Isolation and characterization of a rhizobacterial antagonist of root-knot nematodes.

PubMed

Wei, Lihui; Shao, Ying; Wan, Jingwang; Feng, Hui; Zhu, Hua; Huang, Huiwen; Zhou, Yijun

2014-01-01

The rhizobacterial strain Jdm2 was isolated from the rhizosphere of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Trichosanthes kirilowii in Jiangsu province, China, and was identified as Bacillus subtilis. Exposure of cell-free filtrate of the strain to the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita under in vitro conditions caused substantial mortality of the second stage juvenile (J2) and significantly reduced egg hatchability. A greenhouse trial demonstrated that 56 days after treatment with Jdm2, the number of galls associated with M. incognita infection in the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) roots was significantly reduced compared to controls, and the disease severity of infected plants was lower in treated plants (36%) compared to water control (75%). Consistently, in the field trial, the biocontrol efficacy of Jdm2 reached 69%, 51% and 48% after 30, 60 and 90 days post-transplantation, respectively. As indicated by PCR-DGGE analysis, inoculation with Jdm2 strain had an effect on the bacterial community of the tomato rhizosphere at the first stage, but was not able to imperil the bacterial community stability for long time. The novel bacterial strain Jdm2 enhances plant growth and inhibits nematode activity, and has the potential to be a safe and effective microbial pesticide.

Herbal Extract SH003 Suppresses Tumor Growth and Metastasis of MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells by Inhibiting STAT3-IL-6 Signaling

PubMed Central

Woo, Sang-Mi; Park, Sunju; Shin, Yong Cheol; Ko, Seong-Gyu

2014-01-01

Cancer inflammation promotes cancer progression, resulting in a high risk of cancer. Here, we demonstrate that our new herbal extract, SH003, suppresses both tumor growth and metastasis of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells via inhibiting STAT3-IL-6 signaling path. Our new herbal formula, SH003, mixed extract from Astragalus membranaceus, Angelica gigas, and Trichosanthes kirilowii Maximowicz, suppressed MDA-MB-231 tumor growth and lung metastasis in vivo and reduced the viability and metastatic abilities of MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro. Furthermore, SH003 inhibited STAT3 activation, which resulted in a reduction of IL-6 production. Therefore, we conclude that SH003 suppresses highly metastatic breast cancer growth and metastasis by inhibiting STAT3-IL-6 signaling path. PMID:24976685

Herbs in dentistry.

PubMed

Taheri, Jamile B; Azimi, Somayyeh; Rafieian, Nasrin; Zanjani, Hosein Akhavan

2011-12-01

Herbs have been used for centuries to prevent and control disease. Herbal extracts are effective because they interact with specific chemical receptors within the body and are in a pharmacodynamic sense, drugs themselves. By using herbal medicines, patients have averted the many side effects that generally come with traditional medicines, but this does not mean that side effects do not occur. Only knowledgeable practitioners can prescribe the right herb and its proper dosage. Herbal medicines had been considered in every culture, however, pharmaceutical companies overturned this type of thinking. Now, pharmaceuticals are called traditional and herbs are libeled as the 'alternative'. The biggest challenge and problem is lack of information about the effect of herbs in oral tissues, mechanism of effect, and side effects. Several popular conventional drugs on the market are derived from herbs. These include aspirin (from white willow bark), digitalis (from foxglove), and sudafed (modelled after a component in the plant ephedra). Herbal products can vary in their potency. Therefore, care must be taken in selecting herbs, even so, herbal medicines have dramatically fewer side effects and are safer to use than conventional medications. The herbs described in this article are Bloodroot, Caraway, Chamomile, Echinacea, Myrrh, Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Aloe Vera, Propolis, and a summary of other herbs that are useful in dentistry. Herbs may be good alternatives to current treatments for oral health problems but it is clear that we need more research. © 2011 FDI World Dental Federation.

Paleolithic human exploitation of plant foods during the last glacial maximum in North China

PubMed Central

Liu, Li; Bestel, Sheahan; Shi, Jinming; Song, Yanhua; Chen, Xingcan

2013-01-01

Three grinding stones from Shizitan Locality 14 (ca. 23,000–19,500 calendar years before present) in the middle Yellow River region were subjected to usewear and residue analyses to investigate human adaptation during the last glacial maximum (LGM) period, when resources were generally scarce and plant foods may have become increasingly important in the human diet. The results show that these tools were used to process various plants, including Triticeae and Paniceae grasses, Vigna beans, Dioscorea opposita yam, and Trichosanthes kirilowii snakegourd roots. Tubers were important food resources for Paleolithic hunter–gatherers, and Paniceae grasses were exploited about 12,000 y before their domestication. The long tradition of intensive exploitation of certain types of flora helped Paleolithic people understand the properties of these plants, including their medicinal uses, and eventually led to the plants' domestication. This study sheds light on the deep history of the broad spectrum subsistence strategy characteristic of late Pleistocene north China before the origins of agriculture in this region. PMID:23509257

Paleolithic human exploitation of plant foods during the last glacial maximum in North China.

PubMed

Liu, Li; Bestel, Sheahan; Shi, Jinming; Song, Yanhua; Chen, Xingcan

2013-04-02

Three grinding stones from Shizitan Locality 14 (ca. 23,000-19,500 calendar years before present) in the middle Yellow River region were subjected to usewear and residue analyses to investigate human adaptation during the last glacial maximum (LGM) period, when resources were generally scarce and plant foods may have become increasingly important in the human diet. The results show that these tools were used to process various plants, including Triticeae and Paniceae grasses, Vigna beans, Dioscorea opposita yam, and Trichosanthes kirilowii snakegourd roots. Tubers were important food resources for Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, and Paniceae grasses were exploited about 12,000 y before their domestication. The long tradition of intensive exploitation of certain types of flora helped Paleolithic people understand the properties of these plants, including their medicinal uses, and eventually led to the plants' domestication. This study sheds light on the deep history of the broad spectrum subsistence strategy characteristic of late Pleistocene north China before the origins of agriculture in this region.

SH003 represses tumor angiogenesis by blocking VEGF binding to VEGFR2

PubMed Central

Choi, Hyeong Sim; Kim, Min Kyoung; Lee, Kangwook; Lee, Kang Min; Choi, Youn Kyung; Shin, Yong Cheol; Cho, Sung-Gook; Ko, Seong-Gyu

2016-01-01

Tumor angiogenesis is a key feature of cancer progression, because a tumor requires abundant oxygen and nutrition to grow. Here, we demonstrate that SH003, a mixed herbal extract containing Astragalus membranaceus (Am), Angelica gigas (Ag) and Trichosanthes Kirilowii Maximowicz (Tk), represses VEGF-induced tumor angiogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. SH003 inhibited VEGF-induced migration, invasion and tube formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with no effect on the proliferation. SH003 reduced CD31-positive vessel numbers in tumor tissues and retarded tumor growth in our xenograft mouse tumor model, while SH003 did not affect pancreatic tumor cell viability. Consistently, SH003 inhibited VEGF-stimulated vascular permeability in ears and back skins. Moreover, SH003 inhibited VEGF-induced VEGFR2-dependent signaling by blocking VEGF binding to VEGFR2. Therefore, our data conclude that SH003 represses tumor angiogenesis by inhibiting VEGF-induced VEGFR2 activation, and suggest that SH003 may be useful for treating cancer. PMID:27105528

The Herb Garden Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD.

The booklet, intended to acquaint students or visitors with the herb garden at the Lathrop E. Smith Environmental Education Center (Rockville, Maryland), describes 25 herbs and suggests ways to extend learning further by providing historic background and other information about the herbs. Each herb is described on a separate page, with each…

Herbs in exercise and sports

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The use of herbs as ergogenic aids in exercise and sport is not novel. Ginseng, caffeine, ma huang (also called 'Chinese ephedra'), ephedrine and a combination of both caffeine and ephedrine are the most popular herbs used in exercise and sports. It is believed that these herbs have an ergogenic effect and thus help to improve physical performance. Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of these herbs on exercise performance. Recently, researchers have also investigated the effects of Eurycoma longifolia Jack on endurance cycling and running performance. These investigators have reported no significant improvement in either cycling or running endurance after supplementation with this herb. As the number of studies in this area is still small, more studies should be conducted to evaluate and substantiate the effects of this herb on sports and exercise performance. For instance, future research on any herbs should take the following factors into consideration: dosage, supplementation period and a larger sample size. PMID:22738233

Herb-drug interactions.

PubMed

Fugh-Berman, A

2000-01-08

Concurrent use of herbs may mimic, magnify, or oppose the effect of drugs. Plausible cases of herb-drug interactions include: bleeding when warfarin is combined with ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), garlic (Allium sativum), dong quai (Angelica sinensis), or danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza); mild serotonin syndrome in patients who mix St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) with serotonin-reuptake inhibitors; decreased bioavailability of digoxin, theophylline, cyclosporin, and phenprocoumon when these drugs are combined with St John's wort; induction of mania in depressed patients who mix antidepressants and Panax ginseng; exacerbation of extrapyramidal effects with neuroleptic drugs and betel nut (Areca catechu); increased risk of hypertension when tricyclic antidepressants are combined with yohimbine (Pausinystalia yohimbe); potentiation of oral and topical corticosteroids by liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra); decreased blood concentrations of prednisolone when taken with the Chinese herbal product xaio chai hu tang (sho-salko-to); and decreased concentrations of phenytoin when combined with the Ayurvedic syrup shankhapushpi. Anthranoid-containing plants (including senna [Cassia senna] and cascara [Rhamnus purshiana]) and soluble fibres (including guar gum and psyllium) can decrease the absorption of drugs. Many reports of herb-drug interactions are sketchy and lack laboratory analysis of suspect preparations. Health-care practitioners should caution patients against mixing herbs and pharmaceutical drugs.

Different effects of feeding pregnant and lactating mice Rhodiola kirilowii aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts on their serum angiogenic activity and content of selected polyphenols

PubMed Central

Zdanowski, Robert; Skopińska-Różewska, Ewa; Wilczak, Jacek; Borecka, Anna; Lewicka, Aneta

2017-01-01

Angiogenesis plays an important role in many physiological processes, among them the formation of tissues and organs during embryogenesis. A lot of medicinal plants exhibit angiomodulatory properties. This creates the need for a thorough check of whether the plant extracts that we would like to give to pregnant women in order to increase their resistance to bacterial or viral infection will have negative effects on angiogenesis, and consequently on fetal development. This paper seeks to investigate the effect of serum of pregnant and nursing Balb/c mice that received aqueous (RKW) or hydro-alcoholic (RKW-A) R. kirilowii extracts (20 mg/kg), or epigallocatechin (0.2 mg/kg), on the in vitro proliferation and migration of mouse endothelial cell line Heca10. Of the 15 identified polyphenols in the extracts by HPLC, 8 were present in the sera. Chemical analysis revealed higher salidroside, kaempferol, chlorogenic acid, bFGF and VEGF concentration in RKW-A sera than in the sera of RKW group of mice. RKW-A and EGC sera did not affect migration of endothelial cells, however we noted some increase of migrating cells after RKW-sera treatment. RKW and EGC sera did not affect proliferation of endothelial cells. Sera of mothers from RKW-A group impaired the proliferation of endothelial cells in comparison to other groups. These data allow us to assume that Rhodiola kirilowii hydro-alcoholic extract (RKW-A) is potentially able to modulate pre- and post- natal angiogenesis what might influence the development of organs in progeny. Sera of RKW mothers have not harm the proliferation of endothelial cells, despite they also contain antiangiogenic catechins and salidroside. This suggests the existence in RKW-A extract and in RKW-A sera of some other, as yet unidentified substances influencing endothelial cells proliferation. PMID:28680327

Herbs-are they safe enough? an overview.

PubMed

Singh, Divya; Gupta, Rajiv; Saraf, Shubhini A

2012-01-01

Drugs based on herbs have become a common form of therapy as well as for prophylaxis because they are often perceived as being natural and therefore harmless. Today they are one of the hottest trends and most sought after in the field of nutrition or herbal therapeutics. As the use of complementary medicine grows, so does the knowledge that many compounds in common use not only have a significant effect on the body but may also interact with pharmaceuticals and also with other alternative products. Concurrent use of herbs with drugs may mimic, magnify, or oppose the effect of drugs leading to herb-drug interactions. Currently, there is very little information published on herb-herb or herb-drug interactions as compared to the use of herbs which is progressively growing across the world. Many reports of herb-drug interactions are sketchy and lack laboratory analysis of suspect preparations. Health-care practitioners should caution patients against mixing herbs and pharmaceutical drugs. The article reviews the recent literature on the adverse effects of herbal remedies including the most widely sold herbal medicinal products, like liquorice, garlic, ginger, green tea, and turmeric, etc., and reinforce the safety aspect of herbal products, which are considered to be relatively safe by common people.

Chemical and antioxidant properties of snake tomato (Trichosanthes cucumerina) juice and Pineapple (Ananas comosus) juice blends and their changes during storage.

PubMed

Bamidele, Oluwaseun P; Fasogbon, Mofoluwaso B

2017-04-01

Juice blends made from the mixture of snake tomato (Trichosanthes cucumerina) and Pineapple (Ananas comosus) fruits were analyzed for pH, antioxidant properties, total titratable acidity, vitamin C, lycopene and total phenolic contents after different blend ratios were made. The addition of snake tomato juice increased the vitamin C, total carotene, lycopene and antioxidant properties of the juice blends. The radical scavenging properties of juice blends containing a higher ratio of snake tomato were higher and samples stored at room temperature (29°C) showed an increase in antioxidant properties compared to samples stored at 4°C. In conclusion, snake tomato juice up to 50% may be added to Pineapple juice to make a healthy juice blend. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Updates on the Clinical Evidenced Herb-Warfarin Interactions

PubMed Central

Ge, Beikang; Zhang, Zhen; Zuo, Zhong

2014-01-01

Increasing and inadvertent use of herbs makes herb-drug interactions a focus of research. Concomitant use of warfarin, a highly efficacious oral anticoagulant, and herbs causes major safety concerns due to the narrow therapeutic window of warfarin. This paper presents an update overview of clinical findings regarding herb-warfarin interaction, highlighting clinical outcomes, severity of documented interactions, and quality of clinical evidence. Among thirty-eight herbs, Cannabis, Chamomile, Cranberry, Garlic, Ginkgo, Grapefruit, Lycium, Red clover, and St. John's wort were evaluated to have major severity interaction with warfarin. Herbs were also classified on account of the likelihood of their supporting evidences for interaction. Four herbs were considered as highly probable to interact with warfarin (level I), three were estimated as probable (level II), and ten and twenty-one were possible (level III) and doubtful (level IV), respectively. The general mechanism of herb-warfarin interaction almost remains unknown, yet several pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic factors were estimated to influence the effectiveness of warfarin. Based on limited literature and information reported, we identified corresponding mechanisms of interactions for a small amount of “interacting herbs.” In summary, herb-warfarin interaction, especially the clinical effects of herbs on warfarin therapy should be further investigated through multicenter studies with larger sample sizes. PMID:24790635

Mycotoxins in spices and herbs-An update.

PubMed

Kabak, Bulent; Dobson, Alan D W

2017-01-02

Spices and herbs have been used since ancient times as flavor and aroma enhancers, colorants, preservatives, and traditional medicines. There are more than 30 spices and herbs of global economic and culinary importance. Among the spices, black pepper, capsicums, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, saffron, coriander, cloves, dill, mint, thyme, sesame seed, mustard seed, and curry powder are the most popular spices worldwide. In addition to their culinary uses, a number of functional properties of aromatic herbs and spices are also well described in the scientific literature. However, spices and herbs cultivated mainly in tropic and subtropic areas can be exposed to contamination with toxigenic fungi and subsequently mycotoxins. This review provides an overview on the mycotoxin risk in widely consumed spices and aromatic herbs.

Variability in oak forest herb layer communities

Treesearch

J. R. McClenahen; R. P. Long

1995-01-01

This study evaluates forest herb-layer sensitivity to annual-scale environmental fluctuation. Specific objectives were to determine the between-year variation in herb-layer community biomass, and to contrast and evaluate the temporal stability of spatial relationships in herb-layer community structure and composition between successive years. Aboveground dry weights of...

The use of herbs by california midwives.

PubMed

Dennehy, Cathi; Tsourounis, Candy; Bui, Lindsey; King, Tekoa L

2010-01-01

To characterize herbal product use (prevalence, types, indications) among Certified Nurse Midwives/Certified Midwives (CNMs/CMs) and Licensed Midwives (LMs) practicing in the state of California and to describe formal education related to herbal products received by midwives during midwifery education. Cross-sectional survey/California/Practicing midwives. A list of LMs and CNMs/CMs practicing in California was obtained through the California Medical Board (CMB) and the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM), respectively. The survey was mailed to 343 CNMs/CMs (one third of the ACNM mailing list) and 157 LMs (the complete CMB mailing list). Of the 500 surveys mailed, 40 were undeliverable, 146 were returned, and 7 were excluded (30% response rate). Of the 139 completed surveys, 58/102 (57%) of CNMs/CMs and 35/37 (95%) of LMs used herbs, and LMs were more comfortable than CNMs/CMs in recommending herbs to their patients. A majority of LMs had >20 hours of midwifery education on herbs whereas a majority of CNMs/CMs received 0 to 5 hours. Some CNMs/CMs indicated that their practice site limited their ability to use herbs. Common conditions in which LMs and CNMs/CMs used herbs were nausea/vomiting (86% vs. 83%), labor induction (89% vs. 58%), and lactation (86% vs. 65%). Specific herbs for all indications are described. Licensed midwives were more likely than CNMs/CMs to use herbs in clinical practice. This trend was likely a reflection of the amount of education devoted to herbs as well as herbal use limitations that may be encountered in institutional facilities. © 2010 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

HERB: A production system for programming with hierarchical expert rule bases: User's manual, HERB Version 1. 0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hummel, K.E.

1987-12-01

Expert systems are artificial intelligence programs that solve problems requiring large amounts of heuristic knowledge, based on years of experience and tradition. Production systems are domain-independent tools that support the development of rule-based expert systems. This document describes a general purpose production system known as HERB. This system was developed to support the programming of expert systems using hierarchically structured rule bases. HERB encourages the partitioning of rules into multiple rule bases and supports the use of multiple conflict resolution strategies. Multiple rule bases can also be placed on a system stack and simultaneously searched during each interpreter cycle. Bothmore » backward and forward chaining rules are supported by HERB. The condition portion of each rule can contain both patterns, which are matched with facts in a data base, and LISP expressions, which are explicitly evaluated in the LISP environment. Properties of objects can also be stored in the HERB data base and referenced within the scope of each rule. This document serves both as an introduction to the principles of LISP-based production systems and as a user's manual for the HERB system. 6 refs., 17 figs.« less

Herb use, vitamin use, and diet in low-income, postpartum women.

PubMed

Gardiner, Paula; Jarrett, Kelli; Filippelli, Amanda; Pecci, Christine; Mauch, Maya; Jack, Brian

2013-01-01

Little is known about herb use among underserved postpartum women and their patterns of communication about herb use with prenatal providers. We interviewed women from the postpartum unit at an urban hospital about herb use during pregnancy, socioeconomic factors, prenatal vitamin use, and diet. We asked women if they discussed use of herbs and vitamins with their prenatal care providers and asked about their satisfaction with these discussions. We reviewed inpatient chart medication lists for herb use. Of 160 women surveyed, 39% reported using herbs during pregnancy. Sixty-five percent of participants took a prenatal vitamin. Fifty-seven percent of herb users (n = 40) reported taking prenatal vitamins. Herb users were significantly more likely to report making any dietary change during their pregnancies than non-herb users (P = .03). Only 38% of herb users discussed it with their prenatal providers, and 82% were satisfied with the conversation. Of all 160 participants, 125 had prenatal vitamin use documented, and no women had herbal medicine use documented in the medical record during their birth hospitalization. We report a higher frequency of herb use during pregnancy than other studies. The fact that women of all backgrounds and economic statuses report using herbs during pregnancy makes it even more important for all women to be asked about their use of herbs. © 2013 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Herb Use, Vitamin Use, and Diet in Low Income Postpartum Women

PubMed Central

Gardiner, Paula; Jarrett, Kelli; Filippelli, Amanda; Pecci, Christine; Mauch, Maya; Jack, Brian

2012-01-01

Introduction Little is known about herb use among underserved postpartum women and their patterns of communication about herb use with prenatal providers. Methods We interviewed women from the postpartum unit at an urban hospital about herb use during pregnancy, socioeconomic factors, prenatal vitamin use, and diet. We asked women if they discussed use of herbs and vitamins with their prenatal care provider, and their satisfaction with these discussions. We reviewed inpatient chart medication lists for herb use. Results Of 160 women surveyed, 39% reported using herbs during pregnancy. Sixty five percent of subjects took a prenatal vitamin. Fifty-seven percent of herb users (n=40) reported taking prenatal vitamins. Herb users were significantly more likely to report making any dietary change during their pregnancy than non-herb users (P=0.03). Only 38% of herb users discussed it with their prenatal provider and 82% were satisfied with the conversation. Of all 160 subjects, 125 had prenatal vitamin use documented and no women had herbal medicine use documented in the medical record during their delivery hospitalization. Discussion We report a higher frequency of herb use during pregnancy than other studies. The fact that women of all backgrounds and economic status report using herbs during pregnancy makes it even more important for all women to be asked about their use of herbs. PMID:23590486

[Causes for change in producing areas of geo-authentic herbs].

PubMed

Liang, Fei; Li, Jian; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Rui-Xian

2013-05-01

Geo-authentic herbs lay stress on their producing areas. The producing areas of most geo-authentic herbs have never changed since the ancient times. However, many other geo-authentic herbs have experienced significant changes in the long history. There are two main causes for the change in producing areas of herbs-change of natural environment and development of human society, which are restricted by each other and play a great role throughout the development process of geo-authentic herbs.

Trichosanthes tricuspidata modulates oxidative toxicity in brain hippocampus against pilocarpine induced status epilepticus in mice.

PubMed

Smilin Bell Aseervatham, G; Sivasudha, Thilagar; Suganya, Mohan; Rameshkumar, Angappan; Jeyadevi, Ramachandran

2013-08-01

Epilepsy prevails to be a neurological disorder in anticipation of safer drugs with enhanced anticonvulsant efficacy as presently available drugs fails to offer adequate control of epileptic seizures in about one-third of patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Trichosanthes tricuspidata methanolic extract (TTME) against epilepsy mediated oxidative stress in pilocarpine induced mice. Intraperitonial administration of pilocarpine (85 mg/kg) induced seizure in mice was assessed by behavior observations, which is significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by TTME (100 and 200 mg/kg; i.p) in a dose dependant manner, similar to diazepam. Seizure was accompanied by significant increase in lipid peroxidation and the hippocampal nitrite content in pilocarpine group when compared with control. Moreover, the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione levels were decreased in pilocarpine administered groups. TTME administration attenuated oxidative damage as evident by decreased lipid oxidative damage and nitrite-nitrate content and restored the level of enzymatic antioxidant defenses in hippocampus. Involvement of free radicals during epilepsy is further confirmed by histopathological analysis which showed the loss of neuronal cells in hippocampus CA1 and CA3 pyramidal region. Our findings strongly support the hypothesis that TTME has anticonvulsant activity accompanied with the strong antioxidant potential plays a crucial role in reducing the oxidative stress produced by seizure.

Comparative analysis of multiple representative components in the herb pair Astragali Radix-Curcumae Rhizoma and its single herbs by UPLC-QQQ-MS.

PubMed

Yin, Gang; Cheng, Xiaolan; Tao, Weiwei; Dong, Yu; Bian, Yong; Zang, Wenhua; Tang, Decai

2018-01-30

The herb-pair, Astragali Radix (AR) and Curcumae Rhizoma (CR), often occurs in traditional herbal prescriptions used for cancer treatment in Asian areas. In clinical application, the AR-CR herb pair was often produced by different preparation methods or with raw materials from different sources, which raised a challenge for quality control of the herb-pair medicines. In this paper, ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry method (UPLC-QQQ-MS) was applied for the first time to simultaneously determine 17 main bioactive components for quality control of AR-CR herb pair. The chromatographic separation was studied on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C 18 column (100mm×2.1mm, 1.7μm) with a mobile phase composed of 0.1% aqueous formic acid and acetonitrile using a gradient elution in 12min. The proposed method was optimized and validated by good linearity (r 2 >0.9970), limit of detection (0.33-10.78ng/mL), limit of quantification (0.81-2.54ng/mL), intra- and inter-day precisions (RSD≤3.64%, RSD≤5.68%), stability (RSD≤4.29%), repeatability (RSD≤5.98%), recovery (90.20-107.60%). The established method was successfully applied to comparative analysis of main bioactive components in AR-CR herb pair and its single herbs, and quality evaluation of different batches of clinical dispensing granules. Compared to the single herb, the content of most liposoluble constituents such as curcumenol, curdione, isocurcumenol, furanodienone, curcumol, and germacrone were remarkable increased in their herb pair, suggesting mixed preparation produced synergistic effects on promoting the extraction of bioactive ingredients. This study is the first time to report the rapid and simultaneous analysis of 17 compounds in AR-CR herb pair by UPLC-QQQ-MS, and provides a feasible method for holistic quality control of preparations containing AR-CR herb-pair. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hepatoprotective Herbs, Avicenna Viewpoint

PubMed Central

Shamsi-Baghbanan, Hamid; Sharifian, Afsaneh; Esmaeili, Somayeh; Minaei, Bagher

2014-01-01

Background: Liver injury or dysfunction is considered as a serious health problem. The available synthetic drugs to treat liver disorders are expensive and cause further damage. Hence, hepatoprotective effects of some herbal drugs have been investigated, and one of the methods to choose herbs in order to study their biological effects is to search in ancient medical texts. Avicenna who is known as the prince of physicians had collected and classified Greek, Persian and Islamic medicine in the best possible way in the book of Canon in Arabic. Objectives: Avicenna’s book of The Canon of Medicine was reviewed to find the hepatoprotective herbs. Patients and Methods: Three different versions of the Canon were prepared and utilized. To find scientific names of plants we took advantage of three botany references. All of the herbs were investigated on the basis of scientific data from hepatoprotective effects point of view. The searched term was “hepatoprotective” without narrowing and limiting. The searched databases included Cochrane library, Web of science, SID, Irandoc and IranMedex. Results: 18 plants were found. 85% of the presented species, genus or families of plants were reported to have hepatoprotective properties and in the remaining 15% there were no reports of hepatoprotective effect. Flowers and fruits were the most used part of the plants. Most of the plants had simultaneous protective effects on multiple organs but the protective effect on the liver was mostly accompanied by protective effect on the stomach (83%). The average temperament of these herbs is "hot" in the 2nd phase of the 2nd grade, and "dry" in the 3rd phase of the 2nd grade. Hepatoprotective herbs mostly prescribed as a part of hepatoprotective compound drugs formula or other formula for liver diseases are Crocus sativus, Pistacia lentiscus, and Cinnamomum spp. Conclusions: Maybe there is common mechanism for protecting both liver and stomach. Aquilaria agallocha, Aquilaria malaccensis

[Retrospect of Chinese herbs taken as tea drinking].

PubMed

Zhu, J N; Zhang, X L; Guo, H

2017-01-28

Tea and wine are time-honored drinks in China. Along with coffee and cocoa, tea, as one of the non-alcoholic plant beverages, is prevailing the world. Tea and Chinese medicine has a very close relationship. Chinese herbs taken as tea forming the tea-like medicinal tea, can be taken frequently at anytime. The application of Chinese herbs taken as tea drinking begins from the Tang Dynasty, flourishes in the Song Dynasty and matures in the Qing Dynasty. The review of its history provides ample evidence of Chinese herbs taken as tea drinking in treating and preventing diseases, as well as providing the clues and references of developing new Chinese herbs taking as tea.

Pancreatic lipase and α-amylase inhibitory activities of plants used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

PubMed

2016-07-07

To find new, plant based drugs for the treatment of obesity and/or diabetes mellitus type 2 through the inhibition of essential digestive enzymes, in vitro tests were carried out on selected plants or fungi with weight-reducing, blood glucose-reducing or related potential, used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Aqueous and methanolic extracts of 32 Chinese herbal medicines were assayed for their in vitro inhibitory activity against pancreatic lipase (PL) and α-amylase (PA). PL activity was measured by using an enzymatic in vitro assay based on the hydrolysis kinetics of an oleate ester of 4-methylumbelliferone. For the determination of α-amylase activity an enzyme assay based on the hydrolytic cleavage of a modified starch derivative was used. Our findings have shown that the methanolic extract of Lycopus lucidus Turcz. var. hirtus Regel (Lamiaceae) was a very effective PL inhibitor (IC50: 88.3±4.1 μg/mL). A high anti-amylase activity showed the methanolic extract of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim. (Curcurbitaceae, IC50: 248.8±67.3 μg/mL). This work provides a priority list of interesting plants for further study with respect to the treatment of obesity and associated metabolic diseases.

[Brief introduction of geo-authentic herbs].

PubMed

Liang, Fei; Li, Jian; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Rui-Xian

2013-05-01

The science of geo-authentic herbs is a characteristic discipline of traditional Chinese medicine established during thousands of years of clinical practices. It has a long history under the guidance of profound theories of traditional Chinese medicine. The words of "geo-authentic product" were derived from an administrative division unit in the ancient times, which layed stress on the good quality of products in particular regions. In ancient records of traditional Chinese medicine, the words of "geo-authentic product" were first found in Concise Herbal Foundation Compilation of the Ming dynasty, and the words of "geo-authentic herbs" were first discovered in Peony Pavilion of the late Ming dynasty. After all, clinical effect is the fundamental evaluation standard of geo-authentic herbs.

MEDICINAL HERBS USED BY HIV-POSITIVE PEOPLE IN LESOTHO

PubMed Central

Mugomeri, Eltony; Chatanga, Peter; Chakane, Ntema

2016-01-01

Background: The use of medicinal herbs whose efficacy and toxicities are not known by HIV-positive people in Lesotho is a threat to the effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment. This study explored some medicinal herbs used by HIV-positive people in Lesotho and the reasons for their use. Methods: This was a cross sectional study based on a questionnaire distributed to purposively-sampled HIV-positive people in Leribe and Maseru districts of Lesotho. The participants’ socio-demographic and clinical variables were summarized using frequency tables in Stata version 13 statistical software. Data variables for medicinal herbs used, frequency of use, uses by the participants and in the literature, parts of plants used and the method of preparation were also explored. Results: Out of 400 questionnaires distributed to the participants, 389 were returned with data acceptable for analysis. Ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 75 years (Mean=43 + 11.6). Out of the 272 (69.9%) participants who conceded that they had used medicinal herbs at least once, 30 (7.7%) participants used medicinal herbs frequently while 242 (62.2 %) rarely used the herbs. At least 20 plant species belonging to 16 families were reportedly used by the participants. Asteraceae was the most common plant family reportedly used by the participants. Allium sativum and Dicoma anomala, reportedly used by 21.0% and 14.3% respectively, were the most commonly used medicinal herbs in this population. In addition, boosting the immune system and treating gastrointestinal ailments, apparently cited by 32% and 28% participants respectively, were the most commonly reported reasons for using medicinal herbs. Conclusion: A considerable proportion (69.9%) of HIV-positive people use medicinal herbs in this population, and 7.7% use them frequently. At least 20 plant species belonging to 16 families were reportedly used by the participants. HIV counselling protocols in Lesotho should emphasize the dangers of using

MEDICINAL HERBS USED BY HIV-POSITIVE PEOPLE IN LESOTHO.

PubMed

Mugomeri, Eltony; Chatanga, Peter; Chakane, Ntema

2016-01-01

The use of medicinal herbs whose efficacy and toxicities are not known by HIV-positive people in Lesotho is a threat to the effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment. This study explored some medicinal herbs used by HIV-positive people in Lesotho and the reasons for their use. This was a cross sectional study based on a questionnaire distributed to purposively-sampled HIV-positive people in Leribe and Maseru districts of Lesotho. The participants' socio-demographic and clinical variables were summarized using frequency tables in Stata version 13 statistical software. Data variables for medicinal herbs used, frequency of use, uses by the participants and in the literature, parts of plants used and the method of preparation were also explored. Out of 400 questionnaires distributed to the participants, 389 were returned with data acceptable for analysis. Ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 75 years (Mean=43 + 11.6). Out of the 272 (69.9%) participants who conceded that they had used medicinal herbs at least once, 30 (7.7%) participants used medicinal herbs frequently while 242 (62.2 %) rarely used the herbs. At least 20 plant species belonging to 16 families were reportedly used by the participants. Asteraceae was the most common plant family reportedly used by the participants. Allium sativum and Dicoma anomala , reportedly used by 21.0% and 14.3% respectively, were the most commonly used medicinal herbs in this population. In addition, boosting the immune system and treating gastrointestinal ailments, apparently cited by 32% and 28% participants respectively, were the most commonly reported reasons for using medicinal herbs. A considerable proportion (69.9%) of HIV-positive people use medicinal herbs in this population, and 7.7% use them frequently. At least 20 plant species belonging to 16 families were reportedly used by the participants. HIV counselling protocols in Lesotho should emphasize the dangers of using medicinal herbs whose safety and

Compatibility art of traditional Chinese medicine: from the perspective of herb pairs.

PubMed

Wang, Shengpeng; Hu, Yangyang; Tan, Wen; Wu, Xu; Chen, Ruie; Cao, Jiliang; Chen, Meiwan; Wang, Yitao

2012-09-28

Over the past decades, research of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) mainly focused on developing potential candidates from Chinese medicinal herbs, while the wisdom of applying these traditional herbs has not been paid as much attention as it deserves. As is well-known, multi-herb therapy is one of the most important characteristics of TCM, but the modernization drive of this conventional wisdom has faced many obstacles due to its unimaginable complexity. Herb pairs, the most fundamental and the simplest form of multi-herb formulae, are a centralized representative of Chinese herbal compatibility. In light of their simplicity and the basic characteristics of complex formulae, herb pairs are of great importance in the studies of herb compatibility. A systematic search of herb pair related research was carried out using multiple online literature databases, books and monographs published in the past 20 years. A comprehensive introduction to the compatibility of TCM, the position of herb pairs in TCM and the progresses of several famous herb pairs were provided in this review. Furthermore, the clinical study and the future research trends of herb pairs were also discussed. Herb pairs have played, and may continue to play a key role in full investigation of general herb compatibility for their indispensable position in TCM. Much more research is needed for the standardization, safety evaluation, and mechanism exploration of herb pairs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Role of Herbs and Spices in Cancer Prevention

PubMed Central

Kaefer, Christine M.; Milner, John A.

2009-01-01

Historically herbs and spices have enjoyed a rich tradition of use for their flavor-enhancement characteristics and for their medicinal properties. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases world-wide and the corresponding rise in health care costs is propelling interest among researchers and the public for these food related items for multiple health benefits, including a reduction in cancer risk and modification of tumor behavior. A growing body of epidemiological and preclinical evidence points to culinary herbs and spices as minor dietary constituents with multiple anticancer characteristics. This review focuses on the anti-microbial, antioxidant, and anti-tumorigenic properties of herbs and spices, their ability to influence carcinogen bioactivation, and likely anticancer contributions. While culinary herbs and spices present intriguing possibilities for health promotion, more complete information is needed about the actual exposures to dietary components that are needed to bring about a response and the molecular target(s) for specific herbs and spices. Only after this information is obtained will it be possible to define appropriate intervention strategies to achieve maximum benefits from herbs and spices without eliciting ill-consequences. PMID:18499033

PXR as a mediator of herb-drug interaction.

PubMed

Hogle, Brett C; Guan, Xiudong; Folan, M Maggie; Xie, Wen

2018-04-01

Medicinal herbs have been a part of human medicine for thousands of years. The herb-drug interaction is an extension of drug-drug interaction, in which the consumptions of herbs cause alterations in the metabolism of drugs the patients happen to take at the same time. The pregnane X receptor (PXR) has been established as one of the most important transcriptional factors that regulate the expression of phase I enzymes, phase II enzymes, and drug transporters in the xenobiotic responses. Since its initial discovery, PXR has been implicated in multiple herb-drug interactions that can lead to alterations of the drug's pharmacokinetic properties and cause fluctuating therapeutic efficacies, possibly leading to complications. Regions of the world that heavily incorporate herbalism into their primary health care and people turning to alternative medicines as a personal choice could be at risk for adverse reactions or unintended results from these interactions. This article is intended to highlight our understanding of the PXR-mediated herb-drug interactions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effect of a variety of Chinese herbs and an herb-containing dentifrice on volatile sulfur compounds associated with halitosis: An in vitro analysis

PubMed Central

Li, Ming-yu; Wang, Jun; Xu, Zhu-ting

2010-01-01

Background: The principal components of halitosis are volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) such as hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and dimethylsulfide or compounds such as butyric acid, propionic acid, putrescine, and cadaverine. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Chinese herbs on VSCs in vitro. Methods: Saliva samples from volunteers were used as the source for the evaluation of bacterial activity and VSC inhibition. Extracted substances from Chinese herbs were identified by VSC inhibition tests with a Halimeter and microbial sensitivity testing. The effectiveness on halitosis was compared between a dentifrice containing one of the effective Chinese herbs (ie, chrysanthemum flower [Chrysanthemum morifolium flos]), 4 commercially available antihalitosis dentifrices, and a positive control that received no treatment. Results: Ten volunteers provided saliva samples for VSC testing. Of the 40 herbs tested, 14 extracts had percent inhibition rates of VSCs >50%. Ten herbs showed greatest effect against all culturable microorganisms with bacterial inhibition >70%. There was a weak positive correlation between bacteriostasis and the anti-VSC activity of the herbs with a correlation coefficient of 0.2579 (Pearson). The mean (SD) values of the VSC testing were as follows: dentifrice containing chrysanthemum flower, 55.91 (8.16) ppb; Crest Tea Refreshing Dentifrice®, 48.39 (7.48) ppb (P = NS); Cortex Phellodendri Dentifrice®, 139.90 (14.70) ppb (P < 0.01); Colgate Total Plus Whitening®, 120.94 (15.58) ppb (P < 0.01); Zhong Hua Chinese Herbs Dentifrice®, 136.96 (13.06) ppb (P < 0.01); and positive control, 312.38 (28.58) ppb (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Of 40 herbs tested, 14 Chinese herbs were found to be effective for VSC inhibition. A dentifrice containing chrysanthemum flower reduced the formation of VSC in vitro, showing a significantly greater effect than the control group and 3 of 4 dentifrices already on the market. PMID:24683259

Effect of a variety of Chinese herbs and an herb-containing dentifrice on volatile sulfur compounds associated with halitosis: An in vitro analysis.

PubMed

Li, Ming-Yu; Wang, Jun; Xu, Zhu-Ting

2010-04-01

The principal components of halitosis are volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) such as hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and dimethylsulfide or compounds such as butyric acid, propionic acid, putrescine, and cadaverine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Chinese herbs on VSCs in vitro. Saliva samples from volunteers were used as the source for the evaluation of bacterial activity and VSC inhibition. Extracted substances from Chinese herbs were identified by VSC inhibition tests with a Halimeter and microbial sensitivity testing. The effectiveness on halitosis was compared between a dentifrice containing one of the effective Chinese herbs (ie, chrysanthemum flower [Chrysanthemum morifolium flos]), 4 commercially available antihalitosis dentifrices, and a positive control that received no treatment. Ten volunteers provided saliva samples for VSC testing. Of the 40 herbs tested, 14 extracts had percent inhibition rates of VSCs >50%. Ten herbs showed greatest effect against all culturable microorganisms with bacterial inhibition >70%. There was a weak positive correlation between bacteriostasis and the anti-VSC activity of the herbs with a correlation coefficient of 0.2579 (Pearson). The mean (SD) values of the VSC testing were as follows: dentifrice containing chrysanthemum flower, 55.91 (8.16) ppb; Crest Tea Refreshing Dentifrice®, 48.39 (7.48) ppb (P = NS); Cortex Phellodendri Dentifrice®, 139.90 (14.70) ppb (P < 0.01); Colgate Total Plus Whitening®, 120.94 (15.58) ppb (P < 0.01); Zhong Hua Chinese Herbs Dentifrice®, 136.96 (13.06) ppb (P < 0.01); and positive control, 312.38 (28.58) ppb (P < 0.01). Of 40 herbs tested, 14 Chinese herbs were found to be effective for VSC inhibition. A dentifrice containing chrysanthemum flower reduced the formation of VSC in vitro, showing a significantly greater effect than the control group and 3 of 4 dentifrices already on the market.

A preliminary report on the genetic variation in pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica Roxb.) as assessed by random amplified polymorphic DNA.

PubMed

Adhikari, S; Biswas, A; Bandyopadhyay, T K; Ghosh, P D

2014-06-01

Pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica Roxb.) is an economically important cucurbit and is extensively propagated through vegetative means, viz vine and root cuttings. As the accessions are poorly characterized it is important at the beginning of a breeding programme to discriminate among available genotypes to establish the level of genetic diversity. The genetic diversity of 10 pointed gourd races, referred to as accessions was evaluated. DNA profiling was generated using 10 sequence independent RAPD markers. A total of 58 scorable loci were observed out of which 18 (31.03%) loci were considered polymorphic. Genetic diversity parameters [average and effective number of alleles, Shannon's index, percent polymorphism, Nei's gene diversity, polymorphic information content (PIC)] for RAPD along with UPGMA clustering based on Jaccard's coefficient were estimated. The UPGMA dendogram constructed based on RAPD analysis in 10 pointed gourd accessions were found to be grouped in a single cluster and may represent members of one heterotic group. RAPD analysis showed promise as an effective tool in estimating genetic polymorphism in different accessions of pointed gourd.

Drug discovery of neurodegenerative disease through network pharmacology approach in herbs.

PubMed

Ke, Zhipeng; Zhang, Xinzhuang; Cao, Zeyu; Ding, Yue; Li, Na; Cao, Liang; Wang, Tuanjie; Zhang, Chenfeng; Ding, Gang; Wang, Zhenzhong; Xu, Xiaojie; Xiao, Wei

2016-03-01

Neurodegenerative diseases, referring to as the progressive loss of structure and function of neurons, constitute one of the major challenges of modern medicine. Traditional Chinese herbs have been used as a major preventive and therapeutic strategy against disease for thousands years. The numerous species of medicinal herbs and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) compound formulas in nervous system disease therapy make it a large chemical resource library for drug discovery. In this work, we collected 7362 kinds of herbs and 58,147 Traditional Chinese medicinal compounds (Tcmcs). The predicted active compounds in herbs have good oral bioavailability and central nervous system (CNS) permeability. The molecular docking and network analysis were employed to analyze the effects of herbs on neurodegenerative diseases. In order to evaluate the predicted efficacy of herbs, automated text mining was utilized to exhaustively search in PubMed by some related keywords. After that, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves was used to estimate the accuracy of predictions. Our study suggested that most herbs were distributed in family of Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae and Apocynaceae. The predictive model yielded good sensitivity and specificity with the AUC values above 0.800. At last, 504 kinds of herbs were obtained by using the optimal cutoff values in ROC curves. These 504 herbs would be the most potential herb resources for neurodegenerative diseases treatment. This study would give us an opportunity to use these herbs as a chemical resource library for drug discovery of anti-neurodegenerative disease. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Reducing drug–herb interaction risk with a computerized reminder system

PubMed Central

Lin, Sheng-Shing; Tsai, Chiu-Lin; Tu, Ching-Yeh; Hsieh, Ching-Liang

2015-01-01

Background Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine are both popular in Taiwan. Approximately 14.1% of Taiwanese residents use Western drugs and Chinese herbs concurrently; therefore, drug–herb interaction is critical to patient safety. This paper presents a new procedure for reducing the risk of drug interactions. Methods Hospital computer systems are modified to ensure that drug–herb interactions are automatically detected when a TCM practitioner is writing a prescription. A pop-up reminder appears, warning of interactions, and the practitioner may adjust doses, delete herbs, or leave the prescription unchanged. A pharmacist will receive interaction information through the system and provide health education to the patient. Results During the 2011–2013 study period, 256 patients received 891 herbal prescriptions with potential drug–herb interactions. Three of the 50 patients who concurrently used ginseng and antidiabetic drugs manifested hypoglycemia (fasting blood sugar level ≤70 mg/dL). Conclusion Drug–herb interactions can cause adverse reactions. A computerized reminder system can enable TCM practitioners to reduce the risk of drug–herb interactions. In addition, health education for patients is crucial in avoiding adverse reaction by the interactions. PMID:25733840

Kynurenic acid content in anti-rheumatic herbs.

PubMed

Zgrajka, Wojciech; Turska, Monika; Rajtar, Grażyna; Majdan, Maria; Parada-Turska, Jolanta

2013-01-01

The use of herbal medicines is common among people living in rural areas and increasingly popular in urbanized countries. Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is a metabolite of kynurenine possessing anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and pain reliving properties. Previous data indicated that the content of KYNA in the synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is lower than in patients with osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder affecting about 1% of the world's population. The aim of the presented study was to investigate the content of KYNA in 11 herbal preparations used in rheumatic diseases. The following herbs were studied: bean pericarp, birch leaf, dandelion root, elder flower, horsetail herb, nettle leaf, peppermint leaf and willow bark. An anti-rheumatic mixture of the herbs Reumatefix and Reumaflos tea were also investigated. The herbs were prepared according to producers' directions. In addition, the herbal supplement Devil's Claw containing root of Harpagophytum was used. KYNA content was measured using the high-performance liquid chromatography method, and KYNA was detected fluorometrically. KYNA was found in all studied herbal preparations. The highest content of KYNA was found in peppermint, nettle, birch leaf and the horsetail herb. The lowest content of KYNA was found in willow bark, dandelion root and in the extract from the root of Harpagophytum. These findings indicate that the use of herbal preparations containing a high level of KYNA can be considered as a supplementary measure in rheumatoid arthritis therapy, as well as in rheumatic diseases prevention.

Peroxynitrite scavenging activity of herb extracts.

PubMed

Choi, Hye Rhi; Choi, Jae Sue; Han, Yong Nam; Bae, Song Ja; Chung, Hae Young

2002-06-01

Peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) is a cytotoxicant with strong oxidizing properties toward various cellular constituents, including sulphydryls, lipids, amino acids and nucleotides and can cause cell death, lipid peroxidation, carcinogenesis and aging. The aim of this study was to characterize ONOO(-) scavenging constituents from herbs. Twenty-eight herbs were screened for their ONOO(-) scavenging activities with the use of a fluorometric method. The potency of scavenging activity following the addition of authentic ONOO(-) was in the following order: witch hazel bark > rosemary > jasmine tea > sage > slippery elm > black walnut leaf > Queen Anne's lace > Linden flower. The extracts exhibited dose-dependent ONOO(-) scavenging activities. We found that witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana L.) bark showed the strongest effect for scavenging ONOO(-) of the 28 herbs. Hamamelitannin, the major active component of witch hazel bark, was shown to have a strong ability to scavenge ONOO(-). It is suggested that hamamelitannin might be developed as an effective peroxynitrite scavenger for the prevention of ONOO(-) involved diseases. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Consumer acceptance of model soup system with varying levels of herbs and salt.

PubMed

Wang, Chao; Lee, Youngsoo; Lee, Soo-Yeun

2014-10-01

Although herbs have been reported as one of the most common saltiness enhancers, few studies have focused on the effect of herbs on reducing added sodium as well as the impact of herbs on consumers' overall liking of foods. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the effect of varying levels of herbs on reducing added sodium and consumers' overall liking of soups and identify the impact of salt levels on consumers' overall liking of soups. Overall liking of freshly prepared and retorted canned soups with varying levels of herbs was evaluated before and after adding salt by consumers ad libitum until the saltiness of the soup was just about right for them. The results of the study demonstrated that when the perceived herb flavor increased, the amount of salt consumers added to fresh soups decreased (P ≤ 0.006); however, consumers' overall liking decreased (P ≤ 0.013) as well for the highest level of herb tested in the study. Although overall liking of all canned soups was not significantly decreased by herbs, the amount of salt consumers added was also not significantly decreased when herbs were used. Overall liking of all soups significantly increased after more salt was added (P ≤ 0.001), which indicates that salt level was a dominant factor in affecting consumers' overall liking of soups with varying levels of herbs. These findings imply the role of herbs in decreasing salt intake, and the adequate amount of herbs to be added in soup systems. It is challenging for the food industry to reduce sodium in foods without fully understanding the impact of sodium reduction on sensory properties of foods. Herbs are recommended to use in reducing sodium; however, little has been reported regarding the effect of herbs on sodium reduction and how herbs influence consumers’ acceptance of foods. This study provides findings that herbs may aid in decreasing the amount of salt consumers need to add for freshly prepared soups. It was also found that high

Plants: Partners in Health? Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and You

MedlinePlus

... Special Issues Subscribe April 2016 Print this issue Plants: Partners in Health? Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and You ... fresh herbs and spices? Growing your own edible plants—whether in a backyard garden or a few ...

Determination of aflatoxin B1 levels in organic spices and herbs.

PubMed

Tosun, Halil; Arslan, Recep

2013-01-01

Organically produced spices and herbs were analyzed for determination of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) by ELISA using immunoaffinity column. For this purpose 93 organic spices and 37 organic herbs were randomly selected from organic markets and organic shops in Turkey. AFB1 was detected in 58 organic spice and 32 organic herb samples. Among organic spice samples, the maximum value was detected in cinnamon sample (53 μg/kg). AFB1 was not detected in thyme samples. AFB1 levels of 41 organic spice samples were above the EU regulatory limit (5 μg/kg). Among organic herb samples the highest concentration of AFB1 (52.5 μg/kg) was detected in a rosehip sample. AFB1 levels of 21 organic herb samples were above the regulatory limits of the European Union. These results showed that more stringent measures must be taken for the prevention of mold contamination in the production of organic spices and herbs.

Determination of Aflatoxin B1 Levels in Organic Spices and Herbs

PubMed Central

Tosun, Halil; Arslan, Recep

2013-01-01

Organically produced spices and herbs were analyzed for determination of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) by ELISA using immunoaffinity column. For this purpose 93 organic spices and 37 organic herbs were randomly selected from organic markets and organic shops in Turkey. AFB1 was detected in 58 organic spice and 32 organic herb samples. Among organic spice samples, the maximum value was detected in cinnamon sample (53 μg/kg). AFB1 was not detected in thyme samples. AFB1 levels of 41 organic spice samples were above the EU regulatory limit (5 μg/kg). Among organic herb samples the highest concentration of AFB1 (52.5 μg/kg) was detected in a rosehip sample. AFB1 levels of 21 organic herb samples were above the regulatory limits of the European Union. These results showed that more stringent measures must be taken for the prevention of mold contamination in the production of organic spices and herbs. PMID:23766719

HerDing: herb recommendation system to treat diseases using genes and chemicals

PubMed Central

Choi, Wonjun; Choi, Chan-Hun; Kim, Young Ran; Kim, Seon-Jong; Na, Chang-Su; Lee, Hyunju

2016-01-01

In recent years, herbs have been researched for new drug candidates because they have a long empirical history of treating diseases and are relatively free from side effects. Studies to scientifically prove the medical efficacy of herbs for target diseases often spend a considerable amount of time and effort in choosing candidate herbs and in performing experiments to measure changes of marker genes when treating herbs. A computational approach to recommend herbs for treating diseases might be helpful to promote efficiency in the early stage of such studies. Although several databases related to traditional Chinese medicine have been already developed, there is no specialized Web tool yet recommending herbs to treat diseases based on disease-related genes. Therefore, we developed a novel search engine, HerDing, focused on retrieving candidate herb-related information with user search terms (a list of genes, a disease name, a chemical name or an herb name). HerDing was built by integrating public databases and by applying a text-mining method. The HerDing website is free and open to all users, and there is no login requirement. Database URL: http://combio.gist.ac.kr/herding PMID:26980517

Using of the herb in space foods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katayama, Naomi

2016-07-01

The astronaut must do much work in a short time. The astronaut is exposed to much stress. For examples; Break of the hormone balance, Inappetence, Sleep shortage. Therefore the role that the meal serves as becomes big. It greatly participates in not only the health maintenance but also the mental health to consume a meal. Most of space foods are freeze dry, and the mineral is abundant, but it is necessary for the vitamins to add it particularly. When I think about it, the cultivation of the fresh vegetables with the spaceship is necessary. The Asian project team suggested cultivation of the herb in the space. The herbs were sweet basil, Dukung Abak, Hempedu Bumi and Chinese holly basil. Each herb has a fragrance ingredient. The fragrance ingredient stimulates human sense of smell. The fragrance ingredient increases an appetite. The good fragrance derives a good sleep. I can feel passage of time by observing a plant being brought up. It helps mental health to bring up a plant. We try that we bring up herb under a condition of the space. Because an experiment on the ground was over, we report it. The sweet basil which a germination rate has good is the first candidate when we think about temperature and light quantity in the space. Three kinds of other herbs are slow-growing and germination-rate is lower than sweet basil. We think that probably we will send a sweet basil to the spaceship in space. After a sweet basil grew up in a spaceship, we analyze a fragrance ingredient. We will cook the sweeter basil and want to eat.

Effects of irradiation in medicinal and eatable herbs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koseki, Paula M.; Villavicencio, Anna Lúcia C. H.; Brito, Mônica S.; Nahme, Ligia C.; Sebastião, Kátia I.; Rela, Paulo R.; Almeida-Muradian, Ligia B.; Mancini-Filho, Jorge; Freitas, Paulo C. D.

2002-03-01

For ages, herbs have been used as medicine and food. Nowadays, the interest in phytotherapeutics is increasing as well as the consumer attention. Some biochemical compounds synthesized by plants as alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, essential oils, tannins and vitamins, influence the composition of these plant pharmacologicals, which may produce various reactions in the human body. The microbial contamination in these raw plant materials is common, and the radiation processing is one appropriate technique for the reduction of microorganism. In herbs used as food products, the changes in total β-carotene and flavonoids upon the radiation treatment were tested. The powdered and dehydrated herbs were irradiated with 60Co gamma rays applying doses of 0, 10, 20 and 30 kGy. The botanical species investigated were rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis Linné), watercress ( Nasturtium officinale R. Br), artichoke ( Cynara scolymus Linné) and sweet basil ( Ocimum basilicum Linné). The alterations in the active principles in the herbs following increasing doses of radiation were analyzed employing various methods of extraction and chromatography.

Thermoluminscence of irradiated herbs and spices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mamoon, A.; Abdul-Fattah, A. A.; Abulfaraj, W. H.

1994-07-01

Several types of herbs and spices from the local market were irradiated with different doses of γ radiations. Doses varied from a few kilograys to 10 kilograys. Thermoluminescence of the irradiated samples and their controls was investigated. For the same type of herb or spice glow curves of different magnitudes, corresponding somewhat to the doses given, were obtained from the irradiated samples. Most control samples gave little or insignificant glow. Glow curves from different herbs and spices irradiated with the same doses were not similar in the strength of the glow signal given. Samples of the black pepper obtained from different packages sometimes give glow curves of very different intensities. Samples from irradiated black pepper were found to show little fading of their glow curves even at 9 months postirradiation. All irradiations were done under the same experimental conditions and at a dose rate of approximately 1 kGy h-1. The glow curves were obtained using a heating rate of about 9°C s-1 and a constant nitrogen flow rate.

Physicochemical Parameters and Antioxidant Activity of Bee Honey Enriched With Herbs.

PubMed

Dżugan, Małgorzata; Sowa, Patrycja; Kwaśniewska, Monika; Wesołowska, Monika; Czernicka, Maria

2017-03-01

Three groups of products enriched with herbs were studied: (1) commercial herb honeys (n = 5) produced by bees fed a syrup with an herbal extract, (2) natural herbal honey (n = 3) produced by bees from the nectar of herbs, and (3) creamed multifloral honey with added dried herbs (n = 5). As a control, multifloral honey (n = 5) was used. The physicochemical parameters (i.e., sugar extract, water content, specific rotation, conductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, pH and acidity), sugar profiles (HPLC analysis), antioxidant activity and total phenolic compounds content of the studied samples were compared. Although great diversity in the basic properties of the studied products was observed, they were comparable to multifloral honey and complied with honey regulations. Significant differences in sugar composition were observed, and adversely positive rotation (excluding nettle herb honey) was detected in group 1, likely resulting from the change in bee feeding. The best antioxidant activity for creamed honeys with dried herbs (group 2) was investigated, whereas herb honeys (group 1) exhibited similar antioxidant properties as multifloral honey. The use of controlled feeding of bees appears to be an effective method of enriching honey with desirable plant bioactive components to create innovative bee products.

HerDing: herb recommendation system to treat diseases using genes and chemicals.

PubMed

Choi, Wonjun; Choi, Chan-Hun; Kim, Young Ran; Kim, Seon-Jong; Na, Chang-Su; Lee, Hyunju

2016-01-01

In recent years, herbs have been researched for new drug candidates because they have a long empirical history of treating diseases and are relatively free from side effects. Studies to scientifically prove the medical efficacy of herbs for target diseases often spend a considerable amount of time and effort in choosing candidate herbs and in performing experiments to measure changes of marker genes when treating herbs. A computational approach to recommend herbs for treating diseases might be helpful to promote efficiency in the early stage of such studies. Although several databases related to traditional Chinese medicine have been already developed, there is no specialized Web tool yet recommending herbs to treat diseases based on disease-related genes. Therefore, we developed a novel search engine, HerDing, focused on retrieving candidate herb-related information with user search terms (a list of genes, a disease name, a chemical name or an herb name). HerDing was built by integrating public databases and by applying a text-mining method. The HerDing website is free and open to all users, and there is no login requirement. Database URL: http://combio.gist.ac.kr/herding. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Antioxidant activity of 45 Chinese herbs and the relationship with their TCM characteristics

PubMed Central

Banbury, Linda K.; Leach, David N.

2008-01-01

Here, 45 Chinese herbs that regulate blood circulation were analyzed for antioxidant activity using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. A recent publication by Ou et al. identified a close relationship between in vitro antioxidant activity and classification of Chinese herbs as yin or yang. The 45 Chinese herbs in this study could be assigned the traditional characteristics of natures (cold, cool, hot and warm), flavors (pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty) and functions (arresting bleeding, promoting blood flow to relieve stasis, nourishing blood and clearing away heat from blood). These characteristics are generalized according to the theory of yin and yang. We identified a broad range, 40–1990 µmol Trolox Equivalent/g herbs, of antioxidant activity in water extracts. There was no significant correlation between ORAC values and natures or functions of the herbs. There was a significant relationship between flavors and ORAC values. Bitter and/or sour herbs had the highest ORAC values, pungent and/or sweet herbs the lowest. Other flavors had intermediate values. Flavors also correspond with the yin/yang relationship and our results are supportive of the earlier publication. We reported for the first time antioxidant properties of many Chinese herbs. High antioxidant herbs were identified as Spatholobus suberectus vine (1990 µmol TE/g), Sanguisorba officinalis root (1940 µmol TE/g), Agrimonia pilosa herb (1440 µmol TE/g), Artemisia anomala herb (1400 µmol TE/g), Salvia miltiorrhiza root (1320 µmol TE/g) and Nelembo nucifera leaf (1300 µmol TE/g). Antioxidant capacity appears to correlate with the flavors of herbs identified within the formal TCM classification system and may be a useful guide in describing their utility and biochemical mechanism of action. PMID:18955214

Identification of cell surface glycoprotein markers for glioblastoma-derived stem-like cells using a lectin microarray and LC-MS/MS approach

PubMed Central

He, Jintang; Liu, Yashu; Xie, Xiaolei; Zhu, Thant; Soules, Mary; DiMeco, Francesco; Vescovi, Angelo L.; Fan, Xing; Lubman, David M.

2010-01-01

Despite progress in the treatment of glioblastoma, more than 95% of patients suffering from this disease still die within two years. Recent findings support the belief that cancer stem-like cells are responsible for tumor formation and ongoing growth. Here a method combining lectin microarray and LC-MS/MS was used to discover the cell surface glycoprotein markers of a glioblastoma-derived stem-like cell line. Lectin microarray analysis of cell surface glycans showed that two galactose-specific lectins Trichosanthes kirilowii agglutinin (TKA) and Peanut agglutinin (PNA) could distinguish the stem-like glioblastoma neurosphere culture from a traditional adherent glioblastoma cell line. Agarose-bound TKA and PNA were used to capture the glycoproteins from the two cell cultures, which were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. The glycoproteins were quantified by spectral counting, resulting in the identification of 12 and 11 potential glycoprotein markers from the TKA and PNA captured fractions respectively. Almost all of these proteins were membrane proteins. Differential expression was verified by Western blotting analysis of 6 interesting proteins, including the up-regulated Receptor-type tyrosine-protein phosphatase zeta, Tenascin-C, Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan NG2, Podocalyxin-like protein 1 and CD90, and the down-regulated CD44. An improved understanding of these proteins may be important for earlier diagnosis and better therapeutic targeting of glioblastoma. PMID:20235609

Could the gut microbiota reconcile the oral bioavailability conundrum of traditional herbs?

PubMed

Chen, Feng; Wen, Qi; Jiang, Jun; Li, Hai-Long; Tan, Yin-Feng; Li, Yong-Hui; Zeng, Nian-Kai

2016-02-17

A wealth of information is emerging about the impact of gut microbiota on human health and diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes. As we learn more, we find out the gut microbiota has the potential as new territory for drug targeting. Some novel therapeutic approaches could be developed through reshaping the commensal microbial structure using combinations of different agents. The gut microbiota also affects drug metabolism, directly and indirectly, particularly towards the orally administered drugs. Herbal products have become the basis of traditional medicines such as traditional Chinese medicine and also been being considered valuable materials in modern drug discovery. Of note, low oral bioavailability but high bioactivity is a conundrum not yet solved for some herbs. Since most of herbal products are orally administered, the herbs' constituents are inevitably exposed to the intestinal microbiota and the interplays between herbal constituents and gut microbiota are expected. Emerging explorations of herb-microbiota interactions have an opportunity to revolutionize the way we view herbal therapeutics. The present review aims to provide information regarding the health promotion and/or disease prevention by the interplay between traditional herbs with low bioavailability and gut microbiota through gut microbiota via two different types of mechanisms: (1) influencing the composition of gut microbiota by herbs and (2) metabolic reactions of herbal constituents by gut microbiota. The major data bases (PubMed and Web of Science) were searched using "gut microbiota", "intestinal microbiota", "gut flora", "intestinal flora", "gut microflora", "intestinal microflora", "herb", "Chinese medicine", "traditional medicine", or "herbal medicine" as keywords to find out studies regarding herb-microbiota interactions. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition, Volume I) was also used to collect the data of commonly used medicinal herbs and their quality

[Thought on several problems of clinical revaluation of post-marketing herb research].

PubMed

He, Wei; Xie, Yanming; Wang, Yongyan

2010-06-01

The revaluation of post-marketing herb is a complex research work, which concerns widely content and difficult to put it into practice. The starting of our country's revaluation post-marketing herb was comparatively late. It should profect it both in laws and regulations mechanism as well as technological specification. This article is try to focus on some attention problems in revaluation of postmarketing herb process. Such as the laws and regulations demand, the basement and the subject of revaluation of post-marketing herb.

[Combining herbs with medication--risks vs. chances].

PubMed

Amir, Nir

2013-07-01

Traditional herbal medicine is driven by the use of plants or parts of plants, which have undergone minimal processing in order to treat disease and improve health. The article: "Traditional Immunosuppression--Lei Gong Teng in Modern Medicine", published in this issue of "Harefuah", raises the importance of integrating herbal medicine within the existing medical system. However, there are various limitations on integrating herbology in official frameworks, such as bureaucratic and legislative restrictions concerning the safety and efficacy of the herbs. This allows the marketing of many plants without a prescription requirement or professional advice. Another limitation relates to therapists, some of whom have not undergone proper training and may recommend the improper use of plants, resulting in a problematic combination with drugs in some cases. Regulation is necessary in order to better serve both the public and doctors. Regulation will define who is allowed to work with herbs and this will create a secure integration of herbs into the formal medical world.

Systematic Review of Breastfeeding and Herbs

PubMed Central

Budzynska, Katarzyna; Gardner, Zoë E.; Dugoua, Jean-Jacques; Low Dog, Tieraona

2012-01-01

Abstract Objectives Despite popular and historical use, there has been little modern research conducted to determine the safety and efficacy of herb use during breastfeeding. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the clinical literature on herbal medicine and lactation. Methods The databases PubMed, CAB Abstracts, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, HealthSTAR, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Reprotox were systematically searched for human trials from 1970 until 2010. Reference lists from relevant articles were hand-searched. Results Thirty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. Clinical studies were divided into three categories: survey studies (n=11), safety studies (n=8), and efficacy studies (n=13). Six studies were randomized controlled trials. The most common herbs studied were St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) (n=3), garlic (Allium sativum L.) extract (n=2), and senna (Cassia senna L.) (n=2). Studies were very heterogeneous with regard to study design, herbal intervention, and outcome measures. Overall, poor methodological quality predominated among the studies. Conclusions Our review concludes that further research is needed to assess the prevalence, efficacy, and safety of commonly used herbs during breastfeeding. PMID:22686865

Detection of Poisonous Herbs by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, H.; Li, Z.; Chen, T.; Liu, J.-J.

2018-03-01

The aim of this paper is the application of terahertz (THz) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics techniques to distinguish poisonous and non-poisonous herbs which both have a similar appearance. Spectra of one poisonous and two non-poisonous herbs (Gelsemium elegans, Lonicera japonica Thunb, and Ficus Hirta Vahl) were obtained in the range 0.2-1.4 THz by using a THz time-domain spectroscopy system. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for feature extraction. The prediction accuracy of classification is between 97.78 to 100%. The results demonstrate an efficient and applicative method to distinguish poisonous herbs, and it may be implemented by using THz spectroscopy combined with chemometric algorithms.

The Antidepressant and Cognitive Improvement Activities of the Traditional Chinese Herb Cistanche

PubMed Central

Wang, Haizhen

2017-01-01

More than ten percent of people suffer from at least one episode of depression and related mental disorders in a lifetime, and depression and related mental disorders are one of the world's greatest public health problems. A multiple system theory holds that dysregulation of the multiple systems underlies the pathogenesis of depression and related mental disorders, and new therapies based on the multiple system dysregulation theory are urgently needed. In this study, the antidepressant effect of decoction from herb Cistanche deserticola Y.C.Ma and Cistanche tubulosa was examined. Herb Cistanche decoction reduced the immobility period significantly in the mouse tail suspension test. Mice treated with herb decoction showed an improved ability of spatial learning and memory in the Morris water maze test. Groups treated herb decoction displayed a downregulated monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity; the dopamine (DA) concentration in the brain was upregulated, indicating herb Cistanche decoction improved the nerve excitability; the serum concentration of corticosterone (CORT) was downregulated, showing that mice benefited from a reduced stress level. Hence, the antidepressant efficacy and mechanism of traditional Chinese herb Cistanche were explored in this study. Herb Cistanche showed a potential to be developed as a complementary and alternative therapy for depression. PMID:28744316

Antioxidative and antimutagenic activities of healthy herbal drinks from Chinese medicinal herbs.

PubMed

Chen, Wenlung; Weng, Yih-Ming; Tseng, Chin-Yin

2003-01-01

Twenty-nine Chinese medicinal herbs and three healthy herbal drinks made of those herbs in a food processing pilot plant were tested for their antioxidative, free radical scavenging, mutagenic and antimutagenic activities. Water extracts of herbs (with few exceptions) and herbal drinks showed free radical scavenging activity. All water extracts of herbs and herbal drinks showed no mutagenicity toward Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98 and TA100 used in the Ames mutagenic tests. In the antimutagenic tests, the mutagenic activity of 4-nitroquinoline N-oxide (NQNO) toward S. typhimurium TA98 was markedly inhibited by water extracts of herbs and herbal drinks. Based on the results, it is suggested that the herbal drinks manufactured in pilot-plant scale are safe and can be served as health-promoting drinks for the public.

Assessment of the microbiological safety of dried spices and herbs commercialized in Spain.

PubMed

Sospedra, Isabel; Soriano, Jose M; Mañes, Jordi

2010-12-01

Spices and herbs are natural products or their blends that must be free of extraneous matter content. Conventional production of these products implicates a number of hygienic problems so spices and herbs may be exposed to a wide range of microbial contamination during pre- and post-harvest and they can present high microbial counts. In this study, we have analyzed the microbial quality of 53 samples of spices and dry herbs collected from Spanish markets detecting a contamination of samples of spices with mesophilic aerobic counts (10%) and Enterobacteriaceae (20%). The analysis from herbs showed that the percentage of contamination was 26% in both microbiological values. Pathogenic microorganisms like Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia intermedia, Shigella spp., Enterobacter spp., Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Hafni alvei were also isolated from spices and herbs. These unsatisfactory results showed a poor microbiological quality. Spices and dry herbs are used as ingredients in a variety of products prepared in different ways, this fact suggests the need to provide a control system to improve the quality of herbs and spices.

Inhibition of urease by extracts derived from 15 Chinese medicinal herbs.

PubMed

Shi, Da-Hua; Liu, Yu-Wei; Liu, Wei-Wei; Gu, Zhi-Feng

2011-07-01

Helicobacter pylori is a major causative factor in gastritis-like disorders, and urease plays a key role in Helicobacter pylori colonizing and persisting in the mucous layer of the human stomach. In China, a variety of Chinese medicinal herbs have been prescribed to attenuate or eradicate gastritis-like disorders. However, little is known about the urease inhibition of Chinese medicinal herbs. The present study was conducted to investigate the urease inhibition activities of the ethanol and water extracts of 15 Chinese medicinal herbs. The ethanol and water extracts derived from 15 medicinal herbs, traditionally used for the treatment of gastritis-like disorders in China, were tested for urease-inhibition activity using the phenol red method. Screened at 10 µg/mL, 14 ethanol extracts and 10 water extracts showed urease inhibition. The ethanol extracts of Magnolia officinalis Rehd. et Wils. (Magnoliaceae) and Cassia obtusifolia L. (Leguminosae) possessed inhibition rates higher than 50% with IC₅₀ values of 6.5 and 12.3 µg/mL, respectively. After fractionating successively, the petroleum ether fraction of the ethanol extracts of Magnolia officinalis showed the best activity with 90.8% urease inhibition at a concentration of 10 µg/mL. The bioautography of the petroleum ether fraction indicated the existence of the urease inhibitors in the herb. The present results indicated that some Chinese medicinal herbs might treat gastritis-like disorders via the inhibition of Helicobacter pylori urease and the further possibility for discovering useful novel urease inhibitors from the Chinese medicinal herbs.

Consumers' acceptance of medicinal herbs: An application of the technology acceptance model (TAM).

