Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2010 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 16 Articles
A traditional belief regarding mode of administration of Asparagus racemosus (AR) says that its Ksheerpaka (milk decoction) is more potent as galactogogue than any other form of dosage. The increase in milk production is theorized to be due to the action of released prolactin. In view of this that milk decoction of AR can stimulate more milk production than aqueous decoction in lactating females because of a capacity to stimulate the prolactin release experiments were performed to compare the effect of aqueous and milk decoction of AR on serum prolactin level in lactating female rats. Females were divided into three experimental groups and treatment was given as follows Group I: Normal control, given with vehicle orally. Group II: Received milk decoction of AR in dose of 200 mg/kg p.o. Group III: Received aqueous decoction AR in dose of 200 mg/kg p.o. All groups had received the decoction for six days starting from day 4 to day 9 of lactation. The animals were then euthanized on day 10 and heart blood samples were analyzed using prolactin kit. The serum prolactin level of the treated milk decoction rats showed significant increase (P<0.05) when compared to control group. This study demonstrates that the milk decoction of AR can stimulate more PRL release than aqueous decoction of AR in the female rat....
The present study has examined the antibacterial activity of Euphorbia granulata Forssk aerial parts ethanolic extract using agar disc diffusion method against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella Typhi, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus anthracis, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus pyogenes). This extract had inhibitory effect at different concentrations (0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 g ml-1) against above mentioned bacteria. P. aeruginosa and E. coli were the most resistant strains. The highest inhibitory activity of the ethanolic extract (32 mm) was found against S. epidermidis, while the lowest inhibition (7 mm) was demonstrated for B. cereus and L. monocytogenes. The extract exhibited Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) at 5 mg ml-1 against S. epidermidis and S. aureus, while its Minimal Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was 5 mg ml-1 and 10 mg ml-1 against S. epidermidis and S. aureus, respectively. Consequently, E. granulata could be as a new source for antibiotic discovery and infection treatment....
Herbal drugs have great growth potential in the global market today. The review focus onTurmeric (Curcuma longa L.), a medicinal plant extensively used in traditional medicine as a home remedy for various diseases. Many biological activities of curcumin have come in to light as the research progress. Current research has focused on its antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antiinflammatory, anticarcinogenic, and antimicrobial properties, in addition to its use in cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal disorders. This review summarizes our current knowledge of pharmacological actions, preclinical and clinical studies, major bioactivities,reported mechanisms of actions, clinical efficacy, safety, possibility of interactions with the conventional drugs, along with research updates on the herb and the avenues for further research. The wide therapeutic potential of the herb justifies further clinical research to evaluate more precisely the favourable effects in order to explore its new areas of therapeutic applications. In addition, checking for its safety and its potential of interactions with various drugs become imperative....
This paper presents a review of plants identified from various ethnobotanical surveys and folklore medicinal surveys with demonstrated bioactivity in antidiabetic and alpha - glucosidase inhibitory models. This review also identified plant parts with reported activity and where applicable isolated active compounds. This review covers the period 2000 to 2009 and the plants are presented in an alphabetical and tabular form with the family, botanical name, common name, morphological parts or extract used and any isolated active compound. 422 plant species from various families are cited in this review. The plants mostly studied for antidiabetic, hypoglycaemic and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities during the study period are Leguminosae (40 spp), Asteraceae/Compositae (37 spp), Euphorbiaceae (16 spp), Rutaceae (11 spp), Cucurbitaceae (12 spp), Rutaceae (11 spp), Lamiaceae (11 spp), Moraceae (11 spp), Ascelpiadaceae (10 spp), Myrtaceae (10 spp), Solanaceae (9 spp). Further more 105 active compounds have been identified as having potential glucose lowering activity. A definitive hypoglycaemic and antidiabetic study of plants from the mostly studied families could lead to novel drugs in the effective management of diabetes mellitus as well as in the management of complications such as cardiovascular diseases and infections associated with Diabetes mellitus....
Plants are the reservoir of wide range of bioactive compounds, which can be used for the treatment of various ailments in human. Therefore, screening of plant extracts for the discovery of novel bioactive compounds is found to be a popular task among scientists. In this study sequentially extracted different solvent extracts (dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol and aqueous) of leaf, flower and fruit of Vitex negundo were tested for their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus by agar well diffusion method. Streptomycin and a mixture of solvent (Dimethyl sulfoxide and Acetone) were used as standard and control respectively. Phytochemical analysis was done to report the chemical compounds present in each extracts. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by least significant difference (LSD) test were used for statistical analysis. This study demonstrated that sequential extraction method could be very effective in screening of plant material against bacteria. Ethyl acetate, ethanol and methanol extracts of fruit, flower and leaf showed potent inhibitory effect on test bacteria. Among the active extracts ethyl acetate extract of flower showed the highest inhibitory effect against all the test bacteria and also it further demonstrated that this effect significantly (P<0.05) differed from all other test samples. This is the first report that reveals the antibacterial activity of flower and fruit of Vitex negundo. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of various chemical compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, cardiac glycosides and terpenoids in different solvent extracts. Present study forms a primary platform for further purification and characterization of active constituents from ethyl acetate extract of flower of Vitex negundo....
