September 2012

Botanical Description of Coleus forskohlii: A Review

Natural products continue to play a significant role in the detection and advancement of new pharmaceuticals as clinically useful drugs and as raw materials to produce synthetic drugs, or as lead compound from which a totally synthetic drug is designed. Coleus is a member of the mint family and native to India and grows in the subtropical temperate climates of India, Nepal, Thailand and Sri Lanka and is a...

Author(s): Barkat Ali Khan, Naveed Akhtar, Masood Anwar, Tariq Mahmood, Haroon Khan, Irshad Hussain and Kamran Ahmad Khan

September 2012

Major and trace elements in Nigella sativa provide a potential mechanism for its healing effects

The seeds of Nigella sativa are used commonly in the Middle East as a traditional medicine to treat a variety of health conditions. Its seeds and oil have been used for centuries in the Islamic World, as sacred and holistic medicine. It has been also used in India and other countries for similar purposes. In the Middle East, it is a popular addition to the traditional diet, and is often mixed with either bread...

Author(s): Basem Shomar

September 2012

Histological evaluation of Plantago lanceolata L. extract in accelerating wound healing

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of topical application of Plantago lanceolata L. (PL; Plantaginaceae) extract on the rate of wound healing closure and histology of healed wound. An area of uniform wound 7 mm in diameter using circular punch was excised from the nape of the dorsal neck of all rats. The animal groups were topically treated with 0.75 and 1.5% of PL and two groups were treated as...

Author(s): Hojjat Ismayilnajadteymurabadi, Mohammad Reza Farahpour and Amir Amniattalab

September 2012

Propagation of Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth: An important medicinal plant of Western Himalaya

This study is aimed at developing propagation methods and ex situ conservation forPicrorhiza kurroa, an endangered medicinal plant of western Himalaya. Regeneration using leaves from mature plant of characterized germplasm is beneficial because the source plant is not damaged. A regeneration protocol was standardized by using leaves from aseptic shoot cultures, raised from ex vitro leaves....

Author(s): Vanita Patial, Kiran Devi, Madhu Sharma, Amita Bhattacharya and Paramvir Singh Ahuja

September 2012

Simultaneous determination of Polyphyllin I and Polyphyllin II from Rhyzoma Paridis dog plasma by a rapid HPLC and its application to pharmacokinetic study after oral administration

For the first time, a rapid and specific reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (RP-HPLC-UV) method was developed for the analysis of polyphyllin I and polyphyllin II in beagle dog plasma. The method was applied to study the pharmacokinetics of Rhizoma paridis capsule containing polyphyllin I and polyphyllin II. The analysis was carried out on a Diamonsil C18 (2) reversed-phase...

Author(s): Xingbin Yin, Changhai Qu, Yujing Zhai, Hui Zhang, Pei Yang, Sali Cao, Jin Zhang, Juanjuan Qi, Jingchen Tian, Jing Fu and Jian Ni

September 2012

Antioxidant and neuroprotective effect of PSE-1 against oxidative stress-induced cytotoxicity in N18-RE-105 cells

Neurodegenerative conditions such as the Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases, areassociated with the production of reactive oxygen species and resultant oxidative stress.Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system and may induce cytotoxicity through persistent activation of glutamate receptors and through oxidative stress mechanisms. On the basis of this information, we established...

Author(s): Hyun-Jung Kim, Eun-Ah Lee, Bo-Young Seo, Ae-Ran Choi, Seong-Hee Moon,Sung-Ku Lee, Eunju Park, Hae-Ryong Park, Jum-Soon Kang and Yong-Il Hwang

September 2012

The GC-MS analyses of the n-hexane extract of Nitraria schoberi L., its total phenolics and in vitro antioxidant activity

The present study was carried out for analysis of n-hexane extract of Nitraria schoberi fruits and also for evaluation of the total phenolics and antioxidant activity of the fruit extracts. The n-hexane extract was obtained by Soxhlet apparatus and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteau reagent and the...

Author(s): Mohammad Ali Khajeddini, Mohammad Reza Dadpour, Masumeh Khodaverdi and Somayeh Naghiloo

September 2012

Antimicrobial activity of artocarpesin from Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

We evaluated the antibacterial activity of the organic extracts (n-hexane, acetone and methanol) from the fruit of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. against Staphylococcus aureus,(methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus [MSSA]). The extract that demonstrated the greatest activity was that of acetone, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.375 mg/ml against S....

Author(s): Navarro-García Víctor Manuel, Salinas-Sánchez David Osvaldo, Rodríguez-Flores Tannia Alejandra, Abarca-Vargas Rodolfo, and Aldana-Llanos Lucila

September 2012

Inhibitory effect of grape seed extract (GSE) on cariogenic bacteria

Streptococcus mutans plays an important role in the development of dental caries in humans. Although fluoride and other preventive efforts have led to a dramatic decline in dental caries, the ability to control the actual infection has been limited. Therefore, this study was aimed at investigating in details the effect of a grape seed extract (GSE) on the growth and the biofilm formation of S. mutans....

Author(s): Hala El-Adawi