The anti-cancerous activity of adaptogenic herb Astragalus membranaceus

BackgroundCancer is the most dreadful disease increasing rapidly causing an economic burden globally. A standardized chemotherapy regimen planned with curative intent weakens the immune system and damages healthy cells making the patient prone to infections and severe side effects with pain and fatigue.PurposeAstragalus membranaceus (AM) has a long history of use in the treatment of severe adverse diseases. For thousands of years, it has been used in mixed herbal decoctions for the treatment of cancer. Due to growing interest in this plant root for its application to treat various types of cancers and tumors, has attracted researcher's interest.MethodThe literature search was done from core collections of electronic databases such as Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct using keywords given below and terms like pharmacological and phytochemical details of this plant.OutcomeAstragalus membranaceus has demonstrated the ability to modulate the immune system during drug therapy making the patient physically fit and prolonged life. It has become a buzzword of herbalists as it is one of the best of seven important adaptogenic herbs with a protective effect against chronic stress and cancer. It demonstrated significant amelioration of the perilous toxic effects induced by concurrently administered chemo onco-drugs.ConclusionThe natural phytoconstituents of this plant formononetin, astragalus polysaccharide, and astragalosides which show high potential anti-cancerous activity are studied and discussed in detail. One of them are used in clinical trials to overcome cancer related fatigue. Overall, this review aims to provide an insight into Astragalus membranaceus status in cancer therapy.     

Design of Tripeptides as a Competitive Inhibitor for HMG-CoA Reductase

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - This study presents a simple approach in design of tripeptides as a competitive inhibitor for 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase...     

The species of the genus Platycheirus Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 (Diptera,Syrphidae) from Taiwan,with a discussion on intersex specimens

Following an international Diptera expedition in 2016, two new species of Platycheirus Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 were found in Taiwan. A total of three species from three different species groups are now known from Taiwan. The two new species, Platycheirus ferrumitarsis sp. n. and Platycheirus perpes sp. n., are described and their respective placement within the peltatus and ambiguus species groups is discussed. The other species, Platycheirus formosanus Shiraki, 1930, is illustrated and its placement is discussed. It is argued that P. nigritus Huo, Ren & Zheng 2007 should be considered a nomen dubium as it is discussed to be described based on an intersex specimen.     

Prostaglandin E2 inhibits Paracoccidioides brasiliensis killing by human monocytes

Human monocytes lacked fungicidal activity against high virulence strain of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, even after IFN-gamma activation. However, monocytes treated with indomethacin exhibited an effective killing against this fungus, suggesting a role of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the inhibition process. Thus, the purpose of this work was to determine whether the effect of PGE2 in fungicidal activity was related with decrease on H(2)O(2) release, the metabolite involved in P. brasiliensis killing, and changes in the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-10. Human monocytes challenged with the fungus produced high PGE2 levels, which in turn inhibited the fungicidal activity of these cells by reducing H(2)O(2) and TNF-alpha production.