Ethnopharmacological Survey of Plants Used for the Treatment of Stomach,Diabetes, and Ophthalmic Diseases in Sudhan Gali,Kashmir , Pakistan

The present paper represents the ethnopharmacological survey of Sudhan Gali, Kashmir, Pakistan. The study revealed that 12 plant species belonging to 11 families were used for the treatment of stomach, diabetes and ophthalmic diseases by the local people in Sudhan Gali. Achillea millefolium , Aconitum heterophyllum, Berberis lycium, Polygonum amplexicaule, Mentha longifolia, Paeonia emodi, Plantago lanceolata were locally used for stomach related problems treatment; Berberis lycium, Skimmia lareola, Solanum dulcamara for diabetes and Geranium wallichianum, Artemisia vulgaris, Solanum dulcamara, and Corydalis crassifolia used for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases. Two species Berberis lycium and Solanum dulcamara have multipurpose value. Former is used to treat stomach as well as diabetes while latter is used to treat not only to diabetes but also ophthalmic diseases. According to IUCN categories , out of these 12 plant species collected and marketed, Polygonum amplexicaule and Paeonia emodi are endangered, Aconitum heterophyllum; Berberis lycium species are vulnerable while Plantago lanceolata and Skimmia lareola species are rare.The availability of these medicinal plants has decreased during the past 20 years and these are facing a drastic biotic pressure due to their extensive usage and non-scientific methods of collection. It is quite evident that these valuable native medicinal plants species are going to decline in number and ultimately will become extinct if no timely proper conservation strategies are adopted.     

Ethnopharmacological Survey of Plants Used for the Treatment of Stomach,Diabetes, and Ophthalmic Diseases in Sudhan Gali,Kashmir , Pakistan

The present paper represents the ethnopharmacological survey of Sudhan Gali, Kashmir, Pakistan. The study revealed that 12 plant species belonging to 11 families were used for the treatment of stomach, diabetes and ophthalmic diseases by the local people in Sudhan Gali. Achillea millefolium , Aconitum heterophyllum, Berberis lycium, Polygonum amplexicaule, Mentha longifolia, Paeonia emodi, Plantago lanceolata were locally used for stomach related problems treatment; Berberis lycium, Skimmia lareola, Solanum dulcamara for diabetes and Geranium wallichianum, Artemisia vulgaris, Solanum dulcamara, and Corydalis crassifolia used for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases. Two species Berberis lycium and Solanum dulcamara have multipurpose value. Former is used to treat stomach as well as diabetes while latter is used to treat not only to diabetes but also ophthalmic diseases. According to IUCN categories , out of these 12 plant species collected and marketed, Polygonum amplexicaule and Paeonia emodi are endangered, Aconitum heterophyllum; Berberis lycium species are vulnerable while Plantago lanceolata and Skimmia lareola species are rare.The availability of these medicinal plants has decreased during the past 20 years and these are facing a drastic biotic pressure due to their extensive usage and non-scientific methods of collection. It is quite evident that these valuable native medicinal plants species are going to decline in number and ultimately will become extinct if no timely proper conservation strategies are adopted.     

Ex-Situ Cultivation of Medicinal Plant Species in High Altitudes at Swat,Pakistan

An ex-situ experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of six medicinal species (Bergenia ciliata, Valeriana jatamansi, Dioscorea deltoidea, Paeonia emodi, Polygonum amplexicaule and Viola serpense) from upper Swat , Pakistan . Experiments were conducted at four different locations in the upper Swat valley at altitudes ranging from1200 to 1900 m. a. s. l . The objectives were : 1) to determine the suitability of ex-situ cultivation of different medicinal species, and; 2) to assess the economic geasibility of growing medicinal plants in the area . A highest mean survival of 80.7% across all locations was observed for Viola serpense, followed by 58.7% for Valeriana jatamansi. The remaining four species exhibited very poor survival rates , although Polygonum amplexicaule, did show encouraging signs of growth and flowered , before experiencing high mortality rates late in the trial . Altitude generally seemed to enhance the degree of sprouting for all species except Viola serpense. However, the productive yield of V. serpense was certainly not reduced, but rather slightly enhanced in the higher altitude sites. Overall, cultivation of only two of the investigated species, Valeriana jatamansi and Viola serpense, appearedsuccessful and potentially economically viable under farmland conditions at upper Swat .     

