July 2011
Phytopharmacological importance of Pelargonium species
World population relies on plant-based traditional system of medicine for their primary health care. With the emerging worldwide interest in adopting and studying traditional systems, it is essential to explore the potential of plant based health care systems. A number of herbs belonging to the genus Pelargonium graveolens are noted for their medicinal benefits in traditional system of medicine. A lot of...
July 2011
Hippophae rhamnoides Linn. for treatment of diabetes mellitus: A review
Hippophae rhamnoides Linn., commonly known as sea buckthorn (family: Elaeagnaceae), grows wild in Asia and Europe. As one kind of Chinese traditional medicine, H. rhamnoides Linn. berry was effective in treating wounds, inflammation, mucous-membrane-related disorders and diseases such as cough, sputum, cancer and bacterial problem. In diabetes,H. rhamnoides Linn. affected not only the lowering of the...
July 2011
Comparative antioxidant analysis of hexane extracts of Terminalia chebula Retz. prepared by maceration and sequential extraction method
The aim of this work is to compare the antioxidant efficacy and the phenolic content of two hexane extracts viz. ‘Hex 1’ and ‘Hex 2’ of fruits of Terminalia chebula prepared by maceration and sequential method, respectively. The extracts were tested for their relative levels of antioxidant activity and the total phenolic content using DPPH, deoxyribose, reducing power, chelating power,...
July 2011
Anti-oxidant activity of Rhus verniciflua stokes by extract conditions
In the present study, Rhus verniciflua extracts from various extract condition was evaluated by employing various in vitro anti-oxidant assay such as electron donation ability by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl free radical (DPPH) scavenging, reducing power by Fe3+-Fe2+transformation method, and anti-lipid peroxidative effect by ferric thiocyanate. The electron donation ability of 100% ethanolic...
July 2011
Antibacterial properties of some wild leafy vegetables of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Wild medicinal leafy vegetables are consumed by many rural villagers of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. These vegetables are easily accessible at no cost. This paper presents findings of a survey of plants used as vegetables and for medicinal purposes in the Eastern Cape Province. Regular consumers of these plants interviewed revealed that four out of the possible twenty species were reported to be used for medical...
July 2011
Efficient propagation of an important medicinal plant Boesenbergia rotunda by shoot derived callus
A protocol for high frequency shoot organogenesis and plant establishment from shoot base derived callus was developed for Boesenbergia rotunda (L.) Mansf. Kulturpfl. The cultures produced callus in MS medium supplemented with various concentrations of dicamba and 2,4-D. Nevertheless, embryogenic callus only emerged on 2, 4-D augmented MS medium. In addition, the success of callus induction was achieved from...
July 2011
Antiangiogenic activity of extracts and fractions from an endemic plant Ardisia pyramidalis (Cav.) Pers. From Bataan, Philippines using Duck in ovo chorioallantoic membrane assay
Using bioassay directed fractionation, the angiosuppressive activity of leaf extracts ofArdisia pyramidalis (Myrsinaceae) was determined using the duck in ovo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. The methanol extract was antiangiogenic as indicated by the statistically significant lower blood vessel count compared with the negative control and the untreated eggs. The hexane partition was observed to be...
July 2011
Effect of plant growth regulators and chemical fertilizers on growth and productivity of Chlorophytum tuberosum and Pergularia daemia
Plants need several elements for their healthy growth. Over the recent years, several scales of physiology have been applied to the study of the response of plant growth regulators and chemical fertilizers on medicinal plants. During present investigation, the effect of plant growth regulators and various chemical fertilizers on growth and productivity of Chlorophytum tuberosum and Pergularia...
July 2011
A possible molecular mechanism of two flavones and two flavonols on the induction of differentiation in a human oesophageal adenocarcinoma cell line (OE33)
The influences of two flavones (baicalein, chrysin) and two flavonols (galangin, kaempferol) selected on induction of differentiation in a human esophageal adenocarcinoma (OE33) cell line were studied in the present work. All compounds selected could be able to inhibit proliferation of OE33 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The inhibitory potency of these compounds on OE33 cells was in the order of:...
