8 plants from South Africa may hold potential for treating high bloo...( us a flowering plant also known as spl...)

• Amaranthus hybridus, commonly known as smooth pigweed or slim amaranth

• Amaranthus spinosus, also known as spiny amaranth

• Asystasia gangetica, an ornamental, ground cover known as Chinese violet. Also used in Nigerian folk medicine for the management of asthma.

• Centella asiatica, a small herbaceous annual plant commonly referred to as Asiatic pennywort

• Ceratotheca triloba, a tall annual plant that flowers in summer sometimes referred to as poppy sue

• Chenopodium album, also called lamb's quarters, this is a weedy annual plant

• Emex australis, commonly known as southern three corner jack

• Galinsoga parviflora, commonly referred to as gallant soldier

• Justicia flava, also known as yellow justicia and taken for coughs and treatment of fevers

• Momordica balsamina, an African herbal traditional medicine also known as the balsam apple

• Oxygonum sinuatum, an invasive weed with no common name

• Physalis viscosa, known as starhair ground cherry

• Senna occidentalis, a very leafy tropical shrub whose seeds have been used in coffee; called septic weed

• Solanum nodiflorum, also known as white nightshade

• Tulbaghia violacea, a bulbous plant with hairless leaves often referred to as society or wild garlic

Dried leaves from the plants were ground and used to prepare organic and acqueous extracts. Ten grams of ground plant material was suspended in either a methanol or distilled water solution for 48 hours. Each solution was subsequently filtered and the filtrate was left to air dry resulting in the specific test compound. ACE activity was determined using a flourimetric met
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Contact: Donna Krupa
dkrupa@the-aps.org
703-967-2751
American Physiological Society
1-May-2007