Showing papers on "Medicinal plants published in 2001"

Medicinal plants of the world

Abstract: Medicinal plants of the world , Medicinal plants of the world , کتابخانه دیجیتالی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی و خدمات درمانی شهید بهشتی

Pharmacodynamic Basis of Herbal Medicine

Abstract: The Pharmacokinetic Basis of Therapeutics Pharmacodynamics Adverse Reactions and Drug-Drug Interactions Herb-Drug Interactions Natural Products as a Resource for Established and New Drugs Alternative Therapies Herbal Therapeutics Then and Now Dietary Antioxidants Herbal Drugs and Their High Demand in Treating Diseases Algae Alkaloids Aloe and Colon Function Banisterine, Selegiline, and Parkinson's Disease Belladonna Alkaloids: Autonomic Drugs Blueberry (Vaccinium) Botulinum Toxin Brussels Sprouts Cannabis Capsicum, Rosemary, and Turmeric Carotenoids Chocolate Cinchona Tree Coca Colchicine and Gout Compositae Curare and Neuromuscular Blockade Daffodil and Alzheimer's Disease Eggplant Ephedrine (Ma Huang): A Decongestant and Vasopressor Ergot, Its Alkaloids, and Headache Flavonoids Flaxseed Folate in Fruit Food-Drug Interactions Foxglove, Cardiac Glycosides, and Congestive Heart Failure Ginkgo biloba Ginseng and Cholinergic Transmission Green, White, and Black Teas Herbal Plants and Tuberculosis Herbal Products for the Chemotherapy of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Honey: The Nectar of Life Horseradish and Antiplatelet Actions Hypericum (St. John's Wort) and Depression Ipecac Manuka and Fungal Disease Marine Therapeutics Morphine:Papaver somniferum Oats (Avena sativa L.) and Their Antioxidant Activity Olives and Olive Oil Onion and Garlic Immunoenhancing Actions of Plantain Plants and Diabetes Pomegranate Pycnogenol Pygeum africanum and Permixon for the Treatment of Patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Reserpine Rhubarb Saffron Salicylate Sex Herbs Sponges and Steroids Taxol (Paclitaxel) and Cancer Chemotherapy Tomatoes Ulcer Therapy with Herbal Medicine Valerian Vitamins and Diet Wheat Germ Wine Yogurt and the Immune System Specific References General References Index

Initial Studies on Alkaloids from Lombok Medicinal Plants

Abstract: Initial investigation of medicinal plants from Lombok has resulted in the collection of 100 plant species predicted to have antimicrobial, including antimalarial, properties according to local medicinal uses. These plants represent 49 families and 80 genera; 23% of the plants tested positively for alkaloids. Among the plants testing positive, five have been selected for further investigation involving structure elucidation and antimicrobial testing on the extracted alkaloids. Initial work on structural elucidation of some of the alkaloids is reported briefly.

Preliminary evaluation of the hypoglycemic effect of some Brazilian medicinal plants.

Abstract: The hypoglycemic effect of five Brazilian medicinal plants (Epidendrum monsenii, Marrubium vulgare, Rheedia gardneriana, Rubus imperialis and Wedelia paludosa) was studied on alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The extract of these plants was intragastrically administered to diabetic rats. The results showed that all plants studied (except R. gardneriana) significantly lowered the blood glucose. These results suggest that these four medicinal plants could be an adjuvant agent in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Antioxidant activity of medicinal plants used in phytotherapy

Abstract: Oxygen free radicals play an important role in the development of different disorders like inflammatory-immune injury, carcinogenesis, hepatic toxicity and artherosclerosis. The antioxydant role of a wide spectrum of natural products has been established. Flavonoids and other phenolic compounds (proanthocyanidins, rosmarinic acid, hydroxicinnamic derivatives, catechines, etc.) of plant origin have been reported as scavengers and inhibitors of lipid peroxidation. We have studied the antioxidant activity as well as content and composition of natural phenolics in a series of medicinal plants with phytotherapeutical significance. Thus we determined the total phenol contents and studied the composition of flavonoids, polyphenols, phenolic acids of different vegetative and reproductive organs of medicinal plants: Anthriscus cerefolium (L.) Hoffm., Petroselinum crispum L., Cichorium intybus L., Helichrysum arenarium D.C.„cempervivum tectorum L., Taravacum officinale Web. Characteristic constituents in the various crude drugs were determined by chromatographic (TLC, HPLC) and spectroscopic (UV, UV-VIS) methods. The non specific scavenger activities of the medicinal plant extracts were studied by the chemiluminometric technique. The changes of chemiluminescence intensity of the H,G,•0H-luminol system at increasing concentrations of the H702/ -OH were measured. Inhibitory effects of selected standardized fractions from plants were tested on ascorbic acid induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver and homogenates. The best correlation were established with total phenolics in some medicinal plants (S. tectorum, T. officinale) while activities in other cases seem to be influenced by flavonoids (P. crispum, H. arenarium, A. cerefolium) and by hydroxicinnamic derivatives (C. intybus).

Herbal nutraceutical formulation for females/expectant mothers and its process of preparation

Abstract: The present invention relates to a herbal health protective, promotive and nutraceutical formulation for women, human expectant mothers, wherein the said formulation, process and its composition comprising seeds/seed products selected from the group consisting of legumes, cereals and pseudocereals ranging from 80-90% by wt; 10 - 20 % by wt of extract obtained from essential herbs/ medicinal plants of the genera Centella, Chlorophytum, Boerhaavia and Sida, and optional herbs/medicinal plants selected from the Withania somnifera, Pueraria tuberosa, Asparagus racemosus and Saraca indica.

