Olivia Mealor

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Clore, Amy

Area of Concentration

Biology

Abstract

Prior to standardized healthcare, preventative and curative medicine consisted of remedies made from local medicinal plants based upon trial and error over many years. Two such potentially useful plants that can be found in Sarasota are Callicarpa americana, commonly known as the American beautyberry, and Dioscorea bulbifera, the air potato. C. americana is indigenous to the region, while D. bulbifera is extremely invasive and has proven to be very difficult to remove permanently. C. americana has an extensive history of usage in the Americas by indigenous peoples. All parts of the plant were considered medicinally valuable and were used for ailments ranging from stomach discomfort to cancer. As reviewed in this thesis, laboratory experiments have suggested that extracts of C. americana may have antimicrobial and cytotoxic (among other) properties. Similarly, D. bulbifera, or the air potato, has a large and varied history of use stemming from traditional Chinese, African, and Indian medicine. Leaf, stem, and/or bulbil (aerial tuber) extracts have been in use depending on the geographic region and the nature of the malady. Laboratory experiments have provided additional evidence for extracts having anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, as well as anti-cancer properties. Although the majority of the thesis work involved literary review, the final component of the evaluation involved testing Dioscorea bulbifera extracts for potential antimicrobial activity. It was found that the extracts have possible antibiotic effects that should be pursued more fully in future studies.

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