Experimental Plant Science Final

How can high amounts of caffeine affect a fetus?

It can stunt the growth.

What are some benefits of caffeine from studies?

Can prevent headaches.

List some effects of caffeine.

Increase BP, HR, and respiration.

Why would plants, which do not possess a nervous system, have evolved neurologically active compounds?

It acts as a deterrent.

Where is coffee native to and what plant is it primarily produced from?

Ethiopia, Caffea arabica.

When was coffee roasted and brewed into a drink?

1200 AD.

During what time period did coffee spread from Ethiopia?

1700s.

Who is the leading export of coffee?

Brazil.

How is coffee traditionally grown? How is coffee grown to produce a greater yield?

Traditionally shade grown, but there is a higher yield in sun grown trees.

What is the ecological concern of coffee trees?

Deforestation.

What is the world’s most consumed beverage after water?

Tea.

What is the binomial of tea?

Camellia sinensis.

Where is tea native to?

SE Asia, India and China.

In what plant is tea produced from?

Small trees and shrubs.

How much fermentation is involved with green, Oolong, black, white, and herbal tea?

Green: None, but steamed; Oolong: Partial; Black: Full; White: None, no steaming; Herbal: Generally from other plant species.

What is a health benefit of green tea consumption?

It has been linked to lower cancer.

Caffeine and theophylline are both what?

Stimulants.

What does theophylline do to the body?

Relaxes bronchial muscles in asthmatics.

What is the mythology of theobroma cacao in Aztec mythology?

The cacao was given to them after their creation from maize; used seeds as small coins.

How was 'chocolatl' made?

From roasted and ground bean with chili peppers and other spices.

Who and when added cocoa butter and sugar to theobroma cacao?

In 1850 by an English company.

How is chocolate made?

It is made from roasted, fermented seeds of the theobroma cacao tree.

Where is Theobroma cacao native to?

To neotropics.

How much theobromine is contained in the seeds? What class of secondary plant compound is it in?

2%; Alkaloid.

Where is theobromine also found?

In tea leaves and kola tree.

What organ does theobromine stimulate? What is another use?

Stimulates the heart and works as a diuretic.

What is phenethylamine?

A dopamine releasing-agent.

What is phenethylamine linked to in the brain?

Serotonin-levels.

What happens when it is consumed orally?

It is rapidly metabolized.

What is Anandamide? What does it do?

Cannabinoid neurotransmitter. It activates some of the same receptors as THC.

What are the possible health benefits of dark chocolate?

Flavanols have antioxidant properties, may improve insulin sensitivity and reduce BP.

What happens to flavanols when they are processed?

More flavanols are lost.

Describe the process of making chocolate.

Beans are roasted, cracked, and opened releasing cotyledons (nibs); Nibs are crushed to produce chocolate liquor; Cocoa butter (lipids) used for soaps and cosmetics.

Where is half of cocoa worldwide grown?

West Africa.

What seeds does coca-cola use?

West African cola tree.

What are the two cardiac stimulants in coca-cola?

Caffeine and kolanin.

What year dates back to when Neanderthals were buried with medicinal plants?

60k ya.

When was the Sumerian tablet of medicinal plants made?

4k years ago.

What was snakeroot used for in ancient times vs today?

Was used as sedative but now for BP and schizophrenia.

Who is the father of medicine? What did he propose?

Hippocrates proposed that illness was naturally occurring and not supernatural.

What was used as a contraceptive?

Giant fennel.

How many medicinal plants were in the Dioscorides? How long was it the western standard?

600 plants; 1500 years.

What revived herbalism?

Renaissance and printing press.

What is the doctrine of signatures/features of plants?

It corresponds to a human part (no scientific basis). If a plant looked like a certain feature it must treat it.

What plant produces morphine?

Opium poppy.

What plant produces salicylic acid? Is it still being obtained by plants?

Willow trees, but is now synthetic.

What percentage of U.S. pharmaceuticals have plant-derived active ingredients?

25%.

What percentage of rural populations rely on herbal medicine as their only health care? What countries has this been established in?

75%; China, India, and other countries.

What is Echinacea used for?

Antidote for bites and stings, cure infectious disease, tooth-ache plant, smoke a remedy for headaches.

List the secondary plant products.

Alkaloids and glycosides.

How many alkaloids have been identified and which family is it dominant in?

3000 identified; Dominant in Fabaceae, Solanaceae, and Rubiaceae family.

What are the effects of cardioactive glycosides and saponins?

Effects heart contraction; Progesterone precursor and cortisone.

What are Digitalis glycosides used for?

