Bearberry: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, fam Ericacee. Perennial shrub plant with creeping branches, small and fleshy dark green leaves, and small, white-pink and clustered flowers; forms a red berry with a pleasant flavor, similar to blueberry. It grows well in northern and central Italy, mainly in the Alps and the Apennines.
The caulinary leaves, fresh or dried, constitute the drug. Inside there are phenolic compounds, mainly arbutin, a phenolic glycoside composed of a C6 linked to a hydroxyl group and a sugar; together with hydrolyzable tannins. It is used as a disinfectant, especially for the urinary tract, excellent for treating mild infections , such as cystitis.
Arbutin is an active disinfectant, which can be considered a prodrug, since - inactive in the glycosylated form - it becomes active only after being metabolized into hydroquinone (in particular the glucosidic bond must be hydrolyzed). Since arbutin is eliminated from the organism via the urine, it is precisely here that it carries out its disinfectant action, and since the hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond occurs preferentially in an alkaline environment, it is advisable to ingest the drug bearberry with alkalizing substances, such as sodium bicarbonate. If the bearberry is taken with acidic foods or drinks, such as carbonated ones, the hydrolysis of the glucosidic bond occurs in a reduced way, and the disinfectant efficacy of the drug bearberry will be equally reduced.
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