July 2011
Changes in the pharmacokinetics of chloroquine by the leaf extract of Lasianthera africana in rats
Sixty albino Wistar rats were used in the in vivo study of the effects of ethanolic leaf extract of Lasianthera africana on the pharmacokinetic parameters of chloroquine. After an overnight fast, the rats were divided into two groups designated A and B. Group A was given chloroquine only (15 mg/kg) and group B received chloroquine (15 mg/ml) and L. africanaextract (200 mg/ml) concurrently. All...
July 2011
The effects of cornelian cherry on atherosclerosis and atherogenic factors in hypercholesterolemic rabbits
Atherosclerosis results from gradual deposition of lipids in medium and large arteries and is the leading cause of death world wide. Due to the side effects of chemical compounds more attention has been paid to herbal remedies. This study was aimed to evaluate the curative effects of Cornus mas on atherosclerosis and its risk factors in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Twenty-five male New-Zealand rabbits...
July 2011
Antioxidant activities of Uyghur medicinal tea in human HL-60 cell line and rat hepatic microsomes
Uyghur medicinal tea (UMT) is preferably used as a common nutritional additive by Uyghur population, especially by the aged people including centenarians from southern part of Xinjiang, along the Silk Road of China. The study showed an evidence for the antioxidant properties of UMT extract by using two different oxidative systems in vitro: (1) the myeloperoxidase/H2O2/HOCl enzymatic system in human HL-60 cell line...
July 2011
Matrine protects homocysteine-induced atrial dysfunction in rats
As one main alkaloid isolated from the seed or leaves of Chinese herb Sophora alopecuroides L. matrine has very strong therapeutic actions on stroke, heart infarction, hepatitis, pain, etc. In this study, we want to observe the preventive effects of matrine on systolic cardiac dysfunction induced by homocysteine. Wistar rat right atria were acutely isolated and the contraction of rat atria was determined by...
July 2011
Genetic diversity among Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge and related species using morphological traits and RAPD markers
Genetic diversity within Salvia is the key to the genetic improvement of the medicine plantSalvia miltiorrhiza. In the current study, morphological and molecular characteristics were studied in 18 taxa of Salvia. A coefficient of variation was based on 18 morphological traits ranging from 17.56 to 115.04%. Among 70 random primers examined, 27 randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers produced...
July 2011
The effects of high level ascorbic acid on pregnancy rate and litter size in rats
The effects of high dose ascorbic acid on pregnancy rate and litter size in rats were investigated in this study. For this purpose, forty rats were used. The animals were randomly divided into four groups as control (n = 10) and treatment (n = 30). The rats were randomly assigned to three groups in treatment group. Within this group, 15 females and 15 males were used. Females in Groups 1 and 3, and...
July 2011
Inhibitory effects of the extracts of Garcinia species on human low-density lipoprotein peroxidation and platelet aggregation in relation to their total phenolic contents
Twenty-two methanol extracts from different parts of nine Garcinia species were investigated for their ability to inhibit platelet aggregation and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) peroxidation and their total phenolic contents (TPC). The antioxidant activity of the extracts was examined using thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay with human LDL as the oxidation substrate and their antiplatelet...
July 2011
Effects of powder and extract form of green tea and marigold, and α-tocopheryl acetate on performance, egg quality and egg yolk cholesterol levels of laying hens in late phase of production
This study was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding two forms (powder and extract) of green tea and marigold as well as α-tocopheryl acetate on performance, egg quality, egg yolk and also serum cholesterol concentrations of laying hens. A total of 150 hens, aged 64 weeks were divided into six groups with five replicate cages containing five hens each for each treatment. Dietary treatments were as...
July 2011
Hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic effects of aerial part of Cynara scolymus in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
The aim of this study was to assess the effect of artichoke (Cynara scolymus) leaf aqueous extract (ALE) on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. ALE (200 and 400 mg/kg body weight) was administered to STZ-induced diabetic rats and fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein...
