Parker Megan E, Chabot Sophie, Ward Brian J, Johns Timothy
School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Macdonald Campus of McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Quebec H9X3V9, Canada.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2007 Nov 1;114(2):146-52. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2007.06.011. Epub 2007 Jul 3.
Although ethnopharmacological investigations emphasize the importance of medicinal plants in developing countries, species used regularly with diet are under-investigated and potentially make greater contributions to health. Thirteen traditional plants most commonly added to milk/soups by the Maasai for perceived health benefits were tested for activity against measles virus (MV) using non-medicinal plants as controls. Antiviral effects of plant extracts were sought using a modified neutralization assay. Methanolic extracts of medicinal species exhibited significantly greater activity neutralizing MV in vitro in comparison to non-medicinal extracts (p<0.02). Four of 13 (31%) medicinal species versus 0/13 controls had measurable effects against MV in vitro. Olinia rochetiana (Olkirenyi) and Warburgia ugandensis (Osokonoi) extracts were most potent with the number of plaque forming units reduced 37- and 34-fold, respectively. Given the importance of monocytes in the dissemination of MV, we assessed the capacity of a subset of plant extracts to inhibit MV growth in monocytoid cell line, U937. MV output from U937 cells was significantly reduced by four of seven medicinal plant extracts (mean reduction 48 h: 39.0+/-26.0%, range 3.5-87%; 72 h: 56.4+/-29.5%, range 14.1-103.1%) (p<0.05). This study provides evidence that medicinal plants added to the Maasai diet may contribute to the modulation of viral infections.
尽管民族药理学研究强调了药用植物在发展中国家的重要性，但经常与饮食搭配使用的植物却未得到充分研究，而它们可能对健康有更大贡献。我们以非药用植物作为对照，对马赛人最常添加到牛奶/汤中以获取健康益处的13种传统植物进行了抗麻疹病毒（MV）活性测试。采用改良的中和试验来探寻植物提取物的抗病毒作用。与非药用提取物相比，药用植物的甲醇提取物在体外对MV的中和活性显著更高（p<0.02）。13种药用植物中有4种（31%）在体外对MV有可测量的作用，而13种对照植物中则没有。罗切特奥里尼亚树（Olkirenyi）和乌干达沃氏樟（Osokonoi）的提取物效力最强，空斑形成单位数量分别减少了37倍和34倍。鉴于单核细胞在MV传播中的重要性，我们评估了一部分植物提取物抑制单核细胞系U937中MV生长的能力。七种药用植物提取物中有四种显著降低了U937细胞中的MV产量（48小时平均降低：39.0+/-26.0%，范围3.5-87%；72小时：56.4+/-29.5%，范围14.1-103.1%）（p<0.05）。这项研究提供了证据，表明添加到马赛人饮食中的药用植物可能有助于调节病毒感染。