To slow heartbeat with increased blood pump; Remedy for fluid accumulation from congestive heart failure.

What does the inner bark of Salix (willow) contain? What is it composed of?

Salicin; Glycoside of salicylic acid.

What is the synthetic form of salicin? What are its effects?

Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid); Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, reduces risk of second heart attack.

What is used as treatment for malaria?

Fever bark tree (Rubiaceae) which produces alkaloid quinine; The synthetic form is chloroquine.

What is Artemisinin used for?

A terpene that is also toxic to malaria parasite.

What plant is reserpine from? What does it treat?

Snakeroot; One of the first tranquilizers for schizophrenia and hypertension.

What have gymnosperms been used for? How long?

Decongestant and CNS stimulant similar to adrenaline.

What are the synthetic compounds that gymnosperms have been found in?

Decongestants, weight control supplements, and energy boosters.

What is pseudoephedrine a starting reactant for? Why is it sold in small quantities?

Methamphetamine; It’s sold in small amounts since people can form methamphetamine with pseudoephedrine.

Abuse of products containing Ephedra extracts led to increased concerns about unregulated marketing of herbal remedies. Should increased regulation occur?

What is the source of vinblastine and vincristine? What does it treat?

Madagascar periwinkle; It treats various leukemias and lymphomas.

What are the chemotherapeutic agents?

Blocks spindle formation.

What is Pacific Yew, Taxus brevifolia?

Chemotherapeutic terpene taxol isolated from bark.

What steps can be taken to ensure that useful plant species will be preserved?

Define medicine.

The science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.

What percentage of people in the US use alternative medicine?

40%.

What is the difference between testing clinical prescriptions and dietary supplements?

Testing is not needed for dietary supplements.

What is st. John’s wort used for and where?

As a treatment for depression in Germany; Thought to raise serotonin levels.

What is Ginkgo used for?

Improvements dementia symptoms via increased blood flow; Anticoagulant; increased bleed risks.

Who used plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region?

Melvin Gilmore.

What effects does Echinacea have?

Antidote for bites and stings, cure infectious disease, tooth-ache plant, smoke remedy for headaches.

What may be able to help the symptoms of benign prostate enlargement?

Saw Palmetto.

What are the most widely used psychoactive substances used in the US?

Caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine.

What do psychoactive drug effects depend on?

Pharmacology of drug, biology of individual, psychology of individual, cultural setting.

What effect does psychoactive drugs have on neurons?

Mimicking, amplifying, or blocking neurotransmitters.

What are psychoactive drugs classified as?

Stimulants, depressants, or hallucinogens.

Define Narcotic? What secondary compound is it mainly?

Technically a depressant, but now used as any ‘dangerously addictive’ psychoactive compound; Mostly alkaloids.

What is the primary component of the 'reward circuit?' Out of how many neurotransmitters?

Dopamine; 1 of 100 neurotransmitters.

What does cocaine block?

Blocks the return of dopamine to ventral tegmental area.

What inhibits dopamine production?

Opiates.

How is the tolerance of dopamine formed?

Chronically elevated dopamine leads to the inhibition of dopamine production in ventral tegmental area.

What is the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum)?

Milky latex rich in alkaloids that are CNS depressants.

Where is it native to?

Middle East.

Describe what occurred in the opium wars.

British and US ships smuggled opium from India to China. China destroys opium. Britain retaliates with the 1st and 2nd war. Creates an addictive culture that ends with communist revolution.

Opium alkaloids include what? What does it provide?

Morphine and codeine; Main drug for intense pain, provides euphoric sensation, respiratory depressant.

What is heroin?

A chemical modification of morphine, and much more addictive.

Where is heroin legally produced?

India.

What are other semisynthetic forms of heroin?

Oxycodone and hydrocodone.

What is a synthetic form of heroin?

Fentanyl.

What is Kava (Piper methysticum)?

CNS depressant.

What is the cultural aspect of the root of Kava?

Made into social, sacred, and medicinal beverage of South Pacific.

What is Kava linked to?

Liver toxicity link found in US and Europe (FDA ban).

What is alcohol?

CNS depressant.

Describe the transportation of alcohol in the blood and its effects.

Small molecules that are easily carried from the blood to the brain: may affect many neurotransmitter systems.

What is the binomial of marijuana?

Cannabis sativa.

What is one of the oldest cultivated plants? What are some components?

Marijuana; Medicine, fiber, oil, and seed.

Where does marijuana originate from? What is a source that comes from it?

From Central Asia; Resin source of THC.

What influenced the amount of THC in Cannabis?

Species, sexes, growing environment, and plant parts.