Cultural importance of Neurolaena lobata (L.) Cass. from Nariño (Colombia) and neutralization of the biological activities of Bothrops asper venom by its ethanol extract

Authors

  • Karen Rosero-Diaz Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Programa de Biología, Grupo de Investigación en Ecología Evolutiva, Universidad de Nariño, Nariño-Colombia
  • Cristian Martinez-Criollo Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Programa de Biología, Grupo de Investigación en Ecología Evolutiva, Universidad de Nariño, Nariño-Colombia
  • Martha Sofía González-Insuasti Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Programa de Biología, Grupo de Investigación en Biología de páramos y ecosistemas altoandinos; Universidad de Nariño, Nariño, Colombia
  • Juan Camilo Vargas Gallego Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Programa de Química, Grupo de Investigación en Productos de Importancia Biológica, Universidad de Nariño, Nariño, Colombia
  • Karen Leonor Ángel Camilo Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y de la Educación, Departamento de Biología, Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas-Bioterio, Grupo de Investigaciones Herpetológicas y Toxinológicas, Universidad del Cauca, Popayán-Colombia
  • Jimmy Alexander Guerrero-Vargas Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y de la Educación, Departamento de Biología, Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas-Bioterio, Museo de Historia Natural, Grupo de Investigaciones Herpetológicas y Toxinológicas, Universidad del Cauca, Popayán-Colombia
  • María José Sevilla-Sánchez Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Programa de Biología, Grupo de Investigación en Ecología Evolutiva, Universidad de Nariño, Nariño-Colombia
  • José María Gutiérrez Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
  • Diana Mora-Obando Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Programa de Biología, Grupo de Investigación en Ecología Evolutiva, Universidad de Nariño, Nariño-Colombia

Abstract

Background: owing to the difficulties for accessing health centers and the limited availability of antivenoms in rural areas of Colombia, in many rural communities people rely on traditional medicine based on the use of plant extracts as a therapeutic resource for the snakebite envenoming. In the department of Nariño, the potential of these alexiteric plants is unknown. This work determined the cultural importance of Neurolaena lobata (L.) Cass., one of the plants most frequently used by the rural communities of Tumaco, municipality with high incidence of poisonings, and assessed the efficacy of an extract of this plant to inhibit toxic effects of the venom of the snake Bothrops asper.

Methods: semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 randomly sampled individuals and the Cultural Importance index (CI) of the plant was calculated. Phytochemical tests were carried out and a battery of biological assays was applied to determine the neutralizing capacity of the extract on the lethal, coagulant, hemorrhagic, and myotoxic activities of the venom.

Results: the CI of this plant (0.0544) reflects its ethnobotanical value for the rural communities of Tumaco. The ethanolic extract from the leaves contains tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, and sesquiterpene lactones. Neutralization assays revealed that the extract inhibited the coagulant activity of B. asper venom, but failed to inhibit the myotoxic, and lethal activities, and only partially reduced the hemorrhagic effect. Moreover, the extract showed toxicity when assessed for lethality and myotoxicity.

Conclusions: despite the cultural importance of the plant, our experimental findings do not support the claim that the crude extract of N. lobata inhibits the toxicity of the venom of B. asper of Colombia.

Keywords: Bothrops asper, Neurolaena lobata, alexiteric plants.

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Published

2024-05-22

How to Cite

Rosero-Diaz, K., Martinez-Criollo, C. ., González-Insuasti, M. S. ., Vargas Gallego, J. C. ., Ángel Camilo, K. L., Guerrero-Vargas, J. A. ., Sevilla-Sánchez, M. J. ., Gutiérrez, J. M. ., & Mora-Obando, D. (2024). Cultural importance of Neurolaena lobata (L.) Cass. from Nariño (Colombia) and neutralization of the biological activities of Bothrops asper venom by its ethanol extract . Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 29, 1–24. Retrieved from https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/5977

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Research