title: Assessment of in vitro pharmacological effect of Neotropical Piperaceae in GABAergic bioassays in relation to plants traditionally used for folk illness by the Yanesha (Peru).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A previous pilot ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological study with the Q'echi׳ Maya identified the family Piperaceae, as an important taxonomic group traditionally used for the treatment of epileptic and culture-bound anxiety disorders and possessing activity in the GABA system. Following that lead, a botanical survey was conducted in Peru, where 47 species of Piperaceae were collected including 21 plants traditionally used for folk illnesses by the Yanesha of Peru, an indigenous Amazonian group.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two high throughput bioassays were used to quantify the in vitro activity of botanical extracts on the GABA system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Plant extracts demonstrated moderate to high affinity to the γ-aminobutyric acid benzodiazepine (GABA-BZD) receptor. In addition, extracts demonstrated low to moderate activity in the inhibition of the GABA-transaminase, with select plants exhibiting significant activity. Plants indicated by the Yanesha showed comparable activity to the other Piperaceae plants collected. Piper cremii was the most active plant in the GABA-BZD receptor assay, and Drymaria cordata (Caryophyllaceae) in the GABA-T assay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study provides evidence that there is a pharmacological basis behind the use of plants in the treatment of susto and mal aire in both Central and South America, and we propose that the possible mechanism of action includes an interaction with the GABA-T enzyme and/or the GABAA-BZD receptor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Picard
authors.affiliation: Centre EREA, UMR 7186, CNRS-Bat. D, Haudricourt, 7 rue Guy Moquet, 94801 Villejuif cedex, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Valadeau
authors.affiliation: Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Av. Arenales 1256, Jesús María, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Albán-Castillo
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Av. Honorio Delgado, San Martin de Porres, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5; Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6P4.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Starr
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Apartado postal 1226, Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Callejas-Posada
authors.affiliation: Neural Regeneration Laboratory and Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1H 8M5.
authors.forename: S A L
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5.
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Arnason
mesh_terms: D000612:4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D001681:Biological Assay; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010568:Peru; D026321:Piperaceae; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A; D000612:4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase
keywords: Anxiety; Epilepsy; GABA-BZD receptor binding; GABA-Transaminase; Piperaceae