September 2014

Activities of Guatemalan medicinal plants against cancer cell lines and selected microbes: Evidence for their conservation

Medicinal plants are important components in the primary health care of villagers in Guatemala.  However, an area often overlooked is the effect of medicinal plants on oral hygiene.  Acetone and methanol extracts from 63 medicinal plant species from 31 families were bioassayed against breast, cervical, skin and tongue cancers, and the following microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli,...

Author(s): Rex G. Cates, Andrew Thompson, Holly Brabazon, Sidney McDonald, Michael Lawrence, Steven Williams, Pablo Peniallilo, J. Alfonso Fuentes Soria, Luis V. Espinoza, José Vicente Martinez, Dany A. Arbizú, Ernesto Villagran and Fernando Ancheta  

September 2014

Allelopathic effect of popular medicinal plants on Fagopyrum esculentum (Moench), Papaver somniferum (L.) and Brassica napus var. oleifera (L.)

Glasshouse experiments were carried out to assess the effect of popular medicinal herbs dry matter on germination and early growth of common buckwheat (Fagpopyrum esculentum), opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) and two cultivars of oilseed rape (Brassica napus var. oleifera). Depending on species of the herb, leaves, inflorescences, fruits and whole plants were used. The greatest stimulatory effect on seedling emergence...

Author(s): Kinga Matysiak, Sylwia Kaczmarek and Roman Kierzek  

September 2014

Nobiletin, a polymethoxylated flavone from citrus peels, induces differentiation of normal human epidermal keratinocytes

Nobiletin, a polymethoxylated flavone from citrus peels, is known to have a wide range of pharmacological activities. In this study, we examined the effects of nobiletin on differentiation of normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs). Treatment of NHEKs with nobiletin was found to cause marked increases in the expression level of keratin 10 (K10) and involucrin, differentiation makers of...

Author(s): Kenji Ohguchi, Munekazu Iinuma, Yoshinori Nozawa and Masafumi Ito