They isolate the active substances of a plant traditionally used to treat gastrointestinal disorders

Functional gastrointestinal disorders are a group of motor disorders that reduce the quality of life of patients and can affect any segment of the digestive system.

These disorders are characterized by being difficult to manage, causing complexity in their treatment. They have a significant negative impact on quality of life and, given their high prevalence in the economically active population, they cause significant economic repercussions and lower work performance.

Now, a team of researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) in Spain has managed to isolate and characterize molecules from a plant species native to South America, traditionally used in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.

Specifically, the researchers describe three plant substances of the Neowerdermannia vorwerki species, belonging to the Cactaceae family.

The results show that the three compounds have anti-inflammatory activity on cell lines of the digestive system and that they inhibit the production of cytokines.

The study was carried out by Luis Apaza Ticona (from the UAM and the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) in Spain), and Ángel Rumbero Sánchez (from the UAM), in collaboration with Professor María José Hernáiz (from the UCM), together with the support of researchers Marcos Humanes Bastante (from the UAM) and Andreea Serban (from the Pediatric Hospital attached to the Maria Sklodowska Curie University in Bucharest, Romania).

This plant species from South America has traditionally been used in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. (Photo: Luis Apaza T.)

Functional gastrointestinal disorders and medicinal plants

The most common functional gastrointestinal disorders are irritable bowel syndrome, which affects 8.1% of the population, and functional dyspepsia, which affects between 11.5% and 14.7% of the population.

Previous research has shown the activation of the immune system in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, which is reflected in elevated levels of cytokines that are involved in the pathological pain process.

Because functional disorders are not life-threatening, the safety threshold for drugs to treat these disorders has been set higher than that for therapy to treat nonfunctional conditions.

However, recent data illustrate the substantial health impact of functional gastrointestinal disorders and the need for more effective therapy because several symptom-reducing medications have been associated with secondary adverse events.

Since the various functional gastrointestinal disorders overlap in many cases or show a wide range of symptoms, even if they act as a single pathological entity, medicinal plants have proven to be an important tool due to the fact that they present a mixture of substances with multiple mechanisms of action. action.

Due to the structural diversity that these substances present, they can potentially regulate several complex etiologies simultaneously. Consequently, they can be used as precursors for the synthesis of new compounds used in the treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders.

The study is titled “Anti-inflammatory properties of Neowerdermannia vorwerkii Frič ‘Achacana’ used in treating stomach-related ailments”. And it has been published in the academic journal Journal of Ethnopharmacology. (Source: UAM)