MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. Scienstists from Tomsk State University (TSU) will create an artificial population of medicinal herb Aconitum barbatum from the genus aconite belonging to the family Ranunculaceae, says the press service of the university.
"It was found out that the active substance contained in Aconitum barbatum acts as antianxiety drug comparable to the effect of tranquillizers. The researchers from the Botanical Garden schedule growing up an artificial population of this plant which allow for preserving this exotic species and for providing farmacologists with a raw material for creation of a new antianxiety agent." - reported TSU.
The TSU researchers note that not all the plants are amenable to the introduction, i.e. to the relocation from the natural environment to a place where the plant was not growing before. "For us, to create an appropriate raw material source base it not only important that the plant takes roots and passes the winter under the new conditions, but also it is essential, that it blooms at the proper time, bears fruit and does not change its curative properties." - explains the research assistant from the Botanical Garden of TSU Tatiana Kharina.
The evaluation of perspectives to create the new population of valuable medical herbs will be assisted by researchers from the laboratory of the Cytogenetics Evolution from the Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics of TSU. The investigation of genetics enables to account for the risks which appear at the stage of introduction of a plant to a cropper. In the case of Aconitum barbatum, the chances are very high. In a short time, the botanists will seed for the first time, then the best new plants will be selected by researchers. This collection will form the base for the new introduction population.
The new pharmaceuticals are under creation in Tomsk in the Goldberg Research Institute of Farmacology and Regenerative Medicine of Syberian Subdivison of Russian Academy of Sciences. The researchers from the Botanical Garden investigate plants and create introductive population to preserve rare and vanishing species. The farmacologists make use of raw materials source base to carry out the studies and to develop new pharmaceuticals.
The employees from the Botanical Garden have collected more than a century experience in treating medicinal herbs including those belonging to the rare or vanishing species. Now, the collection of the Botanical Garden includes more than 300 drug plants. Exemplarily, they have the Baikal skullcap used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Another example is the roseroot. It was already delivered to an enterprise in Tomsk for creating tonic beverages.