Baccharis

Baccharis is a large, strictly American genus with approximately 350 species. Only a few are important medicinal plants, and their uses seem to be rather diverse. Some of the principal medicinal species are discussed in the following text  

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Baccharis cordifolia (Compositse). Baccharine, crystalline, neutral to litmus. (Arata, Pharm. J., 1879 [iu], 10, 6.)... 

Baccharis cordifolia baccharine, 779 Bakankosine, 554 Banisteria spp., 488 Banisterine, 488 BapHsia spp., 116 Baptitoxine, 142... 

Allelopathic Agents from Parthenium hysterophorus and Baccharis megapotamica... 

However, the most interesting of the Baccharis species is most certainly B. coridifolia. This plant is well-known in Brazil as being one of that country s most toxic plants (49) and is a serious hazard to livestock who graze in pastures populated by B. coridifolia (49). Four separate collections were made of B. coridifolia (48). Three of these collections were "From several miles outside Curitaba and a fourth collection in a pasture near Santa Maria, the site of an earlier collection of 13. coridifolia (47), and several hundred miles away from Curitaba. ThTs latter collection and two of the three former collections contained appreciable quantities of roridins A and E. A third collection from near Curitaba appeared to contain no macrocyclic trichothecenes. From a 20 g sample of one of the collections of B. coridifolia... 

Our findings suggest that some Baccharis species form an association with Myrothecium species which produce roridins. These roridins are taken up by the plant and, in the case of B. coridifolia stored, but in the case of B. megapotamTca the roridins are oxidized (metabolized) (45) to the baccharinoids. 

Baccharis has proven to be a fascinating plant. In the future, we plan to investigate the fungus associated with this plant, as it is found Brazil, and unravel the interaction between the plant and the fungus. 

One of the most exiting findings in this area is perhaps the isolation of Bt-CD, a neoclerodane diterpenoid from Baccharis trimera (Less) DC or carqueja (Brazil) used to treat rheumatism and diabetes that shows anti-phospholipase A2 activity (11). Note also the anti-phospholipase A2 and anti-inflammatory activity of Santolina chamaecy-parissus (12). Cirsium japonicum DC, Crossotephium chinense L. Makino, Inula chinensis Rupr. ex Maxim., and Sigesbeckia orientalis L. are used in Asia for the treatment of inflammatory conditions. 

Januario AH, Simone LS, Silvana M, et al. Neo-clerodane diterpenoid, a new metallo-protease snake venom inhibitor from Baccharis trimera (Asteraceae) anti-proteolytic and anti-hemorrhagic properties. Chem Biol Interact 2002 150 243-251. 

Baccharis cordifolia Certopicnidium baccharidicola rodicin A, D, E and H, verrucarin A and J 203, 246... 

Rosso, L., Maier, M. S., and Bertoni, M. D. (2000). Trichothecenes production by the Hypo-crealean epibiont of Baccharis coridifolia. Plant Biol. (Stuttg.) 2, 684-686. 

Simoes-Pires, C. A., Queiroz, E. F., Henriques, A. T., and Hostettmann, K., Isolation and on-hne identification of antioxidant compounds from three Baccharis species by HPLC-UV-MS/MS with post-column derivatisation. Phytochemical Analysis 16(5), 307-314, 2005. 

Clerodanes.—In a study of South African Macowania species, a cis-clerodane acid (28) and labdanolic acid were obtained from M. glandulosa. Deoxymarrubialac-tone (29) has been isolated from Chaiturus marrubiastrum. Linarienone (30) is another ds-fused clerodane which has been obtained from the roots of Linaria japonica (Scrophulariaceae) and correlated with linaridial. The bacchotricuneatins A (31) and B (32) are two new diterpenoid lactones which were isolated from Baccharis tricuneata (Astereae) and whose structures were determined by a combination of spectra and X-ray analysis. 

Artemisia rupestris Baccharis pilularis Grindelia nana Grindelia tenella Haplopappus hirtellus Haplopappus sonorensis Ozothamnus scutellifolius Senecio viscosa Stevia subpubescens Xanthocephalum gymnoap. Heliotropium pycnophyllum Cleome spinosa... 

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