June 2010
Enhanced antibacterial activity in leaf-callus extracts of Alophyllus cobbe L.
Antimicrobial activity of crude extracts from the leaves and leaf-callus ofAlopyllus cobbe L. (Sapindaceae) was studied. Chloroform, acetone, ethanol and water extracts were tested in three different concentrations (250, 200 and 150 mg/disk) against two gram (+)ve and two gram (-)ve strains of bacteria namely Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus faecalis, Escherichia...
June 2010
Interactive roles of terpenoid extract from the leaves of neem plant (Azadirachta indica, A. Juss) on lead induced toxicity in pregnant rabbits
This study was designed to investigate the interactive roles of terpenoid extract from the leaves of Neem plant (Azadirachta indica, A. Juss) on lead-induced toxicity in pregnant rabbits and the resulting litters. Terpenoid was extracted from the air dried leaves of A. indica by previously reported procedure. Pregnant rabbits (does) weighing between 1.8 - 2.0 kg was randomly divided into 4 treatment groups:...
June 2010
Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by traditional users in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, India
The study of ethno botanical was carried out along with the ethnic groups (Villupuram district) in the South Western Ghats of India. In the present study, 46 plant species belonging to 31 families were included. In this assertion, the information collected from the traditional healers was used to compare with the already accessible literature on the ethnobotany of India. The conventional ethno medicinal plants were...
June 2010
Conservation and sustainable wild-collection of medicinal and aromatic plants in Köprülü Kanyon National Park, Turkey
This research was carried out to determine trends in the conservation and sustainable wild-collection of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) in Köprülü Kanyon national park located in Turkey. Within this context, various types of MAPs harvested from the wild for commercial and non-commercial purposes were investigated. In addition; marketing mechanisms of the species in trade were investigated. The...
June 2010
Effects of Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) on the reproduction of male mice (Mus musculus)
The effects of Moringa oleifera Lam. on the reproduction in male mice were studied. Twenty four male ICR mice divided equally into four groups were administered with the hexane extract of the leaves of M. oleifera by gavage at doses of 0.5, 5 and 50 mg/30 g BW daily for 21 days. The vehicle corn oil was used as control. Data on body weights, weights of reproductive organs, diameter of...
June 2010
The effect of acute and chronic (short and long term) oral administrations of black pepper (Piper guineense) aqueous extract on the body weight and haematological values of albino-Wistar rat
Black pepper seeds (144 g) were pounded with mortar and pestle and the powdered was wrapped in thumble and suspended into a soxhlet extractor. An approprate volume of methanol (500 mls), as solvent was added into the receiver flask to three quarter full. The soxlet extractor was heated with thermostatic hot plate (72°C) for 72 h. The extracted sample in the solvent was evaporated using...
June 2010
Evaluation of the chemical composition of Khaya grandifoliola and Ficus capensis
Proximate, phytochemicals and mineral elements compositions of Khaya grandifoliola (Meliaceae) and Ficus capensis (Moraceae) used to treat various types of ailments and diseases such as convulsion, stomach ache, respiratory disorders and threatened abortion, in Nigeria and other African countries were analyzed. The Fresh samples of K. grandifoliola and F....
June 2010
Bioactivity of the phytoconstituents of the leaves of Persea americana
Isolation of the bioactive phytoconstituents of the leaves of Persea americana(Lauraceae), yielded, isorhamnetin (1), luteolin (2), rutin (3), quercetin (4) and apigenin (5). Compound 1 has been fully characterized. Compounds were evaluated for their ability to scavenge free radical using DPPH· and H2O2systems. The IC50 (mg/ml) of quercetin was 4.82 x 10-5; rutin, 1.37...
June 2010
Biological activities of lignans from Taxus baccata L. growing in Turkey
Phytochemical investigation of Taxus baccata L. (Taxaceae) by successive chromatographic methods resulted in the isolation of the lignans; lariciresinol (1), taxiresinol (2), 3'-demethylisolariciresinol-9'-hydroxyisopropylether (3), isolariciresinol (4) and 3-demethylisolariciresinol (5) as well as taxoids. Compounds 1 - 5 were evaluated for their several biological activities such as...
