April 2012
Jatropha curcas: Plant of medical benefits
Plants are a rich source of many natural products most of which have been extensively used for human welfare, and treatment of various diseases. Jatropha curcas, a multipurpose, drought resistant, perennial plant belonging to Euphorbiaceae family is gaining a lot of economic importance because of its several potentials in industrial application and medicinal values. J. curcas has been used as traditional...
April 2012
Importance of Brassica napus as a medicinal food plant
Brassica napus L. (B. napus L) (Cruciferae), is one of the cultivated medicinal food plants in Middle Asia, North Africa and West Europe. In Iranian traditional medicine, the root parts of this plant were used for the therapeutic properties as diuretic, anti-scurvy, anti-inflammatory of bladder and anti-goat. The usage of rapeseed oil as a food product as well as in the production of non-nutrition products such as...
April 2012
Chemical constituents and biological activities of genus Hosta (Liliaceae)
Genus Hosta is comprised of about forty species, with a world-wide distribution. The plants of genus Hosta are the rich resources of steroidal saponins and amaryllidaceae alkaloids, and some species are important medical plants and traditionally used to treat various diseases, including mastitis, otitis media, pharyngolaryngitis, urethritis, dysmenorrhea and snake bites etc. However, the studies...
April 2012
Seasonal variation of urease and alkaline phosphatase activity in natural and artificial habitats of hazel
The aim of this research was to study the activities of urease and alkaline phosphatase in two natural hazel habitats (Makesh and Fandoghlo) and compare their activities in an artificial habitat (Alborz). Soil sampling was done in spring and summer. The activity of urease and alkaline phosphatase was evaluated by enzyme- substrate reaction. The urease and alkaline phosphatase activity was more in spring in three studied...
April 2012
An ethnobotanical study of plants used for the treatment of ear, nose and throat (ENT) infections in Nkonkobe Municipality, South Africa
The use of medicinal plants in the treatment of infectious diseases has been used by the majority of the world’s population for thousands of years. South Africa has a rich heritage of indigenous knowledge on the use of traditional medicinal plants. The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is particularly known for its richness in plant species. The indigenous people of this province have a long history of...
April 2012
An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Sonebhadra District of Uttar, Pradesh, India with reference to their infection by foliar fungi
Sonebhadra district is one of the less studied regions of India for its ethnobotanical values. The present paper synthesizes the first report related to the documentation of ethnomedicinal plants of Sonebhadra district and their infection by foliar fungi. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews and field observations. Correct identity of the plants was done with the help of relevant flora....
April 2012
Palynological diversity in selected medicinal plant species of Asteraceae (Compositae) from flora of Kaghan Valley
Pollen morphology of seven species, belonging to seven Asteraceae genera from the flora of Kaghan Valley was investigated by light and scanning electron microscopy. The species named Achillea millefolium Linn., Chrysanthemum leucanthemum Linn., Gerbera gossypina (Royle) Beauv., Senecio chrysanthemoides DC. Prodr., Sonchus asper Linn.,Tagetes erecta Linn....
April 2012
Antimicrobial activity of Salvadora oleoides Decne. against some microorganisms
Salvadora oleoides Decne (Salvadoraceae family), an endangered economic plant (Regional vulnerable) commonly known in India as meetha jal is an oil-yielding medicinal and multipurpose tree. The aqueous and organic solvent extracts of different plant parts ofS. oleoides (Salvadoraceae) were screened for antimicrobial activity by the agar well diffusion method and microtitre plate method. Different...
April 2012
Exploitation of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers for genetic diversity of saffron collection
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. Considering the importance of germplasm characterization and evaluation particularly in saffron, the present study was formulated with an objective to access the structure of genetic diversity among the accession of saffron at molecular levels. Twenty six primers from Operon Technologies were used in random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis, thirty primers were...
April 2012
Chemical composition, antioxidant activity and toxicity evaluation of essential oil of Tulbaghia violacea Harv.
Essential oil from the rhizomes of Tulbaghia violacea of the family Alliaceae was obtained by hydro-distillation using an all-glass Clevenger-type apparatus. In vitro antioxidant activities of the oil at various concentrations were assessed using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide scavenging, reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition assay. The results were compared with...