Custom made herbal health protective nutraceutical formulation for females/expectant mothers and process for preparing the same

Abstract: The present invention relates to a herbal health protective, promotive neutraceutical formulation for women, human expectant mothers and lactating mothers, and also relates to a process for the preparation of custom made herbal health protective, promotive nutraceutical formulations as food supplements to ameliorate the general health of females with optimum nutrients, said process comprises the base product of microwave oven roasted seed powders mixture from selected genera of Glycine, Phaseolus, Cicer, Psophocarpus, Mucuna, Triticum, Hordeum, Amaranthus, Chenopodium and Fagopyrum, fortified with the natural herbs/medicinal plants extract from the genera Centella, Withania, Pueraria, Asparagus, Chlorophytum, Boerhaavia, Sida, Saraca and also some other ingredients like pale sugar powder, jaggary, milk powder, coca powder, Elettaria cardamomum (Elaichi) powder, Piper longum (Pippali) fruit powder, Myristica fragrans (Jaiphal) fruit powder were also added to get the final nutraceuticals; the nutraceuticals are with optimum natural nutrients, non toxic, natural herbal plant products, easy to digest, have protective, preventive and health promotive properties for the good health and vigour of the females, pregnant and lactating mothers so as to ensure the optimal growth and development of the child both at prenatal and post natal stages.

Medicinal Plants in China Containing Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

Abstract: Medicinal plants and remedies are widely used for various ailments throughout the world. Many of these plants contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) which are hepatotoxic, pneumotoxic, genotoxic, neurotoxic, and cytotoxic. As a result of their use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), medicinal plants are becoming increasingly important not only in China but also in many other countries. This paper will therefore give, a critical overview of PA-containing plants belonging mainly to the families Boraginaceae, Leguminosae (Tribus Crotalarieae), and Asteraceae (Tribus Senecioneae and Eupatorieae). The PAs contained in the 38 plants described here differ widely in their structure and toxicity. Their metabolism and the resulting toxicity will be discussed, the dehydroalkaloids (DHAlk) produced in the liver playing a key role in cases of intoxications.

Herbal Medicine: Use with Caution and Respect

Abstract: Herbal products must be thought of as drugs. Throughout history, people have been using plants for medicines. Through a slow process of trial and error, they eventually learned which plant substances could be used to treat which ailments. Written records for Chinese herbal medicine date back over 3,500 years. The first known Chinese book on herbs lists 365 medicinal plants and their uses. Ancient Egyptian texts have described the use of particular plants for treating maladies. Ancient Greek physicians like Hippocrates and Galen laid the foundations of modern Western medicine through herbal medicine. Indeed, even the Bible describes the medicinal use of plants, including the aloe vera plant. Today, a number of herbs are commonly used by older people for medicinal purposes. The notion that because a substance is "natural" or "comes from nature" it cannot cause harm is false. Arsenic is a substance that occurs naturally yet, when consumed internally, will cause grave illness or death. Various commercial concerns have tried to further the notion that "natural" is equivalent to "safe and effective" which is not true. Herbal products must be thought of as drugs. Plant substances contain hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of bioactive compounds. Bioflavonoids, flavones, lactones, glycosides, polysaccharides, essential oils, and terpenes are but a few of the types of biologically active substances found in herbs (Agnihorti and Vaidya,1996; Min et al.,1999; Wu et al., iggi). These sorts of ingredients can affect every kind of function or action within the human body, including enzymatic reactions, receptor-site activation, receptor-site blocking, and protein synthesis (Perry et al.,1998; Nathan, 1999). These effects may be subtle or profound, depending upon a host of factors -- the form and concentration of the herb, the part of the plant used, the time period of treatment, even the environment in which the plant was grown or the time of year it was harvested. In comparison, a pharmaceutical drug is usually a single, isolated chemical compound, for several reasons. First of all, "invented" chemical entities are patentable and thus able to provide a means by which the pharmaceutical company can make money. Second, it is much easier to conduct clinical testing under strictly controlled conditions with a single chemical entity. It is very difficult to perform doubleblinded, placebo-controlled, crossover studies with herbs because of the hundreds of active compounds within the herb. It is nearly impossible to standardize all of the ingredients, especially when all of the active compounds have yet to be identified. Of the number of different compounds within an herb, some may be identified as the active ingredient. Others may be known to contribute to bioavailability, helping the active ingredients get absorbed and delivered within the body Others may be known to help cut down on side effects (which is a particular problem when dealing with the isolated, individual chemicals found in prescription medicines). Still others may actually be known to cause bothersome but not life-threatening side effects, as is the case with foxglove, and these side effects may warn of overdose before the person's life actually becomes threatened. Herbs are commercially available in many forms--the dried herb in the form of tea, hydroalcoholic tinctures, capsules and tablets, and poultices, for example. Herbs may be found as single products or in combination with other herbs in a formula for a specific clinical outcome or treatment. Generally speaking, one way to have assurance that the amount of active ingredient within an herbal product is constant from pill to pill and bottle to bottle is to make sure the herbs have been standardized, a process of analysis by which a minimum percentage of an individual ingredient is known to be contained within an amount of the raw herbal material. For instance, hypericin is thought to be the active ingredient within the herb St. …