மருந்தியல் மற்றும் இயற்கை தயாரிப்புகளின் இதழ்

The major bile acids present in gallbladder bile of the common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus), an Australian marsupial, were isolated by preparative HPLC and identified by NMR and by comparison with synthetic standards. The major compound present (52%) was 3α,12α-dihydroxy-7-oxo-5β-cholan-24-oic acid (7-oxodeoxycholic acid), about three fourths conjugated with taurine. Also present was 3α,7β,12α-trihydroxy-5β-cholan- 24-oic acid (20%; ursocholic acid) largely in unconjugated form. In addition, 3,4-seco-12α-hydroxy-5β-cholan-3,4,24- trioic acid was present in unconjugated form and constituted 8% of biliary bile acids. Proof of the structure of this novel 3,4-seco acid was obtained by its chemical synthesis from deoxycholic acid via an intermediary 3β,4β-dihydroxy derivative that was then oxidatively cleaved with sodium periodate. As all primary bile acids have a hydroxyl or oxo substituent at C-7, the absence of such in the seco-bile acid suggests that it is a secondary bile acid, synthesized by bacterial enzymes present in the intestine.

The increase in the new strains of multi drug-resistant pathogens, the standard drugs have become less effective, thereby increasing the demand for the search of novel natural bioactive compounds from lichenized fungi. Despite rich diversity of lichenized fungi in Kumaon Himalaya, only a few of them have been screened for their biological activities. Present communication deals with antimicrobial activity of ethyl acetate extracts of Everniastrum cirrhatum, Usnea longissima, Flavoparmelia caperata and Ramalina conduplicans against five pathogenic bacteria. Among these, U. longissima and F. caperata extracts have revealed significant activity against all the bacteria while U. longissima was more active against Escherichia coli (13.0 mm; MIC=7.5 mg/mL) and Bacillus subtilis (11.6 mm; MIC=7.5 mg/mL). The F. caperata extract was active against E. coli (15.3 mm; MIC=15 mg/mL). Hence, there is an interest in the potential uses of antibiotics derived from lichenized fungi for pharmaceutical purposes.

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the in vivo toxicity of methanolic leaf extract of Vernonia lasiopus. To provide information on the safety of V. lasiopus, we evaluated its acute and sub-chronic toxicity in Wistar rats. For evaluation of acute toxicity of the plant extract, five Wistar rats were orally dosed with 2000 mg/kg body weight sequentially. Sub-chronic toxicity was tested in twenty Wistar rats using three extract doses 100, 300 and 1000 mg/kg body weight. They were orally administered for 28 days. Mortality and toxicity signs were monitored during the study period. At the end of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed, their internal organs weighed and blood samples collected for haematology and biochemical analysis. In acute toxicity, no single death was reported; leading to conclusion that the median lethal dose (LD50) of methanolic leaf extract of V. lasiopus is beyond 2000 mg/kg body weight. In sub-chronic toxicity studies, V. lasiopus lowered total proteins in all the study groups significantly. Albumin was also lowered at extract dose of 1000 mg/kg body weight. In addition, it resulted to significant neutropenia, lymphocytosis and thrombocytosis in the group administered with dose extract of 1000 mg/kg body weight (P˂0.05). It was therefore concluded that methanolic leaf extract of V. lasiopus is safe for use when administered at therapeutic doses. The plant extract may also be useful in the management of haematological disorders especially thrombocytopenia.

Consumption of dietary fiber rich food has shown many health benefits against a range of disorders including obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and colon cancer. Total dietary fiber (TDF) is composed of two; soluble dietary fiber (SDF) and insoluble dietary fiber (IDF). Legumes are rich source of dietary fiber and resistant starch (RS). In addition, legume starch has low predicted glycemic index (pGI). This study was carried out to develop a dietary fiber rich multi legumes flake mix with low predicted glycemic index from selected legume varieties in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, 04 legumes such as mung bean, cowpea, soybean and horse gram were used. The multi legumes flake mix was prepared in 3 different formulae (F1, F2, and F3) by using sorghum (50%) as the base. Different legume proportions of soybean: horse gram: cowpea and mung bean in those formulae were F1–5%, 20%, 15%, 10%, F2– 10%, 5%, 15%, 20% and F3–5%, 15%, 20%, 10% respectively. Sensory evaluation was carried out with 3 flavors; coconut milk+spices, coconut milk+sugar, milk powder+sugar for F1 formula. The taste and overall acceptability of three flavors were significantly different at p<0.05 and the spicy flavor had the highest mean score. Subsequently those three formulae were prepared in spicy flavor and those were analyzed for chemical composition and pGI value. Among 3 formulae, F1 had the highest TDF 13.84% (SD 0.08), highest RS 4.07% (SD 4.07) and the lowest pGI 33.52 (SD 0.11). The resistant starch content of three formulae showed inverse correlation with predicted glycemic index (r=-0.936, p<0.05). Accordingly, F1 formulation can be considered as the best formula for the preparation of dietary fiber rich multi legumes flake mix.

The dried leaves of Eriobotrya japonica have traditionally been widely used to treat various diseases, such as chronic bronchitis, cough, inflammation, skin disease, and diabetes. Our previous studies have reported several functions and their molecular mechanisms of E. japonica leaf extract and triterpenes contained in the extract. In this review article, we focus on the effects of E. japonica leaf extract and triterpenes on inflammatory mediators, proliferation of cancer cells, and ghrelin production. 1) The leaf extract of E. japonica suppressed inflammatory mediators including nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264 murine macrophage cells. The anti-inflammatory properties of E. japonica leaf extract resulted from inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expressions through downregulation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) phosphorylation. 2) E. japonica leaves contain triterpenes such as corosolic acid, ursolic acid, maslinic acid, and oleanolic acid. Corosolic acid exterted the strongest anti-proliferative activity in human leukemia cell lines. Moreover, corosolic acid induced apoptosis mediated by mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase activation. 3) Ghrelin is an appetite-stimulating peptide hormone with an octanoyl modification at serine 3 that is essential for its orexigenic effect. Our investigation of triterpenes from E. japonica, corosolic acid, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid suppressed octanoylated ghrelin levels in AGS-GHRL8 cell line, which produces octanoylated ghrelin in the presence of octanoic acid, without decreasing transcript expression of ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT) or furin.

In Morocco, diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem with over than 1.5 million cases in 2014. Medicinal plants are widely used by the Moroccan population to treat the illness. This study was carried out to identify the medicinal plants traditionally used in human therapy to treat diabetes in the Tizi n’Test region, and contribute to safeguarding knowledge and local expertise in traditional herbal medicine. A total of 280 interviews were conducted with traditional health practitioners and knowledgeable villagers. Data were collected by semi-structured and structured questionnaires. Indices on Fidelity Level (FL), Use Value (UV) and Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) were calculated. The ethnobotanical survey has identified 39 species representing 24 families. The most encountered medicinal plant families were Asteraceae and Lamiaceae. The following plant species were showed the high significant FL, UV and RFC: Artemisia herba-alba, Cistus creticus, Lavandula maroccana, Salvia lavandulifolia and Olea europaea. Plant leaves were the most commonly used plant part, and decoction was the most common method of traditional drug preparation. Our study showed that medicinal plants continue to play an important role in the primary healthcare system for the local population of the Tizi n’Test region and represents a useful documentation, which can contribute to preserving knowledge on the use of medicinal plants for diabetes treatment and to explore the phytochemical and pharmacological potential of medicinal plant.