atlanta botanical garden science cafe: medicines from nature - 2014
TRANSCRIPT
Medicines from Nature: Adventures of a medical ethnobotanist
Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
Emory University
Department of Dermatology (SOM)
Center for the Study of Human Health (ECAS)
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://etnobotanica.us/
Deter other
plant species
from growing
nearby
Fight off
microbial
invasion &
infection
Attract pollinators Defense against
herbivory
Secondary Metabolites
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Ethnobotanical Approach to Drug Discovery
• Ethnobotany (from
ethnology, study of
culture, and botany,
study of plants) is the
scientific study of the
relationships that exist
between peoples and
plants.
• Ethnobotany is the
science of survival.
Ethnobotanical-directed study of plants used for infectious disease is often more
effective than a random approach.
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Ethnobotany is Multidisciplinary
Ethnobotany
Botany
Chemistry
Microbiology
Anthropology
Linguistics
Pharmacology
• Medicine • Conservation
• Food security
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• Layers of Consent:
▫ Prior informed consent
▫ Access and benefit
sharing
▫ Plant permits
• Data Collection:
▫ Semi-structured
interviews
▫ Focus groups
▫ Participant-observation
• Biological Sampling:
▫ Voucher collection
▫ Bulk specimen collection
Methods: Ethnobotanical Research
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Plant Extraction
1:10 extraction in
95% EtOH or
MeOH for 72 hrs. or
boiled in water for
30 minutes
Plant materials
separated from
extract with
vacuum
filtration
Solvent removed
under reduced
pressure with a
rotary evaporator
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Plant Extraction
After freezing at -80°C,
extracts are lyophilized Dried extracts
scraped out
and weighed
DMSO added,
creating a drug
solution for
antibacterial
testing
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Thinking outside of the box…
Classic antibiotic drug
discovery New
Direction for Drug
Discovery
Immune adjuvants
Conjugation
Biofilms
Quorum sensing
Efflux pumps
Synergy
Clinically relevant isolates
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Applying ethnobotany to new drug
discovery tools!
Peru: 1999-2000 Impact of Western biomedicine
on local health, a case study of
childhood helminthiasis
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Southern Italy, 2001-present Wild foods and medicinal
plants used by Arberëshë
(ethnic Albanians) and Italians
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Malva sylvestris L., Malvaceae
“La malva, da ogni mal ti
salva.”
Traditional medicine: mastitis,
colds/flu, post-partum
depurative, panacea
Elmleaf Blackberry • Traditional uses in S. Italy:
▫ Leaves: furuncles, abscesses,
and other skin inflammations
▫ Roots: hair loss
▫ Fruits: eaten fresh and in
marmalades
• One of 116 remedies related to
SSTIs and other topical
dermatological treatments
identified
• 168 extracts screened
• Anti-biofilm activity first identified & published in 2008 and # 220 marked as possible lead
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Rubus ulmifolius Schott. (Rosaceae):
The source of the bioactive
composition “220D-F2”.
Quave, C.L., A. Pieroni, and B.C. Bennett (2008) Dermatological remedies in the traditional pharmacopoeia of Vulture-Alto Bradano,
inland southern Italy. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 4:5. Quave, C.L., L.R.W. Plano, *T. Pantuso, and B.C. Bennett (2008). Effects of extracts from Italian medicinal plants on planktonic growth,
biofilm formation and adherence in MRSA. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 118: 418-428
Following bioassay-guided fractionation steps, ellagitannins and
glycosylated ellagic acid derivatives were isolated from the extract.
Activity of blackberry root extract is based on several natural products
Quave, C.L., M.E. Carmona, C.M. Compadre, *G. Hobby, H. Hendrickson, K. Beenken, and M.S. Smeltzer. (2012). Ellagic acid
derivatives from Rubus ulmifolius inhibit Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and improve response to antibiotics. PLoS ONE. 7(1): e28737.
220D-F2 is effective against all clonal lineages of S.
aureus, regardless of antibiotic resistance profile and is
nontoxic to mammalian cell lines.
Blackberry root extract prevents Staphylococcus aureus biofilms from forming
Quave, C.L., M.E. Carmona, C.M. Compadre, *G. Hobby, H. Hendrickson, K. Beenken, and M.S. Smeltzer. (2012). Ellagic acid
derivatives from Rubus ulmifolius inhibit Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and improve response to antibiotics. PLoS ONE. 7(1): e28737.
220D-F2 improves response to functionally distinct classes of antibiotics,
including daptomycin, clindamycin, vancomycin, and oxacillin.
Blackberry root extract improves antibiotic efficacy in clearing Staphylococcus
aureus biofilms
Quave, C.L., M.E. Carmona, C.M. Compadre, *G. Hobby, H. Hendrickson, K. Beenken, and M.S. Smeltzer. (2012). Ellagic acid
derivatives from Rubus ulmifolius inhibit Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and improve response to antibiotics. PLoS ONE. 7(1): e28737.
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C
Killing of planktonic pneumococci by 220D-F2. Streptococcus pneumoniae strain D39 was
inoculated in 24 well-plates containing THY and treated with DMSO or the indicated concentration of 220D-F2; treated cultures were incubated for 3 h at 37°C. Planktonic cells were removed (A) and then biofilms were washed and removed (B). Both populations were diluted and plated onto BAP to obtain CFU/ml. (C) Planktonic pneumococci treated for 3 h were also stained by the LIVE/DEAD assay and imaged using a fluorescent microscope.
Talekar, S.J., S. Chochua, K. Nelson, K.P. Klugman, C.L. Quave and J.E. Vidal (2014). 220D-F2 from Rubus ulmifolius kills Streptococcus pneumoniae planktonic cells and pneumococcal biofilms. PLoS ONE 9(5): e97314.
Blackberry root extract destroys Streptococcus pneumoniae biofilms and kills cells
Fermented Foods
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Quave, C.L. and A. Pieroni (2014) Fermented foods for food sovereignty and food security in the Balkans: A case study of the Gorani people of northeastern Albania. Journal of Ethnobiology 34(1): 28-43.
Pantelleria, Italy 2014 Wild foods and medicinal
plants and fungi used on a
volcanic isle in the
Mediterranean
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Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. ,
Cactaceae
“ficcund’india” ;“prickly pear”;
“indian fig”
Food, medicine and hunting tool!
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” ― Helen Keller
Thanks to my research team,
colleagues, study participants,
collaborators and funding
sources!
Philanthropic Donors
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Follow our work: http://www.etnobotanica.us/
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