PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS USED FOR THE TREATMENT OF SNAKEBITES IN THE YARAPA RIVER REGION, PERU
A. KROEPSCH, E. MOSQUERA, J. RUIZ, E. RODRIGUEZ

Much can be learned about the treatment of snakebite from the people of the Peruvian Amazon, who have dealt for centuries with the Amazon’s many species of venomous snakes, including the genus responsible for more human deaths than any other in the Americas (Bothrops sp.). A preliminary survey of the medicinal plants used by the people of the Yarapa River, Loreto, Peru for the treatment of snake envenomation was conducted, and five plants identified by local informants as snakebite treatments were tested for common bioactivity and composition. Potalia amara (Loganaceae), Philodendron megalophyllum (Araceae), Antherium crassineruium (Araceae), Renealmia alpinia (Zingiberaceae), and Senna reticulata (Fabaceae) were collected from the forest surrounding Jaldar Village and the medicinally exploited portion of each plant was extracted in 96% ethanol. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) indicated a wide range of compounds among the plants, with the highest correlation being an unknown set of compounds (Rf = 0.562 - 0.592) shared by P. amara leaf, A. crassineruium root, and S. reticulata flower. Bioassays were performed against the yeast Candida albicans, and the bacteria Bacillus cereus (gram-positive) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (gram-negative). Results ranged from very high bioactivity in R. alpinia and S. reticulata against all three microbes to complete inactivity in P. amara leaf and A. crassineruium. A brine shrimp bioassay indicated cytotoxicity for A. crassineruium, R. alpinia, and S. reticulata. Although all five plants are used to for the same purpose, comparative analysis shows no underlying compounds or activities common to all of them. S.