March 2011
Evaluation of cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities of Struchium sparganophora (Linn.) Ktze Asteraceae
Struchium sparganophora (Linn) Ktze, (Asteraceae) is a culinary herbs used as part of a traditional dish in Nigeria and a medicinal plants for the treatment of different ailments in Africa. Dried leaf, stem and root parts of this plant were extracted with n-hexane, chloroform and methanol respectively, concentrated under reduced pressure, freeze dried andevaluated for their antimicrobial and anti tumour...
March 2011
Topical application of Calendula officinalis (L.): Formulation and evaluation of hydrophilic cream with antioxidant activity
The aim of the study was the formulation of suitable medicinal form for the topical application of Calendula officinalis L. Dry Calendula extract was used as an active compound. This extract was proved to be an effective scavenger of H2O2 radicals in in vitrostudies with the mitochondria of rat cardiac muscles. Several compositions of the cream base were evaluated and the hydrophilic cream containing...
March 2011
Determination of the percentage inhibition of diameter growth (PIDG) of Piper betle crude aqueous extract against oral Candida species
Species within the genus Candida have been implicated in many fungal diseases such as candidiasis or thrush. The increasing clinical and microbiological resistance of Candidaspecies towards several commonly prescribed antifungal agents however, has lead to the search for new active antifungal compounds from natural resources. This study was carried out to screen the susceptibility of the aqueous extract...
March 2011
Protective effect of apple polyphenols on hepatocytes injury induced by carbon tetrachloride in vitro
Apple polyphenols are considered as natural antioxidants. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the cytoprotective effects of apple polyphenols against rat primary hepatocytes oxidative injury induced by carbon tetrachloride in vitro. Some biochemical assays were carried out to determine the cytoprotective effects of apple polyphenols on the hepatocytes subjected to oxidative injury, including cell viability,...
March 2011
Ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction of swainsonine from Oxytropis ochrocephala Bunge
Swainsonine is an indolizidine alkaloid with anticancer and antiviral potency. Extracting from locoweeds is one of strategies to produce swainsonine currently. Here, ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction was reported to significantly promote isolation and purification of swainsonine from Oxytropis ochrocephala Bunge, a popular locoweed in northwestern China. The extracted swainsonine was identified by thin...
March 2011
Micropropagation and antioxidant activity of Mollugo nudicaulis Lam.
Mollugo nudicaulis Lam, is a traditionally important wild medicinal herb, the leaves have been used by traditional practioners for curing whooping cough and jaundice. This plant in nature propagated itself through seeds during rainy season, collection of plant material for extraction of drug is a major task. To overcome these constraints in vitro propagation protocol for M. nudicaulis was...
March 2011
Inhibitory effect of ursane-type triterpenoids from Weigela subsessilis on RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation
Osteoclasts play an important role in bone metabolism by resorbing the bone matrix. Thus, the compounds inhibiting osteoclasts can treat bone diseases such as osteoporosis. Among the 8 triterpenoids tested, we show that Ilekudinol B isolated from the plant Weigela subsessilis inhibits receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis from bone marrow-derived...
March 2011
Analysis of phenolic compounds in wild populations of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) from Montenegro
Wild bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) is very important natural resource of Montenegro. In our study, bilberries were collected in the summer of 2009, from 11 different localities in mountain region of Montenegro (altitude ranged from 665 to 1700 m a.s.l.). The samples were freezed immediately and stored at -25°C until the analysis were done. The total phenolics were estimated by Folin-Ciocalteu...
March 2011
Protective effects of Ziziphus jujuba fruit extract against ethanol-induced hippocampal oxidative stress and spatial memory impairment in rats
The current study assessed the effects of Ziziphus jujuba fruit extract on hippocampal oxidative stress and spatial memory of rats exposed to ethanol. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control, Z. jujuba treated (200 mg/kg, p.o.), ethanol (4 g/kg, p.o.) andZ. jujuba plus ethanol groups. The animals were treated daily by oral gavage for 8 weeks. The learning and memory performance was...
