Urtica Research Articles

إجمالي محتويات الفينول والفلافونويد وفيتامين ج مع نشاط مضاد للأكسدة لأوراق القراص التي تنمو في زاخو ، إقليم كوردستان ، العراق

يُزرع جنس Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) بشكل متكرر في إقليم كردستان العراق ويستخدم كعلاج شعبي من قبل السكان المحليين لعلاج مجموعة متنوعة من الأمراض. الغرض من هذه الدراسة هو تقييم إجمالي محتويات الفينول والفلافونويد وفيتامين ج باستخدام طريقة القياس الطيفي مع تحديد الأنشطة المضادة للأكسدة للمذيبات المختلفة مثل (المائي ، الإيثانول ، أسيتات الإيثيل ، الكلوروفورم و هكسان) المتدفقة التي تختلف باختلاف اختبارات مضادات الأكسدة مع تراكيز مختلفة وهي (1،1-ثنائي فينيل -2 بيكريل هيدرازيل ، اختبار القدرة المختزل ، القدرة الكلية لمضادات الأكسدة ، كسح أكسيد النيتريك ، جذور الهيدروكسيل ، β-carotene- حمض اللينوليك ومخلبات الحديد) وحمض الأسكوربيك كمرجع معياري. أوضحت نتائجنا أن تحديد إجمالي محتويات الفينول والفلافونويد باستخدام طرق فولين سيوكالتو وكلوريد الألومنيوم أظهر أن مستخلصات المذيبات القطبية أظهرت محتوى عاليًا من الفينول والفلافونويد بينما يحتوي مستخلص أسيتات الإيثيل على نسبة عالية من فيتامين ج. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، أظهرت النتائج أن المستخلصات لها تأثيرات مضادة للأكسدة ملحوظة مقارنة بمضادات الأكسدة القياسية مثل حمض الأسكوربيك. كان لمستخلص الإيثانول لأوراق U. dioica L أنشطة تنظيف أقوى من مستخلصات المذيبات الأخرى لجذور 1،1-ثنائي فينيل -2 بيكريل هيدرازيل و الهيدروكسيل. أظهر مستخلص الماء تأثيرًا مضادًا للأكسدة أعلى من المستخلصات الأخرى لتقليل مقايسات القوة وأكسيد النيتريك مع انخفاض نشاط مضادات الأكسدة لـ β-carotene / حمض اللينوليك وإجمالي اختبارات القدرة المضادة للأكسدة. في المقابل ، كان للهكسان غير القطبي أعلى نشاط مضاد للأكسدة لمقايسة مخلب الحديد. تُظهر الدراسة الحالية أن مستخلصات أوراق U. dioica Lهي مصدر طبيعي حيوي لمضادات الأكسدة ويمكن استخدامها في المنتجات الغذائية بالإضافة إلى تطبيقات التغذ.

In silico studies on Urtica dioica as aldose reductase inhibitors

Urtica dioica L. is a perennial plant which is commonly known as “stinging nettle.” It is widely distributed throughout the temperate and tropical areas around the world. The genus Urtica is derived from word “uro” which means to burn or “urere” which means to sting. Due to the fact that the plant typically either has male or female blooms, the species name is dioica which means “two households”. Apart from various traditional uses, it is reported for the treatment of diabetes. Owing to the antioxidant potential and presence of flavonoids, here in this research, in silico studies has been performed on U. dioica to establish its target affinity against aldose reductase.

A comprehensive review on common plants with remarkable medicinal properties: Urtica dioica

Urtica dioica (stinging nettle) is a perennial plant belonging to the Urtica family Urtica genus. Nettles (genus Urtica, Urticaceae) have received considerable attention as a food preservative consumed by both humans and animals. It has also been used in traditional medicine for centuries. You can make curries, herbal and sour soups from young leaves. Nettle root is used to treat urological disorders related to benign prostatic hyperplasia, and leaves are used to treat arthritis, rheumatism, and allergic rhinitis. The leaves contain fibre, minerals, vitamins, polyphenols and carotenoids of antioxidant compounds, rich in antioxidant compounds such as polyphenols and carotenoids. Nettle has anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, anti-infective, anti-hypertensive and anti-ulcer properties in all parts of the plant (leaves, stems, roots and seeds), and has been shown to improve heart health.

Phytochemical, Chemotaxonomic and Bioinformatics Study on Laportea bulbifera (Urticaceae).

