Abstract
One of the newest pharmacopoeial documents, the European Pharmacopoeia Supplement 9.4 contains monographs of several new raw materials of plant origin, long used in East Asian and South American medicine. Part 1 and 2 presents characteristics of the plant species providing new saponin raw materials (Bupleurum sp., Platycodon grandiflorus). Part 3 describes Ligusticum chuanxiong, which is the source of a new raw material rich in volatile oil. Part 4 is dedicated to Houttuynia cordata and Part 5 to Paeonia x suffruticosa. These plants supply a new flavonoid and terpenoid-phenolic raw materials. Part 6 is focused on characteristics of Paullinia cupana (a source of alkaloid raw material). On the other hand, Part 7 presents botanical, ecological and chemical characteristics of Ilex paraguariensis (yerba-mate). Mate folium, a raw material derived from this species has long been used by indigenous peoples of Argentine, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in the form of infusion as a traditional stimulating drink. This raw material is particularly rich in caffeine and theobromine, chlorogenic acid, dicaffeoylquinic acids and catechins. The backbone of the article is made up of a review of therapeutic applications of this raw material confirmed by scientific studies. Mate folium appears as a kind of “panacea” efficient in lifestyle diseases currently threatening the mankind. The aim of the article is to popularize professional knowledge of this species, to date insufficiently known in Poland, in pharmaceutical and medical community.
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