Medicinal plant material carry a great no. of bacteria and moulds, often originating in the soil, while a large range of bacteria & fungi from naturally occurring micro flora of herbs, aerobic spore forming bacteria frequently predominate. The Total microbial load in Aq. leaf extract of Tylophora indica was found to 103 CFU g/ml in 1:1 dilution, 101 CFU g/ml in 1:10 dilution and 100 CFU g/ml in 1:100 respectively. The leaves of plant Tylophora indica in aqueous and methanolic extract were investigated for anti-microbial activity. The bacterial strains used in the study were Escherchia coli, Group A Streptococcus (GAS), and Group B streptococcus (GBS). It is found that E. coli was not inhibited even at higher concentration of either aqueous or methanolic extract of T. indica. However, Antibacterial activity is found to be exhibited against GAS and GBS by aqueous and methanolic extract of Tylophora indica....
Eleutherine bulbosa (Miller) Urban belonging to Iridaceae family was selected to evaluate anticandidal activity against four species of Candida viz. C. albicans, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis. The ethyl acetate, chloroform, butanol, ethanol and water extracts were investigated using agar cup method and minimum inhibitory concentration. Clotrimazole and Cephotaxime were used as standards for anticandidal activity. Among the extracts butanol extract exibited higher anticandidal activity. The minimum inhibitory conecentration of E. bulbosa extracts were found in the range of 0.046-1.5 mg/ml. The results indicate the possible therapeutic uses of the plant as a potent anticandidal agent....
Ethanolic extract of Spondias mombin (Anacardiaceae) stem bark was investigated for effects on hyperglycaemia, hyperlipidemia, liver and kidney functions, and toxicity to various body organs after chronic daily administration at 150 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg to alloxanised rats for 4 weeks. A significant decrease (P<0.05) in alloxan-induced hyperglycaemia attaining near normalization, as well as significant hypotriglyceridemia (P<0.05) after 4 weeks of extract therapy were observed. Reversal of damage to brain and liver was significant (P<0.05) with the extract while the weights of other organs did not change significantly relative to alloxanised control. Moreover, while the standard antidiabetic drug, chlorpropamide was significantly hepatotoxic (P<0.05), levels of serum enzymes like alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were unaltered in extract-treated animals. Both extract and chlorpropamide significantly (P<0.05) reduced urea level in alloxanised rats. Except for lymphocyte and neutrophils, the extract did not show any significant difference in the haematological parameters. These data appear to justify the anti-hyperglycaemic, hypolipidemic and protective potential for most organs by Spondias mombin....
The polyol metabolizing pathway comprising of two enzymes: aldose reductase (AR) and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH), converts glucose to fructose. Several biochemical features implicate the polyol pathway as a plausible and important contributor to complications of diabetes. Metabolism through the pathway is accelerated by elevated cytoplasmic glucose concentrations induced by hyperglycemia. The resulting altered concentrations of pathway products and cofactors can cause osmotic stress through multiple mechanisms that include the generation of precursors of advanced glycation end products. Plant extracts have been used to reverse the effects of diabetes complications. The present investigation was to determine the effective dose of methanolic extract of Potentilla fulgens on AR activities in liver, kidney and eye tissues of normal mice using two different routes of administration: intraperitoneal (i.p.) and oral. Administration of extract to the diabetic mice resulted in the inhibition of the AR activity in the liver, kidney and eye tissue as compared to the control group....
In vitro and in vivo antisnake venom activity of the ethanol and aqueous extracts of the plant Santolian chamaecyparissus Linn. (Asteraceae) were studied through inhibition of in vitro HRBC lysis and in vivo by using albino mice in modifying the lethal effect of the test dose of Viper Russell’s venom. The effectiveness of these two extracts was evaluated by oral administration of extract at two dose levels followed by intraperitoneal administration of the snake venom. The LD50 of viper Russell’s venom was found to be 61µg/20g body weight of mice. The ethanol extract of the plant markedly decreased the percentage mortality of venom induced toxicity in mice at a dose level of 500 mg/kg. This reveals that the ethanol extract of S.chamaecyparissus possesses significant antisnake venom activity thereby justifying its use in the indigenous system of the medicine....
Operculina turpethum Linn. belongs to the family Convolulaceae is a perennial twining climbers with milky juice, used in the traditional system of medicine to cure GIT complaints and in variety of human ailments. Ethanol, ethyl acetate, butanol and aqueous extracts from the roots of the plant were investigated for preliminary phytochemical, antibacterial and antifungal activities. The quantitative estimation of crude extract revealed the presence of secondary metabolites like steroids, terpenoids, saponins, tannins and reducing sugars. At the concentration of 100mg/ml ethanol and their fraction extracts showed appreciable activity against Gram-positive bacteria, while aqueous extract showed more activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Ethylacetate extract inhibited the growth of the fungi Candida albicans and suppressed the growth of Saccharmyces cervisiac. This study has pointed to the potential application of Operculina turpethum Linn. as a bactericide and fungicide due to the presence of various secondary metabolites which are responsible to produce therapeutic activity....
