Maha Ahmed Aboul Ela
Beirut Arab University, Lebanon
Title: Phytotherapeutic potentials of selected Lebanese medicinal plants
Biography
Biography: Maha Ahmed Aboul Ela
Abstract
Various plants species are used in traditional folk medicine for their anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant effects and for certain gastric disorders. Examples of plants are salvia species, which have a reputation for memory enhancement. An infusion of the Salvia leaves is widely used as a mouthwash or gargle, for the treatment of inflammation of the mouth and throat. The leaves are used also as carminative and antispasmodic. Another example is Centaurea species that has been used in folk medicine for many purposes as diuretic, mild astringent, bitter tonic, digestive, emmenagogue and in cosmetics. Previous reports pointed out that, the activities of most of the examined plants are due to their contents of volatile oils and phenolic compounds obtained from different extracts. Accordingly, the current work comprises phytochemical study of some selected Lebanese medicinal plants to investigate their constituents and to explore the biological activities of the extracts of the chosen plants. The chemical structures of the isolated compounds, from two plants belonging to different species, were determined by application of different spectroscopic techniques. Furthermore, the volatile oil constituents of other Lebanese plants were investigated. The biological activities of plants’ extracts revealed promising results. This work represents a collection of the research activities performed at the department aiming to add more natural drug candidates, with potential biological activities, which could serve the pharmaceutical industry.
