exts. as food additives or in chemoprevention studies.

3) The present study describes DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity and antimutagenic properties of the essential oil of myrtle (Myrtus communis L.).  Plant samples were collected from the two distant localities (southernmost and northern point) of the Montenegro coastline.  Chem. profiles of the two samples were evaluated by GC-MS.  In both of the samples monoterpenes were found to be the predominant compds.  Among them alpha-pinene, linalool, 1,8-cineole, and myrtenyl acetate were the major compds.  Significant differences between the samples were found in the ranges of alpha-pinene (14.7%-35.9%) and myrtenyl acetate (5.4%-21.6%).  Both oils exhibited moderate DPPH scavenging activity, with IC50 values of 6.24 mg/mL and 5.99 mg/mL.  The antimutagenic properties were assayed against spontaneous and t-BOOH-induced mutagenesis in Escherichia coli oxyR mutant IC202, a bacterial strain deficient in removing ROS.  Redn. of the spontaneous mutagenesis in presence of myrtle EO was only slight, up to 13% at the highest concn. tested.  When the oxidative mutagen was used, EO expressed higher redn. of mutagenesis, in a concn. dependent manner, with statistical significance for effect at the highest concn. tested (28%).  Suppression of t-BOOH induced mutagenesis was correlated with the obsd. scavenging activity.

Patente extraída del Chemical Abstracts= Patent extrated from the Database Chemical Abstracts

New alpha -glucosidase inhibitors and antibacterial compounds from Myrtus communis l. Rahman, Attaur; Choudhary, Mohammad Iqbal; Shaheen, Farzana; Ahmad, Manzoor; Khan, Shamsun Nahar; Anjum, Shazia.  (International Institute of Chemical Sciences, Pak.).    U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ.  (2008),     19pp.  CODEN: USXXCO  US  20080269510  A1  20081030  Patent  written in English.    Application: US  2005-306345  20051223.  Priority: US  2005-306345  20051223.  CAN 149:518952    AN 2008:1307219    CAPLUS   (Copyright (C) 2011 ACS on SciFinder (R))  

Three new acylphloroglucinols, myrtucommulone-D (I), myrtucommulone-E (II), myrtucommulone-C (III), and a known acylphloroglucinol myrtucommulone B (IV) were isolated from a methanolic ext. of Myrtus communis L.  The structures of I, II, and IV were also unambiguously detd. by single X-ray diffraction anal.  I-IV were more potent alpha-glucosidase inhibitors than the clin. used stds., acarbose and deoxynojirimycin.  III exhibited the highest activity among all the acylphloroglucinols, with an IC50=35.4±1.15 mM.  I and II also exhibited strong antibacterial activities. 

PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Hojas, frutos, tallos tiernos.

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Depurativo, diurético, sudorífero, tonico, estimulante del organismo, parasitosis.

POSOLOGÍA= Posology: La forma aconsejada de consumo es como té. La infusión se puede preparar con hojas, frutos y tallos tiernos (mezclados o no), en una proporción de 20 gramos por litro de agua. Dosis aconsejada: dos o tres tazas por día. Si se aumenta la infusión a 30 gramos por litro se usa como medicamento para la parasitosis. Dosis recomendada: 3 tazas por día.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: Myrtus communis L. is an evergreen arom. plant growing wild in Iran.  Leaf samples were collected from two origins and in two different growth stages.  Myrtle fruits were collected at full ripening stage.  The oils of all samples were obtained by hydrodistn. using a Clevenger-type app. and their constituents were analyzed by GC and GC-MS.  The major oil components of leaves of two origins at flowering stage were alpha-pinene (3.8 - 23.0 %), 1,8-cineole (9.9 - 20.3 %), limonene (5.5 - 17.8 %), linalool (12.3 - 17.6 %) and alpha-terpinyl acetate (1.8 - 7.0 %).  The leaf oil compns. at fruit ripening stage was highly similar to those of flowering stage as 1,8-cineole (24.0 %), alpha-pinene (22.1 %), limonene (17.6 %), linalool (11.4 %), linalyl acetate (4.5 %), alpha-terpinyl acetate (2.2 %), and geranyl acetate (1.2 %) were main components.  Major constituents of fruit oil were alpha-pinene (28.6 %), 1,8-cineole (26.7 %), limonene (18.0 %), alpha-terpinyl acetate (5.4 %), linalyl acetate (3.4 %) and linalool (2.3 %).

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: Argentina.

--------------

Origen y ecología:
Introducida. Cultivada, a veces naturalizada. No amenazada.

Parte utilizada:
Hojas.

Propiedades e indicaciones terapéuticas:
- Derivadas de la experiencia de uso tradicional:
Se ha empleado tradicionalmente en infusión oral como antiséptico y antibacteriano en infecciones de las vías respiratorias como rinitis, sinusitis, faringitis, laringitis, bronquitis y de las vías urinarias como nefritis, cistitis, uretritis. Y via externa en lavados de heridas y hemorroides, lavados vaginales en vaginitis o leucorrea, gargarismos eninflamaciones de la mucosa bucal o de la garganta.
- Según el contenido en principios activos o ensayos farmacológicos:
El aceite esencial y los floroglucinoles tienen capacodad antibiótica. Su contenido en taninos le otorga propiedades astringentes en la aplicaion externa en hemorroides y sobre heridas en la piel.

Origin

Cultivated in gardens of Northwestern India and Tamil Nadu.

Action:

Leaves—antiseptic, antimicrobial, antiparasitic. Used for acute and chronic respiratory tract infections, bladder conditions, urinary infections, and worm infestation.

1) CONSELL, Danilo M. Enciclopedia de plantas que curan. Buenos Aires: Ediliba, 1987. 2 volúmenes.

2) PEZHMANMEHR, Maryam, et al. Essential oil constituents of leaves and fruits of Myrtus communis L. from Iran. Journal of Essential Oil-Bearing Plants. 2010, Vol.13, nº1, p.123-129.

3) RUFFONI, Barbara; MASCARELLO, Carlo; SAVONA, Marco. In vitro propagation of ornamental myrtus (Myrtus communis). Methods in Molecular Biology (Totowa, NJ, United States). 2010, Vol.589, p.257-269.

4) TUBEROSO, Carlo Ignazio Giovanni, et al. Chemical composition and antioxidant activities of Myrtus communis L. berries extracts. Food Chemistry. 2010, Vol.123, nº4, p.1242-1251.
 
5) SERCE, Sedat, et al. Antioxidant activities and fatty acid composition of wild grown myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) fruits. Pharmacognosy Magazine. 2010, Vol.6, nº21, p.9-12.
 
6) MIMICA, Neda, et al.. Essential oil of Myrtus communis L. as a potential antioxidant and antimutagenic agents. Molecules. 2010, Vol.15, p.2759-2770.

7) Cruz Suárez, Jorge S. / Más de 100 plantas medicinaes : Medicina popular Canaria. La obra Social de Gran Canarias: Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, 2007. - 258 p.

8) Khare, C.P./ Indian Medicinal Plants. -- Nueva Dheli: Springer, 2007 . - p  433.