PubMed

Jokar, Nargesh Khatun; Noorhosseini, Seyyed Ali; Allahyari, Mohammad Sadegh; Damalas, Christos A

2017-07-31

The shift in consumers' preferences from synthetic to 'natural' products has led to a resurgence of interest in medicinal plants, particularly in developing countries. However, research data about consumers' preferences for particular products is hard to find. The main objective of this study was to contribute to the general understanding of consumers' intention for selecting medicinal herbs for consumption. Factors underpinning consumers' acceptance of medicinal herbs were studied with the technology acceptance model (TAM) in Rasht City of Iran using a structured questionnaire. Most respondents had low to moderate familiarity with consumption of medicinal herbs. However, about half of the respondents (47.5%) showed a high level of acceptance of medicinal herbs. Herbs like spearmint (Mentha spicata L.), spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), Damask rose (Rosa × damascena Herrm.), saffron (Crocus sativus L.), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum J.Presl), flixweed [Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb ex Prantl], red feathers (Echium amoenum Fisch. & C.A.Mey.), and green tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze] had the highest consumption rate among the majority (over 75%) of citizens of Rasht. The highest rate of perceived usefulness of medicinal herbs was related to their perceived role in healing diseases. The variable of importance of use of medicinal herbs had the strongest direct effect and the variables of perceived usefulness and attitude towards use had the second and third strongest direct effect on the acceptance of medicinal herbs' use at p < 0.01. Findings provide a useful evaluation of the acceptance of medicinal herbs and may serve as a benchmark for future research and evaluation concerning the use of medicinal herbs over time. For plant producers, more effective and targeted crop development should be encouraged, whereas for retailers better marketing and delivery strategies should be sought. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights

An update on Ayurvedic herb Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy

PubMed Central

Agarwa, Parul; Sharma, Bhawna; Fatima, Amreen; Jain, Sanjay Kumar

2014-01-01

Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy (C. pluricaulis) is a perennial herb that seems like morning glory. All parts of the herb are known to possess therapeutic benefits. The plant is used locally in Indian and Chinese medicine to cure various diseases. It is used in Ayurvedic formulation for chronic cough, sleeplessness, epilepsy, hallucinations, anxiety etc. Based on the comprehensive review of plant profile, pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, pharmacological and toxicological data on the C. pluricaulis, there will be more opportunities for the future research and development on the herb C. pluricaulis. Information on the C. pluricaulis was collected via electronic search (using Pub Med, SciFinder, Google Scholar and Web of Science) and library search for articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Furthermore, information also was obtained from some local books on ethnopharmacology. This paper covers the literature, primarily pharmacological, from 1985 to the end of 2012. The C. pluricaulis is an important indigenous medicine, which has a long medicinal application for liver disease, epileptic disease, microbial disease, cytotoxic and viral diseases, central nervous system (CNS) disease in Ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and other indigenous medical systems. The isolated metabolites and crude extract have exhibited a wide of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological effect, including CNS depression, anxiolytic, tranquillizing, antidepressant, antistress, neurodegenerative, antiamnesic, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, immunomodulatory, analgesic, antifungal, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiulcer, anticatatonic, and cardiovascular activity. A chemical study of this plant was then initiated, which led to the isolation of carbohydrats, proteins, alkaloids, fatty acids, steroids, coumarins, flavanoids, and glycosides as active chemicals that bring about its biological effects. A series of pharmacognostical studies of this plant show that it is a herb, its stem and

[Impact of storage conditions and time on herb of Lonicera macranthoides].

PubMed

Ma, Peng; Li, Long-Yun; Zhang, Ying

2014-03-01

To study the effect of different storage conditions and storage time on herb quality of Lonicera macranthoides, different packaging materials including vacuum plastic bags, plastic bags, woven bags, sealed with endometrial bags, paper bags, sack bags were selected for the study under different storage conditions including room temperature, 5 degrees C refrigerator, low temperature of - 20 degrees C refrigerator and desiccator. Twenty-four batches of samples were used for the study, and active ingredients were determined. The experimental results showed that the ingredients in each storage group changed with the storage time, storage conditions (storage environment, packaging). Under the same storage time, the storage environment (temperature, humidity) had effect on the stability of herb quality. Low temperature had less effect on herb quality. The effect of packaging on herb quality was as following: plastic vacuum packaging > woven with endometrial sealed packaging > plastic bag > woven bag > sack bags > paper bags. Under the same storage conditions, with the increase of storage time, caffeic acid content increased slowly, and other five ingredients content decreased gradually. Storage time affected significantly on the intrinsic quality (chemical composition) and appearance of herb. It is suggested that low temperature (5 degrees C), dark and sealed storage are suitable for storage of L. macranthoides herb, the storage time should be not more than 24 months.

Interaction of Herbs and Glibenclamide: A Review

PubMed Central

Rai, Amita; Eapen, Cicy; Prasanth, V. G.

2012-01-01

Herbs and herbal products are considered to be safer and people mix it often with the oral hypoglycemic agent in diabetes therapy. But numerous reports say that every combination of herbs and drugs is not safe. Some combinations may be beneficial and some may be harmful also. So before taking any herbal remedies with oral hypoglycemic agent, patient should consult physician. In this paper we are summarizing the reports available on the interaction of herbal remedies to one of the oral hypoglycemic agents (glibenclamide) and categorizing the effect of the combination is beneficial and harmful. PMID:22844612

The Public Health Impact of Herbs and Nutritional Supplements.

PubMed

Cassileth, Barrie R; Heitzer, Marjet; Wesa, Kathleen

2009-08-01

Dietary supplement use has increased exponentially in recent years despite the lack of regulatory oversight and in the face of growing safety concerns. This paper provides an overview of the public health implications and safety concerns associated with dietary supplement use, especially by cancer patients. Botanical research is actively pursued at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) Integrative Medicine department. Work of the MSKCC Center for the Study of Botanical Immunomodulators is described, and guidelines for cancer patients' use of dietary supplements outlined. Herbs and other botanicals are complex, physiologically active agents, but little is known about most of the popular, widely available dietary supplements. Herb-drug interactions, a major concern, are exacerbated in the cancer setting. Biologically active agents may interfere with chemotherapy and other prescription medications. They may exert anti-coagulant activity at rather inconvenient times such as during surgery, and create other serious problems. Research on the bioavailability, effective dosage, safety and benefits of these complex agents is sorely needed. Oncology professionals and other healthcare providers should educate themselves and their patients about these issues. Probably the largest, continuously-updated free information resource is MSKCC's AboutHerbs website (www.mskcc.org/AboutHerbs).

Therapeutic Effects of Phytochemicals and Medicinal Herbs on Depression

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Background. Depression is a recurrent, common, and potentially life-threatening psychiatric disease related to multiple assignable causes. Although conventional antidepressant therapy can help relieve symptoms of depression and prevent relapse of the illness, complementary therapies are required due to disadvantage of the current therapy such as adverse effects. Moreover, a number of studies have researched adjunctive therapeutic approaches to improve outcomes for depression patients. Purpose. One potential complementary method with conventional antidepressants involves the use of medicinal herbs and phytochemicals that provide therapeutic benefits. Studies have revealed beneficial effects of medical herbs and phytochemicals on depression and their central nervous system mechanism. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of the therapeutic benefits of phytochemicals and medicinal herbs against depression and describe their detailed mechanisms. Sections. There are two sections, phytochemicals against depression and medical herbs against depression, in this review. Conclusion. Use of phytomedicine may be an alternative option for the treatment of depression in case conventional drugs are not applicable due to their side effects, low effectiveness, or inaccessibility. However, the efficacy and safety of these phytomedicine treatments for depression have to be supported by clinical studies. PMID:28503571

Therapeutic Effects of Phytochemicals and Medicinal Herbs on Depression.

PubMed

Lee, Gihyun; Bae, Hyunsu

2017-01-01

Background . Depression is a recurrent, common, and potentially life-threatening psychiatric disease related to multiple assignable causes. Although conventional antidepressant therapy can help relieve symptoms of depression and prevent relapse of the illness, complementary therapies are required due to disadvantage of the current therapy such as adverse effects. Moreover, a number of studies have researched adjunctive therapeutic approaches to improve outcomes for depression patients. Purpose . One potential complementary method with conventional antidepressants involves the use of medicinal herbs and phytochemicals that provide therapeutic benefits. Studies have revealed beneficial effects of medical herbs and phytochemicals on depression and their central nervous system mechanism. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of the therapeutic benefits of phytochemicals and medicinal herbs against depression and describe their detailed mechanisms. Sections . There are two sections, phytochemicals against depression and medical herbs against depression, in this review. Conclusion . Use of phytomedicine may be an alternative option for the treatment of depression in case conventional drugs are not applicable due to their side effects, low effectiveness, or inaccessibility. However, the efficacy and safety of these phytomedicine treatments for depression have to be supported by clinical studies.

Establishment of a bioassay for the toxicity evaluation and quality control of Aconitum herbs.

PubMed

Qin, Yi; Wang, Jia-bo; Zhao, Yan-ling; Shan, Li-mei; Li, Bao-cai; Fang, Fang; Jin, Cheng; Xiao, Xiao-he

2012-01-15

Currently, no bioassay is available for evaluating the toxicity of Aconitum herbs, which are well known for their lethal cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity. In this study, we established a bioassay to evaluate the toxicity of Aconitum herbs. Test sample and standard solutions were administered to rats by intravenous infusion to determine their minimum lethal doses (MLD). Toxic potency was calculated by comparing the MLD. The experimental conditions of the method were optimized and standardized to ensure the precision and reliability of the bioassay. The application of the standardized bioassay was then tested by analyzing 18 samples of Aconitum herbs. Additionally, three major toxic alkaloids (aconitine, mesaconitine, and hypaconitine) in Aconitum herbs were analyzed using a liquid chromatographic method, which is the current method of choice for evaluating the toxicity of Aconitum herbs. We found that for all Aconitum herbs, the total toxicity of the extract was greater than the toxicity of the three alkaloids. Therefore, these three alkaloids failed to account for the total toxicity of Aconitum herbs. Compared with individual chemical analysis methods, the chief advantage of the bioassay is that it characterizes the total toxicity of Aconitum herbs. An incorrect toxicity evaluation caused by quantitative analysis of the three alkaloids might be effectively avoided by performing this bioassay. This study revealed that the bioassay is a powerful method for the safety assessment of Aconitum herbs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microbiological quality of selected spices and herbs including the presence of Cronobacter spp.

PubMed

Garbowska, M; Berthold-Pluta, A; Stasiak-Różańska, L

2015-08-01

The cultivation of spices and herbs in parts of the world characterized by warm climate and high humidity provides excellent conditions for the development of microorganisms, including the undesirable ones. The aim of this study was to determine the microbiological quality of spices and herbs available on the Polish market, considering the occurrence of Cronobacter species bacteria. Analyses covered 60 samples of commercial spices and herbs, including 38 samples of dried herbs (basil, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, tarragon, marjoram, dill, parsley, rosemary, lovage) and 16 samples of seasoning blends as well as 6 samples of spices seeds and fruits (pimento, black pepper, coriander). All samples were tested for the total count of aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB) and for the presence of Cronobacter spp. In most of the samples of spices and herbs (60.0%), the TAMB did not exceed 10(4) CFU/g, and the level regarded as unacceptable (>10(6) CFU/g) was not identified in any of the samples. The presence of Cronobacter spp. was demonstrated in 10 (16.7%) samples of the analyzed products, however these were mainly samples of herbs (basil, tarragon, parsley) and one sample of a seasoning blend (Provence herbs). The highest microbiological contamination (TAMB) was found in samples of herbs (oregano, tarragon, basil) and in ready seasoning blends, in 21.1% and 25.0% of which the total count of aerobic mesophiles was in the range of 10(5)-10(6) CFU/g. In all samples of spices seeds and fruits (coriander, black pepper and pimento), the total count of aerobic bacteria reached <10(4) CFU/g. Results achieved in the study indicate good hygienic conditions in the production process of spices and herbs available on the Polish market. The study demonstrated also that dried spices and herbs may be carriers of Cronobacter species bacteria, though their presence in not often detected in products of this type. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bioactive Compounds in Some Culinary Aromatic Herbs and Their Effects on Human Health.

PubMed

Guiné, Raquel P F; Gonçalves, Fernando J

2016-01-01

Culinary herbs are herbaceous (leafy) plants that add flavour and colour to all types of meals. There is a wide variety of herbs that are used for culinary purposes worldwide, which are also recognized for their beneficial health effects, and thus have also been used in folk medicine. Besides their nutritional value herbs are rich in many phytochemical components with bioactive effects, thus improving human health. The aim of the present work was to make a general overview of some of these herbs, including their gastronomic usage, their chemical composition in bioactive components and their reported health effects. This work showed that the health effects are very diverse and differ according to the herb in question. However, some of the most frequently citted biological activities include antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiviral effects.

Anti-Hypertensive Herbs and Their Mechanisms of Action: Part II

PubMed Central

Anwar, M. Akhtar; Al Disi, Sara S.; Eid, Ali H.

2016-01-01

Traditional medicine has a history extending back to thousands of years, and during the intervening time, man has identified the healing properties of a very broad range of plants. Globally, the use of herbal therapies to treat and manage cardiovascular disease (CVD) is on the rise. This is the second part of our comprehensive review where we discuss the mechanisms of plants and herbs used for the treatment and management of high blood pressure. Similar to the first part, PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were utilized, and the following keywords and phrases were used as inclusion criteria: hypertension, high blood pressure, herbal medicine, complementary and alternative medicine, endothelial cells, nitric oxide (NO), vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation, hydrogen sulfide, nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), oxidative stress, and epigenetics/epigenomics. Each of the aforementioned keywords was co-joined with plant or herb in question, and where possible with its constituent molecule(s). This part deals in particular with plants that are used, albeit less frequently, for the treatment and management of hypertension. We then discuss the interplay between herbs/prescription drugs and herbs/epigenetics in the context of this disease. The review then concludes with a recommendation for more rigorous, well-developed clinical trials to concretely determine the beneficial impact of herbs and plants on hypertension and a disease-free living. PMID:27014064

Determination of superoxide dismutase mimetic activity in common culinary herbs.

PubMed

Chohan, Magali; Naughton, Declan P; Opara, Elizabeth I

2014-01-01

Under conditions of oxidative stress, the removal of superoxide, a free radical associated with chronic inflammation, is catalysed by superoxide dismutase (SOD). Thus in addition to acting as an antioxidant, SOD may also be utilized as an anti-inflammatory agent. Some plant derived foods have been shown to have SOD mimetic (SODm) activity however it is not known if this activity is possessed by culinary herbs which have previously been shown to possess both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of the study was to ascertain if the culinary herbs rosemary, sage and thyme possess SODm activity, and to investigate the influence of cooking and digestion on this activity. Transition metal ion content was also determined to establish if it could likely contribute to any SODm activity detected. All extracts of uncooked (U), cooked (C) and cooked and digested (C&D) herbs were shown to possess SODm activity, which was significantly correlated with previously determined antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of these herbs. SODm activity was significantly increased following (C) and (C&D) for rosemary and sage only. The impact of (C) and (C&D) on the SODm for thyme may have been influenced by its transition metal ion content. SODm activity may contribute to the herbs' antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities however the source and significance of this activity need to be established.

A Systematic Review of Single Chinese Herbs for Alzheimer's Disease Treatment

PubMed Central

Fu, Li-Min; Li, Ju-Tzu

2011-01-01

The objectives here are to provide a systematic review of the current evidence concerning the use of Chinese herbs in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to understand their mechanisms of action with respect to the pathophysiology of the disease. AD, characterized microscopically by deposition of amyloid plaques and formation of neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, has become the most common cause of senile dementia. The limitations of western medications have led us to explore herbal medicine. In particular, many Chinese herbs have demonstrated some interesting therapeutic properties. The following databases were searched from their inception: MEDLINE (PUBMED), ALT HEALTH WATCH (EBSCO), CINAH and Cochrane Central. Only single Chinese herbs are included. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and performed quality assessment. The quality assessment of a clinical trial is based on the Jadad criteria. Seven Chinese herbs and six randomized controlled clinical trials were identified under the predefined criteria. Ginkgo biloba, Huperzine A (Lycopodium serratum) and Ginseng have been assessed for their clinical efficacy with limited favorable evidence. No serious adverse events were reported. Chinese herbs show promise in the treatment of AD in terms of their cognitive benefits and more importantly, their mechanisms of action that deal with the fundamental pathophysiology of the disease. However, the current evidence in support of their use is inconclusive or inadequate. Future research should place emphasis on herbs that can treat the root of the disease. PMID:19737808

Aconitum Alkaloid Poisoning Because of Contamination of Herbs by Aconite Roots.

PubMed

Chan, Thomas Y K

2016-01-01

Aconitum alkaloid poisoning can occur after drinking decoction and soup made from non-toxic herbs contaminated by aconite roots. In the present review, the main objective is to describe the clinical features, investigations and possible sources of contamination. A combination of neurological, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular signs and symptoms was seen. Ventricular tachyarrhythmias could occur in 18% of subjects. Yunaconitine and crassicauline A, mainly found in certain aconite roots from Southwest China, are most commonly involved. Herbal residues and unused herbs should first be inspected for gross contamination. On-site inspection at the retailer should exclude accidental mix-up or cross-contamination when handling aconite roots. Samples of prescribed herbs are examined for gross contamination and analysed for the presence of Aconitum alkaloids. Samples of the implicated herb are also collected from the wholesaler for investigation. If post-import contamination is unlikely, the regulatory authorities of the exporting countries should be notified for follow-up actions. It is a challenging task to work out how non-toxic herbs become contaminated by aconite roots. The source control with good agricultural and collection practices and quality assurance must be enhanced. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Drugs, Herbs and Supplements: MedlinePlus

MedlinePlus

... of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/druginformation.html Drugs, Herbs and Supplements To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. Drugs Learn about your prescription drugs and over-the- ...

Intakes of culinary herbs and spices from a food frequency questionnaire evaluated against 28-days estimated records

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Worldwide, herbs and spices are much used food flavourings. However, little data exist regarding actual dietary intake of culinary herbs and spices. We developed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for the assessment of habitual diet the preceding year, with focus on phytochemical rich food, including herbs and spices. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the intakes of herbs and spices from the FFQ with estimates of intake from another dietary assessment method. Thus we compared the intake estimates from the FFQ with 28 days of estimated records of herb and spice consumption as a reference method. Methods The evaluation study was conducted among 146 free living adults, who filled in the FFQ and 2-4 weeks later carried out 28 days recording of herb and spice consumption. The FFQ included a section with questions about 27 individual culinary herbs and spices, while the records were open ended records for recording of herbs and spice consumption exclusively. Results Our study showed that the FFQ obtained slightly higher estimates of total intake of herbs and spices than the total intake assessed by the Herbs and Spice Records (HSR). The correlation between the two assessment methods with regard to total intake was good (r = 0.5), and the cross-classification suggests that the FFQ may be used to classify subjects according to total herb and spice intake. For the 8 most frequently consumed individual herbs and spices, the FFQ obtained good estimates of median frequency of intake for 2 herbs/spices, while good estimates of portion sizes were obtained for 4 out of 8 herbs/spices. Conclusions Our results suggested that the FFQ was able to give good estimates of frequency of intake and portion sizes on group level for several of the most frequently used herbs and spices. The FFQ was only able to fairly rank subjects according to frequency of intake of the 8 most frequently consumed herbs and spices. Other studies are warranted to further explore the

Intakes of culinary herbs and spices from a food frequency questionnaire evaluated against 28-days estimated records.

PubMed

Carlsen, Monica H; Blomhoff, Rune; Andersen, Lene F

2011-05-16

Worldwide, herbs and spices are much used food flavourings. However, little data exist regarding actual dietary intake of culinary herbs and spices. We developed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for the assessment of habitual diet the preceding year, with focus on phytochemical rich food, including herbs and spices. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the intakes of herbs and spices from the FFQ with estimates of intake from another dietary assessment method. Thus we compared the intake estimates from the FFQ with 28 days of estimated records of herb and spice consumption as a reference method. The evaluation study was conducted among 146 free living adults, who filled in the FFQ and 2-4 weeks later carried out 28 days recording of herb and spice consumption. The FFQ included a section with questions about 27 individual culinary herbs and spices, while the records were open ended records for recording of herbs and spice consumption exclusively. Our study showed that the FFQ obtained slightly higher estimates of total intake of herbs and spices than the total intake assessed by the Herbs and Spice Records (HSR). The correlation between the two assessment methods with regard to total intake was good (r = 0.5), and the cross-classification suggests that the FFQ may be used to classify subjects according to total herb and spice intake. For the 8 most frequently consumed individual herbs and spices, the FFQ obtained good estimates of median frequency of intake for 2 herbs/spices, while good estimates of portion sizes were obtained for 4 out of 8 herbs/spices. Our results suggested that the FFQ was able to give good estimates of frequency of intake and portion sizes on group level for several of the most frequently used herbs and spices. The FFQ was only able to fairly rank subjects according to frequency of intake of the 8 most frequently consumed herbs and spices. Other studies are warranted to further explore the intakes of culinary spices and herbs.

Targeting Obesity for the Prevention of Chronic Cardiovascular Disease Through Gut Microbiota-Herb Interactions: An Opportunity for Traditional Herbs.

PubMed

Chen, Feng; Jiang, Jun; Tian, Dan-Dan; Wen, Qi; Li, Yong-Hui; Zhang, Jun-Qing; Cheng, Chen; Wang, Tengfei

2017-01-01

Cardiovascular disease still remains the primary cause of death worldwide and obesity is becoming recognized as one of the most critical contributing risk factors. The increased prevalence of obesity casts a cloud over the global health and the whole societies and will still be burdened in the future. Therefore, prevention and therapy of obesity is a beneficial strategy for the prevention of chronic cardiovascular disease. Numerous studies have demonstrated that gut microbiota takes part in human health and disease including obesity. Traditional herbs hold great potential to improve people's health and wellness, particularly in the area of chronic inflammatory diseases although the mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Emerging explorations of gut microbiotaherb interactions provide a potential to revolutionize the way we view herbal therapeutics. This review summarizes the experimental studies performed on animals and humans regarding the gut microbiota-herb interactions targeting obesity. This review also discusses the opportunity of herbs with potent activities but low oral bioavailability conundrum for prevention and therapy for obesity and related cardiovascular disease. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Four common herbs seen in dental practice: properties and potential adverse effects.

PubMed

Shankland, Wesley E

2009-04-01

The use of herbal supplements in North America is steadily growing and raises concerns about safety, efficacy, and how they affect safe patient care. The most notable and direct health risks associated with herbal supplements include hypertension, prolonged bleeding, and the potential for drug-herb interactions, which is of particular concern for patients undergoing anesthesia, both general and local anesthesia. In this article, four of the most commonly used herbs today in North America will be discussed: garlic, gingko, ginseng, and ginger. The pharmacology, benefits, and possible side effects of these herbs will be presented. Awareness of the rising use of herbs is important to prevent, recognize, and treat potential problems that can arise from herbal preparations taken alone or in conjunction with prescription medications.

Ethnobotanical Potentials of Common Herbs in Nigeria: A Case Study of Enugu State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aiyeloja, A. A.; Bello, O. A.

2006-01-01

Research was carried out on the ethnobotanical potentials of common herbs in Nigeria using Enugu State as a case study. A total of 200 questionnaires were administered on herb sellers in major herb markets in the state. In all, 96 different plant species were encountered in the markets. Attempts were made to write the names of the species both in…

Comparative analysis of main bio-active components in the herb pair Danshen-Honghua and its single herbs by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Qu, Cheng; Pu, Zong-Jin; Zhou, Gui-Sheng; Wang, Jun; Zhu, Zhen-Hua; Yue, Shi-Jun; Li, Jian-Ping; Shang, Li-Li; Tang, Yu-Ping; Shi, Xu-Qin; Liu, Pei; Guo, Jian-Ming; Sun, Jing; Tang, Zhi-Shu; Zhao, Jing; Zhao, Bu-Chang; Duan, Jin-Ao

2017-09-01

A sensitive, reliable, and powerful ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for simultaneous quantification of the 15 main bio-active components including phenolic acids and flavonoids within 13 min for the first time. The proposed method was first reported and validated by good linearity (r 2  > 0.9975), limit of detection (1.12-7.01 ng/mL), limit of quantification (3.73-23.37 ng/mL), intra- and inter-day precisions (RSD ≤ 1.92%, RSD ≤ 2.45%), stability (RSD ≤ 5.63%), repeatability (RSD ≤ 4.34%), recovery (96.84-102.12%), and matrix effects (0.92-1.02). The established analytical methodology was successfully applied to comparative analysis of main bio-active components in the herb pair Danshen-Honghua and its single herbs. Compared to the single herb, the content of most flavonoid glycosides was remarkably increased in their herb pair, and main phenolic acids were decreased, conversely. The content changes of the main components in the herb pair supported the synergistic effects on promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. The results provide a scientific basis and reference for the quality control of Danshen-Honghua herb pair and the drug interactions based on variation of bio-active components in herb pairs. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Vasorelaxation Study and Tri-Step Infrared Spectroscopy Analysis of Malaysian Local Herbs

PubMed Central

Tan, Chu Shan; Loh, Yean Chun; Ahmad, Mariam; Zaini Asmawi, Mohd.; Yam, Mun Fei

2016-01-01

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to investigate the activities of Malaysian local herbs (Clinacanthus nutans Lindau, Strobilanthes crispus, Murdannia bracteata, Elephantopus scaber Linn., Pereskia bleo, Pereskia grandifolia Haw., Vernonia amygdalina, and Swietenia macrophylla King) for anti-hypertensive and vasorelaxant activity. An infrared (IR) macro-fingerprinting technique consisting of conventional fourier transform IR (FTIR), second-derivative IR (SD-IR), and two-dimensional correlation IR (2D-correlation IR) analyses were used to determine the main constituents and the fingerprints of the Malaysian local herbs. Methods: The herbs were collected, ground into powder form, and then macerated by using three different solvents: distilled water, 50% ethanol, and 95% ethanol, respectively. The potentials of the extracts produced from these herbs for use as vasorelaxants were determined. Additionally, the fingerprints of these herbs were analyzed by using FTIR spectra, SD-IR spectra, and 2D-correlation IR spectra in order to identify their main constituents and to provide useful information for future pharmacodynamics studies. Results: Swietenia macrophylla King has the highest potential in terms of vasorelaxant activity, followed by Vernonia amygdalina, Pereskia bleo, Strobilanthes crispus, Elephantopus scaber Linn., Pereskia grandifolia Haw., Clinacanthus nutans Lindau, and Murdannia bracteata. The tri-step IR macro-fingerprint of the herbs revealed that most of them contained proteins. Pereskia bleo and Pereskia grandifolia Haw. were found to contain calcium oxalate while Swietenia macrophylla King was found to contain large amounts of flavonoids. Conclusion: The flavonoid content of the herbs affects their vasorelaxant activity, and the tri-step IR macro- fingerprint method can be used as an analytical tool to determine the activity of a herbal medicine in terms of its vasorelaxant effect. PMID:27386148

Herb use in pregnancy: what nurses should know.

PubMed

Born, Diane; Barron, Mary Lee

2005-01-01

During the last decade, there has been a dramatic rise in the availability and use of medicinal herbal preparations. Childbearing women are among those who are asking nurses about herbal use, and therefore nurses need to learn more about this topic. One of the most important points to understand is that in the United States herbs are classified as dietary supplements (not drugs), and manufacturers are therefore not required to provide proof of efficacy or safety before selling these substances. Few studies about effects of herbs have been conducted in the general population, and fewer still have been published about pregnancy use. Because the perinatal nurse has two patients to consider when caring for a pregnant woman, he or she has two equally important mandates: to help the mother without harming the fetus. This article provides an overview of key concepts underlying herbal use in general and also safety in pregnancy. Common herbs that can be safely be used in pregnancy are presented in detail to enable the nurse to better care for the pregnant woman who is considering herbal use.

'Green incubation': avian offspring benefit from aromatic nest herbs through improved parental incubation behaviour.

PubMed

Gwinner, Helga; Capilla-Lasheras, Pablo; Cooper, Caren; Helm, Barbara

2018-06-13

Development of avian embryos requires thermal energy, usually from parents. Parents may, however, trade off catering for embryonic requirements against their own need to forage through intermittent incubation. This dynamically adjusted behaviour can be affected by properties of the nest. Here, we experimentally show a novel mechanism by which parents, through incorporation of aromatic herbs into nests, effectively modify their incubation behaviour to the benefit of their offspring. Our study species, the European starling, includes in its nest aromatic herbs which promote offspring fitness. We provided wild starlings with artificial nests including or excluding the typically selected fresh herbs and found strong support for our prediction of facilitated incubation. Herb effects were not explained by thermal changes of the nests per se , but by modified parental behaviours. Egg temperatures and nest attendance were higher in herb than herbless nests, egg temperatures dropped less frequently below critical thresholds and parents started their active day earlier. These effects were dynamic over time and particularly strong during early incubation. Incubation period was shorter in herb nests, and nestlings were heavier one week after hatching. Aromatic herbs hence influenced incubation in beneficial ways for offspring, possibly through pharmacological effects on incubating parents. © 2018 The Author(s).

Consumer attitudes toward new technique for preserving organic meat using herbs and berries.

PubMed

Haugaard, Pernille; Hansen, Flemming; Jensen, Martin; Grunert, Klaus G

2014-01-01

This study aims to explore consumers' attitude toward a new preservation technique using herbs and berries in organic meat production, which enables to minimize the amount of chemical additives and to reduce the salt content in meat products. Consumer acceptance of the preservation technique using herbs and berries and intention to purchase products preserved with herbs and berries were investigated through a qualitative approach by means of three focus groups. In general, most participants were positive toward the preservation technique using herbs and berries and there were only few concerns related to the technique. Concerns were related not as much to the technique but more to the products. Four factors seem important in this relation: shelf life, taste, appearance and texture. The intention to purchase products preserved with herbs and berries is generally high, but is dependent on taste and appearance of the products, the price and information level. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mineral content of Chinese medicinal herbs used as diuretic treatments for Taiwanese children.

PubMed

Chen, Chien-Yi

2005-01-01

Eighteen major, minor and trace elements in 12 Chinese medicinal herbs commonly consumed by Taiwanese Children as diuretics were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Dried and powdered herb samples were irradiated in a neutron flux of ca. 2 x 10(12) n/cm2 s under separate short and long irradiation schemes. Lichen (IAEA-336) was used as the reference standard, and tomato leaves (NIST-SRM 1570a) were employed for cross-checking the accuracy of the results. INAA was shown to be a reliable multi-element analytical method for determining the content of both toxicologically and nutritionally important minerals in Chinese medicinal herbs. Determined elements were present in the dried herbs in concentrations ranging from 10(4) to 10(-3) microg/g. The mineral contents and the maximum daily intake values of the tested herbs were compared with published values and with the recommended daily intakes for Taiwanese children as specified by the World Health Organization.

Dietary supplementation with two Lamiaceae herbs-(oregano and sage) modulates innate immunity parameters in Lumbricus terrestris

PubMed Central

Vattem, DA; Lester, CE; DeLeon, RC; Jamison, BY; Maitin, V

2013-01-01

Introduction: Lamiaceae herbs have are well known for their immunomodulatory effects, however, the mechanism by which they effect innate immune system is not clearly understood. Objective: The effect of dietary supplementation with two Lamiaceae herbs (oregano and sage) modulation of on innate immunological parameters was investigated in Lumbricus terrestris. Materials and Methods: Animals were fed (ad libitum) on herbs supplemented diet [(0.1% (w/v) and 0.5% (w/v)] for 6 days. Changes in immune competent cell counts, viability, and relative neutrophil-like cell counts were determined in response to herb treatment. Changes in nitric oxide, phagocytic activity, and respiratory burst index were also determined in response to herb treatment relative to control. Additionally, effect of herb co-treatment cyclophosphamide (50 mg/kg-BW) induced immunosuppression was also evaluated. Results: Our results suggested abrogation of CP-induced immunosuppression in response to co-treatment with herbs. Significant increase in nitric oxide-mediated immune-competent cell counts, viability, and differentiation into neutrophil-like cells were observed in response to dietary supplementation with Lamiaceae herbs. Significantly higher phagocytic activity relative to control was also noted in response to dietary intake of oregano and sage. However, the respiratory burst index did not increase exponentially in response to herb treatments, suggesting a potential enhancement in pathogen recognition and antioxidant defenses. Conclusion: Lamiaceae herbs may have potential immune-modulatory properties important for human health and merits further investigation. PMID:23598918

Herb-drug interactions: challenges and opportunities for improved predictions.

PubMed

Brantley, Scott J; Argikar, Aneesh A; Lin, Yvonne S; Nagar, Swati; Paine, Mary F

2014-03-01

Supported by a usage history that predates written records and the perception that "natural" ensures safety, herbal products have increasingly been incorporated into Western health care. Consumers often self-administer these products concomitantly with conventional medications without informing their health care provider(s). Such herb-drug combinations can produce untoward effects when the herbal product perturbs the activity of drug metabolizing enzymes and/or transporters. Despite increasing recognition of these types of herb-drug interactions, a standard system for interaction prediction and evaluation is nonexistent. Consequently, the mechanisms underlying herb-drug interactions remain an understudied area of pharmacotherapy. Evaluation of herbal product interaction liability is challenging due to variability in herbal product composition, uncertainty of the causative constituents, and often scant knowledge of causative constituent pharmacokinetics. These limitations are confounded further by the varying perspectives concerning herbal product regulation. Systematic evaluation of herbal product drug interaction liability, as is routine for new drugs under development, necessitates identifying individual constituents from herbal products and characterizing the interaction potential of such constituents. Integration of this information into in silico models that estimate the pharmacokinetics of individual constituents should facilitate prospective identification of herb-drug interactions. These concepts are highlighted with the exemplar herbal products milk thistle and resveratrol. Implementation of this methodology should help provide definitive information to both consumers and clinicians about the risk of adding herbal products to conventional pharmacotherapeutic regimens.

Heavy metals in spices and herbs from wholesale markets in Malaysia.

PubMed

Nordin, N; Selamat, J

2013-01-01

As, Cd, Pb and Hg were analysed in commonly consumed spices and herbs in Malaysia. The range of As, Cd, Pb and Hg content was 0.24-2.54, 0.23-8.07, 1.54-8.94 and 0.06-0.52 µg g(-1), respectively. The highest concentration of Cd, Pb and Hg in spices and herbs exceeded the maximum permitted proportion, which are 1, 2 and 0.05 µg g(-1), respectively. This study suggests further monitoring of Cd, Pb and Hg on daily consumption of spices and herbs and its toxicological implication for consumers since only the amount of As was lower than the permitted concentration.

Understory herb layer exerts strong controls on soil microbial communities in subtropical plantations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Kai; Zhang, Lei; Chen, Dima; Tian, Yichen; Zhang, Feifei; Wen, Meiping; Yuan, Chao

2016-05-01

The patterns and drivers of soil microbial communities in forest plantations remain inadequate although they have been extensively studied in natural forest and grassland ecosystems. In this study, using data from 12 subtropical plantation sites, we found that the overstory tree biomass and tree cover increased with increasing plantation age. However, there was a decline in the aboveground biomass and species richness of the understory herbs as plantation age increased. Biomass of all microbial community groups (i.e. fungi, bacteria, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and actinomycete) decreased with increasing plantation age; however, the biomass ratio of fungi to bacteria did not change with increasing plantation age. Variation in most microbial community groups was mainly explained by the understory herb (i.e. herb biomass and herb species richness) and overstory trees (i.e. tree biomass and tree cover), while soils (i.e. soil moisture, soil organic carbon, and soil pH) explained a relative low percentage of the variation. Our results demonstrate that the understory herb layer exerts strong controls on soil microbial community in subtropical plantations. These findings suggest that maintenance of plantation health may need to consider the management of understory herb in order to increase the potential of plantation ecosystems as fast-response carbon sinks.

Understory herb layer exerts strong controls on soil microbial communities in subtropical plantations

PubMed Central

Yin, Kai; Zhang, Lei; Chen, Dima; Tian, Yichen; Zhang, Feifei; Wen, Meiping; Yuan, Chao

2016-01-01

The patterns and drivers of soil microbial communities in forest plantations remain inadequate although they have been extensively studied in natural forest and grassland ecosystems. In this study, using data from 12 subtropical plantation sites, we found that the overstory tree biomass and tree cover increased with increasing plantation age. However, there was a decline in the aboveground biomass and species richness of the understory herbs as plantation age increased. Biomass of all microbial community groups (i.e. fungi, bacteria, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and actinomycete) decreased with increasing plantation age; however, the biomass ratio of fungi to bacteria did not change with increasing plantation age. Variation in most microbial community groups was mainly explained by the understory herb (i.e. herb biomass and herb species richness) and overstory trees (i.e. tree biomass and tree cover), while soils (i.e. soil moisture, soil organic carbon, and soil pH) explained a relative low percentage of the variation. Our results demonstrate that the understory herb layer exerts strong controls on soil microbial community in subtropical plantations. These findings suggest that maintenance of plantation health may need to consider the management of understory herb in order to increase the potential of plantation ecosystems as fast-response carbon sinks. PMID:27243577

Understory herb layer exerts strong controls on soil microbial communities in subtropical plantations.

PubMed

Yin, Kai; Zhang, Lei; Chen, Dima; Tian, Yichen; Zhang, Feifei; Wen, Meiping; Yuan, Chao

2016-05-31

The patterns and drivers of soil microbial communities in forest plantations remain inadequate although they have been extensively studied in natural forest and grassland ecosystems. In this study, using data from 12 subtropical plantation sites, we found that the overstory tree biomass and tree cover increased with increasing plantation age. However, there was a decline in the aboveground biomass and species richness of the understory herbs as plantation age increased. Biomass of all microbial community groups (i.e. fungi, bacteria, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and actinomycete) decreased with increasing plantation age; however, the biomass ratio of fungi to bacteria did not change with increasing plantation age. Variation in most microbial community groups was mainly explained by the understory herb (i.e. herb biomass and herb species richness) and overstory trees (i.e. tree biomass and tree cover), while soils (i.e. soil moisture, soil organic carbon, and soil pH) explained a relative low percentage of the variation. Our results demonstrate that the understory herb layer exerts strong controls on soil microbial community in subtropical plantations. These findings suggest that maintenance of plantation health may need to consider the management of understory herb in order to increase the potential of plantation ecosystems as fast-response carbon sinks.

Effects of Plant Herb Combination Supplementation on Rumen Fermentation and Nutrient Digestibility in Beef Cattle

PubMed Central

Wanapat, M.; Kang, S.; Khejornsart, P.; Wanapat, S.

2013-01-01

Four rumen-fistulated crossbred beef cattle (Brahman native) were randomly assigned according to a 4×4 Latin square design experiment to be fed plant herb supplements in their concentrate mixture. The treatments were: without herb supplementation (Control), lemongrass meal supplementation at 100 g/d (L), lemongrass meal supplementation at 100 g/d plus peppermint powder at 10 g/d (LP), and lemongrass meal supplementation at 100 g/d plus peppermint powder at 10 g/d with garlic powder 40 g/d (LPG), respectively. Based on the present study, the DMI and apparent digestibility of DM, OM, aNDF and ADF were not affected by dietary herb supplementation while CP digestibility tended to be decreased by herb supplement. Moreover, NH3-N and BUN were decreased in all herb supplemented treatments and there was a tendency to an increase in ruminal pH in all herb supplemented groups. While there was no change in TVFA and C4 among lemongrass treatments, C2 was decreased in all herb supplemented treatments while C3 was increased. Methane production by calculation was the lowest in the LP and LPG groups. Population sizes of bacteria and protozoa were decreased in all herb supplemented groups, but not fungal zoospores. In all supplemented groups, total viable and proteolytic bacteria were decreased, while amylolytic and cellulolytic bacteria were similar. More importantly, in all herb supplemented groups, there were higher N balances, while there was no difference among treatments on purine derivative (PD) excretion or microbial N. Based on the results above, it could be concluded that there was no negative effect on ruminal fermentation characteristics and nutrient utilization by plant herb supplement, but protozoal population and CH4 production were reduced. Thus, lemongrass alone or in combination with peppermint and garlic powder could be used as feed additives to improve rumen fermentation efficiency. PMID:25049893

Assessment of metal contents in spices and herbs from Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Seddigi, Z S; Kandhro, G A; Shah, F; Danish, E; Soylak, Mustafa

2016-02-01

In the recent years, there has been a growing interest in monitoring heavy metal contamination of spices/herbs. Spices and herbs are sources of many bioactive compounds that can improve the tastes of food as well as influence digestion and metabolism processes. In the present study, the levels of some essential and toxic elements such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd), present in common spices/herbs that were purchased from the local market in Saudi Arabia, were analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy after digestion with nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide mixture. Samples from the following spices/herbs were used: turmeric, cloves, black pepper, red pepper, cumin, legume, cinnamon, abazir, white pepper, ginger, and coriander. The concentration ranges for the studied elements were found as 48.8-231, 4.7-19.4, 2.5-10.5, below detection level (BDL)-1.0, 8.8-490, 1.0-2.6, and BDL-3.7 µg g(-1) for Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, and Pb, respectively, while Cd and Co levels were below the detection limit. Consumers of these spices/herbs would not be exposed to any risk associated with the daily intake of 10 g of spices per day as far as metals Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, and Pb are concerned. © The Author(s) 2013.

Inhibition of protein glycation by extracts of culinary herbs and spices.

PubMed

Dearlove, Rebecca P; Greenspan, Phillip; Hartle, Diane K; Swanson, Ruthann B; Hargrove, James L

2008-06-01

We tested whether polyphenolic substances in extracts of commercial culinary herbs and spices would inhibit fructose-mediated protein glycation. Extracts of 24 herbs and spices from a local supermarket were tested for the ability to inhibit glycation of albumin. Dry samples were ground and extracted with 10 volumes of 50% ethanol, and total phenolic content and ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) were measured. Aliquots were incubated in triplicate at pH 7.4 with 0.25 M fructose and 10 mg/mL fatty acid-free bovine albumin. Fluorescence at 370 nm/440 nm was used as an index of albumin glycation. In general, spice extracts inhibited glycation more than herb extracts, but inhibition was correlated with total phenolic content (R(2) = 0.89). The most potent inhibitors included extracts of cloves, ground Jamaican allspice, and cinnamon. Potent herbs tested included sage, marjoram, tarragon, and rosemary. Total phenolics were highly correlated with FRAP values (R(2) = 0.93). The concentration of phenolics that inhibited glycation by 50% was typically 4-12 microg/mL. Relative to total phenolic concentration, extracts of powdered ginger and bay leaf were less effective than expected, and black pepper was more effective. Prevention of protein glycation is an example of the antidiabetic potential for bioactive compounds in culinary herbs and spices.

Health benefits of herbs and spices: the past, the present, the future.

PubMed

Tapsell, Linda C; Hemphill, Ian; Cobiac, Lynne; Patch, Craig S; Sullivan, David R; Fenech, Michael; Roodenrys, Steven; Keogh, Jennifer B; Clifton, Peter M; Williams, Peter G; Fazio, Virginia A; Inge, Karen E

2006-08-21

Herbs and spices have a traditional history of use, with strong roles in cultural heritage, and in the appreciation of food and its links to health. Demonstrating the benefits of foods by scientific means remains a challenge, particularly when compared with standards applied for assessing pharmaceutical agents. Pharmaceuticals are small-molecular-weight compounds consumed in a purified and concentrated form. Food is eaten in combinations, in relatively large, unmeasured quantities under highly socialised conditions. The real challenge lies not in proving whether foods, such as herbs and spices, have health benefits, but in defining what these benefits are and developing the methods to expose them by scientific means. The place of herbs and spices in the diet needs to be considered in reviewing health benefits. This includes definitions of the food category and the way in which benefits might be viewed, and therefore researched. Research may focus on identifying bioactive substances in herbs and spices, or on their properties as a whole food, and/or be set in the context of a dietary cuisine. The antioxidant properties of herbs and spices are of particular interest in view of the impact of oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the development of atherosclerosis. There is level III-3 evidence (National Health and Medical Research Council [NHMRC] levels of evidence) that consuming a half to one clove of garlic (or equivalent) daily may have a cholesterol-lowering effect of up to 9%. There is level III-1 evidence that 7.2 g of aged garlic extract has been associated with anticlotting (in-vivo studies), as well as modest reductions in blood pressure (an approximate 5.5% decrease in systolic blood pressure). A range of bioactive compounds in herbs and spices have been studied for anticarcinogenic properties in animals, but the challenge lies in integrating this knowledge to ascertain whether any effects can be observed in humans, and within

[Investigation of metal element content of some European and Far Eastern herbs].

PubMed

Süle, Krisztina; Kurucz, Dóra; Kajári, Ágnes; May, Zoltán

2015-08-02

Metal elements and their excess intake have significant influence on general health. There is only little information how Far Eastern herbs resemble European's regarding their purity and essential metal element content. The aim of the authors was to determine metal elements in different Chinese and European herbs and extracts. The studied European herbs included Calendula officinalis petals, Achillea millefolium, Epilobium parviflorum herba, Urtica dioica leaves, Crataegus monogyna flowers while Far Eastern herbs were Cordyceps sinensis, Ganoderma lucidum, Ginkgo biloba leaves, Panax ginseng and Curcuma longa roots. The analysis was performed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. There was no considerable difference in essential metal elements and the Ca:Mg concentration ratio between European and Far Eastern drugs and extracts. The extracts are preferential metal element sources and their magnesium content are also advantageous, because of a shift of the Ca:Mg concentration ratio towards magnesium.

Algicidal effects of four Chinese herb extracts on bloom-forming Microcystis aeruginosa and Chlorella pyrenoidosa.

PubMed

Ye, Liangtao; Qian, Jiazhong; Jin, Song; Zuo, Shengpeng; Mei, Hui; Ma, Suming

2014-01-01

Extracts from four Chinese herbs, Phellodendri chinensis cortex, Artemisia annua L., Scutellaria baicalensis G. and Citrus reticulate peel were tested for their algicidal effects on Microcystis aeruginosa and Chlorella pyrenoidosa. The results showed that M. aeruginosa was more susceptible than C. pyrenoidosa. The growth of M. aeruginosa was significantly inhibited (p < 0.05) by the four herb extracts. Among the four herbs, P. chinensis cortex and S. baicalensis had the greatest inhibitory effects on M. aeruginosa, followed by C reticulate peel and A. annua. The 50% effective concentrations (EC50) of S. baicalensis, P chinensis cortex, C. reticulate peel and A. annua were 0.87, 0.88, 5.27 and 1 1.16 gherb L-1, respectively. The growth of C. pyrenoidosa was moderately inhibited by the herb extracts individually. The EC5o concentrations for S. baicalensis, P. chinensis cortex, C. reticulate peel andA. annua were 8.67, 11.67, 12.81 and 12.44 g herb L-1', respectively. Extract from S. baicalensis displayed stronger algicidal effects on C. pyrenoidosa than the other three herbs, although no lethal effect on C. pyrenoidosa was observed during the cultivation period. Compared with corresponding individual extract at the same dosage, the binary mixtures of the four herb extracts enhanced the algicidal effects on M. aeruginosa. The maximum inhibitory rates of all binary mixtures of the four herb extracts were all above 92% during the 10-day incubation. The results demonstrate that Chinese herbs, such as P. chinensis cortex or S. baicalensis and their combinations, could offer an effective alternative for mitigating outbreaks of harmful algal blooms in water bodies.

An overview of important ethnomedicinal herbs of Phyllanthus species: present status and future prospects.

PubMed

Sarin, Bharti; Verma, Nidhi; Martín, Juan Pedro; Mohanty, Aparajita

2014-01-01

The genus Phyllanthus consists of more than 1000 species, of which many are used as traditional medicines. The plant extracts have been used since ancient times, for treating hypertension, diabetes, hepatic, urinary, and sexual disorders, and other common ailments. Modern day scientific investigations have now confirmed pharmacognostic properties of Phyllanthus herbs. The phytochemicals attributing these medicinal properties have been identified in many of the Phyllanthus herbs. The morphologically similar herbs of Phyllanthus grow together and admixture of species during collection for manufacture of herbal medicines is quite common. Hence, along with pharmacognostic and phytochemical studies, appropriate protocols for correct identification of species are also important. As the use of these herbs as green medicines is becoming more popular, it is imperative to assess its genetic diversity and phylogenetic relatedness for future conservation strategies. This review is an attempt to present an overview of the existing studies on pharmacognostics, phytochemistry, species identification, and genetic diversity of Phyllanthus herbs and consequently (i) highlight areas where further research is needed and (ii) draw attention towards extending similar studies in underutilized but potentially important herbs such as P. maderaspatensis, P. kozhikodianus, P. rheedii, P. scabrifolius, and P. rotundifolius.

An Overview of Important Ethnomedicinal Herbs of Phyllanthus Species: Present Status and Future Prospects

PubMed Central

Sarin, Bharti; Martín, Juan Pedro; Mohanty, Aparajita

2014-01-01

The genus Phyllanthus consists of more than 1000 species, of which many are used as traditional medicines. The plant extracts have been used since ancient times, for treating hypertension, diabetes, hepatic, urinary, and sexual disorders, and other common ailments. Modern day scientific investigations have now confirmed pharmacognostic properties of Phyllanthus herbs. The phytochemicals attributing these medicinal properties have been identified in many of the Phyllanthus herbs. The morphologically similar herbs of Phyllanthus grow together and admixture of species during collection for manufacture of herbal medicines is quite common. Hence, along with pharmacognostic and phytochemical studies, appropriate protocols for correct identification of species are also important. As the use of these herbs as green medicines is becoming more popular, it is imperative to assess its genetic diversity and phylogenetic relatedness for future conservation strategies. This review is an attempt to present an overview of the existing studies on pharmacognostics, phytochemistry, species identification, and genetic diversity of Phyllanthus herbs and consequently (i) highlight areas where further research is needed and (ii) draw attention towards extending similar studies in underutilized but potentially important herbs such as P. maderaspatensis, P. kozhikodianus, P. rheedii, P. scabrifolius, and P. rotundifolius. PMID:24672382

The Common Prescription Patterns Based on the Hierarchical Clustering of Herb-Pairs Efficacies

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Prescription patterns are rules or regularities used to generate, recognize, or judge a prescription. Most of existing studies focused on the specific prescription patterns for diverse diseases or syndromes, while little attention was paid to the common patterns, which reflect the global view of the regularities of prescriptions. In this paper, we designed a method CPPM to find the common prescription patterns. The CPPM is based on the hierarchical clustering of herb-pair efficacies (HPEs). Firstly, HPEs were hierarchically clustered; secondly, the individual herbs are labeled by the HPEC (the clusters of HPEs); and then the prescription patterns were extracted from the combinations of HPEC; finally the common patterns are recognized statistically. The results showed that HPEs have hierarchical clustering structure. When the clustering level is 2 and the HPEs were classified into two clusters, the common prescription patterns are obvious. Among 332 candidate prescriptions, 319 prescriptions follow the common patterns. The description of the patterns is that if a prescription contains the herbs of the cluster (C 1), it is very likely to have other herbs of another cluster (C 2); while a prescription has the herbs of C 2, it may have no herbs of C 1. Finally, we discussed that the common patterns are mathematically coincident with the Blood-Qi theory. PMID:27190534

Preliminary survey of radioactivity level in Thai medicinal herb plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kranrod, C.; Chanyotha, S.; Kritsananuwat, R.; Ploykrathok, T.; Pengvanich, P.; Tumnoi, Y.; Thumvijit, T.; Sriburee, S.

2017-06-01

In this research, the natural radioactivity concentrations and their respective annual effective dose of the naturally occurring radionuclides 226Ra, 228Ra and 40K in selected medicinal herb plants were investigated. Seven kinds of popular Thai medicinal herb plants had been studied: turmeric, ginger, safflower, moringa, gotu kola, garlic and alexandria senna. The radiological risk associated with the use of these medicinal plants was assessed. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 228Ra and 40K were determined using the gamma-ray spectrometry technique. The radioactivity concentrations were found to range from less than 0.20 to 6.67 Bqkg-1 for 226Ra, less than 0.10 to 9.69 Bqkg-1 for 228Ra, and from 159.42 to 1216.25 Bqkg-1 for 40K. Gotu kola showed the highest activity concentrations of 226Ra and 228Ra, while ginger showed the highest activity concentration of 40K. The total annual effective dose due to ingestion of these herb plants were found to range from 0.0028 to 0.0097 mSvy-1 with an average value of 0.0060±0.0001 mSvy-1. The results conclude that the Thai medicinal herb plants samples from this research are considered safe in terms of the radiological hazard.

A survey of the use of herbs among patients attending secondary-level health care facilities in southwestern Nigeria.

PubMed

Fakeye, Titilayo Oyelola; Tijani, Abu; Adebisi, O

2007-01-01

This study was carried out to evaluate the herb usage among patients attending secondary health facilities in Southwestern Nigeria. Data including allergies to drug and herbs, use of social drugs, and herbs and their perceived efficacy to herbs was collected from 265 patients (inpatients n = 65; outpatients n = 200) using structured questionnaire and patients' drug charts. A total of 15.4% of inpatients were found to be using herbs that may be potentially harmful due to drug-drug/drug-herb interactions. Nine percent experienced adverse effects with the use of herbs, whereas 2% experienced adverse reactions on coadministration with prescribed drugs. A high percent of outpatients, 38%, were using alcoholic beverages for extracting the plant materials themselves. The study showed that the use of herbs with drugs is widely practiced among patients attending secondary health care facilities in Nigeria, usually without the doctor or pharmacist's knowledge.

Correlation between the different therapeutic properties of Chinese medicinal herbs and delayed luminescence.

PubMed

Pang, Jingxiang; Fu, Jialei; Yang, Meina; Zhao, Xiaolei; van Wijk, Eduard; Wang, Mei; Fan, Hua; Han, Jinxiang

2016-03-01

In the practice and principle of Chinese medicine, herbal materials are classified according to their therapeutic properties. 'Cold' and 'heat' are the most important classes of Chinese medicinal herbs according to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In this work, delayed luminescence (DL) was measured for different samples of Chinese medicinal herbs using a sensitive photon multiplier detection system. A comparison of DL parameters, including mean intensity and statistic entropy, was undertaken to discriminate between the 'cold' and 'heat' properties of Chinese medicinal herbs. The results suggest that there are significant differences in mean intensity and statistic entropy and using this method combined with statistical analysis may provide novel parameters for the characterization of Chinese medicinal herbs in relation to their energetic properties. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Network Understanding of Herb Medicine via Rapid Identification of Ingredient-Target Interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hai-Ping; Pan, Jian-Bo; Zhang, Chi; Ji, Nan; Wang, Hao; Ji, Zhi-Liang

2014-01-01

Today, herb medicines have become the major source for discovery of novel agents in countermining diseases. However, many of them are largely under-explored in pharmacology due to the limitation of current experimental approaches. Therefore, we proposed a computational framework in this study for network understanding of herb pharmacology via rapid identification of putative ingredient-target interactions in human structural proteome level. A marketing anti-cancer herb medicine in China, Yadanzi (Brucea javanica), was chosen for mechanistic study. Total 7,119 ingredient-target interactions were identified for thirteen Yadanzi active ingredients. Among them, about 29.5% were estimated to have better binding affinity than their corresponding marketing drug-target interactions. Further Bioinformatics analyses suggest that simultaneous manipulation of multiple proteins in the MAPK signaling pathway and the phosphorylation process of anti-apoptosis may largely answer for Yadanzi against non-small cell lung cancers. In summary, our strategy provides an efficient however economic solution for systematic understanding of herbs' power.

Network understanding of herb medicine via rapid identification of ingredient-target interactions.

PubMed

Zhang, Hai-Ping; Pan, Jian-Bo; Zhang, Chi; Ji, Nan; Wang, Hao; Ji, Zhi-Liang

2014-01-16

Today, herb medicines have become the major source for discovery of novel agents in countermining diseases. However, many of them are largely under-explored in pharmacology due to the limitation of current experimental approaches. Therefore, we proposed a computational framework in this study for network understanding of herb pharmacology via rapid identification of putative ingredient-target interactions in human structural proteome level. A marketing anti-cancer herb medicine in China, Yadanzi (Brucea javanica), was chosen for mechanistic study. Total 7,119 ingredient-target interactions were identified for thirteen Yadanzi active ingredients. Among them, about 29.5% were estimated to have better binding affinity than their corresponding marketing drug-target interactions. Further Bioinformatics analyses suggest that simultaneous manipulation of multiple proteins in the MAPK signaling pathway and the phosphorylation process of anti-apoptosis may largely answer for Yadanzi against non-small cell lung cancers. In summary, our strategy provides an efficient however economic solution for systematic understanding of herbs' power.

Beneficial effects of herbs, spices and medicinal plants on the metabolic syndrome, brain and cognitive function.

PubMed

Panickar, Kiran S

2013-03-01

Herbs and spices have been used since ancient times to not only improve the flavor of edible food but also to prevent and treat chronic health maladies. While the scientific evidence for the use of such common herbs and medicinal plants then had been scarce or lacking, the beneficial effects observed from such use were generally encouraging. It is, therefore, not surprising that the tradition of using such herbs, perhaps even after the advent of modern medicine, has continued. More recently, due to an increased interest in understanding the nutritional effects of herbs/spices more comprehensively, several studies have examined the cellular and molecular modes of action of the active chemical components in herbs and their biological properties. Beneficial actions of herbs/spices include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-hypertensive, gluco-regulatory, and anti-thrombotic effects. One major component of herbs and spices is the polyphenols. Some of the aforementioned properties are attributed to the polyphenols and they are associated with attenuating the metabolic syndrome. Detrimental changes associated with the metabolic syndrome over time affect brain and cognitive function. Metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes are also risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and stroke. In addition, the neuroprotective effects of herbs and spices have been demonstrated and, whether directly or indirectly, such beneficial effects may also contribute to an improvement in cognitive function. This review evaluates the current evidence available for herbs/spices in potentially improving the metabolic syndrome, as well as their neuroprotective effects on the brain, and cognitive function in animal and human studies.

An innovative example of herb residues recycling by gasification in a fluidized bed.

PubMed

Guo, Feiqiang; Dong, Yuping; Dong, Lei; Jing, Yuanzhuo

2013-04-01

A utilization way of herb residues is designed to convert herb residues to gas fuel in industrial-scale by a circulating fluidized bed gasifier in this paper. The product gas is used in the production of Chinese medicine, and the heat of the flue gas from the boiler can be used in herb residues drying to realize the energy recycling and no herb residues discharge. The gasification characteristics of herb residues in the circulating fluidized bed of 300 kg/h were investigated for about 200 h. The results indicated that the gas composition and tar yield were affected by biomass flow rate, equivalence ratio (ER), moisture content and char circulating. The lower heating value of product gas was 4-5 MJ/m(3) using herb residues as feedstock. When mean biomass flow rate was at 5.5 kg m(-2)s(-1) and ER at 0.35, the product gas reached a good condition with lower heating value of 4.89 MJ/m(3) and cold gas efficiency of 62.36%. When the moisture content changed from 12.5% to 18.7%, the concentrations of H2, CO and CO2 changed from 4.66% to 6.92%, 11.23% to 10.15%, and 16.55% to 17.82% respectively, and the tar content in gas decreased from 15.1g/m(3) to 14.4 g/m(3) when the moisture content increased from 12.5% to 15.4%. There are metal oxides in the ash of herb residues, especially CaO, MgO, K2O, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 which have obvious function on tar catalytic decomposition. The ash that attaches to the char particles can decrease the tar yield and improve the quality of gas after returning to the gasifier. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Origin of lifting and lowering theory and its herb pair study].

PubMed

Guo, Zhao-Juan; Yuan, Yi-Ping; Kong, Li-Ting; Jia, Xiao-Yu; Wang, Ning-Ning; Dai, Ying; Zhai, Hua-Qiang

2017-08-01

Lifting and lowering theory is one of the important basis for guiding clinical medication. Through the study of ancient books and literature, we learned that lifting and lowering theory was originated in Huangdi Neijing, practiced more in the Shanghan Zabing Lun, established in Yixue Qiyuan, and developed in Compendium of Materia Medica and now. However, lifting and lowering theory is now mostly stagnated in the theoretical stage, with few experimental research. In the clinical study, the guiding role of lifting and lowering theory to prescriptions?mainly includes opposite?role?of lift and lower medicine property, mutual promotion of lift and lower medicine property, main role of lift medicine property and main role of lower medicine property. Under the guidance of lifting and lowering theory, the herb pair compatibility include herb combination of lift medicine property, herb combination of lift and lower medicine property and herb combination of lower medicine property. Modern biological technology was used in this study to carry out experimental research on the lifting and lowering theory, revealing the scientific connotation of it, which will help to promote clinical rational drug use. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

[Present situation and prospects of special fertilizer for traditional Chinese medicine herbs].

PubMed

Yan, Zhang; Liu, Yong; Wang, Ji-Yong; Wang, Wen-Quan

2004-08-01

To find out the present situation and the development trend special fertilizer of the traditional Chinese medicina plants. By consulting a great deal of literatures on special fertilizer and fertilization on traditional Chinese medicine herbs, and based on the scientific research and manufacture experience of the author, and the theoretic actuality of the researches on the fertilization of traditional Chinese medicine herbs, the present study of the special fertilizer inside and outside of our country was analyzed. The view points of developing special fertilizer for Chinese traditional medicine were put forward, and the development trend of special fertilizer for traditional Chinese medicine herbs was forecasted.

Potential of herbs in skin protection from ultraviolet radiation

PubMed Central

Korać, Radava R.; Khambholja, Kapil M.

2011-01-01

Herbs have been used in medicines and cosmetics from centuries. Their potential to treat different skin diseases, to adorn and improve the skin appearance is well-known. As ultraviolet (UV) radiation can cause sunburns, wrinkles, lower immunity against infections, premature aging, and cancer, there is permanent need for protection from UV radiation and prevention from their side effects. Herbs and herbal preparations have a high potential due to their antioxidant activity, primarily. Antioxidants such as vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin E), flavonoids, and phenolic acids play the main role in fighting against free radical species that are the main cause of numerous negative skin changes. Although isolated plant compounds have a high potential in protection of the skin, whole herbs extracts showed better potential due to their complex composition. Many studies showed that green and black tea (polyphenols) ameliorate adverse skin reactions following UV exposure. The gel from aloe is believed to stimulate skin and assist in new cell growth. Spectrophotometer testing indicates that as a concentrated extract of Krameria triandra it absorbs 25 to 30% of the amount of UV radiation typically absorbed by octyl methoxycinnamate. Sesame oil resists 30% of UV rays, while coconut, peanut, olive, and cottonseed oils block out about 20%. A “sclerojuglonic” compound which is forming from naphthoquinone and keratin is the reaction product that provides UV protection. Traditional use of plant in medication or beautification is the basis for researches and making new trends in cosmetics. This review covers all essential aspects of potential of herbs as radioprotective agents and its future prospects. PMID:22279374

Drug-Herb Interactions in the Elderly Patient with IBD: a Growing Concern.

PubMed

Rahman, Haider; Kim, Marina; Leung, Galen; Green, Jesse A; Katz, Seymour

2017-12-01

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes conditions such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is becoming more prevalent with the elderly being the fastest growing group. Parallel to this, there is an increasing interest in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Nearly half of patients with IBD have used CAM at one time. The elderly patients, however, are burdened by comorbid conditions, polypharmacy, and altered functional status. With increasing use of complementary and alternative medicine in our elderly patients with IBD, it is vital for the provider to provide counsel on drug-herb potential interactions. CAM includes herbal products, diet, dietary supplements, acupuncture, and prayer. In this paper, we will review common CAM, specifically herbs, that are used in patients with IBD including the herb background, suggested use, evidence in IBD, and most importantly, potential interactions with IBD medications used in elderly patients. Most important evidence-based adverse events and drug-herb interactions are summarized. The herbs discussed include Triticum aestivum (wheat grass), Andrographis paniculata (chiretta), Boswellia serrata, tormentil, bilberry, curcumin (turmeric), Plantago ovata (blond psyllium), Oenothera biennis (evening primrose oil), germinated barley foodstuff, an herbal preparation of myrrh, chamomile and coffee extract, chios mastic gum, wormwood (absinthe, thujone), Cannabis sativa (marijuana, THC), tripterygium wilfordii (thunder god vine), Ulmus rubra (slippery elm bark), trigonella foenugraecum (fenugreek), Dioscorea mexicana (wild yam), Harpagophytum procumbens (devil's claw), ginger, cinnamon, licorice, and peppermint.

Effect of essential oils against E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on fresh herbs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Consumer awareness of fresh herbs and demand has increased in recent years due to health benefits and distinct aroma in prepared food. There are specific markets for local growers, especially for organically grown herbs. Fresh herbs have been implicated in illnesses associated with Salmonella, E. co...

Are herb-pairs of traditional Chinese medicine distinguishable from others? Pattern analysis and artificial intelligence classification study of traditionally defined herbal properties.

PubMed

Ung, Choong Yong; Li, Hu; Cao, Zhi Wei; Li, Yi Xue; Chen, Yu Zong

2007-05-04

Multi-herb prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) often include special herb-pairs for mutual enhancement, assistance, and restraint. These TCM herb-pairs have been assembled and interpreted based on traditionally defined herbal properties (TCM-HPs) without knowledge of mechanism of their assumed synergy. While these mechanisms are yet to be determined, properties of TCM herb-pairs can be investigated to determine if they exhibit features consistent with their claimed unique synergistic combinations. We analyzed distribution patterns of TCM-HPs of TCM herb-pairs to detect signs indicative of possible synergy and used artificial intelligence (AI) methods to examine whether combination of their TCM-HPs are distinguishable from those of non-TCM herb-pairs assembled by random combinations and by modification of known TCM herb-pairs. Patterns of the majority of 394 known TCM herb-pairs were found to exhibit signs of herb-pair correlation. Three AI systems, trained and tested by using 394 TCM herb-pairs and 2470 non-TCM herb-pairs, correctly classified 72.1-87.9% of TCM herb-pairs and 91.6-97.6% of the non-TCM herb-pairs. The best AI system predicted 96.3% of the 27 known non-TCM herb-pairs and 99.7% of the other 1,065,100 possible herb-pairs as non-TCM herb-pairs. Our studies suggest that TCM-HPs of known TCM herb-pairs contain features distinguishable from those of non-TCM herb-pairs consistent with their claimed synergistic or modulating combinations.

Establishment of a Comprehensive List of Candidate Antiaging Medicinal Herb Used in Korean Medicine by Text Mining of the Classical Korean Medical Literature, “Dongeuibogam,” and Preliminary Evaluation of the Antiaging Effects of These Herbs

PubMed Central

Choi, Moo Jin; Choi, Byung Tae; Shin, Hwa Kyoung; Shin, Byung Cheul; Han, Yoo Kyoung; Baek, Jin Ung

2015-01-01

The major objectives of this study were to provide a list of candidate antiaging medicinal herbs that have been widely utilized in Korean medicine and to organize preliminary data for the benefit of experimental and clinical researchers to develop new drug therapies by analyzing previous studies. “Dongeuibogam,” a representative source of the Korean medicine literature, was selected to investigate candidate antiaging medicinal herbs and to identify appropriate terms that describe the specific antiaging effects that these herbs are predicted to elicit. In addition, we aimed to review previous studies that referenced the selected candidate antiaging medicinal herbs. From our chosen source, “Dongeuibogam,” we were able to screen 102 terms describing antiaging effects, which were further classified into 11 subtypes. Ninety-seven candidate antiaging medicinal herbs were selected using the criterion that their antiaging effects were described using the same terms as those employed in “Dongeuibogam.” These candidates were classified into 11 subtypes. Of the 97 candidate antiaging medicinal herbs selected, 47 are widely used by Korean medical doctors in Korea and were selected for further analysis of their antiaging effects. Overall, we found an average of 7.7 previous studies per candidate herb that described their antiaging effects. PMID:25861371

[Study on ethnic medicine quantitative reference herb,Tibetan medicine fruits of Capsicum frutescens as a case].

PubMed

Zan, Ke; Cui, Gan; Guo, Li-Nong; Ma, Shuang-Cheng; Zheng, Jian

2018-05-01

High price and difficult to get of reference substance have become obstacles to HPLC assay of ethnic medicine. A new method based on quantitative reference herb (QRH) was proposed. Specific chromatograms in fruits of Capsicum frutescens were employed to determine peak positions, and HPLC quantitative reference herb was prepared from fruits of C. frutescens. The content of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in the quantitative control herb was determined by HPLC. Eleven batches of fruits of C. frutescens were analyzed with quantitative reference herb and reference substance respectively. The results showed no difference. The present method is feasible for quality control of ethnic medicines and quantitative reference herb is suitable to replace reference substances in assay. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Comparative Studies on the Fungi and Bio-Chemical Characteristics of Snake Gourd (Trichosanthes curcumerina Linn) and Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentus Mill) in Rivers State, Nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuku, E. C.; Ogbonna, D. N.; Onuegbu, B. A.; Adeleke, M. T. V.

Comparative studies on the fungi and biochemical characteristics of Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentus Mill) and the Snake gourd (Trichosanthes curcumerina Linn) products were investigated in Rivers State using various analytical procedures. Results of the proximate analysis of fresh snake gourd and tomatoes show that the essential minerals such as protein, ash, fibre, lipid, phosphorus and niacin contents were higher in snake gourd but low in carbohydrate, calcium, iron, vitamins A and C when compared to the mineral fractions of tomatoes which has high values of calcium, iron, vitamins A and C. The mycoflora predominantly associated with the fruit rot of tomato were Fusarium oxysporium, Fusarium moniliforme, Rhizopus stolonifer and Aspergillus niger, while other fungi isolates from Snake gourd include Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus tamari, Penicillium ita/icum and Neurospora crassa. Rhizopus stolonifer and Aspergillus niger were common spoilage fungi to both the Tomato and Snake gourd. All the fungal isolates were found to be pathogenic. The duration for storage of the fruits at room temperature (28±1°C) showed that Tomato could store for 5 days while Snake gourd stored for as much as 7 days. Sensory evaluation shows that Snake gourd is preferred to Tomatoes because of its culinary and medicinal importance.

Effects of native herbs and light on garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) invasion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Phillips-Mao, Laura; Larson, Diane L.; Jordan, Nicholas R.

2014-01-01

The degree to which invasive species drive or respond to environmental change has important implications for conservation and invasion management. Often characterized as a driver of change in North American woodlands, the invasive herb garlic mustard may instead respond to declines in native plant cover and diversity. We tested effects of native herb cover, richness, and light availability on garlic mustard invasion in a Minnesota oak woodland. We planted 50 garlic mustard seeds into plots previously planted with 0 to 10 native herb species. We measured garlic mustard seedling establishment, survival to rosette and adult stages, and average (per plant) and total (per plot) biomass and silique production. With the use of structural equation models, we analyzed direct, indirect, and net effects of native cover, richness, and light on successive garlic mustard life stages. Native plant cover had a significant negative effect on all life stages. Species richness had a significant positive effect on native cover, resulting in indirect negative effects on all garlic mustard stages, and net negative effects on adult numbers, total biomass, and silique production. Light had a strong negative effect on garlic mustard seedling establishment and a positive effect on native herb cover, resulting in significant negative net effects on garlic mustard rosette and adult numbers. However, light's net effect on total garlic mustard biomass and silique production was positive; reproductive output was high even in low-light/high-cover conditions. Combined effects of cover, richness, and light suggest that native herbs provide biotic resistance to invasion by responding to increased light availability and suppressing garlic mustard responses, although this resistance may be overwhelmed by high propagule pressure. Garlic mustard invasion may occur, in part, in response to native plant decline. Restoring native herbs and controlling garlic mustard seed production may effectively reduce

Classification of Chinese herbs based on the cluster analysis of delayed luminescence.

PubMed

Pang, Jingxiang; Yang, Meina; Fu, Jialei; Zhao, Xiaolei; van Wijk, Eduard; Wang, Mei; Liu, Yanli; Zhou, Xiaoyan; Fan, Hua; Han, Jinxiang

2016-03-01

Traditional Chinese material medica are an important component of the Chinese pharmacopeia. According to the traditional Chinese medicinal concept, Chinese herbal medicines are classified into different categories based on their therapeutic effects, however, the bioactive principles cannot be solely explained by chemical analysis. The aim of this study is to classify different Chinese herbs based on their therapeutic effects by using delayed luminescence (DL). The DL of 56 Chinese herbs was measured using an ultra-sensitive luminescence detection system. The different DL parameters were used to classify Chinese herbs according to a hierarchical cluster analysis. The samples were divided into two groups based on their DL kinetic parameters. Interestingly, the DL classification results were quite consistent with classification according to the Chinese medicinal concepts of 'cold' and 'heat' properties. In this paper, we show for the first time that by using DL technology, it is possible to classify Chinese herbs according to the Chinese medicinal concept and it may even be possible to predict their therapeutic properties. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Authentication of medicinal herbs using PCR-amplified ITS2 with specific primers.

PubMed

Chiou, Shu-Jiau; Yen, Jui-Hung; Fang, Cheng-Li; Chen, Hui-Ling; Lin, Tsai-Yun

2007-10-01

Different parts of medicinal herbs have long been used as traditional Chinese drugs for treating many diseases, whereas materials of similar morphology and chemical fingerprints are often misidentified. Analyses of sequence variations in the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) have become a valid method for authentication of medicinal herbs at the intergenic and interspecific levels. DNA extracted from processed materials is usually severely degraded or contaminated by microorganisms, thus generates no or unexpected PCR products. The goal of this study is to apply the ITS fragments selectively amplified with two designed primer sets for efficient and precise authentication of medicinal herbs. The designed primers led to an accurate PCR product of the specific region in ITS2, which was confirmed with DNA extracted from 55 processed medicinal herbs belonging to 48 families. Moreover, the selectively amplified ITS2 authenticated five sets of easily confusable Chinese herbal materials. The designed primers were proven to be suitable for a broad application in the authentication of herbal materials.

Chinese herbs for memory disorders: a review and systematic analysis of classical herbal literature.

PubMed

May, Brian H; Lu, Chuanjian; Lu, Yubo; Zhang, Anthony L; Xue, Charlie C L

2013-02-01

Text mining and other literature-based investigations can assist in identifying natural products for experimental and clinical research. This article details a method for systematically analyzing data derived from the classical Chinese medical literature. We present the results of electronic searches of Zhong Hua Yi Dian ("Encyclopaedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine"), a CD of 1000 premodern (before 1950) medical books, for single herbs, and other natural products used for dementia, memory disorders, and memory improvement. This review explores how the terminology for these disorders has changed over time and which herbs have been used more or less frequently, and compares the results from the premodern literature with the herbs indexed for memory disorders in a modern pharmacopoeia. The searches located 731 citations deriving from 127 different books written between ca. 188 ad and ca. 1920. Of the 110 different natural products identified, those most frequently cited for forgetfulness were yuan zhi (Polygala tenuifolia), fu shen (Poria cocos), and chang pu (Acorus spp.), all of which have been cited repeatedly over the past 1800 years and appear among the 31 herbs indexed in a modern pharmacopoeia. By providing a complete, hierarchically organized list of herbs for a specific disorder, this approach can assist researchers in selecting herbs for research. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effects of Five Ayurvedic Herbs on Locomotor Behaviour in a Drosophila melanogaster Parkinson’s Disease Model

PubMed Central

Jansen, R. L. M.; Brogan, B.; Whitworth, A. J.; Okello, E. J.

2015-01-01

Current conventional treatments for Parkinson’s disease (PD) are aimed at symptom management, as there is currently no known cure or treatment that can slow down its progression. Ayurveda, the ancient medical system of India, uses a combination of herbs to combat the disease. Herbs commonly used for this purpose are Zandopa (containing Mucuna pruriens), Withania somnifera, Centella asiatica, Sida cordifolia and Bacopa monnieri. In this study, these herbs were tested for their potential ability to improve climbing ability of a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) PD model based on loss of function of phosphatase and tensin-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1). Fruit flies were cultured on food containing individual herbs or herbal formulations, a combination of all five herbs, levodopa (positive control) or no treatment (negative control). Tests were performed in both PINK1 mutant flies and healthy wild-type (WT) flies. A significant improvement in climbing ability was observed in flies treated with B. monnieri compared with untreated PINK1 mutant flies. However, a significant decrease in climbing ability was observed in WT flies for the same herb. Centella asiatica also significantly decreased climbing ability in WT flies. No significant effects were observed with any of the other herbs in either PINK1 or WT flies compared with untreated flies. PMID:25091506

Inhibition of the interactions between eosinophil cationic protein and airway epithelial cells by traditional Chinese herbs.

PubMed

Chang, Hao-Teng; Tseng, Louis J; Hung, Ta-Jen; Kao, Blacky T; Lin, Wei-Yong; Fan, Tan-chi; Chang, Margaret Dah-Tsyr; Pai, Tun-Wen

2010-09-13

The eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) is cytotoxic to bacteria, viruses, parasites and mammalian cells. Cells are damaged via processes of pore formation, permeability alteration and membrane leaking. Some clinical studies indicate that ECP gathers in the bronchial tract of asthma sufferers, damages bronchial and airway epithelial cells, and leads to in breathing tract inflammation; therefore, prevention of the cytotoxicity caused by ECP may serve as an approach to treat airway inflammation. To achieve the purpose, reduction of the ECP-cell interactions is rational. In this work, the Chinese herbal combinative network was generated to predict and identify the functional herbs from the pools of prescriptions. It was useful to select the node herbs and to demonstrate the relative binding ability between ECP and Beas-2B cells with or withour herb treatments. Eighty three Chinese herbs and prescriptions were tested and five effective herbs and six prescription candidates were selected. On the basis of effective single-herbal drugs and prescriptions, a combinative network was generated. We found that a single herb, Gan-cao, served as a node connecting five prescriptions. In addition, Sheng-di-huang, Dang-guei and Mu-tong also appeared in five, four and three kinds of prescriptions, respectively. The extracts of these three herbs indeed effectively inhibited the interactions between ECP and Beas-2B cells. According to the Chinese herbal combinative network, eight of the effective herbal extracts showed inhibitory effects for ECP internalizing into Beas-2B cells. The major components of Gang-cao and Sheng-di-huang, glycyrrhizic acid and verbascose, respectively, reduced the binding affinity between ECP and cells effectively. Since these Chinese herbs reduced the binding affinity between ECP and cells and inhibited subsequent ECP entrance into cells, they were potential for mitigating the airway inflammation symptoms. Additionally, we mentioned a new concept to study the

A Review on the Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs and Formulae with Hypolipidemic Effect

PubMed Central

Sham, Tung-Ting; Chan, Chi-On; Wang, You-Hua; Yang, Jian-Mei; Mok, Daniel Kam-Wah; Chan, Shun-Wan

2014-01-01

Hyperlipidemia, characterized by the abnormal blood lipid profiles, is one of the dominant factors of many chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). For the low cost, effectiveness, and fewer side effects, the popularity of using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to handle hyperlipidemia is increasing and its role in health care has been recognized by the public at large. Despite the importance of TCM herbs and formulations, there is no comprehensive review summarizing their scientific findings on handling hyperlipidemia. This review summarizes the recent experimental and clinical results of nine representative single Chinese herbs and seven classic TCM formulae that could improve lipid profiles so as to help understand and compare their underlying mechanisms. Most of single herbs and formulae demonstrated the improvement of hyperlipidemic conditions with multiple and diverse mechanisms of actions similar to conventional Western drugs in spite of their mild side effects. Due to increasing popularity of TCM, more extensive, well-designed preclinical and clinical trials on the potential synergistic and adverse side effects of herb-drug interactions as well as their mechanisms are warranted. Hyperlipidemic patients should be warned about the potential risks of herb-drug interactions, particularly those taking anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs. PMID:25110708

Enhancing consumer liking of low salt tomato soup over repeated exposure by herb and spice seasonings.

PubMed

Ghawi, Sameer Khalil; Rowland, Ian; Methven, Lisa

2014-10-01

There is strong evidence for the link between high dietary sodium and increased risk of cardiovascular disease which drives the need to reduce salt content in foods. In this study, herb and spice blends were used to enhance consumer acceptability of a low salt tomato soup (0.26% w/w). Subjects (n = 148) scored their liking of tomato soup samples over 5 consecutive days. The first and last days were pre-and post-exposure visits where all participants rated three tomato soup samples; standard, low salt and low salt with added herbs and spices. The middle 3 days were the repeated exposure phase where participants were divided into three balanced groups; consuming the standard soup, the low salt soup, or the low salt soup with added herbs and spices. Reducing salt in the tomato soup led to a significant decline in consumer acceptability, and incorporating herbs and spices did not lead to an immediate enhancement in liking. However, inclusion of herbs and spices enhanced the perception of the salty taste of the low salt soup to the same level as the standard. Repeated exposure to the herbs and spice-modified soup led to a significant increase in the overall liking and liking of flavour, texture and aftertaste of the soup, whereas no changes in liking were observed for the standard and low salt tomato soups over repeated exposure. Moreover, a positive trend in increasing the post-exposure liking of the herbs and spices soup was observed. The findings suggest that the use of herbs and spices is a useful approach to reduce salt content in foods; however, herbs and spices should be chosen carefully to complement the food as large contrasts in flavour can polarise consumer liking. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Toxicological safety and stability of the components of an irradiated Korean medicinal herb, Paeoniae Radix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Young-Beob; Jeong, Ill-Yun; Park, Hae-Ran; Oh, Heon; Jung, Uhee; Jo, Sung-Kee

2004-09-01

As utilization of medicinal herbs in food and bio-industry increases, mass production and the supply of herbs with a high quality are required. As the use of fumigants and preservatives for herbs is being restricted, safe hygienic technologies are demanded. To consider the possibility of the application of irradiation technology for this purpose, the genotoxicological safety and stability of the active components of the γ-irradiated Paeoniae Radix were studied. The herb was irradiated with γ-rays at a practical dosage of 10 kGy, and then it was extracted with hot water. The genotoxicity of the extract of the irradiated herb was examined in two short-term in vitro tests: (1) Ames test in Salmonella typhimurium; (2) Micronucleus test in cultured Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The extract of the irradiated herb did not show mutagenicity in the Ames test of the Salmonella reverse mutation assay, and did not show cytogenetic toxicity in the culture of the CHO cells. HPLC chromatogram of paeoniflorin in the irradiated Paeoniae Radix was similar with that of the non-irradiated sample. The quantity of paeoniflorin did not change significantly with irradiation. These results suggest that γ-irradiated Paeoniae Radix is toxicologically safe and chemically stable.

Trichosanthin inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation in both cell lines and nude mice by promotion of apoptosis.

PubMed

Fang, Evandro Fei; Zhang, Chris Zhi Yi; Zhang, Lin; Wong, Jack Ho; Chan, Yau Sang; Pan, Wen Liang; Dan, Xiu Li; Yin, Cui Ming; Cho, Chi Hin; Ng, Tzi Bun

2012-01-01

Breast cancer ranks as a common and severe neoplasia in women with increasing incidence as well as high risk of metastasis and relapse. Translational and laboratory-based clinical investigations of new/novel drugs are in progress. Medicinal plants are rich sources of biologically active natural products for drug development. The 27-kDa trichosanthin (TCS) is a ribosome inactivating protein purified from tubers of the Chinese herbal plant Trichosanthes kirilowii Maximowicz (common name Tian Hua Fen). In this study, we extended the potential medicinal applications of TCS from HIV, ferticide, hydatidiform moles, invasive moles, to breast cancer. We found that TCS manifested anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing activities in both estrogen-dependent human MCF-7 cells and estrogen-independent MDA-MB-231 cells. Flow cytometric analysis disclosed that TCS induced cell cycle arrest. Further studies revealed that TCS-induced tumor cell apoptosis was attributed to activation of both caspase-8 and caspase-9 regulated pathways. The subsequent events including caspase-3 activation, and increased PARP cleavage. With regard to cell morphology, stereotypical apoptotic features were observed. Moreover, in comparison with control, TCS- treated nude mice bearing MDA-MB-231 xenograft tumors exhibited significantly reduced tumor volume and tumor weight, due to the potent effect of TCS on tumor cell apoptosis as determined by the increase of caspase-3 activation, PARP cleavage, and DNA fragmentation using immunohistochemistry. Considering the clinical efficacy and relative safety of TCS on other human diseases, this work opens up new therapeutic avenues for patients with estrogen-dependent and/or estrogen-independent breast cancers.

Trichosanthin Inhibits Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation in Both Cell Lines and Nude Mice by Promotion of Apoptosis

PubMed Central

Zhang, Lin; Wong, Jack Ho; Chan, Yau Sang; Pan, Wen Liang; Dan, Xiu Li; Yin, Cui Ming; Cho, Chi Hin; Ng, Tzi Bun

2012-01-01

Breast cancer ranks as a common and severe neoplasia in women with increasing incidence as well as high risk of metastasis and relapse. Translational and laboratory-based clinical investigations of new/novel drugs are in progress. Medicinal plants are rich sources of biologically active natural products for drug development. The 27-kDa trichosanthin (TCS) is a ribosome inactivating protein purified from tubers of the Chinese herbal plant Trichosanthes kirilowii Maximowicz (common name Tian Hua Fen). In this study, we extended the potential medicinal applications of TCS from HIV, ferticide, hydatidiform moles, invasive moles, to breast cancer. We found that TCS manifested anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing activities in both estrogen-dependent human MCF-7 cells and estrogen-independent MDA-MB-231 cells. Flow cytometric analysis disclosed that TCS induced cell cycle arrest. Further studies revealed that TCS-induced tumor cell apoptosis was attributed to activation of both caspase-8 and caspase-9 regulated pathways. The subsequent events including caspase-3 activation, and increased PARP cleavage. With regard to cell morphology, stereotypical apoptotic features were observed. Moreover, in comparison with control, TCS- treated nude mice bearing MDA-MB-231 xenograft tumors exhibited significantly reduced tumor volume and tumor weight, due to the potent effect of TCS on tumor cell apoptosis as determined by the increase of caspase-3 activation, PARP cleavage, and DNA fragmentation using immunohistochemistry. Considering the clinical efficacy and relative safety of TCS on other human diseases, this work opens up new therapeutic avenues for patients with estrogen-dependent and/or estrogen-independent breast cancers. PMID:22957017

Midlife women, bone health, vegetables, herbs and fruit study. The Scarborough Fair study protocol.

PubMed

Gunn, Caroline A; Weber, Janet L; Kruger, Marlena C

2013-01-10

Bone loss is accelerated in middle aged women but increased fruit/vegetable intake positively affects bone health by provision of micronutrients essential for bone formation, buffer precursors which reduce acid load and phytochemicals affecting inflammation and oxidative stress. Animal studies demonstrated bone resorption inhibiting properties of specific vegetables, fruit and herbs a decade ago. To increase fruit/vegetable intake in post menopausal women to 9 servings/day using a food specific approach to significantly reduce dietary acid load and include specific vegetables, fruit and herbs with bone resorbing inhibiting properties to assess effect on bone turnover, metabolic and inflammatory markers. The Scarborough Fair Study is a randomised active comparator controlled multi centre trial. It aimed to increase fruit and vegetable intake in 100 post menopausal women from ≤ 5 servings/day to ≥ 9 servings/day for 3 months. The women in the dietary intervention were randomly assigned to one of the two arms of the study. Both groups consumed ≥ 9 servings/day of fruit/vegetables and selected herbs but the diet of each group emphasised different fruit/vegetables/herbs with one group (B) selecting from a range of vegetables, fruit and culinary herbs with bone resorbing inhibiting properties. 50 women formed a negative control group (Group C usual diet). Primary outcome variables were plasma bone markers assessed at baseline, 6 weeks and 12 weeks. Secondary outcome variables were plasma inflammation and metabolic markers and urinary electrolytes (calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium) assessed at baseline and 12 weeks. Dietary intake and urine pH change also were outcome variables. The dietary change was calculated with 3 day diet diaries and a 24 hour recall. Intervention participants kept a twice weekly record of fruit, vegetable and herb intake and urine pH. This study will provide information on midlife women's bone health and how a dietary intervention

Heart Toxicity Related to Herbs and Dietary Supplements: Online Table of Case Reports. Part 4 of 5.

PubMed

Brown, Amy C

2017-10-05

The purpose of this review was to create an online research summary table of heart toxicity case reports related to dietary supplements (DS; includes herbs). Documented PubMed case reports of DS appearing to contribute to heart-related problems were used to create a "Toxic Table" that summarized the research (1966 to April, 2016, and cross-referencing). Keywords included "herb," "dietary supplement," and cardiac terms. Case reports were excluded if they were herb combinations (some exceptions), Chinese herb mixtures, teas of mixed herb contents, mushrooms, poisonous plants, self-harm (e.g. suicide), excess dose (except vitamins/minerals), drugs or illegal drugs, drug-herbal interactions, and confounders of drugs or diseases. The spectrum of heart toxicities included hypertension, hypotension, hypokalemia, bradycardia, tachycardia, arrhythmia, ventricular fibrillation, heart attack, cardiac arrest, heart failure, and death. Heart related problems were associated with approximately seven herbs: Four traditional Chinese medicine herbs - Don quai (Angelica sinensis), Jin bu huan (Lycopodium serratum), Thundergod vine or lei gong teng (Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F), and Ting kung teng (Erycibe henryi prain); one an Ayruvedic herb - Aswagandha, (Withania somnifera); and two North American herbs - blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), and Yohimbe (Pausinystalia johimbe). Aconitum and Ephedra species are no longer sold in the United States. The DS included, but are not limited to five DS - bitter orange, caffeine, certain energy drinks, nitric oxide products, and a calming product. Six additional DS are no longer sold. Licorice was the food related to heart problems. The online "Toxic Table" forewarns clinicians, consumers and the DS industry by listing DS with case reports related to heart toxicity. It may also contribute to Phase IV post marketing surveillance to diminish adverse events that Government officials use to regulate DS.

[Observation on therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with chinese herbs on polycystic ovary syndrome of kidney deficiency and phlegm stasis type].

PubMed

Shi, Yin; Feng, Hui-jun; Liu, Hui-rong; Zhu, Dan

2009-02-01

To observe the clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with Chinese herbs on polycystic ovary syndrome of kidney deficiency and phlegm stasis type and probe into the mechanism. Sixty-three cases of polycystic ovary syndrome of kidney deficiency and phlegm stasis type were randomly divided in to a combined acupuncture and Chinese herb group (n=32) treated with acupuncture at Qihai (CV 6), Guanyuan (CV 4), et al. and oral administration of Chinese herbs, and a simple Chinese herb group (n=31) treated with oral administration of the same Chinese herbs as in the combined acupuncture and Chinese herb group. The therapeutic effects and changes of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteotropic hormone (LH), testosterone (T) and LH/FSH were compared between the two groups. The total effective rate was 93.8% in the combined acupuncture and Chinese herb group and 80.6% in the simple Chinese herb group, the former being significantly better than the latter (P < 0.05). The decrease of T in the combined acupuncture and Chinese herb group was significantly su perior to that in the simple Chinese herb group (P < 0.01). Acupuncture combined with Chinese herb therapy is superior to the simple Chinese herb in the clinical therapeutic effect on polycystic ovary syndrome of kidney deficiency and phlegm stasis type and decrease of T level, indicating this method is a better one for polycystic ovary syndrome of kidney deficiency and phlegm stasis type.

Contributory factors in herb-induced fatal aconite poisoning.

PubMed

Chan, Thomas Y K

2012-11-30

Detailed investigations of all reported cases of herb-induced aconite poisoning are necessary to identify the major contributory causes so that preventive measures can be formulated. In the present review of 12 fatal cases that were published in the medical journals during 1992 and 2011, the available clinical data and forensic toxicological analyses indicated that poor post-harvest processing of aconite roots, use of greater than the recommended doses and inadequate boiling of processed aconite roots during decoction preparation were important contributory factors in herb-induced aconite poisoning. Under such circumstances, the actual amount of Aconitum alkaloids ingested was much larger than intended. Good manufacturing practice to ensure adequate processing of aconite roots, use of the recommended doses, clear instructions for the patients and their compliance during decoction preparation are important preventive measures. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nation-Based Occurrence and Endogenous Biological Reduction of Mycotoxins in Medicinal Herbs and Spices.

PubMed

Do, Kee Hun; An, Tae Jin; Oh, Sang-Keun; Moon, Yuseok

2015-10-14

Medicinal herbs have been increasingly used for therapeutic purposes against a diverse range of human diseases worldwide. Moreover, the health benefits of spices have been extensively recognized in recent studies. However, inevitable contaminants, including mycotoxins, in medicinal herbs and spices can cause serious problems for humans in spite of their health benefits. Along with the different nation-based occurrences of mycotoxins, the ultimate exposure and toxicities can be diversely influenced by the endogenous food components in different commodities of the medicinal herbs and spices. The phytochemicals in these food stuffs can influence mold growth, mycotoxin production and biological action of the mycotoxins in exposed crops, as well as in animal and human bodies. The present review focuses on the occurrence of mycotoxins in medicinal herbs and spices and the biological interaction between mold, mycotoxin and herbal components. These networks will provide insights into the methods of mycotoxin reduction and toxicological risk assessment of mycotoxin-contaminated medicinal food components in the environment and biological organisms.

Nation-Based Occurrence and Endogenous Biological Reduction of Mycotoxins in Medicinal Herbs and Spices

PubMed Central

Do, Kee Hun; An, Tae Jin; Oh, Sang-Keun; Moon, Yuseok

2015-01-01

Medicinal herbs have been increasingly used for therapeutic purposes against a diverse range of human diseases worldwide. Moreover, the health benefits of spices have been extensively recognized in recent studies. However, inevitable contaminants, including mycotoxins, in medicinal herbs and spices can cause serious problems for humans in spite of their health benefits. Along with the different nation-based occurrences of mycotoxins, the ultimate exposure and toxicities can be diversely influenced by the endogenous food components in different commodities of the medicinal herbs and spices. The phytochemicals in these food stuffs can influence mold growth, mycotoxin production and biological action of the mycotoxins in exposed crops, as well as in animal and human bodies. The present review focuses on the occurrence of mycotoxins in medicinal herbs and spices and the biological interaction between mold, mycotoxin and herbal components. These networks will provide insights into the methods of mycotoxin reduction and toxicological risk assessment of mycotoxin-contaminated medicinal food components in the environment and biological organisms. PMID:26473926

Anti-Aging Effects of Some Selected Iranian Folk Medicinal Herbs-Biochemical Evidences

PubMed Central

Mohammadirad, Azadeh; Aghamohammadali-Sarraf, Fatemeh; Badiei, Simin; Faraji, Zakie; Hajiaghaee, Reza; Baeeri, Maryam; Gholami, Mahdi; Abdollahi, Mohammad

2013-01-01

Objective(s): In the current study, the effects of selected folk medicinal herbs were evaluated in D-galactose-induced aging in male mice. Materials and Methods: Male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 12 groups composing sham, control, and treated groups. Aging was induced by administration of D-galactose (500 mg/kg/day for 6 weeks). A positive control group was assigned that received vitamin E (200 mg/kg/day). The extract of herbs was prepared, lyophilized, and used in this study. The herbs were administered by gavage for 4 weeks to D-galactose-aged animals at the selected doses (mg/kg/day) as follows: Zingiber officinale (250), Glycyrrhiza glabra (150), Rosmarinus officinalis (300), Peganum harmala (50), Aloe vera (150), Satureja hortensis (200), Teucrium scordium (200), Hypericum perforatum (135) and Silybum marianum (150). One group of animals was assigned as sham and not given D-galactose. Results: At the end of treatment, pro-inflammatory markers including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interlukine-1β (IL-β), interlukine-6 (IL-6), NF-kappaB (NF-κb), total antioxidant power (TAP), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as lipid peroxidation (LPO) marker and male sex hormones i.e. testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) were measured in the blood. Conclusion: These data for the first time indicate significant anti-aging potential of examined herbs. Results showed that D-galactose induces a significant oxidative stress and promotes proinflammatory cascade of aging while all herbs more or less recovered these changes. Among 9 herbal extracts, Silybum marianum showed the best effect in restoring aging changes. PMID:24494070

Phenolic and triterpenoid antioxidants from Origanum majorana L. herb and extracts obtained with different solvents.

PubMed

Vági, E; Rapavi, E; Hadolin, M; Vásárhelyiné Perédi, K; Balázs, A; Blázovics, A; Simándi, B

2005-01-12

Antioxidant properties of marjoram (Origanum majorana L.) herb and extracts obtained with ethanol, n-hexane, and supercritical CO2 extraction are presented. Individual antioxidants, ursolic acid, carnosic acid, and carnosol, were quantified with high-performance liquid chromatography. The effects of different parameters (temperature and pressure) of high-pressure extraction on the yield of carnosol were studied. Furthermore, two marjoram herbs from Hungary and Egypt were compared measuring hydrogen-donating abilities with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl by spectrophotometric and the total scavenger capacities by chemiluminometric methods from the aqueous extracts of the herbs. The antioxidant activities of the solvent extracts were performed using the Rancimat method. The Egyptian herb and its extracts possessed better antioxidant activities than Hungarian ones. Applying supercritical CO2 extraction, the highest value of carnosol was obtained at 400 bar and 60 degrees C.

The pharmacological activity of medical herbs after microbiological decontamination by irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owczarczyk, H. B.; Migdał, W.; K ȩdzia, B.

2000-03-01

In the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology research on microbiological decontamination of medicinal herbs by irradiation has been carried out since 1996. It was shown that using ionizing radiation (a dose of 10 kGy) can obtain satisfactory results of microbiological decontamination of these products. The content of essential biologically active substances such as essential oils, flavonoids, glycosides, anthocyans, antra-compounds, poliphenoloacids, triterpene saponins, oleanosides and plants mucus did not change significantly after irradiation. Pharmacological activity of medicinal herbs has been found satisfactory after microbiological decontamination by irradiation.

Effect of essential oils prepared from Thai culinary herbs on sessile Candida albicans cultures.

PubMed

Hovijitra, Ray S; Choonharuangdej, Suwan; Srithavaj, Theerathavaj

2016-01-01

Although medicinal herbs with fungicidal effects have been ubiquitously employed in traditional medicine, such effects of culinary herbs and spices still have to be elucidated. Therefore, it is noteworthy to determine the antifungal efficacy of some edible herbs used in Thai cuisine against sessile Candida albicans cultures, and to inquire if they can be further utilized as naturally-derived antifungals. Fourteen essential oils extracted from Thai culinary herbs and spices were tested for their antifungal activity against C. albicans using the agar disk diffusion method followed by broth micro-dilution method for the determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration. The oils with potent antifungal effects against planktonic fungi were then assessed for their effect against sessile fungus (adherent organisms and established biofilm culture). MIC of the oils against sessile C. albicans was evaluated by 2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide reduction assay. All selected culinary herbs and spices, except galangal, garlic, and turmeric, exhibited inhibitory effects on planktonic yeast cells. Cinnamon bark and sweet basil leaf essential oils exhibited potent fungicidal effect on planktonic and sessile fungus. Sessile MICs were 8-16 times higher than planktonic MICs. Consequently, both cinnamon bark and sweet basil leaf herbal oils seem to be highly effective anti-Candida choices. (J Oral Sci 58, 365-371, 2016).

``Low-cost Electronic nose evaluated on Thai-herb of Northern-Thailand samples using multivariate analysis methods''

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

na ayudhaya, Paisarn Daungjak; Klinbumrung, Arrak; Jaroensutasinee, Krisanadej; Pratontep, Sirapat; Kerdcharoen, Teerakiat

2009-05-01

In case of species of natural and aromatic plant originated from the northern Thailand, sensory characteristics, especially odours, have unique identifiers of herbs. The instruments sensory analysis have performed by several of differential of sensing, so call `electronic nose', to be a significantly and rapidly for chemometrics. The signal responses of the low cost electronic nose were evaluated by principal component analysis (PCA). The aims of this paper evaluated various of Thai-herbs grown in Northern of Thailand as data preprocessing tools of the Low-cost electronic nose (enNU-PYO1). The essential oil groups of Thai herbs such as Garlic, Lemongrass, Shallot (potato onion), Onion, Zanthoxylum limonella (Dennst.) Alston (Thai name is Makaen), and Kaffir lime leaf were compared volatilized from selected fresh herbs. Principal component analysis of the original sensor responses did clearly distinguish either all samples. In all cases more than 97% for cross-validated group were classified correctly. The results demonstrated that it was possible to develop in a model to construct a low-cost electronic nose to provide measurement of odoriferous herbs.

Emerging Trends in Microwave Processing of Spices and Herbs.

PubMed

Rahath Kubra, Ismail; Kumar, Devender; Jagan Mohan Rao, Lingamallu

2016-10-02

Today, spices are integral part of our food as they provide sensory attributes such as aroma, color, flavour and taste to food. Further their antimicrobial, antioxidant, pharmaceutical and nutritional properties are also well known. Since spices are seasonal so their availability can be extended year round by adopting different preservation techniques. Drying and extraction are most important methods for preservation and value addition to spices. There are different techniques for drying of spices with their own advantages and limitations. A novel, non-conventional technique for drying of spices is use of microwave radiation. This technique proved to be very rapid, and also provide a good quality product. Similarly, there are a number of non-conventional extraction methods in use that are all, in principle, solid-liquid extractions but which introduce some form of additional energy to the process in order to facilitate the transfer of analytes from sample to solvent. This paper reviews latest advances in the use of microwave energy for drying of spices and herbs. Also, the review describes the potential application of microwave energy for extraction of essential oil/bioactive components from spices and herbs and the advantages of microwave-assisted process over the other extraction processes generally employed for extraction. It also showcases some recent research results on microwave drying/extraction from spices and herbs.

Ecotoxicological responses of three ornamental herb species to cadmium.

PubMed

Liu, Zhouli; He, Xingyuan; Chen, Wei; Zhao, Mingzhu

2013-08-01

Cadmium is one of the most toxic elements. The ideal vegetal cover should be ensured by the selection of appropriate plant species for successful phytoremediation. In the present study, the ecotoxicological effects of Cd on the following 3 ornamental herbs were investigated: Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Based on the inhibition rate of seed germination, root and shoot elongation, early seedling growth, median inhibition concentration (IC50) values, and index of tolerance (IT) values, ecotoxicological indicators were determined. The results showed that 10 μM to 50 μM Cd had little effect on seed germination or root and shoot elongation of the 3 ornamental herbs (p > 0.01). With an increase in Cd concentrations, alfalfa (M. sativa) was the most sensitive to Cd toxicity in terms of seed germination and root elongation. Based on the IC50 of root elongation, Italian ryegrass (L. multiflorum) was the least sensitive to Cd. Based on the IC50 of seed germination and shoot elongation, white clover had the least sensitivity to Cd. Among the 3 ornamental herbs, based on the IC50 of seed germination and root and shoot elongation, alfalfa (M. sativa) was all the most sensitive plant. According to the index of tolerance, Italian ryegrass (L. multiflorum) was the most tolerant plant. Copyright © 2013 SETAC.

Rosemary, the beneficial chemistry of a garden herb.

PubMed

Hanson, James R

2016-01-01

The major natural products that are present in the garden herb, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) including the mono di- and triterpenoid, flavonoid and phenolic constituents together with their biological activity as anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, memory-enhancing and tumour-inhibitory agents, are reviewed.

A Systematic Review of the Prevalence of Herb Usage Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities in the United States

PubMed Central

Whelan, Julia; White, Laura F.; Filippelli, Amanda C.; Bharmal, Nazleen; Kaptchuk, Ted J.

2015-01-01

Clinical studies display a wide range of herb use prevalence among racial/ethnic minorities in the United States. We searched databases indexing the literature including CINAHL, EMBASE, Global Health, CAB Abstracts, and Medline. We included studies that reported herbal medicine prevalence among ethnic minorities, African American, Hispanic, or Asian adults living in the United States. Data from 108 included studies found the prevalence of herb use by African Americans was 17 % (range 1–46 %); for Hispanics, 30 % (4–100 %); and for Asians, 30 % (2–73 %). Smaller studies were associated with higher reported herb use (p = 0.03). There was a significant difference (p = 0.01) between regional and national studies with regional studies reporting higher use. While herb usage surveys in racial/ethnic minorities show great variability, indications suggest high prevalence. More research is needed to understand herb use among ethnic/racial minorities, reasons for use, and barriers to disclosure of use to clinicians. PMID:22723252

Uncaria rhynchophylla, a Chinese medicinal herb, has potent antiaggregation effects on Alzheimer's beta-amyloid proteins.

PubMed

Fujiwara, Hironori; Iwasaki, Koh; Furukawa, Katsutoshi; Seki, Takashi; He, Mei; Maruyama, Masahiro; Tomita, Naoki; Kudo, Yukitsuka; Higuchi, Makoto; Saido, Takaomi C; Maeda, Sumihiro; Takashima, Akihiko; Hara, Masahiko; Ohizumi, Yasushi; Arai, Hiroyuki

2006-08-01

Because the deposition of beta-amyloid protein (Abeta) is a consistent pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains, inhibition of Abeta generation, prevention of Abeta fibril formation, or destabilization of preformed Abeta fibrils would be attractive therapeutic strategies for the treatment of AD. We examined the effects of several medicinal herbs used in traditional Chinese medical formulae on the formation and destabilization of Abeta fibrils by using the thioflavin T binding assay, atomic force microscopic imaging, and electrophoresis. Our study demonstrates that several of these herbs have potent inhibitory effects on fibril formation of both Abeta(1-40) and Abeta(1-42) in concentration-dependent manners; in particular, Uncaria rhynchophylla inhibited Abeta aggregation most intensively. Significant destabilization of preformed Abeta(1-40) and Abeta(1-42) fibrils was also induced by Uncaria rhynchophylla as well as some other herb extracts. Three-dimensional HPLC analysis indicated that the water extract of this herb contains several different chemical compounds, including oxindole and indol alkaloids, which have been regarded as neuroprotective. Our results suggest that Uncaria rhynchophylla has remarkably inhibitory effects on the regulation of Abeta fibrils, and we conclude that this medicinal herb could have the potency to be a novel therapeutic agent to prevent and/or cure AD.

Herbal Prescriptions and Medicinal Herbs for Parkinson-Related Rigidity in Korean Medicine: Identification of Candidates Using Text Mining.

PubMed

Park, So Hyun; Hwang, Min Seob; Park, Hye Jin; Shin, Hwa Kyoung; Baek, Jin Ung; Choi, Byung Tae

2018-03-27

Dongeuibogam (DongYiBaoGian), one of the most important books in Korean medicine, comprises a comprehensive summary of all traditional medicines of North-East Asia before the 17th century. This medicinal literature was mined to establish a list of candidate herbs to treat Parkinson-related rigidity. A systematic search for terms describing Parkinson-related rigidity and candidate prescriptions for the treatment of Parkinson-related rigidity in the Dongeuibogam was performed. A high-frequency medicinal herb combination group and candidates for the treatment of Parkinson-related rigidity were also selected through an analysis of medicinal herb combination frequencies. The existing literature pertaining to the potential effects of candidate herbs for Parkinson-related rigidity was reviewed. Ten medicinal herb candidates for the treatment of Parkinson-related rigidity were selected, and their respective precedent studies were analyzed.

Anti-inflammatory effects of Chinese medicinal herbs on cerebral ischemia.

PubMed

Su, Shan-Yu; Hsieh, Ching-Liang

2011-07-09

Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of anti-inflammation, including cellular immunity, inflammatory mediators, reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide and several transcriptional factors, in the treatment of cerebral ischemia. This article reviews the roles of Chinese medicinal herbs as well as their ingredients in the inflammatory cascade induced by cerebral ischemia. Chinese medicinal herbs exert neuroprotective effects on cerebral ischemia. The effects include inhibiting the activation of microglia, decreasing levels of adhesion molecules such as intracellular adhesion molecule-1, attenuating expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α, reducing inducible nitric oxide synthase and reactive oxygen species, and regulating transcription factors such as nuclear factor-κB.

Indian Herbs for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disease.

PubMed

Mannangatti, Padmanabhan; Naidu, Kamalakkannan Narasimha

2016-01-01

Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine that is indigenous to India, is believed to be the world's oldest comprehensive health-care system and is now one of the most recognized and widely practiced disciplines of alternative medicine in the world. Medicinal herbs have been in use for treating diseases since ancient times in India. Ayurvedic therapies with medicinal herbs and herbomineral products generally provide relief without much adverse effects even after prolonged administration. Neurodegenerative disorders are a major cause of mortality and disability, and increasing life spans represent one of the key challenges of medical research. Ayurvedic medicine describes most neurodegenerative diseases and has defined a number of plants with therapeutic benefits for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases having antioxidant activities. In this chapter, the role of four important Ayurvedic medicinal plants, viz., Withania somnifera (ashwagandha), Bacopa monnieri (brahmi), Centella asiatica (gotu kola), and Mucuna pruriens (velvet bean), on neurodegenerative diseases are discussed.

Screening of anti-Helicobacter pylori herbs deriving from Taiwanese folk medicinal plants.

PubMed

Wang, Yuan-Chuen; Huang, Tung-Liang

2005-02-01

In this study, extracts from 50 Taiwanese folk medicinal plants were examined and screened for anti-Helicobacter pylori activity. Ninety-five percent ethanol was used for herbal extraction. Paederia scandens (Lour.) Merr. (PSM), Plumbago zeylanica L. (PZL), Anisomeles indica (L.) O. Kuntze (AIOK), Bombax malabaricum DC. (BMDC) and Alpinia speciosa (J. C. Wendl.) K. Schum. (ASKS) and Bombax malabaricum DC. (BMDC) all demonstrated strong anti-H. pylori activities. The minimum inhibitory concentration values of the anti-H. pylori activity given by the five ethanol herb extracts ranged from 0.64 to 10.24 mg ml(-1). Twenty-six herbs, including Artemisia argvi Levl. et Vant (AALEV), Phyla nodiflora (Linn.) Greene (PNG) and others, showed moderate anti-H. pylori activity. The additional 19 herbs, including Areca catechu Linn. (ACL), Euphorbia hirta Linn. (EHL) and Gnaphalium adnatum Wall. ex DC. (GAWEDC), possessed lower anti-H. pylori effects. About half of the Taiwanese folk medicinal plants tested, demonstrated to possess higher anti-H. pylori activity.

Characterisation of phenolics in Flor-Essence--a compound herbal product and its contributing herbs.

PubMed

Saleem, Ammar; Walshe-Roussel, Brendan; Harris, Cory; Asim, Muhammad; Tamayo, Carmen; Sit, Summer; Arnason, John Thor

2009-01-01

Commercially available herbal mixture FE, a proprietary natural health product manufactured by Flora Manufacturing and Distributing Ltd (Flora), is a unique North American traditional herbal product. FE is a chemically complex mixture of eight herbs and has not been subjected to phytochemical analysis. To develop analytical methods to undertake detailed phytochemical analyses of FE, and its eight contributing herbs, including burdock (Arctium lappa L.), sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella L.), Turkish rhubarb (Rheum palmatum L.), slippery elm Muhl. (Ulmus rubra), watercress (Nasturtium officinale R. Br.), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus L.) and kelp (Laminaria digitata Lmx.). The identification was undertaken by a combination of reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation-mass selective detection (RP-HPLC-DAD-APCI-MSD) analysis and phenolics metabolomic library matching. New separation methods facilitated the identification of 43 markers in the individual herbs which constitute FE. Sixteen markers could be identified in FE originating from four contributing herbs including four caffeoyl quinic acids, three dicaffeoyl quinic acids and two caffeic acid derivatives from A. lappa, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, luteolin, five apigenin glycosides and apigenin from R. acetocella and N. officinale and sissostrin from T. pretense. A validated method for quantitative determination of three markers is reported with good intraday, interday and interoperator repeatability using a reliable alcohol based extraction technique. FE and its contributing herbs predominantly contain phenolics. This methodology can be applied to further develop full-scale validation of this product.

Studies on medicinal herbs for cognitive enhancement based on the text mining of Dongeuibogam and preliminary evaluation of its effects.

PubMed

Pak, Malk Eun; Kim, Yu Ri; Kim, Ha Neui; Ahn, Sung Min; Shin, Hwa Kyoung; Baek, Jin Ung; Choi, Byung Tae

2016-02-17

In literature on Korean medicine, Dongeuibogam (Treasured Mirror of Eastern Medicine), published in 1613, represents the overall results of the traditional medicines of North-East Asia based on prior medicinal literature of this region. We utilized this medicinal literature by text mining to establish a list of candidate herbs for cognitive enhancement in the elderly and then performed an evaluation of their effects. Text mining was performed for selection of candidate herbs. Cell viability was determined in HT22 hippocampal cells and immunohistochemistry and behavioral analysis was performed in a kainic acid (KA) mice model in order to observe alterations of hippocampal cells and cognition. Twenty four herbs for cognitive enhancement in the elderly were selected by text mining of Dongeuibogam. In HT22 cells, pretreatment with 3 candidate herbs resulted in significantly reduced glutamate-induced cell death. Panax ginseng was the most neuroprotective herb against glutamate-induced cell death. In the hippocampus of a KA mice model, pretreatment with 11 candidate herbs resulted in suppression of caspase-3 expression. Treatment with 7 candidate herbs resulted in significantly enhanced expression levels of phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein. Number of proliferated cells indicated by BrdU labeling was increased by treatment with 10 candidate herbs. Schisandra chinensis was the most effective herb against cell death and proliferation of progenitor cells and Rehmannia glutinosa in neuroprotection in the hippocampus of a KA mice model. In a KA mice model, we confirmed improved spatial and short memory by treatment with the 3 most effective candidate herbs and these recovered functions were involved in a higher number of newly formed neurons from progenitor cells in the hippocampus. These established herbs and their combinations identified by text-mining technique and evaluation for effectiveness may have value in further experimental and clinical

Determination of Heavy Metals Concentration in Traditional Herbs Commonly Consumed in the United Arab Emirates

PubMed Central

Dghaim, Rania; Al Khatib, Safa; Rasool, Husna; Ali Khan, Munawwar

2015-01-01

Herbs are extensively consumed in the United Arab Emirates for their flavoring and medicinal properties. This study aimed at determining the concentration of heavy metals in selected traditional herbs consumed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A total of 81 samples of seven herbs, parsley (Petroselinum crispum), basil (Ocimum basilicum), sage (Salvia officinalis), oregano (Origanum vulgare), mint (Mentha spicata), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), and chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), were purchased from the local market in Dubai and analyzed for their cadmium, lead, copper, iron, and zinc contents. Microwave-assisted digestion was applied for the dissolution of the samples and heavy metals concentration was determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). Metals were found to be present in varied concentrations in the herb samples. The concentration ranges were found as follows: less than 0.1–1.11 mg·kg−1 for cadmium, less than 1.0–23.52 mg·kg−1 for lead, 1.44–156.24 mg·kg−1 for copper, 12.65–146.67 mg·kg−1 for zinc, and 81.25–1101.22 mg·kg−1 for iron. The findings of the study suggest that most of the analyzed herbs contained unsafe levels of heavy metals that exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limits (PL). PMID:26000023

Anti-tumorigenic activity of five culinary and medicinal herbs grown under greenhouse conditions and their combination effects.

PubMed

Yi, Weiguang; Wetzstein, Hazel Y

2011-08-15

Herbs and spices have been used as food preservatives, flavorings, and in traditional medicines for thousands of years. More and more scientific evidence supports the medicinal properties of culinary herbs. Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the USA, and the fourth most common form of cancer worldwide. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the antitumor activity of five selected herbs grown under greenhouse conditions, and to study the potential synergistic effects among different herbal extract combinations. Thyme, rosemary, sage, spearmint, and peppermint extracts significantly inhibited SW-480 colon cancer cell growth, with sage extracts exhibiting the highest bioactivity, with 50% inhibition at 35.9 µg mL⁻¹, which was equivalent to 93.9 µg dried leaves mL⁻¹ of culture medium. Some mixtures of different herbal extracts had combination effects on cancer cell growth. The inhibitory effects of peppermint + sage combinations at a 1:1 ratio were significantly higher than rosemary + sage combinations at 1:1 ratio, although peppermint extracts showed lower inhibition than rosemary extracts. Extracts from herb species (thyme, rosemary, sage, spearmint and peppermint) can significantly inhibit the growth of human colon cancer cells. Mixtures of herb extracts can have combination effects on cancer cell growth. The study suggests that these five herbs may have potential health benefits to suppress colon cancer. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Study on anti-hyperlipidemia mechanism of high frequency herb pairs by molecular docking method].

PubMed

Jiang, Lu-di; He, Yu-su; Chen, Xi; Tao, Ou; Li, Gong-Yu; Zhang, Yan-ling

2015-06-01

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has definitely clinical effect in treating hyperlipidemia, but the action mechanism still need to be explored. Based on consulting Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010), all the lipid-lowering Chinese patent medicines were analyzed by associated rules data mining method to explore high frequency herb pairs. The top three couplet medicines with high support degree were Puerariae Lobatae Radix-Crataegi Fructus, Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Crataegi Fructus, and Polygoni Multiflori Radix-Crataegi Fructus. The 20 main ingredients were selected from the herb pairs and docked with 3 key hyperlipidemia targets, namely 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-α (PPAR-α ) and niemann-pick C1 like 1 (NPC1L1) to further discuss the molecular mechanism of the high frequency herb pairs, by using the docking program, LibDock. To construct evaluation rules for the ingredients of herb pairs, the root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) value between computed and initial complexes was first calculated to validate the fitness of LibDock models. Then, the key residues were also confirmed by analyzing the interactions of those 3 proteins and corresponding marketed drugs. The docking results showed that hyperin, puerarin, salvianolic acid A and polydatin can interact with two targets, and the other five compounds may be potent for at least one of the three targets. In this study, the multi-target effect of high frequency herb pairs for lipid-lowering was discussed on the molecular level, which can help further researching new multi-target anti-hyperlipidemia drug.

Liver toxicity related to herbs and dietary supplements: Online table of case reports. Part 2 of 5 series.

PubMed

Brown, Amy Christine

2017-09-01

No online current list of potentially life-threatening, hepatotoxic herbs and dietary supplements based on PubMed case reports exists in a summarized tabular form. Documented case reports of herbs or dietary supplements (DS; includes herbs) appearing to contribute to liver injury were used to create an online "DS Toxic Table" of potentially hepatotoxic herbs and dietary supplements (PubMed, 1966 to June, 2016, and cross-referencing). The spectrum of DS induced liver injuries (DSILI) included elevated liver enzymes, hepatitis, steatosis, cholestasis, hepatic necrosis, hepatic fibrosis, hepatic cirrhosis, veno-occlusive disease, acute liver failure requiring a liver transplant, and death. Over the past 50 years, approximately 21 herbs (minus germander and usnic acid that are no longer sold) and 12 dietary supplements (minus the nine no longer sold and vitamin A & niacin due to excess intake) posed a possible risk for liver injures in certain individuals. The herbs with the most number of reported publications (but not cases studies) in descending order, were germander, black cohosh, kava extract, and green tea extract. These online DS Toxic Tables will contribute to continued Phase IV post marketing surveillance to detect possible liver toxicity cases and serve to forewarn consumers, clinicians, and corporations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can Medical Herbs Stimulate Regeneration or Neuroprotection and Treat Neuropathic Pain in Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy?

PubMed Central

Schröder, Sven; Beckmann, Kathrin; Franconi, Giovanna; Greten, Henry Johannes; Rostock, Matthias; Efferth, Thomas

2013-01-01

Chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (CIPN) has a relevant impact on the quality of life of cancer patients. There are no curative conventional treatments, so further options have to be investigated. We conducted a systematic review in English and Chinese language databases to illuminate the role of medical herbs. 26 relevant studies on 5 single herbs, one extract, one receptor-agonist, and 8 combinations of herbs were identified focusing on the single herbs Acorus calamus rhizoma, Cannabis sativa fructus, Chamomilla matricaria, Ginkgo biloba, Salvia officinalis, Sweet bee venom, Fritillaria cirrhosae bulbus, and the herbal combinations Bu Yang Huan Wu, modified Bu Yang Huan Wu plus Liuwei Di Huang, modified Chai Hu Long Gu Mu Li Wan, Geranii herba plus Aconiti lateralis praeparata radix , Niu Che Sen Qi Wan (Goshajinkigan), Gui Zhi Jia Shu Fu Tang (Keishikajutsubuto), Huang Qi Wu Wu Tang (Ogikeishigomotsuto), and Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang (Shakuyakukanzoto). The knowledge of mechanism of action is still limited, the quality of clinical trials needs further improvement, and studies have not yielded enough evidence to establish a standard practice, but a lot of promising substances have been identified. While CIPN has multiple mechanisms of neuronal degeneration, a combination of herbs or substances might deal with multiple targets for the aim of neuroprotection or neuroregeneration in CIPN. PMID:23983777

Clinically relevant pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions in antiretroviral therapy

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

For healthcare professionals, the volume of literature available on herb-drug interactions often makes it difficult to separate experimental/potential interactions from those deemed clinically relevant. There is a need for concise and conclusive information to guide pharmacotherapy in HIV/AIDS. In t...

Occurrence of Stachybotrys chartarum chemotype S in dried culinary herbs.

PubMed

Biermaier, Barbara; Gottschalk, Christoph; Schwaiger, Karin; Gareis, Manfred

2015-02-01

Stachybotrys (S.) chartarum is an omnipresent cellulolytic mould which produces secondary metabolites, such as the highly toxic macrocyclic trichothecenes. While it is known to occur in animal feed like hay and straw as well as in water-damaged indoor environments, there is little knowledge about the occurrence of S. chartarum and its secondary metabolites in food. The objective of the present study was to examine selected dried culinary herbs for the presence of S. chartarum chemotype S, to assess the potential risk of a contamination of foods with macrocyclic trichothecenes. In total, 50 Stachybotrys isolates from different types of culinary herbs (n=100) such as marjoram (Origanum majorana Linné (L.)), oregano (Origanum vulgare L.), thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), and savory (Satureja hortensis L.) were examined by MTT-cell culture test (effect-based bioassay), ELISA, and by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Selected toxic and non-toxic isolates (n=15) were genetically characterized by PCR and sequencing. Five isolates (10%) were highly toxic in the MTT-cell culture test, and the production of macrocyclic trichothecenes was proven by ELISA and LC-MS/MS. These five isolates were genetically confirmed as S. chartarum chemotype S. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about a contamination of dried culinary herbs with toxigenic S. chartarum.

The addition of a plain or herb-flavored reduced-fat dip is associated with improved preschoolers' intake of vegetables.

PubMed

Savage, Jennifer S; Peterson, Julie; Marini, Michele; Bordi, Peter L; Birch, Leann L

2013-08-01

This quasiexperimental study used a within-subjects experimental design to determine whether adding herbs and/or spices to a reduced-fat dip increased children's willingness to taste, liking of, and consumption of vegetables. Participants were preschool children aged 3 to 5 years who attended a child-care center in Central Pennsylvania in late 2008 and early 2009. First, children's familiarity with and liking of six raw vegetables and five dips (reduced-fat plain, herb, garlic, pizza, and ranch) were assessed. In Experiment 1 (n=34), children tasted a vegetable they liked, one they disliked, and one they refused, with a reduced-fat plain dip and their favorite reduced-fat herb-flavored dip. In Experiment 2 (n=26 or n=27), they rated their liking of celery and yellow squash, with and without their favorite reduced-fat herb dip (pizza or ranch), and their intake of those vegetable snacks was measured. In Experiment 1, the herb-flavored dip was preferred over the plain dip (P<0.01), and children were three times more likely to reject the vegetable alone, compared with eating the vegetable paired with an herb dip (P<0.001). In Experiment 2, children ate significantly more of a previously rejected or disliked vegetable (celery and squash) when offered with a preferred reduced-fat herb dip than when the vegetable was served alone (P<0.05). These findings suggest that offering vegetables with reduced-fat dips containing familiar herb and spice flavors can increase tasting and thereby promote liking, acceptance, and consumption of vegetables, including vegetables previously rejected or disliked. Copyright © 2013 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SH003 suppresses breast cancer growth by accumulating p62 in autolysosomes

PubMed Central

Choi, Youn Kyung; Cho, Sung-Gook; Choi, Yu-Jeong; Yun, Yee Jin; Lee, Kang Min; Lee, Kangwook; Yoo, Hye-Hyun; Shin, Yong Cheol; Ko, Seong-Gyu

2017-01-01

Drug markets revisits herbal medicines, as historical usages address their therapeutic efficacies with less adverse effects. Moreover, herbal medicines save both cost and time in development. SH003, a modified version of traditional herbal medicine extracted from Astragalus membranaceus (Am), Angelica gigas (Ag), and Trichosanthes Kirilowii Maximowicz (Tk) with 1:1:1 ratio (w/w) has been revealed to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis on highly metastatic breast cancer cells, both in vivo and in vitro with no toxicity. Meanwhile, autophagy is imperative for maintenance cellular homeostasis, thereby playing critical roles in cancer progression. Inhibition of autophagy by pharmacological agents induces apoptotic cell death in cancer cells, resulting in cancer treatment. In this study, we demonstrate that SH003-induced autophagy via inhibiting STAT3 and mTOR results in an induction of lysosomal p62/SQSTM1 accumulation-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and attenuates tumor growth. SH003 induced autophagosome and autolysosome formation by inhibiting activation of STAT3- and mTOR-mediated signaling pathways. However, SH003 blocked autophagy-mediated p62/SQSTM1 degradation through reducing of lysosomal proteases, Cathepsins, resulting in accumulation of p62/SQSTM1 in the lysosome. The accumulation of p62/SQSTM1 caused the increase of ROS, which resulted in the induction of apoptotic cell death. Therefore, we conclude that SH003 suppresses breast cancer growth by inducing autophagy. In addition, SH003-induced p62/SQSTM1 could function as an important mediator for ROS generation-dependent cell death suggesting that SH003 may be useful for treating breast cancer. PMID:29179443

Frequent loss of lineages and deficient duplications accounted for low copy number of disease resistance genes in Cucurbitaceae

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The sequenced genomes of cucumber, melon and watermelon have relatively few R-genes, with 70, 75 and 55 copies only, respectively. The mechanism for low copy number of R-genes in Cucurbitaceae genomes remains unknown. Results Manual annotation of R-genes in the sequenced genomes of Cucurbitaceae species showed that approximately half of them are pseudogenes. Comparative analysis of R-genes showed frequent loss of R-gene loci in different Cucurbitaceae species. Phylogenetic analysis, data mining and PCR cloning using degenerate primers indicated that Cucurbitaceae has limited number of R-gene lineages (subfamilies). Comparison between R-genes from Cucurbitaceae and those from poplar and soybean suggested frequent loss of R-gene lineages in Cucurbitaceae. Furthermore, the average number of R-genes per lineage in Cucurbitaceae species is approximately 1/3 that in soybean or poplar. Therefore, both loss of lineages and deficient duplications in extant lineages accounted for the low copy number of R-genes in Cucurbitaceae. No extensive chimeras of R-genes were found in any of the sequenced Cucurbitaceae genomes. Nevertheless, one lineage of R-genes from Trichosanthes kirilowii, a wild Cucurbitaceae species, exhibits chimeric structures caused by gene conversions, and may contain a large number of distinct R-genes in natural populations. Conclusions Cucurbitaceae species have limited number of R-gene lineages and each genome harbors relatively few R-genes. The scarcity of R-genes in Cucurbitaceae species was due to frequent loss of R-gene lineages and infrequent duplications in extant lineages. The evolutionary mechanisms for large variation of copy number of R-genes in different plant species were discussed. PMID:23682795

Enterobacteriaceae resistant to third-generation cephalosporins and quinolones in fresh culinary herbs imported from Southeast Asia.

PubMed

Veldman, Kees; Kant, Arie; Dierikx, Cindy; van Essen-Zandbergen, Alieda; Wit, Ben; Mevius, Dik

2014-05-02

Since multidrug resistant bacteria are frequently reported from Southeast Asia, our study focused on the occurrence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in fresh imported herbs from Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. Samples were collected from fresh culinary herbs imported from Southeast Asia in which ESBL-suspected isolates were obtained by selective culturing. Analysis included identification by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, susceptibility testing, XbaI-PFGE, microarray, PCR and sequencing of specific ESBL genes, PCR based replicon typing (PBRT) of plasmids and Southern blot hybridization. In addition, the quinolone resistance genotype was characterized by screening for plasmid mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes and mutations in the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR) of gyrA and parC. The study encompassed fifty samples of ten batches of culinary herbs (5 samples per batch) comprising nine different herb variants. The herbs originated from Thailand (Water morning glory, Acacia and Betel leaf), Vietnam (Parsley, Asian pennywort, Houttuynia leaf and Mint) and Malaysia (Holy basil and Parsley). By selective culturing 21 cefotaxime resistant Enterobacteriaceae were retrieved. Array analysis revealed 18 isolates with ESBL genes and one isolate with solely non-ESBL beta-lactamase genes. Mutations in the ampC promoter region were determined in two isolates with PCR and sequencing. The isolates were identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=9), Escherichia coli (n=6), Enterobacter cloacae complex (n=5) and Enterobacter spp. (n=1). All isolates tested were multidrug resistant. Variants of CTX-M enzymes were predominantly found followed by SHV enzymes. PMQR genes (including aac(6')-1b-cr, qnrB and qnrS) were also frequently detected. In almost all cases ESBL and quinolone resistance genes were located on the same plasmid. Imported fresh culinary herbs from Southeast Asia are a potential source for contamination of food with multidrug resistant bacteria

CancerHSP: anticancer herbs database of systems pharmacology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Weiyang; Li, Bohui; Gao, Shuo; Bai, Yaofei; Shar, Piar Ali; Zhang, Wenjuan; Guo, Zihu; Sun, Ke; Fu, Yingxue; Huang, Chao; Zheng, Chunli; Mu, Jiexin; Pei, Tianli; Wang, Yuan; Li, Yan; Wang, Yonghua

2015-06-01

The numerous natural products and their bioactivity potentially afford an extraordinary resource for new drug discovery and have been employed in cancer treatment. However, the underlying pharmacological mechanisms of most natural anticancer compounds remain elusive, which has become one of the major obstacles in developing novel effective anticancer agents. Here, to address these unmet needs, we developed an anticancer herbs database of systems pharmacology (CancerHSP), which records anticancer herbs related information through manual curation. Currently, CancerHSP contains 2439 anticancer herbal medicines with 3575 anticancer ingredients. For each ingredient, the molecular structure and nine key ADME parameters are provided. Moreover, we also provide the anticancer activities of these compounds based on 492 different cancer cell lines. Further, the protein targets of the compounds are predicted by state-of-art methods or collected from literatures. CancerHSP will help reveal the molecular mechanisms of natural anticancer products and accelerate anticancer drug development, especially facilitate future investigations on drug repositioning and drug discovery. CancerHSP is freely available on the web at http://lsp.nwsuaf.edu.cn/CancerHSP.php.

A retrospective of the career of Ray Herb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norton, G. A.; Ferry, J. A.; Daniel, R. E.; Klody, G. M.

1999-04-01

Ray Herb's career in the development of electrostatic accelerators spans 65 years. He began in 1933 by pressurizing a Van de Graaff generator, for the first time. Over the next six years, the group at the University of Wisconsin, under his direction, developed the fundamentals of equipotential rings, potential grading, corona triode control, and other basic mechanisms for the practical use of electrostatic accelerators while making fundamental contributions to experimental nuclear physics. This group held the world's record in sustaining potential difference of 4.5 MV. During World War II, he worked on radar at the Radiation Laboratory. After the war, Herb resumed his career with further fundamental contributions including metal/ceramic bonding, ultrahigh vacuum pumping, negative ion source development and metal charge carriers. The company, National Electrostatics, under his direction manufactured the accelerator which still holds the world's record for the highest sustained potential difference of 32±1.5 MV. Throughout his career he led teams which made the electrostatic accelerator a valuable tool for applications in a wide variety of scientific fields, well beyond nuclear physics.

Study of the distribution patterns of the constituent herbs in classical Chinese medicine prescriptions treating respiratory disease by data mining methods.

PubMed

Fu, Xian-Jun; Song, Xu-Xia; Wei, Lin-Bo; Wang, Zhen-Guo

2013-08-01

To provide the distribution pattern and compatibility laws of the constituent herbs in prescriptions, for doctor's convenience to make decision in choosing correct herbs and prescriptions for treating respiratory disease. Classical prescriptions treating respiratory disease were selected from authoritative prescription books. Data mining methods (frequent itemsets and association rules) were used to analyze the regular patterns and compatibility laws of the constituent herbs in the selected prescriptions. A total of 562 prescriptions were selected to be studied. The result exhibited that, Radix glycyrrhizae was the most frequently used in 47.2% prescriptions, other frequently used were Semen armeniacae amarum, Fructus schisandrae Chinese, Herba ephedrae, and Radix ginseng. Herbal ephedrae was always coupled with Semen armeniacae amarum with the confidence of 73.3%, and many herbs were always accompanied by Radix glycyrrhizae with high confidence. More over, Fructus schisandrae Chinese, Herba ephedrae and Rhizoma pinelliae was most commonly used to treat cough, dyspnoea and associated sputum respectively besides Radix glycyrrhizae and Semen armeniacae amarum. The prescriptions treating dyspnoea often used double herb group of Herba ephedrae & Radix glycyrrhizae, while prescriptions treating sputum often used double herb group of Rhizoma pinelliae & Radix glycyrrhizae and Rhizoma pinelliae & Semen armeniacae amarum, triple herb groups of Rhizoma pinelliae & Semen armeniacae amarum & Radix glycyrrhizae and Pericarpium citri reticulatae & Rhizoma pinelliae & Radix glycyrrhizae. The prescriptions treating respiratory disease showed common compatibility laws in using herbs and special compatibility laws for treating different respiratory symptoms. These principle patterns and special compatibility laws reported here could be useful for doctors to choose correct herbs and prescriptions in treating respiratory disease.

Systems Pharmacology Dissection of the Anti-Inflammatory Mechanism for the Medicinal Herb Folium Eriobotryae

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jingxiao; Li, Yan; Chen, Su-Shing; Zhang, Lilei; Wang, Jinghui; Yang, Yinfeng; Zhang, Shuwei; Pan, Yanqiu; Wang, Yonghua; Yang, Ling

2015-01-01

Inflammation is a hallmark of many diseases like diabetes, cancers, atherosclerosis and arthritis. Thus, lots of concerns have been raised toward developing novel anti-inflammatory agents. Many alternative herbal medicines possess excellent anti-inflammatory properties, yet their precise mechanisms of action are yet to be elucidated. Here, a novel systems pharmacology approach based on a large number of chemical, biological and pharmacological data was developed and exemplified by a probe herb Folium Eriobotryae, a widely used clinical anti-inflammatory botanic drug. The results show that 11 ingredients of this herb with favorable pharmacokinetic properties are predicted as active compounds for anti-inflammatory treatment. In addition, via systematic network analyses, their targets are identified to be 43 inflammation-associated proteins including especially COX2, ALOX5, PPARG, TNF and RELA that are mainly involved in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, the rheumatoid arthritis pathway and NF-κB signaling pathway. All these demonstrate that the integrated systems pharmacology method provides not only an effective tool to illustrate the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of herbs, but also a new systems-based approach for drug discovery from, but not limited to, herbs, especially when combined with further experimental validations. PMID:25636035

Efficacy and Safety of Chinese Medicinal Herbs for the Treatment of Hyperuricemia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Lin, Jianping; Chen, Shaoqing; Li, Shuzhen; Lu, Meili

2016-01-01

Background. Chinese medicinal herbs may be useful for the treatment of hyperuricemia, but there has been no systematic assessment of their efficacy and safety. Objectives. To systematically assess the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicinal herbs for the treatment of hyperuricemia. Methods. Six electronic databases were searched from their inception to December 2015. Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) were included. Cochrane criteria were applied to assess the risk of bias. Data analysis was performed using RevMan software version 5.2. Results. Eleven RCTs with 838 patients were included. There was no significant difference in serum uric acid between Chinese medicinal herbs and traditional Western medicine (SME: 0.19, 95% CI: −0.04 to 0.43; p = 0.10). In terms of overall efficacy, the Chinese medicinal herbs were significantly superior to Western medicine (RR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.17; p = 0.0007). The Chinese medicinal herbs were better than Western medicine in reducing the adverse reactions (RR: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.62; p = 0.001). And all these funnel plots showed unlikelihood of publishing bias. Conclusions. The results indicate that Chinese medicinal herbs may have greater overall efficacy with fewer adverse drug reactions, although the evidence is weak owing to the low methodological quality and the small number of the included trials. PMID:27818696

Inhibition of Human Cytochrome P450 2c8-catalyzed Amodiaquine N-desethylation: Effect of Five Traditionally and Commonly Used Herbs

PubMed Central

Muthiah, Yasotha Devi; Ong, Chin Eng; Sulaiman, Siti Amrah; Ismail, Rusli

2016-01-01

Background: In Southeast Asia and many parts of the world, herbal products are increasingly used in parallel with modern medicine. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of herbs commonly used in Southeast Asia on activity of cytochrome P450 2C8 (CYP2C8), an important human hepatic enzyme in drug metabolism. Materials and Methods: The selected herbs, such as Eurycoma longifolia Jack (ELJ), Labisia pumila (LP), Echinacea purpurea (EP), Andrographis paniculata (AP), and Ginkgo biloba (GB), were subjected to inhibition studies using an in vitro CYP2C8 activity marker, amodiaquine N-desethylase assay. Inhibition parameters, inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50), and Ki values were determined to study the potency and mode of inhibition. Results: All herbs inhibited CYP2C8 with the following order of potency: LP > ELJ > GB > AP > EP. LP and ELJ inhibited potently at Ki's of 2 and 4 times the Ki of quercetin, the positive control. The inhibition by LP was uncompetitive in nature as compared to competitive or mixed type inhibition observed with other herbs. GB exhibited moderate inhibitory effect at a Ki6 times larger than quercetin Ki. AP and EP, on the other hand, showed only weak inhibition. Conclusion: The herbs we chose represented the more commonly used herbs in Southeast Asia where collision of tradition and modernization in healthcare, if not properly managed, may lead to therapeutic misadventures. We conclude that concurrent consumption of some herbs, in particular, LP and ELJ, may have relevance in drug-herb interactions via CYP2C8 inhibition in vivo. SUMMARY Herbs are increasingly used in parallel with modern medicines nowadays. In this study five commonly used herbs in Southeast Asia region, ELJ, LP, EP, AP and GB, were investigated for their in vitro inhibitory potency on CYP2C8, an important drug-metaboliz-ing human hepatic enzyme. All herbs inhibited CYP2C8 activity marker, amodiaquine N-desethylation, with potency order of LP > ELJ > GB >AP

Chinese herbs as immunomodulators and potential disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in autoimmune disorders.

PubMed

Ho, Ling-Jun; Lai, Jenn-Haung

2004-04-01

Autoimmune diseases are a group of illnesses with multiple organ involvement. The prototype of this group of disorders is rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that aside from systemic organ involvement mainly presents with progressive destruction of many joints. Both activation and defective apoptosis of immune effector cells like T and B lymphocytes and macrophages play critical roles in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders. Current therapy for autoimmune diseases recommends a combination of several disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) that preserve different immunomodulatory mechanisms. Because of limited success in prevention of RA joint destruction for currently available DMARDs, the development of more effective and less toxic DMARDs has been one of the major goals for pharmaceutical companies. The introduction of leflunomide and anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha therapies to the market recently serves as examples. In this context, the experience from ancient Chinese medicine gives an alternative consideration looking for potential DMARDs. Two commonly prescribed Chinese antirheumatic herbs are Tripterygium wilfordii hook f (TWHf) and tetrandrine (Tet) that preserve both anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. Importantly, the TWHf- or Tet-mediated immunomodulatory mechanisms are evidently different from the known DMARDs. The synergistic effects have also been demonstrated between these two Chinese antirheumatic herbs and DMARDs like FK506, cyclosporin and possibly chloroquine. Another potential Chinese herb for this consideration is Ginkgo biloba. This review summarizes evidence-based in vivo and in vitro studies on Chinese herbs as immunomodulators and potential DMARDs.

Evaluation of knowledge of Health care professionals on warfarin interactions with drug and herb medicinal in Central Saudi Arabia

PubMed Central

Al-Arifi, Mohamed N.; Wajid, Syed; Al-Manie, Nawaf K.; Al-Saker, Faisal M.; Babelgaith, Salmeen D.; Asiri, Yousif A.; Sales, Ibrahim

2016-01-01

Objectives: To evaluate health care professionals’ knowledge on warfarin interactions with drugs and herbs. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was developed to assess health care professionals’ knowledge on warfarin interactions with drug and herb. Respondents were asked to classify 15 drugs that may effect on warfarin action as “enhance”, “inhibit “, “no effect”. The study sample involved health care professionals (physicians, pharmacists and nurses) from king Salman hospital, Saudi Arabia. Results: About 92.2% of health care professionals identified warfarin interactions with aspirin, 4.4% for warfarin and fluoxetine. Warfarin and cardiac agents (atenolol) was correctly identified by 11.1% of respondents. In warfarin –herb interactions section, the majority of respondents (66.7%) identified the interaction between green tea and warfarin. Approximately one-third of respondents (n=33) correctly classified warfarin interactions with cardamom. No significant difference was found between the health care professionals (p=0.49) for warfarin-drug interactions knowledge score and p= 0.52 for warfarin- herb interactions knowledge score. Conclusion: This study suggests that health care professionals’ knowledge of warfarin- drug-herb interactions was inadequate. Therefore, health care professionals should receive more education programs about drug-drug/herb interactions to provide appropriate patient counseling and optimal therapeutic outcomes. PMID:27022381

Simultaneous determination of 76As, 122Sb and 153Sm in Chinese medicinal herbs by epithermal neutron activation analysis.

PubMed

Chen, Chien-Yi

2009-01-01

Optimal conditions for the simultaneous determination of As, Sb and Sm in Chinese medicinal herbs using epithermal neutron activation analysis were investigated. The minimum detectable concentrations of 76As, 122Sb and 153Sm in lichen and medicinal herbs depended on the weight of the irradiated sample, and irradiation and decay durations. Optimal conditions were obtained by wrapping the irradiated target with 3.2 mm borated polyethylene neutron filters, which were adopted to screen the original reactor fission neutrons and to reduce the background activities of 38Cl, 24Na and 42K. Twelve medicinal herbs, commonly consumed by Taiwanese children as a diuretic treatment, were analysed since trace elements, such as As and Sb, in these herbs may be toxic when consumed in sufficiently large quantities over a long period. Various amounts of medicinal herbs, standardised powder, lichen and tomato leaves were weighed, packed into polyethylene bags, irradiated and counted under different conditions. The results indicated that about 350 mg of lichen irradiated for 24 h and counted for 20 min following a 30-60 h decay period was optimal for irradiation in a 10(11)n/cm s epithermal neutron flux. The implications of the content of the studied elements in Chinese medicinal herbs are discussed.

Critical review of Ayurvedic Varṇya herbs and their tyrosinase inhibition effect

PubMed Central

Sharma, Khemchand; Joshi, Namrata; Goyal, Chinky

2015-01-01

Introduction: The aspiration for light skin (fair complexion) is becoming pronounced in a greater number of people in the present times with natural products being more in demand than their synthetic counterparts. Research in the area of skin-lightening agents is an expanding field with the knowledge being updated regularly. In Ayurveda, varṇya, raktaprasādana, tvacya are few terms specifying skin lightening with respect to its modern counterpart i.e., Tyrosinase inhibition, the most commonly reported method of skin lightening. Aim: The present review is undertaken for screening twenty herbs from Varṇya Mahākaṣāya, Lodhrādi varṇya gaṇa, Elādi varṇa prasādana gaṇa and few varṇya formulations to evaluate their probable modes of action through which the skin lightening is effected as per both Ayurveda and biomedical concepts. Materials and Methods: Critical review of herbs to show varṇya property is compiled from various Ayurvedic texts as well as from multiple articles on the internet to justify their skin lightening property on the basis of data collected. Result and Conclusion: All the twenty herbs reviewed are found to act as varṇya directly (citation as varṇya) or indirectly (alleviation of pitta and rakta) as per Ayurveda and to interfere in melanogenesis pathway through tyrosinase inhibition as per biomedicine. This shows their potential to act as good skin whitening agents. Śuṇṭhi being a part of many varṇya formulations, is the only herb among all reviewed in the present study found to exhibit tyrosinase inhibition without any Ayurvedic citation of varṇya property. PMID:26600663

A comparison among root soil-conservation effects for nine herbs at the cold region highway in north-eastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, W.; Wang, X.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, Y.

