January 2010
Current phytotherapy - A perspective on the science and regulation of herbal medicine
Phytotherapy is the use of plant materials to prevent and treat ill health or promote wellness. The practice dates to antiquity, yet remains current. It began in Mesopotamia, and subsequently spread to the rest of the Old World. The primacy of herbalism in medicine is evident from the large number of modern drugs that owe their origin to ethnobotanical remedies. This review traces the origins, the science and...
January 2010
Herbal medicine in ancient Egypt
Civilization in Ancient Egypt was not only the pyramids and tombs, but it involved all aspects of human life. Health and wellbeing was one of the most cared arts by the pharaohs. Both the physicians and magicians participated in the field of medical care. From holistic view they conceived health and sickness as an unceasing fight between good and evil. Most of the complementary medicine modalities were originated from...
January 2010
Bioactive potential of Anethum graveolens, Foeniculum vulgare and Trachyspermum ammi belonging to the family Umbelliferae - Current status
Emerging antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem that has led to the need for development of novel antimicrobials. Evaluation of natural products as safe and effective antimicrobial agents is one of the scientific strategies to combat the menace of drug-resistant pathogens. Natural products are in use for the treatment of infectious diseases since times immemorial and plants have been an integral part of...
January 2010
The chemistry, pharmacology and clinical properties of Sambucus ebulus: A review
Sambucus ebulus is known as dwarf elder or elderberry. S. ebulus extracts are an important area in drug development with numerous pharmacological functions in the Middle East. However, their pharmacological functions have not been clearly studied. For a long time, S. ebulus has been prescribed in traditional medicines for the treatment of inflammatory reactions, such as hemorrhoid, bites and...
January 2010
Techniques for evaluation of medicinal plant products as antimicrobial agents: Current methods and future trends
Pharmaceutical and scientific communities have recently received the attention of the medicinal plants and various publications have documented the therapeutic worth of natural compounds to validate the claims of their biological activity. Profuse use of commercial antibiotic and synthetic pesticides for human and crop protection is harmful to human health, ecosystem and environment. Attention has also been drawn...
January 2010
Artemisia L. species recognized by the local community of the northern areas of Pakistan as folk therapeutic plants
Due to exclusive ecological conditions, northern areas of Pakistan hosts many species of the genus Artemisia L. (Asteraceae) of great medicinal importance. In this paper we describe ethnobotanical details concerning with the folk medicinal uses of Artemisia in northern areas of Pakistan. The indigenous knowledge was obtained through questionnaires and meetings, with the local herbalists and rural...
January 2010
High levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] and α-tocopherol prevent oxidative stress in rats that consume Thai brown rice
Oxidative stress has been proposed to play an important role in the progression of chronic diseases. The red color strain of Thai brown rice, a high source of phenolic compounds, may play a crucial role in oxidative stress prevention. In the present study, rats were fed with 0% (Control), 10 and 70% Thai brown rice in the mixed food. The serum malondialdehyde (MDA), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP),...
January 2010
Further consideration of Asian medicinal plants in treating common chronic diseases in the West
Ethnopharmacological knowledge is viewed as an increasingly relevant and important source for development of new medicinal products. Historically plants have been the basis of many medicines and are a major resource for human health care. This project critically examined the science-based medical evidence supporting use of traditional Asian medicinal plants for curative, preventive or palliative functions relevant...
January 2010
Antidepressant-like effects of two commercially available products of Hypericum perforatum in the forced swim test: A long-term study
Some herbal products of Hypericum perforatum (Hypericaceae) are recommended for the treatment of depression. Nevertheless, some of these products do not produce antidepressant-like effects when they are evaluated in experimental models of depression, whereas others remain to be evaluated. Consequently, the antidepressant-like effects of two commercially available products of H. perforatum were...
January 2010
Antifungal activity of Allium obliquum
A hydroalcoholic extract of Allium obliquum was tested for in vitro germination and growth of Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum F. sp.gladioli, Penicillium expansum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on Czapek-agar nutritive medium. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the plant extract varied between 50 and 80 µl/ml,...
January 2010
Investigation of the effects of Prosopis farcta plant extract on rat’s aorta
Ischemic heart diseases are the most common causes of death in the developed and developing societies. Because vegetable based medications have lower side effects and are well adapted to body’s physiology, a global trend to use these kinds of medications for cardiovascular diseases is increasing. To investigate the effect of Prosopis farcta plant extract (P. F. P. E) on rat’s thoracic...
January 2010
AFLP mediated genetic diversity of Malvaceae species
AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) marker system is a reliable method in the evaluation of genetic diversity among different species. It was used to explore phenetic relationships and diversity within and between 13 Malvaceae species belonging to 5 different genera. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the taxonomic potential, usefulness and applicability of AFLP marker system to reconstruct...
January 2010
Antioxidant and antigenotoxic activities of different parts of persimmon (Diospyros kaki cv. fuyu) fruit
This study was conducted to determine the antioxidant activities and the antigenotoxic effects of acetone, ethanol, methanol and water extracts from four different parts (calyx, seed, peel and flesh) of persimmon fruits. Antioxidant activities were evaluated by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryllhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity (RSA), ABTS (2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammononium salt) RSA and...
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