flora

Nature

flora

The variety of plant species in the Mediterranean Basin (Mediterranean flora) is vast, there are between 25000 and 30000 different species. This represents roughly 10% of all the species in the world, of which more than half are considered endemic (exclusive to the area).

The Mediterranean is thus considered a biodiversity hotspot, one of only 25 on the planet.

(Médail F., Quézel P. 1999. Biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean Basin: setting global conservation priorities. Conservation biology 13(6): 1510-1513.)

Below you will find the Mediterranean flora which are used in the production of Naturextra products.

An OFFICINAL PLANT is any plant standardly used in medicine. Species are catalogued by official bodies and are fewer in number than medicinal plants because they have to meet specific requirements and be well defined in the official pharmacopoeia. A MEDICINAL PLANT is any plant which can be useful in the process of healing illness or infections. They are used for therapeutic purposes or as precursors for chemo-pharmaceutical semi-synthesis.

 

The BOTANICAL NOMENCLATURE is a set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants which was developed by the International Congress of Botany. The rules are descibed in the Code of Botanical Nomenclature. The nomenclature rules are divided into articles, which are either mandatory, or recommended, that is, discretional. The names in the current nomenclature system are written in Latin or Latinized regardless of their origin. The use of Latin is derived from the Middle Ages, as it was the language in which botanical works were written. In 1753 Carl Linnaeus' “Species Plantarum” established conventions for the naming of living organisms using binomial nomenclature. it is composed of the genus, followed by a specific epithet, such as Myrtus communes. A complete scientific name must be followed by a third element, the name of the person or person who formally described the plant. For example the complete scientific name for myrtle is Myrtus  communes Linnaeus ; the genus is Myrtus, the specific epitaph is communes  and the author citation Linnaeus. The author element of a name is often abbreviated, and "L." is normally used for the authority in place of "Linnaeus".  Therefore, the species name of myrtle is Myrtus communes L.

 

EXTRACTS OF PLANTS - what they are and how they are obtained

 

The Pharmacopoeia defines extracts as “preparations with liquid, solid or semisolid consistency, generally obtained from plant or animal matter, which are usually in a dry state”.

The extraction techniques applied to plants, are used not so much as to obtain the purified active substance as to produce a more practical and stable form of the active ingredient and to eliminate certain undesirable components from the herbs/plants. The current techniques for solid-liquid extraction are essentially based on diffusion and osmosis as principles that can be optimised to reduce extraction time and increase yield.

 

Extracts are concentrated preparations obtained sometimes from fresh herbal substances or, more commonly, from dried ones. The extraction processes is designed to specifically filter the active constituents present in the raw herbal substance, and the filtrate can then be concentrated under vacuum.

Depending on the type of solvent used, the plant extracts are divided into aqueous, hydro-alcoholic, alcoholic and ethereal. The concentrated preparation of plant active ingredients is obtained by selectively dissolving the required compound in an appropriate solvent and then allowing the solvent to evaporate. Three forms of extracts are possible:

 

The main extraction techniques differ in temperature and are classified as:

·         maceration: ambient temperature

·         digestion: a little above the ambient temperature (for water 40 – 50 degrees)

·         infusion: drugs are immersed in boiling water and allowed to cool (like tea preparation). The infusion concentration requires from 1 to 10 parts of drug to obtain 100 parts of infusion.

·         decotion: drugs are boiled, kept in this state for at least 10 minutes, then cooled and strained or filtered, keeping it in this state for at least 10 minutes. The decotion concentration usually requires 5 parts of drug to obtain 100 parts of decotion.

 

Nel caso in cui si voglia separare da una matrice solida, come i vegetali, i composti più facilmente volatili (le essenze da cui il nome di oli essenziali), viene utilizzata la distillazione in corrente di vapore. Le sostanze volatilizzate per azione del vapore d’acqua e fatte condensare in un refrigerante ad acqua, sfasano dal solvente formando una soluzione immiscibile con esso, da cui possono essere recuperati facilmente. In genere gli oli essenziali sono costituiti da composti aromatici, poco polari come terpeni, polifenoli o alcaloidi non polari. L’acqua di distillazione (idrolato) lega in forma di soluzione una piccola quantità di oli eterici e viene caricata di sostanze con delle forti doti farmaceutiche, cosmetiche e aromaterapeutiche.

 

SOME USEFUL DEFINITIONS:

drug - from german “trocken”, which means dry, consists of a plant or of a determined part of a plant (leaf, flower, all part emerging from soil, root, fruit, etc.) in which is greater the quantity of active ingredients. It is harvested in the convenient period of season (balsamic time), eventually subject to dry processes and smashed to be stored.

 

active ingredient - plants produce molecules which, when ingested, are biologically active and can alter one or more functions of living cells.

 

phytocomplex  - ingredient(s) drawn form a plant which should be preserved in phytopharmaceutical preparations or products.

 

phytochemical synergy - there are many other molecules that individually do not have specific pharmacological properties, but which together with the plant's active ingredients  and other molecules give rise to its unique characteristics and healing properties.

 

Disclaimer: The website is for convenience and informational purposes only. It does not provide you with advice or recommendation of any kind and may never substitute advice provided by a doctor or other qualified healthcare professionals.

 
 
 
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