July 2011
Analysis of total flavonoids and phenolics in different fractions of bark and needle extracts of Pinus roxburghii and Pinus wallichiana
Total flavonoid and phenolic content was estimated quantitatively by using colorimetric method in various fractions of bark and needle extracts of Pinus roxburghii and Pinus wallichiana. Flavonoids may exist as free aglycone, but usually they are bound to sugar as glycosides and any one aglycone may occur in single plant in several combinations. For the measurement of total flavonoid content, original...
July 2011
Isolation and characterization of antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive flavones from Premna odorata Blanco
Premna odorata Blanco (Verbenaceae) is a native tree of the Philippines where its leaves are used traditionally for vaginal irrigation and tuberculosis. It is one of the seven components of a commercialized Philippine herbal preparation called “Pito-Pito”. Its medicinal uses, however, have not been scientifically validated. This tree is not commonly cultivated and thrive in the less accessible limestone...
July 2011
Phytochemical analysis and antioxidant activity of herbal plant Doronicum hookeri Hook f. (Asteraceae)
In this study, Doronicum hookeri Hook f. roots were extracted with two solvents of different polarity and evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant activities. Of the two extracts, methanolic extract possessed higher phenolic content and thus higher free radical scavenging and reducing activities. In DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazy) radical scavenging assay, methanolic extract showed scavenging...
July 2011
Effect of natural antioxidant – Ocimum gratissimum in modulating neurodegenerative changes in rats fed with high concentration of lead acetate
Lead (Pb) poisoning and the role of antioxidants in its pathologies especially their oxidative tendencies on the central nervous system is well documented. The effect of a natural antioxidant-Ocimum gratissimum (ocimum) - in modulating neurodegenerative changes in rats experimentally fed with high concentration of Pb acetate was investigated. Standard laboratory methods were employed to determine blood Pb levels...
July 2011
Evaluation of yarrow (Achillea millefolium) as a natural growth promoter in comparison with a probiotic supplement on performance, humoral immunity and blood metabolites of broiler chicks
This experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential of yarrow in comparison with probiotic as growth promoter on performance, immune responses, and some biochemical and hematological parameters in broiler chicks. One hundred and ninety two day-old mix broiler chicks (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (control, probiotic 15 mg/kg Protoxin™, and yarrow powder of 5 and 10 g/kg of...
July 2011
Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of Rumex hastatus D. Don. leaves
In this study different solvent fractions (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, chloroform, butanol and aqueous) of the methanol extract of Rumex hastatus(RH) leaves were evaluated for antioxidant activities. The ethyl acetate fraction possessed high amount of total polyphenolics (106.3±3.93 mg GAE/g extract) while butanolic fraction was found with high flavonoid contents (59.8±1.94 mg RTE/g extract) as compared...
July 2011
Cytotoxicity and mechanism(s) of action of Hypoxis spp. (African potato) against HeLa, HT-29 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines
Hypoxis is one of the medicinal plants most frequently used by the indigenous people of South Africa. Although many species are used, most research has focused on Hypoxishemerocallidea with very little or no scientific evidence on other species. The main aim of this study was to investigate and compare the cytotoxicity and mechanisms of action of three Hypoxis spp., namely H....
July 2011
Hg, Cd and Pb heavy metal bioremediation by Dunaliella alga
Environmental pollution with heavy and toxic metals, produced by mining, processes of metallurgy and other chemical industries is a worldwide problem to human health and environment because of their high concentrations in the biological food chains and long term presence in the ecosystems. The present study discusses the heavy-metal elimination by the bioremediation capability of Dunaliella algae’s. As...
July 2011
Immunomodulating polysaccharides from leaves of the Malian medicinal tree Combretum glutinosum; structural differences between small and large leaves can substantiate the preference for small leaves by some healers
Medicinal plants are important for treating illnesses of different kinds all over the world. The leaves of the tree Combretum glutinosum Perr. ex DC. are amongst the most used remedies in West Africa. In Mali this tree can be found with two types of leaves on the same tree, large and small, growing on different branches. Some healers prefer to use the small leaves if they are available. The object of...
July 2011
Phytochemical screening of extracts from some Mexican plants used in traditional medicine
Studies on the biological properties of extracts from Mexican plants used in traditional medicine have evidenced a great potential for their use as preservatives, antioxidant sources and functional agents; however the phytochemistry of these plants is poorly documented. Phytochemical screening of the ethanolic extracts of the plants Lippia berlandieri Shauer, Larrea tridentata Cov., Fluorensia...
