Astragalus is a large genus of over 3,000 speciesof herbs
and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily
Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species.The
genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names
include milkvetch (most specie
s), locoweed (in North America, some species) and
goat's-thorn (A. gummifer, A. tragacantha). Some pale-flowered vetches (Vicia
spp.) are similar in appearance, but they are more vine-like than Astragalus.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease, which affects synovial tissue in multiple joints. Although conventional treatments of RA commonly alleviate the symptoms, high incidence of adverse reactions leads to research tendency towards complementary and alternative medicine. As various medicinal plants are traditionally used for the management of symptomatologies associated with RA in Persian medicine
In Iranian traditional medicine, gum obtained from Astragalus gummifer and some other species of Astragalus was used as analgesic agent. See: Article
Tragacanth is a natural gum obtained from the dried sap of several species of Middle Eastern legumes of the genus Astragalus, including A. adscendens, A. gummifer, A. brachycalyx, and A. tragacantha. Some of these species are known collectively under the common names "goat's thorn" and "locoweed". The gum is sometimes called Shiraz gum, shiraz, gum elect or gum dragon. The name derives from the Greek words tragos (meaning "goat") and akantha ("thorn"). Iran is the biggest producer of this gum.
In the Ottoman Empire, tragacanth was mixed with 10 grams to 200 grams of honey and used in the treatment of kidney diseases.
However, it is thought that when tragacanth is dissolved in hot water and consumed together with starch, honey and almonds, it is good for lung disorders.
Gum tragacanth is a viscous, odorless, tasteless, water-soluble mixture of polysaccharides obtained from sap that is drained from the root of the plant and dried. The gum seeps from the plant in twisted ribbons or flakes that can be powdered. It absorbs water to become a gel, which can be stirred into a paste. The major fractions are known as tragacanthin, highly water soluble as a mucilaginous colloid, and the chemically related bassorin, which is far less soluble but swells in water to form a gel. The gum is used in vegetable-tanned leatherworking as an edge slicking and burnishing compound, and is occasionally used as a stiffener in textiles. The gum has been used historically as a herbal remedy for such conditions as cough and diarrhea. Powders using tragacanth as a basis were sometimes called diatragacanth. As a mucilage or paste, it has been used as a topical treatment for burns. It is used in pharmaceuticals and foods as an emulsifier, thickener, stabilizer, and texturant additive.
It is the traditional binder used in the
making of artists' pastels, as it does not adhere to itself the same way
other gums (such as gum arabic) do when dry.
Gum tragacanth is also used in incense-making as a binder to hold all the powdered herbs together. Its water solubility is ideal for ease of working and an even spread, and it is one of the stronger gums for holding particles in suspension. Only half as much is needed, compared to gum arabic or something similar.
Kitre doll making is one of the traditional art forms of Turkey. They are made using cotton, fabrics, wire and kitre gum as adhesive.
BY DAVID HOOPER | WELLCOME HISTORICAL MEDICAL MUSEUM, LONDON
WITH ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NATIVE NAMES WITH LATIN EQUIVALENTS
Excerpt:
"The oils and extracts obtained from plants have been used as natural agents in many industry such as food, pharmacy, alternative medicine and natural therapy because of their antimicrobial activity. In order to prolong the storage stability of foods, synthetic antioxidants are mainly used in industrial processing. Recently, there has been a significant increase in the search for natural antioxidants to replace synthetic antioxidants in recent years. Because the use of synthetic antioxidants which have many side effect such as cancer have limited. The antioxidative status is associated with reduced incidence of many diseases. Thus, investigation and identification of new antioxidant compounds are very important.
The richest genus with 425 taxa is Astragalus L. (Fabaceae) in Turkish flora. Of these 425 taxa, 201 are endemic and the endemism rate is about 47% . Researches on Astragalus species in Turkey have resulted in the isolation of cycloartane and triterpenoid saponins . These compounds exert different biological activity such as immuno stimulant, antiviral, cardiovascular, anti-protozoal and cytotoxic. The roots of Astragalus species are well-known in folk medicine due to their biological activities such as hepatoprotective, antioxidative, antibacterial, antiperspirant, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, diuretic and toni.c It has also been used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, nephritis, leukemia and uterine cancer. In the district of Anatolia, located in South Eastern Turkey, an aqueous extract of the roots of Astragalus is traditionally used against leukemia and for its wound-healing properties.
Noteworthiness of Astragalus species are great due to have a high nutritional values, obtain gum glue as a pharmaceutical emulsifying agent, used as firewood and animal feedstuffs, and in erosion prevention.
Although biological activities of many Astragalus species have been investigated, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of A. gummifer, A. microcephalus, A. talasseus and A. acmophyllus have not previously been published as far as our literature survey could ascertain. With present study, it is aimed to examine the phenolic compositions, total phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of the methanol extracts obtained from the underground parts of four different Astragalus taxa, two of which are endemic in Turkey.
SOURCE: Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of four Astragalusspecies growing wild in Turkey
Türkiye’de doğal yayılış gösteren dört Astragalus türünün
antioksidan ve antimikrobiyal aktiviteleri
Sevil Albayrak and Onur Kaya | From the journal Turkish Journal of Biochemistry | https://doi.org/10.1515/tjb-2017-0241
[*] Ebru technique consists of sprinkling colours containing a few drops of ox-gall onto the surface of the bath of water mixed with kitre (gum tragacanth) in a trough. By carefully laying the paper over the bath, the floating picture on top of it is readily transferred to the paper; thus each ebru is a unique print.
The word ebru (cloud, cloudy) or abru (water face) means in Turkish the technique of paper marbling. The term is derived from the word ebre which belongs to one of the older Central Asian languages and it means the “moiré, veined fabric, paper” used for covering some manuscripts and other holy books. Its origin might ultimately hark back to China, where a document from the T’ang dynasty (618-907) mentions a process of colouring paper on water with five hues. Through the Silk Road, this art came first to Iran and picked up the name Ebru. Subsequently it moved towards Anatolia. Specimens of marbled paper in Turkish museums and private collections date back as far as the 15th century, but unfortunately there is no evidence to show at what date the art of marbling paper first appeared in Anatolia.
Around the end of 16th century, tradesmen, diplomats and travellers coming to Anatolia brought this art to Europe and after the 1550s, booklovers in Europe prized ebru which came to be known as “Turkish Paper” or “Turkish marbled paper making”. In the subsequent centuries of modern times, it was widely used in Italy, Germany, France and England.
Many specimens in European collections and in the several album amicorum books are on show today in various museums. Early texts dealing with ebru, such as Discourse on decorating paper in the Turkish manner, published in Rome in 1664 by Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), helped to disseminate knowledge of this kind of marbling art. There is agreement amongst scholars that the so-called Turkish Papers has a colourful influence on the book arts of Europe.
In the early examples from the 16th century in the Ottoman-Turkish era, ebru appears in the battal (large) form, namely without any manipulation. Interestingly, several variations developed over time, giving us types such as gelgit, tarakli, hatip, bülbül yuvasi, cicekli. MORE
No comments:
Post a Comment