Underappreciated Resource Research Articles

The value of plant collections in ethnopharmacology: a case study of an 85-year-old black cohosh ( Actaea racemosa L.) sample

Ethnopharmacological collections of plants used in traditional medical systems are a valuable but often underappreciated resource for scientific investigation. These collections contain many samples of plants currently employed in herbal and pharmaceutical medicine, and questions on stability and storage life can be examined using these historic collections as vouchers. A sample of black cohosh ( Actaea racemosa L.), collected in 1919 by the physician and plant explorer Henry Hurd Rusby, was recently identified in the collections of The New York Botanical Garden and analyzed for its triterpene glycosidic and phenolic constituents qualitatively and quantitatively by high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detector (HPLC–PDA) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrophotometry (LC–MS). A comparison of the triterpene glycosidic and phenolic constituents of the 85-year-old plant sample with those of a modern collection of Actaea racemosa showed the similarity of the two samples, confirming the stability of the older sample, despite its curation over the years under a variety of conditions. Quantitative analyses indicated that both plant samples have similar amounts of the four major triterpene glycosides, but the total amount of the six major phenolic constituents measured in the 85-year-old plant material is lower than the amount measured in the modern plant material. Methanol extracts of the two plant materials were tested for their antioxidant activity, and both extracts showed similar antioxidant activity.

Strategies for the Management of Patients with Obesity

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing worldwide. During the last two decades, the prevalence of adults in the higher body mass index (BMI) categories in the US has increased the most, as much as 300% for those with a BMI above 40kg/m2. In children and adolescents, a doubling of the prevalence of severe overweight poses a serious health risk to future generations of young adults who may develop chronic diseases normally associated with aging. The simple definition of obesity, an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure, ignores the complexity of, and largely unknown interactions between, genes, food intake and physical activity, which together determine bodyweight and fat distribution. Although the etiology and manifestations of overweight and obesity are complex, the assessment of overweight and obesity requires only an accurate measurement of bodyweight, height and abdominal circumference, as well as a history and physical examination attuned to the morbidities that commonly accompany overweight and obesity such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia and sleep apnea. The treatment of patients with overweight and obesity continues to be based on changes to diet and physical activity. Simple behavior modification techniques are within the reach of busy clinicians. The additional use of available bodyweight reduction medications can reliably lead to a 5 to 10% reduction from initial bodyweight, a loss that has been shown to provide significant health benefit. The use of meal replacements has also been shown to be effective and is probably an under-appreciated treatment resource. Surgery is the most successful treatment for those with severe obesity and should be discussed as an option for those in the appropriate bodyweight categories. Because societal trends favor the greater intake of calorie-dense foods and less physical activity to accomplish the activities of daily life, the future of obesity treatment will require the development of bodyweight reduction medications that work by a variety of mechanisms to decrease food intake or increase energy expenditure. Such medications should not be viewed as a 'crutch' but rather as a 'helping hand' that enable people to better adhere to a healthier lifestyle.

The Joy of Dead Trees

Research Article| March 01 1993 The Joy of Dead Trees Maura C. Flannery Maura C. Flannery Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (1993) 55 (3): 185–188. https://doi.org/10.2307/4449621 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Maura C. Flannery; The Joy of Dead Trees. The American Biology Teacher 1 March 1993; 55 (3): 185–188. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/4449621 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1993 National Association of Biology Teachers Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.