Tropical ulcer plant treatments used by Papua New Guinea's Apsokok nomads

Thomas A K Prescott; Peter Homot; Fionnuala T Lundy; Sheila Patrick; Rodrigo Cámara-Leret; Robert Kiapranis

doi:10.1016/j.jep.2017.05.001

Tropical ulcer plant treatments used by Papua New Guinea's Apsokok nomads

Thomas A K Prescott, Peter Homot, Fionnuala T Lundy, Sheila Patrick, Rodrigo Cámara-Leret, Robert Kiapranis

School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

452 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The tropical ulcer is a debilitating bacterial infection that is common in Papua New Guinea. Deploying healthcare infrastructure to remote and inaccessible rainforest locations is not practical, therefore local plants may be the best treatment option. Here we present an ethnobotanical survey of the tropical ulcer plant medicines used by the semi-nomadic Apsokok who roam the remote central mountains of Papua New Guinea's West New Britain Province. The bio-activity of their plant medicines in assays relevant to tropical ulcer wound healing is also presented.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used to acquire information on the uses of plants, vouchers of which were collected and identified by comparison with authentic herbarium specimens. Antibacterial disc diffusion assays with Staphylococcus aureus and Fusobacterium ulcerans, MMP-9 enzyme inhibition, stimulation of dermal fibroblast proliferation and SMAD signalling assays were carried out on samples of plant sap and aqueous extracts of plant material.

RESULTS: The ethnobotanical survey identified sixteen species that were used to treat tropical ulcers, all of which were applied topically. The aqueous extracts of a subset of twelve species were investigated further in vitro. Four species produced zones of inhibition with S. aureus and all species provided low level inhibition of MMP-9 when tested at 0.01% v/v. Eight species exhibited concentration dependent stimulation of dermal fibroblasts which was independent of SMAD signalling. The extract of Homalium foetidum Benth. inhibited S. aureus and MMP-9 while at lower sub-cytotoxic concentrations stimulated fibroblast proliferation.

CONCLUSIONS: Topical application of plant saps to wounds results in very high localised concentrations of plant metabolites which is likely to result in inhibition of MMP proteases. Homalium foetidum Benth. is a candidate for tropical ulcer treatment in remote areas.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	240-245
Number of pages	6
Journal	Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Volume	205
Early online date	15 May 2017
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2017.05.001
Publication status	Published - 15 Jun 2017

Keywords

Journal Article

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jep.2017.05.001Licence: Unspecified

Tropical ulcer plant treatments used by Papua New Guinea’s Apsokok nomads
© 2017 Crown Copyright. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/,which permits distribution and reproduction for noncommercial purposes, provided the author and source are cited.
Accepted author manuscript, 266 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

@article{152e88991b6644ef949203c635de3f46,

title = "Tropical ulcer plant treatments used by Papua New Guinea's Apsokok nomads",

abstract = "ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The tropical ulcer is a debilitating bacterial infection that is common in Papua New Guinea. Deploying healthcare infrastructure to remote and inaccessible rainforest locations is not practical, therefore local plants may be the best treatment option. Here we present an ethnobotanical survey of the tropical ulcer plant medicines used by the semi-nomadic Apsokok who roam the remote central mountains of Papua New Guinea's West New Britain Province. The bio-activity of their plant medicines in assays relevant to tropical ulcer wound healing is also presented.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used to acquire information on the uses of plants, vouchers of which were collected and identified by comparison with authentic herbarium specimens. Antibacterial disc diffusion assays with Staphylococcus aureus and Fusobacterium ulcerans, MMP-9 enzyme inhibition, stimulation of dermal fibroblast proliferation and SMAD signalling assays were carried out on samples of plant sap and aqueous extracts of plant material.RESULTS: The ethnobotanical survey identified sixteen species that were used to treat tropical ulcers, all of which were applied topically. The aqueous extracts of a subset of twelve species were investigated further in vitro. Four species produced zones of inhibition with S. aureus and all species provided low level inhibition of MMP-9 when tested at 0.01% v/v. Eight species exhibited concentration dependent stimulation of dermal fibroblasts which was independent of SMAD signalling. The extract of Homalium foetidum Benth. inhibited S. aureus and MMP-9 while at lower sub-cytotoxic concentrations stimulated fibroblast proliferation.CONCLUSIONS: Topical application of plant saps to wounds results in very high localised concentrations of plant metabolites which is likely to result in inhibition of MMP proteases. Homalium foetidum Benth. is a candidate for tropical ulcer treatment in remote areas.",

keywords = "Journal Article",

author = "Prescott, {Thomas A K} and Peter Homot and Lundy, {Fionnuala T} and Sheila Patrick and Rodrigo C{\'a}mara-Leret and Robert Kiapranis",

year = "2017",

month = jun,

day = "15",

doi = "10.1016/j.jep.2017.05.001",

language = "English",

volume = "205",

pages = "240--245",

journal = "Journal of Ethnopharmacology",

issn = "0378-8741",

publisher = "Elsevier Ireland Ltd",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Tropical ulcer plant treatments used by Papua New Guinea's Apsokok nomads

