Publications by authors named "Berit Smestad Paulsen"

This study explores the traditional knowledge of plants used by traditional health practitioners (THPs) in the treatment of symptoms or syndromes related to mental illnesses in the district of Bamako in Mali, along with the identification of affiliated traditional treating methods. An exploratory and cross-sectional ethnopharmacological survey was conducted in the district of Bamako. The Malian Federation of Associations of Therapists and Herbalists (FEMATH) assisted in the identification and inclusion of the THPs.

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Background: Aconitum carmichaelii is an industrially cultivated medicinal plant in China and its lateral and mother roots are used in traditional Chinese medicine due to the presence of alkaloids. However, the rootlets and aerial parts are discarded after collection of the roots, and the non-toxic polysaccharides in this plant have attracted less attention than the alkaloids and poisonous features. In this study, five neutral and 14 acidic polysaccharide fractions were isolated systematically from different plant parts of A.

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The roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. However, tons of aerial parts of this plant are usually discarded in the production of roots preparation. To make better use of these plant resources, the polysaccharide isolated from the aerial part of S.

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One purified neutral polysaccharide fraction was obtained from the rhizome of by DEAE ion exchange and gel chromatography. Structure elucidation was performed by methanolysis, methylation, FT-IR, and NMR. The results indicated that PSP-NP was composed of 1,4-β-D-Gal,1, 4, 6-β-D-Gal, T-α-D-Man,1, 4-α-D-Glc, and T-α-D-Glc with a molecular weight of 43.

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Article Synopsis
  • * CLRP-1 and CLSP-1, derived from roots and aerial parts respectively, were identified as pectic polysaccharides with specific ratios of monosaccharides, highlighting their complex structures.
  • * Both polysaccharides demonstrated strong antioxidant properties in cell assays by enhancing cell viability, raising antioxidant enzyme activities, and reducing harmful substances, indicating potential for use as antioxidants.
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(MP) is an edible mushroom used in the treatment of diabetes, hypertension and inflammation. However, the structure and biological effects of its polysaccharides (PSs) are unclear. This study investigates the structural features of a PS complex from MP (MP-PSC), its immunomodulatory activities and effects on probiotic and pathogenic bacteria.

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Context: Global studies on L. (Papaveraceae) traditionally used against malaria in Mali are limited to its low-mass compounds activities, and little information on its bioactive polysaccharides is available.

Objective: This study determines the structure and the immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharides from aerial parts of .

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Roots of Aconitum carmichaelii are used in Asian countries due to its content of bioactive alkaloids. In the production of root preparations, tons of leaves are usually discarded, leading to a huge waste of herbal material. The aim of this study is to investigate the polysaccharides in these unutilized leaves.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The leaf polysaccharide (NNLP) was successfully isolated and purified, resulting in a fraction (NNLP-I-I) with a molecular weight of 16.4 kDa, identified as a pectic polysaccharide.
  • - Structural analysis via NMR showed that NNLP-I-I has a backbone primarily made of homogalacturonan, with a combination of short rhamnogalacturonan I and various side chains.
  • - Biological tests indicated that NNLP-I-I has antioxidant properties, enhancing the intestinal cellular defense against oxidative stress, which can benefit aged mice by improving their intestinal function.
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Article Synopsis
  • * PGP-I-I is primarily composed of 1,5-α-L-arabinan, and includes arabinogalactan chains linked to a rhamnogalacturonan I backbone, which is further connected to longer galacturonan chains.
  • * In vitro studies indicate that PGP-I-I enhances intestinal cellular antioxidant defenses under hydrogen peroxide stress by increasing the expression of antioxidant genes, thereby mitigating oxidative damage.
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In this study, two pectic polysaccharides from stems of Codonopsis pilosula (CPSP-1) and C. tangshen (CTSP-1) were obtained by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The molecular weight of CPSP-1 and CTSP-1 were 13.

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Protease () was isolated from B. Hansen and had a molecular mass of 70 kDa. The N-terminal sequence of showed 70-80% similarity with of subtilisin-like serine proteases from plants, but it did not show any sequence homology with known plant proteases.

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(Seem.) Guillaumin is a native tree in Vietnam. The water extract of the leaves from this tree gives a highly viscous product that has been used to heal wounds and treat inflammations.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine, highlighting its polysaccharides as key components for bio-functions.
  • Inulin-type fructan (PGF) was isolated from this plant and characterized as a specific type of β-(2-1) linked fructan with notable structural features.
  • Research demonstrated that PGF has prebiotic properties promoting lactobacillus growth and immunomodulatory effects by enhancing anti-inflammatory factors in intestinal cells, suggesting its potential in health applications.
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Neutral polysaccharides from Ningxia L. barbarum fruit have been reported with immunomodulatory and antioxidative biological activities. Few studies on pectic polysaccharides have been reported, especially not from the Xinjiang L.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: More than 15,000 angiosperm species are dioecious, i.e., having distinct male and female individual plants.

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Artemisia afra (Jacq. Ex. Willd), is an indigenous plant in South Africa and other parts of the African continent, where it is used as traditional medicine mostly for respiratory conditions.

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Two polysaccharides, GCP-I-I and GCP-II-I, were obtained from 100°C water extracts of Gentiana crassicaulis roots by DEAE anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The results from methanolysis, methylation, FT-IR and NMR, indicated that these two fractions are typical pectic polysaccharides, with HG and RG-I regions and AG-I/AG-II side chains, and some of the galacturonic acid units of fraction GCP-I-I were methyl esterified. Fractions GCP-I-I and GCP-II-I, both exhibited potent complement fixation, and fraction GCP-I-I was more potent than positive control BPII.

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Rhizome of is an effective medical plant, which has been extensively applied for centuries in migraine and cardiovascular diseases treatment in China. Polysaccharides from this plant have been shown to have interesting bioactivities, but previous studies have only been performed on the neutral polysaccharides. In this study, LCP-I-I, a pectic polysaccharide fraction, was obtained from the 100 °C water extracts of rhizomes and purified by diethylaminethyl (DEAE) sepharose anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Syzygium guineense has been traditionally used in Mali in West Africa for the treatment of different diseases such as stomach problems, wounds, inflammations and various female disorders.

Aims Of The Study: (1) To perform an ethnopharmacological survey on the traditional use of S. guineense among Malian healers.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Mali is one of the countries in West Africa where the health system rely the most on traditional medicine. The healers are mainly using medicinal plants for their treatments. The studies performed being the basis for this review is of importance as they will contribute to sustaining the traditional knowledge.

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Background: Although, medicinal plants have been important for women's health historically, the knowledge about such use during pregnancy in developing countries is limited. This is the first quantitative, ethnobotanical study on Malian women's use of and attitudes towards the use of medicinal plants during pregnancy. The aim of the study was to describe Malian women's use of medicinal plants during pregnancy according to indications and to evaluate the potentially safety of such use.

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We report the repeating unit structures of the native capsular polysaccharides of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 41A and 41F. Structural determinations yielded six carbohydrate units in the doubly branched repeating unit to give the following structure for serotype 41A: The structure determinations were motivated (1) by an ambition to help close the remaining gaps in S. pneumoniae capsular polysaccharide structures, and (2) by the attempt to derive functional annotations of carbohydrate active enzymes in the biosynthesis of bacterial polysaccharides from the determined structures.

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