Herbs, spices and their active components as natural antimicrobials in foods Effect of natural antioxidants in herbs and spices on shelf life of foods Ajowan Aniseed Asafoetida Allspice Capers and caperberries Caraway Celery Chervil Fennel and fennel seed Galangal Kaffir lime leaf Lavender Lemongrass Lovage Nigella Oregano Poppy Sesame Star anise Tarragon Tamarind Other significant herbs and spices.

Handbook of Herbs and Spices

neurochemical subtleties. Lengthy discussion is published verbatim and in general enhances the value of the papers. A major justification of the duplicate publication usually involved in printing symposia proceedings is the orientation provided in the field by bringing together related work, not merely in juxtaposition, but under evaluative discussion by leading investigators within and across disciplines. In this case comment was incisive and much remains cogent.

Screening Methods in Pharmacology.

Ischemic heart disease

Recently, due to their biological properties, polyphenol-rich functional foods have been proposed to be unique supplementary and nutraceutical treatments for diabetes mellitus. Inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes using natural products (especially polyphenols) is a novel oral policy to regulate carbohydrate metabolism and hyperglycemia. The present study aims to evaluate the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of 26 polyphenols using molecular docking and virtual screening studies. The results speculate that among selected compounds caffeic acid, curcumin, cyanidin, daidzein, epicatechin, eridyctiol, ferulic acid, hesperetin, narenginin, pinoresinol, quercetin, resveratrol and syringic acid can significantly inhibit the α-glucosidase enzyme. In addition, catechin, hesperetin, kaempferol, silibinin and pelargonidin are potent α-amylase inhibitors. Therefore the primary structure of polyphenols can change the inhibitory effect versus the α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes. Finally, we speculate that consumption of polyphenol-rich functional foods (by considering the best dose of each compound and assessing their possible side effects) in diabetic patients may be useful for regulating carbohydrate metabolism and related disorders. The findings of the current study may also shed light on a way of generating a new class of amylase/glucosidase inhibitors that will discriminately inhibit the on-target enzymes with negligible undesired off-target side effects.

Differential α-amylase/α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of plant-derived phenolic compounds: a virtual screening perspective for the treatment of obesity and diabetes.

Ethnomedical uses of Zingiberaceous plants of Northeast India

Objectives: To study the antiinflammatory activity of Curcuma amada rhizome extract in albino rats. Methods: Rhizomes of Curcuma amada were extracted and subjected to spectroscopic studies. The extract was screened for antiinflammatory activity in albino rats using acute carrageenan paw oedema and chronic granuloma pouch model. Results: The extract showed presence of chemical compounds with hydroxyl, ester, carbonyl and olefin funtionalities and exhibited dose dependant antiinflammatory activity in acute and chronic models. Conclusions: The extract of Curcuma amada rhizomes showed antiinflammatory activity in acute and chronic administration in albino rats. Curcuma amada albino rats antiinflammatory activity SUMMARY

Antiinflammatory activity of Curcuma amada Roxb. in albino rats

Purification and characterization of an antioxidant protein (∼16 kDa) from Terminalia chebula fruit

Introduction

Bacopa monnieri (BM) contains several dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins including bacopaside I and bacoside A. These bioactive compounds may be used as chemical markers for the quality control of different BM products used for promoting mental health and intellect.



Objective

Quantification of bacopaside I and bacoside A in crude plant material of BM stored under the stability study conditions by HPLC.



Methodology

Crude BM samples were stored at long-term (LS; 30°C and 65% RH), accelerated (AS; 40°C and 75% RH) and real-time (RT) study conditions. HPLC of BM extracts was carried out using a LiChroCART Purospher® STAR RP-18 endcapped column along with a guard column, Purospher STAR RP 18e 4.0 4.0 mm 5 µm using a gradient of acetonitrile (A) and water containing 0.05% (v/v) orthophosphoric acid (B) at a flow rate 1.5 mL/min with UV detection at 205 nm.