June 2010
Ergothioneine accumulation in a medicinal plant Gastrodia elata
Ergothioneine (ERG) has long been recognized as a potent and stable antioxidant. In nature, ERG is synthesized only in fungi and mycobacteria, not in plants. The lifecycle of Gastrodia elata, an achlorophyllous orchid plant, is completely dependent on the presence of symbiotic fungi, particularly Armillaria mellea. In this study, we report for the first time that G. elata accumulated ERG whose levels...
June 2010
Evaluation of toxic effects of Trigonella foenum-graecum leaf aqueous extract on development of long bone tissue in rat fetus
In the present study, the adverse effects of Trigonella foenum-graecum leaves aqueous extract (TGLE) on the organogenesis stage of Sprague-Dawley rat fetus was investigated; particularly, the effect on fetal development of the hind limb long bone. TGLE was administered in pregnant rats by intra peritoneal (i.p) injection at the dose levels of 0.8, 1.6 and 3.2 g/kg/day on the 10th day of gestation....
June 2010
Antioxidant activity of Chinese mei (Prunus mume) and its active phytochemicals
Prunus mume fruits have been used as a healthy food and traditional drug in China. The present study investigated the phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate extract from fruits of P. mume in China. Total phenol content was determined as gallic acid equivalents by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The antioxidant activity was measured by DPPH and ABTS+ radicals scavenging and lipid...
June 2010
Decaffeination of green tea by supercritical carbon dioxide
Effects of cosolvent, tea particle size, extraction temperature and time on the removal of caffeine and catechins from green tea using supercritical carbon dioxide method were investigated. It showed that ethanol was optimal cosolvent. Water and 50% aqueous ethanol were not suitable for cosolvents because a large percentage of catechins were removed. Based on the orthogonal array design tests, optimal protocol for green...
June 2010
Polygalloyltannin isolated from the roots of Acacia nilotica Del. (Leguminoseae) is effective against Plasmodium berghei in mice
Crude methanolic root extracts of Acacia nilotica Del. (Leguminoseae)demonstrated significant activity against chloroquine sensitive strain ofPlasmodium berghei in mice. Purified extracts showed only a single fraction with significant antiplasmodial effects using bioguided essay techniques. The activeA. nilotica isolate was highly polar dissolving readily in methanol, appeared as a single spot in...
June 2010
Variation in icariin and flavonoid contents of Barrenwort species
Flavonoid and icariin contents of five barrenwort species native to Sichuan, China, of the genus Epimedium were determined by HPLC and UV. The icariin and flavonoid contents of the root, stem and leaf were differented significantly among five barrenwort species. The contents showed the same trend in different tissues of the five barrenwort species and differed from each other, that's leaf > root> stem....
June 2010
A study to assess the plaque inhibitory action of herbal-based toothpaste: A double blind controlled clinical trial
Incorporating herbal extracts in the formulation of toothpastes is becoming an accepted mode of chemical plaque control. This study has been conducted to determine whether an herbal-based toothpaste would inhibit de novo plaque formation beyond that of a conventional fluoride Toothpaste. Fifteen adult volunteers, meeting the inclusion criteria (age range19 - 22) participated in a double-blind, cross-over controlled...
June 2010
Purification and characterization of peroxidase from Turkish black radish (Raphanus sativus L.)
Peroxidases (EC 1.11.1.7; donor: hydrogen peroxide oxidoreductase) are part of a large group of enzymes associated with cell wall biosynthesis, response to injury, disease, resistance and wound repair. They catalyze the oxidation of various electron donor substrates such as phenols and aromatic amines in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. In the present study, peroxidase, a primer antioxidant enzyme, was purified 9.7...
