Antioxidant and cyclooxygenase inhibitory phenolic compounds from Ocimum sanctum Linn.

The development of radioprotective agents has been the subject of intense research in view of their potential for use within a radiation environment, such as space exploration, radiotherapy and even nuclear war. However, no ideal, safe synthetic radioprotectors are available to date, so the search for alternative sources, including plants, has been on going for several decades. In Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine, several plants have been used to treat free radical-mediated ailments and, therefore, it is logical to expect that such plants may also render some protection against radiation damage. A systematic screening approach can provide leads to identifying potential new candidate drugs from plant sources, for mitigation of radiation injury. This article reviews some of the most promising plants, and their bioactive principles, that are widely used in traditional systems of medicine, and which have rendered significant radioprotection in both in vitro and in vivo model systems. Plants and their constituents with pharmacological activities that may be relevant to amelioration of radiation-mediated damage, including antiemetic, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, cell proliferative, wound healing and haemopoietic stimulatories are also discussed.

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Radioprotection by plant products: present status and future prospects.

Aromatic and medicinal plants produce essential oils in the form of secondary metabolites. These essential oils are having a diverse way of application in the food system, perfumery, and cosmetics. The use of essential oil as antimicrobial and food preservative agents is of great concern because of several side effects of synthetics. These oils have a potential to be used as food preservative including cereals, grains, pulses fruits, and vegetables. In the current review, we have briefly reviewed the literature and summarizing the uses of essential oils with special emphases on the antibacterial, bactericidal, antifungal, fungicidal and food preservative properties. These essential oils have pronounced antimicrobial and food preservative properties because essential oils consist of various active constituents (terpenes, terpenoids, carotenoids, coumerines, curcumines) with great significance for food industries. Thus, these properties of essentials oils offer a possibility to substitutive natural, safe, eco-friendly, cost-effective, renewable and easily biodegradable antimicrobials for food commodities preservation in near future.

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Essential Oils: Sources of Antimicrobials and Food Preservatives

Essential oils of different species of the genus Ocimum are natural flavouring materials of commercial importance. The data given in current literature are pertaining to the chemical composition of essential oils of different Ocimum species viz., Ocimum basilicum Linn. (alt. Ocimum basilicum var. minimum, Ocimum basilicum var. purpurience), Ocimum campechianum Mill., Ocimum canum Sims. (Ocimum americanum), Ocimum citriodorum, Ocimum gratissimum Linn., Ocimum kilimandscharicum Linn., Ocimum micranthum Willd., Ocimum sanctum Linn., (alt. Ocimum tenuiflorum Linn.), Ocimum selloi Benth., Ocimum trichodon, Ocimum utricifolium from different geographical regions. A considerable difference in chemical composition of a particular species is found, which may be due to their occurrence in different eco-climatic zones and changes in edaphic factors. Attention is also focused on the biological properties of Ocimum oils which are related to their various interesting applications as antimicrobial, antioxidant, repellent, insecticidal, larvicidal, nematicidal and therapeutic (anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antipyretic, antiulcer, analgesic, anthelmintic, anticarcinogenic, skin permeation enhancer, immunomodulatory, cardio-protective, antilipidemic) agents.

H.M.S. Rehan

Papers

Evaluation of anti-inflammatory potential of fixed oil of Ocimum sanctum (Holybasil) and its possible mechanism of action