Demand For Alternative Medicine Research Articles

Comparison of antibacterial Apis mellifera honey varietals from northeastern United States

The demand for alternative medicine is increasing as more bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. Apis mellifera is a honeybee that feeds on nectar from a variety of plants, some of which have antibacterial properties. The objective of this study was to identify antibacterial honeys native to the northeastern USA. Six honey varietals were examined: black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), buckwheat (Polygonum convolvulus), basswood (Tilia americana), blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium), orange blossom (Citrus seninsis), and goldenrod (Solidago altissima). Well diffusion and zones of inhibition were used to examine the antibacterial properties of these varietals against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Three out of six honey varietals significantly inhibited bacterial growth. Basswood honey exhibited the greatest antibacterial effect on E. coli and S. aureus, inhibiting growth at 1% and 2% w/v, resulting in zones of inhibition of 30.3 ± 2.0 mm and 12.7 ± 0.6 mm, respectively. Six volatile compounds were identified using GC-MS. Four compounds were identified within blueberry honey (dodecane, methyl [4-(propan-2-yl)phenyl] carbonate, butan-2-yl heptanoate, and disalicylide), two were identified in goldenrod honey (ethyl 4-ethoxybenzoate and 9-methylphenanthrene), and one was identified in basswood honey (ethyl 4-ethoxybenzoate). Basswood, orange blossom, and goldenrod were as inhibitory or more inhibitory than the commonly used antibiotic tetracycline, which would suggest that these honey varietals should be further explored as a potential topical antibiotic.

Bioactive agents from beach waste: Syringodium flotsam evaluation as a new source of l-chiro-inositol

Abstract Flotsam from the seagrass Syringodium filiforme were assayed for inositols, a class of cyclitol well known for their biological activities and applications. Free l -chiro-inositol (LCI), a very rare natural occurring cyclitol, was isolated from aqueous extracts of dried detrital leaves. The structure was unambiguously established by NMR and polarimetry. The LCI content of the crude aqueous extracts prepared from different batches of Syringodium flotsam was measured by quantitative 1 H-NMR spectroscopy. The high concentrations found (2.3–2.5% dry weight) offer promise for the exploitation of Syringodium flotsam as a new cheap source for nutraceutical or therapeutic applications, considering the demonstrated hypoglycaemic action of LCI. Industrial relevance In the West the demand for herbal drugs has reached a new high in recent years. As the demand for alternative medicine has grown, so have the harvesting and collection pressures for numerous ecologies that produce the medicinal plants of interest. There is evidence in literature that chiro-inositol can be used in managing diabetes. Flotsam of the seagrass Syringodium filiforme , which accumulate in huge quantities on the beaches of the Caribbean Sea, could become a new and interesting source to obtain extracts rich in chiro-inositol. Heretofore, there has been no market for Syringodium flotsam , so that the cost of the same is simply that of harvesting. Recovery of inositol from this waste material could offer very interesting economic possibilities to tropical coastal areas suffering from increased rates of unemployment.