Medicinal plants

About: Medicinal plants is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3816 publications have been published within this topic receiving 108681 citations. The topic is also known as: medicinal herbs & medicinal plants.

Antioxidant potential of aqueous plant extracts assessed by the cellular antioxidant activity assay

Abstract: Several teas and herbal infusions are asserted as health promoters due to their content in antioxidant compounds. However the chemical methods of analysis to assess the antioxidants content do not give information regarding the biological activity of the studied substances. In the present study eight medicinal plants (3 C. Sinensis, R. Canina, Menta Piperita, S. Officinalis, I. Paraguariensis and C. Arabica, C. Robusta blend) as well as various antioxidant compounds naturally contained in these plants were screened to their antioxidant capacities, through chemical and cellular assays. Such medicinal plants were selected due to their wide utilization, both as infusions and as ingredients in cosmetics products and in food formulations. The main purpose was to assess their biological antioxidative capability measured in human cells, to assess their efficiency of protection against peroxyl radicals under physiological conditions, and later predict their in vivo activity. The plant extracts and antioxidant compounds here tested were found to be successfully absorbed, at different proportions, into human cells. However a lack of correlation between the chemical assay and the cell-based assay was observed. Care should be taken when assessing the antioxidant power with purely chemical methods. Unlike chemical assays, cell-based assays better reflect the complexity of in vivo models, considering some important aspects of uptake, cellular distribution and metabolism of the antioxidants in a cellular environment, and thus could sustain the research on antioxidants prior to animal studies or clinical trials.

Ethnomedicinal uses of plant resources in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan

Abstract: A survey was conducted to collect information regarding medicinal and traditional uses of the plant resources from northern areas of Pakistan. Plant species were collected from Gahkuch area, District Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan province, Pakistan. A total of 35 plant species belonging to 27 families were found to be commonly used for various medicinal purposes. Among these, 10, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1 and 1 species belonged to families Asteraceae, Cupressaceae, Lamiaceae, Solanaceae, Papilionaceae, Rosaceae and Leguminosae, respectively. Most of the people in the area still depend on herbal medicines for treating different diseases, including asthma, cough, tonic, abdominal pain, jaundice, diarrhea, cancer, headache, diabetes, muscle pain, fever, skin infections, worms, wounds, broken bones, blood pressure, tuberculosis, swellings, anemia, joint pains, inflammation, dyspepsia, arthritis and rheumatism etc. Majority of the medicines prepared by the medicinal plants were taken in direct form, paste form and/or powder form. In some cases, the whole medicinal plants are used while in some other cases, either fruit or leaves/stem or flowers are used as medicine. Besides the use of plants to treat different human diseases, many livestock such as sheep, buffalo, goat and horse were also being treated with herbal medicines. Other than medical use, medicinal plants were also found to be used as fuel, fodder and vegetable/food by local peoples. The people aged 60-80 were found to be the most knowledgeable regarding use of medicinal plants as compared to the younger ones. The major threats to the medicinal palnts of the area were overgrazing, cutting, natural disater and exploitation. Key words: Gahkuch, Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, medicinal plants, traditional uses, diseases.

A Review of Recent Studies on the Antioxidant and Anti-Infectious Properties of Senna Plants

Abstract: The use of phytochemicals is gaining interest for the treatment of metabolic syndromes over the synthetic formulation of drugs. Senna is evolving as one of the important plants which have been vastly studied for its beneficial effects. Various parts of Senna species including the root, stem, leaves, and flower are found rich in numerous phytochemicals. In vitro, in vivo, and clinical experiments established that extracts from Senna plants have diverse beneficial effects by acting as a strong antioxidant and antimicrobial agent. In this review, Senna genus is comprehensively discussed in terms of its botanical characteristics, traditional use, geographic presence, and phytochemical profile. The bioactive compound richness contributes to the biological activity of Senna plant extracts. The review emphasizes on the in vivo and in vitro antioxidant and anti-infectious properties of the Senna plant. Preclinical studies confirmed the beneficial effects of the Senna plant extracts and its bioactive components in regard to the health-promoting activities. The safety, side effects, and therapeutic limitations of the Senna plant are also discussed in this review. Additional research is necessary to utilize the phenolic compounds towards its use as an alternative to pharmacological treatments and even as an ingredient in functional foods.

Antisalmonella Activity of Selected Medicinal Plants

Abstract: Antisalmonella activity of some important plants in the Ayurvedic system of traditional medicine used in India to treat enteric diseases was screened. The aqueous and methanol extracts of 47 medicinal plants were studied for their antibacterial activity against pathogenic Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi A, and Salmonella typhimurium. The in vitro antibacterial activity was performed by agar well diffusion method and the results are expressed as the average diameter of zone of inhibition of bacterial growth around the well. Of the herbal extracts tested, 33 plant extracts were found to have antibacterial activity against at least one of the salmonella strains tested with inhibition zones ranging from 9 to 27 mm. Both extracts of Nyctanthes arbortristis, Garcinia indica, Rubia cordifolia, Azadiracta indica, and Momordica charantia exhibited strong anti-salmonella activity. The aqueous extracts were found to be more active than methanol extracts in the present study.

Antimutagenic Effect of Medicinal Plants Achillea millefolium and Bauhinia forficata In Vivo

Abstract: The investigation of traditionally used medicinal plants is valuable both as a source of potential chemotherapeutic drugs and as a measure of safety for the continued use of these medicinal plants. Achillea millefolium L. (AM) is an ancient remedial herb native to Europe that is used to treat wounds, gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary disorders, inflammation, headaches, and pain. Bauhinia forficata Link (BF), an Asiatic plant, is one of the most commonly used plants in folk medicine against diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic and antimutagenic potential of aqueous extracts of AM and BF on bone marrow cells of Wistar rats treated in vivo. These plant extracts possess considerable antioxidant activity due to the presence of flavonoids and phenolic compounds. These compounds were determinants to noncytotoxic and antimutagenic/protective action of these plants, that reduced statistically the percentage of chromosomal alterations induced by the chemotherapeutic agent cyclophosphamide in simultaneous (AM, 68%; BF, 91%), pre- (AM, 68%; BF, 71%), and post-treatment (AM, 67%; BF, 95%). Therefore, the results of this study indicate that extracts of A. millefolium and B. forficata have antimutagenic potential and that their consumption can benefit the health of those using them as an alternative therapy.