Ex-Situ Cultivation of Medicinal Plant Species in High Altitudes at Swat,Pakistan

An ex-situ experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of six medicinal species (Bergenia ciliata, Valeriana jatamansi, Dioscorea deltoidea, Paeonia emodi, Polygonum amplexicaule and Viola serpense) from upper Swat , Pakistan . Experiments were conducted at four different locations in the upper Swat valley at altitudes ranging from1200 to 1900 m. a. s. l . The objectives were : 1) to determine the suitability of ex-situ cultivation of different medicinal species, and; 2) to assess the economic geasibility of growing medicinal plants in the area . A highest mean survival of 80.7% across all locations was observed for Viola serpense, followed by 58.7% for Valeriana jatamansi. The remaining four species exhibited very poor survival rates , although Polygonum amplexicaule, did show encouraging signs of growth and flowered , before experiencing high mortality rates late in the trial . Altitude generally seemed to enhance the degree of sprouting for all species except Viola serpense. However, the productive yield of V. serpense was certainly not reduced, but rather slightly enhanced in the higher altitude sites. Overall, cultivation of only two of the investigated species, Valeriana jatamansi and Viola serpense, appearedsuccessful and potentially economically viable under farmland conditions at upper Swat .     

Ex-Situ Cultivation of Medicinal Plant Species in High Altitudes at Swat, Pakistan

IntroductionMan has long been using various plants to cure diseases and to provide relief fromhealth prob-lems.Primitive peoples fromall ages and in all locations had knowledge of medicinal plants,whichthey acquiredthroughlong experience of trial and error.The knowledge is still alive,for many plantsare still used in herbal remedies and in indigenous medicine systems all over the world(Khan,1985).A medicinal plant is any plant that contains chemical substances in one or more of its parts(root…     

rbcL,a potential candidate DNA barcode loci for aconites: conservation of himalayan aconites

Molecular Biology Reports - Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. ex Royle and Aconitum balfourii Stapf, are two highly important, threatened medicinal plants of the Indian Himalayan Region. Root-tubers of...     

ETHNOBOTANICAL CONSERVATION STATUS OF MARGALLA HILLS NATIONAL PARK, ISLAMABAD

马加拉山国家公园自建立以来,在自然环境保护方面面临着一些问题。园内住民向来使用药用植物治疗各种疾病,长期依赖周围的植物资源提供食品、房舍、饲料、保健品和其他人文生活的需要。然而,工业化的兴起以及随之而来的人们生活方式的改变,使得利用当地植物作医药的情况不断减少。因此,有必要进行民族植物学研究,把本土植物的利用信息在丧失之前记录下来。调查结果表明,ＡｓｐａｒａｇｕｓａｄｅｓｃｅｎｄｅｎｓＲｏｘｂ．,ＢｅｒｂｅｒｉｓｌｙｃｉｕｍＲｏｙｌｅ（柯杞小檗）和ＶｉｏｌａｃａｎｅｓｃｅｎｃｅＷａｌ．ｅｘＲｏｘｂ．只能少量采集,ＡｃａｃｉａｍｏｄｅｓｔａＷａｌ．,Ａ．ｎｉｌｏｔｉｃａ（Ｌ．）Ｄｅｌｉｌｅ（阿拉伯胶金合欢）,ＢｕｘｕｓｐｉｐｉｌｏｓａＣ．Ｋ．Ｓｃｈｎｅｉｄ．和Ｄｏｄｏｎａｅａｖｉｓｃｏｓａ（Ｌ．）Ｊａｃｑ．（车桑子）等作为薪材面临砍伐的压力。而ＧｒｅｗｉａｏｐｔｉｖａＤｒｕｍ．ｅｘＢｕｒｒｅｔ作为持续利用的饲料和制绳用的种类显示良好的前景     

In vitro propagation and establishment of adventitious root cultures of Rheum emodi Wall. ex Meisn for quantification of emodin production

In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant - Rheum emodi Wall. ex Meisn is an important medicinal herb used in treating type II diabetes mellitus, arthritis, inflammation, and...     

乌头属植物化学成分、药理作用及其内生菌的研究进展

毛茛科乌头属植物广泛分布于北温带地区,具有重要的药用价值。乌头属植物主要的化学成分是生物碱,其中二萜生物碱是历来的研究热点。现代药理学研究证明,乌头属植物具有镇痛、抗炎、抗肿瘤及杀虫等作用。目前乌头属植物内生菌的研究也逐渐开展。本文对乌头属植物近年来报道的新的化学成分、药理研究和利用植物内生菌产生活性成分等进行了综述,可为乌头属植物的进一步开发利用提供参考。     

蓼属植物的化学成分与生物活性研究进展

蓼属(Polygonum)是蓼科中的一个药用大属,我国约有120种,其中81种供药用,包括许多著名的中药和民间药。从上世纪80年代开始,对本属植物的化学成分及药理作用研究,逐渐受到了关注。本文对90年代以来,国内外对该属药用植物化学及药理活性的研究进行综述。     

Paeonia emodi Royle: Ethnomedicinal uses,phytochemistry and pharmacology

Paeonia emodi (Peony) is a well known Himalayan medicinal plant used in the treatment of hypertension, palpitations, asthma, uterine diseases, colic, bilious obstructions and has also been used as an anticoagulant. Many of these ethnomedicinal properties have been experimentally proven in different animal models. The present work reviews the ethnopharmacology, therapeutic potential and phytochemistry of P. emodi. Different classes of natural products like triterpenoids, monoterpenoids, phenolics and tannins have been isolated from the species. These compounds possess wide therapeutic profile like cardiovascular and airway relaxant, lipoxygenase and β-Glucuronidase inhibitory and free radical scavenging properties.     