April 2012
Genetic evaluation of Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees revealed by SSR, AFLP and RAPD markers
Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees is a medicinal plant widely used in Thailand and many countries for therapeutic value. The present study was aimed to investigate its genotypic variations in various locations of Thailand based on simple sequence repeats (SSR), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and random amplified polymorphic dna (RAPD) marker system. SSR, AFLP and RAPD were compared in terms of...
April 2012
Fatty acid composition of Boerhaavia procumbens L. roots oil by gas chromatography mass spectrometry
The Boerhaavia procumbens roots oil, constituents of methyl ester derivatives of fatty acids, were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer. The results obtained contain saturated, as well as unsaturated fatty acids of B. procumbensroots oils. A total of 18 different components were identified and quantified. Methyl ester of linoleic acid was found in high concentration (9.00%)...
April 2012
Antioxidant activities, a-glucosidase inhibitory in vitro and effects of Lysimachia paridiformis Franch. var. stenophylla Franch. on alloxan-induced diabetic mice in vivo
To investigate the antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities in vitro and effects ofLysimachia paridiformis Franch. var. stenophylla Franch (LPF) on alloxan-induced diabetic mice in vivo, 96-microplate-based method was used to assay α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and antioxidant activity was determined by the method of DPPH, ABTS and FRAP. The model of...
April 2012
Evaluation of anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of aqueous extract obtained from root powder of Inula racemosa Hook. f.
Root extract of Inula racemosa is widely used in Ayurvedic and folk medicine. Particularly in China and India, it is used for treating human diseases including cardiovascular, inflammation and abdominal pain. However, the root extracts are not scientifically investigated. This study was undertaken to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of aqueous extract obtained from root powder of I....
April 2012
Toxic effect of a selection of medicinal plant products against the parasitic bee mite Varroa destructor
Varroa destructor is a dangerous pest directly for beekeeping and indirectly for crops that require insect pollination. Acaricides appeared to be effective against Varroa mite but their application within the hives contaminates the wax and honey. The problems associated with the use of acaricides proved considerable incentive to develop new treatment strategies and screening for potential acaricides to...
April 2012
Effects of steaming on chemical composition of Panax ginseng hairy roots and Panax ginseng
Ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, Araliaceae) hairy root and ginseng (P. ginseng C. A. Meyer, Araliaceae) root were steamed at 100°C for 3 h. Thereafter treatment, the content of ginsenosides, Rg1, Re, Ro, Rf, Rb1, Rc, Rb2, Rb3 and Rd decreased. On the other hand, the content of ginsenosides, Rg3, Rg2 and Rh1 increased. Two previously identified anticancer ginsenosides, Rg3 and Rh2 increased...
April 2012
Influence of garlic (Allium sativum L.) and copper as phytoadditives in the feed on the content of cholesterol in the tissues of the chickens
This work shows the effect of added garlic and high dosage of copper in the feed of broilers, especially in combination of both preparations, to the level of cholesterol in the muscle tissue and the skin of chickens. Four groups are formed, control (I) without the addition of additives and three experimental groups were included in the following order 2% of garlic (II), 2% of garlic and 100 ppm Cu (III) and 100 ppm Cu...
April 2012
An over view of people plant interaction in the rangeland of District Tank, Pakistan
A total of 205 recorded species had varied local uses for various purposes. These species included 166 herbs, 29 shrubs and 10 trees. The major bulk of 142 species (69.3%) was classified as fodder/forage. The next major utility of plant, that is 49 species (22.4%), was their medicinal uses. There were 36 species used as fuel wood and 11 species for timber purpose. There are 7 species (3.4%) used as edible fruits, 9...
April 2012
Analgesic, anti GIT motility and toxicological activities of Pistacia integerrima Stewart ex Brandis bark in mice
The study was carried out to screen the crude methanolic extract (Me. Ext) of Pistacia integerrima bark for anti gastrointestinal (GIT) motility and analgesic activities. Toxicological study was also conducted for safety profile of the bark. Balb-C mice of either sex weighing 25 to 35 g (n=6) were used as experimental animal. The Me. Ext was safe at a dose of 1000 mgkg-1 body weight (b.w), however at a...
April 2012
Comparative analysis of essential oils from the leaves of wild and domestic Chimonanthus praecox
Characteristics of leaf essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) from wild and domestication Chimonanthus praecox from Wanyuan City of Sichuan, China, were investigated. Their leaves had twenty-two common essential oil components containing the mains bornyl acetate, caryophyllene oxide and (-)-spathulenol. Their oils were characterized by...
