Benarba Bachir, Meddah Boumedienne
Department of Biology, Laboratory for Research on Biological Systems and Geomatics, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University of Mascara, Algeria.
J Intercult Ethnopharmacol. 2014 Oct-Dec;3(4):150-4. doi: 10.5455/jice.20140826030222. Epub 2014 Sep 6.
Aristolochia longa (from the family Aristolochiaceae) is widely used in Algerian traditional medicine. Here, we document ethnomedicinal uses by local population of Mascara province (West Algeria) and we evaluate the antifungal activity, the phytochemical composition and total phenolic content of aqueous extract (decoction) of the roots of A. longa from Algeria.
The ethnobotanical investigation was carried out in Mascara Province (West Algeria). Antifungal activity was assessed against Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Total phenolic content was measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu's reagent.
Our results showed that A. longa is widely used to treat several ailments such as cancer (38%), skin infections (14%), and diabetes (11%). Crushed roots are commonly used (89%) mixed with honey, milk, water or other medicinal plants. A. longa aqueous extract induced growth inhibition of S. cerevisiae cells in a dose - and time - dependent manner. An effective suppression of S. cerevisiae (97.06% inhibition of proliferation) was obtained at the 500 µg/mL after 72 h. Results of the phytochemical screening revealed that A. longa aqueous extract contained various bioactive compounds, including polyphenols and flavonoids. Total phenolic content in A. longa aqueous extract was found to be 6.07 ± 0.12 mg (gallic acid equivalents)/g.
A. longa may be considered as a promising source of new drugs for treating cancer and as a good antifungal agent.
长叶马兜铃（马兜铃科）在阿尔及利亚传统医学中广泛使用。在此，我们记录了马斯卡拉省（阿尔及利亚西部）当地居民对其的民族药用情况，并评估了来自阿尔及利亚的长叶马兜铃根水提取物（煎剂）的抗真菌活性、植物化学成分和总酚含量。
在马斯卡拉省（阿尔及利亚西部）开展了民族植物学调查。评估了对酿酒酵母的抗真菌活性。使用福林 - 酚试剂测定总酚含量。
我们的结果表明，长叶马兜铃被广泛用于治疗多种疾病，如癌症（38%）、皮肤感染（14%）和糖尿病（11%）。碾碎的根通常（89%）与蜂蜜、牛奶、水或其他药用植物混合使用。长叶马兜铃水提取物以剂量和时间依赖性方式诱导酿酒酵母细胞生长抑制。在500μg/mL处理72小时后，对酿酒酵母有有效抑制（增殖抑制率达97.06%）。植物化学筛选结果显示，长叶马兜铃水提取物含有多种生物活性化合物，包括多酚和黄酮类化合物。长叶马兜铃水提取物中的总酚含量为6.07±0.12mg（没食子酸当量）/g。
长叶马兜铃可被视为治疗癌症新药的有前景来源以及良好的抗真菌剂。
