Plants With Medicinal Qualities

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Plants With Medicinal Qualities

• Andrew Ferguson
• Kumar Patel
• Tye Throneberry

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Ginkgo biloba

• Ginkgo biloba is one of the most commonly used
  herbal medicines in the world.
• It has been used for thousands of years in China.
  
• The Ginkgo was thought to be extinct in the wild,
  but it is now known to grow wild in two areas in
  China.

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Ginkgo biloba

• Ginkgos are deciduous trees that, when full
  grown, range from 60-120 feet tall.
• The species originated in China 180 million years
  ago, and there are over 100 Ginkgo trees in China
  that are reportedly over 1000 years old.
• They are very hardy trees. 8 Ginkgos survived the
  atomic bombing of Hiroshima and are still alive
  today.

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Morphology

• The Ginkgo has bi-lobed leaves with veins that
  extend out from the center.
• Each tree is either male or female.
• The branches grow in length by the growth of
  shoots from the bases of the leaves.
• Male plants produce pollen cones, and female
  plants have two ovules at the end of stalks that
  form seeds upon pollination.

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Taxonomy

• Common Name Maidenhair Tree
• Division Ginkgophyta
• Class Ginkgoopsida
• Order Ginkgoales
• Family Ginkgoaceae
• Genus Ginkgo
• Species Ginkgo biloba

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Taxonomy

• Ginkgo means silver apricot
• biloba means bi-lobed - referring to the two
  lobed leaves of the plant.
• G. biloba is a living fossil, and it is the only
  plant from its division, class, order, family, or
  genus that is still alive. It has no botanical
  relationships.

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Distribution and Habitat

• Ginkgo trees can be found in many temperate and
  subtropical areas including North, Central, and
  South America, Africa, China, and Australia.
• The Ginkgo grows best in moist, deep, sandy soils
  near rivers, but it can grow in almost any set of
  conditions.

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History of Use

• Ginkgo seeds and leaves have been used in
  traditional Chinese medicine to treat asthma,
  coughs, bladder irritability, and uterine fluxes.
• The leaves were eaten as early as 200AD in China
  to increase blood flow to the lungs and treat
  diarrhea.

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Uses

• Ginkgo biloba has a very unique chemical
  composition that accounts for the multiple
  effects it produces.
• Its extract, EGB 761, contains many functional
  groups which also help to account for the
  multiple effects it produces.

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EGb 761
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Uses

• EGb 761 produces four main effects1.
  Vasodilation and protection of the circulatory
  system.2. Protection of the nervous system.3.
  Protection against retinal diseases.4.
  Protection against otorhinolaryngeal diseases.

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Uses

• Something unique about EGb 761 is that it does
  not act solely as an activator or an inhibitor.
  Instead, it may act as either one, promoting
  either the activation or inhibition of processes
  that maintain regular behavior of the body.

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Uses

• In the US, Ginkgo is an herbal medication, but in
  Europe particularly in Germany and France
  Ginkgo is prescribed by doctors to treat many
  conditions and diseases associated with aging.
• Dimentia, Alzheimers, macular degeneration,
  glaucoma, mood disorders, and sexual dysfunction.

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Uses

• Ginko also protects against free radicals, which
  improves the survival of many primary auditory
  and optical nerves. Its vasodilating properties
  are the method by which it cures sexual
  dysfunction. It has beneficial effects on memory
  and attention span due to its stimulation of the
  hippocampus.

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Controversy

• While Ginkgo seems to cause few problems to those
  who take it, many are still skeptical of its
  effectiveness.
• Ginkgo may be beneficial, but so are many of its
  alternatives.
• For people who only feel right about treating
  themselves with herbal medications, ginkgo may be
  a good alternative to prescribed medicines.
• Many people take ginkgo for its memory enhancing
  properties.
• Even if the perceived results are just a product
  of the placebo effect, they are still results.

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Ephedra Taxonomy

• Division Gnetophyta
• Class Gnetopsida
• Order Ephedrales
• Family Ephedraceae
• Genus Ephedra
• Species Ephedra sinica

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Ephedra sinica

• Ephedra sinica is an ephedrine containing member
  of the Ephedra genus.
• Its common names are Ma Huang and Ephedra
• Ephedra was the active ingredient in the recently
  banned Fen Phen drug.

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Ephedra Botanical Relationships

• Many, but not all, of the species in the Ephedra
  genus contain alkaloids.
• E. sinica traditionally has the highest alkaloid
  content 1-3 of the plant is composed of
  alkaloids, and 40-90 of these alkaloids are
  ephedrine.
• Ephedrine is an alkaloid that is the active
  ingredient that produces the desired effects of
  ingesting the plant.

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Ephedra sinica

• Ephedra sinica is a small evergreen bush that
  occurs in dry climates over a wide area, mainly
  in the Northern Hemisphere.
• The plant originated in Pakistan and Northern
  China about 30 million years ago, but it can now
  be found across Southern Europe, North Africa,
  Southwest and Central Asia, South America, and in
  the Southwestern areas of the US.

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Harvesting Ephedrine

• The usefual part of E. sinica is primarily the
  dried, young branch.
• Sometimes, the root or whole plant is used.
  Ephedrine found in dietary supplements is usually
  either a formation of powdered stems and aerial
  portion or a dried extract. Dried extracts
  contain more ephedrine alkaloids by weight, due
  to the extraction process.

