Dominican Herbal Medicine: Plants Used for Inflammation

多米尼加草药：用于治疗炎症的植物

基本信息

批准号：
7107262
负责人：
MICHAEL J BALICK
金额：
$ 18.21万
依托单位：
NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2004
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2004-09-15 至 2011-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

项目摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this project is to investigate the utilization and efficacy of Dominican herbal medicine in New York City and the Dominican Republic. Studies have shown that parallel health care delivery systems involving herbal remedies and traditional healers exist within immigrant communities in urban settings, particularly among Hispanics. This has been documented among Dominicans who constitute the largest Hispanic immigrant group in New York City according to the 2000 US Census Report. Research into their ethnomedical traditions and practices can provide more culturally sensitive methods for handling diverse patient populations and contribute to improving the overall effectiveness of public health care in the US. In order to evaluate the botanical treatments used in Dominican traditional medicine, an integrative, multidisciplinary approach will be utilized that incorporates biology, chemistry, clinical medicine, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, and public health. This project will be accomplished through the following steps: (1) conduct surveys among Dominicans in New York City and in the Dominican Republic to identify the most commonly used herbal remedies for selected health conditions; (2) analyze differences and similarities in the use of these remedies between Dominican populations in New York City and the Dominican Republic; (3) investigate the known pharmacology and chemistry of the most frequently used plants based on a review of the literature; (4) develop a list of botanical therapies deserving of further investigation for anti-inflammatory properties based on an evaluation of the status of biological and clinical knowledge about the plant, its importance to the Dominican pharmacopoeia, safety of its known or presumed constituents, efficacy, conservation status, and potential for sustainable production; and (5) test these botanicals using two in-vitro assays to measure anti-inflammatory activity, isolate/characterize anti-inflammatory components for purposes of standardization, and make recommendations for future clinical studies. The health conditions to be studied include the following: asthma, dermatological conditions, diabetes, diarrhea, musculoskeletal pain, reproductive/gender-specific disorders, and respiratory infections. These medical problems have been selected based on (a) their prevalence in the Dominican community, (b) the use of traditional remedies for their treatment, as well as, for some, (c) the role of inflammation in the condition's etiology. Inflammation is an important component of the pathophysiology of many health conditions. As such, an investigation into the clinically relevant, biological activities exhibited by traditionally used plants should reveal those that exhibit anti-inflammatory properties and may increase understanding of their efficacy in traditional use. The proposed project will be conducted by an international, multidisciplinary, and multicultural collaborative research team consisting of scientists, students, trainees, and assistants from four collaborating institutions in the United States and two in the Dominican Republic. The collaborative approach and results from this R21 project will enable preparation of an R01 proposal.

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目的目的是调查多米尼加草药在纽约市和多米尼加共和国的利用和功效。研究表明，城市移民社区中存在着涉及草药和传统治疗师的并行医疗保健服务系统，尤其是西班牙裔社区。根据 2000 年美国人口普查报告，多米尼加人构成了纽约市最大的西班牙裔移民群体，这一点已得到记录。对他们的民族医学传统和实践的研究可以为处理不同的患者群体提供更具文化敏感性的方法，并有助于提高美国公共卫生保健的整体有效性。为了评估多米尼加传统医学中使用的植物疗法，将采用综合的、多学科的方法，其中包括生物学、化学、临床医学、民族植物学、民族医学和公共卫生。该项目将通过以下步骤完成：(1) 对纽约市和多米尼加共和国的多米尼加人进行调查，以确定针对选定的健康状况最常用的草药； (2) 分析纽约市和多米尼加共和国的多米尼加人在使用这些疗法方面的差异和相似之处； (3) 根据文献综述，研究最常用植物的已知药理学和化学； (4) 根据对植物的生物学和临床知识状况、其对多米尼加药典的重要性、其已知或假定成分的安全性、功效的评估，制定一份值得进一步研究抗炎特性的植物疗法清单、保护状况和可持续生产的潜力； (5) 使用两种体外测定来测试这些植物药，以测量抗炎活性，分离/表征抗炎成分以实现标准化，并为未来的临床研究提出建议。要研究的健康状况包括以下内容：哮喘、皮肤病、糖尿病、腹泻、肌肉骨骼疼痛、生殖/性别特异性疾病和呼吸道感染。这些医疗问题的选择基于 (a) 它们在该地区的流行程度多米尼加社区，(b) 使用传统疗法进行治疗，以及，对于某些人来说，(c) 炎症在病因学中的作用。炎症是许多健康状况的病理生理学的重要组成部分。因此，对传统使用的植物表现出的临床相关生物活性的研究应该揭示那些表现出抗炎特性的植物，并可能增加对其传统使用功效的了解。拟议的项目将由一个国际、多学科和多文化合作研究小组进行，该小组由来自美国四个合作机构和多米尼加共和国两个合作机构的科学家、学生、实习生和助理组成。 R21 项目的协作方法和结果将使 R01 提案的准备成为可能。