Direct bioautography is a powerful technique for localization of different classes of compound of biological interest in higher plants directly on a chromatogram. Polyalthia longifolia Benth. & Hook. is (Annonaceae) an avenue tree and its different plant parts are used in ayurvedic medicines as well as home remedies for common ailments. For isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds from the leaf extract of P. longifolia firstly best TLC solvent system was developed. Further resolution of active compounds was done by TLC bioautography assay. TLC fingerprint of petroleum ether extract after derivatization with anisaldehyde sulphuric acid reagent showed a maximum number of separated compounds. TLC bioautography assay of the petroleum ether extract showed that compounds eluted at Rf value 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.9, exhibited strong antifungal activity against Alternaria solani. The result indicated that the leaves of P. longifolia might be potential source of antifungal agent....
Background: Plants have been reported to exhibit antioxidant activity, which protect against the damage caused by reactive oxygen species. Aim: To investigating the antioxidant activity of the methanolic extracts of Globimetula braunii in serum and tissues of hypercholesteremic albino rats. Settings and Design: Thirty male albino rats were used for the present investigation. They were divided into six groups of five animals. Method and Materials: Oxidative stress was induced in the rats by feeding with dietary cholesterol at a dose of 40mg/kg body weight. Antioxidant activities of the methanolic extracts of Globimetula braunii were studied in the tissues of the oxidative stressed rats. Statistical Analysis: Statistical significance of the difference between experimental groups was calculated using the Student’s t-test. Results: There was a significant increase (p<0.05) in the lipid peroxidation (LPO) of the Liver; a significant decrease (p>0.05) in kidney and Liver GSH level, and a significant increase (p<0.05) in kidney and liver Catalase activities in the cholesterol-fed rats. A significant decrease (p>0.05) in liver SOD activity was also observed, with no significant difference was observed in the serum ALT and AST activities. Globimetula braunii significantly (p<0.05) reduced LPO and GSH activity. There was a significant increase (p<0.05) in the activities of SOD and Catalase activities. Co-administration of Globimetula braunii with dietary cholesterol showed no significant effect on ALT and AST activities. Conclusion: A positive modulation in GSH, SOD and Catalase activities; and reduction in LPO by the methanolic extracts of Globimetula braunii under hypercholesteremia condition is an indication of its protective ability in the management of oxidative stress, and hypercholesteremia....
The traditional techniques of solvent extraction of plant material require long extraction time and have low efficiency. Moreover, many natural products are thermally unstable and may degrade during thermal extraction. Recently modern techniques (such as ultrasonication and microwave) has been shown to be an efficient non thermal extraction method. The purpose of this study was to compare three methods of extraction (soxhlet, ultrasonication and microwave assisted extraction) for Saraca asoca Roxb. (Stem bark) phenolic contents and to determine optimal conditions (solvent, time, temperature and power) for their extraction. The yields obtained by ultrasonication and microwave extraction were found to be higher than soxhlet extraction. The total phenolic contents were found to be higher in ultrasonication extraction compared to other techniques. Due to considerable saving of time and high extraction efficiency, Microwave assisted extraction and ultrasonication under specific conditions can be used successfully for extraction of phytoconstituents....
Citrus sinensis is rich in phytochemicals such as limonene, β-sitosterol, and ascorbic acid, which possess pharmacological action. In this study, we investigated the role of 50% ethanolic extract of Citrus sinensis on hepatic response of the liver against injury. Liver injury was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of thioacetamide (400 mg/kg b. wt.). Pre-treatment of rats with the extract (800 mg/kg body wt, orally) for three consecutive days significantly ameliorated the changes associated with hepatic injury, particularly the levels serum biochemical markers of liver injury and oxidative stress. The study has implication in human as the animal model of hepatic injury produced by thioacetamide in this study mimics the changes observed in alcohol induced liver injury in human....
Irvingia gabonensis, Urena lobata and Carica papaya are used by many Nigerians to treat diabetes mellitus and experimental findings have found them to be both hypoglycemic and anti-diabetic. The knowledge of the chemical constituents of plants would be valuable in discovering the actual value of folkloric remedies. This study thus examined the preliminary proximate and phytochemical analyses of these medicinal plants so as to better understand their therapeutic effects. The high fiber and carbohydrate contents of I. gabonensis bark and U. lobata leaves and the high carbohydrate content of C. papaya leaves, as well as the presence of phytochemicals such as saponins, tannins etc show that these medicinal plants contain substances which possess recognizable hypoglycemic/anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, anti-hyper-lipidemic, as well as anti-oxidant effects. Since most of the long term complications of diabetes have been attributed to oxidative stress caused by chronic hyperglycemia; these medicinal plants may not only possess anti-hyperglycemic properties, but they may also be useful in combating long term diabetes complications....
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