April 2012
A comparison of Pycnogenol® and bark extracts from Pinus thunbergii and Pinus densiflora: Extractability, antioxidant activity and proanthocyanidin composition
Hot water extracts (HWEs) from Pinus densiflora and Pinus thunbergii, two major Pinusspecies in Korea, and Pycnogenol® (PYC), a standardized Pinus pinaster bark extract, were fractionated to yield ethyl acetate (EAF) and proanthocyanidin (PAF) fractions for determination of total phenolic (TP) and proanthocyanidin (PA) content, and antioxidant activity. The TP and PA contents, the...
April 2012
α-glucosidase inhibitory in vitro and antidiabetic activity in vivo of Osmanthus fragrans
In this study, EtOAC extract of Osmanthus fragrans were evaluated by a-glucosidaseinhibitory activity in in-vitro, and showed stronger inhibiting activity of a-glucosidase (IC50=12.5 μg/ml) compared with acarbose as positive control (IC50=1081.27 μg/ml). Based on the result, two active compounds of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid were isolated from EtOAC extract of O....
April 2012
Toxicological evaluation of the petroleum ether extract of Leonurus japonicus on liver, kidney and testis in rats
The sub-acute toxicity of the petroleum ether extract of Leonurus japonicus (PELJ) in rats was investigated, and as a comparison, that of the boiled decoction of L. japonicus (DLJ) was also investigated. In rats which received a once-daily administration of PELJ and DLJ at the dose of 60 g/kg by intragastric gavage for 15 days, there was a significant decrease in the body weight gain and an increase...
April 2012
Study of antibacterial effects of ripped and raw fig alone and in combination
In recent years many of researchers were studying antimicrobial and other chemical and biological characteristics of medicinal and nonmedicinal plants seeking for better drug alternatives for treatment of diseases. The antimicrobial activity of methanolic extracts of ripped and unripped figs was studied alone and in combination in vitro. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined by broth...
April 2012
Relationship between mycelium morphology and extracellular polysaccharide production of medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum in submerged culture
The medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum is a source of polysaccharides used in disease treatment. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships betweenG. lucidum mycelium morphology and the production of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) in submerged fermentation. Mycelium pellets were classified according to diameter as either S, M or L pellets. M pellets were the main source of...
April 2012
Effect of season on yield and composition of the essential oil of Eucalyptus citriodora Hook. leaf grown in sub-tropical conditions of North India
Seasonal variation of the essential oil of Eucalyptus citriodora leaves were analysed by Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis in the trees grown at subtropical conditions of North Indian plains for commercial cultivation and determination of proper harvesting time. At this condition, oil yield ranged between 1.0 to 2.1% during different months. Oil yield was observed to be high during April to...
April 2012
Isolation, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of some novel curcumin derivatives as anticancer agents
Microwave assisted a series of novel curcumin analogues that were synthesized by altering β-diketone system with olifinic bond (4 to 12) and evaluated their anticancer activity against KB-oral and mouth, CaCO2-colon, MCF-7-breast, WRL-68 liver, HepG-2-liver human cancer cell lines. The naturally occurring curcuminods (A, B and C) showed excellent IC50ranging from 0.0006 to 6.0 µg/ml. Analogues 5, 7, 10 and 12...
April 2012
Comparison of in vivo chemoprotective and in vitro antimicrobial activity of different garlic (Allium sativum) preparations
Medicinal properties of garlic have been attributed to its organosulfur compounds. Because of conversion of bioactive constituents to other compound during processing, various garlic preparations may have different bioactivities. In this study, we aimed to assess in vivochemoprotective effects against 7,12- dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) induced rat liver damage and in vitro antimicrobial activity of...
April 2012
Antioxidant and anti-glycated activities of polysaccharides in vitro isolated from Hedyotis diffusa Willd.
The extraction and isolation of four crude polysaccharides from Hedyotis diffusa Willd., as well as the evaluation of their antioxidant and anti-glycated activities in vitro were investigated. The whole plant of H. diffusa was extracted with hot distilled water and three fractions of crude polysaccharides, termed as 50P, 70P and 90P were obtained by graded ethanol precipitation, BP were...
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