medicinal plants

1. Plant related anticeptic
HIRUNI HIMASARA EGODAGAMAGE
GROUP 10A
GRSMU

2. Clove
Common Name(s): Clove , caryophyllus
Scientific Name: Eugenia caryophyllata

3. Thank you

4. Uses of Clove
Clove has been used for its antiseptic and analgesic effects and has been studied for use as an
anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory effects. However, research reveals little or no clinical data
on the use of clove for any indication.

5. Chemistry
Clove buds yield approximately 15% to 20% of a volatile oil that is responsible for the characteristic smell
and flavor. The bud also contains a tannin complex, a gum and resin, and a number of glucosides of sterols.
The principal constituent of distilled clove bud oil (60% to 90%) is eugenol (4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol). The
oil also contains about 10% acetyleugenol and small quantities of gallic acid, sesquiterpenes, furfural,
vanillin, and methyl-n-amyl ketone. Other constituents include flavonoids, carbohydrates, lipids, oleanolic
acid, rhamnetin, and vitamins.
Clove oil is applied for the symptomatic treatment of toothaches and is used for the treatment of dry socket
(postextraction alveolitis).
Clove oil is reported to have antihistaminic and antispasmotic properties, most likely due to the presence of
eugenyl acetate. Cloves are also said to have a positive effect on healing stomach ulcers. A 15% tincture of
cloves is effective in treating topical fungal, ringworm infections. As with many other volatile oils, clove oil
inhibits gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Clove oil also has anthelminthic properties.

6. Cinnamon
Scientific Name(s): Cinnamomum verum, C. cassia, C. zeylanicum, C. loureirii.
Common Name(s): Cinnamon, cinnamomon, ceylon cinnamon, Chinese cinnamon, Chinese
cassia, Saigon cinnamon

7. Uses of Cinnamon
spice
aromatic substance
The bark or oil has been used to combat microorganisms, diarrhea and other GI disorders, and
dysmenorrhea.
Research interest has focused on cinnamon's potential as an insulin-like analog
an anti-inflammatory agent
an antioxidant
an antimicrobial substance

8. Chemistry
The essential oil is primarily composed of 65% to 80% cinnamaldehyde and lesser amounts of
other phenols and terpenes, including eugenol, trans-cinnamic acid, hydroxycinnamaldehyde, o-
methoxycinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl alcohol and its acetate, limonene, α-terpineol, tannins,
mucilage, oligomeric procyanidins, and trace amounts of coumarin.
Differing material origins and extraction techniques are reported to alter the chemical
composition of the extracts, and hence may impact the intended medicinal (and experimental)
effects.

9. Nutmeg
Scientific Name(s): Myristica fragrans
Common Name(s): Nutmeg, mace, magic, muscdier, nux moschata, myristica oil, muskatbaum

10. Uses of Nutmeg
Nutmeg and mace, widely accepted as flavoring agents, are used in higher doses for their
aphrodisiac and psychoactive properties.

11. Chemistry
Nutmeg seeds contain 20% to 40% of a fixed oil, commonly called nutmeg butter. This oil contains myristic acid,
trymiristin, and glycerides of lauric, tridecanoic, stearic, and palmitic acids.
Nutmeg also yields 8% to 15% of an essential oil that is believed to be partially responsible for the effects
associated with nutmeg intoxication. The essential oil contains myristicin, elemicin, eugenol, and safrole. The
essential oils of nutmeg and mace are very similar in chemical composition and aroma, with wide color
differences (brilliant orange to pale yellow). Mace oil appears to have a higher myristicin content than nutmeg oil.
present in the oil are sabinene, cymene alpha-thujene, gamma-terpinene, and monoterpene alcohols in smaller
amounts. Phenolic compounds found in nutmeg are reported to have antioxidant properties. Other isolated
compounds include the resorcinols malabaricone B and malabaricone C, as well as lignans and neolignans.

12. Antimicrobial effects
The oils of mace and nutmeg and their individual components have been assessed for their
antimicrobial activity in vitro. Activity against other bacteria includes some strains of Escherichia
coli, some strains of Salmonella typhi, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria
monocytogenes. Anti-viral effect has also been reported against human rotavirus.

