May 2009
The need for bioactivity-safety evaluation and conservation of medicinal plants - A review
The use of medicinal plants as raw materials in the production of new drugs is ever increasing because of their potentials in combating the problem of drug resistance in micro-organisms. Demand for medicinal plants is increasing in both developing and developed countries. Research on medicinal plants is one of the leading areas of research globally. However, there is a need to pay closer attention to the issue of...
May 2009
Evaluation changing of essential oil of balm (Melissa officinalis L.) under water deficit stress conditions
An experiment was carried out using a randomized complete block design with 4 replications to study the effect of water deficit stress on essential oil of balm. The factors studied included 5 levels of water deficit stress that were T1 (100% field capacity), T2 (80% field capacity), T3 (60% field capacity), T4 (40% field capacity) and T5 (20% field capacity) respectively. The results showed...
May 2009
Phytochemical and antimicrobial studies of Commiphora africana (A. Rich) Engl. root extracts
The crude ethanolic extract of Commiphora africana root was partitioned with n-hexane, chloroform; water and 10% aqueous methanol and screened for chemical constituents and antimicrobial activity. The n-hexane fraction, which was the most bio-active was chromatographed on a column silica gel to give a number of purified components. The components from the n-hexane were found to be active...
May 2009
Phytochemical analysis and antibacterial evaluation of the leaf stem bark and root of the African locust bean (Parkia biglobosa)
Antibacterial evaluation of the methanolic extract and aqueous fractions of the Leaf, Stem Bark and root of the African locust bean tree, Parkia biglobosa was carried out using the agar- well diffusion method. The extracts and their fractions were tested against two gram positive organisms – Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Bacillus subtilis NCTC 8326B76 and two gram...
May 2009
The investigation and quantitative ethnobotanical evaluation of medicinal plants used around Izmir province, Turkey
In this paper, 108 traditional medicinal plants from Izmir Province in Turkey have been reported. One hundred eight plant species belonging to 54 families and among them 94 species were wild and 14 species were cultivated plants. The informant consensus factor (Fic) and the fidelity level (FL) of the species were determined. The category that has the highest Fic value is Cold and Influenza(0.82)...
May 2009
Anti-inflammatory and anti–hyperalgesic activities of Stachys athorecalyx extracts on CFA-induced inflammation
This study was aimed at investigating the possible anti-hyperalgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of pre-treatment and short term (6 days) administration ofStachys athorecalyx extracts during CFA-induced inflammation in male Wistar rats. Both methanolic and defatted extracts prepared from aerial parts of the plant were examined. The results showed dose related response in decreasing hyperalgesia and...
May 2009
Minimum leaf width as an indicator of Colchicum speciosum Steven (Liliaceae) suitable for collection
In the present study, statistical analyses were conducted of the leaf width and corm diameter of Colchicum speciosum, in order to be able to determine whether it is suitable for harvesting, without uprooting the plant. C. speciosum samples (n = 213) were collected randomly from the Hamsiköy district in the Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey. The leaf width and corm diameter of each plant was...
May 2009
Inventory, folk classification and pharmacological properties of plant species used as chewing stick in Benin Republic
Chewing sticks are secondary forest products used by people of all ages, genders and professions in Benin but less investigated according to species concerned, their importance according to local communities and their pharmacological properties. For that purpose, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted among 105 local informants of 8 districts in southern and central Benin. The informants were requested to...
May 2009
Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil from Chrysocoma ciliata L. leaves
Chrysocoma ciliata L. is one of the South African medicinal plants used for the management of pains, stomach and menstrual disorders by the people of the Eastern Cape. The essential oil extracted from the leaves of the plant through hydrodistillation yielded 1.20% (volume/fresh weight). A total of 37 compounds were identified, constituting 85.28% of the total oil composition. The major components of the oil were...
May 2009
A new 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 2,4-cyclodiphosphate synthase gene from Taxus media: Cloning, characterization and functional complementation
2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 2,4-cyclodiphosphate synthase (MECPS, EC: 4.6.1.12) is the fifth enzyme of the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway of Taxol biosynthesis. The full-length cDNA sequence (designated as TmMECPS) was cloned and characterized from Taxus media. The full-length cDNA of TmMECPSwas 899 bp containing a 723 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 241 amino acids with a...
