Plants Used in Folk Medicie and Nitric Oxide

BLAS MICALIZZI; ROBERTO DAVICINO; YOLANDA ANGELINA CASALI; AIDA MATTAR; SILVIA GRACIELA CORREA

Advances in Chemestry And Biology of Nitric Oxide

Research Signpost

Lugar: Kerala, India.; Año: 2007; p. 207 - 226

Since ancient times plants were used in popular medicine in the worldwide. People endorsed to plants a large amount of therapeutical properties to treat a high number of human diseases. Some folk medicinal uses of plants included healing sores and wounds, rheumatism, inflammation of respiratory and intestinal tracts, gastric disturbance, venereal diseases, arthritis, cancer, tuberculosis, common cold, as well as rubefascient, tonic, corrective, antiseptic, expectorant, emetic, and immunoregulatoy applications. For many plants these properties have been demonstrated: Larrea divaricata Cav has antimicrobial, antitumoral and immunomodulatory activities; Echinacea spp exhibits anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, Panax ginseng has antitumoral activity; Ligaria cuneifolia, shows a wide range of biological activities among others as ability to decrease high blood pressure. Plants may also show antioxidant properties and may affect the production and release of nitrogen and oxygen radicals. The nitric oxide (NO) is synthesized for many cellular types involved in immunity and inflammation. NO has many physiological roles acting as vascular relaxing agent, neurotransmiter or inhibitor of platelet aggregation. The NO also plays a dual role in the inflammatory processes as it may participate in the pathogen destruction but also induce injury in the host. Depending on the levels of NO produced, it may act as a pro-inflammatory factor as well as an anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive agent via inhibitory or apoptotic effects. In this chapter we will discuss several reports on plants and NO production and their activity on inflammation and cells involved in the immune response.