13. The spices cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaves contain
eugenol, a clear to pale yellow oily liquid with a pleasant, spicy,
clove-like odor, that can be extracted from the essential oils
from these plants
Eugenol is used in perfumeries, flavorings, essential oils
and in medicine as a local antiseptic and anaesthetic.
Combining zinc oxide and eugenol forms zinc oxide
eugenol which can be used as a filling or cement material
used in dentistry. It is classified as an intermediate
restorative material and has anaesthetic and antibacterial
properties. It is sometimes used in the management of
dental caries as a "temporary filling".

14. Oregano
Scientific Name(s): Origanum vulgare
Common Name(s): Mediterranean oregano, mountain mint, wild marjoram, winter marjoram,
wintersweet

15. Uses of Oregano
Aside from its culinary application, oregano exhibits antimicrobial and antioxidant actions and
has possible activity as an antispasmodic and in diabetes. However, there is no clinical evidence
to support the use of oregano in any indication.

16. Chemistry
Oregano contains oleanolic and ursolic acids, flavonoids and hydroquinones, caffeic,
rosemarinic, and lithospermic acid, tannins, and phenolic glycosides. Phenolic compounds
represent 71% of the total oil. The polar phenols thymol and carvacrol are responsible for many
of the properties of the essential oil, as well as p-cymene and terpinene.

17. Antimicrobial activity
Studies have compared the effects of oregano essential oil, thymol, and carvacrol on fungi. All 3
completely inhibited fungal growth of Aspergillus and Penicillium species.
The volatile oils of oregano have demonstrated in vitro antibacterial activity against a wide
range of gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms including Listeria, Pseudomonas,
Proteus, Salmonella, and Clostridium species, as well as some methicillin-resistant
Staphylococci. Low to moderate activity against Helicobacter pylori has been reported. Oregano
oil appears to inhibit organisms at relatively low concentrations, and its activity could be due to
the phenolic components thymol and carvacrol.

18. The spices oregano and thyme contain Thymol (and a
closely related substance called carvacrol), which have
been shown to possess bacteriocidal, fungicidal,
molluscicidal and insecticidal properties.
The main therapeutic application for thymol is in dental
preparations to kill odor-producing bacteria. It is also
employed as a preservative on the strength of its
antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. In the
mollusc Lymnaea acuminata, lethal doses of thymol
affected the activity of key nervous tissue enzymes, and
this was postulated to be the cause of toxicity As yet, no
mechanism of action has been identified for thymol
lethality, or that of related monoterpenoids, towards
insects.

19. Onion
Chemistry
Onions contain 89% water, 1.5% protein, and vitamins, including B1 , B2 , and C, along with
potassium. Polysaccharides such as fructosans, saccharose, and others are also present, as are
peptides, flavonoids, and essential oil. Onion contains alliin and similar sulfur compounds,
including allylalliin and methyl and propyl compounds of cysteine sulfoxide. Sulfur and other
compounds of A. cepa have been analyzed. Prostaglandins also have been identified in onion.

20. Antimicrobial effects
Onion has reported antibacterial, antiparasitic, and antifungal actions. Growth of oral pathogenic
bacteria, including Streptococcus mutans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Prevotella intermedia,
organisms associated with dental caries and periodontitis, was prevented by onion extracts. Onion
juice or oil also have inhibited growth of other gram-positive bacteria and gram-negative bacteria
such as Klebsiella pneumoniae. Antifungal actions of onion include inhibition of yeasts and a
number of molds.
The antibacterial, antiparasitic, and antifungal actions of onion is believed to be due to a number of
sulfur containing compounds such as alliin, allylalliin, diallyl disulfide and the methyl and propyl
compounds of cysteine sulfoxide.
onions are also noted for their ability to make cry. This effect is due to one of these propyl
sulfoxides which is converted to propanethial-S-oxide which then escapes from the onion in vapor
form and hydrolyzes to sulfuric acid when it reacts with moisture, causing the familiar eye irritation
and lacrimation.