July 2011
Antioxidant activity of solvent extracts from Vietnamese medicinal plants
The methanol, ethanol, acetone, and water extracts of six Vietnamese medicinal plants,Premna integrifolia, Terminalia nigrovenulosa, Pseuderanthemum palatiferum,Streptocaulon juventas, Eclipta alba (L), and Solanum hainanense were investigated for their antioxidant and radical scavenging activities using reducing power, metal chelating activity, and 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl hydrate...
July 2011
New amides from the seeds of Clausana lansium
An investigation of Clausena lansium seed extract led to the isolation and identification of two new amides, clausenalansamide A (3) and clausenalansamide B (4), along with three known amides (1, 2 and 5). All structures were characterized by spectroscopic methods. Some of isolated compounds (1, 2 and 4) were evaluated for their anti-cancer activity against three human cancer cell lines, KB, MCF7 and NCI-H187....
July 2011
Simultaneous determination of five fatty acids in Phellinus sp. by high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode-array detection
Fatty acids are important nutrition and physiology component in fungus. A method has been developed to determine the five fatty acid components—palmitoleic acid (I), linoleic acid(II), oleic acid(III), hexadecanoic acid (IV) and stearic acid(V) in fungus Phellinus sp. using high-performance liquid chromatography with a photodiode-array (HPLC–PDA) ultraviolet detection system....
July 2011
Effect of organic and biofertilizers on growth, herb yield and volatile oil of marjoram plant grown in Ajloun region, Jordan
This experiment was carried out during two successive seasons of 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 in Ajloun region, to study the effect of organic manure (farmyard manure and poultry manure at a rate of 75 m3/ha as fertilizer of each) and biofertilizers (Nitraboein and Halex-2 at a rate of 988 gm/ha of each as well) as their interactions on growth, yield of herb and volatile oil of Majorana hortensis L.,...
July 2011
Comparison of three different methods for total RNA extraction from Fritillaria unibracteata, a rare Chinese medicinal plant
Efficient RNA isolation is a prerequisite to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of peimine metabolism in the medicinal plant Fritillaria unibracteata, a rare and famous region drug in Sichuan, China. Three different methods were tested: modified SDS acid phenol, modified CTAB and SDS-LiCl. Compared with the modified CTAB and SDS-LiCl methods, the method of modified SDS acid phenol would obtain initial, abundant and...
July 2011
A comparison of volatile components of flower of page mandarin obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction and hydrodistillation
Traditional hydrodistillation (HD) and ultrasound-assisted extraction method (UAE) have been compared and evaluated for their quantitative and qualitative compositions of the isolated essential oil from fresh page mandarin flowers. Thirty-eight flower components and twenty-nine flower components in the UAE and HD method, respectively including: aldehydes, alcohols, ketons, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and other...
July 2011
Determination of cyclic oligomers residues in tea catechins isolated by polyamide-6 column
Cyclic oligomers ranging from tetramer to octamer and a tetramer plus –NH(CH2)2CH3 in ethanol extract of polyamide-6 (PA) were identified by HPLC/MS and MS/MS. An HPLC method was developed to detect the residues of the cyclic oligomers in tea catechins isolated by PA column. It showed that catechins had interference on HPLC analysis of the cyclic oligomers, but the interference could be eliminated using...
July 2011
Taxonomic potential of foliar epidermal anatomy among the wild culinary vegetables of Pakistan
The present study is focused on the taxonomic screening of ten wild culinary vegetables that is Amaranthus viridus L, Bauhenia verigata L, Chenopodium album L, Malva parvifloraL, Medicago falcate L, Medicago polymorpha L, Melilotus indicus L, Portulaca oleracea L, Portulaca quardifida L and Solanum nigrum L. The objective of the present study is to use the...
