ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Facility Management, Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Natural Product Chemistry and Phytopharmacy Group, Einsiedlerstrasse 31, 8820, Wädenswil, Switzerland.
ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Facility Management, Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Technology and Pharmacology Group, Einsiedlerstrasse 31, 8820, Wädenswil, Switzerland.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2024 Dec 5;335:118633. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.118633. Epub 2024 Aug 2.
Historical texts on materia medica can be an attractive source of ethnopharmacological information. Various research groups have investigated corresponding resources from Europe and the Mediterranean region, pursuing different objectives. Regardless of the method used, the indexing of textual information and its conversion into data sets useful for further investigations represents a significant challenge.
First, this study aims to systematically catalogue pharmaco-botanical information in the Receptarium of Burkhard von Hallwyl (RBH) in order to identify candidate plants in a targeted manner. Secondly, the potential of RBH as a resource for pharmacological investigations will be assessed by means of a preliminary in vitro screening.
We developed a relational database for the systematic recording of parameters composing the medical recipes contained in the historical text. Focusing on dermatological recipes, we explored the mentioned plants and their uses by drawing on specific literature. The botanical identities (candidate species) suggested in the literature for the historical plant names were rated based on their plausibility of being the correct attribution. The historical uses were interpreted by consulting medical-historical and modern clinical literature. For the subsequent in vitro screening, we selected candidate species used in recipes directed at the treatment of inflammatory or infectious skin disorders and wounds. Plants were collected in Switzerland and their hydroethanolic crude extracts tested for possible cytotoxic effects and for their potential to modulate the release of IL-6 and TNF in PS-stimulated whole blood and PBMCs.
The historical text analysis points up the challenges associated with the assessment of historical plant names. Often two or more plant species are available as candidates for each of the 161 historical plant names counted in the 200 dermatological recipes in RBH. On the other hand, our method enabled to draw conclusions about the diseases underlying the 56 medical applications mentioned in the text. On this basis, 11 candidate species were selected for in vitro screening, four of which were used in RBH in herbal simple recipes and seven in a herbal compound formulation. None of the extracts tested showed a noteworthy effect on cell viability except for the sample of Sanicula europaea L. Extracts were tested at 50 μg/mL in the whole blood assay, where especially Vincetoxicum hirundinaria Medik. or Solanum nigrum L. showed inhibitory or stimulatory activities. In the PBMC assay, the root of Vincetoxicum hirundinaria revealed a distinct inhibitory effect on IL-6 release (IC of 3.6 μg/mL).
Using the example of RBH, this study illustrates a possible ethnopharmacological path from unlocking the historical text and its subsequent analysis, through the selection and collection of plant candidates to their in vitro investigation. Fully documenting our approach to the analysis of historical texts, we hope to contribute to the discussion on solutions for the digital indexing of premodern information on the use of plants or other natural products.
药用植物历史文本可以成为民族药理学信息的一个有吸引力的来源。 各个研究小组已经调查了来自欧洲和地中海地区的相应资源，追求不同的目标。 无论使用何种方法，对文本信息进行索引并将其转换为可用于进一步研究的数据集都是一项重大挑战。
本研究首先旨在系统地编目 Burkhard von Hallwyl（RBH）的 Receptarium 中的植物药信息，以便有针对性地识别候选植物。 其次，通过初步的体外筛选评估 RBH 作为药理学研究资源的潜力。
我们为包含在历史文本中的医学配方中包含的参数开发了一个关系数据库。 我们专注于皮肤病学配方，通过参考特定文献探索了上述植物及其用途。 根据其作为正确归属的可能性，对文献中建议的历史植物名称的植物学身份（候选物种）进行评分。 通过查阅医学历史和现代临床文献来解释历史用途。 对于随后的体外筛选，我们选择了用于治疗炎症或感染性皮肤疾病和伤口的配方中使用的候选物种。 在瑞士收集候选物种，并测试其水醇粗提取物是否具有细胞毒性作用，以及是否能够调节 PS 刺激的全血和 PBMCs 中 IL-6 和 TNF 的释放。
历史文本分析表明评估历史植物名称所面临的挑战。 在 RBH 中 200 个皮肤病学配方中，通常有两个或更多的候选植物物种可用于计算的 161 个历史植物名称中的每一个。 另一方面，我们的方法使我们能够得出有关该文本中提到的 56 种医学应用所涉及的疾病的结论。 在此基础上，选择了 11 种候选物种进行体外筛选，其中 4 种在 RBH 的草药简单配方中使用，7 种在草药复合配方中使用。 除了 Sanicula europaea L. 的样品外，测试的提取物在全血测定中均未显示出明显的细胞活力作用，尤其是 Vincetoxicum hirundinaria Medik。 或 Solanum nigrum L. 显示出抑制或刺激活性。 在 PBMC 测定中， Vincetoxicum hirundinaria 的根对 IL-6 释放显示出明显的抑制作用（IC 为 3.6μg/mL）。
使用 RBH 作为示例，本研究说明了从解锁历史文本及其随后的分析到选择和收集植物候选物再到它们的体外研究的可能的民族药理学途径。 通过充分记录我们对历史文本分析的方法，我们希望为关于植物或其他天然产物使用的前现代信息的数字索引解决方案的讨论做出贡献。