May 2009
Antispasmodic and relaxant activity from the freshwater cyanobacteria Blennothrix ganeshii and Microcoleous lacustris extracts
The discovery of novel compounds with pharmaceutical application in cyanobacterias suggests that Blennothrix ganeshii and Microcoleous lacustrisMexican species can be candidates for the bioprocess of target compounds. The antispasmodic effect of hexane, chloroform, methanol and water extracts of B. ganeshii and M. lacustris were studied in vitro in guinea pig ileum against...
May 2009
Traditional medicinal plants in Seshachalam hills, Andhra Pradesh, India
The present study documents the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants that are in use in Seshachalam hill ranges in Cuddapah district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Ethnomedicinal uses of 48 plant species along with botanical name, vernacular name, family and mode of administration are presented. They belong to 44 genera and 30 families. These plants used to cure 32 types of ailments. Most remedies were taken orally,...
May 2009
In vitro antimicrobial and antiviral activities of the essential oil and various extracts of Salvia cedronella Boiss
The essential oil and various extracts obtained from Salvia cedronella Boiss have been evaluated for their possible in vitro antimicrobial and antiviral capacities. The GC-EIMS analysis of the essential oil was resulted in detection of 92 components representing 96.1% of the oil. Major components were 1,8-cineole, a-pinene, caryophyllene oxide and sabinene. In the case of antimicrobial activity,...
May 2009
New acylated flavonol glycoside from Ceratonia siliqua L. seeds
New flavonol glycoside, 4`-p-hydroxybenzoylisorhamnetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyrano-side named cerato-side (5), together with the known kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (afzelin) (3), quercetin-3-O-α-L-arabinofuranoside (auriculain) (4) quercetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (6), β-sitosterol (1) and β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucoside (2) were isolated for the first time from Ceratonia...
May 2009
Ethanolic leaf extract of Psidium guajava: Phyto-chemical and trypanocidal activity in rats infected with Trypanosoma brucei brucei
The Phyto-chemical composition and trypanocidal activity of the ethanolic leaf extract of Psidium guajava (guava) was investigated in rats infected withTrypanosoma brucei brucei. Results showed that the extract contained a higher amount of flavonoids compared to tannins which is moderately present. Other phyto-chemicals present but in minute amounts included saponins, steroids, and terpenoids amongst...
May 2009
Antibacterial qualities and phytochemical screening of the oils of Curcubita pepo and Brassica nigra
The oils of 2 seeds, Brassica nigra (black mustard) and Curcubita pepo (flutted pumpkin) obtained from St. Paul’s catholic church, Owerri and Ihiagwa market respectively, were extracted using the Soxhlet extractor. The antibacterial activities of the extracted oils on 2 fresh hospital isolates, Staphylococcus aureus andEscherischia coli were determined using the Kirby Bauer...
May 2009
Orthogonal test design for optimization of the extraction of polysaccharides from Lycium barbarum and evaluation of its anti-athletic fatigue activity
Yield of polysaccharides from Lycium barbarum obtained by hot water and followed by precipitation with ethanol extraction through an orthogonal experiment were investigated to get the best extraction conditions. The results showed that the highest yield was obtained when extraction temperature, extraction time and ratio of solvent to raw material were 93°C, 4.3 h and 43, respectively. The anti-athletic fatigue...
May 2009
Micromorphological study of plant fragments in some powdered medicinal plants
Oven dry powdered samples of 6 medicinal plant species were studied anatomically in search of micomorphological characters to identify the original plants used in the preparation. Moistened head of the needle was used to transfer samples unto a labeled glass slide containing 1 - 2 drops of water and glycerol/ethanolTS; covered with cover slip and warmed gently to remove air bubbles. Samples were observed under the...
May 2009
Antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer activities of Thai local vegetables
Thai local vegetables (20 species) were screened for their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Methanolic extracts of Cassia siamea, Garcinia cowa,Limnophila aromatica and Polygonum odoratum exhibited strong antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The sensitive bacteria to these extracts were Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus...
May 2009
Anti fungal activity of shallot, Allium ascalonicum Linn. (Liliaceae), in vitro
The aim of the present study was to investigate anti fungal activities of the fresh extract of Allium ascalonicum Linn. (Liliaceae) against clinically important yeast, dermatophytes and some saprophytic fungi in vitro. The anti fungal effects of fresh crude juice of shallot were determined against 11 isolates of Candida albicans, three species of dermatophytes (Microsporum...
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