Results

The linear range of bacopaside I and bacoside A was 0.2 to 1 mg/mL. With the help of a regression equation the coefficient of determination (r2) values for bacopaside I and bacoside A were found to be > 0.999 and > 0.994 respectively. Relative standard deviation (RSD) values were < 4.0 for all the concentrations injected (n = 3). The HPLC study indicated that BM samples kept under LS condition are rich in saponin contents as compared with the samples stored under AS and RT study conditions.



Conclusion

The study indicated that BM plant material should be used fresh to obtain maximum concentration of active saponins or it should be stored under LS conditions up to 3 months. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stability Studies of Crude Plant Material of Bacopa monnieri and Quantitative Determination of Bacopaside I and Bacoside A by HPLC

In our earlier studies, an ethanol extract of Curcuma amada Roxb. rhizome was reported for anti-inflammatory activity. This ethanol extract was successively partitioned with hexane and ethyl acetate. Each fractionated extract was screened for anti-inflammatory activity, and the most active fraction was purified by column chromatography. This resulted in isolation of the active fraction F, which was characterized by spectral methods. Fraction F was studied for its effect on general behavioral studies in albino mice. Based on these observations, pharmacological investigations were carried out by adopting the following methods in albino mice: effect on exploratory activity, barbiturate sleeping time, acetic acid–induced writhing, and tail-flick test. This fraction showed reduction in exploratory activity and potentiation of barbiturate sleeping time, indicating CNS depressant activity. Further, it also showed reduction in acetic acid–induced writhings, tail-flick response, and carrageenan-induced inflammatio...

CNS Depressant and Analgesic Activity of a Fraction Isolated from an Ethanol Extract of Curcuma amada Rhizomes

Antiviral therapy is crucial for the circumvention of viral epidemics. The unavailability of a specific antiviral drug against the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) disease has created an alarming situation to identify or develop potent chemical molecules for remedial management of CHIKV. In the present investigation, in silico studies of dihydrorugosaflavonoid derivatives (5a-f) with non-structural protein-3 (nsP3) were carried out. nsP3 replication protein has recently been considered as a possible antiviral target in which crucial inhibitors fit into the adenosine-binding pocket of the macrodomain. The 4'-halogenated dihydrorugosaflavonoids displayed intrinsic binding with the nsp3 macrodomain (PDB ID: 3GPO) of CHIKV. Compounds 5c and 5d showed docking scores of -7.54 and -6.86 kcal mol-1, respectively. Various in vitro assays were performed to confirm their (5a-f) antiviral potential against CHIKV. The non-cytotoxic dose was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and was found to be <100 μM. The compounds 5c and 5d showed their inhibitory potential for CHIKV, which was determined through cytopathic effect assay and plaque reduction assay, which show inhibition up to 95 and 92% for 70 μM concentration of the compounds, respectively. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay result confirmed the ability of 5c and 5d to reduce the viral RNA level at 70 μM concentration of compounds to nearly 95 and 93% concentration, respectively, in cells with CHIKV infection. Further, the CHIKV-inhibitory capacity of these compounds was corroborated by execution of immunofluorescence assay. The executed work will be meaningful for the future research of studied dihydrorugosaflavonoids against prime antiviral entrants, leading to remedial management to preclude CHIKV infection.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsomega.9b02900

Hemalata M. Puntambekar

Papers

Antiinflammatory activity of Curcuma amada Roxb. in albino rats

Purification and characterization of an antioxidant protein (∼16 kDa) from Terminalia chebula fruit

Stability Studies of Crude Plant Material of Bacopa monnieri and Quantitative Determination of Bacopaside I and Bacoside A by HPLC

CNS Depressant and Analgesic Activity of a Fraction Isolated from an Ethanol Extract of Curcuma amada Rhizomes

Evaluation of the Antiviral Potential of Halogenated Dihydrorugosaflavonoids and Molecular Modeling with nsP3 Protein of Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV)