Antitussive effect of Adhatoda vasica extract on mechanical or chemical stimulation-induced coughing in animals
TL;DR: AV was shown to have a good antitussive activity and was 1/20-1/40 as active as codeine on mechanically and electrically induced coughing in rabbits and guinea-pigs.
About: This article is published in Journal of Ethnopharmacology.The article was published on 1999-11-30. It has received 147 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Antitussive Agent.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: The global knowledge about Ayurveda and Indian herbals will hopefully be enhanced by information on the evidence-base of these plants, which will yield rich dividends in the coming years.
Abstract: Herbal drugs constitute a major share of all the officially recognised systems of health in India viz. Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy and Naturopathy, except Allopathy. More than 70% of India’s 1.1 billion population still use these non-allopathic systems of medicine. Currently, there is no separate category of herbal drugs or dietary supplements, as per the Indian Drugs Act. However, there is a vast experiential-evidence base for many of the natural drugs. This offers immense opportunities for Observational Therapeutics and Reverse Pharmacology. Evidence-based herbals are widely used in the diverse systems and manufactured, as per the pharmacopoeial guidelines, by a well-organised industry. Significant basic and clinical research has been carried out on the medicinal plants and their formulations, with the state-of-the-art methods in a number of Institutes/Universities. There are some good examples. Indian medicinal plants also provide a rich source for antioxidants that are known to prevent/delay different diseased states. The antioxidant protection is observed at different levels. The medicinal plants also contain other beneficial compounds like ingredients for functional foods. Hence, the global knowledge about Ayurveda and Indian herbals will hopefully be enhanced by information on the evidence-base of these plants. This will yield rich dividends in the coming years.
237 citations
Journal Article•
179 citations
TL;DR: The medicinal plants used by the Pahans and Telis warrant further scientific studies toward discovery of lead compounds and efficacious drugs and the documentation and protection of the traditional medical knowledge held by these tribes.
Abstract: The Pahans and the Telis are two of the smallest indigenous communities in Bangladesh. The Pahans, numbering about 14,000 people are widely scattered in several northern districts of the country, while the Telis are such a small community that nothing has been reported on their numbers and lifestyle. Both tribes are on the verge of disappearance. One each of the Pahan and the Teli community was located after much search in two adjoining villages of Natore district, Bangladesh. Since the tribes were found to still depend on their traditional medicinal practitioners for treatment of ailments, it was the objective of the present study to document their traditional usage of medicinal plants and to evaluate such plants against modern research-based pharmacological activity studies on these plants. Interviews were conducted of the practitioners of the Pahan and Teli community of Natore district with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and using the guided field-walk method. Plant specimens as pointed out by the practitioners were collected and pressed on the field and identification completed at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. The Pahan tribal practitioners used 13 plants distributed into 9 families for treatment of 14 different ailments. The Teli tribal practitioner used 15 plants divided into 14 families for treatment of 17 different ailments. Eight out of the thirteen plants used by the Pahan tribal practitioner (61.5%) had reported relevant pharmacological activities in the scientific literature, while six out of the fifteen plants used by the Teli tribal practitioners (40%) had such relevant pharmacological activities in accordance with their usage. The medicinal plants used by the Pahans and Telis warrant further scientific studies toward discovery of lead compounds and efficacious drugs and the documentation and protection of the traditional medical knowledge held by these tribes.
156 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Cumulatively, the plants obtained in the present survey present considerable potential for further scientific research towards discovery of lead compounds and more efficacious drugs.
Abstract: Folk medicinal practitioners (Kavirajes) are possibly the most ancient practitioners of traditional medicine in Bangladesh and in general are the primary health-care providers to a majority of the rural population and a substantial segment of the urban population in the country. The major characteristic that separates the folk medicinal practitioners from other systems of existing medicinal practices is their almost exclusive use of simple preparations of medicinal plants for treatment of various ailments. Since the population of Bangladesh is primarily rural, village Kavirajes form the major unit from whom ethnomedicinal data can be obtained. The objective of the present study was to conduct a randomized ethnomedicinal survey among the Kavirajes of four villages, Kalakandi, Gorashal, Kadamtoli, and Gunjar, all villages being situated in Daudkandi sub-district of Comilla district in Bangladesh. Informed consent was obtained from the Kavirajes and surveys were carried out with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method, where the Kavirajes took the interviewers to places from where they collected their medicinal plants, pointed out the plants and described their uses. All plant specimens were collected and identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. It was observed that the Kavirajes of the four villages surveyed used 44 plant species distributed into 32 families. The Lamiaceae family contributed 4 plants, followed by the Leguminosae, Rutaceae, and Solanaceae families with 3 plants each. Leaves constituted the major plant part used (45.3%), followed by roots (13.2%), and whole plants, fruits, and seeds (7.5% each). The various ailments treated included respiratory tract problems, gastrointestinal disorders, sexual problems, fever, cardiovascular disorders, mental disease, diabetes, loss of hair, vomiting, menstrual problems, skin disorders, hepatic disorders, piles, leprosy, calcium deficiency, dental diseases, cracked foot, bleeding, insect bites, mumps, rabies, chicken pox, body ache, and bone fracture. Cumulatively, the plants obtained in the present survey present considerable potential for further scientific research towards discovery of lead compounds and more efficacious drugs.
139 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The present study demonstrates that a substantial percentage of plants should be scientifically studied as soon as possible in a thorough manner for they can be sources of potentially important and efficacious drugs.
Abstract: An ethnomedicinal survey was carried out at Station Purbo Para village of Jamalpur Sadar sub-district in Jamalpur district of Bangladesh. Information on 121 medicinal plant species was obtained from the folk medicinal practitioners. All plants were screened in the scientific databases and scientific journals for pharmacological activities or presence of phytochemicals, which could be relevant to their folk medicinal uses. 61 plants (50.4%) of the total were found to have relevant pharmacological activities consistent with their uses. The actual number of relevant plants can increase further for a number of plants used by the folk medicinal practitioners are yet to be studied through relevant scientific experiments. The results suggest that the medicinal plants used by the folk medicinal practitioners of Bangladesh cannot be dismiised as irrelevant; in fact, the present study demonstrates that a substantial percentage of plants should be scientifically studied as soon as possible in a thorough manner for they can be sources of potentially important and efficacious drugs.
138 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: The alkaloid was found to be identical with 2,3-(α-hydroxytrimethylene)-4 quinazolone which had been prepared earlier by the oxidation of vasicine with 30 per cent hydrogen peroxide1,2.
Abstract: A NEW alkaloid has been isolated by us in the crystalline form from the leaves of Adhatoda vasica Nees (Indian Patent No. 62349 of November 21, 1957. Patent application No. 64603 of July 9, 1958). The alkaloid, which has been named vasicinone, has been found to be a much weaker base than vasicine, an alkaloid which is already known to be present in this plant. Elementary analysis gave, C = 65.33, H = 4.93, N = 13.65 per cent. The molecular weight (Rast) was found to be about 210 and the molecular formula C11H10N2O2. The alkaloid was found to be identical with 2,3-(α-hydroxytrimethylene)-4 quinazolone which had been prepared earlier by the oxidation of vasicine with 30 per cent hydrogen peroxide1,2.
185 citations
Journal Article•
84 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: A procedure involving mechanical stimulation of the trachea to evoke the cough reflex has been described and Codeine and morphine were shown to have an antitussive action on the mechanically-induced cough response in nontoxic doses.
Abstract: A procedure involving mechanical stimulation of the trachea to evoke the cough reflex has been described. The method has the following advantages. First and foremost, the test is performed in unanesthetized dogs. This is especially important because of the great number of compounds which have been found to potentiate the effects of the barbiturates. The mechanical stimulus has the advantage of simplicity and efficacy. The untreated animal coughs invariably. The mechanically-induced cough is evoked with a stimulus of threshold proportions and the response is a bonafide cough in as much as the glottis is not by-passed, i.e. , the effects of antitussives are not studied on an inspiratory or expiratory gasp in a tracheotomized animal. The cough response is consistent, in that animals do not become refractory to repeated testing over a period of at least a year. Codeine and morphine were shown to have an antitussive action on the mechanically-induced cough response in nontoxic doses. In marked contrast, pentobarbital produced an antitussivc effect only in doses which caused overt signs of neurological deficit.
24 citations