Heinrich M
Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, The School of Pharmacy, University of London, 29-39 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AX, UK.
Phytother Res. 2000 Nov;14(7):479-88. doi: 10.1002/1099-1573(200011)14:7<479::aid-ptr958>3.0.co;2-2.
The botanical collections of early explorers and the later ethnobotany have played important roles in the development of new drugs for many centuries. In the middle of the last century interest in this approach had declined dramatically, but has risen again during its last decade, and new foci have developed. The systematic evaluation of indigenous pharmacopoeias in order to contribute to improved health care in marginalized regions has been placed on the agenda of international and national organizations and of NGOs. In this paper the results of various projects on Mexican Indian ethnobotany and some of the subsequent pharmacological and phytochemical studies are summarized. Medicinal plants are an important element of indigenous medical systems in Mexico. This study uses the medicinal plants in four indigenous groups of Mexican Indians-Maya, Nahua, Zapotec and Mixe-as an example. The relative importance of a medicinal plant within a culture is documented using a quantitative method and the data are compared intra- and interculturally. While the species used by the indigenous groups vary, the data indicate that there exist well-defined criteria specific for each culture, which lead to the selection of a plant as a medicine. For example, a large number of species are used for gastrointestinal illnesses by two or more of the indigenous groups. At least in this case, the multiple transfers of species and their uses within -Mexico seems to be an important reason for the widespread use of a species. Some of the data we gathered in order to evaluate the indigenous claims are also discussed, focusing on the transcription factor NF-kappaB as a molecular target. This led to the identification of sesquiterpene lactones such as parthenolide as potent and relatively specific inhibitors of this transcription factor.
几个世纪以来，早期探险家的植物学收藏以及后来的民族植物学在新药开发中发挥了重要作用。上世纪中叶，人们对这种方法的兴趣急剧下降，但在过去十年中又重新兴起，并且出现了新的关注点。对本土药典进行系统评估以促进边缘化地区医疗保健的改善，已被列入国际组织、国家组织和非政府组织的议程。本文总结了关于墨西哥印第安民族植物学的各种项目成果以及一些后续的药理学和植物化学研究。药用植物是墨西哥本土医疗体系的重要组成部分。本研究以墨西哥印第安人的四个本土群体——玛雅人、纳瓦人、萨波特克人和米克斯人——使用的药用植物为例。使用定量方法记录一种药用植物在一种文化中的相对重要性，并在文化内部和文化之间对数据进行比较。虽然各本土群体使用的物种有所不同，但数据表明，每种文化都有明确的特定标准，这些标准导致选择一种植物作为药物。例如，两个或更多本土群体使用大量物种来治疗胃肠道疾病。至少在这种情况下，物种及其用途在墨西哥境内的多次传播似乎是一种物种被广泛使用的重要原因。我们为评估本土说法而收集的一些数据也进行了讨论，重点是转录因子NF-κB作为分子靶点。这导致鉴定出倍半萜内酯如小白菊内酯是该转录因子的有效且相对特异性的抑制剂。
