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Network Biology, 2012, 2(3): 84-94
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Article

Medicinal plants growing in the Judea region: network approach for searching potential therapeutic targets

Arie Budovsky 1, Vadim E. Fraifeld2
1Judea Regional Research & Development Center, Carmel 90404, Israel
2The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Multidisciplinary Research on Aging, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, POB 653, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel

Received 24 June 2012;Accepted 21 July 2012;Published online 1 September 2012
IAEES

Abstract
Plants growing in the Judea region are widely used in traditional medicine of the Levant region. Nevertheless, they have not so far been sufficiently analyzed and their medicinal potential has not been evaluated. This study is the first attempt to fill the gap in the knowledge of the plants growing in the region. Comprehensive data mining of online botanical databases and peer-reviewed scientific literature including ethno-pharmacological surveys from the Levant region was applied to compile a full list of plants growing in the Judea region, with the focus on their medicinal applications. Around 1300 plants growing in the Judea region were identified. Of them, 25% have medicinal applications which were analyzed in this study. Screening for chemical-protein interactions, together with the network-based analysis of potential targets, will facilitate discovery and therapeutic applications of the Judea region plants. Such an approach could also be applied as an integrative platform for further searching the potential therapeutic targets of plants growing in other regions of the world.

Keywords Judea region;medicinal plants;chemotypes;human targets;networks;age-related diseases.


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