AU - Prescott, Thomas A K

AU - Homot, Peter

AU - Lundy, Fionnuala T

AU - Patrick, Sheila

AU - Cámara-Leret, Rodrigo

AU - Kiapranis, Robert

PY - 2017/6/15

Y1 - 2017/6/15

N2 - ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The tropical ulcer is a debilitating bacterial infection that is common in Papua New Guinea. Deploying healthcare infrastructure to remote and inaccessible rainforest locations is not practical, therefore local plants may be the best treatment option. Here we present an ethnobotanical survey of the tropical ulcer plant medicines used by the semi-nomadic Apsokok who roam the remote central mountains of Papua New Guinea's West New Britain Province. The bio-activity of their plant medicines in assays relevant to tropical ulcer wound healing is also presented.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used to acquire information on the uses of plants, vouchers of which were collected and identified by comparison with authentic herbarium specimens. Antibacterial disc diffusion assays with Staphylococcus aureus and Fusobacterium ulcerans, MMP-9 enzyme inhibition, stimulation of dermal fibroblast proliferation and SMAD signalling assays were carried out on samples of plant sap and aqueous extracts of plant material.RESULTS: The ethnobotanical survey identified sixteen species that were used to treat tropical ulcers, all of which were applied topically. The aqueous extracts of a subset of twelve species were investigated further in vitro. Four species produced zones of inhibition with S. aureus and all species provided low level inhibition of MMP-9 when tested at 0.01% v/v. Eight species exhibited concentration dependent stimulation of dermal fibroblasts which was independent of SMAD signalling. The extract of Homalium foetidum Benth. inhibited S. aureus and MMP-9 while at lower sub-cytotoxic concentrations stimulated fibroblast proliferation.CONCLUSIONS: Topical application of plant saps to wounds results in very high localised concentrations of plant metabolites which is likely to result in inhibition of MMP proteases. Homalium foetidum Benth. is a candidate for tropical ulcer treatment in remote areas.

AB - ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The tropical ulcer is a debilitating bacterial infection that is common in Papua New Guinea. Deploying healthcare infrastructure to remote and inaccessible rainforest locations is not practical, therefore local plants may be the best treatment option. Here we present an ethnobotanical survey of the tropical ulcer plant medicines used by the semi-nomadic Apsokok who roam the remote central mountains of Papua New Guinea's West New Britain Province. The bio-activity of their plant medicines in assays relevant to tropical ulcer wound healing is also presented.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used to acquire information on the uses of plants, vouchers of which were collected and identified by comparison with authentic herbarium specimens. Antibacterial disc diffusion assays with Staphylococcus aureus and Fusobacterium ulcerans, MMP-9 enzyme inhibition, stimulation of dermal fibroblast proliferation and SMAD signalling assays were carried out on samples of plant sap and aqueous extracts of plant material.RESULTS: The ethnobotanical survey identified sixteen species that were used to treat tropical ulcers, all of which were applied topically. The aqueous extracts of a subset of twelve species were investigated further in vitro. Four species produced zones of inhibition with S. aureus and all species provided low level inhibition of MMP-9 when tested at 0.01% v/v. Eight species exhibited concentration dependent stimulation of dermal fibroblasts which was independent of SMAD signalling. The extract of Homalium foetidum Benth. inhibited S. aureus and MMP-9 while at lower sub-cytotoxic concentrations stimulated fibroblast proliferation.CONCLUSIONS: Topical application of plant saps to wounds results in very high localised concentrations of plant metabolites which is likely to result in inhibition of MMP proteases. Homalium foetidum Benth. is a candidate for tropical ulcer treatment in remote areas.

KW - Journal Article

U2 - 10.1016/j.jep.2017.05.001

DO - 10.1016/j.jep.2017.05.001

M3 - Article

C2 - 28478094

VL - 205

SP - 240

EP - 245

JO - Journal of Ethnopharmacology

JF - Journal of Ethnopharmacology

SN - 0378-8741

ER -

Tropical ulcer plant treatments used by Papua New Guinea's Apsokok nomads

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this