March 2011
An in vitro study of the antimicrobial and antioxidant efficacy of some nature essential oils
The purpose of this study was to compare the antimicrobial efficacy of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and different natural essential oils for root canal irrigation using two activity tests (contact and diffusion agar tests). Thirty-seven extracted human teeth were collected and incubated with Staphylococcus aureus for 48 h. The teeth were divided into three divisions’ experimental groups, negative control...
March 2011
Effects of plant density and planting pattern on yield and yield components of Iranian ox-tongue (Echium amoenum Fisch and Mey) in North of Iran
In spite of existing a long history in medicinal plants consumption in Iran, but there has not taken any major step for identification, domestication and mass propagation of these plants. So this study has been accomplished for the purpose of determination the best planting pattern and plant density of the Iranian ox-tongue. A randomized complete block design was used to incorporate factorial combinations of two...
March 2011
Comparison of methods for isolating high quality DNA from sage (Salvia officinalis)
A number of protocols have been reported for efficient plant DNA isolation. However, many of these methods are often species dependent. Several protocols described for DNA isolation from medicinal herbs and aromatic plants fail to produce good quality DNA. These plants contain exceptionally high amounts of secondary metabolites which interfere with DNA isolation. To address this problem, CTAB-modified protocols were...
March 2011
Extracts of bixa inhibit glycation and AGEs formation in vitro
Accelerated formation of advanced glycation an end-products (AGEs) has been complicated in the pathogenesis of various diabetic complications. Several natural and synthetic compounds have been proposed and tested, as inhibitors of glycation and AGEs formation. The present study reports effect of seed extracts of. B. orellana on inhibition of glycation and AGEs formation in vitro. We have...
March 2011
Systematic implications of foliar epidermis in andropogoneae (poaceae) from Hindukush-himalayas Pakistan
The study was aimed to investigate systematic potential of foliar epidermal characters in species identification and delimitation. 18 species of summer grasses from tribe Andropogoneae (Poaceae) from Hindukush-Himalayas (HKH) were evaluated for variations in both the adaxial and abaxial epidermis. The results reveal that certain features of the leaf epidermis are significant in differentiating closely related taxa. For...
March 2011
Immunomodulatory role of Rhaphidophora korthalsii methanol extract on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation, cytokine secretion and cytolytic activity
Rhaphidophora korthalsii methanol extract induce the immunomodulatory effect on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC). The present study was performed to investigate the immunomodulatory potential of the extract through different tests: MTT assay, BrdU proliferation assay, Trypan blue direct cell counting, cytokine (IL-2, IL-12 and IFN-γ) ELISA assay and Annexin V cytotoxicity assay. Concanavalin A...
March 2011
In vitro free radicals scavenging activities of polysaccharide from Polygonum Multiflorum Thunb
The crude polysaccharide (PMTP) was isolated from Polygonum Multiflorum Thunbthrough hot water extraction followed by ethanol precipitation. Through antioxidant assay in vitro, the results exhibited PMTP has powerful scavenging abilities, especially on ABTS, DPPH and Hydroxyl radicals. Therefore, the crude polysaccharide from P. Multiflorum Thunb should be explored as a novel...
March 2011
Wound healing effects of cactus extracts on second degree superficial burned mice
Wound healing effects of cactus extracts (CEs) were studied in this work. The aqueous extract (CAE) and ethanolic extract (CEE) each showed a slight to moderate wound healing effect on second-degree superficial burned mice. However, a combination of CAE and CEE (CME) showed great healing efficacy. At 25% concentration (w/w), CE produced highly efficient healing. The wound healing time for mice treated with CE,...
March 2011
A simple method for isolation and structural identification of arctigenin from Saussurea medusa Maxim. by preparation chromatography and single crystal X-ray diffraction
Arctigenin was successfully isolated and purified from the crude extract of Saussurea medusa Maxim. by automatic flash preparation chromatography (AFPC). Chromatographic separation was performed with a gradient elution of (A) petroleum ether and (B) acetone. The qualitative analysis was accomplished with thin layer chromatography (TLC) under the following conditions: petroleum ether-acetone (5:3, v/v) was...
