Major
Biological Sciences
Advisor
Seeram, Navindra
Advisor Department
Pharmacy Practice (PHP)
Date
8-2013
Keywords
red maple flowers; natural products; Acer rubrum
Abstract
Natural medicines and the use of botanical extracts in the prevention and treatment of ailments is globally gaining interest (Mazzio and Soliman, 2009). Detrimental side effects may be reduced using natural therapies (Desai et al., 2008). Worldwide, there are about 120 different maple species. Of those, thirteen are native to eastern North America (Maple Field Guide, 2002). Maple syrup is a natural sweetener derived from collected and concentrated maple tree sap. It takes about 40 liters of sap to make one liter of syrup. Maple plant parts have been used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes. The University of Rhode Island’s Bioactive Botanical Research Laboratory (BBRL) has evaluated the biological activities of maple parts including maple leaves, bark, sap, and syrup. Results include α-glucosidase inhibition, -one of the several strategies of diabetes management, from red maple (Acer rubrum) stems (Wan, et al. 2012) and the antiproliferative effects on colon cancer cells (González-Sarrías et al,. 2012) of compounds isolated from maple sap and syrup. Of the maple plant parts studied so far, the flowers are yet to be examined for phytochemicals and biological activity. This project explores the isolation and structural elucidation of phytochemicals present in red maple flowers.