Phytochemical investigation of the aerial part of Laportea bulbifera (Siebold & Zucc.) Wedd. (L. bulbifera) showed the isolation of seventeen compounds, including five flavonoids (1-4 and 6), one terpenoid (5), five phenolic acids (7-11), one coumarin (12), two steroids (13-14), and three alkaloids (15-17). Structure elucidations of these compounds were performed on the basis of extensive NMR experiments and compared with the published data in the references. It is remarkable that compounds (3-5) were firstly isolated from the Urticaceae family, compounds (3-8, 11 and 15-17) were firstly obtained from genus Laportea. Furthermore, the result of the chemotaxonomic significance discussion showed that compounds (2-4) may can be served as compound fingerprints to distinguish between species of L. bulbifera and genus Urtica, and what' more, we proposed a bold conjecture that isoflavones can distinguish between species of L. bulbifera and genus Urtica. At the same time, the molecular docking method was used to evaluate the inhibitory effect of these compounds on human steroid 5α-reductase 2 (SRD5α2). The results showed that compounds (1-4 and 6) had better expected effects than the positive drug finasteride can by effectively binding to the active sites of SRD5α2. This study assisted in the future phytochemical and chemotaxonomic research on genus Laportea. Simultaneously, this research provided the theoretical evidence for the application of L. bulbifera in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Urtica dioica (Stinging Nettle) – Properties, Uses and Applications

Utricaceae is a family of herbs and shrubs that can be found in a variety of habitats around the world. A lot of research has been carried out till date targeted for close understanding of this medicinal plant. The botanical distribution, Ethnomedicinal applications, Traditional uses as well as Pharmacological properties of the Urtica genus, are discussed in this study. The composition such as flavonoids and array of phenolic compounds which includes alcohols, Diocanol, Diol glucosides, Terpenes diols, and sugars as well are an inclusion in the genus Urtica. A wide range of research reports have been published representing its biological and pharmacological potential against cancer, tumors, bacterial, viral or fungal infections significantly. The information about the Urtica genus has been extracted using electronic database search such as Google Scholar and Pubmed as well as a library search for peer-reviewed journal publications.

Distribution, Ecology, Chemistry and Toxicology of Plant Stinging Hairs.

Plant stinging hairs have fascinated humans for time immemorial. True stinging hairs are highly specialized plant structures that are able to inject a physiologically active liquid into the skin and can be differentiated from irritant hairs (causing mechanical damage only). Stinging hairs can be classified into two basic types: Urtica-type stinging hairs with the classical “hypodermic syringe” mechanism expelling only liquid, and Tragia-type stinging hairs expelling a liquid together with a sharp crystal. In total, there are some 650 plant species with stinging hairs across five remotely related plant families (i.e., belonging to different plant orders). The family Urticaceae (order Rosales) includes a total of ca. 150 stinging representatives, amongst them the well-known stinging nettles (genus Urtica). There are also some 200 stinging species in Loasaceae (order Cornales), ca. 250 stinging species in Euphorbiaceae (order Malphigiales), a handful of species in Namaceae (order Boraginales), and one in Caricaceae (order Brassicales). Stinging hairs are commonly found on most aerial parts of the plants, especially the stem and leaves, but sometimes also on flowers and fruits. The ecological role of stinging hairs in plants seems to be essentially defense against mammalian herbivores, while they appear to be essentially inefficient against invertebrate pests. Stinging plants are therefore frequent pasture weeds across different taxa and geographical zones. Stinging hairs are usually combined with additional chemical and/or mechanical defenses in plants and are not a standalone mechanism. The physiological effects of stinging hairs on humans vary widely between stinging plants and range from a slight itch, skin rash (urticaria), and oedema to sharp pain and even serious neurological disorders such as neuropathy. Numerous studies have attempted to elucidate the chemical basis of the physiological effects. Since the middle of the 20th century, neurotransmitters (acetylcholine, histamine, serotonin) have been repeatedly detected in stinging hairs of Urticaceae, but recent analyses of Loasaceae stinging hair fluids revealed high variability in their composition and content of neurotransmitters. These substances can explain some of the physiological effects of stinging hairs, but fail to completely explain neuropathic effects, pointing to some yet unidentified neurotoxin. Inorganic ions (e.g., potassium) are detected in stinging hairs and could have synergistic effects. Very recently, ultrastable miniproteins dubbed “gympietides” have been reported from two species of Dendrocnide, arguably the most violently stinging plant. Gympietides are shown to be highly neurotoxic, providing a convincing explanation for Dendrocnide toxicity. For the roughly 648 remaining stinging plant species, similarly convincing data on toxicity are still lacking.

