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Heliotropium Foertherianum
''Heliotropium arboreum'' is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It is native to tropical Asia including southern China, Madagascar, northern Australia, and most of the atolls and high islands of Micronesia and Polynesia. Common names include velvetleaf soldierbush, tree heliotrope, veloutier, and octopus bush. It is a shrub or small tree typical of littoral zones reaching a height of , with a spread of about . Taxonomy Originally published as ''Tournefortia argentea'', it was transferred to ''Argusia argentea'', and remained under that name until recently. It was subsequently restored to the genus ''Tournefortia'' before being transferred into the genus ''Heliotropium'' under a new name in 2003. Botanical description The tree heliotrope is a small to medium sized growing tree that typically reaches heights of . The leaves of this tree are light green in color, silvery in sheen, and silky in texture. The tree produces small fruits and flowers durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Formerly called the Sandwich Islands by Europeans, the present name for the archipelago is derived from the name of its largest island, Hawaii. The archipelago sits on the Pacific Plate. The islands are exposed peaks of a great undersea mountain range known as the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, formed by volcano, volcanic activity over the Hawaiian hotspot. The islands are about from the nearest continent and are part of the Polynesia subregion of Oceania. The U.S. state of Hawaii occupies the archipelago almost in its entirety (including the mostly uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands), with the sole exception of Midway Atoll (a United States Minor Outlying Island). Hawaii is the only U.S. state that is sit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heliotropium
''Heliotropium'' is a genus of flowering plants traditionally included in the family Boraginaceae ''s.l.'', but placed in the family Heliotropiaceae within the Boraginales order, by the Boraginales Working Group.. There are around 325 species in this almost cosmopolitan genus, which are commonly known as heliotropes. They are highly toxic to dogs and cats, as well as to humans. Etymology The name "heliotrope" derives from the old idea that the inflorescences of these plants turned their rows of flowers to the Sun.Chittenden, Fred J. Ed., Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening, Oxford 1951 Ἥλιος (''helios'') is Greek for "Sun", τρέπειν (''trepein'') means "to turn". The Middle English name "turnsole" has the same meaning. A Classical myth, told in Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', imagines that the water nymph Clytie, in love with the sun god Helios, was scorned by him. Wasting away, she transformed into the heliotrope, whose flowers supposedly always face t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eudicots Of Western Australia
The eudicots or eudicotyledons are flowering plants that have two seed leaves (cotyledons) upon germination. The term derives from ''dicotyledon'' (etymologically, ''eu'' = true; ''di'' = two; ''cotyledon'' = seed leaf). Historically, authors have used the terms tricolpates or non-magnoliid dicots. The current botanical terms were introduced in 1991, by evolutionary botanist James A. Doyle and paleobotanist Carol L. Hotton, to emphasize the later evolutionary divergence of tricolpate dicots from earlier, less specialized, dicots. Scores of familiar plants are eudicots, including many commonly cultivated and edible plants, numerous trees, tropicals and ornamentals. Among the most well-known eudicot genera are those of the sunflower (''Helianthus''), dandelion (''Taraxacum''), forget-me-not (''Myosotis''), cabbage (''Brassica''), apple (''Malus''), buttercup (''Ranunculus''), maple ('' Acer'') and macadamia (''Macadamia''). Most leafy, mid-latitude trees are also classified as e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of The Australasian Realm
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora as in the terms ''gut flora'' or ''skin flora'' for purposes of specificity. Etymology The word "flora" comes from the Latin name of Flora, the goddess of plants, flowers, and fertility in Roman mythology. The technical term "flora" is then derived from a metonymy of this goddess at the end of the sixteenth century. It was first used in poetry to denote the natural vegetation of an area, but soon also assumed the meaning of a work cataloguing such vegetation. Moreover, "Flora" was used to refer to the flowers of an artificial garden in the seventeenth century. The distinction between vegetation (the general appearance of a community) and flora (the taxonomic composition of a community) was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory is the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation, fever or swelling. Anti-inflammatory drugs, also called anti-inflammatories, make up about half of analgesics. These drugs reduce pain by inhibiting mechanisms of inflammation, as opposed to opioids, which affect the central nervous system to block pain. Common anti-inflammatory drugs include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, antileukotrienes, and monoclonal antibodies. Drugs Clinically approved Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs alleviate pain by counteracting the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme involved in pain mechanisms. Some common examples of NSAIDs are aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. Selective COX-2 inhibitors, such as celecoxib, block the enzymatic conversion of arachidonic acid into prostaglandin, inhibiting inflammation and pain. Analgesics commonly associated with anti-inflammatory drugs, such as acetaminophen (paracetamol), hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antioxidant
Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants are frequently added to industrial products, such as polymers, fuels, and lubricants, to extend their usable lifetimes. Foods are also treated with antioxidants to prevent Food spoilage, spoilage, in particular the rancidification of Vegetable oil, oils and fats. In Cell (biology), cells, antioxidants such as glutathione, mycothiol, or bacillithiol, and enzyme systems like superoxide dismutase, inhibit damage from oxidative stress. Known diet (nutrition), dietary antioxidants are vitamins vitamin A, A, vitamin C, C, and vitamin E, E, but the term has also been applied to various compounds that exhibit antioxidant properties in vitro, having little evidence for antioxidant properties in vivo. Dietary supplements marketed as antioxidants hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiseptic
An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's ability to safely destroy bacteria within the body, and from ''disinfectants'', which destroy microorganisms found on non-living objects. Antibacterials include antiseptics that have the proven ability to act against bacteria. Microbicides which destroy virus particles are called viricides or antivirals. Antifungals, also known as antimycotics, are pharmaceutical fungicides used to treat and prevent mycosis (fungal infection). Surgery Antiseptic practices evolved in the 19th century through multiple individuals. Ignaz Semmelweis showed already in 1847-1848 that hand washing prior to delivery reduced puerperal fever. Despite this, many hospitals continued to practice surgery in unsanitary conditions, with some surgeons taking pride in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiviral Drug
Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Antiviral drugs are a class of antimicrobials, a larger group which also includes antibiotic (also termed antibacterial), antifungal and antiparasitic drugs, or antiviral drugs based on monoclonal antibodies. Most antivirals are considered relatively harmless to the host, and therefore can be used to pharmacotherapy, treat infections. They should be distinguished from virucides, which are not medication but deactivate or destroy virus particles, either inside or outside the body. Natural virucides are produced by some plants such as eucalyptus and Australian tea trees. Medical uses Most of the antiviral drugs now available are designed to help deal with HIV, Herpesviridae, herpes viruses, the hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, C viruses, and Influenzavirus A, influenza A and Influenzavirus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosmarinic Acid
Rosmarinic acid, named after rosemary (''Salvia rosmarinus'' Spenn.), is a polyphenol constituent of many culinary herbs, including rosemary (''Salvia rosmarinus'' L.), perilla (''Perilla frutescens'' L.), sage (''Salvia officinalis'' L.), mint (''Mentha arvense'' L.), and basil (''Ocimum basilicum'' L.). History Rosmarinic acid was first isolated and characterized in 1958 by the Italian chemists Scarpatti and Oriente from rosemary ('' Salvia rosmarinus''), after which the acid is named. Chemistry Chemically, rosmarinic acid is a caffeic acid ester, with tyrosine providing another phenolic ring via dihydroxyphenyl-lactic acid. It has a molecular mass of 360 daltons. Natural occurrences Rosmarinic acid accumulation is shown in hornworts, in the fern family Blechnaceae, and in species of several orders of mono- and dicotyledonous angiosperms. It is found most notably in many Lamiaceae (dicotyledons in the order Lamiales), especially in the subfamily Nepetoideae. It is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algae
Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular microalgae, such as cyanobacteria, ''Chlorella'', and diatoms, to multicellular macroalgae such as kelp or brown algae which may grow up to in length. Most algae are aquatic organisms and lack many of the distinct cell and tissue types, such as stomata, xylem, and phloem that are found in embryophyte, land plants. The largest and most complex marine algae are called seaweeds. In contrast, the most complex freshwater forms are the Charophyta, a Division (taxonomy), division of green algae which includes, for example, ''Spirogyra'' and stoneworts. Algae that are carried passively by water are plankton, specifically phytoplankton. Algae constitute a Polyphyly, polyphyletic group because they do not include a common ancestor, and although Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambierdiscus
''Gambierdiscus'' is a genus of marine dinoflagellates that produce ciguatoxins, a type of toxin that causes the foodborne illness known as ciguatera. They are usually epiphytic on macroalgae growing on coral reefs. Morphology ''Gambierdiscus'' cells generally have a lenticular shape with a depression on the ventral side of the cell, from where the two dissimilar flagella arise. ''Gambierdiscus'' cells have an orange to brown colour due to the assessory pigments peridinin, diadinoxanthin and dinoxanthin. Distribution The marine dinoflagellate genus ''Gambierdiscus'' occurs globally in tropic and subtropic regions. It mainly grows attached to macroalgae and coralline turfalgae. Thus, it does not form visible surface blooms like many other harmful dinoflagellate species (red tides). A decrease in coral reefs due to bleaching, pollution or overfishing usually facilitates the growth of macroalgae, which can cause spreading of this epiphytic dinoflagellate genus. Ciguatera Sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ciguatoxin
image:ciguatoxin.svg, 300px, class=skin-invert-image, Chemical structure of the ciguatoxin CTX1B Ciguatoxins are a class of toxic Polycyclic compound, polycyclic polyethers found in fish that cause ciguatera. There are several different chemicals in this class. "CTX" is often used as an abbreviation. * Ciguatoxin 1 - * Ciguatoxin 2 - * Ciguatoxin 3 - * Ciguatoxin 4B (Gambiertoxin 4b) - Toxic effect on humans Ciguatoxins do not seem to harm the fish that carry them, but they are poisonous to humans. They cannot be smelled or tasted and cannot be destroyed by cooking. Rapid testing for this toxin in food is not standard. Some ciguatoxins lower the threshold for opening excitatory voltage-gated sodium channels in the nervous system. Opening a sodium channel causes depolarization, which could sequentially cause paralysis, heart arrhythmia, and changing the senses of heat and cold. Such poisoning from ciguatoxins is known as ciguatera. Ciguatoxins are lipophilic, able to cros ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