March 2011
Fatty acid composition, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities of seed oil from Crotalaria juncea Linn.
Chemical characteristics, fatty acid composition, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities of Crotalaria juncea seed oil (CJSPE) were evaluated in this study. High amount of linoleic acid (62.36%) was found in CJSPE by the gas liquid chromatography (GLC) study. Antioxidant activity of CJSPE was evaluated by in vitro assay methods which revealed the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl...
March 2011
Hepatic antioxidative potential of ethyl acetate fraction of Cynodon dactylon in Balb/c mice
A study was undertaken to evaluate the antioxidative potential of ethyl acetate fraction ofCynodon dactylon in Balb/c mice. In this present study mice were divided into the two groups and each group containing 6 mice. Group I mice were orally administered with 70 µl of DMSO and are the vehicle control for ethyl acetate fraction. Group II mice were injected with ED50 70 µl of ethyl acetate fraction...
March 2011
A palynological study of the genus Smyrnium (Umbelliferae) from Turkey
In this study, the pollen morphology and exine structure of six taxa of the genus SmyrniumL. (Umbelliferae) were investigated using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Eight micromorphological characters (pollen shape, apocolpium, mesocolpium, polar length, equatorial width, exine thickness, colpus length and colpus width) of pollen grains of Smyrnium have been identified. The...
March 2011
Microwave-assisted extraction and antioxidant activity of total phenolic compounds from pomegranate peel
Pomegranate peel is the main waste fraction of pomegranate fruits, which is an excellent source of phenolic compounds. In this study, microwave-assisted extraction was employed to extract the phenolic compounds from pomegranate peel with water. By using response surface methodology, the effects of microwave output power, extraction time, and solid-liquid ratio on total phenolic yield were investigated and the optimal...
March 2011
Inhibitory effect of Allium ascalonicom hydroalcoholic extract on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation induced by CuSO4 in vitro
Oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) has been strongly suggested as a key factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Thus the inclusion of some anti-oxidant compounds in daily dietary food stuff may inhibit the production of oxidized LDL and may decrease both the development and the progression of atherosclerosis. The present work investigated the inhibitory effects of Allium...
March 2011
Anti-tyrosinase and anti-cancer activities of flavonoids from Blumea balsamifera DC
Fractionation of an ethylacetate extract from leaves of Blumea balsamifera DC, led to isolation of nine flavonoids. The isolated compounds consisted of two dihydroflavonols, dihydroquercetin-4¢-methyl ether (1) and dihydroquercetin-7,4¢-dimethyl ether (2), two flavanones, 5,7,3¢,5¢-tetrahydroxyflavanone (3) and blumeatin (4), three...
March 2011
Average stem biomass of Astragalus obnormalis in Shanjan rangelands, East Azerbaijan, Iran
Stem of plants can be used for animal grazing, wind erosion control, reducing water flow, increase evaporation and transpiration. In NW of Iran (East Azerbaijan Province), rangelands was utilized with animal grazing and changed to agricultural land use; this vegetation is unsuitable vegetation coverage. We studied Astragalus obnormalis to determine its stem biomass characteristics. Data were collected with...
March 2011
Bioactivity of rhizome essential oils from two varieties of Cyperus articulatus (L.) grown in Nigeria, using brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality tests
Pulverized rhizomes (500 g) of red and black varieties of Cyperus articulatus were separately hydrodistilled to obtain rhizome essential oils. The red and black varieties afforded oil with yields of 0.62 and 0.60% w/w, respectively. Both were tested for bioactivity using brine shrimp lethality test, the two oils samples showed significant activity with LC50of 2.84 μg/ml and 3.34 μg/ml for red and black...
March 2011
New flavonoids from seed skin of Xanthoceras sorbifolia
From ethyl acetate extract of seed skin of Xanthoceras sorbifolia, one compound with other known compounds was isolated by column chromatography on acetone: water: acetic acid solvent system. Structural elucidation of these compounds was carried out on the basis of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) studies, namely 1HNMR, 13CNMR, HMBC, HMQC and other 2D spectroscopy. Key...
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