June 2010
Forest resource utilization assessment for economic development of rural community in northern parts of Pakistan
A study on the ethnobotanical investigation of some multipurpose fruit plants was conducted in three important sites of District Swat of Pakistan during summer, 2008. The aim of the study was to identify the multipurpose fruit plants growing in the area and to collect information on their uses by the local people. Ethnobotanical information was collected through the show-and-tell/semi-structured method and personal...
June 2010
Ethnomedicinal and ethnoecological evaluation of Salvadora persica L.: A threatened medicinal plant in Arabian Peninsula
An ethno-medicinal survey was conducted in various parts of desert and semi desert ecosystem in Saudi Arabia with the aim to document ethnecological and medicinal value of Salvadora persica. It has been used by Muslim communities since centuries in traditional system of medicine. It remained a source of income and it is believed to be a type of religious toothbrush plant. The folklore uses, indigenous knowledge of...
June 2010
Distribution of seven polyphenols in several medicinal plants of Boraginaceae in China
Polyphenols are one important type of compounds investigated in the family Boraginaceae, a simple and accurate high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) method was established for simultaneous determination of seven polyphenols including five flavonoid glucosides and two phenolic acids in Ehretia thyrsiflora and several medicinal plants of the family Boraginaceae in China....
June 2010
Compositional analysis and nutritional studies of Tricholoma matsutake collected from Southwest China
The chemical composition and nutritional value of Tricholoma matsutake was determined in various laboratory assays. The contents of crude protein, crude fibre, crude fat, carbohydrate, soluble sugars, ash, mineral elements (K, Na, P, Ca, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn) and the profile of essential amino acids, fatty acids were analyzed. The analysis indicated that the wild edible mushroom contained rich sources of crude protein...
June 2010
Screening of Siphonochilus aetiopicus (Schweinf.) B. L. Burtt for antibacterial and antifungal properties
Siphonochilus aethiopicus is often used by traditional healers as a remedy to cure colds, coughs, influenza, etc. A validation of its microbial properties from extracts obtained from leaves and rhizomes were attempted against five gram positive and four gram negative bacteria. Antibacterial and antifungal activities were noted in the ethanol extract of the rhizomes of S. aethiopicus. Extracts from the leaves...
June 2010
In vitro antimicrobial and phytochemical activities of Acacia nilotica leaf extract
The in vitro antimicrobial and phytochemical activities of the crude ethanolic leaf extract of Acacia nilotica on Campylobacter coli isolated from goats in Gwagwalada Abattoir was investigated. Hydrolysable tannins, saponin, saponin glycosides, volatile oils, phenols, triterpenes, flavonoids and alkaloid were present in the extract. Minimum inhibitory concentration was 70 mg/ml of the...
June 2010
Preliminary anti-tuberculosis screening of two Nigerian Laggera species (Laggera pterodonta and Laggera aurita)
Crude methanolic extracts of the aerial part of the two Laggera species (Laggera pterodonta (DC.) Sch. Bip. and Laggera aurita (Linn f.) DC.) from the family Asteraceae (Compositea), found in Nigeria were screened againstMycobacterial bovis (BCG strains). The two extracts were found to be active at minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 625 µg/ml. Further fractionation and...
June 2010
Antimicrobial activities of the essential oils of four Salvia species from Turkey
In the present study, antibacterial and antifungal activities of essential oils of fourSalvia species against five bacteria and one fungus were evaluated at concentrations of 1/10, 1/20 and 1/30 and incubated for 24 h. Aqueous and hexane extracts of each plant were tested for their antibacterial and antifungal activity by using agar disc diffusion method. The result indicated that all essentialoils exhibit...
June 2010
Antinociceptive activity and central depressor effects of extracts of Ficus lyrata
The crude aqueous and alcoholic extracts of the leaves of Ficus lyrata have been investigated for possible analgesic activity and central depressor activity. The crude aqueous and alcoholic extracts at a dose of 200 mg/kg each showed significant analgesic activity by Analgesiometer test. Both extracts in the same doses also showed central depressor activity by open field behaviour test. Key...
Advertisement
Advertisement
