Ethnopharmacological relevance: The rich flora of Guinea-Bissau, and the widespread use of medici... more Ethnopharmacological relevance: The rich flora of Guinea-Bissau, and the widespread use of medicinal plants for the treatment of various diseases, constitutes an important local healthcare resource with significant potential for research and development of phytomedicines. The goal of this study is to prepare a comprehensive documentation of Guinea-Bissau's medicinal plants, including their distribution, local vernacular names and their therapeutic and other applications, based upon local notions of disease and illness. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical data was collected by means of field research in Guinea-Bissau, study of herbarium specimens, and a comprehensive review of published works. Relevant data were included from open interviews conducted with healers and from observations in the field during the last two decades. Results: A total of 218 medicinal plants were documented, belonging to 63 families, of which 195 are native. Over half of these species are found in all regions of the country. The medicinal plants are used to treat 18 major diseases categories; the greatest number of species are used to treat intestinal disorders (67 species). More than thirty ethnic groups were identified within the Guinea-Bissau population; 40% of the medicinal plants have been recorded in the country's principal ethnic languages (i.e. Fula and Ba-lanta). Conclusions: This multidisciplinary , country-wide study identifies a great diversity of plants used by indigenous communities as medicinal, which constitute an important common reservoir of botanical species and therapeutic knowledge. The regional overlap of many indigenous species, the consensual nature of disease groups based upon local perceptions of health conditions, and the relevance of local vernacular including Guinean Creole are key factors specific to the country which enhance the potential for the circulation and transmission of ethno-botanical and therapeutic knowledge.
International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2008
Styrene is widely used in the production of various plastics, synthetic rubber and resins. Occupa... more Styrene is widely used in the production of various plastics, synthetic rubber and resins. Occupational exposure occurs mainly via inhalation and relatively high exposure occurs due to its use in manual application techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate if SO-Hb adducts are a suitable biomarker for assessing occupational exposure to styrene. Seventy-five reinforced plastic workers and 77 control subjects were studied. In the selected population the main urinary styrene metabolites and the styrene oxide N-terminal valine (SO-Hb) adducts in human globin were quantified. The levels of SO-Hb adducts were significantly higher (po0.01) in the exposed subjects (5.98 pmol/g globin) when compared with controls (2.59 pmol/g globin) and a significant difference was found in levels of SO-Hb adducts between non-smokers and smokers among the control group. From our data we conclude that SO-Hb adduct measurement is a sensitive and specific means of assessing exposure to styrene at the occupational and environmental level.
Phylogeographic studies have repeatedly identified the southern European peninsulas (Iberian, Ita... more Phylogeographic studies have repeatedly identified the southern European peninsulas (Iberian, Italian and Balkanic) as major refuges for the flora during Pleistocene glacial events. Due to the succession of cold and warm periods, a large number of frost-sensitive species became extinct or confined to isolated positions in the southern peninsulas, where specific physical conditions working at a local scale enabled the persistence of those frost-sensitive, relict species. The global purpose of this paper is to address the ecology and diversity of relict laurel-leaved scrublands in mainland Portugal (Southwest Europe), where geographic segregation gave rise to a floristic diversification of community types. These biogeographically isolated scrublands configure seven distinct associations, which are recognisable from both classical and numerical phytosociological approaches. The conservation of relict laurel-leaved scrublands in the territory is also assessed in the framework of the EEC "Habitats" Directive.
A new phytosociological association of perennial nitrophilous vegetation is described from submed... more A new phytosociological association of perennial nitrophilous vegetation is described from submediterranean mountain areas of North-Western Iberian Peninsula. Geranio lusitanici-Scrophularietum henninii ass. nova (class Artemisietea vulgaris) is physiognomically predominated by Scrophularia henninii and its individuality is based on the two nominal taxa (Scrophularia henninii and Geranium pyrenaicum subsp. lusitanicum), both endemic to the North-Western Iberian Peninsula. In this paper, the new association is fully characterised and distinguished from other perennial nitrophilous vegetation types in the territory in terms of its floristic composition, synecologic requirements, syntaxonomy, chorology and biogeography.