July 2011
Inhibitory effects of five medicinal plants on rat alpha-glucosidase: Comparison with their effects on yeast alpha-glucosidase
The mammalian and yeast α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of Senna italica, Tinospora fragosa, Manilkara mochisia, Xanthocercis zambesiaca, Ozoroa cf. albicans, Peltophorum africanum, Cassia abbreviata were investigated using p-nitrophenyl glucopyranoside as a substrate. All the plant species tested had low inhibitory activity against rat intestinal α-glucosidase. The highest concentration...
July 2011
Antifungal activity of leaf extracts of some medicinal trees against Macrophomina phaseolina
Present study was carried out to investigate the antifungal activity of leaf extracts of four medicinal trees namely Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels, Eucalyptus citriodora Roxb. (family Myrtaceae) Azadirachta indica L. and Melia azedarach L. (family Meliaceae), againstMacrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid, the cause of charcoal rot disease in more than 500 plant species....
July 2011
Enhanced production of mycelial biomass and extracellular polysaccharides in caterpillar-shaped medicinal mushroom Cordyceps sinensis CS001 by the addition of palmitic acid
To screen stimulators for cell growth and polysaccharides production of caterpillar-shaped Chinese medicinal mushroom, Cordyceps sinensis, the fungus was inoculated into the submerged culture media with and without supplementation of several fatty acids and ether extracts of Chinese medicinal insects. The results showed that palmitic acid at 1.0 g/l lead to significant increases in both biomass and extracellular...
July 2011
Simultaneous quantitation of seven anthraquinones in aqueous extract of rhubarb and analysis for absorption in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with traumatic brain injury using UPLC-PDA method
A simple and rapid ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photo-diode array (UPLC-PDA) method was developed for determination of seven anthraquinones in aqueous extract of rhubarb (AER) and for detection of anthraquinones in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) after AER administration. Optimum separation was achieved on a reversed-phase column with methanol and 0.5%...
July 2011
Physicochemical properties and oil constituents of milk thistle (Silybum marianum Gaertn. cv. Budakalászi) under drought stress
Milk thistle, Silybum marianum, is an annual or biennial plant. It has been reported that the extracted oil from milk thistle seed contains essential edible fatty acids. The aim of the present study was to determine the irrigation interval effects on different fatty acids content of milk thistle. Irrigation intervals consisted of D1 = 5, D2 = 10, D3 = 15 days and D4 = without irrigation. To...
July 2011
Isolation, characterization and crystal structure of ethyl 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy-benzoate from Scutellaria barbata
Phytochemical research on the aerial parts of Scutellaria barbata used variously in ethno medicinal treatments in southern China, resulted in the isolation of ethyl 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy-benzoate. Its structure was identified purely on the basis of spectroscopic analyses including EI-MS, IR and X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystal belonged to the monoclinic space group P2 (1)/c with a = 11.5521(6)...
July 2011
An assessment of the cultural capabilities of clonal propagation and molecular characterization of Yucca elephantipes cultivars
This study was conducted to describe an efficient micropropagation protocol suitable for the production of clonally uniform Yucca plants through the shoot tip and lateral bud explants and compare the application and utility of TRAP and SRAP marker techniques for analysis of genetic diversity among six genetically Yucca diverse genotypes. The results indicatedthat the “Green” cultivar gave the...
July 2011
Protective effect of puerarin form the roots of Pueraria lobata against systemic inflammatory response syndrome by regulating the levels of related cytokines
The outcome of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is poor due to unclear pathogenesis and unsatisfied therapeutic strategies. Therefore, to understand the pathogenetic mechanism and screen novel drugs are critical for the improvement of the therapeutic efficacy of SIRS. In the present study, to determine the protective mechanism of puerarin on SIRS, Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were intraperitoneally injected...
July 2011
Effects of garlic on blood glucose levels and HbA1c in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of garlic on fasting blood sugar and HbA1c in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This was a 24 week, single-blind placebo controlled study. The patients (n = 210) with fasting blood sugar above 126 mg/dl were recruited and divided into 7 groups (A, B, C, D, E, F and G), each comprised of 30 patients. Group A, B, C, D, and E were given garlic tablets at doses...
July 2011
Assessment of genetic diversity in Achillea millefolium subsp. millefolium and Achillea millefolium subsp. elbursensis using morphological and ISSR markers
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