To the Editor
The recent article by Farese et al.1 sheds light on a very important source area of drug development, medicinal plants. People in different cultures, all over the world, have used medicinal plants for a number of diseases. One such traditional medicine system is that of the Canadian Aboriginals. This system has been practiced for centuries and encompasses treating the whole person through mind, body, and spirit. Medicinal plants make up the most important tool in curing a disease. Table 1 lists selected plants used by Aboriginal tribes all over Canada for kidney diseases. Mostly, these are used for diuresis, renal stones and cleansing the kidneys. Plants have also been a major source of new drugs since the inception of modern pharmacology.2 According to a survey, one-third of all the newly approved compounds are derived from plants.2 A brief review of the literature shows different plants being effective in preventing/treating renal diseases either in animal models or in clinical trials.3,4 Some renal conditions reported to respond to plant therapy are glomerulonephritis, IgA nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, glomerulosclerosis, immune complex nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, lupus, tubulointerstitial nephritis, chronic allograft nephropathy, kidney stones, etc.3,4 Some pharmacological characteristics seen in plants that may contribute in the above-mentioned conditions are antiinflammation; anti-oxidation; diuresis; immunomodulation; prevention of acute allograft rejection and drug-induced nephrotoxicity; reduction in proteinuria, renal interstitial fibrosis, renal ischemia/reperfusion injury, tubular and mesangial cell proliferation, blood lipid levels, blood pressure, lipid peroxidation, apoptosis, renal necrosis, and calcium oxalate crystal aggregation; and stimulation of renal repair mechanisms, RNA and protein synthesis.3,4 Continued efforts are required to identify and develop traditionally used medicinal plants in renal diseases so that more effective treatments are available from plants that have been known for their efficacy for hundreds of years.
Table 1.
List of selected Aboriginal medicinal plants traditionally used in kidney diseases
| Scientific name | Common name (plant type) | Family | Part used | Traditional use (preparation) | Habitat (tribe) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer pensylvanicum | Striped maple (tree) | Aceraceae | Bark | Diuretic (bark tea) | NB, NS, PE, QC, ON (Penobscot, Micmac) |
| Arctostaphylos uva-ursi | Bearberry (shrub) | Ericaceae | Leaf | Diuretic (tea of leaves) | All of Canada (Algonquin, Blackfoot, Micmac, Salish) |
| Cornus canadensis | Bunchberry (herb) | Cornaceae | Whole plant | Kidney problems (drinking steeped plant) | All of Canada (Micmac) |
| Cucurbita sp. | Squash (vine) | Cucurbitaceae | Seed | Diuretic (chewing seeds, seeds pulverized and taken with water) | ON, QC (Chippewa, Plains Indians) |
| Juniperus cummunis | Juniper (tree) | Cupressaceae | Twig, berry | Kidney problems (twig and berry tea) | All of Canada (Gitxsan, Blackfoot, Micmac, Cree) |
| Epigaea repens | Trailing arbutus (shrub) | Ericaceaae | Leaf | Kidney stones (infusion of leaves) | Southern Canada (Algonquin, Iroquois) |
| Larix laricina | Tamarack (tree) | Pinaceae | Gum | Kidney problems (chewing of gum) | BC, ON, QC, Atlantic Canada (Cree, Ojibwe, Chippewa) |
| Ledum groenlandicum | Labrador tea (Shrub) | Ericaceae | Leaf | Kidney problems (leaves infusion) | All of Canada (Cree, Micmac) |
| Medeola virginiana | Cucumber root (herb) | Liliaceae | Crushed dried berry and leaf, root | Diuretic (berry and leaf infusion; chewing root) | NS, NB, QC (Iroquois) |
| Pinus strobus | White pine (tree) | Pinaceae | Bark, needle, twig | Kidney and urinary problems (tea of plant parts) | Atlantic Canada, QC, ON, MB (Algonquin, Iroquois, Ojibwe, Micmac) |
| Sarracenia purpurea | Purple pitcher plant (herb) | Sarraceniaceae | Root | Kidney problems (drinking steeped root) | Southern Canada (Micmac) |
Abbreviations: BC, British Columbia; MB, Manitoba; NB, New Brunswick; NS, Nova Scotia; ON, Ontario; PE, Prince Edward Island; QC, Quebec.
References
- 1.Farese S, Kruse A, Pasch A, et al. Glycyrrhetinic acid food supplementation lowers serum potassium concentration in chronic hemodialysis patients. Kidney Int. 2009;76:877–884. doi: 10.1038/ki.2009.269. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Ghayur MN. Role of medicinal plants and their constituents in the understanding and evolution of pharmacology and the autonomic nervous system. In: Govil JN, Singh VK, editors. Recent Progress in Medicinal Plants: Standardization of Herbal/Ayurvedic Formulations. Vol. 24. Studium Press LLC; Houston: 2009. pp. 199–209. [Google Scholar]
- 3.Peng A, Gu Y, Lin SY. Herbal treatment for renal diseases. Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2005;34:44–51. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Combest W, Newton M, Combest A, et al. Effects of herbal supplements on the kidney. Urol Nurs. 2005;25:381–386. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]