Desmodium molliculum (Kunth) DC (Fabaceae); Perfil etnobotánico, fitoquímico y farmacológico de una planta andina peruana.

Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC. (Rubiaceae): Especie nativa del Perú, medicamento herbolario reconocido por la medicina tradicional

Antecedentes: Senecio tephrosioides Turcz. (Familia: Asteraceae) es una planta medicinal tradicional utilizada en varios sistemas de medicina antigua en el Perú por su valor etnofarmacológico para curar variedades de dolencias. Los terpenos (1-isopropil- 4-metil biciclo [3,1,0] hexano y terpineno), compuestos fenólicos (5,7-dihidroxi-4',6',8-trimetoxiflavanonona,3',5'-dihidroxi-4-metoxi-7-0-rhannoglucosyl flavanonona y 5,4-dihidroxichalcona), flavonoides (quercetin-3-rutinósido), alcaloides de pirrolizidina (neoplatifilina, Senecionina, seneciphylline, seneciphylline N-óxido y senkirkine), y lactonas, son los principales componentes activos obtenidos de las partes aéreas de este género, y los cuales guardan relación importante en preparaciones tradicionales para el tratamiento y manejo de enfermedades. El presente mini-review se centra principalmente en los aspectos botánicos, la etnofarmacología, los principales metabolitos secundarios, y los posibles usos medicinales de Senecio tephrosioides. Materiales y Métodos: Las fuentes para la búsqueda de literatura fueron Scielo, PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. Resultados: Las actividades farmacológicas informadas, los metabolitos secundarios y los usos tradicionales de Senecio tephrosioides justifican sus posibles usos terapéuticos. Conclusions: Sin embargo, aún se requieren más estudios que vayan de la mano con validaciones científicas y estandarizaciones utilizando métodos ortogonales como Resonancia Magnética Nuclear (RMN), Cromatografía Liquida de Alta Resolución (HPLC) y Espectrometría de Masas – acoplado a Cromatografía Liquida (MS-LC), contrastar el conocimiento tradicional con evidencia a través de ensayos metodológicos que permitan determinar la seguridad y funcionamiento de los componentes de esta especie, así como una oportunidad en el descubrimiento y desarrollo de nuevos medicamentos a partir de productos naturales purificados o extractos crudos particionados. Palabras clave: Senecio tephrosioides; Huamanripa; Huamanrripa; wamanripa; usos tradicionales; Planta medicinal

Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Br. ex Britton & P. Wilson is an aromatic medicinal plant widely used in traditional medicine for the management of digestive, inflammatory, and infectious disorders. The present study aimed to investigate the ethnobotanical relevance, chemical composition, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, and molecular docking properties of L. alba essential oil (EOLA). Ethnobotanical information was collected through semi-structured interviews with herbal vendors. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and chemically characterized by GC–MS and GC–FID, leading to the identification of 27 volatile constituents. The chemical profile was dominated by oxygenated monoterpenes (83.83%), with (−)-carvone (63.79%) and dihydrocarvyl acetate (17.74%) as the major compounds, confirming a carvone chemotype. EOLA exhibited moderate antioxidant activity, with values of 24.1 mg TE/100 g and 34.5 mg TE/100 g in the DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively. Furthermore, the essential oil demonstrated significant concentration-dependent antifungal and antibacterial activities against Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus. At the highest concentration tested, the antimicrobial activity approached that of the reference drugs. In silico ADMET analysis predicted favorable pharmacokinetic and drug-likeness properties for the major volatile constituents. Molecular docking studies revealed relevant interactions between several compounds, particularly α-gurjunene, alloaromadendrene, trans-α-bisabolene, and (−)-β-bourbonene, and molecular targets associated with oxidative stress and microbial inhibition, providing mechanistic insights into the biological activities observed experimentally. Overall, these findings support the ethnopharmacological use of L. alba and highlight its essential oil as a promising natural source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial potential for future phytopharmaceutical applications.

(1) Background: Clinopodium pulchellum (Kunth) Govaerts (Panizara) is an aromatic Andean medicinal plant traditionally used in Peru to manage nervous disorders, insomnia, and digestive complaints; however, its neuropharmacological properties remain poorly validated. This study aimed to evaluate the anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects of C. pulchellum and to characterize its phytochemical profile as supportive evidence. (2) Methods: The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed using GC–MS and GC–FID. (3) Results: Fifteen volatile compounds were identified based on retention indices and mass spectral data, with β-caryophyllene (22.9%) and linalool (19.1%) as the most representative constituents, while other compounds were tentatively identified. The aqueous extract showed total phenolic and flavonoid contents of 34.15 mg GAE/g and 29.44 mg QE/g, respectively, and moderate antioxidant activity (DPPH = 2.36 mg TE/g; ABTS = 3.33 mg TE/g). In vivo assays revealed that EOCP at 200 mg·kg⁻¹ significantly increased open-arm exploration in the elevated plus maze and reduced immobility time in the CUMS–forced swim test by 37% compared with the stress group, although the effect was lower than that of reference drugs. Molecular docking analysis indicated favorable binding affinities of β-caryophyllene, humulene, and aromandendrene with serotonergic and ion channel targets, while ADMET predictions suggested suitable pharmacokinetic properties. (4) Conclusions: These findings indicate that the observed neuropharmacological effects may be associated with the presence of bioactive terpenoids typical of Lamiaceae, supporting the traditional use of C. pulchellum. However, further studies are required to confirm the identity of uncommon constituents and to elucidate the mechanisms underlying its biological activity.