2014-12-01

High soil-conservation herbs are very important for slope vegetation restoration of a highway in serious sandstorm regions. In this study, nine common herbs in northeast China were selected and compared to study soil-conservation effects by using an undisturbed-soil trough scouring method for soil anti-scourability enhancement and hydrostatic collapse method for soil anti-erodibility. Further, principal components analysis was used to identify significant root features that affected soil erosion resistance. Results indicated that different herbs had distinct enhancement effects on soil erosion resistance. Soil anti-scourability enhancement index decreased with increases of soil depth, slope gradient and rainfall amount. Relationship between soil anti-erodibility enhancement index ( S) and immersion time ( t) is a cubic spline in each different herb type ( R 2 ≥ 0.88). Herb root features such as micro-aggregates, organic matter, net leaf weight, thick root length, fine root length and biomass contributed a leading role in soil erosion resistance enhancement effect, and all their common factor variances were more than 0.81. Descending order of soil erosion resistance enhancement effect in soil anti-scourability for nine herbs is Poa pratensis, Medicago sativa, Viola philippica, Rudbeckia hirta, Clematis heracleifolia, Kalimeris indica, Cosmos bipinnata, Hemerocallis fulva and Sedum elatinoides, while the sequence of soil anti-erodibility is M. sativa, S. elatinoides, P. pratensis, R. hirta, H. fulva, V. philippica, C. heracleifolia, C. bipinnata and K. indica. Therefore, we concluded that P. pratensis and M. sativa were the most suitable herbs for resisting soil erosion and recommended to be widely planted for road vegetation recovery in this region.

Indoor terpene emissions from cooking with herbs and pepper and their secondary organic aerosol production potential

PubMed Central

Klein, Felix; Farren, Naomi J.; Bozzetti, Carlo; Daellenbach, Kaspar R.; Kilic, Dogushan; Kumar, Nivedita K.; Pieber, Simone M.; Slowik, Jay G.; Tuthill, Rosemary N.; Hamilton, Jacqueline F.; Baltensperger, Urs; Prévôt, André S. H.; El Haddad, Imad

2016-01-01

Cooking is widely recognized as an important source of indoor and outdoor particle and volatile organic compound emissions with potential deleterious effects on human health. Nevertheless, cooking emissions remain poorly characterized. Here the effect of herbs and pepper on cooking emissions was investigated for the first time to the best of our knowledge using state of the art mass spectrometric analysis of particle and gas-phase composition. Further, the secondary organic aerosol production potential of the gas-phase emissions was determined by smog chamber aging experiments. The emissions of frying meat with herbs and pepper include large amounts of mono-, sesqui- and diterpenes as well as various terpenoids and p-cymene. The average total terpene emission rate from the use of herbs and pepper during cooking is estimated to be 46 ± 5 gg-1Herbs min-1. These compounds are highly reactive in the atmosphere and lead to significant amounts of secondary organic aerosol upon aging. In summary we demonstrate that cooking with condiments can constitute an important yet overlooked source of terpenes in indoor air. PMID:27830718

Indoor terpene emissions from cooking with herbs and pepper and their secondary organic aerosol production potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Felix; Farren, Naomi J.; Bozzetti, Carlo; Daellenbach, Kaspar R.; Kilic, Dogushan; Kumar, Nivedita K.; Pieber, Simone M.; Slowik, Jay G.; Tuthill, Rosemary N.; Hamilton, Jacqueline F.; Baltensperger, Urs; Prévôt, André S. H.; El Haddad, Imad

2016-11-01

Cooking is widely recognized as an important source of indoor and outdoor particle and volatile organic compound emissions with potential deleterious effects on human health. Nevertheless, cooking emissions remain poorly characterized. Here the effect of herbs and pepper on cooking emissions was investigated for the first time to the best of our knowledge using state of the art mass spectrometric analysis of particle and gas-phase composition. Further, the secondary organic aerosol production potential of the gas-phase emissions was determined by smog chamber aging experiments. The emissions of frying meat with herbs and pepper include large amounts of mono-, sesqui- and diterpenes as well as various terpenoids and p-cymene. The average total terpene emission rate from the use of herbs and pepper during cooking is estimated to be 46 ± 5 gg-1Herbs min-1. These compounds are highly reactive in the atmosphere and lead to significant amounts of secondary organic aerosol upon aging. In summary we demonstrate that cooking with condiments can constitute an important yet overlooked source of terpenes in indoor air.

Indoor terpene emissions from cooking with herbs and pepper and their secondary organic aerosol production potential.

PubMed

Klein, Felix; Farren, Naomi J; Bozzetti, Carlo; Daellenbach, Kaspar R; Kilic, Dogushan; Kumar, Nivedita K; Pieber, Simone M; Slowik, Jay G; Tuthill, Rosemary N; Hamilton, Jacqueline F; Baltensperger, Urs; Prévôt, André S H; El Haddad, Imad

2016-11-10

Cooking is widely recognized as an important source of indoor and outdoor particle and volatile organic compound emissions with potential deleterious effects on human health. Nevertheless, cooking emissions remain poorly characterized. Here the effect of herbs and pepper on cooking emissions was investigated for the first time to the best of our knowledge using state of the art mass spectrometric analysis of particle and gas-phase composition. Further, the secondary organic aerosol production potential of the gas-phase emissions was determined by smog chamber aging experiments. The emissions of frying meat with herbs and pepper include large amounts of mono-, sesqui- and diterpenes as well as various terpenoids and p-cymene. The average total terpene emission rate from the use of herbs and pepper during cooking is estimated to be 46 ± 5 gg -1 Herbs min -1 . These compounds are highly reactive in the atmosphere and lead to significant amounts of secondary organic aerosol upon aging. In summary we demonstrate that cooking with condiments can constitute an important yet overlooked source of terpenes in indoor air.

Data mining and frequency analysis for licorice as a "Two-Face" herb in Chinese Formulae based on Chinese Formulae Database.

PubMed

Guo, Jianming; Shang, Erxin; Zhao, Jinlong; Fan, Xinsheng; Duan, Jinao; Qian, Dawei; Tao, Weiwei; Tang, Yuping

2014-09-25

Liquorice is the root of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. or Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Leguminosae. Licorice is described as 'National Venerable Master' in Chinese medicine and plays paradoxical roles, i.e. detoxification/strengthen efficacy and inducing/enhancing toxicity. Therefore, licorice was called "Two-Face" herb in this paper. The aim of this study is to discuss the paradoxical roles and the perspective usage of this "Two-Face" herb using data mining and frequency analysis. More than 96,000 prescriptions from Chinese Formulae Database were selected. The frequency and the prescription patterns were analyzed using Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Data mining methods (frequent itemsets) were used to analyze the regular patterns and compatibility laws of the constituent herbs in the selected prescriptions. The result showed that licorice (Radix glycyrrhizae) was the most frequently used herb in Chinese Formulae Database, other frequently used herbs including Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Dang gui), Radix et rhizoma ginseng (Ren shen), etc. Toxic herbs such as Radix aconiti lateralis praeparata (Fu zi), Rhizoma pinelliae (Ban xia) and Cinnabaris (Zhu sha) are top 3 herbs that most frequently used in combination with licorice. Radix et rhizoma ginseng (Ren shen), Poria (Fu ling), Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Dang gui) are top 3 nontoxic herbs that most frequently used in combination with licorice. Moreover, Licorice was seldom used with sargassum (Hai Zao), Herba Cirsii Japonici (Da Ji), Euphorbia kansui (Gan Sui) and Flos genkwa (Yuan Hua), which proved the description of contradictory effect of Radix glycyrrhizae and these herbs as recorded in Chinese medicine theory. This study showed the principle pattern of Chinese herbal drugs used in combination with licorice or not. The principle patterns and special compatibility laws reported here could be useful and instructive for scientific usage of licorice in clinic application. Further pharmacological and chemical researches are

Photo- and thermally stimulated luminescence of polyminerals extracted from herbs and spices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruz-Zaragoza, E.; Marcazzó, J.; Chernov, V.

2012-08-01

Ionizing radiation processing is a widely employed method for preservative treatment of foodstuffs. Usually it is possible to detect irradiated herbs and spices by resorting to luminescence techniques, in particular photo- and thermostimulated luminescence. For these techniques to be useful, it is necessary to characterize the response to radiation of each particular herb or spice. In this work, the thermoluminescence (TL) and photostimulated luminescence (PSL) properties of inorganic polymineral fractions extracted from commercial herbs and spices previously irradiated for disinfestation purposes have been analyzed. Samples of mint, cinnamon, chamomile, paprika, black pepper, coriander and Jamaica flower were irradiated from 50 to 400 Gy by using a beta source. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis has shown that the mineral fractions consist mainly of quartz and feldspars. The PSL and TL response as a function of the absorbed dose, and their fading at room temperature have been determined. The TL glow curves have been deconvolved in order to obtain characteristic kinetics parameters in each case. The results of this work show that PSL and TL are reliable techniques for detection and analysis of irradiated foodstuffs.

Investigation of the Biosynthetic Potential of Endophytes in Traditional Chinese Anticancer Herbs

PubMed Central

Miller, Kristin I.; Qing, Chen; Sze, Daniel Man Yuen; Neilan, Brett A.

2012-01-01

Traditional Chinese medicine encompasses a rich empirical knowledge of the use of plants for the treatment of disease. In addition, the microorganisms associated with medicinal plants are also of interest as the producers of the compounds responsible for the observed plant bioactivity. The present study has pioneered the use of genetic screening to assess the potential of endophytes to synthesize bioactive compounds, as indicated by the presence of non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and polyketide synthase (PKS) genes. The total DNA extracts of 30 traditional Chinese herbs, were screened for functional genes involved in the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds. The four PCR screens were successful in targeting four bacterial PKS, six bacterial NRPS, ten fungal PKS and three fungal NRPS gene fragments. Analysis of the detected endophyte gene fragments afforded consideration of the possible bioactivity of the natural products produced by endophytes in medicinal herbs. This investigation describes a rapid method for the initial screening of medicinal herbs and has highlighted a subset of those plants that host endophytes with biosynthetic potential. These selected plants can be the focus of more comprehensive endophyte isolation and natural product studies. PMID:22629306

Forest Patch Size, Land Use, and Mesic Forest Herbs in the French Broad River Basin, North Carolina

Treesearch

Scott M. Pearson; Alan B. Smith; Monica G. Turner

1998-01-01

The effect of forest fragmentation on cove-forest herbs was studied in the Southern Blue Ridge Province. Patches of mesic forests were sampled with 4 ha study plots. The coverage and density of herb species were greater in large patches (>200 ha) than in small patches (

Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on fresh herbs by plant essential oils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Consumer awareness of fresh herbs and its demand has increased in recent years due to health benefits and distinct aroma in prepared food. There are specific markets for local growers, especially for organically grown herbs. Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. have been detected and...

Traditional Chinese Medicine herbs for stopping bleeding from haemorrhoids.

PubMed

Gan, Tao; Liu, Yue-Dong; Wang, Yiping; Yang, Jinlin

2010-10-06

Haemorrhoids is a common perianal disease, which often causes haematochezia. Besides a surgical operation or minimally invasive treatment, a variety of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs (TCMHs) have been used to treat bleeding haemorrhoids. To assess the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs for stopping bleeding from haemorrhoids and the adverse effects caused by these herbs. We searched the Cochrane Colorectal Cancer Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Contolled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CMCD (Chinese Medicine Conference Disc) and CBMD (Chinese Bio-Medicine Disc). All randomised clinical trials (RCTs) of Chinese herbs for bleeding haemorrhoids were included. Two authors independently extracted the data, which were analysed using RevMan 5.0 software. We estimated the relative risk for dichotomous data and calculated the weighted mean difference for continuous data. Nine trials involving 1822 patients with bleeding haemorrhoids were identified. The included trials were generally not of high quality and used one TCMH preparation compared with another TCMH preparation (Type I) (five trials) or western medicines (Type II) (four trials). We could not pool the data to perform a meta-analysis as only two of the included trials used the same intervention or comparison.In the nine trials, TCMHs showed a statistically significant difference for the improvement in the general curative effects or total grade of symptoms in six trials (P < 0.05; P < 0.01), of hematochezia in three trials (P < 0.05; P < 0.001), and of inflammation of perianal mucosa in one trial (P < 0.05). The adverse effects reported were not serious and were scarce. This review did not provide strong evidence concerning the effectiveness of TCMHs for stopping bleeding from haemorrhoids. Most of the included studies were of low quality and there was a scarcity of eligible trials and numbers of participants. Limited, weak evidence showed that

Herbs in Oral Mucositis

PubMed Central

Baharvand, Maryam; Jafari, Soudeh

2017-01-01

Oral mucositis is an inflammatory mucosal destruction as a result of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, which in severe cases can impair patients’ quality of life. Moreover, mucosal infection and/or systemic involvement due to compromised immunity leads to delay or discontinuation of the treatment. Many strategies and agents have been suggested for the management of this condition. Because of their lower side effects compared to chemical drugs, general interest in evaluating therapeutic effects of herbs has been increased intensively. Herbal plants apply their effect through different mechanisms of action: antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antiseptic, and anticarcinogenic activity. Recently, various natural agents in plants have been noticed in mucositis, which may improve the symptoms through different interventions. The purpose of this review is to focus on the preventive or therapeutic use of herbal medicine to alleviate oral mucositis. PMID:28511530

Comparison of two Chinese medical herbs, Huangbai and Qianniuzi, on influence of short circuit current across the rat intestinal epithelia.

PubMed

Tsai, Jong-Chang; Tsai, Shuli; Chang, Weng-Cheng

2004-07-01

Huangbai (Phellodendron spec.) and Qianniuzi (Pharbitis spec.) are two traditional Chinese medical herbs used for anti-diarrheal and laxative agents, respectively. Ethanol and water extracts of these two herbs were prepared and effects of the extracts on ion transport of the rat intestinal epithelia were studied. For measuring changes of the short circuit current across the epithelia, the rat intestinal epithelia were mounted in the Ussing chamber and attached with voltage/current clamp. The intestinal epithelia were firstly activated by serosal administration of 5 microM forskolin. As current raised and being stable, extracts of these herbs were added, respectively, and changes in the short circuit current were recorded. Ethanol extract of Huangbai attenuated the current increment; on the contrary, ethanol extract of Qianniuzi augmented the current increment additionally. Water extracts of the two herbs showed minor effects on the current in comparison to ethanol extracts. The results provide evidences to reveal the pharmacological mechanism of the two Chinese medical herbs on the intestinal tissue.

Natural Compounds from Herbs that can Potentially Execute as Autophagy Inducers for Cancer Therapy.

PubMed

Lin, Shian-Ren; Fu, Yaw-Syan; Tsai, May-Jywan; Cheng, Henrich; Weng, Ching-Feng

2017-07-01

Accumulated evidence indicates that autophagy is a response of cancer cells to various anti-cancer therapies. Autophagy is designated as programmed cell death type II, and is characterized by the formation of autophagic vacuoles in the cytoplasm. Numerous herbs, including Chinese herbs, have been applied to cancer treatments as complementary and alternative medicines, supplements, or nutraceuticals to dampen the side or adverse effects of chemotherapy drugs. Moreover, the tumor suppressive actions of herbs and natural products induced autophagy that may lead to cell senescence, increase apoptosis-independent cell death or complement apoptotic processes. Hereby, the underlying mechanisms of natural autophagy inducers are cautiously reviewed in this article. Additionally, three natural compounds-curcumin, 16-hydroxycleroda-3,13-dien-15,16-olide, and prodigiosin-are presented as candidates for autophagy inducers that can trigger cell death in a supplement or alternative medicine for cancer therapy. Despite recent advancements in therapeutic drugs or agents of natural products in several cancers, it warrants further investigation in preclinical and clinical studies.

Characterization of herb residue and high ash-containing paper sludge blends from fixed bed pyrolysis.

PubMed

Li, Tiantao; Guo, Feiqiang; Li, Xiaolei; Liu, Yuan; Peng, Kuangye; Jiang, Xiaochen; Guo, Chenglong

2018-04-10

High ash-containing paper sludge which is rich in various metal oxides is employed in herb residue pyrolysis to enhance the yield of fuel gas and reduce tar yield in a drop tube fixed bed reactor. Effects of heat treatment temperature and blending ratio of paper sludge on the yields and composition of pyrolysis products (gas, tar and char) were investigated. Results indicate that paper sludge shows a significantly catalytic effect during the pyrolysis processes of herb residue, accelerating the pyrolysis reactions. The catalytic effect resulted in an increase in gas yield but a decrease in tar yield. The catalytic effect degree is affected by the paper sludge proportions, and the strongest catalytic effect of paper sludge is noted at its blending ratio of 50%. At temperature lower than 900 °C, the catalytic effect of paper sludge in the pyrolysis of herb residue promotes the formation of H 2 and CO 2 , inhibits the formation of CH 4 , but shows slight influence on the formations of CO, while the formation of the four gas components was all promoted at 900 °C. SEM results of residue char show that ash particles from paper sludge adhere to the surface of the herb residue char after pyrolysis, which may promote the pyrolysis process of herb residue for more gas releasing. FT-IR results indicate that most functional groups disappear after pyrolysis. The addition of paper sludge promotes deoxidisation and aromatization reactions of hetero atoms tars, forming heavier polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and leading to tar yield decrease. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The co-use of conventional drugs and herbs among patients in Norwegian general practice: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Djuv, Ane; Nilsen, Odd Georg; Steinsbekk, Aslak

2013-10-30

Different patient groups are known to use herbal remedies and conventional drugs concomitantly (co-use). This poses a potential risk of herb-drug interaction through altering the drug's pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics. Little is known about co-use among patients in general practice. The primary aim of this study was to compare patients in general practice that co-use herbal remedies and conventional drugs with those who do not. The secondary aim was to register the herb-drug combinations with potential clinical relevant interactions among the co-users. A questionnaire based cross-sectional study conducted in the autumn 2011 in a general practice office with four general practitioners (GPs) and one intern in Western Norway. Adults >18 years who came for an office visit were invited. The questionnaire asked about demographics, herbal use, conventional drug use and communication about herbal use. Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare co-users to the other patients. Of the 381 patients who completed the questionnaire, the prevalence of herbal use was 44%, with bilberry (41%), green tea (31%), garlic (27%), Aloe vera (26%) and echinacea (18%) as the most frequently used. Among those using conventional drugs regularly, 108 (45%) co-used herbs. Close to 40% of patients on anticoagulants co-used herbs, with garlic and bilberry as the most frequent herbs. Compared to all other patients, co-users had significantly (p < 0.05) increased odds to be female (adjOR 2.0), age above 70 years (adjOR 3.3), use herbs to treat an illness (adjOR 4.2), use two or more herbs (polyherbacy, adjOR 12.1) and having experienced adverse effects of herbal use (adjOR 37.5). Co-use was also associated with use of analgesics or dermatological drugs (adjOR 5.1 and 7.9 respectively). Three out of four patients did not discuss herbal use with any health care professional. A sizable proportion of the GP patients co-used herbs with conventional drugs, also combinations with

Data-driven analysis of biomedical literature suggests broad-spectrum benefits of culinary herbs and spices.

PubMed

Rakhi, N K; Tuwani, Rudraksh; Mukherjee, Jagriti; Bagler, Ganesh

2018-01-01

Spices and herbs are key dietary ingredients used across cultures worldwide. Beyond their use as flavoring and coloring agents, the popularity of these aromatic plant products in culinary preparations has been attributed to their antimicrobial properties. Last few decades have witnessed an exponential growth of biomedical literature investigating the impact of spices and herbs on health, presenting an opportunity to mine for patterns from empirical evidence. Systematic investigation of empirical evidence to enumerate the health consequences of culinary herbs and spices can provide valuable insights into their therapeutic utility. We implemented a text mining protocol to assess the health impact of spices by assimilating, both, their positive and negative effects. We conclude that spices show broad-spectrum benevolence across a range of disease categories in contrast to negative effects that are comparatively narrow-spectrum. We also implement a strategy for disease-specific culinary recommendations of spices based on their therapeutic tradeoff against adverse effects. Further by integrating spice-phytochemical-disease associations, we identify bioactive spice phytochemicals potentially involved in their therapeutic effects. Our study provides a systems perspective on health effects of culinary spices and herbs with applications for dietary recommendations as well as identification of phytochemicals potentially involved in underlying molecular mechanisms.

Data-driven analysis of biomedical literature suggests broad-spectrum benefits of culinary herbs and spices

PubMed Central

Mukherjee, Jagriti

2018-01-01

Spices and herbs are key dietary ingredients used across cultures worldwide. Beyond their use as flavoring and coloring agents, the popularity of these aromatic plant products in culinary preparations has been attributed to their antimicrobial properties. Last few decades have witnessed an exponential growth of biomedical literature investigating the impact of spices and herbs on health, presenting an opportunity to mine for patterns from empirical evidence. Systematic investigation of empirical evidence to enumerate the health consequences of culinary herbs and spices can provide valuable insights into their therapeutic utility. We implemented a text mining protocol to assess the health impact of spices by assimilating, both, their positive and negative effects. We conclude that spices show broad-spectrum benevolence across a range of disease categories in contrast to negative effects that are comparatively narrow-spectrum. We also implement a strategy for disease-specific culinary recommendations of spices based on their therapeutic tradeoff against adverse effects. Further by integrating spice-phytochemical-disease associations, we identify bioactive spice phytochemicals potentially involved in their therapeutic effects. Our study provides a systems perspective on health effects of culinary spices and herbs with applications for dietary recommendations as well as identification of phytochemicals potentially involved in underlying molecular mechanisms. PMID:29813110

Vasodilatory Effects of Combined Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs in Optimized Ratio.

PubMed

Loh, Yean Chun; Tan, Chu Shan; Ch'ng, Yung Sing; Ahmad, Mariam; Asmawi, Mohd Zaini; Yam, Mun Fei

2017-03-01

Recently, a new syndromic disease combination theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for hypertensive treatment has been introduced. In the wake of this new concept, a new science-based TCM formula that counteracts various syndromes is needed. The objective of this study was to develop such a formula. Five of the most clinically prescribed TCM herbs that work on different syndromes, namely Gastrodia elata, Uncaria rhynchophylla, Pueraria thomsonii, Panax notoginseng, and Alisma orientale, were selected for this study. The fingerprints of these five herbs were analyzed by tri-step Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Three different solvents, 95% ethanol, 50% ethanol, and distilled water, were used for the maceration of the herbs and their vasodilatory effects were studied using in vitro precontracted aortic ring model. Among these, the 50% ethanolic extracts of G. elata (GE50) and A. orientale (AO50), and 95% ethanolic extracts of U. rhynchophylla (UR95), P. thomsonii (PT95), and P. notoginseng (PN95) were found to be the most effective for eliciting vasodilation. Thus, these five extracts were used for orthogonal stimulus-response compatibility group studies by using L 25 (5 5 ) formula. The best combination ratio for GE50, UR95, PT95, PN95, and AO50, which was assigned as Formula 1 (F1), was found at EC 0 , EC 25 , EC 20 , EC 20 , and EC 10 , respectively. The vasodilatory effect of the extracts prepared from different extraction methods using F1 ratio was also studied. From the results, the EC 50 and R max of total 50% ethanolic extract of five herbs using F1 ratio (F1-2) were 0.028 ± 0.005 mg/mL and 101.71% ± 3.64%, with better values than F1 (0.104 ± 0.014 mg/mL and 97.80% ± 3.12%, respectively). In conclusion, the optimum ratio and appropriate extraction method (F1-2) for the new TCM formula were revealed.

The Herschel Bright Sources (HerBS): sample definition and SCUBA-2 observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakx, Tom J. L. C.; Eales, S. A.; Negrello, M.; Smith, M. W. L.; Valiante, E.; Holland, W. S.; Baes, M.; Bourne, N.; Clements, D. L.; Dannerbauer, H.; De Zotti, G.; Dunne, L.; Dye, S.; Furlanetto, C.; Ivison, R. J.; Maddox, S.; Marchetti, L.; Michałowski, M. J.; Omont, A.; Oteo, I.; Wardlow, J. L.; van der Werf, P.; Yang, C.

2018-01-01

We present the Herschel Bright Sources (HerBS) sample, a sample of bright, high-redshift Herschel sources detected in the 616.4 deg2 Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey. The HerBS sample contains 209 galaxies, selected with a 500 μm flux density greater than 80 mJy and an estimated redshift greater than 2. The sample consists of a combination of hyperluminous infrared galaxies and lensed ultraluminous infrared galaxies during the epoch of peak cosmic star formation. In this paper, we present Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2 (SCUBA-2) observations at 850 μm of 189 galaxies of the HerBS sample, 152 of these sources were detected. We fit a spectral template to the Herschel-Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) and 850 μm SCUBA-2 flux densities of 22 sources with spectroscopically determined redshifts, using a two-component modified blackbody spectrum as a template. We find a cold- and hot-dust temperature of 21.29_{-1.66}^{+1.35} and 45.80_{-3.48}^{+2.88} K, a cold-to-hot dust mass ratio of 26.62_{-6.74}^{+5.61} and a β of 1.83_{-0.28}^{+0.14}. The poor quality of the fit suggests that the sample of galaxies is too diverse to be explained by our simple model. Comparison of our sample to a galaxy evolution model indicates that the fraction of lenses are high. Out of the 152 SCUBA-2 detected galaxies, the model predicts 128.4 ± 2.1 of those galaxies to be lensed (84.5 per cent). The SPIRE 500 μm flux suggests that out of all 209 HerBS sources, we expect 158.1 ± 1.7 lensed sources, giving a total lensing fraction of 76 per cent.

The combination therapy of Ephedra herb and Loxoprofen caused gastric lesions in mice.

PubMed

Cho, Shigefumi; Hong, Tie; Jin, Guang-Bi; Yoshino, Gen; Miura, Myota; Aikawa, Yoshihiro; Yasuno, Fumiko; Cyong, Jong-Chol

2002-01-01

The combination therapy of a Kampo formula and an analgesic-antipyretic agent is often used for the common cold in Japan. We investigated the effect of such a combination therapy, using the Ephedra herb, which is a common ingredient of Kakkon-to and Mao-to, and Loxoprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), on fever induced in an experimental model of mice under strong stress. The combination therapy of Ephedra herb and Loxoprofen caused gastric mucosal lesions and loss of body weight. It is considered that this combination therapy should be avoided because of its adverse effects.

Development of models for classification of action between heat-clearing herbs and blood-activating stasis-resolving herbs based on theory of traditional Chinese medicine.

PubMed

Chen, Zhao; Cao, Yanfeng; He, Shuaibing; Qiao, Yanjiang

2018-01-01

Action (" gongxiao " in Chinese) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the high recapitulation for therapeutic and health-preserving effects under the guidance of TCM theory. TCM-defined herbal properties (" yaoxing " in Chinese) had been used in this research. TCM herbal property (TCM-HP) is the high generalization and summary for actions, both of which come from long-term effective clinical practice in two thousands of years in China. However, the specific relationship between TCM-HP and action of TCM is complex and unclear from a scientific perspective. The research about this is conducive to expound the connotation of TCM-HP theory and is of important significance for the development of the TCM-HP theory. One hundred and thirty-three herbs including 88 heat-clearing herbs (HCHs) and 45 blood-activating stasis-resolving herbs (BAHRHs) were collected from reputable TCM literatures, and their corresponding TCM-HPs/actions information were collected from Chinese pharmacopoeia (2015 edition). The Kennard-Stone (K-S) algorithm was used to split 133 herbs into 100 calibration samples and 33 validation samples. Then, machine learning methods including supported vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbor (kNN) and deep learning methods including deep belief network (DBN), convolutional neutral network (CNN) were adopted to develop action classification models based on TCM-HP theory, respectively. In order to ensure robustness, these four classification methods were evaluated by using the method of tenfold cross validation and 20 external validation samples for prediction. As results, 72.7-100% of 33 validation samples including 17 HCHs and 16 BASRHs were correctly predicted by these four types of methods. Both of the DBN and CNN methods gave out the best results and their sensitivity, specificity, precision, accuracy were all 100.00%. Especially, the predicted results of external validation set showed that the performance of deep learning methods (DBN, CNN) were better

An investigation of the relationship between the anti-inflammatory activity, polyphenolic content, and antioxidant activities of cooked and in vitro digested culinary herbs.

PubMed

Chohan, Magali; Naughton, Declan P; Jones, Lucy; Opara, Elizabeth I

2012-01-01

There is little research on how cooking and digestion affect the anti-inflammatory activity of culinary herbs. Thus, the aim of this paper was to investigate this activity following cooking and in vitro digestion of the common culinary herbs, rosemary, sage, and thyme, and the relationship between their anti-inflammatory activity, polyphenol content, and antioxidant capacity. The anti-inflammatory activity of uncooked (U), cooked (C), cooked and in vitro digested (C&D), and standardised (STD, 30 mg/mL) culinary herbs was assessed by measuring their effect on interleukin 8 (IL-8) release from stimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and Caco-2 cells. The trolox equivalent capacity (TEAC) and estimated total phenolic content of the herbs were also determined. There was a significant decrease in IL-8 release from PBLs stimulated with H(2)O(2) incubated with (U), (C), (C&D), and (STD) herbs and from Caco-2 cells stimulated with TNFα incubated with (C&D) and (STD) herbs. PBLs pre-incubated with (C&D) herbs prior to stimulation (H(2)O(2) or TNFα) caused a significant inhibition in IL-8 release. The significant correlations between TEAC and estimated phenolic content and the anti-inflammatory activity suggest a possible contributory role of polyphenols to the anti-inflammatory activity of the culinary herbs investigated.

An Investigation of the Relationship between the Anti-Inflammatory Activity, Polyphenolic Content, and Antioxidant Activities of Cooked and In Vitro Digested Culinary Herbs

PubMed Central

Chohan, Magali; Naughton, Declan P.; Jones, Lucy; Opara, Elizabeth I.

2012-01-01

There is little research on how cooking and digestion affect the anti-inflammatory activity of culinary herbs. Thus, the aim of this paper was to investigate this activity following cooking and in vitro digestion of the common culinary herbs, rosemary, sage, and thyme, and the relationship between their anti-inflammatory activity, polyphenol content, and antioxidant capacity. The anti-inflammatory activity of uncooked (U), cooked (C), cooked and in vitro digested (C&D), and standardised (STD, 30 mg/mL) culinary herbs was assessed by measuring their effect on interleukin 8 (IL-8) release from stimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and Caco-2 cells. The trolox equivalent capacity (TEAC) and estimated total phenolic content of the herbs were also determined. There was a significant decrease in IL-8 release from PBLs stimulated with H2O2 incubated with (U), (C), (C&D), and (STD) herbs and from Caco-2 cells stimulated with TNFα incubated with (C&D) and (STD) herbs. PBLs pre-incubated with (C&D) herbs prior to stimulation (H2O2 or TNFα) caused a significant inhibition in IL-8 release. The significant correlations between TEAC and estimated phenolic content and the anti-inflammatory activity suggest a possible contributory role of polyphenols to the anti-inflammatory activity of the culinary herbs investigated. PMID:22685620

Ecological contingency in the effects of climatic warming on forest herb communities.

PubMed

Harrison, Susan; Damschen, Ellen I; Grace, James B

2010-11-09

Downscaling from the predictions of general climate models is critical to current strategies for mitigating species loss caused by climate change. A key impediment to this downscaling is that we lack a fully developed understanding of how variation in physical, biological, or land-use characteristics mediates the effects of climate change on ecological communities within regions. We analyzed change in understory herb communities over a 60-y period (1949/1951-2007/2009) in a complex montane landscape (the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon) where mean temperatures have increased 2 °C since 1948, similar to projections for other terrestrial communities. Our 185 sites included primary and secondary-growth lower montane forests (500-1.200 m above sea level) and primary upper montane to subalpine forests (1,500-2,100 m above sea level). In lower montane forests, regardless of land-use history, we found multiple herb-community changes consistent with an effectively drier climate, including lower mean specific leaf area, lower relative cover by species of northern biogeographic affinity, and greater compositional resemblance to communities in southerly topographic positions. At higher elevations we found qualitatively different and more modest changes, including increases in herbs of northern biogeographic affinity and in forest canopy cover. Our results provide community-level validation of predicted nonlinearities in climate change effects.

Interaction of Carbamazepine with Herbs, Dietary Supplements, and Food: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Zuo, Zhong

2013-01-01

Background. Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a first-line antiepileptic drug which may be prone to drug interactions. Systematic review of herb- and food-drug interactions on CBZ is warranted to provide guidance for medical professionals when prescribing CBZ. Method. A systematic review was conducted on six English databases and four Chinese databases. Results. 196 out of 3179 articles fulfilled inclusion criteria, of which 74 articles were reviewed and 33 herbal products/dietary supplement/food interacting with CBZ were identified. No fatal or severe interactions were documented. The majority of the interactions were pharmacokinetic-based (80%). Traditional Chinese medicine accounted for most of the interactions (n = 17), followed by food (n = 10), dietary supplements (n = 3), and other herbs/botanicals (n = 3). Coadministration of 11 and 12 of the studied herbal products/dietary supplement/food significantly decreased or increased the plasma concentrations of CBZ. Regarding pharmacodynamic interaction, Xiao-yao-san, melatonin, and alcohol increased the side effects of CBZ while caffeine lowered the antiepileptic efficacy of CBZ. Conclusion. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the documented interactions between CBZ and herbal products/food/dietary supplements which assists healthcare professionals to identify potential herb-drug and food-drug interactions, thereby preventing potential adverse events and improving patients' therapeutic outcomes when prescribing CBZ. PMID:24023584

Herbs with potential nephrotoxic effects according to traditional Persian medicine: Review and assessment of scientific evidence.

PubMed

Kolangi, Fatemeh; Memariani, Zahra; Bozorgi, Mahboubeh; Mozaffarpur, Seyyed Ali; Mirzapour, Mohaddeseh

2018-04-03

The increased use of herbal remedies particularly in patients with kidney diseases indicated the importance of studies which focused on nephrotoxic plants. The present study aimed to review and assess the kidney-damaging herbs mentioned in the Persian medicine [PM] books. The main PM books were searched for nephrotoxic herbs and their relevant reformers traditionally proposed for preventing renal damage. PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar were investigated for evaluation of the scientific evidence relating to the nephrotoxicity of herbs. A total of 64 plants with kidney damage potential and their reformer medicaments were recorded in 7 sources included in this review. Allium schoenoprasum and Marrubium vulgare were the most repeated and emphasized nephrotoxic plants in PM books, but there was not any relevant scientific evidence. Despite the lack of clinical studies, some evidence was found for 38% of plants that were related to renal damage. The most repeated reformers for reducing the renal side effects mainly consisted of gum tragacanth, gum Arabic, mastic gum, anise, jujube and honey and some evidence was found for their nephroprotective activities. The present study reviewed and assessed the herbs with adverse renal effects in the main PM books. Some evidence was in line with the potential nephrotoxicity of plants and their ‎reformers. Despite the lack of clinical research for evaluation of their renal damage, the herbs may be focused in term of their nephrotoxicity; and there is a need for further studies on the scientific basis of their nephrotoxicity. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Herb-induced Liver Injury: Comparison with Drug-induced Liver Injury.

PubMed

Jing, Jing; Teschke, Rolf

2018-03-28

Cases of suspected herb-induced liver injury (HILI) caused by herbal Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) and of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) are commonly published in the scientific literature worldwide. As opposed to the multiplicity of botanical chemicals in herbal TCM products, which are often mixtures of several herbs, conventional Western drugs contain only a single synthetic chemical. It is therefore of interest to study how HILI by TCM and DILI compare with each other, and to what extent results from each liver injury type can be transferred to the other. China is among the few countries with a large population using synthetic Western drugs as well as herbal TCM. Therefore, China is well suited to studies of liver injury comparing drugs with TCM herbs. Despite some concordance, recent analyses of liver injury cases with verified causality, using the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method, revealed major differences in HILI caused by TCMs as compared to DILI with respect to the following features: HILI cases are less frequently observed as compared to DILI, have a smaller proportion of females and less unintentional rechallenge events, and present a higher rate of hepatocellular injury features. Since many results were obtained among Chinese residents who had access to and had used Western drugs and TCM herbs, such ethnic homogeneity supports the contention that the observed differences of HILI and DILI in the assessed population are well founded.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Herb-induced Liver Injury: Comparison with Drug-induced Liver Injury

PubMed Central

Jing, Jing; Teschke, Rolf

2017-01-01

Abstract Cases of suspected herb-induced liver injury (HILI) caused by herbal Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) and of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) are commonly published in the scientific literature worldwide. As opposed to the multiplicity of botanical chemicals in herbal TCM products, which are often mixtures of several herbs, conventional Western drugs contain only a single synthetic chemical. It is therefore of interest to study how HILI by TCM and DILI compare with each other, and to what extent results from each liver injury type can be transferred to the other. China is among the few countries with a large population using synthetic Western drugs as well as herbal TCM. Therefore, China is well suited to studies of liver injury comparing drugs with TCM herbs. Despite some concordance, recent analyses of liver injury cases with verified causality, using the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method, revealed major differences in HILI caused by TCMs as compared to DILI with respect to the following features: HILI cases are less frequently observed as compared to DILI, have a smaller proportion of females and less unintentional rechallenge events, and present a higher rate of hepatocellular injury features. Since many results were obtained among Chinese residents who had access to and had used Western drugs and TCM herbs, such ethnic homogeneity supports the contention that the observed differences of HILI and DILI in the assessed population are well founded. PMID:29577033

[Pharmacokinetic research strategies of compatibilities and synergistic effects of classical Danshen herb pairs based on pharmacokinetics of "Danshen-Bingpian" and "Danshen-Honghua"].

PubMed

Zhang, Cui-Ying; Ren, Wei-Guang

2017-06-01

Herb pairs are usual clinical compatibility forms and one of compound prescription sources in Chinese medicine. Pharmacokinetic research in vivo is one of the important items in elucidating the mechanism for synergistic and attenuated mechanisms of herb pairs. The paper comprehensively summarized and systemized the pharmacokinetic researches of marker-ingredients about Danshen-Honghua and Danshen-Bingpian in order to elucidate the rationality and scientificity of herb pairs and provide some feasible suggestions on the pharmacokinetics of drugs in the future. In view of complicated system of Traditional Chinese medicines and a chemical system that is not separated from its natural state, comparative pharmacokinetic researches on marker-ingredients from the herb pairs are reasonable to elucidate the synergistic and attenuated mechanisms of monarch-subjects compatible herbs and monarch-guide compatible herbs. Such pharmacokinetic research can better explain the mechanism of drug compatibility, while the pharmacokinetic researches based on the monomer chemical compositions and marker-ingredients that have been separated from complex chemical environment of traditional Chinese Medicine are still unreasonable and should be discussed deeply. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Effects of Kaolinite (Macsumsuk) and Herb Mixtures on the Quality and Physicochemical Properties of Pork

PubMed Central

Kim, Byung Ki; Hwang, Eun Gyeong; Jung, Dae Jin; Ha, Jae Jung; Oh, Dong Yep

2014-01-01

The current study was conducted to identify technology for the production of high quality pork, based on the meat consumption habits of consumers. Macsumsuk, a type of kaolinite (a clay mineral), and/or a mixture of herbs (Mori Folium, Sophorae Radix, Glycyrrhizae Radix, Citri Leiocarpae Exocarpium, and Pogostemi Herba) were added to the diets of fattening pigs. Sixty barrow pigs (4 kinds of treatment × 5 pigs/treatment × 3 replicates) were randomly assigned to either the Control (no additives), T1 (3% Macsumsuk), T2 (3% Herb mixtures), or T3 (3% Macsumsuk + 3% Herb mixtures) groups, and were fed the diets for 60 d. Dressed weights were in the order of T1 (93.40±4.68kg) > T2 (91.40±6.52kg) > Control (88.80±1.57kg) > T3 (86.80±2.01kg). Back-fat thickness of the Control animals (23.2±1.03) was significantly greater than that of the various treatment groups (p<0.01). Numeric values representing the carcass yield and quality grade were higher for all the treated groups than the Control group, thought the difference was not statistically significant. Crude fat content was significantly higher in the Control group (2.23±0.34%) than in the treated groups (p<0.05). The addition of both Macsumsuk and herb mixtures into the diets of the pigs significantly reduced cooking loss of the pork compared to the Control (p<0.05). No statistically significant changes were observed in the shear force (average 5.87±0.54 kg/cm2), water holding capacity (average 54.59±3.16%), or CIE values of the pork, whereas cholesterol levels significantly decreased (p<0.01) in those fed Macsumsuk and/or the herb mixtures. No significant changes in fatty acid composition, total saturated fatty acid (SFA), total unsaturated fatty acid (UFA), or UFA/SFA ratios were observed by any of the treatments. In conclusion, the results obtained from this study suggest that the addition of Macsumsuk and/or herb mixtures into the diets of growing and fattening pigs improves the pork quality by reducing

Why Surinamese migrants in the Netherlands continue to use medicinal herbs from their home country.

PubMed

van Andel, Tinde; Westers, Paul

2010-02-17

When people migrate, they tend to bring along their medicinal plants. In order to improve migrant health, we need information on their traditional health beliefs and practices. This paper investigates medicinal plant use among Surinamese migrants in the Netherlands. Data from 210 semi-structured interviews among 1st and 2nd generation Surinamese migrants were analysed to determine which medicinal plants were used, for what purposes, which demographic, socio-economic or psycho-social factors play a role in the choice for traditional medicine and to clarify people's personal motives to use herbs. Variables associated with medicinal plant use were identified by using the Pearson gamma2 test and the two-sample t-test. After selecting significant variables by means of bivariate analyses, multinomial logistic regression with stepwise forward selection was used to assess whether medicinal plant use could be explained by a combination of these variables. More than 75% of the respondents used herbal medicine, and 66% did so in the past year. Herbs were more frequently employed for health promotion (39%) than for disease prevention or cure (both 27%). Almost half of the respondents who had been ill the last year had used herbal medicine. More than 140 herb species were mentioned during the interviews. Plant use was often related to certain culture-bound health beliefs. Spiritual baths were the most popular traditional practice, followed by genital steam baths, bitter tonics, and the consumption of bitter vegetables. Afro-Surinamers more frequently used herbal medicine than Hindustani. The WINTI belief strongly influenced plant use, as well as the occurrence of an illness in the past year, and frequent visits to Suriname. Age, gender, income and education had no significant effect on the use of traditional medicine. Surinamers stated that they used medicinal herbs because they grew up with them; herbs were more effective and had fewer side effects than conventional therapies

Purification, characterization and molecular cloning of trichoanguin, a novel type I ribosome-inactivating protein from the seeds of Trichosanthes anguina.

PubMed Central

Chow, L P; Chou, M H; Ho, C Y; Chuang, C C; Pan, F M; Wu, S H; Lin, J Y

1999-01-01

The seeds of the plant Trichosanthes anguina contain a type I ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP), designated trichoanguin, which was purified to apparent homogeneity by the combined use of ion-exchange chromatographies, i.e. first with DE-52 cellulose and then with CM-52 cellulose. The protein was found to be a glycoprotein with a molecular mass of 35 kDa and a pI of 9.1. It strongly inhibits the protein synthesis of rabbit reticulocyte lysate, with an IC50 of 0.08 nM, but only weakly that of HeLa cells, with an IC50 of 6 microM. Trichoanguin cleaves at the A4324 site of rat 28 S rRNA by its N-glycosidase activity. The cDNA of trichoanguin consists of 1039 nt and encodes an open reading frame coding for a polypeptide of 294 amino acid residues. The first 19 residues of this polypeptide encode a signal peptide sequence and the last 30 residues comprise an extension at its C-terminus. There are four potential glycosylation sites, located at Asn-51, Asn-65, Asn-201 and Asn-226. A comparison of the amino acid sequence of trichoanguin with those of RIPs such as trichosanthin, alpha-momorcharin, ricin A-chain and abrin A-chain reveals 55%, 48%, 36% and 34% identity respectively. Molecular homology modelling of trichoanguin indicates that its tertiary structure closely resembles those of trichosanthin and alpha-momorcharin. The large structural similarities might account for their common biological effects such as an abortifacient, an anti-tumour agent and anti-HIV-1 activities. Trichoanguin contains two cysteine residues, Cys-32 and Cys-155, with the former being likely to be located on the protein surface, which is directly amenable for conjugation with antibodies to form immunoconjugates. It is therefore conceivable that trichoanguin might be a better type I RIP than any other so far examined for the preparation of immunotoxins, with a great potential for application as an effective chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of cancer. PMID:9931318

Antioxidant activities of cold-nature Tibetan herbs are signifcantly greater than hot-nature ones and are associated with their levels of total phenolic components.

PubMed

Bao, Yan-Fang; Li, Ji-Yu; Zheng, Li-Fang; Li, Hong-Yu

2015-08-01

Tibetan medicinal plants have been used for more than 2 000 years. In order to find their differences in antioxidant activity, total phenolics and total flavonoids between "hot-nature" and "cold-nature" herbs, we investigated the antioxidant activities of 40 Tibetan herbs from Qinghai plateau, with 20 herbs in cold-nature and 20 herbs in hot-nature. Antioxidant capacities were evaluated by the following methods: scavenging ABTS•(+) (2, 2'azinobis-(3-ethylbenz-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), scavenging O2•(-), and Ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The effects on inhibition of mitochondrion lipid peroxidation were determined by measuring the formation of TBARS (Thiobarbituric acid reactive substrates). Total phenolics and flavonoids were estimated by Folin-Ciocalteu and NaNO2-Al(NO3)3-NaOH colorimetric methods. Interestingly, the cold-nature herbs displayed higher antioxidant activities than the hot-nature ones, corresponding to nearly three-fold higher total phenolic contents in the cold-nature herbs. Moreover, the antioxidant activities correlated linearly with the levels of total phenolics for both cold-nature and hot-nature herbs, but only with the levels of total flavonoids for the hot-nature herbs. The results suggested that the phenolic compounds, but not the flavonoids, play the major role in antioxidant capacities of the cold-nature herbs. These findings could shed new lights on the study the theory of Tibetan medicine. Copyright © 2015 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exposure to airborne microorganisms, dust and endotoxin during processing of peppermint and chamomile herbs on farms.

PubMed

Skórska, Czesława; Sitkowska, Jolanta; Krysińska-Traczyk, Ewa; Cholewa, Grazyna; Dutkiewicz, Jacek

2005-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the levels of microorganisms, dust and endotoxin in the air during processing of peppermint (Mentha piperita) and chamomile (Matricaria recutita) by herb farmers, and to examine the species composition of airborne microflora. Air samples were collected on glass fibre filters by use of personal samplers on 13 farms owned by herb cultivating farmers, located in Lublin province (eastern Poland). The concentrations of total viable microorganisms (bacteria + fungi) in the farm air during processing of peppermint herb were large, within a range from 895.1-6,015.8 x 10(3) cfu/m(3) (median 1,055.3 x 10(3) cfu/m(3)). During processing of chamomile herb they were much lower and varied within a range from 0.88-295.6 x 10(3) cfu/m(3) (median 27.3 x 10(3) cfu/m(3)). Gram-negative bacteria distinctly prevailed during processing of peppermint leaves, forming 46.4-88.5 % of the total airborne microflora. During processing of chamomile herb, Gram-negative bacteria were dominant at 3 out of 6 sampling sites forming 54.7-75.3 % of total microflora, whereas at the remaining 3 sites the most common were fungi forming 46.2-99.9 % of the total count. The species Pantoea agglomerans (synonyms: Erwinia herbicola, Enterobacter agglomerans ), having strong allergenic and endotoxic properties, distinctly prevailed among Gram-negative isolates. Among fungi, the most common species was Alternaria alternata. The concentrations of airborne dust and endotoxin determined on the examined herb farms were large. The concentrations of airborne dust during peppermint and chamomile processing ranged from 86.7-958.9 mg/m(3), and from 1.1-499.2 mg/m(3), respectively (medians 552.3 mg/m(3) and 12.3 mg/m(3)). The concentrations of airborne endotoxin determined during peppermint and chamomile processing were within a wide range 1.53-208.33 microg/m(3) and 0.005-2604.19 microg/m(3) respectively (medians 57.3 microg/m(3) and 0.96 microg/m(3)). In conclusion, farmers

Exploring the interaction between Salvia miltiorrhiza and human serum albumin: Insights from herb-drug interaction reports, computational analysis and experimental studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Xin; Ai, Ni; Xu, Donghang; Fan, Xiaohui

2016-05-01

Human serum albumin (HSA) binding is one of important pharmacokinetic properties of drug, which is closely related to in vivo distribution and may ultimately influence its clinical efficacy. Compared to conventional drug, limited information on this transportation process is available for medicinal herbs, which significantly hampers our understanding on their pharmacological effects, particularly when herbs and drug are co-administrated as polytherapy to the ailment. Several lines of evidence suggest the existence of Salvia miltiorrhiza-Warfarin interaction. Since Warfarin is highly HSA bound in the plasma with selectivity to site I, it is critical to evaluate the possibility of HSA-related herb-drug interaction. Herein an integrated approach was employed to analyze the binding of chemicals identified in S. miltiorrhiza to HSA. Molecular docking simulations revealed filtering criteria for HSA site I compounds that include docking score and key molecular determinants for binding. For eight representative ingredients from the herb, their affinity and specificity to HSA site I was measured and confirmed fluorometrically, which helps to improve the knowledge of interaction mechanisms between this herb and HSA. Our results indicated that several compounds in S. miltiorrhiza were capable of decreasing the binding constant of Warfarin to HSA site I significantly, which may increase free drug concentration in vivo, contributing to the herb-drug interaction observed clinically. Furthermore, the significance of HSA mediated herb-drug interactions was further implied by manual mining on the published literatures on S. miltiorrhiza.

Effective components of Chinese herbs reduce central nervous system function decline induced by iron overload

PubMed Central

Dong, Xian-hui; Bai, Jiang-tao; Kong, Wei-na; He, Xiao-ping; Yan, Peng; Shao, Tie-mei; Yu, Wen-guo; Chai, Xi-qing; Wu, Yan-hua; Liu, Cong

2015-01-01

Abnormally increased levels of iron in the brain trigger cascade amplification in Alzheimer’s disease patients, resulting in neuronal death. This study investigated whether components extracted from the Chinese herbs epimedium herb, milkvetch root and kudzuvine root could relieve the abnormal expression of iron metabolism-related protein in Alzheimer’s disease patients. An APPswe/PS1ΔE9 double transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease was used. The intragastric administration of compounds from epimedium herb, milkvetch root and kudzuvine root improved pathological alterations such as neuronal edema, increased the number of neurons, downregulated divalent metal transporter 1 expression, upregulated ferroportin 1 expression, and inhibited iron overload in the cerebral cortex of mice with Alzheimer’s disease. These compounds reduced iron overload-induced impairment of the central nervous system, indicating a new strategy for developing novel drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. PMID:26109953

Effects of feeding the herb Borreria latifolia on the meat quality of village chickens in Malaysia.

PubMed

Abbood, Ali A; Kassim, Azhar Bin; Jawad, Hasan S A; Manap, Yazid Abdul; Sazili, Awis Qurni

2017-06-01

An experiment was carried out to estimate the meat quality characteristics of village chickens (Gallus gallus) fed diets supplemented with dry leaves of Borreria latifolia (BL) used as a potential antioxidant source in chicken feed. In this study, 252 sexed 9-week-old village chickens with mean live body weight of 1,525.4 g for males and 1,254.1 g for females were divided into 7 groups (each group 18 birds) for each sex represented in 2 experiments. The first experiment was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of BL and the effect on meat quality through a comparison with Rosmarinus officinalis (RO); hence, 3 groups were conducted and included: T1 (control), basal diet without supplementation; T2, basal diet with 1% of BL; T3, basal diet with 1% of RO. T2 and T3 significantly affect pH value, lipid oxidation, cooking loss, and overall acceptability compared to T1, while no significant difference was observed between the dietary groups in respect of drip loss, color, tenderness, fatty acid profile, and meat composition. Furthermore, a significant effect of sex on lipid oxidation, pH, yellowness, and fatty acid profile was observed. There was no significant effect of sex on WHC, tenderness, lightness, redness, and sensory evaluation. A significant influence of postmortem aging period was detected on lipid oxidation, pH, tenderness, cooking loss, and redness. The obtained result in this study revealed a significance in the interaction of herb by sex in pH parameter and between herb and sex, herb by aging period, sex by aging period, and the herb by sex by aging period interactions with regard to lipid oxidation test. The second experiment was to estimate the effect of 3 different levels of BL on meat quality. Four groups were provided and involved: T1 (control), basal diet without supplementation; T2, basal diet with 1.5% of BL; T3, basal diet with 2% of BL; and T4, basal diet with 2.5% of BL. The result of this study showed a significant effect (P < 0.05) of the

Application of the multiplex PCR method for discrimination of Artemisia iwayomogi from other Artemisia herbs.

PubMed

Lee, Mi Young; Doh, Eui Jeong; Kim, Eung Soo; Kim, Young Wha; Ko, Byong Seob; Oh, Seung-Eun

2008-04-01

Some plants classified in the genus Artemisia are used for medicinal purposes. In particular, A. iwayomogi, which is referred to as 'Haninjin,' is used as an important medicinal material in traditional Korean medicine. However, A. capillaris, and both A. argyi and A. princeps, referred to as 'Injinho' and 'Aeyup,' respectively, are used for purposes other than those for which 'Haninjin' is utilized. However, it is occasionally difficult to differentiate 'Haninjin' from 'Injinho' and/or 'Aeyup' on the basis of their morphological features, particularly when in the dried and/or sliced form. Therefore, the development of a reliable method by which to discriminate 'Haninjin' from other Artemisia herbs, especially 'Injinho' and 'Aeyup,' is clearly necessary. We recently determined that the RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) technique can be used to discriminate efficiently between some Artemisia herbs. In particular, when applied to RAPD, the non-specific UBC primer 391 (5'-GCG AAC CTC G-3') was demonstrated to amplify PCR products specific to A. iwayomogi. Based on the nucleotide sequences of the PCR product, we designed a 2F1 (5'-ACC TCG GAC CTA AAT ACA-3')/ 2F3 (5'-TTA TGA TTC ATG TTC AAT TC-3') primer set to amplify a SCAR (sequence-characterized amplified region) marker of A. iwayomogi. Employing this primer set, along with two other primer sets amplifying SCAR markers of 'Aeyup' (A. argyi and A. princeps) and both 'Injinho' (A. capillaris) and A. japonica, which are classified into the same subgroup in a phenogram constructed from RAPD analysis, we developed a multiplex PCR method by which A. iwayomogi could be discriminated with certainty from other Artemisia herbs. Via this method, we determined not only whether the tested Artemisia herb was A. iwayomogi, but also which Artemisia herbs were tested concurrently with A. iwayomogi.

Use of lipid-lowering medicinal herbs during pregnancy: A systematic review on safety and dosage

PubMed Central

Rouhi-Boroujeni, Hojjat; Heidarian, Esfandiar; Rouhi-Boroujeni, Hamid; Khoddami, Minasadat; Gharipour, Mojgan; Rafieian-Kopaei, Mahmoud

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND Hyperlipidemia is one of the important diseases in pregnancy that causes fetal abnormalities during pregnancy and after the birth. Unfortunately, the usual anti-fat drugs are associated with high morbidity in fetus and due to people's inclination towards taking herbs, it is required to identify side effects of medicinal herbs in pregnancy. The aim of this study was to present hypolipidemic herbs that would not any complications for mother and fetus. METHODS In this review article, the major electronic databases such as EBSCO, Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), China Network Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Cochrane, Google scholar, MEDLINE, SciVerse, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched using the key words “herbal” and “hyperlipidemia”, “herbal” and “pregnancy” matched by MeSH from their respective inceptions till September, 2016. Total of 1723 publications (145 review articles, 855 original research articles, and 723 abstracts) about the effect of herbals on hyperlipidemia and 682 publications (200 abstracts, 423 original research articles, and 59 review articles) about the effect of herbals in pregnancy were retrieved. At the end, a list of medicinal plants effective on hyperlipidemia alongside their effects on pregnancy was developed. Finally, the plants effective on hyperlipidemia and safe during pregnancy were determined and their dosage, complications, mechanism of action, and side effects were reported. RESULTS A total of 110 effective herbs on hyperlipidemia were identified and complications of 95 plants in pregnancy were studied. At last, among the 55 selected plants effective on hyperlipidemia and examined for pregnancy, we reported 12 herbs with their dosage and special considerations that can be used to treat hyperlipidemia during pregnancy. CONCLUSION Some medicinal plants can be used to treat hyperlipidemia during pregnancy without any significant side effects both on mother or fetus. PMID:29147122

Effects of white-tailed deer and invasive plants on the herb layer of suburban forests

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Abstract Lack of hunting and predators and proximity to human communities make suburban forests prone to high deer abundance and non-native plant invasions. I investigated these likely drivers of community structure in the herb layers of six suburban forests in one region of New Jersey, USA. In 223 plots I assessed the herb layer response to 2.5 years with or without deer fencing and the early stage of invasion from seed additions of Microstegium vimineum, an invasive, annual grass. Non-native plants and herbaceous native plants were affected very little by fencing or M. vimineum invasion. In contrast, across all forests the combination of deer access and M. vimineum addition had a strongly negative effect on woody native percent cover. Forests differed in overall fencing effects on woody natives; their cover was greater in fenced plots in just three forests, suggesting greater deer pressure in those forests during the experiment. The early invasion by M. vimineum was greatest in two of these same forests, but was not influenced by fencing. Multi-group structural equation modelling compared two groups of forests that differed in vegetation abundance and other characteristics. It paralleled the results above and also showed no negative influence of non-native cover on native cover, even in the forests where non-native cover was greater. It identified a positive effect of light level on herb layer plants in the forests with less vegetation, and also revealed a positive effect of soil water potential (SWP) on non-native plants in the forests with more vegetation, which had higher SWP. These suburban forests within a common region varied widely in native and non-native herb layer abundance, the early success of M. vimineum invasion and the herb layer’s response to early invasion and protection from deer. PMID:29218140

Effects of white-tailed deer and invasive plants on the herb layer of suburban forests.

PubMed

Morrison, Janet A

2017-11-01

Lack of hunting and predators and proximity to human communities make suburban forests prone to high deer abundance and non-native plant invasions. I investigated these likely drivers of community structure in the herb layers of six suburban forests in one region of New Jersey, USA. In 223 plots I assessed the herb layer response to 2.5 years with or without deer fencing and the early stage of invasion from seed additions of Microstegium vimineum , an invasive, annual grass. Non-native plants and herbaceous native plants were affected very little by fencing or M. vimineum invasion. In contrast, across all forests the combination of deer access and M. vimineum addition had a strongly negative effect on woody native percent cover. Forests differed in overall fencing effects on woody natives; their cover was greater in fenced plots in just three forests, suggesting greater deer pressure in those forests during the experiment. The early invasion by M. vimineum was greatest in two of these same forests, but was not influenced by fencing. Multi-group structural equation modelling compared two groups of forests that differed in vegetation abundance and other characteristics. It paralleled the results above and also showed no negative influence of non-native cover on native cover, even in the forests where non-native cover was greater. It identified a positive effect of light level on herb layer plants in the forests with less vegetation, and also revealed a positive effect of soil water potential (SWP) on non-native plants in the forests with more vegetation, which had higher SWP. These suburban forests within a common region varied widely in native and non-native herb layer abundance, the early success of M. vimineum invasion and the herb layer's response to early invasion and protection from deer.

The industrial potential of herbs and spices - a mini review.

PubMed

Leja, Katarzyna B; Czaczyk, Katarzyna

2016-01-01

Herbs and spices have been used for food and medicinal purposes for centuries - the first recorded evidence of their use dates back to 1500BC and the Ebers Papyrus, which mentioned spices such as anise, mustard, saffron, cinnamon, and cassia. Now, in the 21st century, a variety of secondary compounds produced by plants are used in many fields of industry, such as food production (to improve taste, to provide vitamins and macro- and microelements, and also to inhibit food spoilage caused by foodborne bacteria), in medicine (in the treatment of various diseases; in chemoprevention and cancer therapy; as a source of natural antimicrobials for the treatment of infectious disease), and in pharmacology and cosmetology (in dietary supplements, and as a result of the demand for preservative-free cosmetics, to reduce the risk of methylparaben allergies). The aim of this review is to present the major active compounds in herbs and spices and explore their potential applications in industry.

Evaluation of the anticancer potential of six herbs against a hepatoma cell line

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Six herbs in the Plant Genetics Conservation Project that have been used as complementary medicines were chosen on the basis of their medicinal value, namely Terminalia mucronata, Diospyros winitii, Bridelia insulana, Artabotrys harmandii, Terminallia triptera, and Croton oblongifolius. This study aims to evaluate the potential anticancer activity of 50% ethanol-water extracts of these six herbs. Methods Fifty percent ethanol-water crude extracts of the six herbs were prepared. The cytotoxicity of the herbal extracts relative to that of melphalan was evaluated using a hepatoma cell line (HepG2), and examined by neutral red assays and apoptosis induction by gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry after 24 h. Results A significant difference was found between the cytotoxicity of the 50% ethanol-water crude extracts and melphalan (P = 0.000). The 50% ethanol-water crude extracts of all six herbs exhibited cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells, with IC50 values ranging from 100 to 500 μg/mL. The extract of T. triptera showed the highest cytotoxicity with an IC50 of 148.7 ± 12.3 μg/mL, while melphalan had an IC50 of 39.79 ± 7.62 μg/mL. The 50% ethanol-water crude extracts of D. winitii and T. triptera, but not A. harmandii, produced a DNA ladder. The 50% ethanol-water crude extracts of D. winitii, T. triptera, and A. harmandii induced apoptosis detected by flow cytometry. Conclusion The 50% ethanol-water crude extracts of D. winitii, T. triptera, and A. harmandii showed anticancer activity in vitro. PMID:22682026

Hepatoprotective Effects of Chinese Medicinal Herbs: A Focus on Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Oxidative Activities

PubMed Central

Lam, Puiyan; Cheung, Fan; Tan, Hor Yue; Wang, Ning; Yuen, Man Fung; Feng, Yibin

2016-01-01

The liver is intimately connected to inflammation, which is the innate defense system of the body for removing harmful stimuli and participates in the hepatic wound-healing response. Sustained inflammation and the corresponding regenerative wound-healing response can induce the development of fibrosis, cirrhosis and eventually hepatocellular carcinoma. Oxidative stress is associated with the activation of inflammatory pathways, while chronic inflammation is found associated with some human cancers. Inflammation and cancer may be connected by the effect of the inflammation-fibrosis-cancer (IFC) axis. Chinese medicinal herbs display abilities in protecting the liver compared to conventional therapies, as many herbal medicines have been shown as effective anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative agents. We review the relationship between oxidative stress and inflammation, the development of hepatic diseases, and the hepatoprotective effects of Chinese medicinal herbs via anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative mechanisms. Moreover, several Chinese medicinal herbs and composite formulae, which have been commonly used for preventing and treating hepatic diseases, including Andrographis Herba, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Lycii Fructus, Coptidis Rhizoma, curcumin, xiao-cha-hu-tang and shi-quan-da-bu-tang, were selected for reviewing their hepatoprotective effects with focus on their anti-oxidative and ant-inflammatory activities. This review aims to provide new insight into how Chinese medicinal herbs work in therapeutic strategies for liver diseases. PMID:27043533

The co-use of conventional drugs and herbs among patients in Norwegian general practice: a cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Different patient groups are known to use herbal remedies and conventional drugs concomitantly (co-use). This poses a potential risk of herb-drug interaction through altering the drug’s pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics. Little is known about co-use among patients in general practice. The primary aim of this study was to compare patients in general practice that co-use herbal remedies and conventional drugs with those who do not. The secondary aim was to register the herb-drug combinations with potential clinical relevant interactions among the co-users. Method A questionnaire based cross-sectional study conducted in the autumn 2011 in a general practice office with four general practitioners (GPs) and one intern in Western Norway. Adults >18 years who came for an office visit were invited. The questionnaire asked about demographics, herbal use, conventional drug use and communication about herbal use. Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare co-users to the other patients. Results Of the 381 patients who completed the questionnaire, the prevalence of herbal use was 44%, with bilberry (41%), green tea (31%), garlic (27%), Aloe vera (26%) and echinacea (18%) as the most frequently used. Among those using conventional drugs regularly, 108 (45%) co-used herbs. Close to 40% of patients on anticoagulants co-used herbs, with garlic and bilberry as the most frequent herbs. Compared to all other patients, co-users had significantly (p < 0.05) increased odds to be female (adjOR 2.0), age above 70 years (adjOR 3.3), use herbs to treat an illness (adjOR 4.2), use two or more herbs (polyherbacy, adjOR 12.1) and having experienced adverse effects of herbal use (adjOR 37.5). Co-use was also associated with use of analgesics or dermatological drugs (adjOR 5.1 and 7.9 respectively). Three out of four patients did not discuss herbal use with any health care professional. Conclusion A sizable proportion of the GP patients co-used herbs with

Herbs versus Trees: Influences on Teenagers' Knowledge of Plant Species

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lückmann, Katrin; Menzel, Susanne

2014-01-01

The study reports on species knowledge among German adolescents (n = 507) as: (1) self-assessed evaluation of one's species knowledge; and (2) factual knowledge about popular local herbs and trees. Besides assessing species knowledge, we were interested in whether selected demographic factors, environmental attitude (as measured through the New…

Natural Compounds from Herbs that can Potentially Execute as Autophagy Inducers for Cancer Therapy

PubMed Central

Fu, Yaw-Syan; Tsai, May-Jywan; Cheng, Henrich

2017-01-01

Accumulated evidence indicates that autophagy is a response of cancer cells to various anti-cancer therapies. Autophagy is designated as programmed cell death type II, and is characterized by the formation of autophagic vacuoles in the cytoplasm. Numerous herbs, including Chinese herbs, have been applied to cancer treatments as complementary and alternative medicines, supplements, or nutraceuticals to dampen the side or adverse effects of chemotherapy drugs. Moreover, the tumor suppressive actions of herbs and natural products induced autophagy that may lead to cell senescence, increase apoptosis-independent cell death or complement apoptotic processes. Hereby, the underlying mechanisms of natural autophagy inducers are cautiously reviewed in this article. Additionally, three natural compounds—curcumin, 16-hydroxycleroda-3,13-dien-15,16-olide, and prodigiosin—are presented as candidates for autophagy inducers that can trigger cell death in a supplement or alternative medicine for cancer therapy. Despite recent advancements in therapeutic drugs or agents of natural products in several cancers, it warrants further investigation in preclinical and clinical studies. PMID:28671583

Use of acidifiers and herb-acidifier combinations with encapsulated and non-encapsulated intestinal microflora, intestinal histological and serum characteristics in broiler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natsir, Muhammad Halim; Hartutik, Sjofjan, Osfar; Widodo, Eko; Widyastuti, Eny Sri

2017-05-01

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the use of acidifier and herb-acidifier combinations on intestinal microflora, intestinal histology and serum characteristics of broilers at 35 days of age when fed a diet supplemented with natural acidifier (lactic acid and citric acid), and herb-acidifier combinations (natural acidifier and herbs (garlic and Phyllanthus niruri L.) encapsulated and non-encapsulated. Here, 192 (Lohmann) broiler chicks were fed a negative control diet, positive control diet (tetracycline), 1.2% acidifier non-encapsulated (ANE), 1.2% acidifier encapsulated (AE), 1.2% herb-acidifier combination non-encapsulated (CNE), or 1.2% herb-acidifier combination encapsulated (CE). The variables measured were the total colony of lactic acid bacteria, Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp., intestinal histological characteristics (crypt depth, villi number, villi length, and viscosity) and serum (total protein, serum albumin, and serum globulin). Results showed that during the 35-d growth period, there were significant differences (P<0.01) in increases of the total number of colonies of lactic acid bacteria and a decrease in the total colony of Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp., along with increasing intestinal histological characteristics (crypt depth, villi number, villi length, and viscosity) and total proteins in the serum, as well as significant effects (P<0.05) on intestinal pH and serum albumin. It is concluded that the use acidifiers or herb-acidifier combinations in encapsulation performed better than without encapsulation. Therefore using 1.2% of encapsulated combinations of herb-acidifiers in broiler diet is recommended.

In vitro antioxidation activity and genoprotective effect of selected Chinese medicinal herbs.

PubMed

Szeto, Yim Tong; Wong, Shirley Ching Yee; Wong, Julia Wai Ming; Kalle, Wouter; Pak, Sok Cheon

2011-01-01

Some traditional Chinese medicinal seeds and fruits are well known for their antioxidant properties. This research aims to investigate whether Fructus Lycii, Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis, Fructus Ligustri Lucidi and Semen Cuscutae protect DNA from oxidant challenge by hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). The standard comet assay was used to assess the genoprotective effect of these medicinal herbs. Blood was taken from three healthy adults, aged from 36 to 42. Lymphocytes were isolated and treated with different concentrations of aqueous herbal extracts, while controls were treated with phosphate buffered saline. The lymphocytes were stressed with 50 μM H(2)O(2). Treated cells were embedded in agarose and layered on slides. These sandwiched lymphocytes were lysed and afterwards subjected to an electric field in an alkaline environment. Damaged DNA was pulled out from the nucleus towards the positive electrode as a comet tail; its density was related to the degree of DNA damage. Finally, the slides were stained with fluorescence dye and tails were visually scored for 100 cells. The experiment was repeated three times and DNA damage in treated cells was compared to the controls. There was no statistical difference in DNA damage among the herb treated cells and untreated cells in the comet assay. Our data demonstrated that the selected medicinal herbs did not show in vitro DNA protection in the comet assay against oxidant challenge.

Ecological contingency in the effects of climatic warming on forest herb communities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harrison, Susan; Damschen, Ellen Ingman; Grace, James B.

2010-01-01

Downscaling from the predictions of general climate models is critical to current strategies for mitigating species loss caused by climate change. A key impediment to this downscaling is that we lack a fully developed understanding of how variation in physical, biological, or land-use characteristics mediates the effects of climate change on ecological communities within regions. We analyzed change in understory herb communities over a 60-y period (1949/1951–2007/2009) in a complex montane landscape (the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon) where mean temperatures have increased 2 °C since 1948, similar to projections for other terrestrial communities. Our 185 sites included primary and secondary-growth lower montane forests (500–1.200 m above sea level) and primary upper montane to subalpine forests (1,500–2,100 m above sea level). In lower montane forests, regardless of land-use history, we found multiple herb-community changes consistent with an effectively drier climate, including lower mean specific leaf area, lower relative cover by species of northern biogeographic affinity, and greater compositional resemblance to communities in southerly topographic positions. At higher elevations we found qualitatively different and more modest changes, including increases in herbs of northern biogeographic affinity and in forest canopy cover. Our results provide community-level validation of predicted nonlinearities in climate change effects.

[Effects of ingredients from Chinese herbs with nature of cold or hot on expression of TRPV1 and TRPM8].

PubMed

Sui, Feng; Yang, Na; Zhang, Changbin; Du, Xinliang; Li, Lanfang; Weng, Xiaogang; Guo, Shuying; Huo, Hairu; Jiang, Tingliang

2010-06-01

To study the effects of the ingredients from Chinese herbs with the nature of cold or hot on the expression of TRPV1 and TRPM8. The effects of ingredients from herbs on primary culture DRG neurons are observed in vitro. The expression quantity of gene is detected by the method of real time PCR. the 2 (-deltadeltaCT) method is applied to analyze the data. Ingredients from herbs with the nature of cold up-regulate the expression level of TRPV1 and down-regulate that of TRPM8, especially under the temperature condition of 39 degrees C; while ingredients from herbs with the nature of hot up-regulate the expression level of TRPM8 and down-regulated that of TRPV1, which is more significant under the temperature condition of 19 degrees C. The regulatory changes of TRPV1 and TRPM8 mRNA expression induced by the chemical ingredients might be related to the cold and hot natures of the herbs from which the ingredients are extracted. And this could be one of the therapeutic mechanisms for the treatment of Chinese herbal medicines to cold- and heat-related diseases.

