Pharmacognosy with the Basics of Plant Biochemistry - Kovalyov V. M. 2004

Special Part
Peptides and Proteins
Medicinal plants and raw materials containing enzymes

BLACK CUMIN SEEDS — SEMINA NIGELLAE

Damask nigella — Nigella damascena L., fam. Buttercup family — Ranunculaceae

Damask nigella; the name comes from the Latin nigellus, -a, -um — blackish, and damascenus — of Damascus.

The plant is an annual herbaceous herb, 40-60 cm tall. Leaves are alternate, twice or thrice pinnately dissected into linear-subulate segments, 6-10 cm long and 4-5 cm wide. Upper leaves are crowded around the flower, forming an involucre 2-3 times larger than the flower itself. Flowers are solitary, regular, bisexual, with five petaloid sepals. Sepals are oblong, acute, blue or white. Petals number five to eight. The fruit is a capsule, syncarpous, 1.5-3 cm long, composed of five fused follicles. Seeds are 2-3 mm long, 1.5-2 cm wide, ovate, less frequently cuneate-triangular in shape; two facets are broad and almost flat, while the third is narrower and slightly convex. The seed surface is transversely wrinkled, finely granular, matte; color is black; odor is aromatic, taste is spicy and pungent. It blooms in June-July, and the fruits ripen in August-September.

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Distribution. Native to the Mediterranean region. Cultivated in Europe, Egypt, India, and the USA. In Southern Europe and the Caucasus, it is grown as an ornamental and spicy-aromatic plant. Introduced into cultivation in Ukraine.

Harvesting. Raw material collection is mechanized, utilizing combines and grain-cleaning machines. Seeds are threshed from ripe fruits. Artificial drying is carried out at a Temperature of 40-50 °С.

Chemical composition of the raw material. The seeds contain the enzyme lipase, fatty oil (35 %), essential oil, the Alkaloids damascenine and damascenin, sterols, vitamin E, and melanin.

Biological activity and application. The seeds yield the enzyme nigedase, which hydrolyzes PLANT AND ANIMAL fats. The preparation nigedase is used for Chronic Pancreatitis with reduced lipolytic activity and chronic gastrointestinal diseases. It is available in enteric-coated tablets, which ensure complete preservation of enzyme activity at normal and elevated Gastric Acidity, and partial preservation at reduced acidity. Nigedase, in combination with the enzyme orazyme, is a component of the medication ornizym-D, which is prescribed to children for conditions associated with digestive enzyme deficiency.

WATERMELON SEEDS — SEMINA CІTRULLI

Watermelon — Citrüllus vulgaris Schrad, fam. Cucurbitaceae

Watermelon; the name originates from the Latin citrus — citrus tree; lanatus from the Latin lana — wool; vulgaris, -e — common.

Plant. An annual vine. Stems are clinging, with tendrils, 2-5 m long. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, bipinnatipartite or bipinnatisect, up to 25 cm long. The plant is monoecious. Female flowers are larger than male ones. The calyx is formed of five fused sepals, the corolla is five-cleft and yellow. The fruit is a large globose or elongated berry with juicy pulp, green or whitish in color, sometimes striped. Seeds are flattened, ovate, 0.7-1.5 cm long, 0.5-1 cm wide, and 0.1-0.2 cm thick in the middle portion. Cotyledons are covered with a hard, smooth, dark-colored seed coat. It blooms in June-July, and the fruits ripen in August-September.

Distribution. Native to the Deserts and semi-deserts of Southern Africa. Cultivated as a food crop. In Ukraine, it is grown primarily in the southern regions.

Harvesting. Fruits are harvested manually by selective picking after ripening; they are cut open, the seeds are removed, cleaned from pulp residues, and air-dried.

Chemical COMPOSITION OF THE raw material. The seeds contain the enzyme urease and fatty oil; the watermelon pulp contains sugars (8-9 %, predominantly fructose), pectic substances, dietary fiber, organic acids (malic, citric, etc.), Folic acid, and minor amounts of other Vitamins (C, B₁, B₂, B₆, PP, and ß-carotene), as well as iron and potassium salts.

Biological activity and application. Urease is used in the artificial Kidney apparatus, where it catalyzes the urea Hydrolysis and helps clear the Blood of toxins. The pulp is used in the dietary Nutrition of patients with urolithiasis, atherosclerosis, Diabetes Mellitus, cholelithiasis, gastritis, circulatory insufficiency, Gout, etc.

Papain — PAPAINUM

Papaya tree — Cаrica papaya L., fam. Caricaceae

Papaya (melon tree); the name comes from carica — the Latinized name for the fig; papaya — the Latinized name of the plant.

Plant. A palm-like tree up to 6 m tall. The trunk is green, herbaceous, bearing numerous large palmatifids on long petioles at the top. The plant is characterized by cauliflory.

Female flowers are up to 4 cm in diameter, while male flowers are much smaller (up to 1.5 cm in diameter), gathered in racemes, with 10 stamens. Flowers of a third type are bisexual. Occasionally, transitional flower types ranging from bisexual to unisexual are encountered, exhibiting varying degrees of male and female trait development. Female flowers densely crowd the upper part of the trunk. Fruits hang on pedicels, are very large, melon-like in shape, with juicy pulp and numerous black seeds inside. Green fruits are poisonous due to alkaloid content, whereas ripe ones are edible.

Distribution. Native to Central and South America. Cultivated in all tropical countries as a fruit tree.

Harvesting. Latex is collected from green fruits aged 2-3 months before they turn yellow. Shallow incisions (1-2 mm) are made on the fruit end with a knife. The collected juice is dried immediately. A single plant yields 40-50 g of latex per month and 500-600 g per year under single-harvest conditions. Latex can also be obtained from the Water/115.html">Vegetative Organs of the plant.

Chemical composition of the raw material. Latex contains Proteolytic Enzymes such as papain, chymopapain, and Lysozyme, as well as resins and malic acid. Carotenoids, fatty oil, and micro- and Macronutrients have been found in the fruit peel. Alkaloids are present in unripe fruits.

Biological activity and application. The preparation Lycozyme contains a mixture of three proteinases: papain, chymopapain, and lysozyme. It exhibits proteolytic, anticoagulant, and anti-inflammatory activity. It is used in orthopedics and neurosurgery, as well as in ophthalmology for the resorption of exudates and pathologically altered Connective Tissue.

In terms of its specific action, the proteolytic enzyme bromelain, derived from pineapple infructescences (Ananas comosus, family Bromeliaceae), is closely related to papain. Papain and bromelain are components of natural combination drugs such as Wobenzym, Wobemugos, and Multsal, which are administered orally as systemic enzyme therapy agents with anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and angioprotective effects. The range of foreign enzyme products also includes digestive AIDS that combine animal-derived enzymes with papain and bromelain. These include preparations such as Luizym, Elzyme, Combizym, Digestzym, Mexase, Merkenzyme, and Pacreal Kirschner.