The Ecology of Herbal Medicine by Saville Dara; Hardin Jesse Wolf;

Author:Saville, Dara; Hardin, Jesse Wolf; [Saville, Dara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Published: 2021-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

FIGURE 126 Mesquite pods and leaves (Prosopis velutina). Photo by author.

Modern research has been conducted on numerous Prosopis species from the Americas, Asia, and Africa and has confirmed traditional uses and illuminated new potential applications. An array of phytochemicals, including tannins, steroids, flavonoids, terpenes, phenols, and alkaloids, have been identified, and Prosopis extracts have demonstrated wide-ranging medicinal actions for pain and inflammation relief, controlling blood sugar and cholesterol, treating microbial infections, easing coughs and respiratory constriction, and maybe even cancer treatments. These numerous studies were summarized by Garg and Mittal (2013) and Henciya et al. (2017). Lajnef et al. (2015) found that seed extracts contain fatty acids, including oleic and palmitic acids, and phenols that exhibit antioxidant properties. A significant body of research confirms Prosopis species’ broad antimicrobial actions (e.g., Napar et al. 2012; Preeti et al. 2015; Rahman et al. 2011; Raut 2014), including antibacterial effects from leaf (strongest), pod, and flower extracts comparable to antibiotic drugs (Singh and Verma 2011). Studies show potent activity against a number of bacterial strains, including staph, bacillus, and salmonella, and drug-resistant strains of candida, E. coli, and strep (Khan et al. 2010; Singh and Verma 2011). Leaf and pod extracts have also shown antimalarial activity (Batista et al. 2018), and compounds synthesized from Prosopis farcta have shown cytotoxic effects on colon cancer cells (Miri et al. 2018). Additionally, Prosopis extracts have beneficial effects on cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive functioning. The plant is cardioprotective, reduces blood pressure and water retention (Huisamen 2013), increases HDL cholesterol while decreasing LDL cholesterol (Omidi et al. 2013), and significantly reduces total cholesterol, triglycerides, and lipoproteins (Saidi et al. 2016). Studies have also shown Prosopis to be an effective digestive antispasmodic, bronchodilator, and vasodilator (Janbaz et al. 2012). It is antidiabetic by significantly increasing insulin levels and also moderately decreasing blood glucose levels (George et al. 2011).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.