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Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of South America pp 219–225Cite as

Equisetum giganteum L.

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Part of the book series: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World ((MAPW,volume 5))

Abstract

Equisetum giganteum L. is a fern with numerous uses in popular medicine in Latin and Central America. In particular, it is used as a diuretic, anti-inflammatory, and astringent and to treat ophthalmologic and renal disorders. E. giganteum is also used for pest control and as a fertilizer in agriculture due to its high silicon content. It possesses antidiabetic and antifungal activities. Several compounds have been identified from this species, namely tannins, flavonoids and alkaloids.

figure a

Equisetum giganteum L.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Vinícius Antônio de Oliveira Dittrich

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Acknowledgments

We are especially grateful to the National Institute of Science and Technology in Ethnobiology, Bioprospecting and Nature Conservation, certified by CNPq, with financial support from FACEPE (Foundation for the Support of Science and Technology of the State of Pernambuco).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução de Sistemas Socioecológicos, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Ivanilda Soares Feitosa & Rafael Corrêa Prota dos Santos Reinaldo

  2. Laboratory of Biodiversity (Laboratório de Biodiversidade). Biology Nucleus (Núcleo de Biologia), Federal University of Pernambuco (Universidade Federal de Pernambuco), Vitória Academic Center (Centro Acadêmico de Vitória), Bela Vista, Vitória de Santo Antão, PE, Brazil

    Augusto César Pessôa Santiago

  3. Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil

    Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque

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  1. Ivanilda Soares Feitosa
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  2. Rafael Corrêa Prota dos Santos Reinaldo
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  3. Augusto César Pessôa Santiago
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  4. Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil

    Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque

  2. Natural Product Research Laboratory, Dr. Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar, India

    Umesh Patil

  3. Department of Botany, Faculty of Agriculture & Food Science, West Hungarian University, Mosonmagyarovar, Hungary

    Ákos Máthé

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Feitosa, I.S., Reinaldo, R.C.P.d.S., Santiago, A.C.P., Albuquerque, U.P. (2018). Equisetum giganteum L.. In: Albuquerque, U., Patil, U., Máthé, Á. (eds) Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of South America. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1552-0_19

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