Global Courant 2023-05-14 06:30:00
A plant long used by indigenous peoples for medicinal tea has been shown to be effective against the parasite that causes drug-resistant malaria.
Labrador tea, which refers to three closely related shrubby Rhododendron species, is commonly used by First Nations and Inuit people in Canada and the US to treat a range of ailments, including the common cold, headaches and stomach problems.
In a new peer-reviewed study, scientists at Laval University in Quebec City collected what is known as dwarf Labrador tea, or Rhododendron subarcticum, from the Nunavik region of northern Quebec and extracted essential oil from the leaves. The aromatic and relatively unstudied evergreen is found just south of the Arctic Circle, from northern Canada to Siberia, and can reach 20 cm in height.
“Plant species from the arctic and subarctic ecosystems have not been subject to as much or as thorough phytochemical research as their counterparts from tropical environments,” the study explains. “We decided to characterize (dwarf Labrador tea) essential oil and test its activity against (malaria-causing parasites) after learning of its importance to the First Nations as a traditional medicine.”
The essential oil that scientists at Laval University analyzed consisted primarily of the organic compound ascaridol, which in tests effectively killed several strains of the parasite responsible for the most severe and drug-resistant form of malaria. Previous studies have shown that Labrador tea essential oils also have antimicrobial properties, meaning they can kill microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that can become fatal in severe cases. While malaria was endemic in Canada and the US in the 19th and early 20th centurytransmission which are not known to occur normally in the two countries today.
The Labrador tea study was published this month in the journal American Chemical SocietyOmega.
“The authors would like to thank the Whapmagoostui Cree Nation Council and Kuujjuarapik Inuit Community Council for suggesting the dwarf Labrador tea as an interesting plant to study and for sharing their knowledge of this shrub and its traditional uses,” said the authors. study. “Without the conversations with representatives of the local communities, we would not have researched this plant.”