Herbs and dietary supplements in the European Union: a review of the regulations with special focus on Germany and Poland.

PubMed

Konik, Ewa A; Jungling, Roman C; Bauer, Brent A

2011-03-01

In the European Union, the manufacturing of and the trade in herbs and dietary supplements are regulated by pharmaceutical and food laws. While dietary supplements are subject to food laws, provisions dealing with herbs are primarily to be found in pharmaceutical regulations. Having a basic understanding of the complexities of this regulatory environment can help clinicians and their patients understand the unique challenges and opportunities presented by EU herbs and supplements and may help inform regulatory practices in other countries struggling to ensure quality and safety of such products.

Characterization and classification of seven citrus herbs by liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and genetic algorithm optimized support vector machines.

PubMed

Duan, Li; Guo, Long; Liu, Ke; Liu, E-Hu; Li, Ping

2014-04-25

Citrus herbs have been widely used in traditional medicine and cuisine in China and other countries since the ancient time. However, the authentication and quality control of Citrus herbs has always been a challenging task due to their similar morphological characteristics and the diversity of the multi-components existed in the complicated matrix. In the present investigation, we developed a novel strategy to characterize and classify seven Citrus herbs based on chromatographic analysis and chemometric methods. Firstly, the chemical constituents in seven Citrus herbs were globally characterized by liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS). Based on their retention time, UV spectra and MS fragmentation behavior, a total of 75 compounds were identified or tentatively characterized in these herbal medicines. Secondly, a segmental monitoring method based on LC-variable wavelength detection was developed for simultaneous quantification of ten marker compounds in these Citrus herbs. Thirdly, based on the contents of the ten analytes, genetic algorithm optimized support vector machines (GA-SVM) was employed to differentiate and classify the 64 samples covering these seven herbs. The obtained classifier showed good prediction performance and the overall prediction accuracy reached 96.88%. The proposed strategy is expected to provide new insight for authentication and quality control of traditional herbs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Estimating live fuels for shrubs and herbs with BIOPAK.

Treesearch

Joseph E. Means; Olga N Krankina; Hao Jiang; Hongyan Li

1996-01-01

This paper describes use of BIOPAK to calculate size classes of live fuels for shrubs and herbs. A library of equations to estimate such fuels in the Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains is presented and used in an example. These methods can be used in other regions if the user first enters fuel size-class equations for a given region into a new library by...

Herb pair Danggui-Honghua: mechanisms underlying blood stasis syndrome by system pharmacology approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, Shi-Jun; Xin, Lan-Ting; Fan, Ya-Chu; Li, Shu-Jiao; Tang, Yu-Ping; Duan, Jin-Ao; Guan, Hua-Shi; Wang, Chang-Yun

2017-01-01

Herb pair Danggui-Honghua has been frequently used for treatment of blood stasis syndrome (BSS) in China, one of the most common clinical pathological syndromes in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, its therapeutic mechanism has not been clearly elucidated. In the present study, a feasible system pharmacology model based on chemical, pharmacokinetic and pharmacological data was developed via network construction approach to clarify the mechanisms of this herb pair. Thirty-one active ingredients of Danggui-Honghua possessing favorable pharmacokinetic profiles and biological activities were selected, interacting with 42 BSS-related targets to provide potential synergistic therapeutic actions. Systematic analysis of the constructed networks revealed that these targets such as HMOX1, NOS2, NOS3, HIF1A and PTGS2 were mainly involved in TNF signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, estrogen signaling pathway and neurotrophin signaling pathway. The contribution index of every active ingredient also indicated six compounds, including hydroxysafflor yellow A, safflor yellow A, safflor yellow B, Z-ligustilide, ferulic acid, and Z-butylidenephthalide, as the principal components of this herb pair. These results successfully explained the polypharmcological mechanisms underlying the efficiency of Danggui-Honghua for BSS treatment, and also probed into the potential novel therapeutic strategies for BSS in TCM.

Purification, physicochemical characterization, saccharide specificity, and chemical modification of a Gal/GalNAc specific lectin from the seeds of Trichosanthes dioica.

PubMed

Sultan, Nabil Ali Mohammed; Kenoth, Roopa; Swamy, Musti J

2004-12-15

A new galactose-specific lectin has been purified from the extracts of Trichosanthes dioica seeds by affinity chromatography on cross-linked guar gum. The purified lectin (T. dioica seed lectin, TDSL) moved as a single symmetrical peak on gel filtration on Superose-12 in the presence of 0.1 M lactose with an M(r) of 55 kDa. In the absence of ligand, the movement was retarded, indicating a possible interaction of the lectin with the column matrix. In SDS-PAGE, in the presence of beta-mercaptoethanol, two non-identical bands of M(r) 24 and 37 kDa were observed, whereas in the absence of beta-mercaptoethanol, the lectin yielded a single band corresponding to approximately 55,000 Da, indicating that the two subunits of TDSL are connected by one or more disulfide bridges. TDSL is a glycoprotein with about 4.9% covalently bound neutral sugar. Analysis of near-UV CD spectrum by three different methods (CDSSTR, CONTINLL, and SELCON3) shows that TDSL contains 13.3% alpha-helix, 36.7% beta-sheet, 19.4% beta-turns, and 31.6% unordered structure. Among a battery of sugars investigated, TDSL was inhibited strongly by beta-d-galactopyranosides, with 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-d-galactopyranoside being the best ligand. Chemical modification studies indicate that tyrosine residues are important for the carbohydrate-binding and hemagglutinating activities of the lectin. A partial protection was observed when the tyrosine modification was performed in the presence of 0.2 M lactose. The tryptophan residues of TDSL appear to be buried in the protein interior as they could not be modified under native conditions, whereas upon denaturation with 8 M urea two Trp residues could be selectively modified by N-bromosuccinimide. The subunit composition and size, secondary structure, and sugar specificity of this lectin are similar to those of type-2 ribosome inactivating proteins, suggesting that TDSL may belong to this protein family.

Superoxide Anion Radical Scavenging Activities of Herbs and Pastures in Northern Japan Determined Using Electron Spin Resonance Spectrometry

PubMed Central

Al-Mamun, Mohammad; Yamaki, Koji; Masumizu, Toshiki; Nakai, Yumi; Saito, Katsumi; Sano, Hiroaki; Tamura, Yoshifumi

2007-01-01

Free radicals are not only destructive to the living cells but also reduce the quality of animal products through oxidation. As a result the superoxide anion radical (O2・-), one of the most destructive reactive oxygen species, is a matter of concern for the animal scientists as well as feed manufacturers to ensure the quality of product to reach consumers demand. The superoxide anion radical scavenging activities (SOSA) of water and MeOH extracts of 2 herbs and 9 pasture samples collected from lowland and highland swards were determined against a 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyroline-N-oxide-O2・-spin adduct based on a hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase reaction using electron spin resonance spectrometry. Both the water and MeOH extracted SOSA differed among the herbs and pastures. Species and altitudinal variations were observed between extraction methods. The herbs were higher in both water and MeOH extracted SOSA than the pastures except for water extracts of one pasture, white clover (Trifolium repens L.). Among the pastures, quackgrass (Agrophyron repens L.) showed higher SOSA in both the MeOH and water extracts, and timothy (Phleum pretense L.) showed higher MeOH extracted SOSA. It is apparent that the kind and amount of antioxidants differ among herbs and pastures. Animal health and quality of animal products could be improved by adequate selection and combining of herbs and pastures having higher SOSA. PMID:17713599

Anti-aging Potential of Extracts Prepared from Fruits and Medicinal Herbs Cultivated in the Gyeongnam Area of Korea

PubMed Central

Shon, Myung-Soo; Lee, Yunjeong; Song, Ji-Hye; Park, Taehyun; Lee, Jun Kyoung; Kim, Minju; Park, Eunju; Kim, Gyo-Nam

2014-01-01

Many recent studies have focused on maintaining a healthy life by preventing and/or postponing the aging process. Numerous studies have reported that continuous exposure to reactive oxygen species can stimulate skin aging and that excessive accumulation of fat can cause an impaired skin barrier and tissue structure alterations. Thus, the maintenance of antioxidant homeostasis and the suppression of adipose accumulation are important strategies for skin anti-aging. Here, we prepared three types of extracts [whole juice, acetone-perchloric acid (PCA), and ethanol] from 20 fruits and medicinal herbs native to the Gyeongnam area of Korea. The total phenolic content of each extract was analyzed, and we observed higher total phenolic contents in the medicinal herbs. Consistent with this, the results of the oxygen radical absorbance activity capacity assay indicated that the in vitro antioxidant activities of the medicinal herb extracts were stronger than those of the fruit extracts. The fruits and medicinal herbs had strong effects on cell-based systems, including H2O2-induced oxidative stress in human keratinocytes and 3T3-L1 lipid accumulation. Nishimura Wase persimmon, Taishu persimmon, wrinkled giant hyssop, sweet wormwood, Chinese cedar, red perilla, tan shen, hiyodori-jogo, and cramp bark may be natural anti-aging materials with effective antioxidant and anti-adipogenic activities. Taken together, our findings may provide scientific evidence supporting the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals from fruits and medicinal herbs. PMID:25320715

Inhibition of Nuclear Factor κB Activation and Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression by Aqueous Extracts of Hispanic Medicinal Herbs

PubMed Central

Gonzales, Amanda M.; Hunsaker, Lucy A.; Franco, Carolina R.; Royer, Robert E.; Vander Jagt, David L.; Vander Jagt, Dorothy J.

2010-01-01

Abstract Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a primary choice of therapy for diseases with a chronic inflammatory component. Unfortunately, long-term NSAID therapy is often accompanied by severe side effects, including cardiovascular and gastrointestinal complications. Because of this, there is critical need for identification of new and safer treatments for chronic inflammation to circumvent these side effects. Inflammatory diseases have been successfully remedied with natural herbs by many cultures. To better understand the potential of natural herbs in treating chronic inflammation and to identify their mechanism of action, we have evaluated the anti-inflammatory activities of 20 medicinal herbs commonly used in the Hispanic culture. We have established a standardized method for preparing aqueous extracts (teas) from the selected medicinal herbs and screened for inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-α-induced activation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), which is the central signaling pathway of the inflammatory response. A number of herbal teas were identified that exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity. In particular, tea from the herb commonly called laurel was found to be an especially potent inhibitor of NF-κB-dependent cyclooxygenase-2 gene expression and prostaglandin E2 production in cultured murine macrophages. These findings indicate that laurel tea extract contains potent anti-inflammatory compounds that function by inhibiting the major signal transduction pathway responsible for inducing an inflammatory event. Based on these results, laurel may represent a new, safe therapeutic agent for managing chronic inflammation. PMID:20482259

The African Pitocin - a midwife’s dilemma: the perception of women on the use of herbs in pregnancy and labour in Zimbabwe, Gweru

PubMed Central

Panganai, Tsitsi; Shumba, Precious

2016-01-01

Introduction The use of natural health products is gradually increasing all over the world with up to 50% of the general population having tried at least one herbal product. This becomes a dilemma to the midwife who has limited or no knowledge on their effects in pregnancy, hence the need to explore the perceptions of women on the use herbs in pregnancy and labour. Methods The research, which was a case study of a Claybank Private Hospital in Gweru, Zimbabwe, adopted a qualitative approach with a triangulation of data from interviews, observations and analysis of maternal records. A sample of 20 women, admitted to using herbs, was purposively selected from the labour and post natal wards. Results A variety of substances, but mainly the elephant's dung, was used. The family, (mother) prescribed the herbs. The women did not have knowledge on how the substances work but believed in them, as they have stood the test of time. Conclusion The African women in Zimbabwe cannot be stopped from taking herbs as it is engraved in their culture and have absolute faith in them. Whilst the herbs are assumed by the women to be effective, their safety is questionable, especially in women with underlying obstetric complications. It is therefore recommended to scientifically explore the safety and effectiveness of the most commonly used herbs if pregnancy is to be safe. Whilst the women can not be stopped from taking these herbs, it is important to build a trusting relationship between the midwife and the mother so that communication about the use of herbs can be done freely without fear or judgement. PMID:28203312

Gymnema sylvestre for Diabetes: From Traditional Herb to Future's Therapeutic.

PubMed

Tiwari, Pragya; Ahmad, Khurshid; Baig, Mohammad Hassan

2017-01-01

Diabetes has increased at an unprecedented rate and is fast emerging as a global threat worldwide. The focus on pharmacological studies pertaining to diabetes has seen a remarkable shift from conventional medicines to therapeutics employing bioactive phytomolecules from natural sources. The prospective effectiveness of natural products together with their low cost and minimal side effects has revolutionized the entire concept of drug discovery and management programs. One such beneficial herb is Gymnema sylvestre, possessing remarkable hypoglycemic properties and forms the platform of diabetes therapeutics in the traditional system of medication. The present article discusses the significance of G. sylvestre in diabetes management, the herbal-formulations from the herb together with its standardization and clinical trials on animal models, and why Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor gamma (PPARγ) may serve as a prospective molecular target for Gymnemic acid analogs. Such studies would define the molecular basis of bioactive molecules which would aid in the development of natural product based therapeutics in the treatment of diabetes. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Development of SCAR marker for discrimination of Artemisia princeps and A. argyi from other Artemisia herbs.

PubMed

Lee, Mi Young; Doh, Eui Jeong; Park, Chae Haeng; Kim, Young Hwa; Kim, Eung Soo; Ko, Byong Seob; Oh, Seung-Eun

2006-04-01

Some Artemisia herbs are used for medicinal purposes. In particular, A. princeps and A. argyi are classified as 'Aeyup' and are used as important medicinal material in traditional Korean medicine. On the other hand, A. capillaris and A. iwayomogi, which are classified as 'Injinho' and 'Haninjin', respectively, are used for other purposes distinct from those of 'Aeyup'. However, sometimes 'Aeyup' is not clearly discriminated from 'Injinho' and/or 'Haninjin'. Furthermore, Artemisia capillaris and/or A. iwayomogi have been used in place of A. princeps and A. argyi. In this study, we developed an efficient method to discriminate A. argyi and A. princeps from other Artemisia plants. The RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) method efficiently discriminated various Artemisia herbs. In particular, non-specific primer 329 (5'-GCG AAC CTC C-3'), which shows polymorphism among Artemisia herbs, amplified 838 bp products, which are specific to A. princeps and A. argyi only. Based on nucleotide sequence of the primer 329 product, we designed a Fb (5'-CAT CAA CCA TGG CTT ATC CT-3') and R7 (5'-GCG AAC CTC CCC ATT CCA-3') primer-set to amplify a 254 bp sized SCAR (sequence characterized amplified regions) marker, through which A. princeps and A. argyi can be efficiently discriminated from other Artemisia herbs, particularly, A. capillaris and A. iwayomogi.

Increased Intake of Selected Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit may Reduce Bone Turnover in Post-Menopausal Women

PubMed Central

Gunn, Caroline Ann; Weber, Janet Louise; McGill, Anne-Thea; Kruger, Marlena Cathorina

2015-01-01

Increased consumption of vegetables/herbs/fruit may reduce bone turnover and urinary calcium loss in post-menopausal women because of increased intake of polyphenols and potassium, but comparative human studies are lacking. The main aim was to compare bone turnover markers and urinary calcium excretion in two randomised groups (n = 50) of healthy post-menopausal women consuming ≥9 servings of different vegetables/herbs/fruit combinations (three months). Group A emphasised a generic range of vegetables/herbs/fruit, whereas Group B emphasised specific vegetables/herbs/fruit with bone resorption-inhibiting properties (Scarborough Fair Diet), with both diets controlled for potential renal acid load (PRAL). Group C consumed their usual diet. Plasma bone markers, urinary electrolytes (24 h) and estimated dietary PRAL were assessed at baseline and 12 weeks. Procollagen type I N propeptide (PINP) decreased (−3.2 μg/L, p < 0.01) in the B group only, as did C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX) (−0.065 μg/L, p < 0.01) in women with osteopenia compared to those with normal bone mineral density (BMD) within this group. Intervention Groups A and B had decreased PRAL, increased urine pH and significantly decreased urinary calcium loss. Urinary potassium increased in all groups, reflecting a dietary change. In conclusion, Group B demonstrated positive changes in both turnover markers and calcium conservation. PMID:25856221

Kidney toxicity related to herbs and dietary supplements: Online table of case reports. Part 3 of 5 series.

PubMed

Brown, Amy Christine

2017-09-01

No tabular summary of potentially life-threatening, kidney-toxic dietary supplements (DS; includes herbs) based on PubMed case reports is currently available online and continually updated to forewarn United States consumers, clinicians, and companies manufacturing DS. The purpose of this review was to create an online research summary table of kidney toxicity case reports related to DS. Documented PubMed case reports (1966 to May 2016, and cross-referencing) of DS appearing to contribute to kidney toxicity were listed in "DS Toxic Tables." Keywords included "herb" or "dietary supplement" combined with "kidney" to generate an overview list, and possibly "toxicity" to narrow the selection. Case reports were excluded if they involved herb combinations (some exceptions), Chinese herb mixtures, teas of mixed herb contents, mushrooms, poisonous plants, self-harm, excessive doses (except vitamins/minerals), legal or illegal drugs, drug-herbal interactions, and confounders of drugs or diseases. Since commercial DS often include a combination of ingredients, they were treated separately; so were foods. A few foods with kidney-toxic effects were listed in a fourth table. The spectrum of herbal or DS-induced kidney injuries included kidney stones, nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, necrosis, acute kidney injury (AKI; previously known as acute renal failure [ARF]), chronic kidney disease, kidney transplant, and death. Approximately 7 herbs (minus 4 no longer for sale) and 10 dietary supplements (minus 3 excluded due to excessive doses + germanium that is no longer sold) have been related to kidney injury case reports published in PubMed (+crosslisting) in the last 50 + years (1966 to May 2016). The implicated herbs include Chinese yew (Taxus celbica) extract, impila (Callilepis laureola), morning cypress (Cupressus funebris Endl), St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum), thundergod vine (Tripterygium wilfordii hook F), tribulus (Tribulus terrestris) and wormwood (Artemisia

Antioxidant effects of 14 Chinese traditional medicinal herbs against human low-density lipoprotein oxidation.

PubMed

Lin, Hsin-Hung; Charles, Albert Linton; Hsieh, Chang-Wei; Lee, Ya-Chi; Ciou, Jhih-Ying

2015-01-01

The relationship between the antioxidant activities and inhibitory effect of 14 Chinese medicinal herbs against oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) formation was evaluated. Prolongation of the lag phase of LDL oxidation depended on the concentration of the herbs. The concentration of each herb that was able to prolong the lag time by about two-fold was calculated and expressed as doubling-time concentration. The lower the doubling-time concentration, the stronger the inhibitory effect exhibited toward LDL oxidation. Among them, Chrysanthemi Flos (Chrysanthemum morifolium ramat; gān jú huā), Crataegi Fructus (Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. var. major N.E.Br.; shān zhā), and Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn.; luò shén) showed significant inhibitory effects. Correlation coefficients between doubling-time concentration and radical-scavenging activities were high; the total phenolic content was also high. In conclusion, phenolic compounds contributed not only to antioxidant activities, but also to the inhibitory effect against LDL oxidation. Chrysanthemi Flos, Crataegi Fructus, and H. sabdariffa, with lower doubling-time concentrations, could be potent phytochemical agents to reduce LDL oxidation and prevent the progression of atherosclerosis.

Anti-enterovirus 71 activity screening of chinese herbs with anti-infection and inflammation activities.

PubMed

Lin, Tzou-Yien; Liu, Yi-Chun; Jheng, Jia-Rong; Tsai, Hui-Ping; Jan, Jia-Tsrong; Wong, Wen-Rou; Horng, Jim-Tong

2009-01-01

Antipyretic and toxin-eliminating traditional Chinese herbs are believed to possess antiviral activity. In this study, we screened extracts of 22 herbs for activity against enterovirus 71 (EV71). We found that only extracts of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. could neutralize EV71-induced cytopathic effects in Vero cells. The 50% inhibitory concentration of H. cordata extract for EV71 was 125.92 +/- 27.84 mug/ml. Antiviral screening of herb extracts was also conducted on 3 genotypes of EV71, coxsackievirus A16 and echovirus 9. H. cordata extract had the highest activity against genotype A of EV71. A plaque reduction assay showed that H. cordata extract significantly reduced plaque formation. Viral protein expression, viral RNA synthesis and virus-induced caspase 3 activation were inhibited in the presence of H. cordata extract, suggesting that it affected apoptotic processes in EV71-infected Vero cells by inhibiting viral replication. The antiviral activity of H. cordata extract was greater in cells pretreated with extract than those treated after infection. We conclude that H. cordata extract has antiviral activity, and it offers a potential to develop a new anti-EV71 agent.

Total antioxidant capacity of commonly used fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices of Pakistan.

PubMed

Abid, Mobasher Ali; Ashfaq, Muhammad; Sharif, Muhammad Junaid Hassan; Rauf, Khalid; Mahmood, Wajahat; Khan, Ikarmullah; Abbas, Ghulam

2017-11-01

The current study was aimed at investigating the total antioxidant activity (TAC) of various fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices habitat in Pakistan. The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assay was used to measure the TAC of various extracts (aqueous, ethanolic and aqueous-ethanolic). Following is the potency order for fruits (guava >strawberry >Pomegranate >apple >kinnow >melon >lemon >banana), vegetables (spinach >Cabbage (Purple) >Jalapeno >Radish >Brinjal >Bell Pepper >Lettuce >Carrot >Cabbage (White) >Onion >Potato >Tomato >Cucumber) and herbs/spices (clove >Rosemary >Thyme >Oregano >Cinnamon >Cumin >Kalonji >Paprika >Neem (Flower) >Fennel >Black Cardamom >Turmeric >Coriander >Ginger >Garlic). In conclusion, the guava, spinach and clove provide the best natural dietary option for treatment / prevention of oxidative stress and thus could alleviate several associated ailments.

The main anticancer bullets of the Chinese medicinal herb, thunder god vine.

PubMed

Liu, Zi; Ma, Liang; Zhou, Guang-Biao

2011-06-23

The thunder god vine or Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F. is a representative Chinese medicinal herb which has been used widely and successfully for centuries in treating inflammatory diseases. More than 100 components have been isolated from this plant, and most of them have potent therapeutic efficacy for a variety of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. In the past four decades, the anticancer activities of the extracts from this medicinal herb have attracted intensive attention by researchers worldwide. The diterpenoid epoxide triptolide and the quinone triterpene celastrol are two important bioactive ingredients that show a divergent therapeutic profile and can perturb multiple signal pathways. Both compounds promise to turn traditional medicines into modern drugs. In this review, we will mainly address the anticancer activities and mechanisms of action of these two agents and briefly describe some other antitumor components of the thunder god vine.

The effect of ionizing radiation on microbiological decontamination of medical herbs and biologically active compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Migdal, W.; Owczarczyk, B.; Kedzia, B.; Holderna-Kedzia, E.; Segiet-Kujawa, E.

1998-06-01

Several thousand tons of medical herbs are produced annually by pharmaceutical industry in Poland. This product should be of highest quality and microbial purity. Recently, chemical methods of decontamination are recognized as less safe, thus irradiation technique was chosen to replace them in use. In the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology the national program on the application of irradiation to the decontamination of medical herbs is in progress now. The purpose of the program is to elaborate, on the basis of research work, the facility standards and technological instructions indispensable for the practice of radiation technology.

Local richness along gradients in the Siskiyou herb flora: R.H. Whittaker revisited

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grace, James B.; Harrison, Susan; Damschen, Ellen Ingman

2011-01-01

In his classic study in the Siskiyou Mountains (Oregon, USA), one of the most botanically rich forested regions in North America, R. H. Whittaker (1960) foreshadowed many modern ideas on the multivariate control of local species richness along environmental gradients related to productivity. Using a structural equation model to analyze his data, which were never previously statistically analyzed, we demonstrate that Whittaker was remarkably accurate in concluding that local herb richness in these late-seral forests is explained to a large extent by three major abiotic gradients (soils, topography, and elevation), and in turn, by the effects of these gradients on tree densities and the numbers of individual herbs. However, while Whittaker also clearly appreciated the significance of large-scale evolutionary and biogeographic influences on community composition, he did not fully articulate the more recent concept that variation in the species richness of local communities could be explained in part by variation in the sizes of regional species pools. Our model of his data is among the first to use estimates of regional species pool size to explain variation in local community richness along productivity-related gradients. We find that regional pool size, combined with a modest number of other interacting abiotic and biotic factors, explains most of the variation in local herb richness in the Siskiyou biodiversity hotspot.

Impact of Air Frying on Cholesterol and Fatty Acids Oxidation in Sardines: Protective Effects of Aromatic Herbs.

PubMed

Ferreira, Fernanda S; Sampaio, Geni R; Keller, Laura M; Sawaya, Alexandra C H F; Chávez, Davy W H; Torres, Elizabeth A F S; Saldanha, Tatiana

2017-12-01

The high temperatures used to fry fish may induce thermo-oxidation of cholesterol, forming cholesterol oxidation products (COPs). COPs have been associated to coronary heart diseases, atherosclerosis, and other chronic diseases. Air fryers are an alternative thermal process technology to fry foods without oil, and are considered a healthier cooking method. This study is the 1st to evaluate the formation of COPs and the degradation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in air-fried sardine fillets. Furthermore, we evaluated the effect of fresh herbs added as natural antioxidants to sardines subjected to air frying. Parsley (Petroselinum crispum), chives (Allium schoenoprasum L.), and a mixture of both herbs (cheiro-verde) were added in quantities of 0%, 2%, and 4%. Air frying significantly decreased the content of essential PUFAs, and increased the levels of COPs from 61.2 (raw) to 283 μg/g (P < 0.05) in the control samples. However, the use of herbs as natural antioxidants proved to be effective reducing such levels of COPs in most samples. The addition of 4% of cheiro-verde in air-fried sardines presented the best protective effect against lipid oxidation. Fish is an important source of essential lipids. However, oxidized cholesterol products, which are formed during thermal processing, are potential hazards to human health. Air fryers present an alternative thermal process for frying food without oil, and this method of cooking is considered to be more convenient and healthier This study shows that the air frying increased the formation of cholesterol oxidation products and decreased the essential polyunsaturated fatty acids in sardine fillets. However, the lipid oxidation is significantly reduced by adding fresh herbs, such as parsley (Petroselinum crispum), chives (Allium schoenoprasum L.), or a mixture of both herbs (cheiro-verde) that are natural antioxidants. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Fingerprint of Herb Product by Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Product authentication, quality assurance, and identification of adulterants/contamination are major issues facing the dietary supplement industry. Scutellaria lateriflora is an herb widely used as a remedy for many ailments ranging from rabies to epilepsy. It could be easily contaminated by similar...

Emulsification and antioxidation of biosurfactant extracts from Chinese medicinal herbs fermentation in vitro.

PubMed

Chen, Chunyeh; Lin, Tachen; Shieh, Youmin

2015-10-01

Much attention has been paid to biosurfactants produced using microorganisms, but little direct evidence for the development of natural biosurfactants combined with Chinese medicinal herbs are available. We investigated the emulsification and antioxidation of biosurfactant extracts from Chinese medicinal herb fermentation (BECMHF) in vitro and their application in water retention capacity and the skin prick and allergy test (SPAT) index for skin cells. The results showed that the water retention capacity of BECMHF was positively associated with the emulsification index. The SPAT index of 8 Chinese medicinal herbs was 0 at a 1% or 2% concentration, suggesting no sensitivity or adverse effects on the skin cells. Eight BECMHFs produced using Alcaligenes piechaudii CC-ESB2 exhibited antioxidant capabilities, including 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and superoxide scavenging activity, and superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity at a concentration of 10 mg/ml. The mechanism involved inhibitory effects on nitrite, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, and reactive oxygen species (ROSs) generation. BECMHFs exhibit favorable antioxidative properties in health food and satisfactory emulsifying and moisturizing characteristics in cosmetic formulations, which have potential applications in the health food and cosmetic industries, respectively. Copyright © 2015 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Systems biology of meridians, acupoints, and chinese herbs in disease.

PubMed

Lin, Li-Ling; Wang, Ya-Hui; Lai, Chi-Yu; Chau, Chan-Lao; Su, Guan-Chin; Yang, Chun-Yi; Lou, Shu-Ying; Chen, Szu-Kai; Hsu, Kuan-Hao; Lai, Yen-Ling; Wu, Wei-Ming; Huang, Jian-Long; Liao, Chih-Hsin; Juan, Hsueh-Fen

2012-01-01

Meridians, acupoints, and Chinese herbs are important components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). They have been used for disease treatment and prevention and as alternative and complementary therapies. Systems biology integrates omics data, such as transcriptional, proteomic, and metabolomics data, in order to obtain a more global and complete picture of biological activity. To further understand the existence and functions of the three components above, we reviewed relevant research in the systems biology literature and found many recent studies that indicate the value of acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Acupuncture is useful in pain moderation and relieves various symptoms arising from acute spinal cord injury and acute ischemic stroke. Moreover, Chinese herbal extracts have been linked to wound repair, the alleviation of postmenopausal osteoporosis severity, and anti-tumor effects, among others. Different acupoints, variations in treatment duration, and herbal extracts can be used to alleviate various symptoms and conditions and to regulate biological pathways by altering gene and protein expression. Our paper demonstrates how systems biology has helped to establish a platform for investigating the efficacy of TCM in treating different diseases and improving treatment strategies.

Occupational kidney disease among Chinese herbalists exposed to herbs containing aristolochic acids.

PubMed

Yang, Hsiao-Yu; Wang, Jung-Der; Lo, Tsai-Chang; Chen, Pau-Chung

2011-04-01

Many Chinese herbs contain aristolochic acids (ALAs) which are nephrotoxic and carcinogenic. The objective of this study was to identify whether exposure to herbs containing ALAs increased the risk of kidney disease among Chinese herbalists. A nested case-control study was carried out on 6538 Chinese herbalists registered between 1985 and 1998. All incident cases of chronic renal failure reported to the Database of Catastrophic Illness of the National Health Insurance Bureau between 1995 and 2000 were defined as the case group. Up to four controls without renal failure were randomly matched to each case by sex and year of birth. A structured questionnaire survey was administered between November and December 2002. The Mantel-Haenszel method and conditional logistic regression were used to estimate the risks. 40 cases and 98 matched controls were included in the final analysis. After adjusting for age, frequent analgesic use, and habitual consumption of alcohol, fermented or smoked food, we found manufacturing and selling Chinese herbal medicine (OR 3.43, 95% CI 1.16 to 10.19), processing, selling or dispensing herbal medicines containing Fangji (OR 4.17, 95% CI 1.36 to 12.81), living in the workplace (OR 3.14, 95% CI 1.11 to 8.84) and a history of taking of herbal medicines containing Fangji (frequently or occasionally) (OR 5.42, 95% CI 1.18 to 24.96) were significantly associated with renal failure. Occupational exposure to and consumption of herbs containing ALAs increases the risk of renal failure in Chinese herbalists.

Modulation of cell surface hydrophobicity and attachment of bacteria to abiotic surfaces and shrimp by Malaysian herb extracts.

PubMed

Hui, Yew Woh; Dykes, Gary A

2012-08-01

The use of simple crude water extracts of common herbs to reduce bacterial attachment may be a cost-effective way to control bacterial foodborne pathogens, particularly in developing countries. The ability of water extracts of three common Malaysian herbs (Andrographis paniculata, Eurycoma longifolia, and Garcinia atroviridis) to modulate hydrophobicity and attachment to surfaces of five food-related bacterial strains (Bacillus cereus ATCC 14576, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145, Salmonella Enteritidis ATCC 13076, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923) were determined. The bacterial attachment to hydrocarbon assay was used to determine bacterial hydrophobicity. Staining and direct microscopic counts were used to determine attachment of bacteria to glass and stainless steel. Plating on selective media was used to determine attachment of bacteria to shrimp. All extracts were capable of either significantly ( P < 0.05) increasing or decreasing bacterial surface hydrophobicity, depending on the herb extract and bacteria combination. Bacterial attachment to all surfaces was either significantly (P < 0.05) increased or decreased, depending on the herb extract and bacteria combination. Overall, hydrophobicity did not show a significant correlation (P > 0.05) to bacterial attachment. For specific combinations of bacteria, surface material, and plant extract, significant correlations (R > 0.80) between hydrophobicity and attachment were observed. The highest of these was observed for S. aureus attachment to stainless steel and glass after treatment with the E. longifolia extract (R = 0.99, P < 0.01). The crude water herb extracts in this study were shown to have the potential to modulate specific bacterial and surface interactions and may, with further work, be useful for the simple and practical control of foodborne pathogens.

A comprehensive study on the phenolic profile of widely used culinary herbs and spices: rosemary, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, cumin and bay.

PubMed

Vallverdú-Queralt, Anna; Regueiro, Jorge; Martínez-Huélamo, Miriam; Rinaldi Alvarenga, José Fernando; Leal, Leonel Neto; Lamuela-Raventos, Rosa M

2014-07-01

Herbs and spices have long been used to improve the flavour of food without being considered as nutritionally significant ingredients. However, the bioactive phenolic content of these plant-based products is currently attracting interest. In the present work, liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution/accurate mass measurement LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry was applied for the comprehensive identification of phenolic constituents of six of the most widely used culinary herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano and bay) and spices (cinnamon and cumin). In this way, up to 52 compounds were identified in these culinary ingredients, some of them, as far as we know, for the first time. In order to establish the phenolic profiles of the different herbs and spices, accurate quantification of the major phenolics was performed by multiple reaction monitoring in a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Multivariate statistical treatment of the results allowed the assessment of distinctive features among the studied herbs and spices. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pharmacological effects of Chinese herb aconite (fuzi) on cardiovascular system.

PubMed

Zhao, Dandan; Wang, Jie; Cui, Yanjing; Wu, Xinfang

2012-09-01

Fuzi (aconite, Radix Aconiti praeparata), a widely used Chinese herb, plays a significant role in the cardiovascular system. This is mainly reflected by Fuzi's cardiotonic effect, its protective effect on myocardial cells, and its effect on heart rate and rhythm, blood pressure, and hemodynamics. In this article, the pharmacological effects and the corresponding mechanisms of Fuzi (aconite) and its active components on cardiovascular system are reviewed.

The Health Benefits of Selected Culinary Herbs and Spices Found in the Traditional Mediterranean Diet.

PubMed

Bower, Allyson; Marquez, Susan; de Mejia, Elvira Gonzalez

2016-12-09

The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the healthiest diets in the world. This is often attributed to low saturated fat consumption, moderate wine consumption, and high vegetable consumption. However, herbs and spices associated with these diets may also play an important role in the quality of this diet. This review summarizes the most recent research regarding the anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperlipidemic and anti-hypertensive properties of this collection of culinary species. Additionally, this review briefly summarizes studies performed on lesser known herbs from around the world, with the goal of identifying new culinary species that may be useful in the treatment or prevention of diseases.

Exploring optimal supplement strategy of medicinal herbs and tea extracts for bioelectricity generation in microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Chen, Bor-Yann; Liao, Jia-Hui; Hsu, An-Wei; Tsai, Po-Wei; Hsueh, Chung-Chuan

2018-05-01

This first-attempt study used extracts of appropriate antioxidant abundant Camellia and non-Camellia tea and medicinal herbs as model ESs to stably intensify bioelectricity generation performance in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). As electron shuttles (ESs) could stimulate electron transport phenomena by significant reduction of electron transfer resistance, the efficiency of power generation for energy extraction in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) could be appreciably augmented. Using environmentally friendly natural bioresource as green bioresource of ESs is the most promising to sustainable practicability. As comparison of power-density profiles indicated, supplement of Camellia tea extracts would be the most appropriate, then followed non-Camellia Chrysanthemum tea and medicinal herbs. Antioxidant activities, total phenolic contents and power stimulating activities were all electrochemically associated. In particular, the extract of unfermented Camellia tea (i.e., green tea) was the most promising ESs to augment bioenergy extraction compared to other refreshing medicinal herb extracts. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Herbal medicines in Brazil: pharmacokinetic profile and potential herb-drug interactions

PubMed Central

Mazzari, Andre L. D. A.; Prieto, Jose M.

2014-01-01

A plethora of active compounds found in herbal medicines can serve as substrate for enzymes involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics. When a medicinal plant is co-administered with a conventional drug and little or no information is known about the pharmacokinetics of the plant metabolites, there is an increased risk of potential herb-drug interactions. Moreover, genetic polymorphisms in a population may act to predispose individuals to adverse reactions. The use of herbal medicines is rapidly increasing in many countries, particularly Brazil where the vast biodiversity is a potential source of new and more affordable treatments for numerous conditions. Accordingly, the Brazilian Unified Public Health System (SUS) produced a list of 71 plant species of interest, which could be made available to the population in the near future. Physicians at SUS prescribe a number of essential drugs and should herbal medicines be added to this system the chance of herb-drug interactions further increases. A review of the effects of these medicinal plants on Phase 1 and Phase 2 metabolic mechanisms and the transporter P-glycoprotein was conducted. The results have shown that approximately half of these medicinal plants lack any pharmacokinetic data. Moreover, most of the studies carried out are in vitro. Only a few reports on herb-drug interactions with essential drugs prescribed by SUS were found, suggesting that very little attention is being given to the safety of herbal medicines. Here we have taken this information to discuss the potential interactions between herbal medicines and essential drugs prescribed to Brazilian patients whilst taking into account the most common polymorphisms present in the Brazilian population. A number of theoretical interactions are pinpointed but more pharmacokinetic studies and pharmacovigilance data are needed to ascertain their clinical significance. PMID:25071580

Comparative Analysis of Compatibility Effects on Invigorating Blood Circulation for Cyperi Rhizoma Series of Herb Pairs Using Untargeted Metabolomics

PubMed Central

Liu, Pei; Shang, Er-Xin; Zhu, Yue; Yu, Jin-Gao; Qian, Da-Wei; Duan, Jin-Ao

2017-01-01

The mutual-assistance compatibility of Cyperi Rhizoma (Xiangfu, XF) and Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Danggui, DG), Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Chuanxiong, CX), Paeoniae Radix Alba (Baishao, BS), or Corydalis Rhizoma (Yanhusuo, YH), found in a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) named Xiang-Fu-Si-Wu Decoction (XFSWD), can produce synergistic and promoting blood effects. Nowadays, XFSWD has been proved to be effective in activating blood circulation and dissipating blood stasis. However, the role of the herb pairs synergistic effects in the formula were poorly understood. In order to quantitatively assess the compatibility effects of herb pairs, mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics studies were performed. The plasma and urine metabolic profiles of acute blood stasis rats induced by adrenaline hydrochloride and ice water and administered with Cyperi Rhizoma—Angelicae Sinensis Radix (XD), Cyperi Rhizoma—Chuanxiong Rhizoma (XC), Cyperi Rhizoma—Paeoniae Radix Alba (XB), Cyperi Rhizoma—Corydalis Rhizoma (XY) were compared. Relative peak area of identified metabolites was calculated and principal component analysis (PCA) score plot from the potential markers was used to visualize the overall differences. Then, the metabolites results were used with biochemistry indicators and genes expression values as parameters to quantitatively evaluate the compatibility effects of XF series of herb pairs by PCA and correlation analysis. The collective results indicated that the four XF herb pairs regulated glycerophospholipid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis and arachidonic acid metabolism pathway. XD was more prominent in regulating the blood stasis during the four XF herb pairs. This study demonstrated that metabolomics was a useful tool to efficacy evaluation and compatibility effects of TCM elucidation. PMID:29018346

Allometric Biomass Equations for 98 Species of Herbs, Shrubs, and Small Trees

Treesearch

W. Brad Smith; Gary J. Brand

1983-01-01

Biomass regression coefficients from the literature for the allometric equation form are presented for 98 species of shrubs and herbs in the northern U.S. and Canada. The equation and coeffients provide estimates of grams of biomass (oven-dry weight) for foliage, woody stem and total biomass.

Dose Dependent Dual Effect of Baicalin and Herb Huang Qin Extract on Angiogenesis

PubMed Central

Lawless, John; He, Jianchen

2016-01-01

Huang Qin (root of Scutellaria baicalensis) is a widely used herb in different countries for adjuvant therapy of inflammation, diabetes, hypertension, different kinds of cancer and virus related diseases. Baicalin is the main flavonoid in this herb and has been extensively studied for 30 years. The angiogenic effect of herb Huang Qin extract and baicalin was found 13 years ago, however, the results were controversial with pro-angiogenic effect in some studies and anti-angiogenic effect in others. In this paper, the angiogenic effect of baicalin, its aglycone form baicalein and aqueous extract of Huang Qin was studied in chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model. Dose dependent dual effect was found in both aqueous extract and baicalin, but not in baicalein, in which only inhibitory effect was observed. In order to reveal the cellular and molecular mechanism of how baicalin and baicalein affect angiogenesis, cell proliferation and programmed cell death assays were performed in treated CAM. In addition, quantitative PCR array including 84 angiogenesis related genes was used to detect high and low dosage of baicalin and baicalein responsive genes. Low dose baicalin increased cell proliferation in developing blood vessels through upregulation of multiple angiogenic genes expression, but high dose baicalin induced cell death, performing inhibitory effect on angiogenesis. Both high and low dose of baicalein down regulated the expression of multiple angiogenic genes, decreased cell proliferation, and leads to inhibitory effects on angiogenesis. PMID:27902752

Herb Medicines against Osteoporosis: Active Compounds & Relevant Biological Mechanisms.

PubMed

Wu, Lei; Ling, Zhuoyan; Feng, Xueqin; Mao, Caiping; Xu, Zhice

2017-01-01

Osteoporosis is one of common bone disorders, affecting millions of people worldwide. Treatments of osteoporosis consist of pharmacotherapy and non-pharmacological interventions, such as mineral supplementation, lifestyle changes, and exercise programs. Due to the minimum side effects and favorable cost-effective therapeutic effects, herbal medicine has been widely applied in clinical practices for more than 2,000 years in China. Of the many traditional formulas reported for treating bone diseases, 4 single herbs namely (1) Herba Epimedii, (2) Rhizoma Drynariae, (3) Fructus Psoraleae, and (4) Cortex Eucommiae, are considered as the featured "Kidney-Yang" tonics, and frequently and effectively applied for preventing and treating osteoporosis. With the accruing development of modern chemistry, hundreds of active compounds have been identified and isolated for their anti-osteoporotic effects. This review would first sketch the phytochemistry of these featured "Kidney- Yang" tonics and present the pharmacological characteristics of the most abundant and bioactive compounds derived from the herb Herba Epimedii and Rhizoma Drynariae, including icariin and naringin. Then, the cellular and molecular underpinnings under anti-osteoporotic effects of icariin and naringin are discussed. The concerned structure-function relationships of the featured active herbal compounds would also be reviewed so as to pave the way for future drug design in treating osteoporosis. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Use of Plant and Herb Derived Medicine for Therapeutic Usage in Cardiology.

PubMed

Koo, Ye Eun; Song, Jiwon; Bae, Soochan

2018-04-22

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have become prominent in mortality and morbidity rates. Prevalent cardiovascular conditions, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis and oxidative stress, are increasing at an alarming rate. Conventional drugs have been associated with adverse effects, suggesting a need for an alternative measure to ameliorate CVD. A number of plant- and herb-derived preventative food and therapeutic drugs for cardiovascular conditions are progressively used for their various benefits. Naturally derived food and drugs have fewer side effects because they come from natural elements; preventative food, such as grape seed, inhibits changes of histopathology and biomarkers in vital organs whereas therapeutic drugs, for instance Xanthone, improve heart functions by suppressing oxidative stress of myocyte. This review closely examines the various plant- and herb-derived drugs that have assumed an essential role in treating inflammation and oxidative stress for prevalent cardiovascular conditions. Furthermore, the use of plant-derived medicine with other synthetic particles, such as nanoparticles, for targeted therapy is investigated for its effective clinical use in the future.

Current Status and Clinical Studies of Oriental Herbs in Sexual Medicine in Korea

PubMed Central

Shin, Yu Seob; Zhao, Chen; Zhang, Li Tao

2015-01-01

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is one of the most common diseases among aging men. Although previous studies have shown that type 5 phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE5-Is) are very effective for the treatment of ED, many researchers are currently attempting to identify therapeutic agents from natural sources with comparable or better effects than PDE5-Is. Herbal medicine is thought to be advantageous because it is natural; moreover, it not only treats isolated symptoms, but also maintains general well-being. Furthermore, since newly created chemical compound libraries have limited structural diversity with regard to pharmaceutical agents, more attention has recently been paid to the ability of oriental herbs to enhance physical health, including sexual function. Herein, we review the current status of Korean preclinical or clinical studies of the application of oriental herbs to sexual medicine. PMID:26331122

Fanconi's syndrome, interstitial fibrosis and renal failure by aristolochic acid in Chinese herbs.

PubMed

Hong, Yin-Tai; Fu, Lin-Shien; Chung, Lin-Huei; Hung, Shien-Chung; Huang, Yi-Ting; Chi, Chin-Shiang

2006-04-01

Aristolochic acid-associated nephropathy (AAN) has been identified as a separate entity of progressive tubulo-interstitial nephropathy. Its characteristic pathological findings, including hypocellular interstitial fibrosis, intimal thickening of interlobular and afferent arterioles with glomeruli sparing or mild sclerosis, have been identified. Many cases of AAN in adults have been reported in Taiwan as well as throughout the world, but it has seldom been described in children. We report on a 10-year-old boy who presented with severe anemia, Fanconi's syndrome, and progressive renal failure. Renal biopsy revealed typical findings of AAN. Aristolochic acids I and II were identified from a Chinese herb mixture ingested by the boy. AAN was diagnosed after other etiologies had been excluded. The case demonstrates the hazards of Chinese herbs with regard to children's health in Taiwan and suggests that more attention should be paid to this issue.

Bioavailability of herbs and spices in humans as determined by ex vivo inflammatory suppression and DNA strand breaks.

PubMed

Percival, Susan S; Vanden Heuvel, John P; Nieves, Carmelo J; Montero, Cindy; Migliaccio, Andrew J; Meadors, Joanna

2012-08-01

The aim of this work was to determine the bioavailability of herbs and spices after human consumption by measuring the ability to protect lymphocytes from an oxidative injury and by examining the impact on inflammatory biomarkers in activated THP-1 cells. Ten to 12 subjects in each of 13 groups consumed a defined amount of herb or spice for 7 days. Blood was drawn from subjects before consumption and 1 hour after taking the final herb or spice capsules. Subject serum and various extractions of the herbs and spices were analyzed for antioxidant capacity by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) analysis or by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrzyl (DPPH). Subject peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in medium with10% autologous serum were incubated with hydrogen peroxide to induce DNA strand breaks. Subject serum was also used to treat activated THP-1 cells to determine relative quantities of 3 inflammatory cytokine (tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α], interleukin-1α [IL-1α], and IL-6) mRNAs. Herbs and spices that protected PBMCs against DNA strand breaks were paprika, rosemary, ginger, heat-treated turmeric, sage, and cumin. Paprika also appeared to protect cells from normal apoptotic processes. Of the 3 cytokine mRNAs studied (TNF-α, IL-1α, and IL-6), TNF-α was the most sensitive responder to oxidized LDL-treated macrophages. Clove, ginger, rosemary, and turmeric were able to significantly reduce oxidized LDL-induced expression of TNF-α. Serum from those consuming ginger reduced all three inflammatory biomarkers. Ginger, rosemary, and turmeric showed protective capacity by both oxidative protection and inflammation measures. DNA strand breaks and inflammatory biomarkers are a good functional measure of a food's bioavailability.

Tulsi - Ocimum sanctum: A herb for all reasons

PubMed Central

Cohen, Marc Maurice

2014-01-01

The predominant cause of global morbidity and mortality is lifestyle-related chronic diseases, many of which can be addressed through Ayurveda with its focus on healthy lifestyle practices and regular consumption of adaptogenic herbs. Of all the herbs used within Ayurveda, tulsi (Ocimum sanctum Linn) is preeminent, and scientific research is now confirming its beneficial effects. There is mounting evidence that tulsi can address physical, chemical, metabolic and psychological stress through a unique combination of pharmacological actions. Tulsi has been found to protect organs and tissues against chemical stress from industrial pollutants and heavy metals, and physical stress from prolonged physical exertion, ischemia, physical restraint and exposure to cold and excessive noise. Tulsi has also been shown to counter metabolic stress through normalization of blood glucose, blood pressure and lipid levels, and psychological stress through positive effects on memory and cognitive function and through its anxiolytic and anti-depressant properties. Tulsi's broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, which includes activity against a range of human and animal pathogens, suggests it can be used as a hand sanitizer, mouthwash and water purifier as well as in animal rearing, wound healing, the preservation of food stuffs and herbal raw materials and traveler's health. Cultivation of tulsi plants has both spiritual and practical significance that connects the grower to the creative powers of nature, and organic cultivation offers solutions for food security, rural poverty, hunger, environmental degradation and climate change. The use of tulsi in daily rituals is a testament to Ayurvedic wisdom and provides an example of ancient knowledge offering solutions to modern problems. PMID:25624701

The Effects of Herbs and Fruits on Leukaemia

PubMed Central

Saedi, Tayebeh Azam; Md Noor, Sabariah; Ismail, Patimah; Othman, Fauziah

2014-01-01

In developing countries, herbal therapy is the first and basis form of treatment for most types of diseases. About 75–80% of the world's population prefers herbal therapy as a major treatment due to its better adequacy and satisfactoriness, which enhance human body's symmetry with minimal side effects. Fruits and plants have been presented from the past as promising tools in becoming a natural anticancer agents. Many of these plant extracts are currently used in cancer therapy and prevention. This review paper will particularly explore and emphasize on herbs and fruits used in the treatment of the leukaemia. PMID:25250054

[Discussion on development of four diagnostic information scale for clinical re-evaluation of postmarketing herbs].

PubMed

He, Wei; Xie, Yanming; Wang, Yongyan

2011-12-01

Post-marketing re-evaluation of Chinese herbs can well reflect Chinese medicine characteristics, which is the most easily overlooked the clinical re-evaluation content. Since little attention has been paid to this, study on the clinical trial design method was lost. It is difficult to improving the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore, more attention should be paid on re-evaluation of the clinical trial design method point about tcm syndrome such as the type of research program design, the study of Chinese medical information collection scale and statistical analysis methods, so as to improve the clinical trial design method study about tcm syndrome of Chinese herbs postmarketing re-evalutation status.

Hypolipidaemic and anti-oxidative potential of encapsulated herb (Terminalia arjuna) added vanilla chocolate milk in high cholesterol fed rats.

PubMed

Sawale, Pravin Digambar; Pothuraju, Ramesh; Abdul Hussain, Shaik; Kumar, Anuj; Kapila, Suman; Patil, Girdhari Ramdas

2016-03-15

Atherosclerosis is associated with coronary artery disease and occurs in developing as well as developed countries. In the present investigation, hypolipidaemic and anti-oxidative properties of encapsulated herb (Terminalia arjuna, 1.8%) added vanilla chocolate dairy drink was evaluated in high cholesterol fed Wistar rats for 60 days. At the end of the experimental period, a significant decrease in the body weight gain by rats receiving the encapsulated herb extract was noted as compared to high cholesterol fed rats. Administration of microencapsulated herb showed a statistically significant decrease in organ weights (epididymal fat and liver). Moreover, a significant decrease in serum lipids such as triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and atherogenic index was observed with encapsulated Terminalia arjuna extract in high cholesterol fed group. Increases in reduced glutathione and decreases in TBARS levels were also reported in both liver and red blood cell lysates with encapsulated herb supplementation. The results demonstrated that the bioactive components (phytosterols, flavanoids, saponins and tannins etc.) which are present in the encapsulated T. arjuna not only withstand the processing conditions but also are effectively released in the intestine and show their effects, such as hypolipidaemic and antioxidant activities, for better treating cardiovascular disease. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of Chinese medicinal herbs on a rat model of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection.

PubMed

Song, Z; Johansen, H K; Moser, C; Høiby, N

1996-05-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of two kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs, Isatis tinctoria L (ITL) and Daphne giraldii Nitsche (DGN), on a rat model of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection mimicking cystic fibrosis (CF). Compared to the control group, both drugs were able to reduce the incidence of lung abscess (p < 0.05) and to decrease the severity of the macroscopic pathology in lungs (p < 0.05). In the great majority of the rats, the herbs altered the inflammatory response in the lungs from an acute type inflammation, dominated by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), to a chronic type inflammation, dominated by mononuclear leukocytes (MN). DGN also improved the clearance of P. aeruginosa from the lungs (p < 0.03) compared with the control group. There were no significant differences between the control group and the two herbal groups with regard to serum IgG and IgA anti-P. aeruginosa sonicate antibodies. However, the IgM concentration in the ITL group was significantly lower than in the control group (p < 0.03). These results suggest that the two medicinal herbs might be helpful to CF patients with chronic P. aeruginosa lung infection, DGN being the most favorable.

The synergistic potential of various teas, herbs and therapeutic drugs in health improvement: a review.

PubMed

Malongane, Florence; McGaw, Lyndy J; Mudau, Fhatuwani N

2017-11-01

Tea is one of the most widely consumed non-alcoholic beverages in the world next to water. It is classified as Camellia sinensis and non-Camellia sinensis (herbal teas). The common bioactive compounds found mainly in green teas are flavan-3-ols (catechins) (also called flavanols), proanthocyanidins (tannins) and flavonols. Black tea contains theaflavins and thearubigins and white tea contains l-theanine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), while herbal teas contain diverse polyphenols. Phytochemicals in tea exhibit antimicrobial, anti-diabetic and anti-cancer activities that are perceived to be helpful in managing chronic diseases linked to lifestyle. Many of these phytochemicals are reported to be biologically active when combined. Knowledge of the synergistic interactions of tea with other teas or herbs in terms of biological activities will be of benefit for therapeutic enhancement. There is evidence that various types of teas act synergistically in exhibiting health benefits to humans, improving consumer acceptance and economic value. Similar observations have been made when teas and herbs or medicinal drugs were combined. The aim of this review is to highlight potential beneficial synergies between combinations of different types of teas, tea and herbs, and tea and medicinal drugs. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Evaluation of “Dream Herb,” Calea zacatechichi, for Nephrotoxicity Using Human Kidney Proximal Tubule Cells

PubMed Central

Flynn, Thomas J.; Vohra, Sanah; Wiesenfeld, Paddy; Sprando, Robert L.

2016-01-01

A recent surge in the use of dietary supplements, including herbal remedies, necessitates investigations into their safety profiles. “Dream herb,” Calea zacatechichi, has long been used in traditional folk medicine for a variety of purposes and is currently being marketed in the US for medicinal purposes, including diabetes treatment. Despite the inherent vulnerability of the renal system to xenobiotic toxicity, there is a lack of safety studies on the nephrotoxic potential of this herb. Additionally, the high frequency of diabetes-associated kidney disease makes safety screening of C. zacatechichi for safety especially important. We exposed human proximal tubule HK-2 cells to increasing doses of this herb alongside known toxicant and protectant control compounds to examine potential toxicity effects of C. zacatechichi relative to control compounds. We evaluated both cellular and mitochondrial functional changes related to toxicity of this dietary supplement and found that even at low doses evidence of cellular toxicity was significant. Moreover, these findings correlated with significantly elevated levels of nephrotoxicity biomarkers, lending further support for the need to further scrutinize the safety of this herbal dietary supplement. PMID:27703475

[Clinical study on aconite prescriptions with incompatible herbs in different areas based on association rules and analysis on compatibility features].

PubMed

Zuo, Ting; Fan, Xin-sheng; Tian, Shuo; Jiang, Chen-xue; Chen, Fei

2015-03-01

To explore the current application and features of Aconite prescriptions with incompatible herbs in grade A class three hospitals in east China and central China through a clinical study and comparative analysis. Clinical prescriptions containing Aconite with incompatible herbs were collected. Association rules were utilized to analyze the compatible features of these herbs. This analysis found that the frequently used incompatible herba; pairs are Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata-Pinelliae Rhizoma, with the support rate of 44.45%, occupying nearly half of the surveyed prescriptions; Pinelliae Rhizoma is the most frequently used herb in the two areas, with support rate up to 76.24%. Among the top 10 herbal pairs in the support rate, except for Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata and Pinelliae Rhizoma, the top 10 herbs in Central China were mostly for warming the middle jiao and tonifying qi, such as Zingiberis Rhizoma, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Codonopsis Radix; Whereas those in east China were mostly for activating and nourishing blood, such as Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, and Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. Among the top 10 herbal pairs in the support rate, except for Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata-Pinelliae Rhizoma, the core herbal pairs applied in central China were mainly for resolving phlegm and warming the middle jiao, such as Pinelliae Rhizoma-Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Pinelliae Rhizoma-Zingiberis Rhizoma; Whereas those in east China were principally for activating blood and tonifying qi, like Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Pinelliae Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Pinelliae Rhizoma. Among the core herbal groups in the two areas, the most frequently used herbal groups in the two areas are Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Pinelliae Rhizoma with the support rate of 59.73%, accounting for the highest proportion among all of herbal groups. There are the combined

A network pharmacology approach to determine active ingredients and rationality of herb combinations of Modified-Simiaowan for treatment of gout.

PubMed

Zhao, Fangli; Guochun, Li; Yang, Yanhua; Shi, Le; Xu, Li; Yin, Lian

2015-06-20

Modified Simiaowan (MSW) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula and is widely used as a clinically medication formula for its efficiency in treating gouty diseases.To predict the active ingredients in MSW and uncover the rationality of herb combinations of MSW. Three drug-target networks including the "candidate ingredient-target network" (cI-cT) that links the candidate ingredients and targets, the "core ingredient-target-pathway network" connecting core potential ingredients and targets through related pathways, and the "rationality of herb combinations of MSW network", which was derived from the cI-cT network, were developed to dissect the active ingredients in MSW and relationship between ingredients in herb combinations and their targets for gouty diseases. On the other hand, herbal ingredients comparisons were also conducted based on six physicochemical properties to investigate whether the herbs in MSW are similar in chemicals. Moreover, HUVEC viability and expression levels of ICAM-1 induced by monosodium urate (MSU) crystals were assessed to determine the activities of potential ingredients in MSW. Predicted by the core ingredient-target-pathway network, we collected 30 core ingredients in MSW and 25 inflammatory cytokines and uric acid synthetase or transporters, which are effective for gouty treatment through some related pathways. Experimental results also confirmed that those core ingredients could significantly increase HUVEC viability and attenuate the expression of ICAM-1, which supported the effectiveness of MSW in treating gouty diseases. Moreover, heat-clearing and dampness-eliminating herbs in MSW have similar physicochemical properties, which stimulate all the inflammatory and uric acid-lowing targets respectively, while the core drug and basic prescription in MSW stimulate the major and almost all the core targets, respectively. Our work successfully predicts the active ingredients in MSW and explains the cooperation between these

The in vitro inhibitory effects of crude extracts of traditional Chinese herbs on 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase on Vero cells.

PubMed

Liu, Ju-Chi; Chan, Paul; Hsu, Feng-Lin; Chen, Yi-Jen; Hsieh, Ming-Hsiung; Lo, Ming-Yu; Lin, Jung-Yaw

2002-01-01

Cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of death in Western countries. Epidemiological studies have shown that hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease. Clinical trials of lipid lowering therapy with 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG Co-A) reductase inhibitor have been shown to decrease coronary events and mortality. Flavonoids are polyphenolic natural antioxidants occurring in natural products such as traditional Chinese herbs, fruits and beverages such as tea and wine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of crude extracts from traditional Chinese herbs on HMG Co-A reductase. The methods for analysis of specific inhibitors of mevalonate biosynthesis have been well-established by using Vero cells, a cell line obtained from kidneys of African green monkeys. Crude extracts from different traditional Chinese herbs were dissolved in 1% Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium and incubated with Vero cells with or without the addition of 1 mM mevalonate or 5 mM sodium acetate for 24 hours in order to observe cell growth. Pravastatin, a specific HMG Co-A reductase inhibitor, was used as a positive control which inhibits Vero cells growth effectively and cell growth inhibition was reversible after 1 mM mevalonate. Among 100 traditional Chinese herbs used for the study, only two herbs: Curcuma zedoaria Roscoe and Poncirus trifoliata Raf. showed significant growth inhibition of Vero cells. This study shows that some crude extracts isolated from traditional medicinal herbs were effective HMG Co-A reductase inhibitors which might be developed into new hypocholesterolemic agents.

Bioactive compounds from culinary herbs inhibit a molecular target for type 2 diabetes management, dipeptidyl peptidase IV.

PubMed

Bower, Allyson M; Real Hernandez, Luis M; Berhow, Mark A; de Mejia, Elvira Gonzalez

2014-07-02

Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare), marjoram (Origanum majorana), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), and Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) are concentrated sources of bioactive compounds. The aims were to characterize and examine extracts from greenhouse-grown or commercially purchased herbs for their ability to inhibit dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), enzymes that play a role in insulin secretion and insulin signaling, respectively. Greenhouse herbs contained more polyphenols (302.7-430.1 μg of gallic acid equivalents/mg of dry weight of extract (DWE)) and flavonoids (370.1-661.4 μg of rutin equivalents/mg of DWE) compared to the equivalent commercial herbs. Greenhouse rosemary, Mexican oregano, and marjoram extracts were the best inhibitors of DPP-IV (IC₅₀=16, 29, and 59 μM, respectively). Commercial rosemary, Mexican oregano, and marjoram were the best inhibitors of PTP1B (32.4-40.9% at 500 μM). The phytochemicals eriodictyol, naringenin, hispidulin, cirsimaritin, and carnosol were identified by LC-ESI-MS as being present in greenhouse-grown Mexican oregano and rosemary. Computational modeling indicated that hispidulin, carnosol, and eriodictyol would have the best binding affinities for DPP-IV. Biochemically, the best inhibitors of DPP-IV were cirsimaritin (IC₅₀=0.43±0.07 μM), hispidulin (IC₅₀=0.49±0.06 μM), and naringenin (IC₅₀=2.5±0.29 μM). Overall, herbs contain several flavonoids that inhibit DPP-IV and should be investigated further regarding their potential in diabetes management.

Identification of Gene Expression Signatures in the Chicken Intestinal Intraepithelial Lymphocytes in Response to Herb Additive Supplementations

PubMed Central

Won, Kyeong-Hye; Song, Ki-Duk; Park, Jong-Eun; Kim, Duk-Kyung; Na, Chong-Sam

2016-01-01

Anethole and garlic have an immune modulatory effects on avian coccidiosis, and these effects are correlated with gene expression changes in intestinal epithelial lymphocytes (IELs). In this study, we integrated gene expression datasets from two independent experiments and investigated gene expression profile changes by anethole and garlic respectively, and identified gene expression signatures, which are common targets of these herbs as they might be used for the evaluation of the effect of plant herbs on immunity toward avian coccidiosis. We identified 4,382 and 371 genes, which were differentially expressed in IELs of chickens supplemented with garlic and anethole respectively. The gene ontology (GO) term of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from garlic treatment resulted in the biological processes (BPs) related to proteolysis, e.g., “modification-dependent protein catabolic process”, “proteolysis involved in cellular protein catabolic process”, “cellular protein catabolic process”, “protein catabolic process”, and “ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolic process”. In GO analysis, one BP term, “Proteolysis”, was obtained. Among DEGs, 300 genes were differentially regulated in response to both garlic and anethole, and 234 and 59 genes were either up- or down-regulated in supplementation with both herbs. Pathway analysis resulted in enrichment of the pathways related to digestion such as “Starch and sucrose metabolism” and “Insulin signaling pathway”. Taken together, the results obtained in the present study could contribute to the effective development of evaluation system of plant herbs based on molecular signatures related with their immunological functions in chicken IELs. PMID:26954117

Contrasting patterns of fine-scale herb layer species composition in temperate forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chudomelová, Markéta; Zelený, David; Li, Ching-Feng

2017-04-01

Although being well described at the landscape level, patterns in species composition of forest herb layer are rarely studied at smaller scales. Here, we examined fine-scale environmental determinants and spatial structures of herb layer communities in thermophilous oak- and hornbeam dominated forests of the south-eastern part of the Czech Republic. Species composition of herb layer vegetation and environmental variables were recorded within a fixed grid of 2 × 2 m subplots regularly distributed within 1-ha quadrate plots in three forest stands. For each site, environmental models best explaining species composition were constructed using constrained ordination analysis. Spatial eigenvector mapping was used to model and account for spatial structures in community variation. Mean Ellenberg indicator values calculated for each subplot were used for ecological interpretation of spatially structured residual variation. The amount of variation explained by environmental and spatial models as well as the selection of variables with the best explanatory power differed among sites. As an important environmental factor, relative elevation was common to all three sites, while pH and canopy openness were shared by two sites. Both environmental and community variation was mostly coarse-scaled, as was the spatially structured portion of residual variation. When corrected for bias due to spatial autocorrelation, those environmental factors with already weak explanatory power lost their significance. Only a weak evidence of possibly omitted environmental predictor was found for autocorrelated residuals of site models using mean Ellenberg indicator values. Community structure was determined by different factors at different sites. The relative importance of environmental filtering vs. spatial processes was also site specific, implying that results of fine-scale studies tend to be shaped by local conditions. Contrary to expectations based on other studies, overall dominance of

Variation in responses of late-seral herbs to disturbance and environmental stress.

Treesearch

Cara R. Nelson; Charles B. Halpern; Joseph A. Antos

2007-01-01

Clonal herbs that attain maximum development in late-seral forest are often assumed to have similar responses to disturbance and to be functionally equivalent. However, little is known about the demographic or physiological responses of these plants to disturbance or to the altered conditions of the post-disturbance environment. Following harvest of a mature coniferous...

Reintroduction of Tigridiopalma magnifica, a rare and critically endangered herb endemic to China

Treesearch

Hai Ren; Songjun Zeng; Longna Li; Qianmei Zhang; Long Yang; Jun Wang; Zhengfeng Wang; Qinfeng Guo

2012-01-01

Tigridiopalma magnifica, a perennial herb and the only species in the genus Tigridiopalma (Family Melastomataceae) is rare and endemic to China where it is categorized as Critically Endangered on the national Red List. Twelve locations with populations of T. magnifica have been identified (1 extinct, 11 extant...

The Efficacy of Chinese Medicinal Herbs towards Grape Phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch) (Hemiptera, Phylloxeridae)

PubMed Central

Su, Junping; Liu, Weiwei; Hussain Dhiloo, Khalid; Guo, Yuyuan

2015-01-01

Bio-insecticidal effects of seven Chinese medicinal herbs on mortality, fecundity, developmental periods and life table parameters of the grape phylloxera were investigated. In an excised root bioassay experiment aqueous extracts from seven Chinese medicinal herbs increased grape phylloxera first instar mortality (26.00–38.50%) compared to other instars. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm), finite rate of increase (λ), fecundity rate and net reproductive rate (R0) were significantly reduced by A. bidentata, A. tataricus, O. basilicum, P. frutescens and N. cataria. In a glasshouse pot trial, eggs, nymphs, adults and total population were significantly reduced before population establishment compared to those after its population established, by A. bidentata, A. tataricus and O. basilicum. Overall, A. bidentata, A. tataricus and O. basilicum can be used to suppress all life-stages of grape phylloxera. PMID:26186216

In vitro fermentation characteristics of two mushroom species, an herb, and their polysaccharide fractions, using chicken cecal contents as inoculum.

PubMed

Guo, F C; Williams, B A; Kwakkel, R P; Verstegen, M W A

2003-10-01

In vitro fermentabilities of two mushrooms (Lentinus edodes--LenS; Tremella fuciformis--TreS), an herb (Astragalus membranaceus--AstS), and their polysaccharide fractions (LenE, TreE, and AstE) were investigated using microflora from chicken ceca. Polysaccharides were extracted using the hot water method. The mushrooms had lower polysaccharide yields (8 to 10%) than the herb (31%). Fermentation kinetics were determined using the in vitro cumulative gas production technique. End-products, such as gas, volatile fatty acids (VFA), and ammonia, were also determined. The gas profiles of intact materials were similar for AstS and LenS. The TreS had a diphasic digestion pattern. The extracts had similar profiles to the intact materials though gas production rates were faster. Intact materials tended to produce less VFA than the extracts though LenS and AstE had the highest total VFA production overall. Intact materials contained more protein than the extracts, and therefore resulted in more branched-chain fatty acids and ammonia. Fermentation kinetics and end-point products demonstrated differences in availability of substrates between the mushrooms and herb. These medicinal mushroom and herb materials, particularly their polysaccharide extracts, show promise in altering microbial activities and composition in chicken ceca. In vivo experiments are necessary for confirmation of this hypothesis.

[Comparative study on promoting blood effects of Danshen-Honghua herb pair with different preparations based on chemometrics and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods].

PubMed

Qu, Cheng; Tang, Yu-Ping; Shi, Xu-Qin; Zhou, Gui-Sheng; Shang, Er-Xin; Shang, Li-Li; Guo, Jian-Ming; Liu, Pei; Zhao, Jing; Zhao, Bu-Chang; Duan, Jin-Ao

2017-08-01

To evaluate the promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis effects of Danshen-Honghua(DH) herb pair with different preparations (alcohol, 50% alcohol and water) on blood rheology and coagulation functions in acute blood stasis rats, and optimize the best preparation method of DH based on principal component analysis(PCA), hierarchical cluster heatmap analysis and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods. Ice water bath and subcutaneous injection of adrenaline were both used to establish the acute blood stasis rat model. Then the blood stasis rats were administrated intragastrically with DH (alcohol, 50% alcohol and water) extracts. The whole blood viscosity(WBV), plasma viscosity(PV), erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR) and haematocrit(HCT) were tested to observe the effects of DH herb pair with different preparations and doses on hemorheology of blood stasis rats; the activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT), thrombin time(TT), prothrombin time(PT), and plasma fibrinogen(FIB) were tested to observe the effects of DH herb pair with different preparations on blood coagulation function and platelet aggregation of blood stasis rats. Then PCA, hierarchical cluster heatmap analysis and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods were all used to comprehensively evaluate the total promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis effects of DH herb pair with different preparations. The hemorheological indexes and coagulation parameters of model group had significant differences with normal blank group. As compared with the model group, the DH herb pair with different preparations at low, middle and high doses could improve the blood hemorheology indexes and coagulation parameters in acute blood stasis rats with dose-effect relation. Based on the PCA, hierarchical cluster heatmap analysis and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods, the high dose group of 50% alcohol extract had the best effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood

Chemometric classification of morphologically similar Umbelliferae medicinal herbs by DART-TOF-MS fingerprint.

PubMed

Lee, Sang Min; Kim, Hye-Jin; Jang, Young Pyo

2012-01-01

It needs many years of special training to gain expertise on the organoleptic classification of botanical raw materials and, even for those experts, discrimination among Umbelliferae medicinal herbs remains an intricate challenge due to their morphological similarity. To develop a new chemometric classification method using a direct analysis in real time-time of flight-mass spectrometry (DART-TOF-MS) fingerprinting for Umbelliferae medicinal herbs and to provide a platform for its application to the discrimination of other herbal medicines. Angelica tenuissima, Angelica gigas, Angelica dahurica and Cnidium officinale were chosen for this study and ten samples of each species were purchased from various Korean markets. DART-TOF-MS was employed on powdered raw materials to obtain a chemical fingerprint of each sample and the orthogonal partial-least squares method in discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was used for multivariate analysis. All samples of collected species were successfully discriminated from each other according to their characteristic DART-TOF-MS fingerprint. Decursin (or decursinol angelate) and byakangelicol were identified as marker molecules for Angelica gigas and A. dahurica, respectively. Using the OPLS method for discriminant analysis, Angelica tenuissima and Cnidium officinale were clearly separated into two groups. Angelica tenuissima was characterised by the presence of ligustilide and unidentified molecular ions of m/z 239 and 283, while senkyunolide A together with signals with m/z 387 and 389 were the marker compounds for Cnidium officinale. Elaborating with chemoinformatics, DART-TOF-MS fingerprinting with chemoinformatic tools results in a powerful method for the classification of morphologically similar Umbelliferae medicinal herbs and quality control of medicinal herbal products, including the extracts of these crude drugs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Preaching to the Choir: Comparing Health Professionals Who Enroll in Mind–Body Skills Versus Herbs and Dietary Supplements Training?