Phytochemistry and biological activity of family "Urticaceae": a review (1957-2019)

Family Urticaceae is a major family of angiosperms comprises 54 genera and more than 2000 species of herbs, shrubs, small trees and a few vines distributed in the tropical regions. Family Urticaceae has many biological importance of angiosperms due to its various phytoconstituents and valuable medicinal uses. Reviewing the current available literatures showed many reports about the phytoconstituents present in many plants of the family These constituents include triterpenes, sterols, flavonoids, lignans, sesquiterpenes, alkaloids, simple phenolic compounds and miscellaneous compounds which are responsible for its biological activities such as cytotoxic, antimicrobial (antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral) anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anti-benign prostatic hyperplasia, hepatoprotective, antioxidant as well as wound healing. Genus Urtica is the most investigated (phytochemically and biologically) in all genera of family Urticaceae. Very few literature were found in phytochemical and biological studies on many genera of family Urticaceae. This provoked the researchers to carry out extensive studies on these plants.

Urtica spp.: Ordinary Plants with Extraordinary Properties.

Nettles (genus Urtica, family Urticaceae) are of considerable interest as preservatives in foods for both human and animal consumption. They have also been used for centuries in traditional medicine. This paper reviews the properties of nettles that make them suitable for wider applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Nettles contain a significant number of biologically-active compounds. For example, the leaves are rich sources of terpenoids, carotenoids and fatty acids, as well as of various essential amino acids, chlorophyll, vitamins, tannins, carbohydrates, sterols, polysaccharides, isolectins and minerals. Extracts from the aerial parts of nettles are rich sources of polyphenols, while the roots contain oleanol acid, sterols and steryl glycosides. Due to the variety of phytochemicals and their proportions they contain, nettles show noticeable activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. These properties make nettles suitable for a range of possible applications, including functional food, dietary supplements and pharmacological formulations. Despite these benefits, the nettle is still an underestimated plant source. This paper provides a unique overview of the latest research on nettle plants focusing on the possibilities for transforming a common weed into a commercial plant with a wide range of applications. Special attention is paid to the antimicrobial activity of the active compounds in nettles and to possible uses of these valuable plants in food and feed formulations.

Urtica dioica (Stinging Nettle): A Neglected Plant With Emerging Growth Promoter/Immunostimulant Properties for Farmed Fish.

Urtica dioica (stinging nettle), is a perennial plant belonging to the family of Urticaceae, genus Urtica. Despite the use of nettle in folk veterinary medicine is well documented, U. dioica is today an underestimated and frequently neglected plant, considered by the contemporary agriculture as a weed to be eliminated. This mini review focus on very recent studies on dietary administration of U. dioica, both as a single herb or in combination with other herbs, to enhance growth and stimulate farmed fish immunity, thus enabling the fish to be more resistant against bacterial infections. Such an emerging feature, together with cost-effectiveness, adequate availability, and easy processing of nettle, could make this herb an excellent, inexpensive and widely used dietary supplement on intensive fish farms.

Investigations of Phytochemical Constituents and Their Pharmacological Properties Isolated from the Genus Urtica: Critical Review and Analysis.

The genus Urtica belongs to the family Urticaceae. The plants of this genus are known as nettles or, quite often, as stinging nettles. These plants can be easily identified by the presence of stinging hairs. Urtica species have previously been used for various medicinal purposes. The history for the use of these plants for medicinal purposes starts from the Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC). Medicinally, the genus Urtica has been used to treat several disorders, such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, bronchitis, diarrhea, sprains, kidney stones, urinary tract infection, high blood pressure, hemorrhoids, flu, cough, fever, and ulcers. Scientific reports on the phytochemical analysis of this genus has so far revealed more than 123 compounds from this genus, including terpenoids, flavonoids, lignans, sterols, and polyphenols, have been isolated. Various biological activities have been exhibited by these compounds, such as antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, antiurolithiatic, anthelmintic, diuretic, antinoceceptive, antidiabetic, antiviral, , and immunomodulatory. In this article, we mainly emphasize the phytochemical composition, therapeutic applications, and ethnopharmacological values of various species of genus Urtica.

