In nature, plants are the main "producers" of active ingredients as they are the only ones to provide living beings with organic substance and oxygen, using only the sun, water and minerals present in the soil. Over time, man has learned to use other natural substances, not of plant origin, to heal and stay healthy.
In this section we propose some of the most important active ingredients and natural substances, for the well-being of the human and animal organism. Some of them derive from herbs and medicinal plants, others are found in nature as they are or they are obtained from artisan and industrial processes.
Plant species are motionless living organisms, that is, they cannot escape in front of the "enemy" or adapt to sudden changes in the climate. In millions of years, in the course of evolution, plants have therefore acquired the possibility of producing infinite combinations of aromatic molecules, fruits, poisons, to protect themselves from pests and diseases or from competition with other species; and to attract insects or animals that allow their reproduction. This is why this wealth of molecules, yet to be discovered, has been available to mankind for millennia to obtain perfumes, drugs, foods, or cosmetic products .
What is meant by active ingredients
The term active principle refers to a chemical molecule that has a certain biological activity, including all substances with therapeutic effect (drugs), beneficial (vitamins, probiotics) or toxic (poisons). The active ingredients can be synthetic - this is the case of most semisynthetic drugs, such as aspirin whose active ingredient is acetylsalicylic acid, or natural, extracted from medicinal plants used in traditional medicine or phytotherapy . The active ingredients constitute the pharmacologically active part of the medicaments, also composed of excipients without curative action.
In the case of plant organisms, a certain active principle, or the synergistic whole of them (phytocomplex) is not always present in the whole plant, but often it is found in a very specific part (roots, stem, leaves and flowers), called " drug ". The herbal or pharmacological use of a plant makes sense only as a function of the active ingredients contained in it. These substances can be taken with drugs ; or isolated from the phytocomplex, through particular and numerous extraction techniques.
The main active ingredients of plants
- Essential oils: they are obtained by distillation, extraction with volatile solvents or by mechanical pressing. These are compounds of volatile organic substances (cyclic and acyclic terpenes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, acids) and of an oily consistency. They are not very soluble in water but very soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform and fats.
- Alcaloid i: are the most powerful active ingredients, represented by complex molecules that are distinguished by the presence of a nitrogen atom. Normally they are considered poisons, as their physiological effects are so strong and immediate that, at whatever level they act, they determine reactions that can lead to serious consequences including death. However, their use in the medical field is widespread but only with controlled doses, targeted and justified by correct diagnosis.
- Heterosides or glucosides: they represent the most important active ingredients and those that justify the use of many plants in pharmacology and phytotherapy, characterized by the combination of a sugar (glycon, which intervenes on the solubility and hydrophilicity of the compound), with a non-sugary part (aglycon or genin which is the pharmacologically active substance). The formation of the ether bond leads to the loss of a water molecule.
- Saponins: These are glycosides with a strong surfactant action: they reduce the surface tension of the water forming foam. So due to their detergent properties, these active ingredient active ingredients are mainly used for cosmetic use . However, their curative efficacy also manifests itself in internal use, as their action has expectorant and, secondarily, diuretic effects . Saponins are divided into two groups: a steroid nucleus (digitally or in sarsaparilla) and a triterpene nucleus (in the soapstone, licorice, etc.).
- Tannins: the term derives from tannare which means "to tan the skins". They are non-nitrogenous substances soluble in water and alcohol; lose effectiveness in contact with air or if subjected to prolonged boiling. They are typically vegetal active ingredients capable of precipitating proteins with the formation of clots and therefore have an astringent, anti-inflammatory and hemostatic action . Their use concerns both internal and external use to stop inflammation, stop small cutaneous or mucosal bleeding, against diarrhea and as an antimocrobial.
- Resins: they are the result of the secretion of some specialized plant cells (present especially in conifers) and arise from the polymerization and oxidation of essential oils belonging to the group of terpenes. They are amorphous substances, insoluble in water but not volatile like essences. If the resins are associated with pure essential oils oleoresins or balms are formed with marked antiseptic properties for the respiratory tract, while if they are joined to gums, the gum resin will be obtained.
- Vitamins: Present only in plants they cannot be synthesized through the metabolic processes of man. Some, however, are an exception, such as vitamin D, which is formed by the action of the UV rays of light, vitamin A which is formed from its provitamin (carotene) and vitamin PP, which originates from an aromatic amino acid. The vitamins are divided into two groups: the water-soluble: vitamins of the B - C - P group and the liposoluble ones: A - D - E - F - K. The best intake of these precious elements must be made above all by consuming fresh and raw foods. Cooking and preservation processes cause deterioration that can be limited, through steaming, or in a little water, and possibly avoiding salt.
- The fibers: they are active principles consisting of polymers with different chemical-physical properties, they show different effects depending on their hydrophilic nature, their ability to bind ions or salts and their ability to gel. Cellulose and non-cellulosic polysaccharides fall into this category. To the latter group belong the hemicelluloses (endowed with capacity to absorb water and exchange ions, present mainly in green and tender vegetables); pectins (mainly present in fruit), rubbers (mixtures of heterogeneous polysaccharides that do not contain uronic acids, do not have an "ionic" character and are resistant to alkalis) and mucilages, heterogeneous polysaccharides that appear in the form of whitish amorphous masses that in water originates colloidal and viscous solutions but not adhesive. In the case of mucilages, these chemical and physical properties exert an anti - inflammatory action at the level of the mucous membranes on which the mucilage is deposited in a stratified manner, acting as a barrier against irritation. Prolonged boiling causes it to become ineffective. Cellulose, on the other hand, is a polysaccharide with a supporting function and is not digested by the human body.
- Bitter principles: they are substances of various kinds (eg gentian) characterized by a bitter taste. The latter constitutes its peculiarity. They promote digestion and appetite by increasing chloropeptic secretion, also acting at the liver level by stimulating secretion (choleretic action) and bile secretion with regard to outflow (cholagogue action).
- Organic acids: they are present in the form of salts and abound particularly in legumes. They possess osmotic activity and exercise a mild laxative action.
- Mineral salts and inorganic substances : They are particularly important for the body's osmotic activity and for supporting tissues (potassium salts, calcium salts, iron salts and silicic acid salts).
- Trace elements: consist of elements required by the body in very small quantities but at the same time very important for all physiological activities, growth and healthy constitution (Cobalt, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Zinc, etc.).