PubMed Central

Kemper, Kathi J.; Mo, Xiaokui; Lynn, Joanne

2015-01-01

Background Observational studies evaluating elective training programs may be biased if learners who enroll differ from nonenrollees. To assess self-selection bias, we compared participants who enrolled in 2 different online courses in complementary and alternative medical therapies. Methods Participants were recruited from entering classes in medicine, nursing, social work, and dietetics, and residencies in family medicine and pediatrics. The 2 electives were (a) herbs and dietary supplements and (b) mind–body skills training. Participants completed standardized questionnaires before training. Results The 218 participants had an average age of 28 years; 76% were trainees. There were no significant differences between enrollees in mind–body skills and herbs and dietary supplements with regard to age, gender, stress levels, mind–body training or practice, mindfulness, empathy, compassion, or resilience. Conclusions Those who enroll in mind–body skills are not measurably different than those who enroll in herbs and dietary supplements. There is no evidence of self-selection bias or “preaching to the choir.” PMID:25516529

Cytochrome P450 and P-Glycoprotein-Mediated Interactions Involving African Herbs Indicated for Common Noncommunicable Diseases

PubMed Central

Kikete, Siambi; Liang, Rongjia; Wang, Lili

2017-01-01

Herbal remedies are regularly used to complement conventional therapies in the treatment of various illnesses in Africa. This may be because they are relatively cheap and easily accessible and are believed by many to be safe, cause fewer side effects, and are less likely to cause dependency. On the contrary, many herbs have been shown to alter the pharmacokinetics of coadministered allopathic medicines and can either synergize or antagonize therapeutic effects as well as altering the toxicity profiles of these drugs. Current disease burden data point towards epidemiological transitions characterised by increasing urbanization and changing lifestyles, risk factors for chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and cancer which often present as multimorbidities. As a result, we highlight African herb-drug interactions (HDIs) modulated via cytochrome P450 enzyme family (CYP) and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and the consequences thereof in relation to antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and anticancer drugs. CYPs are enzymes which account for to up to 70% of drug metabolism while P-gp is an efflux pump that extrudes drug substrates out of cells. Consequently, regulation of the relative activity of both CYP and P-gp by African herbs influences the effective drug concentration at the site of action and modifies therapeutic outcomes. PMID:28250793

In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Spices and Medicinal Herbs against Selected Microbes Associated with Juices

PubMed Central

Dhiman, Romika; Aggarwal, Neeraj; Aneja, Kamal Rai; Kaur, Manpreet

2016-01-01

In the present investigation, comparison of antimicrobial activities of different spices, Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale, and Mentha arvensis, and medicinal herbs, such as Withania somnifera, Rauvolfia serpentina, Emblica officinalis, Terminalia arjuna, and Centella asiatica, was evaluated. Different extraction solvents (acetone, methanol, ethanol, and water) were used and extracts were examined against Bacillus cereus, Serratia sp., Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Aspergillus flavus, and Penicillium citrinum isolated from juices. Extracts from the medicinal herb and spices have significant activity. B. cereus was the most sensitive and R. mucilaginosa was the most resistant among the microorganisms tested. Ethanolic and methanolic extract of C. asiatica displayed maximum diameter of inhibition zone against bacteria and yeast and percentage mycelial inhibition against moulds. This study confirmed the potential of selected extracts of spices as effective natural food preservative in juices. PMID:26880927

Seed longevity and dormancy state in a disturbance-dependent forest herb, Ageratina altissima

Treesearch

Mame E. Redwood; Glenn R. Matlack; Cynthia D. Huebner

2016-01-01

Does seed dormancy allow disturbance-oriented forest herbs such as Ageratina altissima to persist in heterogeneous natural communities? To document seed longevity and dormancy state, Ageratina seeds were buried in nylon mesh bags in second-growth forest stands in south-eastern Ohio, USA. Bags were recovered at 2-month intervals...

Thyroid Storm Caused by a Chinese Herb Contaminated with Thyroid Hormones

PubMed Central

St-Onge, Maude; Vandenberghe, Hilde; Thompson, Margaret

2015-01-01

Patient: Male, 70 Final Diagnosis: Thyroid storm Symptoms: Atrial fibrillation • confusion • hyperthermia • tachycardia Medication: — Clinical Procedure: Intubation • cardioversion Specialty: Critical Care Medicine Objective: Adverse events of drug therapy Background: We report a case of thyroid storm caused by consuming a Chinese herb contaminated with thyroid hormones. Case Report: A 70-year-old man presented to an emergency department after 2 days of nausea, vomiting, and weakness. Three days previously, he had started taking Cordyceps powder and “Flower Man Sang Hung” as recommended by his Chinese physician. Following admission, the patient deteriorated and was eventually diagnosed with thyroid storm complicated by rapid atrial fibrillation requiring cardioversion, intubation, and intensive care admission. The analysis of the Chinese herb “Flower Man Sang Hung” was positive for levothyroxine. The patient was extubated 11 days after admission and discharged to a rehabilitation centre after 17 days of hospitalization. The Chinese medicine physician was informed of the events. Conclusions: Herbal products can be the source of illness, medication interactions, and contamination. Awareness should be raised among Chinese medicine physicians, allopathic physicians, and their patients. Clinicians should also have a low threshold of suspicion to seek laboratory analysis of suspect substances when the cause of the clinical presentation is unclear. PMID:25644333

[Studies on six heavy metal elements dissolution characteristics of Andrographis herb by ICP-OES].

PubMed

Tang, Rui; Li, Tian-Peng; Gu, Xue-Shi; Li, Yong-Jian; Yang, Yi

2010-02-01

A simple and accurate method for the simultaneous determination of As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu and Pb in andrographis herb by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was developed. The samples were digested by HNO3-HClO4. The digestion-determination method was evaluated with the relative standard deviations for all these elements between 2.1% and 4.6%, and the recoveries were between 92.0% and 103.2%. The measuring method was proved to be simple, reliable and highly sensitive. The dissolution characteristics of the 6 heavy metal elements in different solvents and with different extraction methods such as refluxing, soaking, and ultrasonic assisted extraction were studied. The experimental results showed that Ba was in the highest concentration followed by Cu and Cr, and the concentration of As, Pb and Cd was relatively lower in the herb. With the increase in ethanol concentration, the dissolution amount of Ba decreased but that of Cu and Cr increased, and the highest concentration of Cd was dissolved in acidic solution. Overall, Cd and Pb were difficult to dissolve out with 85% ethanol refluxing, but As dissolved comparatively more under the same condition. Comparing the extraction methods, the higher concentration of these 6 metals was obtained by refluxing water or alkaline water than that by 85% ethanol maceration. These differences might be related to the existent forms of these six elements in the herb. The determination and study on dissolution characteristics of these elements by using ICP-OES was important for rational using medicinal resources and ensuring the safety of drugs.

Topical symphytum herb concentrate cream against myalgia: a randomized controlled double-blind clinical study.

PubMed

Kucera, Miroslav; Barna, Milos; Horàcek, Ondrej; Kàlal, Jan; Kucera, Alexander; Hladìkova, Marie

2005-01-01

The effectiveness and tolerability of the topical Symphytum product Traumaplant (Harras Pharma Curarina, München, Germany) (10% active ingredient of a 2.5:1 aqueous-ethanolic pressed concentrate of freshly harvested, cultivated comfrey herb [Symphytum uplandicum Nyman], corresponding to 25 g of fresh herb per 100 g of cream) in the treatment of patients with myalgia (n=104) were tested against a 1% reference product (corresponding to 2.5 g of fresh comfrey herb in 100 g of cream; n=111). The primary efficacy parameter in this double-blind, reference- controlled, randomized, multicenter study of 215 patients with pain in the lower and upper back was pain in motion, assessed with the aid of a visual analogue scale. Secondary efficacy parameters included pain at rest, pain on palpation, and functional impairment. With high concentrations of the treatment product, amelioration of pain on active motion (P<5 x 10 -9 ), pain at rest (P<.001), and pain on palpation (P=5 x 10 -5 ) was significantly more pronounced than that attained with the reference product and was clinically highly relevant. A number needed to treat of 3.2 was calculated from the study results. Global efficacy was significantly better (P=1 x 10 -8 ) and onset of effects was faster (P=4 x 10 -7 ) with the high-concentration product. Tolerability of the highly concentrated study product was good to excellent in all patients. Study results confirm the known anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of topical (Symphytum cream. As a new finding, applicability in certain forms of back pain can be concluded.

Medicinal herbs and phytochitodeztherapy in oncology.

PubMed

Treskunov, Karp; Treskunova, Olga; Komarov, Boris; Goroshetchenko, Alex; Glebov, Vlad

2003-01-01

Application of clinical phytology in treatment of oncology diseases was limited by intensive development of chemical pharmaceuticals and surgery. The authors had set the task to develop the computer database for phytotherapy application. The database included full information on patient's clinical status (identified diseases, symptoms, syndromes) and applied phytotherapy treatment. Special attention was paid to the application of phyto preparations containing chitosan. The computer database contains information on 2335 patients. It supports reliable data on efficiency of phytotherapy in general and allows to evaluate the efficiency of some particular medicinal herbs and to develop efficient complex phyto preparations for treatment of specific diseases. The application of phytotherapy in treatment of oncology patients confirmed the positive effect on patient's quality of life. In conclusion it should be emphasized that the present situation of practical application of phytotherapy could be considered as unacceptable because of absence of necessary knowledge and practical experience in using phytotherapy in outpatient clinics, hospitals and medicinal centers.

[Bioactive constituents from whole herbs of Vernonia cinerea (II)].

PubMed

Zhu, Huaxu; Tang, Yuping; Min, Zhida; Gong, Zhunan

2009-11-01

To study the constituents of the whole herbs of Vernonia cinerea by bio-activity guided isolation with PC-12 model. The constituents were separated by column chromatography and the structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Ten compounds were identified to be (-)-clovane-2,9-diol (1), caryolane-1,9beta-diol (2), apigenin (3), chrysoeriol (4), luteolin (5), thermopsoside (6), luteolin-7-O-beta-D-glucoside (7), quercetin(8), apigenin-4'-O-beta-D-glucoside (9), hyperin (10), beta-amyrin aceate (11), lupeol acetate (12). Compounds 1, 2, 6 and 10 were isolated from this genus for the first time.

The influence of herbs and spices on overall liking of reduced fat food.

PubMed

Peters, John C; Polsky, Sarit; Stark, Rebecca; Zhaoxing, Pan; Hill, James O

2014-08-01

Most adults consume more fat than is recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. We examined whether adding herbs and spices to reduced-fat foods would improve their consumer liking. We recruited adults 18-65 years old to taste three lunch conditions: full fat (FF), reduced fat with no added spice (RF), and reduced fat plus spice (RFS). Subjects rated their liking of a meatloaf entrée, vegetable side dish, pasta side dish, and overall meal on a 9-point hedonic Likert scale. Subjects came weekly for 3 weeks to consume meals and were randomized to the condition order. We enrolled 148 subjects who were predominantly female (n = 101, 68%), had a mean age of 35.9 years, and body mass index of 24.4 kg/m2. Subjects reported habitual diets as 36% of total calories from fat (2005 Block Food Frequency Questionnaire). Reducing fat content alone significantly dropped overall liking of the meal compared with FF and RFS conditions (6.29 RF vs. 7.05 FF, P < 0.0001; 6.29 RF vs. 6.98 RFS, P ≤ 0.0001). The RFS overall meal was liked as well as the FF condition. FF and RFS conditions were liked significantly more than RF conditions for each meal item. Liking of FF and RFS meatloaf and vegetables were not significantly different from one another. Pasta FF and RFS conditions were rated significantly differently from each other (7.33 FF vs. 6.61 RFS, P < 0.0001). Adding herbs and spices to reduced fat foods restored liking of the overall meal, meatloaf, and vegetables to that of FF conditions, and significantly improved the liking of RF pasta. Herbs and spices can be a useful tool to improve liking of foods consistent with national guidelines. Copyright © 2014 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Medicinal herbs as a potential strategy to decrease methane production by rumen microbiota: a systematic evaluation with a focus on Perilla frutescens seed extract.

PubMed

Wang, Jiakun; Liu, Mei; Wu, Yuelei; Wang, Liang; Liu, Jianxin; Jiang, Linshu; Yu, Zhongtang

2016-11-01

Mitigation of the methane (CH 4 ) emission from ruminants is needed to decrease the environmental impact of ruminant animal production. Different plant materials and chemicals have been tested, but few are both effective and practical. Medicinal herbs contain biological compounds and antimicrobials that may be effective in lowering the CH 4 production. However, few studies have systematically evaluated medicinal herbs for their effect on CH 4 production or on the rumen microbiota. In this study, extracts from 100 medicinal herbs were assessed for their ability to decrease CH 4 production by rumen microbiota in vitro. The extracts of 12 herbs effectively lowered the CH 4 production, with the extract of Perilla frutescens seeds being the most effective. The major components of P. frutescens seed extract were identified, and the effects of the extract on the fermentation characteristics and populations of rumen methanogens, fungi, protozoa, and select bacteria were also assessed. The decreased CH 4 production induced by the P. frutescens seed extract was accompanied by an increased abundance of Ruminobacter, Selenomonas, Succinivibrio, Shuttleworthis, Pseudobutyrivbrio, Anaerovibrio, and Roseomonas and a decreased abundance of Methanobrevibacter millerae. The abundance of Pedobacter, Anaeroplasma, Paludibacter, Ruminococcus, and unclassified Lachnospiraceae was positively correlated with the CH 4 production, with no effects on volatile fatty acids. This study suggests that medicinal herbs may be used to mitigate the CH 4 emission from ruminants.

Should herbs take all the blame? Causality assessment of a serious thrombocytopenia event.

PubMed

Lai, Jung-Nien; Hsieh, Shu-Ching; Chen, Pau-Chung; Chen, Huey-Jen; Wang, Jung-Der

2010-11-01

With the increasing use of herbal medicines, the causality assessment of adverse drug-related reactions becomes more complicated because of the concomitant use of herbs and conventional medications. Epidemiological causal inference can be a central feature of such judgment but may be insufficient. Other scientific considerations include study design, bias, confounding, and measurement issues. The approach of this study is to establish an active safety surveillance system for finished herbal products (FHPs) and to review each adverse event regularly. A single case of serious thrombocytopenia was found in 136 subjects taking FHPs on a clinical trial for 12 weeks, for which the cause was sought. Because at the end of the first month the patient's platelet counts were normal and the thrombocytopenia developed after the co-medication with conventional drugs, it was suspected that the thrombocytopenia might not be attributed to the use of FHP. This report summarizes the criteria of causality assessment under mixed use of herbs and conventional medicine and recommends a feasible process for careful evaluation of adverse drug reactions related to all herbal medicine.

[Study of "Bishu Yakuen Ransho-Roku (the origin of herb garden in Owari Clan)].

PubMed

Goto, T; Yamaguchi, S; Tanaka, T

1995-01-01

"Bishu Yakuen Ransho-Roku (The origin of herb garden in Owari Clan)" is in the possession of the Institution of Tokugawa Rinseishi in Tokyo. This paper was written about the origin of the herb garden established by Mr. Shinken Mimura, an herbalist in the Owari clan between 1735 and 1746. Mr. Shinken Mimura cultivated ginseng by according to the guide issued by the shogunate, but he found the methods unsuitable. Therefore, he made efforts to improve the cultivation of ginseng. As a result, he succeeded in the cultivation of good ginseng. He had contributed to the development of the production of ginseng in the Owari clan. He write this document so that his methods could be handed down for posterity. This document has two parts: one is the growth of ginseng in the form of a diary and the other is the conditions of cultivation as to seeding, fertilization, the counter-measures for damage due to blight and insects, and so on.

Medicinal Herbs in Iranian Traditional Medicine for Learning and Memory.

PubMed

Shojaii, Asie; Ghods, Roshanak; Fard, Mehri Abdollahi

2016-05-01

A few factors such as age, stress, and emotions may lead to impaired learning, memory loss, amnesia, and dementia or threats like schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) recommends some herbs and herbal preparations for the treatment or prevention of CNS problems. In this study, scientific evidence related to the effectiveness of ITM herbal medicine on memory, learning and AD is reviewed. The scientific evidence of plant efficacy was searched in electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, SID, Science Direct, and Google Scholar by keywords such as memory, Alzheimer, amnesia, learning and scientific plant names from 1969 to 2014. The findings of this study confirmed the effectiveness of certain ITM medicinal plants on enhancing memory and learning or in the treatment/prevention of amnesia and AD. Some ITM plants like Melissa officinalis, Crocus sativus and Nigella sativa showed improving effects on memory and the treatment of AD in clinical trials. In some cases, active principles responsible for the efficacy of these plants on memory were also determined. Most of the studies on ITM plants were designed in animal models and a few herbs were evaluated in clinical trials on AD. Furthermore, there are insufficient or no investigations on certain herbal medicines used in ITM to confirm their effectiveness on memory and learning. Therefore, further experimental and clinical studies are necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of these plants on memory and AD as well as determining their active components.

Pharmacokinetic Studies of Chinese Medicinal Herbs Using an Automated Blood Sampling System and Liquid Chromatography-mass Spectrometry.

PubMed

Wu, Yu-Tse; Wu, Ming-Tsang; Lin, Chia-Chun; Chien, Chao-Feng; Tsai, Tung-Hu

2012-01-01

The safety of herbal products is one of the major concerns for the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine, and pharmacokinetic data of medicinal herbs guide us to design the rational use of the herbal formula. This article reviews the advantages of the automated blood sampling (ABS) systems for pharmacokinetic studies. In addition, three commonly used sample preparative methods, protein precipitation, liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction, are introduced. Furthermore, the definition, causes and evaluation of matrix effects in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis are demonstrated. Finally, we present our previous works as practical examples of the application of ABS systems and LC/MS for the pharmacokinetic studies of Chinese medicinal herbs.

Immune Homeostasis: Effects of Chinese Herbal Formulae and Herb-Derived Compounds on Allergic Asthma in Different Experimental Models.

PubMed

Liu, Lu; Wang, Lin-Peng; He, Shan; Ma, Yan

2018-05-01

Allergic asthma is thought to arise from an imbalance of immune regulation, which is characterized by the production of large quantities of IgE antibodies by B cells and a decrease of the interferon-γ/interleukin-4 (Th1/Th2) ratio. Certain immunomodulatory components and Chinese herbal formulae have been used in traditional herbal medicine for thousands of years. However, there are few studies performing evidence-based Chinese medicine (CM) research on the mechanisms and effificacy of these drugs in allergic asthma. This review aims to explore the roles of Chinese herbal formulae and herb-derived compounds in experimental research models of allergic asthma. We screened published modern CM research results on the experimental effects of Chinese herbal formulae and herb-derived bioactive compounds for allergic asthma and their possible underlying mechanisms in English language articles from the PubMed and the Google Scholar databases with the keywords allergic asthma, experimental model and Chinese herbal medicine. We found 22 Chinese herb species and 31 herb-derived anti-asthmatic compounds as well as 12 Chinese herbal formulae which showed a reduction of airway hyperresponsiveness, allergen-specifific immunoglobulin E, inflflammatory cell infifiltration and a regulation of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in vivo, in vitro and ex vivo, respectively. Chinese herbal formulae and herbderived bioactive compounds exhibit immunomodulatory, anti-inflflammatory and anti-asthma activities in different experimental models and their various mechanisms of action are being investigated in modern CM research with genomics, proteomics and metabolomics technologies, which will lead to a new era in the development of new drug discovery for allergic asthma in CM.

The roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in phytoremediation and tree-herb interactions in Pb contaminated soil

DOE PAGES

Yang, Yurong; Liang, Yan; Han, Xiaozhen; ...

2016-02-04

Understanding the roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in plant interaction is essential for optimizing plant distribution to restore degraded ecosystems. Here, our study investigated the effects of AMF and the presence of legume or grass herbs on phytoremediation with a legume tree, Robinia pseudoacacia, in Pb polluted soil. In monoculture, mycorrhizal dependency of legumes was higher than that of grass, and AMF benefited the plant biomass of legumes but had no effect on grass. Mycorrhizal colonization of plant was enhanced by legume neighbors but inhibited by grass neighbor in co-culture system. N, P, S and Mg concentrations of mycorrhizalmore » legumes were larger than these of non-mycorrhizal legumes. Legume herbs decreased soil pH and thereby increased the Pb concentrations of plants. The neighbor effects of legumes shifted from negative to positive with increasing Pb stress levels, whereas grass provided a negative effect on the growth of legume tree. AMF enhanced the competition but equalized growth of legume-legume under unpolluted and Pb stress conditions, respectively. In conclusion, (1) AMF mediate plant interaction through directly influencing plant biomass, and/or indirectly influencing plant photosynthesis, macronutrient acquisition, (2) legume tree inoculated with AMF and co-planted with legume herbs provides an effective way for Pb phytoremediation.« less

The roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in phytoremediation and tree-herb interactions in Pb contaminated soil

PubMed Central

Yang, Yurong; Liang, Yan; Han, Xiaozhen; Chiu, Tsan-Yu; Ghosh, Amit; Chen, Hui; Tang, Ming

2016-01-01

Understanding the roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in plant interaction is essential for optimizing plant distribution to restore degraded ecosystems. This study investigated the effects of AMF and the presence of legume or grass herbs on phytoremediation with a legume tree, Robinia pseudoacacia, in Pb polluted soil. In monoculture, mycorrhizal dependency of legumes was higher than that of grass, and AMF benefited the plant biomass of legumes but had no effect on grass. Mycorrhizal colonization of plant was enhanced by legume neighbors but inhibited by grass neighbor in co-culture system. N, P, S and Mg concentrations of mycorrhizal legumes were larger than these of non-mycorrhizal legumes. Legume herbs decreased soil pH and thereby increased the Pb concentrations of plants. The neighbor effects of legumes shifted from negative to positive with increasing Pb stress levels, whereas grass provided a negative effect on the growth of legume tree. AMF enhanced the competition but equalized growth of legume-legume under unpolluted and Pb stress conditions, respectively. In conclusion, (1) AMF mediate plant interaction through directly influencing plant biomass, and/or indirectly influencing plant photosynthesis, macronutrient acquisition, (2) legume tree inoculated with AMF and co-planted with legume herbs provides an effective way for Pb phytoremediation. PMID:26842958

The roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in phytoremediation and tree-herb interactions in Pb contaminated soil

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Yurong; Liang, Yan; Han, Xiaozhen

Understanding the roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in plant interaction is essential for optimizing plant distribution to restore degraded ecosystems. Here, our study investigated the effects of AMF and the presence of legume or grass herbs on phytoremediation with a legume tree, Robinia pseudoacacia, in Pb polluted soil. In monoculture, mycorrhizal dependency of legumes was higher than that of grass, and AMF benefited the plant biomass of legumes but had no effect on grass. Mycorrhizal colonization of plant was enhanced by legume neighbors but inhibited by grass neighbor in co-culture system. N, P, S and Mg concentrations of mycorrhizalmore » legumes were larger than these of non-mycorrhizal legumes. Legume herbs decreased soil pH and thereby increased the Pb concentrations of plants. The neighbor effects of legumes shifted from negative to positive with increasing Pb stress levels, whereas grass provided a negative effect on the growth of legume tree. AMF enhanced the competition but equalized growth of legume-legume under unpolluted and Pb stress conditions, respectively. In conclusion, (1) AMF mediate plant interaction through directly influencing plant biomass, and/or indirectly influencing plant photosynthesis, macronutrient acquisition, (2) legume tree inoculated with AMF and co-planted with legume herbs provides an effective way for Pb phytoremediation.« less

Bottom-up control of consumers leads to top-down indirect facilitation of invasive annual herbs in semiarid Chile.

PubMed

Madrigal, Jaime; Kelt, Douglas A; Meserve, Peter L; Gutierrez, Julio R; Squeo, Francisco A

2011-02-01

The abundance of exotic plants is thought to be limited by competition with resident species (including plants and generalist herbivores). In contrast, observations in semiarid Chile suggest that a native generalist rodent, the degu (Octodon degus), may be facilitating the expansion of exotic annual plants. We tested this hypothesis with a 20-year data set from a World Biosphere Reserve in mediterranean Chile. In this semiarid environment, rainfall varies annually and dramatically influences cover by both native and exotic annual plants; degu population density affects the composition and cover of exotic and native annual plants. In low-rainfall years, cover of both native and exotic herbs is extremely low. Higher levels of precipitation result in proportional increases in cover of all annual plants (exotic and native species), leading in turn to increases in degu population densities, at which point they impact native herbs in proportion to their greater cover, indirectly favoring the expansion of exotic plants. We propose that bottom-up control of consumers at our site results in top-down indirect facilitation of invasive annual herbs, and that this pattern may be general to other semiarid ecosystems.

Microsatellite primers for the endangered aquatic herb, Ottelia acuminata (Hydrocharitaceae).

PubMed

Xu, Chao; Du, Zhi-Yuan; Chen, Jin-Ming; Wang, Qing-Feng

2012-06-01

Microsatellite primers were developed in the endangered aquatic herb, Ottelia acuminata, to characterize its genetic diversity and understand its population structure. Eight polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed from two populations of O. acuminata in China. The number of alleles per locus ranged from one to 15; the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0 to 0.885 and from 0 to 0.888, respectively, in the two populations. Selected loci also amplified successfully in O. sinensis. These microsatellite markers will facilitate further studies on the conservation genetics and evolutionary history of O. acuminata.

Sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS quantitation and pharmacokinetic comparisons of multiple alkaloids from Fuzi- Beimu and single herb aqueous extracts following oral delivery in rats.

PubMed

Xu, Yanyan; Li, Yamei; Zhang, Pengjie; Yang, Bin; Wu, Huanyu; Guo, Xuejun; Li, Yubo; Zhang, Yanjun

2017-07-15

Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata- Fritillariae Thunbergii bulbus, namely Fuzi- Beimu in Chinese, is a classic herb pair whose combined administration was prohibited according to the rule of "Eighteen antagonisms". However, incompatibility of Fuzi and Beimu has become controversial because of the application supported by many recorded ancient prescriptions and increasing modern researches and clinical practice. The present study aimed to investigate the pharmacokinetic differences of multiple alkaloids from Fuzi- Beimu and the single herb aqueous extracts following oral delivery in rats. Twelve alkaloids including aconitine, mesaconitine, hypaconitine, benzoylaconitine, benzoylmesaconitine, benzoylhypacoitine, neoline, fuziline, talatisamine, chasmanine, peimine and peimisine in rat plasma were simultaneously quantitated by using sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS), with the method developed and fully validated. Plasma concentrations of the twelve alkaloids after administration were determined and pharmacokinetic parameters were compared. Significant differences were observed for all alkaloids except aconitine, mesaconitine and benzoylaconitine for Fuzi- Beimu group in comparison with the single herb group. AUC 0-t and T 1/2 of hypaconitine were increased significantly. AUC 0-t and C max were increased and T max decreased significantly for benzoylmesaconitine and benzoylhypacoitine. Fuziline showed significantly increased AUC 0-t , C max and T max . T 1/2 of neoline was notably increased. T 1/2 and T max were significantly elevated for talatisamine while C max decreased. T max of chasmanine was significantly increased and C max decreased. Extremely significant increase of T max was found for peimisine, and significant increase of T 1/2 for peimine. Results revealed that combined use of Fuzi and Beimu significantly influenced the system exposure and pharmacokinetic behaviors of multiple alkaloids from both

Increasing flavor variety with herbs and spices improves relative vegetable intake in children who are propylthiouracil (PROP) tasters relative to nontasters.

PubMed

Carney, Elizabeth M; Stein, Wendy M; Reigh, Nicole A; Gater, Felicia M; Bakke, Alyssa J; Hayes, John E; Keller, Kathleen L

2018-05-01

American children do not meet the recommended daily servings of vegetables, and previous research suggests children who can taste the bitterness of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) are more likely to have low vegetable intake. This study tested the hypothesis that adding multiple herb and spice blends to vegetables to increase flavor variety within a meal would increase vegetable intake in 3-5year-old children. Children attended two laboratory visits and consumed two test meals of common foods: macaroni and cheese, applesauce, carrots, milk, and water. On one visit, the meal included three servings of carrots with different herb and spice blends (Variety condition). On the other visit, all three servings of carrots were seasoned with the same herb and spice blend (No Variety condition). Overall, children consumed similar amounts of carrots by condition (36.5±40.5g versus 35.9±43.8g at the Variety and No Variety conditions, respectively); however, this relationship was moderated by PROP status. Children who tasted PROP as bitter (tasters) consumed a greater proportion of carrots during the Variety condition relative to nontasters (p=0.03). These findings suggest that children who taste PROP as bitter may be more receptive than nontasters to manipulations that increase flavor-variety of vegetables using herbs and spices. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quantitation of chlorophylls and 22 of their colored degradation products in culinary aromatic herbs by HPLC-DAD-MS and correlation with color changes during the dehydration process.

PubMed

Lafeuille, Jean-Louis; Lefèvre, Stéphane; Lebuhotel, Julie

2014-02-26

Chlorophylls and their green and olive-brown derivatives were successfully separated from culinary herb extracts by HPLC with photodiode-array and mass spectrometry detection. The method involved a ternary gradient elution and reverse-phase separation conditions capable of resolving 24 different pigments (2 chlorophylls and 22 of their derivatives) of different polarities within 28 min. The method was applied to monitor color changes in 50 samples of culinary aromatic herbs subjected to five different drying treatments. Of the 24 pigments, 14 were key to understanding the differences between the primary degradation pathways of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b in culinary herbs during drying processes. A color degradation ladder based on the total molar percentage of all the remaining green pigments was also proposed as a tool to measure the impact of drying treatments on aromatic herb visual aspects.

Positive diversity-stability relationships in forest herb populations during four decades of community assembly

Treesearch

Martin Dovciak; Charles B. Halpern

2010-01-01

It is suggested that diversity destabilizes individual populations within communities; however, generalizations are problematic because effects of diversity can be confounded by variation attributable to community type, life history or successional stage. We examined these complexities using a 40-year record of reassembly in forest herb communities in two clearcut...

Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Hydroxysafflor Yellow A and Anhydrosafflor Yellow B in Safflower Series of Herb Pairs Using Prep-HPLC and a Selective Knock-Out Approach.

PubMed

Qu, Cheng; Wang, Lin-Yan; Jin, Wen-Tao; Tang, Yu-Ping; Jin, Yi; Shi, Xu-Qin; Shang, Li-Li; Shang, Er-Xin; Duan, Jin-Ao

2016-11-06

The flower of Carthamus tinctorius L. (Carthami Flos, safflower), important in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is known for treating blood stasis, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease in clinical and experimental studies. It is widely accepted that hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) and anhydrosafflor yellow B (ASYB) are the major bioactive components of many formulae comprised of safflower. In this study, selective knock-out of target components such as HSYA and ASYB by using preparative high performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC) followed by antiplatelet and anticoagulation activities evaluation was used to investigate the roles of bioactive ingredients in safflower series of herb pairs. The results showed that both HSYA and ASYB not only played a direct role in activating blood circulation, but also indirectly made a contribution to the total bioactivity of safflower series of herb pairs. The degree of contribution of HSYA in the safflower and its series herb pairs was as follows: Carthami Flos-Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra (CF-GR) > Carthami Flos-Sappan Lignum (CF-SL) > Carthami Flos-Angelicae Sinensis Radix (CF-AS) > Carthami Flos-Astragali Radix (CF-AR) > Carthami Flos-Angelicae Sinensis Radix (CF-AS) > Carthami Flos-Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (CF-GL) > Carthami Flos-Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (CF-SM) > Carthami Flos (CF), and the contribution degree of ASYB in the safflower and its series herb pairs: CF-GL > CF-PS > CF-AS > CF-SL > CF-SM > CF-AR > CF-GR > CF. So, this study provided a significant and effective approach to elucidate the contribution of different herbal components to the bioactivity of the herb pair, and clarification of the variation of herb-pair compatibilities. In addition, this study provides guidance for investigating the relationship between herbal compounds and the bioactivities of herb pairs. It also provides a scientific basis for reasonable clinical applications and new drug

Micropropagation of Ajuga bracteosa, a medicinal herb.

PubMed

Kaul, Shivanee; Das, Sandip; Srivastava, P S

2013-04-01

For conservation and genetic transformation, a successful in vitro micropropagation protocol for Ajuga bracteosa, a medicinal herb has been established for the first time. MS medium supplemented with IAA (2 mg/L) and BA (5 mg/L) induced 100 % shoot regeneration with an average of 41.4 shoots of 8.4 cm per culture. Excised in vitro shoots when transferred to MS + IBA (0.5 mg/L) produced 20 roots/shoot of 20.2 cm average length in 100 % cultures. Of the three explants, leaf, petiole and root, leaf displayed quickest response followed by petiole while root was the slowest. Hardening of plantlets was achieved with 82 % survival. The hardened plants were maintained in pots with garden soil under controlled (Temp. 25 ± 2 °C) conditions. RAPD exhibited genetic fidelity with 100 % monomorphism in regenerants.

Ecological contingency in the effects of climatic warming on forest herb communities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harrison, S.; Damschen, E.I.; Grace, J.B.

2010-01-01

Downscalingfromthe predictions ofgeneral climatemodels is critical to current strategies for mitigating species loss caused by climate change. A key impediment to this downscaling is that we lack a fully developed understanding of howvariation in physical, biological, or land-use characteristics mediates the effects of climate change on ecological communities within regions. We analyzed change in understory herb communities over a 60-y period (1949/1951-2007/ 2009) in a complexmontane landscape (the SiskiyouMountains, Oregon) where mean temperatures have increased 2 ??C since 1948, similar to projections for other terrestrial communities. Our 185 sites included primary and secondary-growth lower montane forests (500-1.200 m above sea level) and primary upper montane to subalpine forests (1,500-2,100 m above sea level). In lower montane forests, regardless of land-use history, we found multiple herbcommunity changes consistent with an effectively drier climate, including lower mean specific leaf area, lower relative cover by species of northern biogeographic affinity, and greater compositional resemblance to communities in southerly topographic positions. At higher elevations we found qualitatively different andmoremodest changes, including increases in herbs of northern biogeographic affinity and in forest canopy cover. Our results provide communitylevel validation of predicted nonlinearities in climate change effects.

Role of indigenous herbs in the management of Alzheimer's disease

PubMed Central

Nishteswar, K.; Joshi, Hemang; Karra, Rahul Dutt

2014-01-01

Ageing is a natural phenomenon and decline of physiological and structural changes are incurable in advancing years of human life. When such degenerative changes occur in the brain they may lead to dementia and other memory related conditions. The Ayurvedic classics identified the importance of higher faculties dealing with memory and introduced a separate group of drugs namely Medhya Rasayanas. Regular intake of such drugs will help to prevent the onset of degenerative changes in the brain prematurely. Ayurveda can play a useful role in the management of such geriatric conditions. The current review has been done with a view to update documented Ayurvedic therapeutic modalities for certain geriatric conditions suggested by Ayurvedic classics in the management of diseases called Vātavyādhi (nervous system disorders), which also include conditions related to memory functions. Recent studies have started validating the claims recorded in Ayurvedic texts. The pathogenesis and remedies for Vātavyādhi documented in Ayurvedic classics have been reviewed with special emphasis on disorders related to dementia. A review of recent researches on the herbs mentioned in management of vāta disorders including dementia have been done to understand their role in management of Alzheimer's disease (AD). There are many herbs of ethno-medicinal source studied experimentally for their potential in treatment of AD. A judicious combination of modern research methodology and Ayurvedic principles could go a long way in the management and care of AD which is going to be a heavy burden on the society in the future. PMID:25737604

Herb Hydraulics: Inter- and Intraspecific Variation in Three Ranunculus Species.

PubMed

Nolf, Markus; Rosani, Andrea; Ganthaler, Andrea; Beikircher, Barbara; Mayr, Stefan

2016-04-01

The requirements of the water transport system of small herbaceous species differ considerably from those of woody species. Despite their ecological importance for many biomes, knowledge regarding herb hydraulics remains very limited. We compared key hydraulic features (vulnerability to drought-induced hydraulic decline, pressure-volume relations, onset of cellular damage, in situ variation of water potential, and stomatal conductance) of three Ranunculus species differing in their soil humidity preferences and ecological amplitude. All species were very vulnerable to water stress (50% reduction in whole-leaf hydraulic conductance [kleaf] at -0.2 to -0.8 MPa). In species with narrow ecological amplitude, the drought-exposed Ranunculus bulbosus was less vulnerable to desiccation (analyzed via loss of kleaf and turgor loss point) than the humid-habitat Ranunculus lanuginosus Accordingly, water stress-exposed plants from the broad-amplitude Ranunculus acris revealed tendencies toward lower vulnerability to water stress (e.g. osmotic potential at full turgor, cell damage, and stomatal closure) than conspecific plants from the humid site. We show that small herbs can adjust to their habitat conditions on interspecific and intraspecific levels in various hydraulic parameters. The coordination of hydraulic thresholds (50% and 88% loss of kleaf, turgor loss point, and minimum in situ water potential) enabled the study species to avoid hydraulic failure and damage to living cells. Reversible recovery of hydraulic conductance, desiccation-tolerant seeds, or rhizomes may allow them to prioritize toward a more efficient but vulnerable water transport system while avoiding the severe effects that water stress poses on woody species. © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

The effects of Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees extract and diterpenoids on the CYP450 isoforms' activities, a review of possible herb-drug interaction risks.

PubMed

Tan, Mei Lan; Lim, Lin Ee

2015-01-01

Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees is a popular medicinal plant and its components are used in various traditional product preparations. However, its herb-drug interactions risks remain unclear. This review specifically discusses the various published studies carried out to evaluate the effects of Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees plant extracts and diterpenoids on the CYP450 metabolic enzyme and if the plant components pose a possible herb-drug interaction risk. Unfortunately, the current data are insufficient to indicate if the extracts or diterpenoids can be labeled as in vitro CYP1A2, CYP2C9 or CYP3A4 inhibitors. A complete CYP inhibition assay utilizing human liver microsomes and the derivation of relevant parameters to predict herb-drug interaction risks may be necessary for these isoforms. However, based on the current studies, none of the extracts and diterpenoids exhibited CYP450 induction activity in human hepatocytes or human-derived cell lines. It is crucial that a well-defined experimental design is needed to make a meaningful herb-drug interaction prediction.

Potentially Unsafe Herb-drug Interactions Between a Commercial Product of Noni Juice and Phenytoin- A Case Report.

PubMed

Kang, Yu-Chan; Chen, Ming-Hong; Lai, Shung-Lon

2015-06-01

To report the unsafe herb-drug interactions between a commercial product of noni juice and phenytoin in a human case. A 49-year-old-male has been treated with phenytoin for epilepsy for more than ten years. In spite of his medication adherence, persistent sub-therapeutic phenytoin levels, which were sometimes from low to undetectable, with the result of having poor seizure control were noted as the noni fruit juice was co-administered daily. The possible mechanism is speculated to be due to noni juiceinduced cytochrome P-450 2C9 metabolism of phenytoin. Owing to many beneficial effects of noni juice, the patient was unwilling to accept our advice to quit taking it. Clobazam treatment was added, and with gradually reducing the amount of juice drunk over six months, the patient's epilepsy has been well controlled. Now only auras along with sometimes minor partial seizures occur, but no major attack has been reported for more than one year. Phenytoin had been commonly used for seizure control worldwide and nearly half of patients with epilepsy had received complementary and alternative medicine in Taiwan. Thus, this report is significantly important for clinicians to be aware of the interaction between antiepileptic drugs and some herbs like noni juice. Moreover, as far as we know, this is a rare human case that is reported to disclose this unfavorable herb-drug interaction.

Isolation of essential oil from different plants and herbs by supercritical fluid extraction.

PubMed

Fornari, Tiziana; Vicente, Gonzalo; Vázquez, Erika; García-Risco, Mónica R; Reglero, Guillermo

2012-08-10

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is an innovative, clean and environmental friendly technology with particular interest for the extraction of essential oil from plants and herbs. Supercritical CO(2) is selective, there is no associated waste treatment of a toxic solvent, and extraction times are moderate. Further, supercritical extracts were often recognized of superior quality when compared with those produced by hydro-distillation or liquid-solid extraction. This review provides a comprehensive and updated discussion of the developments and applications of SFE in the isolation of essential oils from plant matrices. SFE is normally performed with pure CO(2) or using a cosolvent; fractionation of the extract is commonly accomplished in order to isolate the volatile oil compounds from other co-extracted substances. In this review the effect of pressure, temperature and cosolvent on the extraction and fractionation procedure is discussed. Additionally, a comparison of the extraction yield and composition of the essential oil of several plants and herbs from Lamiaceae family, namely oregano, sage, thyme, rosemary, basil, marjoram and marigold, which were produced in our supercritical pilot-plant device, is presented and discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Herb-Induced Liver Injuries in Developing Nations: An Update.

PubMed

Amadi, Cecilia Nwadiuto; Orisakwe, Orish Ebere

2018-04-17

The last few decades have seen a rise in the use of herbal supplements, natural products, and traditional medicines. However, there are growing concerns related to the safety and toxicities of these medicines. These herbal medicines are associated with complications such as liver damage with a high incidence of mortalities and morbidities. Clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic cases with abnormal liver functions tests to sudden and severe liver failure necessitating liver transplantation. This work aimed to review the etiology, risk factors, diagnosis, clinical manifestations and selected clinical case reports of herbal hepatotoxicity in developing nations. PubMed and Google Scholar searches were undertaken to identify relevant literature. Furthermore, we scanned the reference lists of the primary and review articles to identify publications not retrieved by electronic searches. Little data exists on clinical cases of herb-induced liver injury in some developing countries such as Nigeria, as most incidences are either not reported to health care providers or reports from hospitals go unpublished. Studies in Nigeria have highlighted a possible correlation between use of herbs and liver disease. In Uganda, and association between the use of traditional herbal medicine with liver fibrosis in HIV-infected and non-HIV patients was demonstrated. Reports from China have revealed incidences of acute liver failure as a result of herbal medicine use. The actual incidence and prevalence of HILI in developing nations remain largely unknown due to both poor pharmacovigilance programs and non-application of emerging technologies. Improving education and public awareness of the potential risks of herbals and herbal products is desirable to ensure that suspected adverse effects are formally reported. There is need for stricter regulations and pre-clinical studies necessary for efficacy and safety.

Determination of As, Cd, Hg and Pb in herbs using slurry sampling electrothermal vaporisation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Lin, Mei-Ling; Jiang, Shiuh-Jen

2013-12-01

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry coupled with ultrasonic slurry sampling electrothermal vaporisation (USS-ETV-ICP-MS) has been applied to determine As, Cd, Hg and Pb in 0.5% m/v slurries of several herb samples. 1% m/v 8-Hydroxyquinoline was used as the modifier to enhance the ion signals. The influences of instrument operating conditions, slurry preparation and interferences on the ion signals were reported. This method has been applied to the determination of As, Cd, Hg and Pb in NIST SRM 1547 peach leaves and SRM 1573a tomato leaves reference materials and three herb samples purchased from the local market and ground to 150 μm. The analysis results of the standard reference materials agreed with the certified values which are at sub μg g(-1) levels. Precision between sample replicates was better than 4% for all the determinations. The method detection limits estimated from standard addition curves were about 0.3, 0.1, 0.1 and 0.2 ng g(-1) for As, Cd, Hg and Pb, respectively, in original herb samples. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pleasantness, familiarity, and identification of spice odors are interrelated and enhanced by consumption of herbs and food neophilia.

PubMed

Knaapila, Antti; Laaksonen, Oskar; Virtanen, Markus; Yang, Baoru; Lagström, Hanna; Sandell, Mari

2017-02-01

The primary dimension of odor is pleasantness, which is associated with a multitude of factors. We investigated how the pleasantness, familiarity, and identification of spice odors were associated with each other and with the use of the respective spice, overall use of herbs, and level of food neophobia. A total of 126 adults (93 women, 33 men; age 25-61 years, mean 39 years) rated the odors from 12 spices (oregano, anise, rosemary, mint, caraway, sage, thyme, cinnamon, fennel, marjoram, garlic, and clove) for pleasantness and familiarity, and completed a multiple-choice odor identification. Data on the use of specific spices, overall use of herbs, and Food Neophobia Scale score were collected using an online questionnaire. Familiar odors were mostly rated as pleasant (except garlic), whereas unfamiliar odors were rated as neutral (r = 0.63). We observed consistent and often significant trends that suggested the odor pleasantness and familiarity were positively associated with the correct odor identification, consumption of the respective spice, overall use of herbs, and food neophilia. Our results suggest that knowledge acquisition through repetitive exposure to spice odor with active attention may gradually increase the odor pleasantness within the framework set by the chemical characteristics of the aroma compound. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discovery of Dual ETA/ETB Receptor Antagonists from Traditional Chinese Herbs through in Silico and in Vitro Screening

PubMed Central

Wang, Xing; Zhang, Yuxin; Liu, Qing; Ai, Zhixin; Zhang, Yanling; Xiang, Yuhong; Qiao, Yanjiang

2016-01-01

Endothelin-1 receptors (ETAR and ETBR) act as a pivotal regulator in the biological effects of ET-1 and represent a potential drug target for the treatment of multiple cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of the study is to discover dual ETA/ETB receptor antagonists from traditional Chinese herbs. Ligand- and structure-based virtual screening was performed to screen an in-house database of traditional Chinese herbs, followed by a series of in vitro bioassay evaluation. Aristolochic acid A (AAA) was first confirmed to be a dual ETA/ETB receptor antagonist based intracellular calcium influx assay and impedance-based assay. Dose-response curves showed that AAA can block both ETAR and ETBR with IC50 of 7.91 and 7.40 μM, respectively. Target specificity and cytotoxicity bioassay proved that AAA is a selective dual ETA/ETB receptor antagonist and has no significant cytotoxicity on HEK293/ETAR and HEK293/ETBR cells within 24 h. It is a feasible and effective approach to discover bioactive compounds from traditional Chinese herbs using in silico screening combined with in vitro bioassay evaluation. The structural characteristic of AAA for its activity was especially interpreted, which could provide valuable reference for the further structural modification of AAA. PMID:26999111

Use of the Herb Gymnema sylvestre to Illustrate the Principles of Gustatory Sensation: An Undergraduate Neuroscience Laboratory Exercise.

PubMed

Schroeder, Joseph A; Flannery-Schroeder, Ellen

2005-01-01

The Indian herb Gymnema sylvestre has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for 2000 years, most recently for the treatment of diabetes. Loose leaf Gymnema sylvestre can be prepared as a tea and will impair the ability to taste sugar by blocking sweet receptors on the tongue. This report describes a laboratory exercise easily applied to an undergraduate neuroscience course that can be used to illustrate the principles of gustatory sensation. Combined with a preceding lecture on the primary taste sensations, students experience and appreciate how the primary tastes are combined to produce overall taste. In addition, the exercises outlined here expand upon previously published demonstrations employing Gymnema sylvestre to include illustrations of the different sensory transduction mechanisms associated with each of the four or five primary taste modalities. Students compare their qualitative primary taste experiences to salt, sugar, aspartame, chocolate, and sweet-sour candy prior to and following exposure to Gymnema sylvestre. The herb's impairment of sweet sensation is profound and dramatically alters the perception of sweetness in sugar, chocolate, and candy without altering the perception of the other primary tastes. The exercise has an indelible effect on students because the herb's intense effect compels students to rely on their unique personal experiences to highlight the principles of gustatory sensation.

First-order fire effects on herbs and Shrubs: present knowledge and process modeling needs

Treesearch

Kirsten Stephan; Melanie Miller; Matthew B. Dickinson

2010-01-01

Herbaceous plants and shrubs have received little attention in terms of fire effects modeling despite their critical role in ecosystem integrity and resilience after wildfires and prescribed burns. In this paper, we summarize current knowledge of direct effects of fire on herb and shrub (including cacti) vegetative tissues and seed banks, propose key components for...

Characteristics of physico-chemical properties of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) jams with added herbs.

PubMed

Korus, Anna; Jaworska, Grażyna; Bernaś, Emilia; Juszczak, Lesław

2015-05-01

Low-sugar bilberry jams without added herbs and those with added mentha (1 %) and lemon balm (1 %) were examined for levels of selected physico-chemical indicators, antioxidant activity, colour and texture. Jams were obtained by two methods: cooked in an open pan and cooked in a vacuum evaporator. 100 g fresh mass contained 0.076-0.481 mg HMF, 5.8-7.1 mg vitamin C, 176-232 mg total polyphenols, 122-156 mg total flavonoids, 73-96 mg total anthocyanins, with antioxidant activity per 1 g of 405-575 μM Trolox (ABTS), 71-89 μM Trolox (DPPH) and 120-176 μM Fe(2+) (FRAP). Jams cooked in a vacuum evaporator had higher levels of the indicators examined, better colour and worse texture. Jams with added herbs generally showed higher levels of all indicators, but their colour and texture were slightly worse. Storing jams for 8 months caused a reduction in antioxidant constituents of 7-20 % along with a deterioration of colour and texture.

An updated review on the parasitic herb of Cuscuta reflexa Roxb.

PubMed

Patel, Satish; Sharma, Vikas; Chauhan, Nagendra S; Dixit, Vinod K

2012-03-01

Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. is a golden yellow, leafless, perennial, parasitic herb of the family Convolvulaceae. C. reflexa has been investigated for antispasmodic, hemodynamic, anticonvulsant, anti steroidogenic, antihypertensive, muscle relaxant, cardiotonic, antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant, cholinergic, diuretic and hair growth activities. Many chemical constituents have been isolated from C. reflexa such as cuscutin, amarbelin, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, kaempferol, dulcitol, myricetin, quercetin, coumarin and oleanolic acid. This review presents a detailed survey of the literature on pharmacognosy, phytochemistry and traditional and biological medicinal uses of C. reflexa.

The herb community of a tropical forest in central Panamá: dynamics and impact of mammalian herbivores.

PubMed

Royo, Alejandro A; Carson, Walter P

2005-08-01

Mammals are hypothesized to either promote plant diversity by preventing competitive exclusion or limit diversity by reducing the abundance of sensitive plant species through their activities as browsers or disturbance agents. Previous studies of herbivore impacts in plant communities have focused on tree species and ignored the herbaceous community. In an experiment in mature-phase, tropical moist forest sites in central Panamá, we studied the impact of excluding ground-dwelling mammals on the richness and abundance of herbs in 16, 30x45-m plots. Within each plot, we censused the herbaceous community in 28, 2x2-m subplots (1,792 m2 total area sampled). We identified over 54 species of herbs averaging 1.21 ramets m-2 and covering approximately 4.25% of the forest floor. Excluding mammals for 5 years had no impact on overall species richness. Within exclosures, however, there was a significant two-fold increase in the density of rare species. Overall herbaceous density and percent cover did not differ between exclosures and adjacent control plots, although cover did increase over time. Mammalian exclusion significantly increased the total cover of three-dominant herb species, Pharus latifolius, Calathea inocephala, and Adiantum lucidum, but did not affect their density. This study represents one of the most extensive herbaceous community censuses conducted in tropical forests and is among a few that quantify herbaceous distribution and abundance in terms of both density and cover. Additionally, this work represents the first community level test of mammalian impacts on the herbaceous community in a tropical forest to date. Our results suggest that ground dwelling mammals do not play a key role in altering the relative abundance patterns of tropical herbs in the short term. Furthermore, our results contrast sharply with prior studies on similar temporal and spatial scales that demonstrate mammals strongly alter tree seedling composition and reduce seedling density

Functional Foods for Health: The Interrelated Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Role of Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs, Spices and Cocoa in Humans

PubMed Central

Serafini, Mauro; Peluso, Ilaria

2016-01-01

The health benefits of plant food-based diets could be related to both integrated antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms exerted by a wide array of phytochemicals present in fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices. Therefore, there is mounting interest in identifying foods, food extracts and phytochemical formulations from plant sources which are able to efficiently modulate oxidative and inflammatory stress to prevent diet-related diseases. This paper reviews available evidence about the effect of supplementation with selected fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices and their extracts or galenic formulation on combined markers of redox and inflammatory status in humans. PMID:27881064

Pregnancy, prescription medicines and the potential risk of herb-drug interactions: a cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

McLay, James S; Izzati, Naila; Pallivalapila, Abdul R; Shetty, Ashalatha; Pande, Binita; Rore, Craig; Al Hail, Moza; Stewart, Derek

2017-12-19

Pregnant women are routinely prescribed medicines while self-medicating with herbal natural products to treat predominantly pregnancy related conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the potential for herb-drug interactions (HDIs) in pregnant women and to explore possible herb-drug interactions and their potential clinical significance. A cross-sectional survey of women during early pregnancy or immediately postpartum in North-East Scotland. Outcome measures included; Prescription medicines use excluding vitamins and potential HDIs assessed using Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. The survey was completed by 889 respondents (73% response rate). 45.3% (403) reported the use of at least one prescription medicine, excluding vitamins. Of those taking prescription medicines, 44.9% (181) also reported concurrent use of at least one HNP (Range 1-12). A total of 91 different prescription medicines were reported by respondents using HNPs. Of those taking prescription medicines, 44.9% (181) also reported concurrent use of at least one HNP (Range 1-12). Thirty-four herb-drug interactions were identified in 23 (12.7%) women with the potential to increase the risk of postpartum haemorrhage, alter maternal haemodynamics, and enhance maternal/fetal CNS depression. Almost all were rated as moderate (93.9%), one as a potentially major (ginger and nifedipine) and only one minor (ondansetron and chamomile). Almost half of pregnant women in this study were prescribed medicines excluding vitamins and minerals and almost half of these used HNPs. Potential moderate to severe HDIs were identified in an eighth of the study cohort. Healthcare professionals should be aware that the concurrent use of HNPs and prescription medicines during pregnancy is common and carries potential risks.

[Development of UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS combined with reference herb approach to rapidly screen commercial sulfur-fumigated ginseng].

PubMed

Zhou, Shan-Shan; Xu, Jin-Di; Shen, Hong; Liu, Huan-Huan; Li, Song-Lin

2014-08-01

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) combined with reference herb method was developed to rapidly screen commercial sulfur-fumigated ginseng. Sufur-fumigated ginseng reference herb was prepared using genuine ginseng by conventional procedure. Then the reference sulfur-fumigated ginseng sample was analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS to identify characteristic marker components. 25-hydroxyl-Re sulfate with higher abundance was se- lected as marker compound from 8 characteristic components identified in sulfur-fumigated ginseng reference herb. The fragmentation of 25-hydroxyl-Re sulfate was extensively investigated, fragment ion m/z 879.44 with higher intensity was chosen as the characteristic ion of sulfur-fumigated ginseng. The response of ion m/z 879. 44 was improved by optimizing the MS conditions so that this ion could be used as the characteristic marker ion for screening purpose in ion extracting screening mode. The established approach was successfully applied to inspect 21 commercial ginseng samples collected from different cities in China It was found that the chemical profiles of 9 samples were similar to that of sulfur-fumigated ginseng reference herb, and the characteristic ion m/z 879. 44 of 25-hydroxyl-Re sulfate was also detected in these samples, suggesting that there were nearly 43% ginseng samples analyzed being sulfur-fumigated. This findng agreed well with the results of sulfur dioxide residues of these 21 commercial ginseng samples determined with the method documented in Chinese Pharmacopeia Compared with the method documented in Chinese Pharmacopeia, the proposed approach is more rapid and specific for screening sulfur-fumigated ginseng. SFDA of China should strengthen the enforcement to prohibit ginseng being sulfur-fumigated, so that ginseng and it preparations could be effectively and safely benefit to the health of human beings.

Using the Chinese herb Scutellaria barbata against extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections: in vitro and in vivo studies.

PubMed

Tsai, Chin-Chuan; Lin, Chi-Shiuan; Hsu, Chun-Ru; Chang, Chiu-Ming; Chang, I-Wei; Lin, Li-Wei; Hung, Chih-Hsin; Wang, Jiun-Ling

2018-03-20

No animal model studies have been conducted in which the efficacy of herbal compounds has been tested against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections. Very few antibiotics are available for the treatment of pulmonary infections caused by extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (XDRAB). To find alternative treatments, traditional Chinese herbs were screened for their antimicrobial potential. The present study screened 30 herbs that are traditionally used in Taiwan and that are commonly prescribed for heat clearing and detoxification. The herbs with antibacterial activities were analysed by disc diffusion assays, time-kill assays and a murine lung infection model. Of the 30 herbs tested, only Scutellaria barbata demonstrated 100% in vitro activity against XDRAB. Furthermore, we compared the antibacterial effect of the S. barbata extract with that of colistin, and the S. barbata extract showed better antibacterial effect. In the XDRAB pneumonia murine model, we compared the antimicrobial effects of the orally administered S. barbata extract (200 mg/kg, every 24 h), the intratracheally administered colistin (75,000 U/kg, every 12 h), and the control group. The bacterial load in the lungs of the treatment group that received the oral S. barbata extract showed a significant decrease in comparison to that in the lungs of the control group. In addition, histopathological examinations also revealed better resolution of perivascular, peribronchial, and alveolar inflammation in the oral S. barbata extract-treated group. Our in vitro and in vivo data from the animal model support the use of S. barbata as an alternate drug to treat XDRAB pulmonary infections. However, detailed animal studies and clinical trials are necessary to establish the clinical utility of S. barbata in treating XDRAB pulmonary infections.

Anti-hypertensive Herbs and their Mechanisms of Action: Part I

PubMed Central

Al Disi, Sara S.; Anwar, M. Akhtar; Eid, Ali H.

2016-01-01

The use of herbal therapies for treatment and management of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is increasing. Plants contain a bounty of phytochemicals that have proven to be protective by reducing the risk of various ailments and diseases. Indeed, accumulating literature provides the scientific evidence and hence reason d'etre for the application of herbal therapy in relation to CVDs. Slowly, but absolutely, herbal remedies are being entrenched into evidence-based medical practice. This is partly due to the supporting clinical trials and epidemiological studies. The rationale for this expanding interest and use of plant based treatments being that a significant proportion of hypertensive patients do not respond to Modern therapeutic medication. Other elements to this equation are the cost of medication, side-effects, accessibility, and availability of drugs. Therefore, we believe it is pertinent to review the literature on the beneficial effects of herbs and their isolated compounds as medication for treatment of hypertension, a prevalent risk factor for CVDs. Our search utilized the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases, and the criterion for inclusion was based on the following keywords and phrases: hypertension, high blood pressure, herbal medicine, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), nitric oxide, vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation, hydrogen sulfide, nuclear factor kappa-B, oxidative stress, and epigenetics/epigenomics. Each of the aforementioned keywords was co-joined with herb in question, and where possible with its constituent molecule(s). In this first of a two-part review, we provide a brief introduction of hypertension, followed by a discussion of the molecular and cellular mechanisms. We then present and discuss the plants that are most commonly used in the treatment and management of hypertension. PMID:26834637

A latitudinal gradient in seed nutrients of the forest herb Anemone nemorosa.

PubMed

De Frenne, P; Kolb, A; Graae, B J; Decocq, G; Baltora, S; De Schrijver, A; Brunet, J; Chabrerie, O; Cousins, S A O; Dhondt, R; Diekmann, M; Gruwez, R; Heinken, T; Hermy, M; Liira, J; Saguez, R; Shevtsova, A; Baskin, C C; Verheyen, K

2011-05-01

The nutrient concentration in seeds determines many aspects of potential success of the sexual reproductive phase of plants, including the seed predation probability, efficiency of seed dispersal and seedling performance. Despite considerable research interest in latitudinal gradients of foliar nutrients, a similar gradient for seeds remains unexplored. We investigated a potential latitudinal gradient in seed nutrient concentrations within the widespread European understorey forest herb Anemone nemorosa L. We sampled seeds of A. nemorosa in 15 populations along a 1900-km long latitudinal gradient at three to seven seed collection dates post-anthesis and investigated the relative effects of growing degree-hours >5 °C, soil characteristics and latitude on seed nutrient concentrations. Seed nitrogen, nitrogen:phosphorus ratio and calcium concentration decreased towards northern latitudes, while carbon:nitrogen ratios increased. When taking differences in growing degree-hours and measured soil characteristics into account and only considering the most mature seeds, the latitudinal decline remained particularly significant for seed nitrogen concentration. We argue that the decline in seed nitrogen concentration can be attributed to northward decreasing seed provisioning due to lower soil nitrogen availability or greater investment in clonal reproduction. This pattern may have large implications for the reproductive performance of this forest herb as the degree of seed provisioning ultimately co-determines seedling survival and reproductive success. © 2010 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

[Identification characters of leaf morphological and venation pattern of Houttuynia cordata with its confused herb Gymnotheca chinensis].

PubMed

Lu, Hai-Lin; Guo, Min; Liao, Yue-Kui; Huang, Ding-Ying; Huang, Chun-Ni; Wu, Xiao-Chen; He, Bao-Zuo

2012-11-01

To study the identification characters of Houttuynia cordata and its confused herb Gymnotheca chinensis and establish an identification method. LMVP (leaf morphological-venation pattern for identification Chinese herbs), and QAERM (quantitatively analyze and evaluate reliability for the method of identification Chinese herbs) were applied for the study. Both venations were brochidodromous-acrodromous and arising from the mid-petiole or the upper section of petiole. The main characteristic of the leaf of Houttuynia cordata: surface with small gray-white stoma protuberances; Ligulate process of stipule-petiole sheath were clear; Primary veins 7 or 5; The innermost pair of primary vein closed up the top of the sinus at blade base or above sinus, and the section of closed vein was straight; Emitted a smell of fish when fresh leaf was kneaded into pieces. The main feature of the leaf of Gymnotheca chinensis: no small gray-white stoma protuberances; Ligulate process of stipule-petiole sheath were not clear; Primary veins 5; The innermost pair of primary vein closed into the sinus at blade base, and the section of closed vein was slightly curve; No smell of fish. With the mentioned key differences, the both plants could be successfully identified from each other. The accuracy of identification results (AC) was 100%, the repeatability of identification results: agreement rate for observation (ARO) was 100% and Kappa value was 1.00. The established method is simple, rapid, economic and reliable.

Antioxidant and hepatoprotective actions of medicinal herb, Terminalia catappa L. from Okinawa Island and its tannin corilagin.

PubMed

Kinoshita, S; Inoue, Y; Nakama, S; Ichiba, T; Aniya, Y

2007-11-01

The antioxidant and hepatoprotective actions of Terminalia catappa L. collected from Okinawa Island were evaluated in vitro and in vivo using leaves extract and isolated antioxidants. A water extract of the leaves of T. catappa showed a strong radical scavenging action for 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and superoxide (O(2)(.-)) anion. Chebulagic acid and corilagin were isolated as the active components from T. catappa. Both antioxidants showed a strong scavenging action for O(2)(.-) and peroxyl radicals and also inhibited reactive oxygen species production from leukocytes stimulated by phorbol-12-myristate acetate. Galactosamine (GalN, 600 mg/kg, s.c.,) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 0.5 microg/kg, i.p.)-induced hepatotoxicity of rats as seen by an elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities was significantly reduced when the herb extract or corilagin was given intraperitoneally to rats prior to GalN/LPS treatment. Increase of free radical formation and lipid peroxidation in mitochondria caused by GalN/LPS treatment were also decreased by pretreatment with the herb/corilagin. In addition, apoptotic events such as DNA fragmentation and the increase in caspase-3 activity in the liver observed with GalN/LPS treatment were prevented by the pretreatment with the herb/corilagin. These results show that the extract of T. catappa and its antioxidant, corilagin are protective against GalN/LPS-induced liver injury through suppression of oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Isotope dilution-GC-MS/MS analysis of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in selected medicinal herbs used as health food additives.

PubMed

Yu, L; Cao, Y; Zhang, J; Cui, Z; Sun, H

2012-01-01

Medicinal herbs have a very important role in health protection and disease control, and have been used in health foods. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have carcinogenic, biological and mutagenic effects. In this paper, the content of 16 PAHs as representative contaminants in nine Chinese medicinal herbs, as additives for health foods, was investigated in order to ensure food safety from this source. A highly sensitive isotope dilution-gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (ID-GC-MS/MS) method combined with gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) was developed. Calibration curves showed good linearity for all PAHs (R² > 0.999), and the limit of quantification (LOQ) ranged from 0.42 to 2.7 µg kg⁻¹. Average recoveries for these compounds were in the range of 52.5-117%, 52.6-119% and 81.4-108% at the concentrations of 10, 50 and 250 µg kg⁻¹ with RSD of 1.8-15%, 0.9-15% and 1.0-15%, respectively. The proposed method was used for the analysis of nine Chinese medicinal herbs. Total levels of PAHs varied from 98.2 µg kg⁻¹ (cassia seed) to 2245 µg kg⁻¹ (eucommia bark). The highest level was found for phenanthrene (Phe) in liquorice root (631.3 µg kg⁻¹), indigowoad leaf (551.0 µg kg⁻¹), rose flower (435.2 µg kg⁻¹) and eucommia bark (432.3 µg kg⁻¹). The proposed method could provide a useful basis for safety monitoring of herbs and risk management for PAHs in the health food industry.

[Study on application of low altitude remote sensing to Chinese herb medicinal sustainable utilization].

PubMed

Zhou, Ying-Qun; Chen, Shi-Lin; Zhao, Run-Huai; Xie, Cai-Xiang; Li, Ying

2008-04-01

Sustainable utilization and bio-diversity protection of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have been a hotspot of the TCM study at present, in which the choice of appropriate method is one of the primary problems confronted. This paper described the technical system, equipment and image processing of low altitude remote sensing, and analyzed its future application in Chinese herb medicinal sustainable utilization.

Determination of six pesticides in the medicinal herb Cordia salicifolia by matrix solid-phase dispersion and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

PubMed

de Carvalho, Pedro Henrique Viana; Prata, Vanessa de Menezes; Alves, Péricles Barreto; Navickiene, Sandro

2009-01-01

A simple and effective extraction method based on matrix solid-phase dispersion was developed for acephate, chlorpropham, pyrimicarb, bifenthrin, tetradifon, and phosalone in leaves of the medicinal plant Cordia salicifolia, whose extracts are commercialized in Brazil as diuretic, appetite suppressant, and weight loss products. The determination method was GC/MS with selected-ion monitoring. Different parameters of the method were evaluated, such as type of solid phase (C18, alumina, silica gel, and Florisil) and the amount of solid phase and eluent (dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, chloroform, and cyclohexane). The best results were obtained using 0.5 g herb sample, 0.5 g neutral alumina as the dispersant sorbent, 0.5 g C18 as the cleanup sorbent, and cyclohexane-dichloromethane (3 + 1, v/v) as the eluting solvent. The method was validated using herb samples fortified with pesticides at different concentration levels (0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/kg). Average recoveries (seven replicates) ranged from 67.7 to 129.9%, with relative standard deviations between 6.3 and 26%. Detection and quantitation limits for the herb ranged from 0.10 to 0.15 and 0.15 to 0.25 mg/kg, respectively.

Herb layer diversity and phytoindicative evaluation of habitat conditions of forest permanent plots in Poland

Treesearch

Ewa Roo-Zielinska; Jerzy Solon

1998-01-01

The influence of climatic and pollution gradients was determined on species richness, species diversity, and values of phytoindicators of the herb layer in pine and mixed pine forest communities in Poland. Geographical longitude was used as a synthetic measure of geographical position. Ellenberg's indices were used as synthetic measures of habitat differentiation...

[Analysis on influential factors of Chinese medicinal herb growers' willingness to use green pesticides: evidence on Panax notoginseng production areas in Wenshan, Yunnan province].

PubMed

Qian, Yun-Xu; Yang, Yue; Zhao, Wei; Cui, Xiu-Ming; Bi, Kai-Shun

2013-10-01

The purpose of the article is to apply a binary logistic model to analyze the major factors, which influence Chinese medicinal herb growers' willingness to use green pesticides by using survey data collected in Wenshan, Yunnan Province. The results indicate that, output per capita, average pesticide cost per mu, cognition of pesticide residues, expectations on Panax notoginseng prices, cognition of pesticides' effect of pests control, cognition of P. notoginseng prices of low pesticide residues have a significant influence on growers' willingness to use green pesticides. According to the analysis above, some proposals for enhancing Chinese medicinal herb growers' willingness to use green pesticides are put forward, such as, moving toward the intensive planting systems, fetching down the pieces of green pesticides, emphasizing and propagating the advantages of green pesticides, keeping the prices of Chinese medicinal herb running at steady rates.

[Studies on chemical constituents from herbs of Botrychium lanuginosum].

PubMed

Wang, Dong; Liu, Xiao-qiu; Yao, Chun-suo; Fang, Wei-shuo

2008-11-01

To study the chemical constituents of Botrychium lanuginosum. Various chromatographic techniques were used to isolate and purify the constituents. The structures were elucidated by chemical evidence and spectroscopic methods. Ten compounds were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of the herb of B. lanuginosum and their structures were elucidated as 30-nor-21beta-hopan-22-one (1), beta-sitosterol (2), luteolin (3), thunberginol A (4), apigenin (5), (6'-O-palmitoyl)-sitosterol-3-O-beta-D-glucoside (6), daucosterol (7), 1-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(2S, 3R, 4E, 8Z)-2-[(2R-hydroxy hexadecanoyl) amino]-4, 8-octadecadiene-1, 3-diol (8), luteolin-7-O-glucoside (9), sucrose (10). Compounds 1-10 were isolated from this genus for the first time.

Functional Foods for Health: The Interrelated Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Role of Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs, Spices and Cocoa in Humans.

PubMed

Serafini, Mauro; Peluso, Ilaria

2016-01-01

The health benefits of plant food-based diets could be related to both integrated antioxidant and antiinflammatory mechanisms exerted by a wide array of phytochemicals present in fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices. Therefore, there is mounting interest in identifying foods, food extracts and phytochemical formulations from plant sources which are able to efficiently modulate oxidative and inflammatory stress to prevent diet-related diseases. This paper reviews available evidence about the effect of supplementation with selected fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices and their extracts or galenic formulation on combined markers of redox and inflammatory status in humans. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Bioactive compounds from culinary herbs inhibit a molecular target for type 2 diabetes management, dipeptidyl peptidase IV

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare), marjoram (Origanum majorana), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) are concentrated sources of bioactive compounds. The aims of this study were to characterize extracts from greenhouse grown or commercially purchased herbs for th...

Phytochemicals and the breakthrough of traditional herbs in the management of sexual dysfunctions.

PubMed

Adimoelja, A

2000-01-01

Traditional herbs have been a revolutionary breakthrough in the management of erectile dysfunction and have become known world-wide as an 'instant' treatment. The modern view of the management of erectile dysfunction subscribes to a single etiology, i.e. the mechanism of erection. A large number of pharmacological agents are orally consumed and vasoactive agents inserted intraurethrally or injected intrapenially to regain good erection. Modern phytochemicals have developed from traditional herbs. Phytochemicals focus their mechanism of healing action to the root cause, i.e. the inability to control the proper function of the whole body system. Hence phytochemicals manage erectile dysfunction in the frame of sexual dysfunction as a whole entity. Protodioscin is a phytochemical agent derived from Tribulus terrestris L plant, which has been clinically proven to improve sexual desire and enhance erection via the conversion of protodioscine to DHEA (De-Hydro-Epi-Androsterone). Preliminary observations suggest that Tribulus terrestris L grown on different soils does not consistently produce the active component Protodioscin. Further photochemical studies of many other herbal plants are needed to explain the inconsistent results found with other herbal plants, such as in diversities of Ginseng, Eurycoma longifolia, Pimpinella pruacen, Muara puama, Ginkgo biloba, Yohimbe etc.

