title: Toxicity of medicinal plants used in traditional medicine in Northern Peru.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The plant species reported here are traditionally used in Northern Peru for a wide range of illnesses. Most remedies are prepared as ethanol or aqueous extracts and then ingested. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential toxicity of these extracts.
  
  
  METHODS
  The toxicity of ethanolic and water extracts of 341 plant species was determined using a brine-shrimp assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall 24% of the species in water extract and 76% of the species in alcoholic extract showed elevated toxicity levels to brine-shrimp. Although in most cases multiple extracts of the same species showed very similar toxicity values, in some cases the toxicity of different extracts of the same species varied from non-toxic to highly toxic.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Traditional preparation methods take different toxicity levels in aqueous and ethanol extracts into account when choosing the appropriate solvent for the preparation of a remedy.
authors.affiliation: William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA. rainer.bussmann@mobot.org
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Bussmann
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Malca
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Glenn
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sharon
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nilsen
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Parris
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dubose
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saleda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carillo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kuhlman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Townesmith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001156:Artemia / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010568:Peru; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012997:Solvents; D014867:Water; D000431:Ethanol