Acinos genus

Category: Medicines - plant based

Type

Voluntary

Introduction and description

Acinos is a genus of around 50 species of plant of which about ten are well known and used medicinally.

Its name comes from the Greek word akinos, the name for a small aromatic plant.

Species include the following according to Kew’s Plant List:

The observations are species specific, however, the genus itself as a whole has shown antimicrobial activity and a number of the plants are also able to sequester metals, thus they are capable of being used as chelation agents.

Habitat

The plants are native to southern Europe and western Asia.

Description

Acinos is a genus of either annual or short-lived evergreen perennial woody plants. They belong to the Lamiaceae family – the ‘mints’ and share the characteristics of the mints - any plant of the family Lamiaceae (formerly Labiatae), having square stems, aromatic leaves, and a two-lipped corolla:  The family includes mint, thyme, sage, rosemary, etc  [Etymology: from New Latin labiātus, from Latin labium lip].  Acinos suaveolens’ specific epithet suaveolens, for example, means “with a sweet fragrance”.

Acinos are small, tufted, bushy or spreading plants growing to 10–45 cm tall. The 2-lipped, tubular flowers are in whorls borne on erect spike-like inflorescence produced in mid-summer.  

Cultivation

Mostly quite frost hardy, they will grow in poor soil as long as it is well drained (they do not like wet conditions) and need full sun. Propagate from seed or cuttings in spring.

Medicinal uses

Acinos features quite prominently in herbal medicine, principally because it has antimicrobial activity.  The following paper provides an example of uses in Greece:

Please note that Acinos is not edible, it may be part of the mint family, but it is not an edible mint.  It contains chemicals such as Pulegone. Pulegone is a naturally occurring organic compound obtained from the essential oils of a variety of plants such as Nepeta cataria (catmint), Mentha piperita, and Pennyroyal. It is classified as a monoterpene. Ingestion of high doses of pennyroyal oil – which contains pulegone - has caused severe toxicity, and the shoot on Acinos according to Dr Duke contains 2,125 - 6,200 ppm of this chemical.  BUT, Pulegone is also an insecticide − the most powerful of three insecticides naturally occurring in many mint species, as such this plant could be useful as a natural insect repellant.

One area, however, where interest in the plants’ possible activity has been increasing is in its external use in treating Trichomoniasis.  Trichomoniasis is an extremely common infection worldwide. Current treatment with metronidazole is according to the medical profession “reliable and inexpensive” [sic]; however, the number of strains resistant to metronidazole is increasing and the drug may be ‘inexpensive’, but it is not free, nor is it universally available world-wide.  Furthermore, common side effects include nausea, a metallic taste, loss of appetite, headaches, and occasionally seizures.  It cannot be used in pregnancy or when breastfeeding.  So a plant based approach which does not need to be taken by mouth may prove to be cheaper and safer.

Chemical constituents

Dr Duke’s analysis – see observations, shows there to be over 30 components in the shoot of Acinos suaveolens.  Please refer to the Dr Duke database for an up-to-date list of chemicals and activities.

The following paper, however, shows that this plant’s chemistry responds to both abiotic and biotic environmental conditions:

Perhaps of especial interest are the number of monoterpenes all the Acinos genus contain -  including sabinene, myrcene, limonene, camphene, and borneol .  Dr Duke’s analysis tends to support the hypothesis that Acinos has a place as an external antimicrobial agent, including as a fungicide

• 1,8-CINEOLE Shoot 5 ppm- Trichiamonicide, Candidicide, Fungicide
• BETA-PINENE Shoot 50 ppm; - Candidicide
• BORNEOL Shoot 25 ppm; - Candidicide, Fungicide
• CARVACROL Shoot 15 ppm;– Trichiamonicide, Fungicide
• CARVONE Shoot 5 ppm; - Trichiamonicide
• GERANIAL Shoot 50 ppm;– Trichiamonicide, Fungicide
• MENTHOL Shoot 3 ppm; - Candidicide
• MENTHONE Shoot 150 ppm;– Candidicide, Fungicide
• P-CYMENE Shoot 4 ppm;– Trichiamonicide, Fungicide
• PERILLALDEHYDE Shoot 710 ppm;– Candidicide, Fungicide
• PULEGONE Shoot 2,125 - 6,200 ppm– Candidicide, Fungicide
• TERPINEN-4-OL Shoot 8 ppm;- Fungicide
• THYMOL Shoot 5 ppm; – Trichiamonicide, Fungicide

References and further reading

• J Ethnopharmacol. 2007 Jan 19;109(2):248-57. Epub 2006 Jul 25.  "Mints", smells and traditional uses in Thessaloniki (Greece) and other Mediterranean countries.  Karousou R1, Balta M, Hanlidou E, Kokkini S.
• Planta Med. 1988 Aug;54(4):340-2.  Composition of the Volatile Oil from Acinos suaveolens.  Kokkalou E1.
• Vrach Delo. 1966 Jul;7:95-6.  [On the pharmacology of Acinos thymoides].  [Article in Russian] Kutsevich VA, Sergienko TA. PMID: 5990720
• Farmatsiia. 1967 Jan-Feb;16(1):34-8.  [Chemical study of flavonoids of Acinos thymoides Moench]. [Article in Russian]  Sergienko TA, Kazarnovskiĭ LS, Litvinenko VI.  PMID:  5611954J Chem Ecol. 2008 Nov;34(11):1377-81. doi: 10.1007/s10886-008-9543-y. Epub 2008 Oct 17.

• Defense on the rocks: low monoterpenoid levels in plants on pillars without mammalian herbivores. - Müller-Schwarze D1, Thoss V.  PMID:  18925383
• Keeler, R.F. and Tu, A.T. eds. 1991. Toxicology of Plant and Fungal Compounds. (Handbook of Natural Toxins Vol. 6)
• Patterns And Traits Of The Endemic Plants Of Greece - Kyriacos Georghiou, Pinelopi Delipetrou ;   Botanical Journal Of The Linnean Society, Volume 162, Issue 2, 1 February 2010, https://Doi.Org/10.1111/J.1095-8339.2010.01025.X

Related observations

Healing observations

• Antimicrobial Activities of Some Plants from the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey 027760
• Composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of methanol extracts of some Acinos Miller species 027761
• Dr Duke's List of Chemicals and their Biological Activities in: Acinos suaveolens (SIBT. & SMITH) G. DON F. (Lamiaceae) 027648
• Dr Duke's list of Plants with Antibronchitic Activity 018357
• Dr Duke's list of Plants with Antilisteria activity 018400
• Dr Duke's list of Plants with Antimelanomic activity 024204
• Dr Duke’s list of Plants with high Antiescherichic activity 021245
• Investigation of influence of tungsten mine wastes on the elemental composition of some alpine and subalpine plants on Mount Uludağ, Bursa, Turkey 027759
• Wild fire impact on copper, zinc, lead and cadmium distribution in soil and relation with abundance in selected plants of Lamiaceae family from Vidlic Mountain (Serbia) 027650

In time

Synaesthesia, Pure or enhanced perception, Inter composer communication, Vision, Dream, Perception recall, Exploring group perception

• Danielou, Alain – On drugs you are possessed by the spirit being of the drug 022582