Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : The impact of storage time and seasonal harvesting on biomarker levels of lessertia frutescens

Auteur : Campbell, James

Université de soutenance : University of the Western Cape

Grade : Magister Scientiae - MSc (Herbal Science and Medicine) 2012

Résumé partiel
In South Africa, it is estimated that approximately 70% of the population frequently make use of traditional medicinal plants for their health care needs. The use of Lessertia frutescens by the various cultural groups in South Africa dates back to the earlier civilizations and continues to be used today to treat a multitude of ailments. To get the best results from a medicinal plant, one would need to ensure that the crude material is of good quality through interventions like being properly grown, well dried and correctly processed. This would add a measure of quality assurance, which will contribute towards the safety and efficacy aspect of herbal medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate what impact a particular season of harvest and the time in storage would have on the flavonoid and triterpenoid marker levels of Lessertia frutescens. To achieve this, the following was investigated : (1) storage variation of Lessertia frutescens leaves by comparing the results obtained from the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the flavonoids and triterpenoids, (2) seasonal variation of Lessertia frutescens leaves by comparing the results obtained from the HPLC analysis of the flavonoids and triterpenoids, (3) leaf and stem variation of Lessertia frutescens by comparing the results obtained from HPLC analysis of the flavonoids and triterpenoids. The hypotheses were : (1) the stored sample would indicate the same level of the biomarkers for the flavonoids and triterpenoids, as that of the freshly prepared sample, (2) the sample that was harvested during the summer season would indicate higher levels of the biomarkers of flavonoids and triterpenoids than the other three seasons, (3) the leaf sample would indicate the same level of the biomarkers for the flavonoids and triterpenoids, as that of the stem sample.

Présentation

Version intégrale (9,8 Mb)