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Laboratory evaluation of activity of traditional Ecuadorian medicinal plants
Klepáčková, Kateřina ; Klouček, Pavel (advisor) ; Přemysl, Přemysl (referee)
Health care in Ecuador varies greatly depending on socioeconomic status, age, sex and place of residence. One third of the population has no regular access to health services and more than two-thirds of the population has no health insurance. Herbal medicine is
the synthesis of therapeutic experience of indigenous physicians which has been evolving
for hundreds of years and its resources are used to prevent and treat various types of diseases. Plants are popular natural remedy due to their efficacy, safety and minimal side effects. However, certain combinations of herbal medicine and drugs can be dangerous. Sciences, which help to examine the context of the traditional use of plants in the timeframe and also contribute to the discovery of their bioactive compounds, are called ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology. This paper investigates ten plants imported from Ecuador, which are traditionally used for healing various types of diseases such as gastrointestinal disorders, influenza, cold, urinary tract infection, skin diseases in the pelvic cavity etc. Efficiency research of herbal medicine has a great significance for future healthcare because
of the expansion of antimicrobial resistance, which is currently becoming a serious health risk for both humans and animals. Antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of plants, which are
in this thesis measured by the broth microdilution method and ORAC method, are important indicators for the analysis of medicinal plants. The only demonstrable positive result
of testing the antimicrobial activity was the discovery of minimum inhibitory concentration
of Espeletia schultzii against Streptococcus pyogenes (MIC=0.256 mg/mL). The highest antioxidant activity was discovered in the plant Croton elegans Kunth (743,64 +- 28,56 microgram of trolox equal to 1 miligram of the extract), for which no records associated to antioxidant activity were found.
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