Aphthous ulcers and oral pain are considered the most frequent oral ulcerative pathologies of the human species. Oral dermatological conditions, oral cancer and xerostomia are significant related oral pathologies and these conditions also produce significant pain and ulcerative conditions within the oral cavity. Few scientific studies exist which survey, identify and assess, in controlled formats, the efficacy of the various phytomedicines, which are used by humans throughout the planet, for the myriad pain and pathological conditions of the oral cavity. Minimal scientific data are available which identifies the medicinally active compounds and histopathological effects of phytomedicines used as treatments for oral pain, ulcer and cancer pathologies. This proposed project intends to observe, survey and identify, the ethno-pharmaceutical oral medicine practices and oral phytomedicinal preparations used by the indigenous peoples and populations of Costa Rica. Initial data will be gathered via a literature- and field-based survey of ethno-pharmaceutial practices of Costa Rican and United States citizens for cancer, ulcerative and pain conditions of the oral cavity. Survey data will provide guidance for the collection and cataloguing of the targeted plant species used during the practice of oral medicine in Costa Rica and the United States. Identified plant materials will be collected, taxonomically identified, extracted, the extracts tested in oral related affections, such as pain, inflammation, cancerous growth, and salivation. An Agreement will be set up between the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Universidad Latina of Costa Rica, to access Costa Rican genetic resources for this proposed study. Active samples will be recollected for fractionation and isolation studies. Promising constituent compounds will be subjected to in vivo and in vitro testing against epidermal keratinocytes cell lines, in mouse tail-flick and cytotoxic assessments to determine efficacy, safety, and potential as analgesic, anesthetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-xerostomia (sialogogue) drugs. The proposal will form the basis of a program aimed at the discovery and development of botanically derived oral medications for non-microbial originating oral diseases and conditions.
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