
Pia Johanna FyhrqvistUniversity of Helsinki | HY · Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Pia Johanna Fyhrqvist
PhD
Research project on the antimicrobial potential of Salix species
About
48
Publications
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Introduction
My research interest is in African and Finnish medicinal plants and their bioactive extracts and compounds. Currently the research of my group is focusing on the antimicrobial potential of some Finnish willow (Salix L.) species. Our research explores both the possibilities of finding antimicrobial extracts and new antimicrobial compound structures as well as antibiotic adjuvants from plants.
Additional affiliations
May 2012 - December 2017
January 2018 - October 2020
Education
February 1999 - January 2008
University of Helsinki
Field of study
- Pharmaceutical biology, microbiology, ethnopharmacology and botany
Publications
Publications (48)
Salix species have been used in traditional medicine to treat fever and inflammation. However, there is no reported information on the antibacterial activities of S. aurita and S. pyrolifolia, and little is known about the phytochemistry of S. aurita. In this study, winter-dormant twig extracts of S. aurita, S. caprea, and S. pyrolifolia were scree...
(1) Background: Salix species occurring in Finland have not been well studied for their antimicrobial potential, despite their frequent use for lung and stomach problems in traditional medicine. Thus, twig extracts of three species of Salix that are found naturally in Finland and one cultivated species were screened for their antimicrobial properti...
Bacterial and fungal resistance to antibiotics is of growing global concern. Plants such as the African Combretum and Pteleopsis species, which are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of infections, could be good sources for antimicrobial extracts, drug scaffolds, and/or antibiotic adjuvants. In African countries, plant species are often...
Various parts of Terminalia brownii (Fresen) are used in Sudanese traditional medicine against fungal infections. The present study aimed to verify these uses by investigating the anti-Candida activity and phytochemistry of T. brownii extracts. Established agar diffusion and microplate dilution methods were used for the antifungal screenings. HPLC-...
In Sudanese traditional medicine, decoctions, macerations, and tonics of the stem and root of Combretum hartmannianum are used for the treatment of persistent cough, a symptom that could be related to tuberculosis (TB). To verify these traditional uses, extracts from the stem wood, stem bark, and roots of C. hartmannianum were screened for their gr...
Knowledge about the defensive chemistry of coniferous trees has increased in recent years regarding a number of alkaloid compounds; in addition to phenolics and terpenes. Here, we show that Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.), an important boreal zone tree species; accumulates 1,6-dehydropinidine (2-methyl-6-(2-propenyl)-1,6-piperideine) in...
Combretum padoides Engl. & Diels, C. psidioides Welv. and C. zeyheri Sond. are used forthe treatment of infections and tuberculosis related symptoms in African traditional medicine. In orderto verify these uses, extracts were screened for their growth inhibitory eects against M. smegmatisATCC 14468. Ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled...
In Sudanese traditional medicine, decoctions of the stem bark of Anogeissus leiocarpa are used for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). However, this plant has not been investigated before for its antimycobacterial effects. Our screening results show, for the first time, that many extracts of various parts of A. leiocarpa exhibit growth inhibitory a...
This study reports for the first time antibacterial and antifungal effects of epidihydropinidine, the major piperidine alkaloid in the needles and bark of Norway spruce, Picea abies (L.) Karsten. Epidihydropinidine was growth inhibitory against all bacterial and fungal strains used in our investigation, showing the lowest MIC value of 5.37 mg/mL ag...
Piper guineense is a food and medicinal plant commonly used to treat infectious diseases in West-African traditional medicine. In a bid to identify new antibacterial compounds due to bacterial resistance to antibiotics, twelve extracts of P. guineense fruits and leaves, obtained by sequential extraction, as well as the piperine and piperlongumine c...
Ethnobotanical relevance: Piper guineense occurs commonly in West Africa where it is used for fungal infections
instead of the costly and not always accessible conventional antifungals. Fungal, yeast-based diseases are
common in West-Africa especially among those living with HIV/AIDS, and thus this study was performed in Imo
state, South-Eastern Ni...
