Biotech R & D Institute, University of the West Indies, Mona, 99999 Kingston, Jamaica.
Vilotos Pharmaceuticals Inc., Baltimore, MD 21202, USA.
Molecules. 2021 Jan 25;26(3):607. doi: 10.3390/molecules26030607.
Plants have had historical significance in medicine since the beginning of civilization. The oldest medical pharmacopeias of the African, Arabian, and Asian countries solely utilize plants and herbs to treat pain, oral diseases, skin diseases, microbial infections, multiple types of cancers, reproductive disorders among a myriad of other ailments. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 65% of the world population solely utilize botanical preparations as medicine. Due to the abundance of plants, plant-derived medicines are more readily accessible, affordable, convenient, and have safer side-effect profiles than synthetic drugs. Plant-based decoctions have been a significant part of Jamaican traditional folklore medicine. Jamaica is of particular interest because it has approximately 52% of the established medicinal plants that exist on earth. This makes the island particularly welcoming for rigorous scientific research on the medicinal value of plants and the development of phytomedicine thereof. Viral infections caused by the human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 (HIV-1 and HIV-2), hepatitis virus B and C, influenza A virus, and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) present a significant global burden. This is a review of some important Jamaican medicinal plants, with particular reference to their antiviral activity.
植物在医学上具有历史意义,可以追溯到文明的起源。非洲、阿拉伯和亚洲国家最早的医学药典仅使用植物和草药来治疗疼痛、口腔疾病、皮肤病、微生物感染、多种癌症、生殖障碍以及其他许多疾病。世界卫生组织(WHO)估计,全世界超过 65%的人口仅使用植物制剂作为药物。由于植物资源丰富,植物衍生药物更容易获得、负担得起、方便且副作用比合成药物更安全。植物煎剂一直是牙买加传统民间医学的重要组成部分。牙买加特别有趣,因为它拥有地球上约 52%已确定的药用植物。这使得该岛非常适合对植物的药用价值进行严格的科学研究,并开发植物药。由人类免疫缺陷病毒 1 型和 2 型(HIV-1 和 HIV-2)、乙型和丙型肝炎病毒、甲型流感病毒以及严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2(SARS-CoV-2)引起的病毒感染给全球带来了巨大的负担。本文综述了一些重要的牙买加药用植物,特别是它们的抗病毒活性。