Taxon analysis of seed plants used in studies of blood platelet function

The characterization of isolated polyphenolic compounds present in the diet--especially in the context of their therapeutic effect (for instance their antiplatelet activity)--is often based on the generally accepted flavonoid classification. In the case of plant extracts it usually refers to common names of plants rather than scientific botanical nomenclature. Hence, it is often difficult to even roughly estimate how many and which plant taxa exhibit biological activity towards the modulation of blood platelet activity. In this paper, based on a review of literature from the last 50 years (1962-2011), we developed a list of seed plants (Spermatophyta) taxa investigated in studies on blood platelets. We used the PubMed database, as well as the database of species' names--Taxonomy, in order to gather information about the investigated taxa. The review of the literature was made with the use of advanced options, on the basis of keywords (or combinations of keywords) and selected journals. Record search strategies were evaluated on the basis of the sensitivity of search (number of papers meeting the criteria of search strategy) and the specificity of search (number of papers containing in their title and/or abstract information on taxa used in blood platelet research). The publications were considered specific if they reported either Latin or common names of plants (or both). The main search strategy was characterised by high sensitivity, but low specificity. The basis for plant taxonomic specification was the list of 1080 articles, published in 434 journals. The list of taxa used in blood platelet studies covered 98 genera belonging to 47 families of seed plants. The richest in genera, and also in species, appeared to be the families Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Rosaceae, the most abundant in species all over the world. This study may be a starting point for the selection of plant species to be used for biomedical research and--at the same time--may help in the search for an effective strategy of literature tracking concerning flavonoids and blood platelets.