ethnomedicine – mycolab.ai

Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) in the Screening of Botanicals–Its Versatile Potential and Selected Applications

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This review shows how thin-layer chromatography (TLC), a simple laboratory technique, is invaluable for analyzing plant materials. TLC helps scientists identify which plants are related to each other, find beneficial compounds in herbs, ensure herbal medicines are pure and safe, and track illegal psychoactive plants. Despite being less glamorous than modern equipment, TLC remains practical, affordable, and effective for everyday botanical analysis.

Chemical Content and Cytotoxic Activity on Various Cancer Cell Lines of Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) Growing on Betula pendula and Betula pubescens

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This study examined chaga mushroom, a traditional medicine used against cancer, grown on two types of birch trees. Researchers tested chaga extracts on 31 different cancer cell types and found they were moderately effective at inhibiting cancer cell growth, particularly against liver and thyroid cancers. The chaga from silver birch (B. pendula) worked slightly better than that from downy birch (B. pubescens) due to higher levels of a compound called inotodiol.

Introduction to Traditional Medicine and Their Role in Prevention and Treatment of Emerging and Re-Emerging Diseases

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This article explores how traditional medicine systems like Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine can help prevent and treat infectious diseases, including COVID-19. These ancient healing systems use natural herbs and lifestyle changes to boost immunity and fight infections more holistically. Scientific evidence shows that natural compounds like curcumin from turmeric have real antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. By combining traditional knowledge with modern research, we may develop better treatments for emerging diseases.

How Should the Worldwide Knowledge of Traditional Cancer Healing Be Integrated with Herbs and Mushrooms into Modern Molecular Pharmacology?

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This comprehensive review explores how traditional healing practices from around the world use plants and mushrooms to treat cancer. The authors examine thousands of plant species and their active compounds that show promise in fighting various types of cancer through multiple mechanisms like stopping cancer cell growth and triggering cell death. The review emphasizes that proper scientific validation, standardization, and safety testing can help integrate these traditional remedies into modern cancer treatment alongside conventional chemotherapy.

Andorran ethnomycology: culinary uses and beyond

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This research documents how people in Andorra traditionally use wild mushrooms for food and medicine. Researchers interviewed 131 older residents and found 50 different types of mushrooms being used, with over 150 local names for them. Most uses were for cooking (97%), with mushrooms being dried, pickled, or frozen. The study identified several mushrooms that might be valuable for future nutritional research and product development.

The ethnomycological knowledge of Karajá indigenous people from Bananal Island, Brazil

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Researchers studied how the Karajá indigenous people of Brazil understand and use fungi in their daily lives. While the Karajá don’t eat mushrooms as food, they recognize various fungi in their environment and use them for medicine, decorations in festivals, and childhood play. The study found that the Karajá have a neutral to slightly positive view of fungi, neither strongly liking nor disliking them, and their knowledge is passed down through families from childhood.

Anti-Influenza Activity of Medicinal Material Extracts from Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

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Researchers tested extracts from traditional Tibetan medicinal plants, mushrooms, and lichens to see if they could fight influenza virus. They found that seven out of nine extracts could reduce influenza virus infection in laboratory cells, with a mushroom extract called Armillaria luteo-virens showing particularly strong antiviral effects. These results suggest that traditional medicinal materials from the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau could be valuable sources for developing new flu treatments that might work better against drug-resistant flu strains.

Mushroom Bioactive Molecules as Anticancerous Agents: An Overview

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Mushrooms contain natural compounds that show promise in fighting cancer by triggering cancer cell death and boosting immune function. Different mushroom species like oyster, shiitake, and button mushrooms contain substances such as beta-glucans and other polysaccharides that have demonstrated anticancer properties in laboratory and animal studies. While these mushroom compounds work through multiple mechanisms including preventing new blood vessel formation to tumors and stopping cancer cell division, more human clinical trials are needed to confirm their effectiveness as cancer treatments.

Research Keyword: ethnomedicine