Autumn habitat selection of the harvest mouse (Micromys minutus Pallas, 1771) in a rural and fragmented landscape

The harvest mouse Micromys minutus has, through nest findings, been documented to live in wetlands in tall sedges and grasses in Central Europe. However, there is very little information on the type of habitat this species uses outside of nesting, because this rodent is difficult to capture in ordinary trapping set-ups. In France and Switzerland, the harvest mouse populations have decreased strongly in the past two centuries due to the drastic reduction of its favored habitat. The present study used radiotracking to examine a small population in Eastern France living in a fragmented rural landscape. The aim was to learn more about the habitat and vegetation selection of this population during autumn. The results showed that the most favored habitats were in patches of stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) and American goldenrod (Solidago gigantea) rather than in their supposedly preferred vegetation type, which are tall grass wetlands. The results also presented migrating behavior in three out of the eight monitored individuals, which lead to the discovery of a possible wintering area in an unmown grassy site around a plant dump. These results suggest that disturbed, but unmown areas are important for the harvest mouse as wintering vegetation and should be available in the surrounding of a reproduction site. The results also showed that wetland management must take into account the affinity of this mammal for areas invaded by American goldenrod, in order to prevent the harvest mouse populations from decreasing in those secondary habitats. (Less)

Formulation and Quality Evaluation of Sisnu (Urtica plaviflora) Soup Powder

Abstract available on the full text PDF.

Pulling the sting out of nettle systematics – A comprehensive phylogeny of the genus Urtica L. (Urticaceae)

The genus Urtica L. is subcosmopolitan, found on all continents (except Antarctica) and most extratropical islands and ranges from Alaska to Patagonia, Spitzbergen to the Cape and Camtschatka to the subantarctic islands. However, throughout its geographical range morphologically nearly indistinguishable species are found alongside morphologically quite disparate species, with the overall diversity of morphological characters extremely limited. The systematics of Urtica have puzzled scientists for the past 200years and no single comprehensive attempt at understanding infrageneric relationships has been published in the past, nor are species delimitations unequivocally established. We here provide the first comprehensive phylogeny of the genus including 61 of the 63 species recognized, represented by 144 ingroup accessions and 14 outgroup taxa. The markers ITS1–5.8S–ITS2, psbA–trnH intergenic spacer, trnL–trnF and trnS–trnG are used. The phylogeny is well resolved. The eastern Asian Zhengyia shennongensis T. Deng, D.G. Zhang & H. Sun is retrieved as sister to Urtica. Within Urtica, a clade comprising the western Eurasian species U. pilulifera L. and U. neubaueri Chrtek is sister to all other species of the genus. The phylogenetic analyses retrieve numerous well-supported clades, suggesting previously unsuspected relationships and implying that classically used taxonomic characters such as leaf morphology and growth habit are highly homoplasious. Species delimitation is problematical, and several accessions assigned to Urtica dioica L. (as subspecies) are retrieved in widely different places in the phylogeny. The genus seems to have undergone numerous dispersal-establishment events both between continents and onto different islands. Three recent species radiations are inferred, one in America centered in the Andes, one in New Zealand, and one in northern Eurasia which includes Urtica dioica s.str. sensu Henning et al. (2014). The present study provides the basis of a critical re-examination of species limits and taxonomy, but also of the dispersal ecology of this widespread plant group and an in-depth study of the three clades with recent radiations.

Airborne pollen from allergenic herbaceous plants in urban and rural areas of Western Pomerania, NW Poland

This paper presents the course of the pollen season of selected allergenic taxa (Rumex spp., Plantago spp., Urtica spp. and Chenopodiaceae) in two towns with different degrees of urbanisation (urban, the city Szczecin, and rural, the village Gudowo in Western Pomerania, northwest Poland). The study was conducted in the years 2012–2014 with the volumetric method. The pollen of allergenic herbaceous plants was present in the air from early May until the end of September. From among the taxa studied, the genus Rumex is characterised by the longest pollination period, while the genus Urtica by the shortest. The highest percentage contribution of pollen grains to the total pollen count in the air reaching over 90% is from nettle. The pollen seasons determined for the majority of taxa are longer in the city, however the mean pollen grain counts in the air are higher for the rural area.

