ABSTRACT
The leaves of the central Chilean tree known as boldo are widely used in herbal teas in southern South America, and the leaves, their alcohol extracts and more or less crude alkaloid mixtures are found in commerce beyond this traditional area of distribution, particularly in Europe. The alkaloidal character of boldine is also an unusual asset insofar as it allows the antioxidant to exist in a fat-soluble and a water-soluble form, and is thus able to exert its effects both in aqueous phases and in lipidic phases. Among the almost forgotten indications for the use of boldo in traditional Chilean medicine, headache, earache, toothache, rheumatism and inflammation of the urinary tract suggest the possibility that boldo extracts might possess analgesic and antiinflammatory activity, and/or antipyretic actions. Both boldine and glaucine inhibit phorbol ester-induced down-regulation of gap junctional intercellular communication, a process in which free radicals and peroxidation products are involved as intracellular mediators, and which is associated with tumor formation.