[Immune mechanisms of the active ingredients of Chinese medicinal herbs for chronic prostatitis].

PubMed

Wang, Hao; Zhou, Yu-chun; Xue, Jian-guo

2016-01-01

Chronic prostatitis is a common male disease, and its pathogenesis is not yet clear. Most scholars believe that oxidative stress and immune imbalance are the keys to the occurrence and progression of chronic prostatitis. Currently immunotherapy of chronic prostatitis remains in the exploratory stage. This article relates the active ingredients of 5 Chinese medicinal herbs (total glucosides of paeony, tripterigium wilfordii polglycosidium, curcumin, geniposide, and quercetin) for the treatment of chronic prostatitis and their possible action mechanisms as follows: 1) inhibiting the immune response and activation and proliferation of T-cells, and adjusting the proportion of Th1/Th2 cells; 2) upregulating the expression of Treg and enhancing the patient's tolerability; 3) suppressing the activation of the NF-kB factor, reducing the release of iNOS, and further decreasing the release of NO, IL-2 and other inflammatory cytokines, which contribute to the suppression of the immune response; 4) inhibiting the production of such chemokines as MCP-1 and MIP-1α in order to reduce their induction of inflammatory response. Studies on the immune mechanisms of Chinese medicinal herbs in the treatment of chronic prostatitis are clinically valuable for the development of new drugs for this disease.

Herb-drug interaction of Andrographis paniculata (Nees) extract and andrographolide on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic of naproxen in rats.

PubMed

Balap, Aishwarya; Lohidasan, Sathiyanarayanan; Sinnathambi, Arulmozhi; Mahadik, Kakasaheb

2017-01-04

Andrographis paniculata Nees (Acanthacae) have broad range of pharmacological effects such as hepatoprotective, antifertility, antimalarial, antidiabetic, suppression of various cancer cells and anti-inflammatory properties and is widely used medicinal plant in the traditional Unani and Ayurvedic medicinal systems. Andrographolide (AN) is one of the active constituent of the A. paniculata Nees extract (APE). They have been found in many traditional herbal formulations in India and proven to be effective as anti-inflammatory drug. To evaluate the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (anti arthritic) herb-drug interactions of A. paniculata Nees extract (APE) and pure andrographolide (AN) with naproxen (NP) after oral co-administration in wistar rats. After oral co-administration of APE (200mg/Kg) and AN (60mg/kg) with NP (7.5mg/kg) in rats, drug concentrations in plasma were determined using HPLC method. The main pharmacokinetic parameters of C max , t max , t 1/2 , MRT, Vd, CL, and AUC were calculated by non-compartment model. Change in paw volume, mechanical nociceptive threshold, mechanical hyperalgesia, histopathology and hematological parameters were evaluated to study antiarthritic activity. Co-administration of NP with APE and pure AN decreased systemic exposure level of NP in vivo. The C max , t max, AUC 0-t of NP was decreased. In pharmacodynamic study, NP (10mg/kg) alone and NP+AN (10+60mg/kg) groups exhibited significant synergistic anti-arthritic activity as compared to groups NP+APE, APE and AN alone. The results obtained from this study suggested that NP, APE and pure AN existed pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions in rat which is correlated with anti-arthritic study. The knowledge regarding possible herb-drug interaction of NP might be helpful for physicians as well as patients using AP. So further studies should be done to understand the effect of other herbal ingredients of APE on NP as well as to predict the herb-drug interaction in humans

Moss is a key nurse plant for reintroduction of the endangered herb, Primulina tabacum Hance.

Treesearch

Hai Ren; Guohua Ma; Qianmei Zhang; Qinfeng Guo; Jun Wang; Zhengfeng Wang

2010-01-01

The rare and endangered plant Primulina tabacum is a calciphilous perennial herb found only at the entrances of a small number of karst cave drainages in southern China. In a conservation effort, we identified potentially suitable habitats and reintroduced P. tabacum plantlets (propagated in vitro) to one historical and two new cave entrances. The transplanted...

Conservation genetics and geographic patterns of genetic variation of the endangered officinal herb Fritillaria pallidiflora

Treesearch

Zhihao Su; Borong Pan; Stewart C. Sanderson; Xiaolong Jiang; Mingli Zhang

2015-01-01

Fritillaria pallidiflora is an endangered officinal herb distributed in the Tianshan Mountains of northwestern China. We examined its phylogeography to study evolutionary processes and suggest implications for conservation. Six haplotypes were detected based on three chloroplast non-coding spacers (psbA-trnH, rps16, and trnS-trnG); genetic variation mainly occurred...

Chinese single herbs and active ingredients for postmenopausal osteoporosis: From preclinical evidence to action mechanism.

PubMed

Lin, Jing; Zhu, Jun; Wang, Yan; Zhang, Na; Gober, Hans-Jürgen; Qiu, Xuemin; Li, Dajin; Wang, Ling

2017-01-01

Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a systemic metabolic skeletal disease generally ascribable to a dearth of estrogen. Whether traditional Chinese medicine is effective in management of postmenopausal osteoporosis remains unclear. This article reviews the experimental evidence of both in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies with the theme of the application of Chinese single herbs and active ingredients in postmenopausal osteoporosis. It includes three single herbs (Herba Epimedium, Rhizoma Drynariae, and Salvia miltiorrhiza) and eight active ingredients (saikosaponins, linarin, echinacoside, sweroside, psoralen, poncirin, vanillic acid, and osthole). The experimental studies indicated their potential use as treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis and investigated the underlying mechanisms including osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (OPG/RANKL), extracellular-signal-regulated kinase/c-Jun N terminal kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK/JNK/MAPK), estrogen receptor (ER), bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, Wnt/β-catenin, and Notch signaling pathways. This review contributes to a better understanding of traditional Chinese medicine and provides useful information for the development of more effective anti-osteoporosis drugs.

Simultaneous determination of bioactive components of Radix Angelicae Sinensis-Radix Paeoniae Alba herb couple in rat plasma and tissues by UPLC-MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution.

PubMed

Luo, Niancui; Li, Zhenhao; Qian, Dawei; Qian, Yefei; Guo, Jianming; Duan, Jin-Ao; Zhu, Min

2014-07-15

A highly sensitive and rapid ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of seven components in rat plasma and five components in rat tissues after oral administration of the extracts of different combination Radix Angelicae Sinensis-Radix Paeoniae Alba herb couple and has been applied to compare the different pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution properties of these bioactive components. The extracts of Radix Angelicae Sinensis (RAS), Radix Paeoniae Alba (RPA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis-Radix Paeoniae Alba herb couple (RRHC) were orally administrated to rats, respectively. The concentrations of ferulic acid, caffeic acid, vanillic acid, ligustilide, paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin in rat plasma and the concentrations of ferulic acid, vanillic acid, paeoniflorin, albiflorin and oxypaeoniflorin in tissues were determined by UPLC-MS/MS. The plasma samples were pretreated by protein precipitation with methanol and the tissue samples were homogenated with water and pretreated by protein precipitation with methanol. Chromatographic separation was performed on a C18 column using 0.1% formic acid-acetonitrile as mobile phase for gradient elution. A triple quadrupole (TQ) tandem mass spectrometry equipped with an electrospray ionization source was used as detector operating both in positive and negative ionization mode and operated by multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) scanning. Noncompartmental pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by DAS 2.0 program. The differences between each group were compared by SPSS 16.0 with Independent-Samples T-test. The pharmacokinetic parameters (such as Cmax, Tmax, T1/2, AUC0-T, MRT0-T, Vz/F or CLz/F) of all the detected components between the single herb (RAS or RPA) and herb pair (RRHP) showed significant differences (P<0.05). It indicated that the compatibility of RAS and RPA could alter the pharmacokinetics features

Collaborative ring-trial of Dynabeads anti-Salmonella for immunomagnetic separation of stressed Salmonella cells from herbs and spices.

PubMed

Mansfield, L; Forsythe, S

1996-02-01

Eight laboratories participated in a Salmonella detection ring-trial which compared selective enrichment by conventional broths with immunomagnetic separation (IMS) using Dynabeads Anti-Salmonella. Laboratories analyzed six types of herbs and spices that were spiked with one of six freeze-dried Salmonella species. Each herb and spice analysis comprised of 12 samples (25 g each) which had been spiked at three different levels, plus a negative control and stored for one week prior to testing. Out of a total 468 samples analyzed, 195 (41.7%) were positive by both methods. Eighteen samples were positive only by IMS enrichment, in comparison with 19 positive samples by conventional enrichment broths and not IMS. These results confirm the potential use of IMS as an alternative to enrichment broths for Salmonella isolation.

Vortex-ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the analysis of volatile bioactive components and comparative pharmacokinetic study of the herb-herb interactions in Guanxin Shutong Capsule.

PubMed

Mu, Jingqing; Gao, Xun; Li, Qing; Yang, Xiaomei; Yang, Wenling; Sun, Xu; Bi, Kaishun; Zhang, Huifen

2017-08-01

Guanxin Shutong Capsule, an effective traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used for coronary heart disease clinically. Volatile components are one of its important bioactive constituents. To better understand the material basis for the therapeutic effects, the components of Guanxin Shutong Capsule absorbed into the blood and their metabolites were identified based on gas chromatography with mass spectrometry coupled with vortex-ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction. As a result, three prototypes and 15 metabolites were identified or tentatively characterized in rat plasma. Subsequently, a pharmacokinetic study was carried out to monitor the concentrations of the main bioactive constituents and metabolites (isoborneol, borneol, eugenol, and camphor) by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry in rat plasma following oral administration of single herb extract and different combinations of herbs in this prescription. Compared to other groups, a statistically significant difference of the pharmacokinetic properties was obtained when the total complex prescription was administered, indicating possible drug-drug interactions among the complex ingredients of Guanxin Shutong Capsule. These findings provided an experimental basis concerning the clinical application and medicinal efficacy of Guanxin Shutong Capsule in the treatment of coronary heart disease. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Cellular models for the evaluation of the antiobesity effect of selected phytochemicals from food and herbs.

PubMed

Tung, Yen-Chen; Hsieh, Pei-Hsuan; Pan, Min-Hsiung; Ho, Chi-Tang

2017-01-01

Dietary phytochemicals from food and herbs have been studied for their health benefits for a long time. The incidence of obesity has seen an incredible increase worldwide. Although dieting, along with increased physical activity, seems an easy method in theory to manage obesity, it is hard to apply in real life. Obesity treatment drugs and surgery are not successful or targeted for everyone and can have significant side effects. This low rate of success is the major reason that the overweight as well as the pharmaceutical industry seek alternative methods, including phytochemicals. Therefore, more and more research has focused on the role of phytochemicals to alleviate lipid accumulation or enhance energy expenditure in adipocytes. This review discusses selected phytochemicals from food and herbs and their effects on adipogenesis, lipogenesis, lipolysis, oxidation of fatty acids, and browning in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

RUCAM in Drug and Herb Induced Liver Injury: The Update

PubMed Central

Danan, Gaby; Teschke, Rolf

2015-01-01

RUCAM (Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method) or its previous synonym CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences) is a well established tool in common use to quantitatively assess causality in cases of suspected drug induced liver injury (DILI) and herb induced liver injury (HILI). Historical background and the original work confirm the use of RUCAM as single term for future cases, dismissing now the term CIOMS for reasons of simplicity and clarity. RUCAM represents a structured, standardized, validated, and hepatotoxicity specific diagnostic approach that attributes scores to individual key items, providing final quantitative gradings of causality for each suspect drug/herb in a case report. Experts from Europe and the United States had previously established in consensus meetings the first criteria of RUCAM to meet the requirements of clinicians and practitioners in care for their patients with suspected DILI and HILI. RUCAM was completed by additional criteria and validated, assisting to establish the timely diagnosis with a high degree of certainty. In many countries and for more than two decades, physicians, regulatory agencies, case report authors, and pharmaceutical companies successfully applied RUCAM for suspected DILI and HILI. Their practical experience, emerging new data on DILI and HILI characteristics, and few ambiguous questions in domains such alcohol use and exclusions of non-drug causes led to the present update of RUCAM. The aim was to reduce interobserver and intraobserver variability, to provide accurately defined, objective core elements, and to simplify the handling of the items. We now present the update of the well accepted original RUCAM scale and recommend its use for clinical, regulatory, publication, and expert purposes to validly establish causality in cases of suspected DILI and HILI, facilitating a straightforward application and an internationally harmonized approach of causality assessment as a common

Variations of Leaf Cuticular Waxes Among C3 and C4 Gramineae Herbs.

PubMed

He, Yuji; Gao, Jianhua; Guo, Na; Guo, Yanjun

2016-11-01

Modern C4 plants are commonly distributed in hot and dry environments whereas C3 plants predominate in cool and shade areas. At the outmost of plant surface, the deposition and chemical composition of cuticular waxes vary under different environmental conditions. However, whether such variation of cuticular wax is related to the distribution of C3 and C4 under different environmental conditions is still not clear. In this study, leaves of six C3 Gramineae herbs distributed in spring, Roegneria kamoji, Polypogon fugax, Poa annua, Avena fatua, Alopecurus aequalis, and Oplismenus undulatifolius, and four C4 and one C3 Gramineae herbs distributed in summer, Digitaria sanguinalis, Eleusine indica, Setaria viridis, S. plicata, and O. undulatifolius, were sampled and analyzed for cuticular wax. Plates were the main epicuticular wax morphology in both C3 and C4 plants except S. plicata. The plates melted in C4 plants but not in C3 plants. The total cuticular wax amounts in C4 plants were significantly lower than those in C3 plants, except for O. undulatifolius. Primary alcohols were the most abundant compounds in C3 plants, whereas n-alkanes were relatively the most abundant compounds in C4 plants. C 29 was the most abundant n-alkane in C3 plants except for O. undulatifolius, whereas the most abundant n-alkane was C 31 or C 33 in C4 plants. The average chain length (ACL) of n-alkanes was higher in C4 than in C3 plants, whereas the ACL of n-alkanoic acids was higher in C3 than C4 plants. The cluster analysis based on the distribution of n-alkanes clearly distinguished C3 and C4 plants into two groups, except for O. undulatifolius which was grouped with C4 plants. These results suggest that the variations of cuticular waxes among C3 and C4 Gramineae herbs are related to the distribution of C3 and C4 plants under different environmental conditions. © 2016 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.

In Vitro Anti-Cariogenic Plaque Effects of Essential Oils Extracted from Culinary Herbs.

PubMed

Wiwattanarattanabut, Kornsit; Choonharuangdej, Suwan; Srithavaj, Theerathavaj

2017-09-01

Cariogenic bacteria including mutans streptococci and lactobacilli are partly but significantly involved in dental caries development. An effective prevention strategy against dental caries is to decrease the accumulation of this microbiota either in planktonic or in biofilm form. To examine the antimicrobial and anti-plaque effects of some culinary herbs (spices), so the herbs are plausibly used as alternative and effective herbal plaque control supplements to promote good oral health. Essential oils extracted from sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) , cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) , sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) , kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix) , black pepper (Piper nigrum) , peppermint (Mentha piperita) , and spearmint (Mentha spicata) were primarily examined for their antimicrobial activities against the cariogenic bacteria (Streptococcus mutans KPSK2 and Lactobacillus casei) using the agar disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods, respectively. These essential oils were then analysed for anti-plaque effects (retardation of S. mutans biofilm formation and reduction of the in vitro established biofilm). This experimental study was performed at the Department of Oral Microbiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University during June 2015 till August 2016. All selected essential oils showed different degrees of antimicrobial activity against the planktonic form of both cariogenic bacteria. Cinnamon bark essential oil expressed the strongest inhibitory effect against S. mutans {MIC of 0.08% (v/v)} and L. casei {MIC of 0.16% (v/v)}, whereas the weakest effect was found in kaffir lime essential oil {MIC values of 2.5% and 5.0% (v/v) for S. mutans and L. casei , respectively}. Up to 80% of S. mutans biofilm was retarded to form on the substratum primed with these spice essential oils, especially cinnamon oil. The preventive effect of these oils was in dose- and exposure time-dependent manners. For reductive effect against the 24-hour pre-established S

Acute toxicity and genotoxicity study of fermented traditional herb formula Guibi-tang.

PubMed

Park, Hwayong; Hwang, Youn-Hwan; Yang, Hye Jin; Kim, Hyun-Kyu; Song, Kyung Seuk; Ma, Jin Yeul

2014-10-28

Guibi-tang (Guipi-tang in Chinese and Kihi-to in Japanese) is a multi-herb traditional medicine commonly prescribed to treat psychoneurosis in East Asia. Although this medicine has been widely used, there is little available information on the safety and toxicity of Guibi-tang, especially on the fermented one. Guibi-tang, composed of 12 herbs, was fermented with bacteria and lyophilized. Single dose acute toxicity in rats was observed for 14 days after administration. Genetic toxicity of fermented Guibi-tang was evaluated on bacterial reverse mutation in Salmonella and Escherichia spp., chromosome aberrations in Chinese hamster ovary cells, and micronucleus formation in mice. Ingredients in FGBT were identified and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. In acute oral toxicity study, behavior, clinical signs and body weight changes were normal observing in all experimental animals. No revertant colonies were found in any bacterial cultures examined. Morphological or numerical anomalies and significant increased number of aberrant metaphases were not observed. Micronucleus assay showed no significant increases in the frequency of inducing micronuclei in any dose examined. Decursinol, decursin, glycyrrhizin, and 6-gingerol in fermented Guibi-tang were identified and quantitated. As a whole, no acute and genotoxic effects were found in all the assays and parameters analyzed. Fermented Guibi-tang was recognized as safe and non-toxic, and therefore can be used for applications of traditional medicine in modern complementary and alternative therapeutics and health care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF IMMUNOCHEMICAL METHODS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS AT THE U.S. EPA, NERL, HERB-LV

EPA Science Inventory

The HERB-LV has developed several immunoassay methods for environmental and human exposure studies. Immunoassays to detect low levels (<10 ng/mL) chlorpyrifos in track-in dirt and house dust have been developed for indoor exposure surveys. An immunoassay for the urinary metabol...

A Laboratory Evaluation of Medicinal Herbs Used in China for the Treatment of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

PubMed Central

Chen, Xiaoqing; Wang, Chunyang; Xu, Lanfang; Chen, Xiaoshuang; Wang, Wei; Yang, Guang; Tan, Ren Xiang; Li, Erguang; Jin, Yu

2013-01-01

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) and coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16) are the causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). During recent epidemics of HFMD in China, medicinal herbals and preparations containing herbal extracts have demonstrated therapeutic efficacy with relative safety profiles. There have been no microbiological studies to validate their usefulness for HFMD. We selected 12 commonly used herbs for HFMD from government recommended guidelines as well as published reports and tested for their antiviral activity and anti-inflammatory activity. A water extract of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (HCT) inhibited EV71 infection significantly and was marginally active against CVA16 infection. The IC50 (concentration to have 50% inhibitory effect) values of HCT against a Fuyang strain and a BrCr strain of EV71 were determined at 8.9 μg/mL and 20.6 μg/mL, respectively. Mentha haplocalyx Briq. (MHB) water extract was active against CVA16, with an IC50 value of 70.3 μg/mL. The extract did not exhibit activity against EV71 infection. Although the majority of the extracts showed no activity against viral infection, several extracts demonstrated activity in blocking proinflammatory response by viral infection. This study therefore validates the effectiveness of Chinese herbs for HFMD since some formulations containing the correct combination of the herbs can block viral replication as well as proinflammatory response of HFMD. PMID:23554831

Essential oils of culinary herbs and spices display agonist and antagonist activities at human aryl hydrocarbon receptor AhR.

PubMed

Bartoňková, Iveta; Dvořák, Zdeněk

2018-01-01

Essential oils (EOs) of culinary herbs and spices are used to flavor, color and preserve foods and drinks. Dietary intake of EOs is significant, deserving an attention of toxicologists. We examined the effects of 31 EOs of culinary herbs and spices on the transcriptional activity of human aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), which is a pivotal xenobiotic sensor, having also multiple roles in human physiology. Tested EOs were sorted out into AhR-inactive ones (14 EOs) and AhR-active ones, including full agonists (cumin, jasmine, vanilla, bay leaf), partial agonists (cloves, dill, thyme, nutmeg, oregano) and antagonists (tarragon, caraway, turmeric, lovage, fennel, spearmint, star anise, anise). Major constituents (>10%) of AhR-active EOs were studied in more detail. We identified AhR partial agonists (carvacrol, ligustilide, eugenol, eugenyl acetate, thymol, ar-turmerone) and antagonists (trans-anethole, butylidine phtalide, R/S-carvones, p-cymene), which account for AhR-mediated activities of EOs of fennel, anise, star anise, caraway, spearmint, tarragon, cloves, dill, turmeric, lovage, thyme and oregano. We also show that AhR-mediated effects of some individual constituents of EOs differ from those manifested in mixtures. In conclusion, EOs of culinary herbs and spices are agonists and antagonists of human AhR, implying a potential for food-drug interactions and interference with endocrine pathways. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aristolochic acid-related nephropathy associated with the popular Chinese herb Xi Xin.

PubMed

Yang, Huang-Yu; Lin, J-L; Chen, Kuan-Hsing; Yu, Chun-Chen; Hsu, Po-Yaur; Lin, Chun-Liang

2006-01-01

Chinese herbs nephropathy is known as a subacute interstitial nephritis attributed to aristolochic acid. This work describes the case of a 49-year-old male who displayed subacute renal failure induced by ingestion of herbal powder containing Xi Xin, which includes aristolochic acid. Since Xi Xin is a common ingredient in traditional formulae, care needs to be taken in the future to identify the aristolochic acid concentration of different components of Xi Xin. Xi Xin containing aristolochic acid should be forbidden for use in remedies in order to prevent the harmful effects of aristolochic acid.

Antioxidant and anti-glycation activities correlates with phenolic composition of tropical medicinal herbs.

PubMed

Ramkissoon, J S; Mahomoodally, M F; Ahmed, N; Subratty, A H

2013-07-01

To determine the contribution of total phenolic content (TPC) in glycation inhibitory activity of common tropical medicinal food and spices with potential antioxidative properties. In vitro glucose-bovine serum albumin (BSA) assay was used. Ethanolic extracts of ten common household condiments/herbs (Allium sativum, Zingiber officinale, Thymus vulgaris, Petroselinum crispum, Murraya koenigii Spreng, Mentha piperita L., Curcuma longa L., Allium cepa L., Allium fistulosum and Coriandrum sativum L.) were evaluated for antioxidative activity by 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and the TPC, flavonoid and tannins content were determined. Findings showed good correlation between TPC/DPPH (r = 0.8), TPC/FRAP (r = 0.8), TPC/anti-glycation (r = 0.9), DPPH/anti-glycation (r = 0.6), FRAP/anti-glycation (r = 0.9), Flavonoid/anti-glycation (r = 0.7) and Tannins/anti-glycation (r = 0.8) and relatively fair correlation for TPC/Flavonoids (r = 0.5) and TPC/Tannins (r = 0.5). Results imply that these plants are potential sources of natural antioxidants which have free radical scavenging activity and might be used for reducing oxidative stress. The positive glycation inhibitory and antioxidative activities of these tropical herbs suggest a possible role in targeting ageing, diabetic complications and oxidative stress related diseases. Copyright © 2013 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neuropharmacological Review of the Nootropic Herb Bacopa monnieri

PubMed Central

Borowski, Thomas

2013-01-01

Abstract This review synthesizes behavioral research with neuromolecular mechanisms putatively involved with the low-toxicity cognitive enhancing action of Bacopa monnieri (BM), a medicinal Ayurvedic herb. BM is traditionally used for various ailments, but is best known as a neural tonic and memory enhancer. Numerous animal and in vitro studies have been conducted, with many evidencing potential medicinal properties. Several randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have substantiated BM's nootropic utility in humans. There is also evidence for potential attenuation of dementia, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. Current evidence suggests BM acts via the following mechanisms—anti-oxidant neuroprotection (via redox and enzyme induction), acetylcholinesterase inhibition and/or choline acetyltransferase activation, β-amyloid reduction, increased cerebral blood flow, and neurotransmitter modulation (acetylcholine [ACh], 5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT], dopamine [DA]). BM appears to exhibit low toxicity in model organisms and humans; however, long-term studies of toxicity in humans have yet to be conducted. This review will integrate molecular neuroscience with behavioral research. PMID:23772955

Neuropharmacological review of the nootropic herb Bacopa monnieri.

PubMed

Aguiar, Sebastian; Borowski, Thomas

2013-08-01

This review synthesizes behavioral research with neuromolecular mechanisms putatively involved with the low-toxicity cognitive enhancing action of Bacopa monnieri (BM), a medicinal Ayurvedic herb. BM is traditionally used for various ailments, but is best known as a neural tonic and memory enhancer. Numerous animal and in vitro studies have been conducted, with many evidencing potential medicinal properties. Several randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have substantiated BM's nootropic utility in humans. There is also evidence for potential attenuation of dementia, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. Current evidence suggests BM acts via the following mechanisms-anti-oxidant neuroprotection (via redox and enzyme induction), acetylcholinesterase inhibition and/or choline acetyltransferase activation, β-amyloid reduction, increased cerebral blood flow, and neurotransmitter modulation (acetylcholine [ACh], 5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT], dopamine [DA]). BM appears to exhibit low toxicity in model organisms and humans; however, long-term studies of toxicity in humans have yet to be conducted. This review will integrate molecular neuroscience with behavioral research.

Biochar from Chinese herb residues as adsorbent for toxic metals removal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Guocheng; Huang, Yu; Xu, Lina

2017-04-01

Two biochars were prepared form Chinese herb residues by slow pyrolysis at 300 °C and 600 °C (CHR300 and CHR600) for removing two toxic metal ions (Pb2+ and Cd2+) from aqueous phase. In this study, both Pb2+ and Cd2+ were effectively immobilized by CHR300 and CHR600 from water. For an initial concentration of Pb2+ and Cd2+ (C 0 = 10 mg/L), the removal rate by CHR300 and CHR600 were all greater than 90.0% at a solid:liquid ratio of 50 mg biochar in 10 mL solution. For C 0 of the two toxic metals was 100 mg/L, the Pb2+ removal by CHR600 was significantly stronger than that by CHR300, but there was no significant difference of the removal rate of Cd2+ between CHR300 and CHR600. Moreover, the removal rate of Pb2+ by CHR300 and CHR600 was both markedly greater than that of Cd2+, indicating that the biochars had stronger adsorption favorite for Pb2+ than Cd2+. The SEM-EDX data of the biochars after the toxic metals sorption drew strong evidences on the Pb2+ and Cd2+ immobilization by CHR300 and CHR600. The existing of phosphorus (P) and sulphur (S) in CHR300 and CHR600 implied that the heavy metals might be removed by forming Pb/Cd-P and Pb/Cd-S precipitates. These results suggested that the biochars from Chinese herb residues would be likely to be good adsorbents for Pb2+ and Cd2+ removal in water.

Effects of stand age on the demography of a temperate forest herb in post-agricultural forests.

PubMed

Jacquemyn, Hans; Brys, Rein

2008-12-01

Changes in land use have been shown to have profound effects on forest plant community structure and diversity. Dispersal limitation has been invoked as a major factor hampering colonization of forest plant species, while seed-sowing experiments and performance observations have provided some evidence for recruitment limitation determining forest plant distribution in post-agricultural forests. However, most of these studies were relatively short-term, and very few studies have investigated long-term growth rates of populations occurring in recent and ancient forests. In this study, matrix models using demographic data collected for four consecutive years were used to study the effect of forest age on population dynamics of the temperate forest herb Primula elatior. A life table response experiment (LTRE) and elasticity analysis were used to analyze the effect of forest age on population growth rate (lambda) and to decompose the effect of forest age on lambda into contributions from each matrix element. Population growth increased logarithmically with increasing forest age. Bootstrap analyses showed that populations located in very recent forests (< 50-years-old) had growth rates that were significantly < 1, whereas populations located in forests > 150-years-old had growth rates that were significantly > 1. Summed elasticities for individual growth significantly decreased with increasing forest age, whereas summed elasticities for survival and fertility significantly increased with increasing forest age. The LTRE analysis showed that the increase in lambda with increasing forest age was mainly due to increased seedling and juvenile growth and increased juvenile and adult survival. Our results indicate that past agricultural land use has long-lasting effects on the demography of forest herbs and may provide an additional mechanistic explanation for the poor colonization capacity of many forest herbs in post-agricultural forests.

Canopy tree species determine herb layer biomass and species composition on a reclaimed mine spoil heap.

PubMed

Rawlik, Mateusz; Kasprowicz, Marek; Jagodziński, Andrzej M; Kaźmierowski, Cezary; Łukowiak, Remigiusz; Grzebisz, Witold

2018-09-01

According facilitative models of succession, trees are great forest ecosystem engineers. The strength of tree stand influences on habitat were tested in rather homogenous conditions where heterogeneity of site condition was not an important influence. We hypothesized that canopy composition affects total aboveground vascular herb layer biomass (THB) and species composition of herb layer plant biomass (SCHB) more significantly than primary soil fertility or slope exposure. The study was conducted in 227 randomly selected research plots in seven types of forest stands: pure with Alnus glutinosa, Betula pendula, Pinus sylvestris, Quercus petraea and Robinia pseudoacacia, and mixed with dominance of Acer pseudoplatanus or Betula pendula located on hilltop and northern, eastern, western, and southern slopes on a reclaimed, afforested post-mining spoil heap of the Bełchatów Brown Coal Mine (Poland). Generalized linear models (GLZ) showed that tree stand species were the best predictors of THB. Non-parametric variance tests showed significantly higher (nearly four times) THB under canopies of A. glutinosa, R. pseudoacacia, B. pendula and Q. petraea, compared to the lowest THB found under canopies of P. sylvestris and mixed with A. pseudoplatanus. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) showed that SCHB was significantly differentiated along gradients of light-nutrient herb layer species requirements. RDA and non-parametric variance tests showed that SCHB under canopies of A. glutinosa, R. pseudoacacia and mixed with A. pseudoplatanus had large shares of nitrophilous ruderal species (32%, 31% and 11%, respectively), whereas SCHB under B. pendula, Q. petraea, mixed with B. pendula and P. sylvestris were dominated by light-demanding meadow (49%, 51%, 51% and 36%, respectively) and Poaceae species. The results indicated the dominant role of tree stand composition in habitat-forming processes, and although primary site properties had minor importance, they were also modified by tree stand

Conservation genetics and geographic patterns of genetic variation of the vulnerable officinal herb Fritillaria walujewii (Liliaceae)

Treesearch

Zhihao Su; Borong Pan; Stewart C. Sanderson; Xiaojun Shi; Xiaolong Jiang

2015-01-01

The Chinese herb Fritillaria walujewii Regel is an important officinal species that is vulnerable because of over-harvesting. Here, we examined the geographic pattern of genetic variation across the species entire range, to study its evolution process and give implication needed for the conservation. Nine haplotypes were detected on the basis of three chloroplast...

Effects of sanitation, freezing and frozen storage on enteric viruses in berries and herbs.

PubMed

Butot, S; Putallaz, T; Sánchez, G

2008-08-15

Norovirus (NV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) are foodborne enteric viruses associated with outbreaks of disease following consumption of fresh or frozen produce. Model experiments were performed to determine the effectiveness of certain commercial processes for the removal of enteric viruses that might be present in berries and herbs. The survival and persistence of HAV, NV, rotavirus (RV) and feline calicivirus (FCV), a surrogate for NV, in frozen produce over time were determined. Survival and inactivation of HAV, RV and FCV were assessed by viral culture and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), whereas NV persistence was determined by quantitative RT-PCR only. Freezing did not significantly reduce the viability of any of the viruses except the infectivity of FCV in strawberries. Frozen storage for 3 months had limited effects on HAV and RV survival in all tested food products, whereas in frozen raspberries and strawberries FCV infectivity showed the highest decay rate due to acid pH. To simulate postharvesting conditions, fresh berries and herbs were rinsed with tap, warm or chlorinated water or with a chlorine dioxide (ClO(2)) solution. Available chlorine at a concentration of 200 ppm and ClO(2) at 10 ppm reduced measurable enteric viruses in raspberry and parsley samples by less than 2 log(10) units.

Association of blood lead and mercury with estimated GFR in herbalists after the ban of herbs containing aristolochic acids in Taiwan.

PubMed

Lin, Hsing-Hua; Chou, Shan-An; Yang, Hsiao-Yu; Hwang, Yaw-Huei; Kuo, Ching-Hua; Kao, Tze-Wah; Lo, Tsai-Chang; Chen, Pau-Chung

2013-08-01

This study was undertaken to explore the association of estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) with exposure to aristolochic acids (ALAs) and nephrotoxic metals in herbalists after the ban of herbs containing ALAs in Taiwan. This cross-sectional study recruited a total of 138 herbalists without end-stage renal disease or urothelial carcinoma from the Occupational Union of Chinese Herbalists in Taiwan in 2007. Aristolochic acid I (ALA-I) was measured by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography/ tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) and heavy metals in blood samples were analysed by Agilent 7500C inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Renal function was assessed by using a simplified Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study equation to estimate GFR. Blood lead was higher in herbal dispensing procedures (p=0.053) and in subjects who self-prescribe herbal medicine (p=0.057); mercury was also higher in subjects living in the workplace (p=0.03). Lower estimated GFR was significantly associated with lead (β=-10.66, 95% CI -18.7 to -2.6) and mercury (β=-12.52, 95% CI -24.3 to -0.8) with a significant interaction (p=0.01) between mercury and lead; however, estimated GFR was not significantly associated with high ALA-I level groups, arsenic and cadmium after adjusting for other confounding factors. We found that lower estimated GFR was associated with blood lead and mercury in herbalists after the ban of herbs containing ALAs in Taiwan. The ALA-I exposure did not show a significant negative association of estimated GFR, which might due to herbalists having known how to distinguish ALA herbs after the banning policy. Rigorous monitoring is still needed to protect herbalists and the general population who take herbs.

Anethum graveolens (dill) - A medicinal herb induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in HepG2 cell line.

PubMed

Mohammed, Furkhan Ahmed; Elkady, Ayman I; Syed, Fareeduddin Quadri; Mirza, Muqtadir Baig; Hakeem, Khalid Rehman; Alkarim, Saleh

2018-06-12

The medicinal herb, Anethum graveolens L. (dill) is one of the potent culinary herbs used as an alternative form of medicine worldwide. The unguent topical Oil from the aerial parts of A. graveolens was found to be effective in the management of uterus cancer in ethnomedicine has been reported. The incidence and mortality rates of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are steadily rising worldwide, especially, in underdeveloped and developing countries. Moreover, HCC develops rapidly in patients with chronic cirrhosis or hepatitis, where the solid tumours/malignancies coexist with the inflammation. Recent studies have shown that the medicinal herb, Anethum graveolens, holds anticancer potential, which could be a promising approach for the treatment of various tumours. In the current study, we have analysed the antiproliferative effect of ethyl acetate fraction of Dill Seeds (EAFD) on HepG2 cell line. Cell viability and proliferation were observed by MTT assay; Morphological changes were studied using fluorescent stains like Hoechst 33342, acridine orange/ethidium bromide and JC-1 dye. Further, the pro-apoptotic activity was demonstrated through Annexin-V-FITC/ PI assay and cell cycle analysis. Different concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 mg/ml) of EAFD were studied. EAFD markedly suppressed the proliferation of HepG2 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. The phase contrast and fluorescence microscopy revealed the morphological alterations like disruption, shrinkage, detachment and blebbing of cell membrane accompanied by nuclear condensation after exposure to EAFD. Radical scavenging activity was evidenced by measurement of ROS levels post-treatment. Modulation of mitochondrial membrane potential was exhibited leading to the activation of caspases 3/7 and 9 which is a committed step towards apoptosis. Annexin V-FITC/ PI assay and cell cycle, later confirmed the apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in 'G2/M' phase through flow cytometric analysis. In conclusion, a

Transfer of Herb-Resistance Plasmid From Escherichia coli to Staphylococcus aureus Residing in the Human Urinary Tract

PubMed Central

Tong, Yan Qing; Xin, Bing; Zhu, Li

2014-01-01

Background: Plasmid transfer among bacteria provides a means for dissemination of resistance. Plasmid Analysis has made it possible to track plasmids that induce resistance in bacterial population. Objectives: To screen the presence of herb-resistance plasmid in Escherichia coli strains and determine the transferability of this resistance plasmid directly from E. coli to the Gram-positive, Staphylococcus aureus. Materials and Methods: The donor strain E. coli CP9 and recipient strain S. aureus RN450RF were isolated from UTI patients. E. coli CP9 was highly resistant to herbal concoction. Isolates of S. aureus RN450RF were fully susceptible. Total plasmid DNA was prepared and transferred into E. coli DH5α. Transconjugants were selected on agar plates containing serial dilutions of herbal concoction. Resistance plasmid was transferred to susceptible S. aureus RN450RFin triple replicas. The mating experiments were repeated twice. Results: The identified 45 kb herb-resistance plasmid could be transferred from E. coli CP9 isolates to E. coli DH5α. As a consequence E. coli DH5α transconjugant MIC increased from 0.0125 g/mL to 0.25 g/mL. The plasmid was easily transferred from E. coli CP9 strain to S. aureus RN450RF with a mean transfer rate of 1×10-2 transconjugants/recipient. The E. coli donor and the S. aureus RN450RF transconjugant contained a plasmid of the same size, which was absent in the recipient before mating. Susceptibility testing showed that the S. aureus RN450RF transconjugant was resistant to herbal concoction. Conclusions: E. coli herb-resistance plasmid can replicate and be expressed in S. aureus. PMID:25147679

Photovoltaic dryer with dual packed beds for drying medical herb

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdel-Rehim, Z.S.; Fahmy, F.H.

1998-03-01

This work presents design and optimization of a cylindrical photovoltaic dryer with dual packed beds thermal energy storage for drying medical herb. The dryer is provided with electrical heater where the electrical energy is generated by using photovoltaic system. The electrical heater is designed and sized to realize continuous drying (day and night) to minimize the drying time. Two packed beds are used to fix the drying temperature in dryer during day and night. The main packed bed thermal energy storage is charged during the sunlight hours directly, to realize continued drying after sunset. An efficient PV dryer is devisedmore » to work under forced air created by air blower and heated by the electrical coils.« less

[Studies on bioactive constituents of whole herbs of Vernonia cinerea].

PubMed

Zhu, Hua-xu; Tang, Yu-ping; Pan, Lin-mei; Min, Zhi-da

2008-08-01

To study the constituents of the whole herbs of Vernonia cinerea. by bio-activity guided isolation with PC-12 model. The constituents were separated by column chromatography and the structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Four compounds were identified to be (+)-lirioresinol B (1), stigmasterol (2), stigmasterol-3-O-beta-D-glucoside (3), 4-sulfo-benzocyclobutene (4), and their NGF inducing activity were also investigated. Compounds 1, 3, 4 were isolated from this genus for the first time, and compound 4 was identified as a new natural product. Compounds 1, 3, 4 showed cytotoxicity on PC-12, and compounds 2, 3, 4 showed inhibition activity. Compound 4 showed a specific effect on the survival of TrkA fibroblasts, and resulted in the inducing NGF activity.

Anti-rheumatoid arthritis effects of traditional Chinese herb couple in adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats.

PubMed

Pan, Ting; Cheng, Tao-Fang; Jia, Yu-Ran; Li, Ping; Li, Fei

2017-06-09

Clematis chinensis Osbeck / Notopterygium incisum Ting ex H, T-Chang (CN) is a traditional Chinese herb couple with prominent efficacy. The herb couple has been commonly used for clinical treatment of arthralgia syndrome ("Bi Zheng" in Chinese) for centuries in China, including rheumatic arthritis, osteoarthritis and gout in modern medicine. To evaluate the anti-arthritic effect of CN herb couple in a rat model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Rats were divided randomly into six groups with eight each. Adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) model was established by intradermal injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Rats were treated orally with different dosages of CN (0.7g/kg, 2.1g/kg, 6.3g/kg) from day 16 till day 40. Ibuprofen (50.4mg/kg) served as a positive control. Spontaneous activity, body weight, paw swelling, and arthritis index (AI) were monitored throughout drug treatment. Then serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. In addition, histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry were used to assess the severity of arthritis. Three dosage of CN significantly ameliorated symptoms of RA via increasing body weight as well as reducing paw swelling (at dose of 6.3g/kg, p<0.01) in AIA rats. An extremely significant reduction of AI (p<0.001) was also observed with treatment of CN (6.3g/kg) compared with model group. In parallel, treatment of CN significantly down-regulated levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and VEGF both in serum (p<0.01) and in joint synovial compared with model rats. And histopathology revealed noticeable reduction in synovial hyperplasia, cartilage damage, and inflammatory infiltration by CN treatment, especially at dose of 6.3g/kg. To conclude, all results suggest that CN possesses evident anti-arthritic effects in AIA rats. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time of flight mass spectrometry based chemical profiling approach to rapidly reveal chemical transformation of sulfur-fumigated medicinal herbs, a case study on white ginseng.

PubMed

Li, Song-Lin; Shen, Hong; Zhu, Ling-Ying; Xu, Jun; Jia, Xiao-Bin; Zhang, Hong-Mei; Lin, Ge; Cai, Hao; Cai, Bao-Chang; Chen, Shi-Lin; Xu, Hong-Xi

2012-03-30

Sulfur-fumigation may induce chemical transformation of medicinal herbs. Development of rapid method to reveal potential sulfur-fumigation induced chemical transformation of herbs is a very important issue for efficacy and safety of herb application. In present study, a new strategy was proposed to rapidly reveal chemical transformation of sulfur-fumigated herbs by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) based chemical profiling approach. The non-fumigated herb was water-wetted and further treated with burning sulfur to get sulfur-fumigated herb. Then the chemical fingerprints of both non-fumigated and sulfur-fumigated samples were compared by UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS analysis. The identities of all detected peaks, in particular those newly generated in sulfur-fumigated samples were confirmed by comparing the mass spectra and retention times of peaks with that of reference compounds, and/or tentatively assigned by matching empirical molecular formula with that of published compounds, and/or elucidating quasi-molecular ions and fragment ions referring to available literature information. The identification could be rationalized through deducing possible reactions involved in the generation of these newly detected compounds. The proposed strategy was extensively investigated in the case of white ginseng. Total 82 components were detected in non-fumigated and sulfur-fumigated white ginseng samples, among them 35 sulfur-containing compounds detected only in sulfur-fumigated white ginseng and its decoction were assigned to be sulfate or sulfite derivatives of original ginsenosides, and were deduced to be generated via reactions of esterification, addition, hydrolysis and dehydration during sulfur-fumigation and decocting of white ginseng. The established approach was applied to discriminate sulfur-fumigated white ginseng among commercial samples from America, Canada, and Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Mainland of

Herb Hydraulics: Inter- and Intraspecific Variation in Three Ranunculus Species1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Ganthaler, Andrea; Beikircher, Barbara

2016-01-01

The requirements of the water transport system of small herbaceous species differ considerably from those of woody species. Despite their ecological importance for many biomes, knowledge regarding herb hydraulics remains very limited. We compared key hydraulic features (vulnerability to drought-induced hydraulic decline, pressure-volume relations, onset of cellular damage, in situ variation of water potential, and stomatal conductance) of three Ranunculus species differing in their soil humidity preferences and ecological amplitude. All species were very vulnerable to water stress (50% reduction in whole-leaf hydraulic conductance [kleaf] at −0.2 to −0.8 MPa). In species with narrow ecological amplitude, the drought-exposed Ranunculus bulbosus was less vulnerable to desiccation (analyzed via loss of kleaf and turgor loss point) than the humid-habitat Ranunculus lanuginosus. Accordingly, water stress-exposed plants from the broad-amplitude Ranunculus acris revealed tendencies toward lower vulnerability to water stress (e.g. osmotic potential at full turgor, cell damage, and stomatal closure) than conspecific plants from the humid site. We show that small herbs can adjust to their habitat conditions on interspecific and intraspecific levels in various hydraulic parameters. The coordination of hydraulic thresholds (50% and 88% loss of kleaf, turgor loss point, and minimum in situ water potential) enabled the study species to avoid hydraulic failure and damage to living cells. Reversible recovery of hydraulic conductance, desiccation-tolerant seeds, or rhizomes may allow them to prioritize toward a more efficient but vulnerable water transport system while avoiding the severe effects that water stress poses on woody species. PMID:26896395

Effect of the mother's consumption of traditional Chinese herbs on estimated infant daily intake of lead from breast milk.

PubMed

Chien, Ling-Chu; Yeh, Ching-Ying; Lee, Hung-Chang; Jasmine Chao, Hsing; Shieh, Ming-Jer; Han, Bor-Cheng

2006-02-01

Infant exposure to lead through breast milk is of special concern because breast milk is considered the best food source for infants under 6 months. In this study, a total of the mothers provided colostrum samples once in the early postpartum period, but only 16 of them provided breast milk weekly at 1-60 days postpartum. The geometric mean of lead concentrations in all colostrum samples (n=72) was 7.68+/-8.24 microg/L. The concentration of lead in the breast milk of the consumption group (the mothers who consumed traditional Chinese herbs) was 8.59+/-10.95 microg/L, a level significantly higher than the level of 6.84+/-2.68 microg/L found in the control group (mothers who did not consume traditional Chinese herbs). In the consumption group (n=9), the mean concentration of lead in the breast milk decreased with days postpartum, from 9.94 microg/L in colostrum to 2.34 microg/L in mature milk. We found the highest daily lead intake in infants at birth, and the level gradually decreased after the first month. We used an estimation of the hazard index (HI) to analyze the health risk of infants. In total, 5.7% (2 out of 35) of the HI estimates exceed 1.0 for the consumption group. In conclusion, the consumptions of traditional Chinese herbs by the mothers in this study significantly affected the body burden of lead in their infants.

Assessment of endocrine disruption potential of essential oils of culinary herbs and spices involving glucocorticoid, androgen and vitamin D receptors.

PubMed

Bartoňková, Iveta; Dvořák, Zdeněk

2018-04-25

Essential oils (EOs) of culinary herbs and spices are consumed on a daily basis. They are multicomponent mixtures of compounds with already demonstrated biological activities. Taking into account regular dietary intake and the chemical composition of EOs, they may be considered as candidates for endocrine-disrupting entities. Therefore, we examined the effects of 31 EOs of culinary herbs and spices on transcriptional activities of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), androgen receptor (AR) and vitamin D receptor (VDR). Using reporter gene assays in stably transfected cell lines, weak anti-androgen and anti-glucocorticoid activity was observed for EO of vanilla and nutmeg, respectively. Moderate augmentation of calcitriol-dependent VDR activity was caused by EOs of ginger, thyme, coriander and lemongrass. Mixed anti-glucocorticoid and VDR-stimulatory activities were displayed by EOs of turmeric, oregano, dill, caraway, verveine and spearmint. The remaining 19 EOs were inactive against all receptors under investigation. Analyses of GR, AR and VDR target genes by means of RT-PCR confirmed the VDR-stimulatory effects, but could not confirm the anti-glucocorticoid and anti-androgen effects of EOs. In conclusion, although we observed minor effects of several EOs on transcriptional activities of GR, AR and VDR, the toxicological significance of these effects is very low. Hence, 31 EOs of culinary herbs and spices may be considered safe, in terms of endocrine disruption involving receptors GR, AR and VDR.

Levamisole and/or Chinese medicinal herbs can modulate the serum level of squamous cell carcinoma associated antigen in patients with erosive oral lichen planus.

PubMed

Sun, A; Chiang, C P

2001-10-01

The serum levels of squamous cell carcinoma associated antigen (SCCA) were determined by a microparticle enzyme immunoassay in a group of patients with stage I oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), major or minor type erosive oral lichen planus (EOLP), recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), Behçet's disease (BD), oral leukoplakia (OL), or oral submucous fibrosis (OSF), and in normal control subjects. About 97% of the normal control subjects and the patients with minor type EOLP, RAS, BD, OL or OSF had a serum level of SCCA within the normal limit of 1.2 ng/ml. However, 6 of the 12 (50%) patients with stage I OSCC and 14 of the 31 (45.2%) patients with major type EOLP had a serum level of SCCA greater than 1.2 ng/ml. The mean serum level of SCCA in stage I OSCC patients (1.38+/-1.16 ng/ml) or in major type EOLP patients (1.32+/-1.23 ng/ml) was significantly higher than that in normal control subjects (P<0.001) and that in the patients with minor type EOLP (P<0.001), RAS (P<0.001), BD (P<0.05), OL (P<0.05), or OSF (P<0.05). Either major or minor type EOLP patients could obtain a significant mean reduction of the serum SCCA level of 0.34-0.63 ng/ml after treatment with levamisole and/or Chinese medicinal herbs for 1-30 months. Combination therapy with levamisole plus Chinese medicinal herbs could achieve a shorter duration of treatment to get complete remission than the single therapy with either levamisole only or Chinese medicinal herbs only. We conclude that levamisole and/or Chinese medicinal herbs can modulate the serum SCCA level in EOLP patients. SCCA may be a useful marker in evaluating therapeutic effects and in monitoring the disease status of EOLP. For EOLP patients, the combination therapy is superior to the single therapy of levamisole or of Chinese medicinal herbs.

Mechanisms of herb-induced nephrotoxicity.

PubMed

Allard, T; Wenner, T; Greten, H J; Efferth, T

2013-01-01

Herbal therapies gained much popularity among the general public, but compared to therapies approved by official authorities, toxicological studies are frequently not available for them. Hence, there may be inherent risks and the kidneys may be especially vulnerable to toxic effects. Herbs may induce nephrotoxicity by induction of apoptosis. High oxalate contents in Star fruit (Averrhoa carambola L.) may induce acute nephropathy. Triptolide from Thunder God Vine (Triperygium wilfordii Hook) is a diterpenoid epoxide with induces reactive oxygen species and nephrotubular apoptosis. Cranberry juice is discussed as promoter of kidney stone formation (nephrolithiasis). Abuse of guaifenesin from Roughbark (Guaicum officinale L.) increases stone formation. Aristolochia acids from Aristolochia fangchi Y.C.Wu ex L.D. Chow & S.M. Hwang causes the well-known aristolochic acid nephropathy and carcinogenesis by DNA adduct formation. Carboxyatractyloside from Impila (Callilepsis laureola DC.) inhibits mitochondrial ATP synthesis. Acute allergic interstitial nephritis was diagnosed after intake of Peruvian Cat's claw (Uncaria tomentosa Willd. DC.). Whether or not Willow Bark (Salix alba L.) induces analgesic nephropathwy is a matter of discussion. Other herbal therapies are considered to affect the rennin-angiotensisn-aldosterone (RAA) system Ephedra sinica Stapf with its ingredient ephedrine. Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens DC. Ex Meisn.) and licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) may inhibit major renal transport processes needed for filtration, secretion, and absorption. Strategies to minimize nephrotoxicity include (1) quality control and standardization of herbal products, (2) research on the molecular modes of action to better understand pathophysiological mechanisms of herbal products as well as (3) clinical trials to demonstrate efficacy and safety.

In Vitro Anti-Cariogenic Plaque Effects of Essential Oils Extracted from Culinary Herbs

PubMed Central

Wiwattanarattanabut, Kornsit; Srithavaj, Theerathavaj

2017-01-01

Introduction Cariogenic bacteria including mutans streptococci and lactobacilli are partly but significantly involved in dental caries development. An effective prevention strategy against dental caries is to decrease the accumulation of this microbiota either in planktonic or in biofilm form. Aim To examine the antimicrobial and anti-plaque effects of some culinary herbs (spices), so the herbs are plausibly used as alternative and effective herbal plaque control supplements to promote good oral health. Materials and Methods Essential oils extracted from sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum), cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix), black pepper (Piper nigrum), peppermint (Mentha piperita), and spearmint (Mentha spicata) were primarily examined for their antimicrobial activities against the cariogenic bacteria (Streptococcus mutans KPSK2 and Lactobacillus casei) using the agar disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods, respectively. These essential oils were then analysed for anti-plaque effects (retardation of S. mutans biofilm formation and reduction of the in vitro established biofilm). This experimental study was performed at the Department of Oral Microbiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University during June 2015 till August 2016. Results All selected essential oils showed different degrees of antimicrobial activity against the planktonic form of both cariogenic bacteria. Cinnamon bark essential oil expressed the strongest inhibitory effect against S. mutans {MIC of 0.08% (v/v)} and L. casei {MIC of 0.16% (v/v)}, whereas the weakest effect was found in kaffir lime essential oil {MIC values of 2.5% and 5.0% (v/v) for S. mutans and L. casei, respectively}. Up to 80% of S. mutans biofilm was retarded to form on the substratum primed with these spice essential oils, especially cinnamon oil. The preventive effect of these oils was in dose- and exposure time-dependent manners. For reductive effect

Processes to Preserve Spice and Herb Quality and Sensory Integrity During Pathogen Inactivation

PubMed Central

Moberg, Kayla; Amin, Kemia N.; Wright, Melissa; Newkirk, Jordan J.; Ponder, Monica A.; Acuff, Gary R.; Dickson, James S.

2017-01-01

Abstract Selected processing methods, demonstrated to be effective at reducing Salmonella, were assessed to determine if spice and herb quality was affected. Black peppercorn, cumin seed, oregano, and onion powder were irradiated to a target dose of 8 kGy. Two additional processes were examined for whole black peppercorns and cumin seeds: ethylene oxide (EtO) fumigation and vacuum assisted‐steam (82.22 °C, 7.5 psia). Treated and untreated spices/herbs were compared (visual, odor) using sensory similarity testing protocols (α = 0.20; β = 0.05; proportion of discriminators: 20%) to determine if processing altered sensory quality. Analytical assessment of quality (color, water activity, and volatile chemistry) was completed. Irradiation did not alter visual or odor sensory quality of black peppercorn, cumin seed, or oregano but created differences in onion powder, which was lighter (higher L *) and more red (higher a*) in color, and resulted in nearly complete loss of measured volatile compounds. EtO processing did not create detectable odor or appearance differences in black peppercorn; however visual and odor sensory quality differences, supported by changes in color (higher b *; lower L *) and increased concentrations of most volatiles, were detected for cumin seeds. Steam processing of black peppercorn resulted in perceptible odor differences, supported by increased concentration of monoterpene volatiles and loss of all sesquiterpenes; only visual differences were noted for cumin seed. An important step in process validation is the verification that no effect is detectable from a sensory perspective. PMID:28407236

In Vivo Anticonvulsant Activity of Extracts and Protopine from the Fumaria schleicheri Herb.

PubMed

Prokopenko, Yuliya; Tsyvunin, Vadim; Shtrygol', Sergey; Georgiyants, Victoriya

2015-12-06

The present study aimed to investigate the role of several biologically active compounds from Fumaria schleicheri Soy.-Will. in anticonvulsant models. The flavonoid fraction, alkaloid fraction, individual alkaloid protopine, and polysaccharide-protein complex were isolated from the Fumaria schleicheri herb and studied along with Fumaria schleicheri dry extract in mice with pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures. According to empirical results, the expressed anticonvulsant effect of Fumaria schleicheri dry extract depends on the synergism of biologically active compounds in herbal medicine, although some individual substances (mostly protopine and the protein-polysaccharide fraction) have shown moderate anti-seizure activity.

Identification and evaluation of agents isolated from traditionally used herbs against Ophiophagus hannah venom.

PubMed

Salama, R; Sattayasai, J; Gande, A K; Sattayasai, N; Davis, M; Lattmann, E

2012-02-01

The aim of this study was firstly to identify active molecules in herbs, that are traditionally used for the treatment of snake bite, such as Curcuma antinaia, Curcuma contravenenum, Andrographis paniculata, and Tanacetum parthenium; secondly to test similar structurally related molecules and finally to prepare and evaluate an efficient formulation against Ophiophagus hannah venom intoxification. Three labdane based compounds, including labdane dialdehyde, labdane lactone, and labdane trialdehyde and two lactones including 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide and parthenolide were isolated by column chromatography and characterised. Using the isolated rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation, the antagonistic effect of crude extracts, isolated compounds and prepared formulations were measured in vitro on the inhibition of the neuromuscular transmission. Inhibition on muscle contraction, produced by the 5 μg/mL venom, was reversed by test agents in organ bath preparations. A labdane trialdehyde, isolated from C. contravenenum, was identified as the best antagonising agent in the low micromolar range. Tests on formulations of the most potent C. contravenenum extract showed, that the suppository with witepsol H15 was an effective medicine against O. hannah venom. This study elucidated the active compounds, accounting for the antivenin activity of traditionally used herbs and suggested the most suitable formulation, which may help to develop potent medicines for the treatment of snake bite in the future.

Sterilization of polydimethylsiloxane surface with Chinese herb extract: a new antibiotic mechanism of chlorogenic acid

PubMed Central

Ren, Song; Wu, Ming; Guo, Jiayu; Zhang, Wang; Liu, Xiaohan; Sun, Lili; Holyst, Robert; Hou, Sen; Fang, Yongchun; Feng, Xizeng

2015-01-01

Coating of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface with a traditional Chinese herb extract chlorogenic acid (CA) solves the contemporary problem of sterilization of PDMS surface. The E. coli grows slower and has a higher death rate on the CA-coated PDMS surfaces. A smoother morphology of these E. coli cell wall is observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Unlike the reported mechanism, where CA inhibits bacterial growth by damaging the cell membrane in the bulk solution, we find the CA-coated PDMS surface also decreases the stiffness of the cell wall. A decrease in the Young’s modulus of the cell wall from 3 to 0.8 MPa is reported. Unexpectedly, the CA effect on the swarming ability and the biofilm stability of the bacteria can be still observed, even after they have been removed from the CA environment, indicating a decrease in their resistance to antibiotics for a prolonged time. The CA-coated PDMS surface shows better antibiotic effect against three types of both Gram-positive and Gran-negative bacteria than the gentamicin-coated PDMS surface. Coating of CA on PDMS surface not only solves the problem of sterilization of PDMS surface, but also shines light on the application of Chinese traditional herbs in scientific research. PMID:25993914

Sterilization of polydimethylsiloxane surface with Chinese herb extract: a new antibiotic mechanism of chlorogenic acid.

PubMed

Ren, Song; Wu, Ming; Guo, Jiayu; Zhang, Wang; Liu, Xiaohan; Sun, Lili; Holyst, Robert; Hou, Sen; Fang, Yongchun; Feng, Xizeng

2015-05-21

Coating of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface with a traditional Chinese herb extract chlorogenic acid (CA) solves the contemporary problem of sterilization of PDMS surface. The E. coli grows slower and has a higher death rate on the CA-coated PDMS surfaces. A smoother morphology of these E. coli cell wall is observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Unlike the reported mechanism, where CA inhibits bacterial growth by damaging the cell membrane in the bulk solution, we find the CA-coated PDMS surface also decreases the stiffness of the cell wall. A decrease in the Young's modulus of the cell wall from 3 to 0.8 MPa is reported. Unexpectedly, the CA effect on the swarming ability and the biofilm stability of the bacteria can be still observed, even after they have been removed from the CA environment, indicating a decrease in their resistance to antibiotics for a prolonged time. The CA-coated PDMS surface shows better antibiotic effect against three types of both Gram-positive and Gran-negative bacteria than the gentamicin-coated PDMS surface. Coating of CA on PDMS surface not only solves the problem of sterilization of PDMS surface, but also shines light on the application of Chinese traditional herbs in scientific research.

Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity of traditional Chinese herb pairs, Angelica sinensis and Sophora flavescens.

PubMed

Han, Chunchao; Guo, Jianyou

2012-06-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity of Angelica sinensis extract (AE), Sophora flavescens extract (SE), and herb pair A. sinensis and S. flavescens extract (HPE). Endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) was induced in rats by a footpad injection of lipopolysaccharide. The anti-inflammatory potential of AE, SE, and HPE in the regulation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), maleic dialdehyde (MDA), polymorphonuclear cells (PMN), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) was determined by ELISA and immunohistochemistry. HPE showed strong antibacterial activity at all tested concentrations (1.25, 2.5, and 5 μg/ml) to Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Shigella Castellani and Chalmers. HPE significantly inhibited EIU-induced upregulation of NF-κB activation and the production of IL-1β, TNF-α, iNOS, ICAM-1, and COX-2. Moreover, HPE suppressed MDA and infiltration of PMN. The study supports the hypothesis that the antipimple and anti-eczema activities of Dangguikushen compound recipe are attributed to herb pairs, A. sinensis and S. flavescens, used in combination.

Antimicrobial activity of several herb and spice extracts in culture medium and in vacuum-packaged pork.

PubMed

Kong, Baohua; Wang, Jinzhi; Xiong, Youling L

2007-03-01

Extracts prepared from honeysuckle, Scutellaria, Forsythia suspensa (Thunb), cinnamon, and rosemary with 75% ethanol and from clove oil dissolved in 75% ethanol were applied to inoculated agar media to observe their inhibitory effects on the growth of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Lactobacillus plantarum. All the extracts suppressed the growth of these bacteria; Scutellaria exhibited the strongest effect against E. coli. An orthogonal test revealed that the most effective antimicrobial composite extracts were equal-volume mixtures of 0.125 g/ml Scutellaria + 0.5 g/ml honeysuckle + 0.125 g/ml Forsythia + 0.25 g/ml cinnamon and 0.25 g/ml cinnamon + 0.125 g/ml rosemary + 0.25% clove oil. These mixed extracts also produced strong antimicrobial effects in vacuum-packaged fresh pork, with 1.81- to 2.32-log reductions in microbial counts compared with the control when stored for up to 28 days. The sensory panel detected minimal differences in surface color and off-odors between meat samples treated with herb-spice extracts and the control. These results indicate that combined herb and spice extracts can be used as natural antimicrobials for food preservation.

Ecological filtering by a dominant herb selects for shade tolerance in the tree seedling community of coastal dune forest.

PubMed

Tsvuura, Zivanai; Griffiths, Megan E; Gunton, Richard M; Franks, Peter J; Lawes, Michael J

2010-12-01

The regeneration niche is commonly partitioned along a gradient from shade-tolerant to shade-intolerant species to explain plant community assembly in forests. We examined the shade tolerance of tree seedlings in a subtropical coastal forest to determine whether the ecological filtering effect of a dominant, synchronously monocarpic herb (Isoglossa woodii) selects for species at either end of the light response continuum during the herb's vegetative and reproductive phases. Photosynthetic characteristics of seedlings of 20 common tree species and the herb were measured. Seedlings were grown in the greenhouse at 12-14% irradiance, and their light compensation points measured using an open-flow gas exchange system. The light compensation points for the tree species were low, falling within a narrow range from 2.1 ± 0.8 μmol m(-2) s(-1) in Celtis africana to 6.4 ± 0.7 μmol m(-2) s(-1) in Allophylus natalensis, indicating general shade tolerance, consistent with a high and narrow range of apparent quantum yield among species (0.078 ± 0.002 mol CO(2) mol(-1) photon). Rates of dark respiration were significantly lower in a generalist pioneer species (Acacia karroo) than in a forest pioneer (C. africana), or in late successional phase forest species. We argue that the general shade tolerance, and phenotypic clustering of shade tolerance, in many tree species from several families in this system, is a result of ecological filtering by the prevailing low light levels beneath the I. woodii understorey, which excludes most light-demanding species from the seedling community.

Herbs and spices: characterization and quantitation of biologically-active markers for routine quality control by multiple headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with separative or non-separative analysis.

PubMed

Sgorbini, Barbara; Bicchi, Carlo; Cagliero, Cecilia; Cordero, Chiara; Liberto, Erica; Rubiolo, Patrizia

2015-01-09

Herbs and spices are used worldwide as food flavoring, thus determination of their identity, origin, and quality is mandatory for safe human consumption. An analysis strategy based on separative (HS-SPME-GC-MS) and non-separative (HS-SPME-MS) approaches is proposed for the volatile fraction of herbs and spices, for quality control and to quantify the aromatic markers with a single analysis directly on the plant material as such. Eight-to-ten lots of each of the following herbs/spices were considered: cloves (Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & Perry), American peppertree (Schinus molle L.), black pepper and white pepper (Piper nigrum L.), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), sage (Salvia officinalis L.) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.). Homogeneity, origin, and chemotypes of the investigated lots of each herb/spice were defined by fingerprinting, through statistical elaboration with principal component analysis (PCA). Characterizing aromatic markers were directly quantified on the solid matrix through multiple headspace extraction-HS-SPME (MHS-SPME). Reliable results were obtained with both separative and non-separative methods (where the latter were applicable); the two were in full agreement, RSD% ranging from 1.8 to 7.7% for eugenol in cloves, 2.2-18.4% for carvacrol+thymol in thyme, and 3.1-16.8% for thujones in sage. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in herbs and fruit teas].

PubMed

Ciemniak, Artur

2005-01-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of which benzo[a]pyrene is the most commonly studied and measured, are fused - ring aromatic compounds formed in both natural and man made processes and are found widely distributed throughout the human environment. PAHs occur as contaminants in different food categories and beverages including water, vegetables, fruit, cereals, oils and fats, barbecued and smoked meat. The sources of PAHs in food are predominantly from environmental pollution and food processing. PAHs emissions from automobile traffic and industry activities were show to influence the PAHs levels in vegetables and fruits. The present study was carried out to determine levels of 16 basic PAHs in herbs and fruit teas. The method was based on the hexane extraction and cleaned up by florisil cartridge. The extracts were analysed by GC-MS. The levels of total PAHs varied from 48,27 microg/kg (hibiscus tea) to 1703 microg/kg (green tea). The highest level of BaP was found in lime tea (74,2 microg/kg).

Natural occurrence of fumonisins and ochratoxin A in some herbs and spices commercialized in Poland analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS method.

PubMed

Waśkiewicz, Agnieszka; Beszterda, Monika; Bocianowski, Jan; Goliński, Piotr

2013-12-01

Unsanitary conditions during harvesting, drying, packing and storage stages in production and processing of spices and herbs could introduce mycotoxin contamination. The occurrence of ochratoxin A and fumonisins in popular spices and herbs was studied, using liquid chromatography-electrospray-mass spectrometry. Apart from mycotoxins, ergosterol as a factor indicating fungal development was also analysed. A total of 79 different samples commercialized in Poland were randomly purchased from popular markets were tested for mycotoxins. The frequency of samples with fumonisins was lower (31%) than ochratoxin A (49%). Free from mycotoxins were samples of bay leaf and white mustard. ERG content - in spice samples with high concentration level of mycotoxins - was also significantly higher than in samples with little to no mycotoxins. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toward rapid analysis, forecast and discovery of bioactive compounds from herbs by jointly using thin layer chromatography and ratiometric surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy technique.

PubMed

Gu, Xiaoling; Jin, Yang; Dong, Fang; Cai, Yueqing; You, Zhengyi; You, Junhui; Zhang, Liying; Du, Shuhu

2018-05-10

Conventional isolation and identification of active compounds from herbs have been extensively reported by using various chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. However, how to quickly discover new bioactive ingredients from natural sources still remains a challenging task due to the interference of their similar structures or matrices. Here, we present a grand approach for rapid analysis, forecast and discovery of bioactive compounds from herbs based on a hyphenated strategy of thin layer chromatography and ratiometric surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. The performance of the hyphenated strategy is first evaluated by analyzing four protoberberine alkaloids, berberine (BER), coptisine (COP), palmatine (PAT) and jatrorrhizine (JAT), from a typical herb Coptidis Rhizoma as an example. It has been demonstrated that this coupling method can identify the four compounds by characteristic peaks at 728, 708, 736 and 732 cm -1 , and especially discriminate BER and COP (with similar migration distances) by ratiometric Raman intensity (I 708 /I 728 ). The corresponding limits of detection are 0.1, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 μM, respectively, which are about 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than those of direct observation method under 254 nm UV lamp. Based on these findings, the proposed method further guides forecast and discovery of unknown compounds from traditional Chinese herb Typhonii Rhizoma. Results infer that two trace alkaloids (BER and COP) from the n-butanol extract of Typhonii Rhizoma are found for the first time. Moreover, in vitro experiments manifest that BER can effectively decrease the viability of human glioma U87 cells by inducing cell cycle arrest in a concentration-dependent manner. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Processes to Preserve Spice and Herb Quality and Sensory Integrity During Pathogen Inactivation.

PubMed

Duncan, Susan E; Moberg, Kayla; Amin, Kemia N; Wright, Melissa; Newkirk, Jordan J; Ponder, Monica A; Acuff, Gary R; Dickson, James S

2017-05-01

Selected processing methods, demonstrated to be effective at reducing Salmonella, were assessed to determine if spice and herb quality was affected. Black peppercorn, cumin seed, oregano, and onion powder were irradiated to a target dose of 8 kGy. Two additional processes were examined for whole black peppercorns and cumin seeds: ethylene oxide (EtO) fumigation and vacuum assisted-steam (82.22 °C, 7.5 psia). Treated and untreated spices/herbs were compared (visual, odor) using sensory similarity testing protocols (α = 0.20; β = 0.05; proportion of discriminators: 20%) to determine if processing altered sensory quality. Analytical assessment of quality (color, water activity, and volatile chemistry) was completed. Irradiation did not alter visual or odor sensory quality of black peppercorn, cumin seed, or oregano but created differences in onion powder, which was lighter (higher L * ) and more red (higher a * ) in color, and resulted in nearly complete loss of measured volatile compounds. EtO processing did not create detectable odor or appearance differences in black peppercorn; however visual and odor sensory quality differences, supported by changes in color (higher b * ; lower L * ) and increased concentrations of most volatiles, were detected for cumin seeds. Steam processing of black peppercorn resulted in perceptible odor differences, supported by increased concentration of monoterpene volatiles and loss of all sesquiterpenes; only visual differences were noted for cumin seed. An important step in process validation is the verification that no effect is detectable from a sensory perspective. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Food Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Institute of Food Technologists.

Inhibitory Mechanisms of Human CYPs by Three Alkaloids Isolated from Traditional Chinese Herbs.

PubMed

Zhao, Yong; Hellum, Bent Håvard; Liang, Aihua; Nilsen, Odd Georg

2015-06-01

The three purified herbal compounds tetrahydropalmatine (Tet), neferine and berberine (Ber) were explored in vitro for basic inhibition mechanisms towards recombinant human CYP1A2, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 metabolic activities. Phenacetin, dextromethorphan and testosterone, respectively, were used as CYP1A2, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 substrates, and their metabolites were determined by validated HPLC methodologies. Positive inhibition controls were used. Mechanism-based (irreversible) inhibition was assessed by time-dependent and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent and reversible inhibition by Lineweaver-Burk plot assessments. Inhibition mechanisms were also assessed by computerized interaction prediction by using the Discovery Studio CDOCKER software (Accelrys, San Diego, CA, USA). Tetrahydropalmatine showed a mechanism-based inhibition of both CYP1A2 and CYP2D6, and Ber of CYP2D6. Neferine and Ber both showed a nonmechanistic inhibition of CYP1A2. All compounds showed a similar and significant mechanism-based inhibition of CYP3A4. Tetrahydropalmatine and Ber demonstrated both reversible and irreversible inhibition of CYP2D6 and CYP3A4. Tetrahydropalmatine and Ber displayed H-bond and several Pi-bond connections with specific amino acid residues of CYP1A2, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4, giving further knowledge to the identified reversible and irreversible herb-drug interactions. Tetrahydropalmatine and Ber should be considered for herb-drug interactions in clinical therapy until relevant clinical studies are available. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Single, repeated dose toxicity and genotoxicity assessment of herb formula KIOM2012H.