The antibacterial activity of Iranian plants extracts against metallo beta- lactamase producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains

Metallo β-lactamases (MBLs) producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( P. aeruginosa ) isolates are becoming an escalating global threat. Among the antibiotics used to treat infections associated with P. aeruginosa , resistance to carbapenem is a serious therapeutic challenge. The aim of the present study was to detect MBL-producing P. aeruginosa and to evaluate the extracts of Urtica. dioica , Carum. copticum , and Zataria multiflora on these clinical pathogens. The study was performed on hospitalized burn patients during 2014. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was tested by broth micro dilution and disc diffusion methods. The MBLs were detected using combination disk diffusion test (CDDT) phenotypically. Then, PCR and sequencing methods were carried out to detect the MBL encoding genes. Among 83 imipenem resistant P. aeruginosa strains, 48 (57.9%) isolates were MBL-producing P. aeruginosa . PCR and sequencing methods confirmed that these strains were bla IMP-1 positive genes, whereas none were positive for bla VIM genes. Hospitalized burn patients with MBL-producing P.aeruginosa infection had 4/48 (8.3%) mortality rate. It was demonstrated that C. copticum , U. dioica , and Z. multiflora extracts had significant antibacterial effects on regular and IMP-producing P. aeruginosa strains. The prevalence of MBL-producing P .aeruginosa isolates in burn patients is very high. In this study, all MBL-producing strains encode the bla IMP-1 gene. Therefore, detection of MBL-producing strains has major importance in identifying drug resistance patterns in P. aeruginosa and in controlling of infections. In the current study, the extracts from C. copticum , U. dioica , and Z. multiflora had high antibacterial effects against β-lactamase producing P. aeruginosa isolates.

ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЕ ГИДРОКСИКОРИЧНЫХ КИСЛОТ, КАРОТИНОИДОВ И ХЛОРОФИЛЛА В ЛИСТЬЯХ КРАПИВЫ ДВУДОМНОЙ (URTICA DIOICA L.)

In 2014, it approved a new pharmacopoeia articles for inclusion in the State Pharmacopoeia XIII ed. «Nettle leaves», which, by analogy with the European Pharmacopoeia provides quantification of hydroxycinnamic acids in terms of chlorogenic acid. The value for nettle leaves are biologically active substances such as vitamin K, flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, carotenoids, tannins, amino acids, and other chlorophylls. Nettle leaves are rich in carotenoids, the absorption maximum of which is clearly seen in the spectra of the extracts. It was based on the previously developed method for the quantitative determination of hydroxycinnamic acids and chlorophyll in the leaves of nettle by spectrophotometry. However, the form of the absorption spectrum of the analyte extracting raw indicates the possibility of simultaneous determination of not only the data of biologically active substances, but also without prior separation of carotenoids, because their peaks do not overlap. The work carried out modification techniques quantitative content of hydroxycinnamic acids and chlorophyll in the leaves of nettle by spectrophotometry, which consists in determining the amount of additional carotenoids in terms violoksantin when present together. The influence of the polarity of the extractant to extract the studied groups of biologically active substances. It was found that with increasing polarity to 6.0 units is an increase in extractable all studied groups of substances. Established validation characteristics quantifying carotenoids on the proposed methodology. A comparative analysis of the obtained results with published data to identify the studied groups of biologically active substances of different kinds of plants of the genus Urtica ssp.

Phytochemical, phylogenetic, and anti-inflammatory evaluation of 43 Urtica accessions (stinging nettle) based on UPLC–Q-TOF-MS metabolomic profiles

Several species of the genus Urtica (especially Urtica dioica, Urticaceae), are used medicinally to treat a variety of ailments. To better understand the chemical diversity of the genus and to compare different accessions and different taxa of Urtica, 63 leaf samples representing a broad geographical, taxonomical and morphological diversity were evaluated under controlled conditions. A molecular phylogeny for all taxa investigated was prepared to compare phytochemical similarity with phylogenetic relatedness. Metabolites were analyzed via UPLC-PDA-MS and multivariate data analyses. In total, 43 metabolites were identified, with phenolic compounds and hydroxy fatty acids as the dominant substance groups. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) provides a first structured chemotaxonomy of the genus. The molecular data present a highly resolved phylogeny with well-supported clades and subclades. U. dioica is retrieved as both para- and polyphyletic. European members of the U. dioica group and the North American subspecies share a rather similar metabolite profile and were largely retrieved as one, nearly exclusive cluster by metabolite data. This latter cluster also includes - remotely related - Urtica urens, which is pharmaceutically used in the same way as U. dioica. However, most highly supported phylogenetic clades were not retrieved in the metabolite cluster analyses. Overall, metabolite profiles indicate considerable phytochemical diversity in the genus, which largely falls into a group characterized by high contents of hydroxy fatty acids (e.g., most Andean-American taxa) and another group characterized by high contents of phenolic acids (especially the U. dioica-clade). Anti-inflammatory in vitro COX1 enzyme inhibition assays suggest that bioactivity may be predicted by gross metabolic profiling in Urtica.

