Search results for "Artemisia"
showing 10 items of 78 documents
Rediscovery and identity of Pumilomyia protrahenda De Stefani (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) in Sicily with redescription and reassessment of its taxonomic…
2016
Abstract A population of the gall midge Pumilomyia protrahenda De Stefani, 1919 causing galls on Artemisia arborescens (Asteraceae) was discovered near Palermo (Sicily) in 2008. This species had not been found since 1918. Detailed study of morphological characters of adults, larvae and pupae revealed that Pumilomyia protrahenda belongs to the genus Rhopalomyia Rübsaamen, 1892, tribe Rhopalomyiini. The monotypic genus Pumilomyia De Stefani, 1919 is therefore synonymized under Rhopalomyia Rübsaamen, 1892. Rhopalomyia protrahenda comb. n. is redescribed, with important morphological characters illustrated. Adults have one-segmented palpi, antennae with 12–13 short flagellomeres and long legs w…
Ethnobotany of the Aegadian Islands: safeguarding biocultural refugia in the Mediterranean
2021
Abstract Background The Aegadian Islands are located west of Trapani, Sicily. Once the site of bountiful tuna fisheries and fruit orchards (plums, peaches, apricots), grapevines, prickly pears, and grains, the local economy is now based on tourism, and many traditional agricultural and maritime practices have been abandoned. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the state of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) concerning the use of wild and cultivated plants and fungi for human health, food, maritime, and agricultural purposes on the islands of Levanzo, Favignana, and Marettimo and compare present-day practices with those documented in the past. Methods In-depth semi-structured interviews …
Use of Plant Water Extracts for Weed Control in Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum L. Subsp. durum Desf.)
2020
The use of plant water extracts to control weeds is gaining attention in environmentally-friendly agriculture, but the study of the effect that such extracts may exert on the yield of durum wheat is still unexplored. In 2014 and 2016, the herbicidal potential of several plant water extracts was field tested on durum wheat (cv Valbelice). In 2014, extracts obtained from Artemisia arborescens, Rhus coriaria, Lantana camara, Thymus vulgaris, and Euphorbia characias were used, whereas in 2016 only A. arborescens and R. coriaria were tested as &ldquo
Artemisia arborescens essential oil composition, enantiomeric distribution and antimicrobial activity from different wild populations from the Medite…
2016
International audience; Aerial parts of Artemisiaarborescens were collected from different sites of the Mediterranean area (southwestern Algeria and southern Italy) and the chemical composition of their essential oil (EO) extracted by hydrodistillation was studied by both gas chromatography (GC) equipped with an enantioselective capillary column and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The EOs obtained were tested against several Listeriamonocytogenes strains. Using GC and GC/MS, 41 compounds were identified, accounting for 96.0-98.8% of the total EO. All EOs showed a similar terpene profile, which was rich in chamazulene, -thujone, and camphor. However, the concentration of such compounds varied …
Quality Characteristics of Wholemeal Flour and Bread from Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum L subsp. durum Desf.) after Field Treatment with Plant Water…
2016
The use of selected plant water extracts to control pests and weeds is gaining growing attention in organic and sustainable agriculture, but the effects that such extracts may exert on the quality aspects of durum wheat are still unexplored. In 2014, 5 plant water extracts (Artemisia arborescens, Euphorbia characias, Rhus coriaria, Thymus vulgaris, Lantana camara) were prepared and distributed on durum wheat cv Valbelice to evaluate their potential herbicidal effects. After crop harvesting, the major physicochemical and technological parameters of wholemeal flours obtained from each treatment were measured and compared with those from chemical weeding and untreated controls. A baking test w…
Prevention of carcinogenesis and metastasis by Artemisinin-type drugs.
2018
Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood, qinhao) is an ancient Chinese herbal remedy for pyrexia. Nowadays, artemisinin (qinghaosu) and its derivatives belong to the standard therapies against malaria worldwide, and its discovery has led to the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine to Youyou Tu in 2015. While most attention has been paid to the treatment of malaria, there is increasing evidence that Artemisinin-type drugs bear a considerable potential to treat and prevent cancer. Rather than reporting on therapy of cancer, this review gives a comprehensive and timely overview on the chemopreventive effects of artemisinin and its derivatives against carcinogenesis and metastasis formation, followin…
From ancient herb to modern drug: Artemisia annua and artemisinin for cancer therapy.
2017
Artemisia annua L. is used throughout Asia and Africa as tea and press juice to treat malaria and related symptomes (fever, chills). Its active ingredient, artemisinin (ARS), has been developed as antimalarial drug and is used worldwide. Interestingly, the bioactivity is not restricted to malaria treatment. We and others found that ARS-type drugs also reveal anticancer in vitro and in vivo. In this review, we give a systematic overview of the literature published over the past two decades until the end of 2016. Like other natural products, ARS acts in a multi-specific manner against tumors. The cellular response of ARS and its derivatives (dihydroartemisinin, artesunate, artemether, arteeth…
Cancer combination therapies with artemisinin-type drugs
2017
Artemisia annua L. is a Chinese medicinal plant, which is used throughout Asia and Africa as tea or press juice to treat malaria. The bioactivity of its chemical constituent, artemisinin is, however, much broader. We and others found that artemisinin and its derivatives also exert profound activity against tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. Should artemisinin-type drugs be applied routinely in clinical oncology in the future, then it should probably be as part of combination therapy regimens rather than as monotherapy. In the present review, I give a comprehensive overview on synergistic and additive effects of artemisinin-type drugs in combination with different types of cytotoxic agents an…
I10 The anticancer activity of the antimalarial artesunate
2017
More than a decade ago, we initiated a research program on the molecular pharmacology of phytochemicals derived from Chinese medicinal herbs. A promising compound was artemisinin from Artemisia annua L. and its semisynthetic compound artesunate [1] . Artemisinin and artesunate are anti-malarial drugs. Our data indicated profound activity against cancer cells, but also against various viruses, Schistosoma, Trypanosoma, and even plant crown gall tumors. To elucidate the molecular mode of actions against cancer, we applied molecular biological and pharmacogenomic approaches in vitro and in vivo. Different signalling pathways were identified not only in cancer cells but also in cells infected w…
Artemisinin Derivatives Target Topoisomerase 1 and Cause DNA Damage in Silico and in Vitro
2017
DNA topoisomerases 1 and 2 are enzymes that maintain DNA topology and play important essential genome functions, including DNA replication and transcription. Aberrant topoisomerases cause genome instability and a wide range of diseases, cancer in particular. Both Topo 1 and 2 are the targets of valuable anticancer drugs, such as camptothecin. It has been previously shown that artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone from Artemisia annua L. also known as qinghaosu, possesses anti-cancer effects and one of its derivatives, artesunate inhibits Topo 2. In this study, we evaluated artemisinin and 40 derivatives as potential Topo 1 inhibitors at first by in silico molecular docking analyses. Five com…