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Historical Use

• Ephedra has been used in traditional Chinese
  medicine for over 5000 years.
• Historically, it was used to treat colds, the
  flu, fever, chills, headaches, edema, joint and
  bone pain, and it was used as a diuretic.

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Uses of Ephedra

• When combined with caffeine, ephedrine has been
  shown to promote thermogenesis, fat loss, and
  muscle gain in a collection of controlled trials.
  
• Ephedrine acts as a general stimulant on the
  nervous system, making the body feel more
  energized.

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Controversy

• Taking too much ephedrine can produce toxic
  effects that include peripheral vasconstriction
  and cardiac palpitations which lead to increased
  blood pressure and increased heart rate.
• More adverse effects of ephedrine may target the
  central nervous system these effects include
  nervousness, anxiety, tremors, weakness,
  irritability, and insomnia.
• All of these adverse effects increase with higher
  doses, and overdose can lead to nausea, vomiting,
  fever, palpitations, tachycardia, hypertension,
  paranoid psychosis, respiratory depression,
  convulsions, and even coma.

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Controversy

• On February 6, 2004, the FDA banned the sale of
  dietary supplements containing ephedrine
  alkaloids on the grounds that they pose an
  unreasonable risk to those who use them.
• The FDA had reports of over 16,000 adverse events
  associated with the use of ephedrine alkaloid
  containing dietary supplements. These supplements
  caused heart palpitations, insomnia, and tremors,
  among other things.

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Controversy

• Drugs that contain ephedrine alkaloids had been
  previously monitored and regulated by the FDA,
  and it was unreasonable to not regulate the
  dietary supplements. On August 21, 2006, a
  circuit court upheld the FDAs decision to ban
  ephedra as a dietary supplement.

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Summary

• While ephedrine has been shown to promote weight
  loss and give the user an increased feeling of
  energy, the risks seem to outweigh the rewards.
• Exercise and proper diet are safer, more
  effective ways to lose weight and increase
  metabolic rate and energy levels.

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Hawthorn

• Hawthorn is a plant that was used in traditional
  Chinese medicine as a digestive aid.
• Recently, it has been used to treat people with
  high blood pressure and mild heart failure in
  Europe.

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Hawthorn Taxonomy

• Division Magnoliophyta
• Class Magnoliopsida
• Order Rosales
• Family Rosaceae
• Subfamily Maloideae
• GenusCrataegus
• Species Crataegus laevigata

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Hawthorn Taxonomy and Morphology

• The Rosaceae family is a large family of plants,
  with about 3,000-4,000 species in 100-120
  genuses. Traditionally it has been divided into
  four subfamilies Rosoideae, Spiraeoideae,
  Maloideae, and Amygdaloideae.
• These subfamilies are primarily diagnosed by the
  structure of the fruits, although this approach
  is not followed universally.
• Crataegus laevigata is native to Europe around 30
  million years ago.

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Hawthorn Morphology

• Hawthorn comes from shrubs that grow from 5-15 m
  tall, characterized by their small pome fruit and
  thorny branches. The bark is smooth and gray in
  younger shrubs. In older trees, the bark has
  narrow ridges.
• The fruits are sometimes known as "haws", from
  which the first part of the name Hawthorn was
  derived.
• The rest of the name comes from the thorns that
  grow from the branches, and are 1-3 cm long. The
  leaves grow spirally on long shoots and in
  clusters on the branches or twigs.
• The leaves themselves have lobed or serrate
  margins and are somewhat variable shape.

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Hawthorn Habitat

• Hawthorn comes from an extremely hardy tree.
• There are over 1000 species that are remarkably
  similar, and even professional foresters do not
  try to identify each tree by its species.
  Instead, they are grouped together.
• The shrubs tend to hybridize and adapt to the
  environment they are planted in, but they prefer
  more moist soils in fertile areas.
• The shrubs can grow in partial sunlight, but they
  grow better in full sunlight.

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Uses

• In traditional Chinese medicine, hawthorn was
  used primarily as a digestive aid, but recently
  it has been used to treat other ailments.
• In Europe, Hawthorn has been particularly widely
  used.
• Topically, hawthorn leaf has been used to treat
  boils, sores, and ulcers.

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Uses

• Orally, hawthorn leaf preparations are used to
  prevent and treat coronary circulation problems.
• They can also be used to increase cardiac output
  reduced by hypertension or pulmonary disease, and
  to treat chronic arrhythmias, hypotension, and
  other heart conditions.

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Hawthorn Controversy

• Hawthorn, as with Ginkgo, does not have many
  adverse effects.
• Sources did say to avoid hawthorn if you are
  pregnant or breast feeding.
• The only adverse effect to hawthorn is that it
  may have no effect at all. As with many herbal
  treatments, studies produced a variety of
  conclusions concerning the effectiveness of
  hawthorn.

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Herbal Treatment Pros

• Herbal medications may be beneficial to us either
  directly or indirectly via the placebo effect.
• Most herbal medications have few adverse effects,
  and overdose is not usually a life threatening
  concern.
• Herbal medications are more affordable than most
  prescription medications

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Herbal Treatment Cons

• Herbal treatment may be a waste of money, because
  often it fails to produce any effect at all.
• Herbal treatments are usually not as effective as
  prescribed treatments.
• Herbal treatments cant cure some diseases and
  ailments that prescribed treatments can.
• Even the herbal treatment books we consulted said
  to visit a physician if symptoms persisted for a
  certain period of time, indicating that while
  herbal treatments can help, there is no herbal
  substitute for many treatments.