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Principal Investigator: Ella Thomas Vardeman
Organization: CUNY GRADUATE SCH AND UNIV CTR
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $44,817
Funding agency: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Proposal Abstract
Approximately 55% of the world’s population lives in cities, and the United Nations estimates that this number
will rise to 68% by 2050. Urban ethnobotany, the study of people’s traditional knowledge and use of plants in
cities, is increasingly important as people adapt their cultural traditions to changing environments. In New York
City (NYC), there have been several urban ethnobotany investigations with Caribbean immigrant groups.
However, there has yet to be an ethnobotanical survey that documents and botanically authenticates the
medicinal plants used in the Haitian community. Previous research in collaboration with women from the
Caribbean in NYC has identified plant species sold in Caribbean shops that have documented use for the
treatment of vaginal infections, including sexually transmitted infections and intravaginal cleansing, grouped here
as gynecological conditions. Several popular Caribbean plants, such as Jatropha curcas, Argemone mexicana,
and Bixa orellana, have recorded medicinal uses in Haitian ethnomedicine as well. These species, while well-
studied for their antibacterial properties, have not yet been analyzed for their effects on pathogenic bacteria in
the vagina or the protective vaginal microbiota. Ideally, plants used to treat these conditions would have
bioactivity against harmful bacteria with minimal disruption to the beneficial vaginal microflora. Natural product
research that considers interactions with pathogenic and beneficial bacteria, as well as the compounds
responsible, is on the forefront of addressing efficacy of medicinal plants for women’s health. I hypothesize that
traditional preparations of the identified species will vary in inhibition of the growth of pathogenic (Gardnerella
vaginalis) and beneficial (Lactobacillus) vaginal bacterial due to differences in specialized metabolites.
Furthermore, I hypothesize that there will be similarities in plants and women’s health practices between the
Haitian and other Caribbean communities in NYC, due to the shared flora in the Caribbean. The selected plant
species will be analyzed for their effects on disease-causing bacteria, Gardnerella vaginalis as well as on
prominent beneficial Lactobacillus species found in the vagina. Plant extracts will also be compared to determine
variation in the composition of bioactive phytochemicals across preparations of different tissues, using LC-MS-
qToF and subsequent multivariate statistical analysis. An ethnobotanical survey with the Haitian community will
be used to further identify additional plant species used to treat gynecological conditions by Caribbean women
for continued laboratory studies. This data will enable cross-cultural comparisons with other Caribbean
communities in NYC, and will also assess how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced NYC Haitian women in
their use of medicinal plants for women’s health. Antibacterial natural products from plants that leave the vaginal
microflora intact may provide low-cost and culturally-appropriate solutions for ongoing treatment of gynecological
conditions.
Terms: <Address><Anti-Bacterial Agents><Antimicrobial Effect><Argemone mexicana><Back><Bacteria><Bixa><Body Tissues><Botanica><Botanical medicine><Botanical natural products><Botanicals><COVID crisis><COVID epidemic><COVID pandemic><COVID-19 crisis><COVID-19 epidemic><COVID-19 era><COVID-19 global health crisis><COVID-19 global pandemic><COVID-19 health crisis><COVID-19 pandemic><COVID-19 period><COVID-19 public health crisis><COVID-19 years><Caribbean><Caribbean Sea Region><Caribbean region><Chemical Fractionation><Chemicals><Cities><Co-culture><Cocultivation><Coculture><Coculture Techniques><Collaborations><Commerce><Communities><Corynebacterium vaginale><Country><Cross-Cultural Comparison><Data><Deposit><Deposition><Disease><Disorder><Dorsum><Effectiveness><Environment><Ethnobotany><Ethnopharmacology><Evaluation><FRACN><Feedback><Female Health><Fractionation><Fractionation Radiotherapy><Future><G vaginalis><G. vaginalis><Gardnerella vaginalis><General Taxonomy><Generalized Growth><Growth><Gynecologic><H vaginalis><H. vaginalis><Haemophilus vaginalis><Haitian><Health><Home><Immigrant><In Vitro><Infection><International><Interview><Investigation><Jatropha><Knowledge><Laboratories><Laboratory Study><Lactobacillus><Literature><MD students><Marketing><Measures><Medical><Medical Students><Medicinal Plants><Medicine><Methodology><Methods><Monograph><Natural Products><Nettle Spurge><Nettlespurge><New York><New York City><Pathogenicity><Perception><Persons><Phytochemical><Phytomedicines><Phytotherapeutics><Plant Extracts><Plant Leaves><Plant natural product><Plant-based Natural Product><Plant-derived natural products><Plants><Population><Preparation><Prickly Poppy><Property><Public Health><Reporting><Research><Research Specimen><SARS-CoV-2 epidemic><SARS-CoV-2 global health crisis><SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic><SARS-CoV-2 pandemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 epidemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 pandemic><Self Medication><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 epidemic><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 pandemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 epidemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic><Sexually Transmitted Diseases><Sexually Transmitted Disorder><Sexually Transmitted Infection><Specimen><Statistical Data Analyses><Statistical Data Analysis><Statistical Data Interpretation><Survey Instrument><Surveys><Taxonomy><Testing><Tissue Growth><Tissues><Traditional Medicine><United Nations><Vagina><Validation><Variant><Variation><Venereal Diseases><Venereal Disorders><Venereal Infections><West Indies Region><Woman><Women's Health><World Health Organization><anti-bacterial><anti-microbial><anti-microbial effect><antimicrobial><bacteria pathogen><bacterial pathogen><chemical fingerprinting><coronavirus disease 2019 crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic><coronavirus disease 2019 global health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 global pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 public health crisis><coronavirus disease crisis><coronavirus disease epidemic><coronavirus disease pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 global pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 pandemic><cost><cultural competence><culturally competent><ethnomedicine><healing><homes><improved><insight><leaf><medical school students><member><metabolism measurement><metabolomics><metabonomics><microbe pathogen><microbial consortia><microbial flora><microbial pathogen><microbiota><microflora><multispecies consortia><naturally occurring product><ontogeny><outreach><pathogenic bacteria><pathogenic microbe><plant compound><plant derived compound><preparations><programs><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global health crisis><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global pandemic><sexually acquired infection><statistical analysis><vagina infection><vagina microbiota><vaginal flora><vaginal infection><vaginal microbial community><vaginal microbiota><vaginal microflora><validations>