Decoctions and macerations of the stem bark and wood of Terminalia brownii Fresen. are used in traditional medicine for fungal infections and as fungicides on field crops and in traditional granaries in Sudan. In addition, T. brownii water extracts are commonly used as sprays for protecting wooden houses and furniture. Therefore, using agar disc di...
Decoctions, macerations and fumigations of the stem bark and wood of Terminalia brownii Fresen. are used in traditional medicine for fungal infections and as pesticides on field crops and in traditional granaries in Sudan. In addition, T. brownii is commonly used for protecting wooden houses and furniture. Therefore, using agar disc diffusion and m...
This study reports for the first time promising antibacterial and antifungal effects of epidihydropinidine, the major piperidine alkaloid in the needles and bark of Norway spruce, Picea abies (L.) Karsten. Epidihydropinidine was growth inhibitory against all bacterial and fungal strains used in our investigation, showing the lowest MIC value of 5.3...
Combretum psidioides and C. fragrans are used as decoctions for diarrhea and wounds in African traditional medicine [1]. In Nigeria, C. fragrans is used for the treatment of Blackleg disease in cattle among Fulani pastoralists. There exists no research on antibacterial compounds of these species but some phytochemical investigations have been perfo...
Anogeissus leiocarpus occurs in savannas in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and is used among traditional medicinal practitioners for treatment of various diseases, among them bacterial infections [1]. Eight flavonoids [2], methyl ellagic acid, ellagic acid [4, 5] and the ellagitannins castalagin and flagallonic acid [6] have been report...
Terminalia laxiflora Engl & Diels. is used as decoctions against bacterial infections and their symptoms such as cough and diarrhea [1]. Stem wood fumigations are used against malaria parasite, venereal diseases and skin disorders [2,3,4]. Previous research demonstrated in vitro anti-acne properties of stem wood of T. laxiflora and agrees with the...
Ellagitannins, ellagic acid derivatives and ampelopsin in antimicrobial root and stem bark extracts of some selected african species of Terminalia and Anogeissus leiocarpus
Ten crude extracts and their solvent partition fractions from five species of Terminalia collected in Tanzania were assessed for antimycobacterial effects using Mycobacterium smegmatis ATCC 14468 as a model organism. We report here, for the first time, on antimycobacterial effects of root and stem bark extracts of Terminalia sambesiaca and Terminal...
Terminalia laxiflora and Terminalia brownii are used in African traditional medicine for treatment of infectious diseases and their symptoms, such as venereal diseases, cough, inflammations, eye diseases and skin disorders (1). T. laxiflora has not been studied before for antibacterial activity, and to the best of our knowledge there exists only on...
In Africa various species of Combretum, Terminalia and Pteleopsis are used in traditional medicine. Despite of this, some species of these genera have still not been studied for their biological effects to validate their traditional uses. The aim of this work has been to document the ethnomedicinal uses of several species of Combretum and Terminali...
Methanolic extracts (25 microug/ml) of species belonging to the genera of Combretum, Terminalia and Pteleopsis, collected during a field expedition in Tanzania in 1999, were screened for their antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects against three human cancer cell lines (HeLa, cervical carcinoma; T 24, bladder carcinoma; and MCF 7, breast carcinoma...
Thirty-five crude extracts of 5 species of Terminalia, 10 species of Combretum (Loefl.) and Pteleopsis myrtifolia (Laws.) Engl. & Diels. collected in Tanzania were investigated for their antifungal activity against 5 species of Candida and Cryptococcus neoformans. An agar diffusion method was used for the antifungal screening, and species of Termin...
The multifunctional ExtraChrom instrument was used in the extraction of antimicrobial and radical scavenging components from oak (Quercus robur L.) bark. Milled and sieved oak bark was extracted with 80% (v/v) methanol solution in water on the ExtraChrom instrument using step-gradient in the preparative separation. Extracts were tested using agar d...
An ethnobotanical investigation on the medicinal uses of some species of Terminalia and Combretum (Combretaceae) was carried out in Mbeya, Tanzania during a 5-weeks field expedition. Of the sixteen species collected, Combretum fragrans F. Hoffm., Combretum molle G. Don., Combretum psidioides Welw., Combretum zeyheri Sond., Terminalia kaiserana F. H...