Ethnopharmacological relevance: The rich flora of Guinea-Bissau, and the widespread use of medici... more Ethnopharmacological relevance: The rich flora of Guinea-Bissau, and the widespread use of medicinal plants for the treatment of various diseases, constitutes an important local healthcare resource with significant potential for research and development of phytomedicines. The goal of this study is to prepare a comprehensive documentation of Guinea-Bissau's medicinal plants, including their distribution, local vernacular names and their therapeutic and other applications, based upon local notions of disease and illness. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical data was collected by means of field research in Guinea-Bissau, study of herbarium specimens, and a comprehensive review of published works. Relevant data were included from open interviews conducted with healers and from observations in the field during the last two decades. Results: A total of 218 medicinal plants were documented, belonging to 63 families, of which 195 are native. Over half of these species are found in all regions of the country. The medicinal plants are used to treat 18 major diseases categories; the greatest number of species are used to treat intestinal disorders (67 species). More than thirty ethnic groups were identified within the Guinea-Bissau population; 40% of the medicinal plants have been recorded in the country's principal ethnic languages (i.e. Fula and Ba-lanta). Conclusions: This multidisciplinary , country-wide study identifies a great diversity of plants used by indigenous communities as medicinal, which constitute an important common reservoir of botanical species and therapeutic knowledge. The regional overlap of many indigenous species, the consensual nature of disease groups based upon local perceptions of health conditions, and the relevance of local vernacular including Guinean Creole are key factors specific to the country which enhance the potential for the circulation and transmission of ethno-botanical and therapeutic knowledge.
International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2008
Styrene is widely used in the production of various plastics, synthetic rubber and resins. Occupa... more Styrene is widely used in the production of various plastics, synthetic rubber and resins. Occupational exposure occurs mainly via inhalation and relatively high exposure occurs due to its use in manual application techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate if SO-Hb adducts are a suitable biomarker for assessing occupational exposure to styrene. Seventy-five reinforced plastic workers and 77 control subjects were studied. In the selected population the main urinary styrene metabolites and the styrene oxide N-terminal valine (SO-Hb) adducts in human globin were quantified. The levels of SO-Hb adducts were significantly higher (po0.01) in the exposed subjects (5.98 pmol/g globin) when compared with controls (2.59 pmol/g globin) and a significant difference was found in levels of SO-Hb adducts between non-smokers and smokers among the control group. From our data we conclude that SO-Hb adduct measurement is a sensitive and specific means of assessing exposure to styrene at the occupational and environmental level.
Phylogeographic studies have repeatedly identified the southern European peninsulas (Iberian, Ita... more Phylogeographic studies have repeatedly identified the southern European peninsulas (Iberian, Italian and Balkanic) as major refuges for the flora during Pleistocene glacial events. Due to the succession of cold and warm periods, a large number of frost-sensitive species became extinct or confined to isolated positions in the southern peninsulas, where specific physical conditions working at a local scale enabled the persistence of those frost-sensitive, relict species. The global purpose of this paper is to address the ecology and diversity of relict laurel-leaved scrublands in mainland Portugal (Southwest Europe), where geographic segregation gave rise to a floristic diversification of community types. These biogeographically isolated scrublands configure seven distinct associations, which are recognisable from both classical and numerical phytosociological approaches. The conservation of relict laurel-leaved scrublands in the territory is also assessed in the framework of the EEC "Habitats" Directive.
A new phytosociological association of perennial nitrophilous vegetation is described from submed... more A new phytosociological association of perennial nitrophilous vegetation is described from submediterranean mountain areas of North-Western Iberian Peninsula. Geranio lusitanici-Scrophularietum henninii ass. nova (class Artemisietea vulgaris) is physiognomically predominated by Scrophularia henninii and its individuality is based on the two nominal taxa (Scrophularia henninii and Geranium pyrenaicum subsp. lusitanicum), both endemic to the North-Western Iberian Peninsula. In this paper, the new association is fully characterised and distinguished from other perennial nitrophilous vegetation types in the territory in terms of its floristic composition, synecologic requirements, syntaxonomy, chorology and biogeography.
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