Bioefficacy of plant extracts and biocontrol agents against Alternaria solani

Three bioagents viz., Trichoderma harzianum Rifai, Trichoderma viride Pers. andTrichoderma virens (Miller et al) von Arx and five plant extracts viz., Artimesia absinthiumL., Datura stramonium L., Urtica dioica L., Juglans regia L. and Mentha arvensis L. were evaluated in vitro against Alternaria solani (Ellis and Martin) Jones and Grout causing early blight of potato through dual culture and poisoned food technique, respectively. Among bioagents, significantly higher mycelial growth inhibition of A. solani was recorded in the case of T. harzianum (71.85%), which was followed by T. viride (65.93%) and T. virens(58.65%) proved least effective in inhibiting the mycelial growth of A. solani. Among plant extracts, D. stramonium proved superior to all other botanicals, exhibiting (61.12%) mycelial growth inhibition of A. solani. This was followed by A. absinthium (58.54%).Urtica dioica (37.34%) proved least effective in inhibiting the mycelial growth of the test fungus. Key words: Bioagents, plant extracts, potato, Alternaria solani, dual culture, early blight.

Hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica circularis: A neuropharmacological profile

Context: The genus Urtica has been known since ancient times. It has known to be useful for the treatment of different human ailments.Objective: The present work evaluated the neuropharmacological effects of a hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica circularis (Hicken) Sorarú (Urticaceae).Materials and method: The effect on central nervous system of U. circularis hydroalcoholic extract (from leaves and stems) administered by the intraperitoneal route in mice was evaluated by several tests: Pentobarbital- and midazolam-induced hypnosis, open field, hole board, elevated plus-maze and forced swimming. Phytochemical analysis was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography.Results: A total of 300 mg/kg i.p. of the extract produced a significant prolongation of pentobarbital- (40 mg/kg i.p.; 60.1 min versus 25.4 min) and midazolam- (50 mg/kg i.v.; 53.4 min versus 25.1 min) induced sleeping time. The extract’s administration caused a marked reduction of the head-dipping response (DE50: 373 mg/kg i.p.) in the hole-board test. Urtica circularis extract (DE50: 46 mg/kg i.p.) reduced the spontaneous locomotor activity in the open field test. Flumazenil and atropine significantly antagonized the extract’s effect on the locomotor activity. No motor coordination disturbance was observed in the rota rod test at any doses. In the forced swimming test, the extract did not produce any change in the immobility time and it had no significant effects in elevated plus maze test. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of chlorogenic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, vicenin-2, p-cumaric acid, ferulic acid, vitexin and isovitexin.Conclusion: This study revealed that U. circularis hydroalcoholic extract possesses sedative activity, facilitating GABAergic and cholinergic transmission.

Alteration of Dentate Gyrus Astrocytes in Diabetic Rats: Protective Role of Urtica dioica

La diabetes mellitus puede provocar alteraciones de los astrocitos en el sistema nervioso central. La Urtica dioica (ortiga) es una de varias especies incluidas para su uso contra la diabetes en la medicina popular. Este estudio se realizo para evaluar el efecto protector de la Urtica dioica sobre la densidad de los astrocitos en el giro dentado en ratas con diabetes inducida por STZ. En este estudio experimental 21 ratas albinas Wistar fueron asignadas al azar equitativamente en grupos normal, diabetico y protegido (diabeticos tratados con ortiga). La hiperglicemia fue inducida por estreptozotocina (80 mg/kg) en los grupos de animales diabeticos y en tratamiento protector. Previo a la induccion diabetica, los animales del grupo protegido recibieron, por via intraperitoneal, extracto hidroalcoholico de Urtica dioica (100 mg/kg/peso corporal/dia) durante cinco dias . Cuatro semanas despues de la induccion de la diabetes, los animales fueron sacrificados y se tomaron secciones coronales de la formacion del hipocampo dorsal de los hemisferios cerebrales derechos y se tineron con tincion PTAH. La densidad de area de los astrocitos fue medida y comparada en los tres grupos (p<0,05). El numero de astrocitos en el area del giro dentado en los controles fue 17,72±6,7. La densidad de los astrocitos aumento con la diabetes (24,26±9,5) en comparacion con los controles. La densidad en las ratas tratadas con ortiga (23,17±5,8) fue menor que las ratas diabeticas. Este estudio demostro que la administracion del extracto de U. dioica antes de la induccion diabetica no ayuda significativamente a la compensacion de los astrocitos en el giro dentados de las ratas tratadas.