PubMed

Park, Hwayong; Hwang, Youn-Hwan; Ma, Jin Yeul

2017-12-01

Traditional medicine and herbal prescriptions are becoming more popular, and they account for a large share of the world's healthcare research studies, developments, and market demands. Increasing scientific evidence of the substantive efficacies such as preventive health keeping pharmaceutical materials and dietary supplements can be found elsewhere. Above all, safety should be the critical premise for considering developmental materials such as pharmaceuticals without side effects and toxicity. The authors formulated KIOM2012H (K2H) using four herbs that were reported to have medicinal effects-including anticancer, antiaging, antimicrobial, inflammation, and neuroprotective properties. In order to examine the toxicity, single and repeated dose toxicity, and genotoxicities of bacterial mutation, micronucleus, and chromosomal aberration assays were conducted. All experimental observations and results showed normal findings. Toxicities or abnormal signs were not observed in all experimental assays, including oral administration, animal behavior, clinical findings, and changes in body weight in vivo . In vitro bacterial cultures produced no revertant colonies, and no increased numbers of structural or numerical aberrant metaphases were found in the metaphase chromosomes examined. Moreover, no significant increased frequency of micronucleus was observed in any of the doses used. Overall, no acute toxicity or genotoxicity was found in all analysis parameters in all the assays conducted. Reviewing the results as a whole, K2H extract was regarded as a safe material with no toxicity, and can be applied for the research and development of complementary and alternative medicines with improved efficacy in current therapeutic healthcare, based on traditional medicine and herb resources.

New opportunities of the application of natural herb and spice extracts in plant oils: application of electron paramagnetic resonance in examining the oxidative stability.

PubMed

Kozłowska, Mariola; Szterk, Arkadiusz; Zawada, Katarzyna; Ząbkowski, Tomasz

2012-09-01

The aim of this study was to establish the applicability of natural water-ethanol extracts of herbs and spices in increasing the oxidative stability of plant oils and in the production of novel food. Different concentrations (0, 100, 300, 500, and 700 ppm) of spice extracts and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) (100 ppm) were added to the studied oils. The antioxidant activity of spice extracts was determined with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay. The study showed that the extracts significantly increased the oxidative stability of the examined oils when compared to one of the strongest synthetic antioxidants--BHA. The applied simple production technology and addition of herb and spice extracts to plant oils enabled enhancement of their oxidative stability. The extracts are an alternative to the oils aromatized with an addition of fresh herbs, spices, and vegetables because it did not generate additional flavors thus enabling the maintenance of the characteristic ones. Moreover, it will increase the intake of natural substances in human diet, which are known to possess anticarcinogenic properties. © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®

A Novel Quantitative Prediction Approach for Astringency Level of Herbs Based on an Electronic Tongue

PubMed Central

Han, Xue; Jiang, Hong; Zhang, Dingkun; Zhang, Yingying; Xiong, Xi; Jiao, Jiaojiao; Xu, Runchun; Yang, Ming; Han, Li; Lin, Junzhi

2017-01-01

Background: The current astringency evaluation for herbs has become dissatisfied with the requirement of pharmaceutical process. It needed a new method to accurately assess astringency. Methods: First, quinine, sucrose, citric acid, sodium chloride, monosodium glutamate, and tannic acid (TA) were analyzed by electronic tongue (e-tongue) to determine the approximate region of astringency in partial least square (PLS) map. Second, different concentrations of TA were detected to define the standard curve of astringency. Meanwhile, coordinate-concentration relationship could be obtained by fitting the PLS abscissa of standard curve and corresponding concentration. Third, Chebulae Fructus (CF), Yuganzi throat tablets (YGZTT), and Sanlejiang oral liquid (SLJOL) were tested to define the region in PLS map. Finally, the astringent intensities of samples were calculated combining with the standard coordinate-concentration relationship and expressed by concentrations of TA. Then, Euclidean distance (Ed) analysis and human sensory test were processed to verify the results. Results: The fitting equation between concentration and abscissa of TA was Y = 0.00498 × e(−X/0.51035) + 0.10905 (r = 0.999). The astringency of 1, 0.1 mg/mL CF was predicted at 0.28, 0.12 mg/mL TA; 2, 0.2 mg/mL YGZTTs was predicted at 0.18, 0.11 mg/mL TA; 0.002, 0.0002 mg/mL SLJOL was predicted at 0.15, 0.10 mg/mL TA. The validation results showed that the predicted astringency of e-tongue was basically consistent to human sensory and was more accuracy than Ed analysis. Conclusion: The study indicated the established method was objective and feasible. It provided a new quantitative method for astringency of herbs. SUMMARY The astringency of Chebulae Fructus, Yuganzi throat tablets, and Sanlejiang oral liquid was predicted by electronic tongueEuclidean distance analysis and human sensory test verified the resultsA new strategy which was objective, simple, and sensitive to compare astringent intensity of

Development of an Automatic Dispensing System for Traditional Chinese Herbs.

PubMed

Lin, Chi-Ying; Hsieh, Ping-Jung

2017-01-01

The gathering of ingredients for decoctions of traditional Chinese herbs still relies on manual dispensation, due to the irregular shape of many items and inconsistencies in weights. In this study, we developed an automatic dispensing system for Chinese herbal decoctions with the aim of reducing manpower costs and the risk of mistakes. We employed machine vision in conjunction with a robot manipulator to facilitate the grasping of ingredients. The name and formulation of the decoction are input via a human-computer interface, and the dispensing of multiple medicine packets is performed automatically. An off-line least-squared curve fitting method was used to calculate the amount of material grasped by the claws and thereby improve system efficiency as well as the accuracy of individual dosages. Experiments on the dispensing of actual ingredients demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system.

Anti-obesity effect of milk fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum NCDC 625 alone and in combination with herbs on high fat diet fed C57BL/6J mice.

PubMed

Pothuraju, R; Sharma, R K; Kavadi, P K; Chagalamarri, J; Jangra, S; Bhakri, G; De, S

2016-06-01

The effect of dietary supplementation of milk fermented with indigenous probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum (LP625) alone and in combination with herbs (Aloe vera and Gymnema sylvestre) was investigated on high fat diet (HFD, 60 kcal% fat) fed mice for 12 weeks. Administration of LP625 alone or in combination with both herbs lowered the final body weight, however, a significant difference was observed with LP625 supplemented Gymnema sylvestre only as compared to the HFD fed group (25.06±0.18 vs 27.29±0.72 g, P<0.05). Similarly, the epididymal fat mass, fasting blood glucose and serum insulin levels were significantly (P<0.05) decreased by all treatment groups. In addition, a protective effect against the rise in serum and liver triglycerides, and in liver total cholesterol levels was found with the consumption of LP625 alone or in combination with herbs. Furthermore, the HFD fed mice showed a remarkable increase in the epididymal fat cell size, whereas administration of LP625 alone or in combination with herbs exhibited a significant decrease in the size. Finally, a significant increase in the relative mRNA expression of thermogenic proteins, i.e. uncoupling protein-2 (UCP-2, 1.16±0.25 fold change, P<0.05) and a decrease in pro-inflammatory markers, such as tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 (1.55±0.18 and 3.10±0.58 fold change, respectively, P<0.05) were due to LP625 supplementation in the HFD fed group. This shows that LP625 alone or supplemented with herbs seems to protect against diet induced obesity by decreasing the body and epididymal fat weight through upregulation of UCP-2 expression and reduced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

In Vivo Anticonvulsant Activity of Extracts and Protopine from the Fumaria schleicheri Herb

PubMed Central

Prokopenko, Yuliya; Tsyvunin, Vadim; Shtrygol’, Sergey; Georgiyants, Victoriya

2015-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate the role of several biologically active compounds from Fumaria schleicheri Soy.-Will. in anticonvulsant models. The flavonoid fraction, alkaloid fraction, individual alkaloid protopine, and polysaccharide-protein complex were isolated from the Fumaria schleicheri herb and studied along with Fumaria schleicheri dry extract in mice with pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures. According to empirical results, the expressed anticonvulsant effect of Fumaria schleicheri dry extract depends on the synergism of biologically active compounds in herbal medicine, although some individual substances (mostly protopine and the protein-polysaccharide fraction) have shown moderate anti-seizure activity. PMID:28117320

Application of Microbiological Method Direct Epifluorescence Filter Techique/Aerobic Plate Count Agar in the Identification of Irradiated Herbs and Spices

PubMed Central

Di Schiavi, Maria Teresa; Foti, Marina; Mosconi, Maria Cristina; Mattiolo, Giuseppina; Cavallina, Roberta

2014-01-01

Irradiation is a preservation technology used to improve the safety and hygienic quality of food. Aim of this study was to assess the applicability and validity of the microbiological screening method direct epifluorescence filter technique (DEFT)/aerobic plate count (APC) (EN 13783:2001) for the identification of irradiated herbs and spices. Tests on non-irradiated and irradiated samples of dried herbs and spices were performed. The method was based on the comparison of APC and count obtained using DEFT. In accordance with the standard reference, this method is not applicable to samples with APC<103 colony forming units (CFU)/g and this is its main limit. The results obtained in our laboratories showed that in 50% of cases of non-irradiated samples and in 96% of the samples treated with ionising radiation, the method was not applicable due to a value of CFU/g <103. PMID:27800348

Systematic review of herbs and dietary supplements for glycemic control in diabetes.

PubMed

Yeh, Gloria Y; Eisenberg, David M; Kaptchuk, Ted J; Phillips, Russell S

2003-04-01

To conduct a systematic review of the published literature on the efficacy and safety of herbal therapies and vitamin/mineral supplements for glucose control in patients with diabetes. We conducted an electronic literature search of MEDLINE, OLDMEDLINE, Cochrane Library Database, and HealthSTAR, from database inception to May 2002, in addition to performing hand searches and consulting with experts in the field. Available clinical studies published in the English language that used human participants and examined glycemic control were included. Data were extracted in a standardized manner, and two independent investigators assessed methodological quality of randomized controlled trials using the Jadad scale. A total of 108 trials examining 36 herbs (single or in combination) and 9 vitamin/mineral supplements, involving 4,565 patients with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. There were 58 controlled clinical trials involving individuals with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance (42 randomized and 16 nonrandomized trials). Most studies involved patients with type 2 diabetes. Heterogeneity and the small number of studies per supplement precluded formal meta-analyses. Of these 58 trials, the direction of the evidence for improved glucose control was positive in 76% (44 of 58). Very few adverse effects were reported. There is still insufficient evidence to draw definitive conclusions about the efficacy of individual herbs and supplements for diabetes; however, they appear to be generally safe. The available data suggest that several supplements may warrant further study. The best evidence for efficacy from adequately designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is available for Coccinia indica and American ginseng. Chromium has been the most widely studied supplement. Other supplements with positive preliminary results include Gymnema sylvestre, Aloe vera, vanadium, Momordica charantia, and nopal.

Plasticizers and BPA Residues in Tunisian and Italian Culinary Herbs and Spices.

PubMed

Di Bella, Giuseppa; Ben Mansour, Hedi; Ben Tekaya, Asma; Beltifa, Asma; Potortì, Angela Giorgia; Saiya, Emanuele; Bartolomeo, Giovanni; Dugo, Giacomo; Lo Turco, Vincenzo

2018-06-01

In the present study, 18 plasticizers and residues in 10 different Tunisian and Italian culinary herbs and spices (black pepper, mint, caraway, coriander, oregano, rosemary, thyme, fennel, verbena, and laurel) were determined by GC/MS. Di-methylphthalate, di-(2-methylpropyl)adipate, di-n-butyladipate, di-propylphthalate, benzylbenzoate, di-phenylphthalate, and bisphenol A were lower than their LOQ in all 118 samples. Among the Tunisian samples, di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate was found in all types of samples and di-butylphthalate in 50% of types; all other phthalates were rarely dectected. Among the adipates, only di-methyladipate was found in 90% of types; di-ethyladipate was seldom found and di-(2-ethylhexyl)adipate only in samples of caraway. Di-(2-ethylhexyl)terephthalate was found in all types of samples; di-(2-ethylhexyl)sebacate was detected rarely but with high values. Among the Sicilian samples, di-ethylphthalate and di-(2-methylpropyl)phthalate were detected only in samples of mint; di-methyladipate, di-butylphthalate, and benzylbutylphthalate were identified in oregano and laurel; di-(2-ethylhexyl)terephthalate and di-(2-ethylhexyl)sebacate only in oregano. In any case, the results suggested that intake of these contaminants through spices and herbs is not a dangerous risk to the consumers. Probably, as already observed for the other food, these contaminants could result from pollution of the environment (air, water, and/or soil) and/or farming methods. Plasticizers and BPA in Tunisian and Italian spices were determined by GC/MS. Tunisian spices seem to contain more residues than Italian samples. Intake of these contaminants by spices is not a dangerous risk to the consumers. These pollutants could result from environmental pollution or agricultural practices. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.

The Four-Herb Chinese Medicine ANBP Enhances Wound Healing and Inhibits Scar Formation via Bidirectional Regulation of Transformation Growth Factor Pathway

PubMed Central

Hao, Hao-Jie; Han, Qing-Wang; Chen, Li; Dong, Liang; Liu, Jie-Jie; Li, Xiang; Zhang, Ya-Jing; Ma, Ying-Zhi; Han, Wei-Dong; Fu, Xiao-Bing

2014-01-01

The four-herb Chinese medicine ANBP is a pulverized mixture of four herbs including Agrimonia Eupatoria (A), Nelumbo Nucifera Gaertn (N), Boswellia Carteri (B) and Pollen Typhae Angustifoliae (P). The combination of the four herbs was first described in Chinese canonical medicine about 2000 years ago for treatment of various trauma disorders, such as hemostasis, antiinflammatory, analgesia, and wound healing, etc. However, the precise mechanisms of ANBP are still unclear. In our study, using rabbit ear hypertrophic scar models of full-thickness skin defect, we showed that local ANBP treatment not only significantly enhanced wound healing by relieving inflammation, increasing formation of granulation tissue and accelerating re-epithelialization, but also reduced scar formation by decreasing collagen production, protuberant height and volume of scars, and increasing collagen maturity. We demonstrated that these effects of ANBP are associated with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-mediated signalling pathways through Smad-dependent pathways. ANBP treatment significantly increased expression of TGF-β1 and Smad2/3 mRNA at the early stage of wound healing, and led to markedly decrease expression of TGF-β1 and Smad2/3 compared with the control group after 14 days post-wounding. Taken together, our results defined a bidirectional regulation role of ANBP for TGF-β1/Smad pathway in promoting wound healing and alleviating scar formation, which may be an effective therapy for human wounds at the earliest stage. PMID:25489732

Volatile Composition of Essential Oils from Different Aromatic Herbs Grown in Mediterranean Regions of Spain

PubMed Central

El-Zaeddi, Hussein; Martínez-Tomé, Juan; Calín-Sánchez, Ángel; Burló, Francisco; Carbonell-Barrachina, Ángel A.

2016-01-01

Volatile composition of essential oils from dill, parsley, coriander, and mint were investigated at different harvest dates to determine the most suitable harvest time for each these herbs. Hydrodistillation (HD), using a Deryng system, was used for isolating the essential oils. Isolation and identification of the volatile compounds were performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument. The results of gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) analysis (quantification) showed that the main components in the essential oil of dill shoots were α-phellandrene, dill ether, and β-phellandrene, and the optimal harvest date was D2 (second harvest, fourth week of February 2015). For parsley shoots, the main compounds were 1,3,8-p-menthatriene, β-phellandrene, and P1 (first harvest, third week of November 2014) was the sample with the highest essential oil. For coriander, the main compounds were E-2-dodecenal, dodecanal, and octane and the highest contents were found at C2 (second harvest, 5 February 2015); while, the main two components of mint essential oil were carvone and limonene, and the highest contents were found at M1 (first harvest, second week of December 2014). The present study was the first one reporting data on descriptive sensory analysis of aromatic herbs at this optimal harvest date according to the content of volatile compounds of their essential oils. PMID:28231136

Spice MyPlate: Nutrition Education Focusing Upon Spices and Herbs Improved Diet Quality and Attitudes Among Urban High School Students.

PubMed

D'Adamo, Christopher R; McArdle, Patrick F; Balick, Lyssa; Peisach, Erin; Ferguson, Tenaj; Diehl, Alica; Bustad, Kendall; Bowden, Brandin; Pierce, Beverly A; Berman, Brian M

2016-05-01

To determine whether an experiential nutrition education intervention focusing on spices and herbs ("Spice MyPlate") is feasible and improves diet quality and healthy eating attitudes among an urban and predominantly African-American sample of adolescents more than standard nutrition education alone. A nonrandomized controlled trial compared standard nutrition education in U.S. Department of Agriculture MyPlate guidelines (control group) with standard nutrition education plus adjuvant Spice MyPlate curriculum (intervention group). Data were collected at baseline and after 3, 6, and 10 weeks. Study setting was two public high schools in Baltimore, Maryland. A total of 110 students in grades 9 to 12 participated. The 6-week school-based intervention conducted during health class focused on cooking using spices and herbs to eat healthier diets according to MyPlate. Dietary intake reported on 3-day food records and healthy eating attitudes questionnaires was analyzed. Differences in diet quality and healthy eating attitudes between study groups were estimated by t-tests, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests, and covariate-adjusted regression models. Spice MyPlate was feasible and there were modest but significant improvements (p ≤ .05) in the Spice MyPlate group compared with control in whole grains (31.2 g/wk) and protein foods (13.2 ounces per week) intake, and attitudes toward eating vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy. Although randomized trials are needed, experiential nutrition education focusing on spices and herbs may help urban and predominantly African-American adolescent populations eat healthier diets. © The Author(s) 2016.

Silver-nanoparticle-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering wiper for the detection of dye adulteration of medicinal herbs.

PubMed

Li, Dan; Zhu, Qingxia; Lv, Diya; Zheng, Binxing; Liu, Yanhua; Chai, Yifeng; Lu, Feng

2015-08-01

By using a silver nanoparticle wiper as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrate, a highly sensitive, convenient, and rapid platform for detecting dye adulteration of medicinal herbs was obtained. Commercially available filter paper was functionalized with silver nanoparticles to transform it into the flexible wiper. This device was found to collect dye molecules with unprecedented ease. Experiments were performed to optimize various factors such as the type of wiper used, the wetting reagent, and the wetting/wiping mode and time. Excellent wiper performance was observed in the detection of the simulated adulteration of samples with dyes at various concentrations. The limits of detection for nine dyes, including 10(-6) g/mL for malachite green, 10(-7) g/mL for Rhodamine 6G, and 5 × 10(-8) g/mL for methylene blue, were discerned. The results of this investigation show that this proposed method is potentially highly advantageous for field-based applications. Graphical Abstract Schematic diagram illustrating the fabrication of the paper-based SERS substrate, sample collection process on a herb and SERS examination with the portable Raman spectrometer.

Microbial safety and quality of fresh herbs from Los Angeles, Orange County and Seattle farmers' markets.

PubMed

Levy, Donna J; Beck, Nicola K; Kossik, Alexandra L; Patti, Taylor; Meschke, J Scott; Calicchia, Melissa; Hellberg, Rosalee S

2015-10-01

Farmers' markets have been growing in popularity in the United States, but the microbial quality and safety of the food sold at these markets is currently unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess the microbial safety and quality of fresh basil, parsley and cilantro sold at farmers' markets in the Los Angeles, Orange County and greater Seattle areas. A total of 133 samples (52 basil, 41 cilantro and 40 parsley) were collected from 13 different farmers' markets and tested for Salmonella and generic Escherichia coli. One sample (parsley) was confirmed positive for Salmonella and 24.1% of samples were positive for generic E. coli, with a range of 0.70-3.15 log CFU g(-1) . Among the herbs tested, basil showed the highest percentage of samples with generic E. coli (26.9%), followed by cilantro (24.4%) and then parsley (20.0%). For 12% of samples, the levels of generic E. coli exceeded guidelines established by the Public Health Laboratory Service for microbiological quality of ready-to-eat foods. Overall, this study indicates the presence of Salmonella and generic E. coli in fresh herbs sold at farmers' markets; however, additional studies are needed to determine the sources and extent of contamination. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Herb-drug, food-drug, nutrient-drug, and drug-drug interactions: mechanisms involved and their medical implications.

PubMed

Sørensen, Janina Maria

2002-06-01

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and iatrogenic diseases have been identified as significant factors responsible for patient morbidity and mortality. Significant studies on drug metabolism in humans have been published during the last few years, offering a deeper comprehension of the mechanisms underlying adverse drug reactions and interactions. More understanding of these mechanisms, and of recent advances in laboratory technology, can help to evaluate potential drug interactions when drugs are prescribed concurrently. Increasing knowledge of interindividual variation in drug breakdown capacity and recent findings concerning the influence of environment, diet, nutrients, and herbal products can be used to reduce ADRs and iatrogenic diseases. Reviewed data suggest that drug treatment should be increasingly custom tailored to suit the individual patient and that appropriately co-prescribed diet and herbal remedies, could increase drug efficacy and lessen drug toxicity. This review focuses mainly on recently published research material. The cytochrome p450 enzymes, their role in metabolism, and their mechanisms of action are reviewed, and their role in drug-drug interactions are discussed. Drug-food and drug-herb interactions have garnered attention. Interdisciplinary communication among medical herbalists, medical doctors, and dietetic experts needs to be improved and encouraged. Internet resources for obtaining current information regarding drug-drug, drug-herb, and drug-nutrient interactions are provided.

Identification and characterization of multiple curcumin synthases from the herb Curcuma longa.

PubMed

Katsuyama, Yohei; Kita, Tomoko; Horinouchi, Sueharu

2009-09-03

Curcuminoids are pharmaceutically important compounds isolated from the herb Curcuma longa. Two additional type III polyketide synthases, named CURS2 and CURS3, that are capable of curcuminoid synthesis were identified and characterized. In vitro analysis revealed that CURS2 preferred feruloyl-CoA as a starter substrate and CURS3 preferred both feruloyl-CoA and p-coumaroyl-CoA. These results suggested that CURS2 synthesizes curcumin or demethoxycurcumin and CURS3 synthesizes curcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin and demethoxycurcumin. The availability of the substrates and the expression levels of the three different enzymes capable of curcuminoid synthesis with different substrate specificities might influence the composition of curcuminoids in the turmeric and in different cultivars.

Herbs as an antioxidant arsenal for periodontal diseases

PubMed Central

Ramesh, Asha; Varghese, Sheeja Saji; Doraiswamy, Jayakumar Nadathur; Malaiappan, Sankari

2016-01-01

Herbal medicines have long been used as a traditional mode of therapy for various ailments in India. They are being used increasingly as dietary supplements to ward off common diseases. Periodontal diseases are highly prevalent and can affect up to 90% of the world population. Gingivitis is the mild form whereas periodontitis results in an irreversible loss of supporting structures of the teeth. Even though periodontal pathogens form a crucial component in the etiopathogenesis of periodontitis, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting oxidative stress playing a pivotal role in the disease initiation and progression. Studies have shown a direct correlation between increased levels of biomarkers for tissue damage induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) to the severity of periodontal disease. Thus, the focus of attention has revolved back to herbal medicines due to their wide spectrum of biological and medicinal activities, lower costs, and higher safety margin. Internet databases Pubmed and Google Scholar were searched, and the most relevant articles were considered for review. This review briefly describes the various herbs with antioxidant capacity and their potency in the treating periodontal disease. PMID:27069730

[Data-mining characteristics of adverse drug reactions and pharmacovi-gilance of Chinese patent drugs including Aconitum herbs].

PubMed

Zhang, Xiao-Meng; Li, Fan; Zhang, Bing; Chen, Xiao-Fen; Piao, Jing-Zhu

2018-01-01

The common Aconitum herbs in clinical application mainly include Aconiti Radix(Chuanwu), Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix(Caowu) and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparaia(Fuzi), all of which have toxicity. Therefore, the safety of using Chinese patent drugs including Aconitum herbs has become an hot topic in clinical controversy. Based on the data-mining methods, this study explored the characteristics and causes of adverse drug reactions/events (ADR/ADE) of the Chinese patent drugs including Aconitum, in order to provide pharmacovigilance and rational drug use suggestions for clinical application. The detailed ADR/ADE reports about the Chinese patent drugs including Aconitum herbs were retrieved in the domestic literature databases since 1984 to now. The information extraction and data-mining were conducted based on the platforms of Microsoft office Excel 2016, Clementine 12.0 and Cytoscape 3.3.0. Finally, 78 detailed ADR/ADE reports involving a total of 30 varieties were included. 92.31% ADR/ADE were surely or likely led by the Chinese patent drugs including Aconitum, mostly involving multiple system/organ damages with good prognosis, and even 1 case of death. The incidence of included ADRs/ADEs was associated with various factors such as the patient idiosyncratic, drug toxicity, as well as clinical medication. The patient age was most closely related to ADR/ADEs, and those aged from 60 to 69 were more easily suffered from the ADRs/ADEs of Chinese patent drugs including Aconitum. The probability of ADR/ADEs for the drugs including Chuanwu or Caowu was greater than that of Fuzi, and the using beyond the instructions dose was the most important potential safety hazard in the clinical medication process. For the regular and characteristics of ADR/ADEs led by Chinese patent drugs including Aconitum, special attention shall be paid to the elder patients or with the patients with allergies; strictly control the dosage and course of treatment, strengthen the safety medication

Synthesis of potential radioprotective components from Chinese herb drug Rhizoma Chuanxiong (rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. , umbelliferae)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, X.

1993-01-01

The ethanolic extracts of some Chinese traditional herb drugs, reported by Hong-Fu Wang et al. in China, could inhibit platelet aggregation as well as protect against radiation damage in mice, rat and rabbits. The inhibitory effects of the extracts of five Chinese drugs on the rate of platelet aggregation were observed in both in vitro and in vivo tests, averaging 23--53% in vitro and 46--69% in vivo. Antiradiation tests on mice vs. 7.5--8.0 Gy of [gamma]-radiation, using the herb drug extracts as protective agents, showed increasing survival rates by 8--50%. Based on Hong-Fu Wang's report, a search for the activemore » constituents of these herb drugs in inhibiting platelet aggregation and protecting animals against radiation damage was started. In this research program, a Chinese traditional drug, Rhizoma Chuanxiong (rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort.) was chosen. Three types of chemicals present in Rhizoma Chuanxiong, appeared promising for testing: 1-(5-hydroxymethyl-2-furyl)-9H-pyrido-(3,4-b)indole, 4-hydroxyl-3-butylidenephthalide and 5-hydroxyl-3-butylidenephthalide, and 4-hydroxyl-3-methoxycinnamyl 4-hydroxyl-3-methoxycinnamate. A total of 56 compounds of these derivatives has been synthesized and 30 were synthesized for the first time. The structure elucidation of these compounds was based on IR, [sup 1]H NMR and elemental analysis. From this research program, a very mild dehydrogenation method was developed. It was by using 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyanobenzoquinone in acetonitrile at ice bath temperature to dehydrogenate 1-(5-hydroxymethyl-2-furyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9H-pyrido-(3,4-b)indole into 1-(5-hydroxymethyl-2-furyl)-9H-pyrido-(3,4-b)indole. This project showed for the first time that harmanoid alkaloids have the activity of inhibition of plate aggregation by 4 to 23 times that of aspirin. These results aid in establishing a relation between radiation protection in animals and prevention of platelet hyperaggregation.« less

The Chinese Herb Yi-Qi-Huo-Xue Protects Cardiomyocyte Function in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy.

PubMed

Wang, Xiangsheng; Huang, Jing; Wang, Shengyi; Ni, Qing

2018-01-01

Aims. To study the effect of the Chinese herb Yi-qi-huo-xue on cardiomyopathy in diabetic rats. Methods . Rats were fed a high fat and high glucose diet and injected with 50 ml/kg streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), followed by treatment with Yi-qi-huo-xue for 4 weeks. We measured the rats' heart weight index, observed the myocardial morphology using hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining, and determined the content of collagen types I and III in the myocardium using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We determined Bcl-2, Bax, and P53 protein expression by Western blot analysis and the cardiomyocyte apoptosis rate via a flow cytometry assay. Results. Compared with the rats in the control group, the diabetic rats gained weight and had increased blood sugar levels, an enhanced heart weight index, and increased myocardial pathophysiological damage. There was a decrease in their Bcl-2 expression, and their Bax and P53 expression increased. The Bcl-2/Bax ratio was enhanced, and there was an increase in the content of collagen types I and III in the myocardium. After treatment with Yi-qi-huo-xue, all levels listed above returned to normal. Conclusion. The Chinese herb Yi-qi-huo-xue degraded the myocardial interstitial collagen types I and III to protect the myocardium of the diabetic rats, thus delaying the role of myocardial fibrosis. Yi-qi-huo-xue could play an important role in protecting the myocardium of DCM rats by enhancing the expression of the Bcl-2 protein, inhibiting the expression of the Bax and P53 proteins, increasing the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, and inhibiting the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes.

Evaluation of Iron-induced Oxidative Stress and its Amelioration by Certain Herbs in Broilers

PubMed Central

Ramakrishnan, V.; Reddy, A. Gopala; Reddy, A. Rajasekher; Haritha, C.

2011-01-01

A total of 225 male broiler chicks (Cobb strain) of day-old age were randomly divided into 15 groups consisting of 15 chicks in each group. Group 1 was maintained as basal diet control and group 2 on ferrous sulfate at 0.5% in feed throughout 6 wk as iron toxic control without any treatment. Groups 3-15 were maintained on FeSO4 at 0.5% in feed for the 4 wk (28 days) of study and thereafter administered with different herbs and their combinations for the remaining 2 wk. The blood samples were drawn from wing vein at the end of 4th and 6th weeks from the birds in each group for the assay of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. Sera samples were separated from the blood for the estimation of alanine transaminase (ALT) and serum creatinine. The birds were sacrificed at the end of 6th wk and tissues were collected for the assay of reduced glutathione (GSH) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in liver and kidney homogenates. The activities of SOD, catalase and ALT, and the concentration of TBARS and serum creatinine were increased significantly (P<0.05), while the concentration of tissue GSH was decreased significantly (P<0.05) in all the groups as compared to basal diet control and the values showed significant improvement in groups 3-15 that were treated during the last 2 weeks. It is concluded that iron induces toxicity by generating reactive oxygen species, and antioxidant herbs are useful in treating the iron-induced toxicity. PMID:21430923

The Effects of Selected Hot and Cold Temperament Herbs Based on Iranian Traditional Medicine on Some Metabolic Parameters in Normal Rats

PubMed Central

Parvinroo, Shirin; Zahediasl, Saleh; Sabetkasaei, Masoumeh; Kamalinejad, Mohammad; Naghibi, Farzaneh

2014-01-01

This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of diets containing some hot and cold temperament herb seeds according to Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) on some metabolic parameters in acute (24 h) and sub-acute (7 day) experiments that were performed on rats. For each experiment, effects of diets containing 10% herb seeds in category of hot (anise, fennel, ajowan) and cold (cucumber, watermelon, pumpkin) temperaments were analyzed on body weight gain, food intake, water consumption, urine output, serum glucose (SG) and insulin levels of rats. In the acute experiment, anise or fennel fed groups showed a significant decrease in food intake and there were not any changes in other parameters. The hot temperament groups in comparison with the cold temperament ones showed a significant decrease in food intake and a significant increase in SG level. In the sub-acute experiment, anise and fennel fed groups had a significant decrease in body weight gain on the 4thday. On the 7th day, the anise fed group experienced a significant decrease in body weight gain and a significant increase in SG levels. The groups that were fed hot temperament diets compared to the ones that consumed cold temperament diets showed a significant decrease in body weight gain and food intake rates and a considerable increase in SG levels. Considering the findings of this study, one can conclude that it is possible that hot temperament herbs such as anise and fennel be useful for humans for certain conditions such as weight control. PMID:24711844

The influence of herbs, spices, and regular sausage and chicken consumption on liking of reduced fat breakfast and lunch items.

PubMed

Polsky, Sarit; Beck, Jimikaye; Stark, Rebecca A; Pan, Zhaoxing; Hill, James O; Peters, John C

2014-10-01

Adults often consume more fat than is recommended. We examined factors that may improve liking of reduced fat and reduced saturated fat foods, including the addition of herbs and spices and habitual consumption of different high-fat and low-fat food items. We randomized adults to taste 3 different conditions: full fat (FF), reduced fat with no added spice (RF), and reduced fat plus spice (RFS). Subjects rated their liking of French toast, sausage and the overall meal, or chicken, vegetables, pasta, and the overall meal on a 9-point hedonic Likert scale. Overall liking of the RF breakfast and lunch meals were lower than the FF and RFS versions (breakfast: 6.50 RF compared with 6.84 FF, P = 0.0061; 6.50 RF compared with 6.82 RFS, P = 0.0030; lunch: 6.35 RF compared with 6.94 FF, P < 0.0001; 6.35 RF compared with 6.71 RFS, P = 0.0061). RFS and FF breakfast and lunch meals, French toast, chicken, and vegetable likings were similar. FF and RFS conditions were liked more than RF for the breakfast and lunch meals, French toast, chicken entrée, and vegetables. Liking of all 3 sausage conditions was similar. FF pasta was liked more than RFS and RF (7.47 FF compared with 6.42 RFS, P < 0.0001; 7.47 FF compared with 6.47 RF, P < 0.0001). Habitual consumption of roasted chicken was associated with reduced liking of FF chicken (r = -0.23, P = 0.004) and FF pasta (r = -0.23, P = 0.005). Herbs and spices may be useful for improving the liking of lower fat foods and helping Americans maintain a diet consistent with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Americans consume more fat than is recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This study shows that you can take foods like French toast, chicken, or a vegetable side and cut the fat and calories by up to 50% while restoring flavor with herbs and spices. People typically use butter, cheese, or fatty meat to enhance the flavor of their food. We found that even when we reduced the fat in our meals by using lower fat dairy and meat

Herb-Drug Interaction of Paullinia cupana (Guarana) Seed Extract on the Pharmacokinetics of Amiodarone in Rats.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Márcio; Alves, Gilberto; Lourenço, Nulita; Falcão, Amílcar

2012-01-01

Paullinia cupana is used in weight-loss programs as a constituent of medicinal/dietary supplements. This study aimed to assess a potential herb-drug interaction among a standardized (certified) Paullinia cupana extract and amiodarone (narrow therapeutic index drug) in rats. In a first pharmacokinetic study rats were simultaneously coadministered with a single dose of Paullinia cupana (821 mg/kg, p.o.) and amiodarone (50 mg/kg, p.o.), and in a second study rats were pretreated during 14 days with Paullinia cupana (821 mg/kg/day, p.o.) receiving amiodarone (50 mg/kg, p.o.) on the 15th day. Rats of the control groups received the corresponding volume of vehicle. Blood samples were collected at several time points after amiodarone dosing, and several tissues were harvested at the end of the experiments (24 h after dose). Plasma and tissue concentrations of amiodarone and its major metabolite (mono-N-desethylamiodarone) were measured and analysed. A significant reduction in the peak plasma concentration (73.2%) and in the extent of systemic exposure (57.8%) to amiodarone was found in rats simultaneously treated with Paullinia cupana and amiodarone; a decrease in tissue concentrations was also observed. This paper reports for the first time an herb-drug interaction between Paullinia cupana extract and amiodarone, which determined a great decrease on amiodarone bioavailability in rats.

Drug- and herb-induced liver injury: Progress, current challenges and emerging signals of post-marketing risk

PubMed Central

Raschi, Emanuel; De Ponti, Fabrizio

2015-01-01

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and herb-induced liver injury is a hot topic for clinicians, academia, drug companies and regulators, as shown by the steadily increasing number of publications in the past 15 years. This review will first provide clues for clinicians to suspect idiosyncratic (unpredictable) DILI and succeed in diagnosis. Causality assessment remains challenging and requires careful medical history as well as awareness of multifaceted aspects, especially for herbs. Drug discontinuation and therapy reconciliation remain the mainstay in patent’s management to minimize occurrence of acute liver failure. The second section will address novel agents associated with liver injury in 2014 (referred to as “signals”), especially in terms of clinical, research and drug development implications. Insights will be provided into recent trends by highlighting the contribution of different post-marketing data, especially registries and spontaneous reporting systems. This literature scrutiny suggests: (1) the importance of post-marketing databases as tools of clinical evidence to detect signals of DILI risk; and (2) the need for joining efforts in improving predictivity of pre-clinical assays, continuing post-marketing surveillance and design ad hoc post-authorization safety studies. In this context, ongoing European/United States research consortia and novel pharmaco-epidemiological tools (e.g., specialist prescription event monitoring) will support innovation in this field. Direct oral anticoagulants and herbal/dietary supplements appear as key research priorities. PMID:26167249

A transcriptome-wide, organ-specific regulatory map of Dendrobium officinale, an important traditional Chinese orchid herb

PubMed Central

Meng, Yijun; Yu, Dongliang; Xue, Jie; Lu, Jiangjie; Feng, Shangguo; Shen, Chenjia; Wang, Huizhong

2016-01-01

Dendrobium officinale is an important traditional Chinese herb. Here, we did a transcriptome-wide, organ-specific study on this valuable plant by combining RNA, small RNA (sRNA) and degradome sequencing. RNA sequencing of four organs (flower, root, leaf and stem) of Dendrobium officinale enabled us to obtain 536,558 assembled transcripts, from which 2,645, 256, 42 and 54 were identified to be highly expressed in the four organs respectively. Based on sRNA sequencing, 2,038, 2, 21 and 24 sRNAs were identified to be specifically accumulated in the four organs respectively. A total of 1,047 mature microRNA (miRNA) candidates were detected. Based on secondary structure predictions and sequencing, tens of potential miRNA precursors were identified from the assembled transcripts. Interestingly, phase-distributed sRNAs with degradome-based processing evidences were discovered on the long-stem structures of two precursors. Target identification was performed for the 1,047 miRNA candidates, resulting in the discovery of 1,257 miRNA--target pairs. Finally, some biological meaningful subnetworks involving hormone signaling, development, secondary metabolism and Argonaute 1-related regulation were established. All of the sequencing data sets are available at NCBI Sequence Read Archive (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/). Summarily, our study provides a valuable resource for the in-depth molecular and functional studies on this important Chinese orchid herb. PMID:26732614

Drug- and herb-induced liver injury: Progress, current challenges and emerging signals of post-marketing risk.

PubMed

Raschi, Emanuel; De Ponti, Fabrizio

2015-07-08

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and herb-induced liver injury is a hot topic for clinicians, academia, drug companies and regulators, as shown by the steadily increasing number of publications in the past 15 years. This review will first provide clues for clinicians to suspect idiosyncratic (unpredictable) DILI and succeed in diagnosis. Causality assessment remains challenging and requires careful medical history as well as awareness of multifaceted aspects, especially for herbs. Drug discontinuation and therapy reconciliation remain the mainstay in patent's management to minimize occurrence of acute liver failure. The second section will address novel agents associated with liver injury in 2014 (referred to as "signals"), especially in terms of clinical, research and drug development implications. Insights will be provided into recent trends by highlighting the contribution of different post-marketing data, especially registries and spontaneous reporting systems. This literature scrutiny suggests: (1) the importance of post-marketing databases as tools of clinical evidence to detect signals of DILI risk; and (2) the need for joining efforts in improving predictivity of pre-clinical assays, continuing post-marketing surveillance and design ad hoc post-authorization safety studies. In this context, ongoing European/United States research consortia and novel pharmaco-epidemiological tools (e.g., specialist prescription event monitoring) will support innovation in this field. Direct oral anticoagulants and herbal/dietary supplements appear as key research priorities.

Acupuncture combined with Chinese herbs for the treatment in hemivertebral French bulldogs with emergent paraparesis.

PubMed

Liu, Ching Ming; Holyoak, G Reed; Lin, Chung Tien

2016-10-01

This study follows the treatment of six French bulldogs with paraparesis caused by congenital hemivertebra which were structurally mild but clinically severe. A standardized acupuncture ( zhēn jiǔ) treatment using Hua-Tuo-Jiaji (HTJJ) as local points and other distant points combined with Chinese herbs improved the clinical signs. Few, if any, published papers mention Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) for treatment of hemivertebral paraparesis in French bulldogs. Based on the rapid treatment outcome, we encourage practitioners to integrate this form of conservative management into emergency treatment.

Trait variations along a regenerative chronosequence in the herb layer of submediterranean forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catorci, Andrea; Vitanzi, Alessandra; Tardella, Federico Maria; Hršak, Vladimir

2012-08-01

The aim of this paper is to assess the functional shifts of the herb layer in the submediterranean Ostrya carpinifolia coppiced forests (central Italy) along a coppicing rotation cycle. More specifically, the following questions were addressed: i) is there a pattern in functional trait composition of the herb layer along a regeneration chronosequence?; ii) which traits states differentiate each regeneration stage?; iii) are patterns of trait state variation related to the change of the environmental conditions? Species cover percentage was recorded in 54 plots (20 m × 20 m) with homogeneous ecological conditions. Relevés, ordered on the basis of the time since the last coppicing event and grouped into three age classes, were analysed with regard to trait variation, based on species absolute and relative abundance. Differences in light, temperature, soil moisture, and nutrients bioindicator values between consecutive regeneration stages were tested using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-test. Multi-response permutation procedures (MRPP) revealed statistically significant separation between young and intermediate-aged stands with regard to most traits. Indicator species analysis (ISA) highlighted indicator trait states, which were filtered, along the chronosequence, by changes in environmental conditions. Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that light intensity had the greatest effect on traits states variation from the first to the second regeneration stage, while variation from the second to the third age classes was affected by temperature. Young stands were differentiated by short cycle species with acquisitive strategies that only propagated by sexual reproduction, with light seeds, summer green and overwintering green leaves, and a long flowering duration. Intermediate-aged and mature stands were characterized by traits associated with early leaf and flower production, high persistence in time, and showing retentive strategies aimed at resource storage (e

Evidence of natural occurrence of the banned antibiotic chloramphenicol in herbs and grass.

PubMed

Berendsen, Bjorn; Stolker, Linda; de Jong, Jacob; Nielen, Michel; Tserendorj, Enkhtuya; Sodnomdarjaa, Ruuragchas; Cannavan, Andrew; Elliott, Christopher

2010-07-01

Chloramphenicol (CAP), a broad-spectrum antibiotic, was detected in several herb and grass samples from different geographic origins. Due to its suspected carcinogenicity and linkages with the development of aplastic anemia in humans, CAP is banned for use in food-producing animals in the European Union (EU) and many other countries. However, products of animal origin originating from Asian countries entering the European market are still found noncompliant (containing CAP) on a regular basis, even when there is no history of chloramphenicol use in these countries. A possible explanation for the continued detection of these residues is the natural occurrence of CAP in plant material which is used as animal feed, with the consequent transfer of the substance to the animal tissues. Approximately 110 samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection. In 26 samples, the presence of CAP was confirmed using the criteria for banned substances defined by the EU. Among other plant materials, samples of the Artemisia family retrieved from Mongolia and from Utah, USA, and a therapeutic herb mixture obtained from local stores in the Netherlands proved to contain CAP at levels ranging from 0.1 to 450 microg/kg. These findings may have a major impact in relation to international trade and safety to the consumer. The results of this study demonstrate that noncompliant findings in animal-derived food products may in part be due to the natural occurrence of chloramphenicol in plant material. This has implications for the application of current EU, USA, and other legislation and the interpretation of analytical results with respect to the consideration of CAP as a xenobiotic veterinary drug residue and the regulatory actions taken upon its detection in food.

Evidence of natural occurrence of the banned antibiotic chloramphenicol in herbs and grass

PubMed Central

Berendsen, Bjorn; de Jong, Jacob; Nielen, Michel; Tserendorj, Enkhtuya; Sodnomdarjaa, Ruuragchas; Cannavan, Andrew; Elliott, Christopher

2010-01-01

Chloramphenicol (CAP), a broad-spectrum antibiotic, was detected in several herb and grass samples from different geographic origins. Due to its suspected carcinogenicity and linkages with the development of aplastic anemia in humans, CAP is banned for use in food-producing animals in the European Union (EU) and many other countries. However, products of animal origin originating from Asian countries entering the European market are still found noncompliant (containing CAP) on a regular basis, even when there is no history of chloramphenicol use in these countries. A possible explanation for the continued detection of these residues is the natural occurrence of CAP in plant material which is used as animal feed, with the consequent transfer of the substance to the animal tissues. Approximately 110 samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection. In 26 samples, the presence of CAP was confirmed using the criteria for banned substances defined by the EU. Among other plant materials, samples of the Artemisia family retrieved from Mongolia and from Utah, USA, and a therapeutic herb mixture obtained from local stores in the Netherlands proved to contain CAP at levels ranging from 0.1 to 450 µg/kg. These findings may have a major impact in relation to international trade and safety to the consumer. The results of this study demonstrate that noncompliant findings in animal-derived food products may in part be due to the natural occurrence of chloramphenicol in plant material. This has implications for the application of current EU, USA, and other legislation and the interpretation of analytical results with respect to the consideration of CAP as a xenobiotic veterinary drug residue and the regulatory actions taken upon its detection in food. PMID:20431869

Performance and population dynamics of a native understory herb differ between young and old forest stands in the Southern Appalachians

Treesearch

Michelle M. Jackson; Scott M. Pearson; Monica G. Turner

2013-01-01

Anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., logging) can strongly affect the composition and structure of forest understory herb communities, with land-use legacies often persisting for decades or even centuries. Many studies of forest plant response to land-use history have focused on species distributions and abundances, and argued broadly for either dispersal or establishment...

Antimutagenic property of a Chinese herb

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hongen Zhang; Te-Hsiu Ma; Byeong-Seon Jeong

1994-12-31

The root extracts of a Chinese herb, Polygonum multiflorum Thunb, has been used as internal medicine to improve liver and kidney functions for centuries. The antimutagenic property of this drug was evaluated with the Tradescantia-micronucleus (Trad-MCN) assay in this study. The Trad-MCN bioassay is a well-established test for chromosome damage induced by physical or chemical agents in terms of micronuclei (MCN) frequency. Inflorescences of the Tradescantia plant cuttings were first exposed to 35 R soft X-rays (80 Kv, 5 ma, 1 mm Al filter, dose rate around 50 R/min) and followed by drug treatments at 1%, 3% and 6% concentrationsmore » of the aqueous solution for a total of 24 hr recovery period. The positive (X-rays), negative (nutrient solution) and drug control (3% drug solution) groups were maintained in each of the three series of repeated experiments. Flower buds of the treated and control groups were fixed in aceto-alcohol (1:3 ratio) for preparation of slides to score MCN frequencies in the early tetrads of the meiotic pollen mother cells. The mean MCN frequencies (MCN/100 tetrads + SD) of the positive control (X-irradiated) was 26.67 + 9.62; the negative control was 2.92 + 1.90; the drug control was 2.06 + 1.50 and the 35 R X-ray/6% drug treated was 18.75 + 6.54. A 30% reduction of chromosome damage was observed. Antimutagenic effects were relatively lower at lower concentrations. This antimutagenic effect could be the results of the meiotic inhibition, DNA repair or radical elimination from the X-irradiation plant cells.« less

Photoluminescence study of carbon dots from ginger and galangal herbs using microwave technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isnaeni; Rahmawati, I.; Intan, R.; Zakaria, M.

2018-03-01

Carbon dots are new type of fluorescent nanoparticle that can be synthesis easily from natural sources. We have synthesized carbon dots from ginger and galangal herbs using microwave technique and studied their optical properties. We synthesized colloidal carbon dots in water solvent by varying microwave processing time. UV-Vis absorbance, photoluminescence, time-resolved photoluminescence, and transmission electron microscope were utilized to study properties of carbon dots. We found that microwave processing time significantly affect optical properties of synthesized carbon dots. UV-Vis absorbance spectra and time-resolved photoluminescence results show that luminescent of carbon dots is dominated by recombination process from n-π* surface energy level. With further development, these carbon dots are potential for several applications.

Liquid chromatographic determination of 6-, 8-, 10-gingerol, and 6-shogaol in ginger (Zingiber officinale) as the raw herb and dried aqueous extract.

PubMed

Lee, Samiuela; Khoo, Cheang; Halstead, Clynton Wade; Huynh, Thuy; Bensoussan, Alan

2007-01-01

The determination of 6-, 8-, 10-gingerol, and 6-shogaol in dried ginger (Zingiber officinale) and in the dried aqueous extract of ginger is reported. This is the first study to report a validated method for the determination of these 4 analytes. Several extraction solvents and methods were examined, and the optimum combination was determined. The samples were extracted at room temperature by sonication with methanol, and the extract was analyzed by liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection. A C18 column was used with a water-acetonitrile gradient mobile phase. Quantification was at 200 nm. The levels of 6-, 8-, 10-gingerol, and 6-shogaol in the raw herb were 9.3, 1.6, 2.3, and 2.3 mglg, respectively. The levels of gingerols found in the dried aqueous extract were between 5 and 16 times lower than those in the raw herb, but the level of 6-shogaol was higher. Analyte identity was confirmed by negative-ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, in which 2 daughter ions were obtained for each analyte. The average recovery was 97% with a relative standard deviation of <8%. The limits of detection for 6-, 8-, 10-gingerol, and 6-shogaol in the raw herb were 0.22, 0.04, 0.09, and 0.07 mglg, respectively, and in the dried aqueous extract, 0.11, 0.02, 0.02, and 0.14 mg/g, respectively.

Antioxidant activity and cholinesterase inhibition studies of four flavouring herbs from Alentejo.

PubMed

Arantes, Sílvia; Piçarra, Andreia; Candeias, Fátima; Caldeira, A Teresa; Martins, M Rosário; Teixeira, Dora

2017-09-01

Essential oils (EOs) and aqueous extracts of aerial parts of four aromatic species, Calamintha nepeta, Foeniculum vulgare, Mentha spicata and Thymus mastichina, from southwest of Portugal were characterised chemically and analysed in order to evaluate their antioxidant potential and cholinesterase inhibitory activities. The main components of EOs were oxygenated monoterpenes, and aqueous extracts were rich in phenol and flavonoid compounds. EOs and aqueous extracts presented a high antioxidant potential, with ability to protect the lipid substrate, free radical scavenging and iron reducing power. Furthermore, EOs and extracts showed AChE and BChE inhibitory activities higher than rivastigmine, the standard drug. Results suggested the potential use of EOs and aqueous extracts of these flavouring herbs as nutraceutical or pharmaceutical preparations to minimise the oxidative stress and the progression of degenerative diseases.

Modern European monographs for quality control of Chinese herbs.

PubMed

Bauer, Rudolf; Franz, Gerhard

2010-12-01

The actual concern about the safety and efficacy of herbal drugs originating from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is based on observations that these medicinal plants may have a high risk potential due to insufficient definitions, problems with identity, purity and falsifications. No uniform legal status for these groups of herbal drugs currently exists in the European Union. For quality control, monographs for TCM herbs can mainly be found in the Pharmacopoeia of the Peoples Republic of China. Based on these facts the Commission of the European Pharmacopoeia decided in 2005 to establish TCM-herbal drug monographs for the most important medicinal plants imported from Far East. These new monographs had to be established and evaluated on the basis of existing monographs in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (ChP), English edition 2005. Due to important differences in the overall features of EP and ChP, a simple adapt/adopt procedure was not feasible. Therefore, specialist groups were mandated with a corresponding working programme. Some results and actual problems related to this working programme will be presented and discussed. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Occupational exposure to herbs containing aristolochic acids increases the risk of urothelial carcinoma in Chinese herbalists.

PubMed

Yang, Hsiao-Yu; Wang, Jung-Der; Lo, Tsai-Chang; Chen, Pau-Chung

2013-01-01

Aristolochic acid can cause urothelial carcinoma. Herbal remedies containing aristolochic acids were previously categorized as proven group 1 human carcinogens by the WHO cancer agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer. However, the health effect on workers exposed to aristolochic acid is unclear. Fangchi, a representative herb containing aristolochic acid, is commonly used in the Chinese herbal medicine industry. We determined whether workers exposed to fangchi are at increased risk for urothelial carcinoma. We designed a case-control study based in a national representative cohort of Chinese herbalists. This study analyzed 6,564 Chinese herbalists employed between 1985 and 1998. All incident cases of urothelial carcinoma that occurred between 1988 and 2001 were defined as the case group. Controls were selected from the baseline cohort in a randomized manner. A total of 24 cases and 140 controls were included in analysis. Information about fangchi exposure was obtained in a questionnaire survey administered in 2002. Processing, selling or dispensing herbs containing fangchi significantly increased the risk of urothelial carcinoma (HR 2.4, 95% CI 1.1-5.3, p = 0.03). This relationship was independent of cigarette smoking or potential arsenic exposure from drinking water from deep wells. Exposure to the Chinese herbal drug fangchi increases the risk of urothelial carcinoma in herbalists. Appropriate medical monitoring is warranted for workers who have similar exposure. Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How the Addition of Spices and Herbs to Virgin Olive Oil to Produce Flavored Oils Affects Consumer Acceptance.

PubMed

Issaoui, Manel; Flamini, Guido; Souid, Sondess; Bendini, Alessandra; Barbieri, Sara; Gharbi, Ines; Toschi, Tullia Gallina; Cioni, Pier Luigi; Hammami, Mohamed

2016-06-01

With the aim to expand the olive oil market to a larger number of consumers who are not familiar with the sensory characteristics of virgin olive oil, the use of novel products known as "flavored olive oils", obtained by adding different kind of spices and aromatic herbs, is spreading in many countries. In order to test consumer acceptability of this type of product, in a country (Tunisia) in which virgin olive oil is regularly consumed, flavored olive oils were prepared by adding aromatic extracts of thyme, oregano, a mix of herbs (used as pizza seasoning), rosemary, and basil to a monovarietal Chemlali virgin olive oil and a consumer test on 206 subjects was performed. Selected quality parameters (free acidity, peroxide number, oxidative stability, specific absorption at K232 nm and K270 nm) were also measured and no significant variations were detected. Slight differences were found concerning the content of minor compounds (chlorophylls, carotenoids and total phenols). On the other hand, notable differences were seen in the profiles of volatile compounds, which appeared to be responsible for the observed variability in consumer acceptance. Although the unflavored oil was more appreciated than the flavored ones, among the latter, thyme flavored olive oil was the most appreciated.

Microsatellite markers in Rhodiola (Crassulaceae), a medicinal herb genus widely used in traditional Chinese medicine.

PubMed

You, Jianling; Liu, Wensheng; Zhao, Yao; Zhu, Yongqing; Zhang, Wenju; Wang, Yuguo; Lu, Fan; Song, Zhiping

2013-03-01

Microsatellite loci are described for Rhodiola, a medicinal herb genus widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. • A total of 17 polymorphic microsatellite primer pairs were developed using the combined biotin capture method. The number of alleles per locus ranged from one to 12 across 192 individuals from R. bupleuroides, R. crenulata, R. fastigiata, and R. sacra, and the mean observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.177 to 0.412 and from 0.363 to 0.578, respectively. • The results demonstrate the potential use of this new set of microsatellite markers for genotyping individuals and estimating genetic diversity in Rhodiola.

Drug and herb induced liver injury: Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences scale for causality assessment

PubMed Central

Teschke, Rolf; Wolff, Albrecht; Frenzel, Christian; Schwarzenboeck, Alexander; Schulze, Johannes; Eickhoff, Axel

2014-01-01

Causality assessment of suspected drug induced liver injury (DILI) and herb induced liver injury (HILI) is hampered by the lack of a standardized approach to be used by attending physicians and at various subsequent evaluating levels. The aim of this review was to analyze the suitability of the liver specific Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) scale as a standard tool for causality assessment in DILI and HILI cases. PubMed database was searched for the following terms: drug induced liver injury; herb induced liver injury; DILI causality assessment; and HILI causality assessment. The strength of the CIOMS lies in its potential as a standardized scale for DILI and HILI causality assessment. Other advantages include its liver specificity and its validation for hepatotoxicity with excellent sensitivity, specificity and predictive validity, based on cases with a positive reexposure test. This scale allows prospective collection of all relevant data required for a valid causality assessment. It does not require expert knowledge in hepatotoxicity and its results may subsequently be refined. Weaknesses of the CIOMS scale include the limited exclusion of alternative causes and qualitatively graded risk factors. In conclusion, CIOMS appears to be suitable as a standard scale for attending physicians, regulatory agencies, expert panels and other scientists to provide a standardized, reproducible causality assessment in suspected DILI and HILI cases, applicable primarily at all assessing levels involved. PMID:24653791

Effects of Anti-diarrhoeal Herbs on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, and Meat Quality in Pigs

PubMed Central

Cho, J. H.; Zhang, S.; Kim, I. H.

2012-01-01

Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects of anti-diarrhoeal herbs on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and meat quality in pigs. In Exp 1, 150 weanling-growing piglets (average BW = 7.5±0.24 kg, average age = 27±1 d) were allotted into one of the five dietary treatments, including: i) CON, basal diet, ii) DP, basal diet+1 g/kg date pits, iii) JH, basal diet+0.5 g/kg Japanese-honeysuckle, iv) HCT, basal diet+1 g/kg houttuynia cordata thunb, and v) LE, basal diet+1 g/kg laquer tree extract. From wk 0 to 5, the JH, HCT and LE groups presented higher (p<0.05) ADFI, ADG and gain/feed ratio (G/F) than CON and DP groups. During wk 5 to 10, Pigs fed JH, HCT and LE diets indicated higher (p<0.05) ADG and ADFI than the pigs fed CON and DP diets. During the entire experimental period, a significant increase of ADG appeared in JH, HCT and LE (p<0.05). Pigs fed JH, HCT and LE diets got a higher (p<0.05) ADFI than the pigs fed CON and DP diets. Pigs fed diets with supplementations of herb additives revealled lower (p<0.05) score of diarrhea pigs during d 2 to d 6 compared with pigs fed CON diet. In Exp 2, 60 growing-finishing barrows and gilts (average BW = 54.10±1.20 kg, average age = 54±3 d) were allotted to three treatments: i) CON, basal diet; ii) YG, basal diet+1 g/kg yellow ginger and iii) HR, basal dietary+1 g/kg hoantchy root, respectively. From wk 0 to 5, Dietary supplementation of YG and HR enhanced (p<0.05) ADG. No difference was found between YG and HR treatments. During, wk 5 to 10, ADG also was observed higher in YG and HR treatments than CON group (p<0.05). Additional, YG had the highest ADG (p<0.05) among treatments. There was always an increase of ADG in YG and HR (p<0.05) through all periods. HR treatment showed a lower (p<0.05) score of diarrhoeal pigs on d 1and d 2 compared with CON treatment. Pigs fed YG and HR diets had a higher (p<0.05) longissimus muscle area (LMA) than pigs fed CON diet. In conclusion, anti-diarrhoeal herbs can

Recent Progress of Research on Herbal Products Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine: the Herbs belonging to The Divine Husbandman's Herbal Foundation Canon ( Shén Nóng Běn Cǎo Jīng).

PubMed

Lee, Kuo-Hsiung; Morris-Natschke, Susan; Qian, Keduo; Dong, Yizhou; Yang, Xiaoming; Zhou, Ting; Belding, Eileen; Wu, Shou-Fang; Wada, Koji; Akiyama, Toshiyuki

2012-01-01

This article will review selected herbal products from Chinese Materia Medica that are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The herbs come from the upper, middle, and lower class medicines as listed in The Divine Husbandman's Herbal Foundation Canon ( Shén Nóng Běn Cǎo Jīng). The review will focus on the active constituents of the herbs and their bioactivities, with emphasis on the most recent progress in research for the period of 2003 to 2011.

Identification of a ligand for tumor necrosis factor receptor from Chinese herbs by combination of surface plasmon resonance biosensor and UPLC-MS.

PubMed

Cao, Yan; Li, Ying-Hua; Lv, Di-Ya; Chen, Xiao-Fei; Chen, Lang-Dong; Zhu, Zhen-Yu; Chai, Yi-Feng; Zhang, Jun-Ping

2016-07-01

Identification of bioactive compounds directly from complex herbal extracts is a key issue in the study of Chinese herbs. The present study describes the establishment and application of a sensitive, efficient, and convenient method based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors for screening active ingredients targeting tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1 (TNF-R1) from Chinese herbs. Concentration-adjusted herbal extracts were subjected to SPR binding assay, and a remarkable response signal was observed in Rheum officinale extract. Then, the TNF-R1-bound ingredients were recovered, enriched, and analyzed by UPLC-QTOF/MS. As a result, physcion-8-O-β-D-monoglucoside (PMG) was identified as a bioactive compound, and the affinity constant of PMG to TNF-R1 was determined by SPR affinity analysis (K D  = 376 nM). Pharmacological assays revealed that PMG inhibited TNF-α-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis in L929 cells via TNF-R1. Although PMG was a trace component in the chemical constituents of the R. officinale extract, it had considerable anti-inflammatory activities. It was found for the first time that PMG was a ligand for TNF receptor from herbal medicines. The proposed SPR-based screening method may prove to be an effective solution to analyzing bioactive components of Chinese herbs and other complex drug systems. Graphical abstract Scheme of the method based on SPR biosensor for screening and recovering active ingredients from complex herbal extracts and UPLC-MS for identifying them. Scheme of the method based on SPR biosensor for screening and recovering active ingredients from complex herbal extracts and UPLC-MS for identifying them.

A medicinal herb Cassia alata attenuates quorum sensing in Chromobacterium violaceum and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

PubMed

Rekha, P D; Vasavi, H S; Vipin, C; Saptami, K; Arun, A B

2017-03-01

Quorum sensing (QS) has been shown to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis in many bacteria, and attenuation of QS is one of the targets of antimicrobial therapy with particular interest in combating drug resistance. This study reports the QS inhibitory activity of metabolites from Cassia alata L. (Ca. alata), an important medicinal herb widely used in the treatment of microbial infections. For investigating the QS inhibition (QSI), the potential of Ca. alata L., initially, metabolites of the leaves extracted using ethanol was tested against biosensor strain Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and C. violaceum wild-type strains. Furthermore, a purified fraction rich in flavonoids (F-AF) was used for establishing QSI activity by studying the inhibition of violacein production in C. violaceum, and QS controlled virulence and biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. The study results showed 50% inhibition of violacein production in C. violaceum at 0·05 mg ml -1 concentration of F-AF. In P. aeruginosa PAO1, it inhibited the tested virulence factors and biofilm formation significantly. The F-AF contained major flavonoids namely, quercetin, quercetrin and kaempferol displaying QSI activity individually against the test organisms. Present study demonstrates the quorum sensing inhibitory activity of metabolites from Cassia alata, an important medicinal herb which is commonly used worldwide in the treatment of infections caused by microorganisms. An extract prepared from the leaves of the plant showed activity against quorum sensing in Chromobacterium violaceum and was also effective against attenuating the quorum sensing controlled virulence factors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Activity is attributed to the rich flavonoid composition of the plant. Results of the present investigation throw an insight into the possibility of developing drug formulations using the isolated compounds against infections caused by quorum sensing-mediated pathogenicity of bacteria

Net community production dynamics in the herb-shrub stratum of a loblolly pine-hardwood forest: effects of clearcutting and site preparation

Treesearch

John J. Stransky; Jimmy C. Huntley; Wanda J. Risner

1986-01-01

During the 10-year regeneration cycle-from sawtimber stand through clearcutting, site preparation, pine planting, and to the established pine plantations-average net community production in the herb-shrub stratum increased ten-fold, from 369 to 3,462 kg/ha at the peak of each site treatment, and nearly dropped to its initial low level after 10 years.

In vitro antimicrobial activities against cariogenic streptococci and their antioxidant capacities: A comparative study of green tea versus different herbs.

PubMed

Tsai, Tzung-Hsun; Tsai, Tsung-Hsien; Chien, You-Chia; Lee, Chi-Wei; Tsai, Po-Jung

2008-10-15

The antimicrobial activity against cariogenic bacteria, total antioxidant capacity and phenolic constituents of methanolic extracts from 11 herbs were investigated and compared with those of green tea (Camellia sinensis). Among the 12 tested herbs, eight herbal extracts could inhibit the growth of Streptococcus sanguinis. Jasmine, jiaogulan, and lemongrass were the most potent, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 1mg/ml, while green tea was less effective, with a MIC of 4mg/ml. Among them, only rosemary could inhibit the growth of S. mutans at a MIC of 4mg/ml. Total antioxidant capacities of herbal extracts were analyzed by three different assays, including 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·) radical scavenging activity, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). Regardless of the assays used, green tea exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity, followed by osmanthus. Wide variations in total phenolics and total flavonoids of herbal tea extracts were observed. Chlorogenic acid was detected in high amount in honeysuckle and duzhong. These data suggest that rosemary is a potent inhibitor of oral streptococci, and green tea and osmanthus may be effective potential sources of natural antioxidants. Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A method for screening active components from Chinese herbs by cell membrane chromatography-offline-high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and an online statistical tool for data processing.

PubMed

Cao, Yan; Wang, Shaozhan; Li, Yinghua; Chen, Xiaofei; Chen, Langdong; Wang, Dongyao; Zhu, Zhenyu; Yuan, Yongfang; Lv, Diya

2018-03-09

Cell membrane chromatography (CMC) has been successfully applied to screen bioactive compounds from Chinese herbs for many years, and some offline and online two-dimensional (2D) CMC-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) hyphenated systems have been established to perform screening assays. However, the requirement of sample preparation steps for the second-dimensional analysis in offline systems and the need for an interface device and technical expertise in the online system limit their extensive use. In the present study, an offline 2D CMC-HPLC analysis combined with the XCMS (various forms of chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry) Online statistical tool for data processing was established. First, our previously reported online 2D screening system was used to analyze three Chinese herbs that were reported to have potential anti-inflammatory effects, and two binding components were identified. By contrast, the proposed offline 2D screening method with XCMS Online analysis was applied, and three more ingredients were discovered in addition to the two compounds revealed by the online system. Then, cross-validation of the three compounds was performed, and they were confirmed to be included in the online data as well, but were not identified there because of their low concentrations and lack of credible statistical approaches. Last, pharmacological experiments showed that these five ingredients could inhibit IL-6 release and IL-6 gene expression on LPS-induced RAW cells in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with previous 2D CMC screening systems, this newly developed offline 2D method needs no sample preparation steps for the second-dimensional analysis, and it is sensitive, efficient, and convenient. It will be applicable in identifying active components from Chinese herbs and practical in discovery of lead compounds derived from herbs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ten-year growth response of young Douglas-fir to variable density varnishleaf ceanothus and herb competition

USGS Publications Warehouse

Monleon, V.J.; Newton, M.; Hooper, C.; Tappeiner, J. C.

1999-01-01

The effect of different densities of varnishleaf ceanothus (Ceanothus velutinus var. laevigatus) and herbaceous vegetation control on stem diameter, height, and volume of plantation Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) seedlings was examined during the 10 yr following planting. Initial densities of ceanothus ranged between 0 and 15,000 seedlings/ha and were obtained by interplanting ceanothus germinants or chemical thinning after clearcutting and broadcast-burning. Herbaceous vegetation control was achieved by a single application of glyphosate following planting, with shrub seedlings covered. Ceanothus density in the range of 0 to 6,750 plants/ha did not have an effect on Douglas-fir diameter, height, or volume at age 10; however, Douglas-fir growth was significantly decreased when ceanothus densities reached 15,000 plants/ha. Ten years after planting, Douglas-fir volume in the treatments with 6,750 ceanothus/ha or less was 1.7 times greater than that in the 15,000 ceanothus/ha treatment. On the other hand, removal of herbaceous vegetation after planting significantly increased tree diameter, height, and volume, regardless of ceanothus density. Even 10 yr after the application of the treatment, trees without early herb competition grew faster and had mean dbh, height, and volume that were 1.02 cm, 0.55 m, and 12.98 dm3/tree greater respectively than those with herbs. Thus, a treatment at plantation establishment to control herbaceous vegetation and to reduce ceanothus density to less than 7,000 plants/ha will ensure an increase in growth and stocking for at least 10 yr.

Pharmacokinetic Herb-Drug Interactions: Insight into Mechanisms and Consequences.

PubMed

Oga, Enoche F; Sekine, Shuichi; Shitara, Yoshihisa; Horie, Toshiharu

2016-04-01

Herbal medicines are currently in high demand, and their popularity is steadily increasing. Because of their perceived effectiveness, fewer side effects and relatively low cost, they are being used for the management of numerous medical conditions. However, they are capable of affecting the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of coadministered conventional drugs. These interactions are particularly of clinically relevance when metabolizing enzymes and xenobiotic transporters, which are responsible for the fate of many drugs, are induced or inhibited, sometimes resulting in unexpected outcomes. This article discusses the general use of herbal medicines in the management of several ailments, their concurrent use with conventional therapy, mechanisms underlying herb-drug interactions (HDIs) as well as the drawbacks of herbal remedy use. The authors also suggest means of surveillance and safety monitoring of herbal medicines. Contrary to popular belief that "herbal medicines are totally safe," we are of the view that they are capable of causing significant toxic effects and altered pharmaceutical outcomes when coadministered with conventional medicines. Due to the paucity of information as well as sometimes conflicting reports on HDIs, much more research in this field is needed. The authors further suggest the need to standardize and better regulate herbal medicines in order to ensure their safety and efficacy when used alone or in combination with conventional drugs.

Effect of citronellol and the Chinese medical herb complex on cellular immunity of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy/radiotherapy.

PubMed

Zhuang, Shu-Ru; Chen, Su-Lin; Tsai, Jih-Hsin; Huang, Chi-Chou; Wu, Tzu-Chin; Liu, Wen-Shan; Tseng, Hsien-Chun; Lee, Hong-Sen; Huang, Min-Chang; Shane, Guang-Tzuu; Yang, Cheng-Hua; Shen, You-Cheng; Yan, Yeong-Yu; Wang, Chin-Kun

2009-06-01

Leukopenia and immunity impairment usually occur during cancer therapy. Citronellol, an oil soluble compound derived from the geranium, has anticancer and antiinflammatory properties, as well as promoting wound healing. Ganoderma lucidum, Codonopsis pilosula and Angelicae sinensis are traditional Chinese herbs, all of which have proven immunomodulatory functions in laboratory-based research. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study examined whether the Chinese medicinal herb complex (CCMH; a mixture of citronellol and extracts of G. lucidum, C. pilosula and A. sinensis) improves the immune cell counts of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. A total of 105 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy were enrolled. The quantities of immune cells in the blood of the subjects were determined before and after 6 weeks of cancer treatment, with either CCMH or a placebo. CCMH significantly reduced the depletion of leukocytes (14.2% compared with 28.2%) and neutrophils (11.0% compared with 29.1%). Analysis of the lymphocyte phenotype revealed that the patients receiving the placebo had reduced CD4 lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells than the CCMH-treated patients. Treatment with CCMH for patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy may improve their immune function, improving their ability to fight off the cancer, as well as any secondary infections that could compromise their treatment and their health. (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Investigating herb-drug interactions: the effect of Citrus aurantium fruit extract on the pharmacokinetics of amiodarone in rats.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Márcio; Alves, Gilberto; Falcão, Amílcar

2013-10-01

Citrus aurantium extract has been largely used in weight loss and sports performance dietary supplements. However, the safety of C. aurantium-containing products has been questioned mainly due to the association of its use with adverse events in the cardiovascular system. Therefore, this work aimed to assess the potential for herb-drug interactions among a standardized C. aurantium extract (GMP certificate) and amiodarone (narrow therapeutic index drug) in rats. In a first pharmacokinetic study, rats were simultaneously co-administered with a single-dose of C. aurantium (164 mg/kg, p.o.) and amiodarone (50 mg/kg, p.o.); in a second study, rats were pre-treated during 14 days with C. aurantium (164 mg/kg/day, p.o.) and received amiodarone (50 mg/kg, p.o.) on the 15th day. Rats of the control groups received the corresponding volume of vehicle. Overall, after analysis of the pharmacokinetic data, it deserves to be highlighted the significant increase of the peak plasma concentration of amiodarone in rats pre-treated with C. aurantium extract, while the extent of systemic exposure was comparable between both groups. This paper reports, for the first time, data on the potential of herb-drug interaction between C. aurantium extract and amiodarone. However, specific clinical trials should be performed to confirm these results in humans. Copyright