Comparative Anatomical Studies on Chinese Medicinal Plants of the Genus Aconitum

This paper reports the result of comparative anatomical studies on medicinal roots of 53 species and varieties in the genus Aconitum from China. The anatomical structures of the roots can be classified into 6 types and 18 subtypes according to the level of their evolution. The anatomy of Aconitum roots is discussed in relation to phylogeny based on chemotaxonomy, cytology and other related disciplines. It was found that the six types of Aconitum roots are correlated with chemical components, chromosomes, toxicity and the gross morphology. The relatively advanced Types I and II roots always contain highly toxic alkaloids of diterpenoid diester of aconitine type, distributed mainly in Ser. 3, 5-11 of Sect. Aconitum of Subgen. Aconitum, while the relatively primitive Types III, IV and II roots with small diameters contain mainly atisine and aminal alcohol alkaloids, which have lower toxicity, present in Subgen. Gymnaconitum and Ser. 1, 2 of Sect. Aconitum of Subgen. Aconitum. The primitive Types V and VI roots of Subgen. Lycoctonum contain mainly the most low-toxic alkaloids of lycoctonine Type. The result is of significance both in theory or practice for the development of medicinal plant resourcesand the safety of clinical usage of these of plants.     

小檗碱的研究进展

小檗碱是从黄连和小檗碱属类等植物中提取分离得到的一种异喹啉类生物碱。在中国传统药方中,这些中药已广泛用于湿热症。许多治疗风湿性疾病的药方的重要成分皆是小檗碱属类的提取物。作为这些提取物中的主要活性成分,小檗碱被证实在治疗自身免疫性疾病、糖尿病、肿瘤、腹泻等方面可发挥重要作用。由于小檗碱生物学作用广泛,其潜在的应用价值巨大。为了认识这种重要中药成分的具体潜能,我们需要更多的动物和人类实验研究。     

Therapeutic prospects of endophytic Bacillus species from Berberis lycium against oxidative stress and microbial pathogens

Endophytes are microorganisms residing within plant tissues. Bacterial endophytes are important sources for production of pharmaceutically important metabolites. Berberis lycium is an important medicinal plant and there exist no report regarding isolation and determination of bioactive potential of its bacterial endophytes. Therefore the present study was aimed to isolate and identify bacterial endophytes from Berberis lycium. The study resulted in isolation of 20 strains of bacterial endophytes. Based on their antibacterial activity three strains were identified as Bacillus cereus (LBL6), Bacillus thuringiensis (SBL3) and Bacillus anthracis (SBL4) on basis of 16SrRNA gene using universal primers. Crude ethyl acetate extracts of LBL6, SBL3 and SBL4 were further evaluated for antioxidant and antifungal activities. Moderate antioxidant activity (56 %) at a concentration of 1000 µg/mL was observed for LBL6 followed by 45 and 43 % activity by SBL4 and SBL3 respectively. Significant antifungal activity was observed against Aspergillus niger (60 %) and Aspergillus flavus (56 %) at concentration of 4 mg/mL of SBL3 and SBL4 respectively. GCMS analysis of extract (LBL6) exhibited presence of 12 bioactive secondary metabolites corresponding to antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant, antitumor and anticancer activities. In conclusion, present study highlighted the importance of Berberis lycium to host diverse bacterial endophytes of pharmaceutical importance.     

Antioxidant properties of some hydroalcoholic plant extracts with antiinflammatory activity

The hydroalcoholic extracts of Calendula officinalis, Hypericum perforatum, Plantago lanceolata and Glycyrrhiza glabra which exhibited different anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated for the possible mode of action by studying their antioxidant potential. In the present study we investigated if standardized hydroalcoholic extracts of plants such as Calendula officinalis, Hypericum perforatum, Plantago lanceolata and Glycyrrhiza glabra produced by Hofigal Stock Company could modulate the respiratory burst of human activated neutrophils, as a consequence of their antioxidant capacity. Their antioxidant properties were measured using a colorimetric assay (Total Antioxidant Status kit). We demonstrated that Hypericum perforatum and Calendula officinalis hydroalcoholic extracts possessed a significant antioxidant activity while Plantago lanceolata and Glycyrrhiza glabra hydroalcoholic extracts had a minor antioxidant status. Using reactive oxygen species-generating systems (OZ-activated human PMN neutrophils), Calendula officinalis and Hypericum perforatum extracts showed strong reactive oxygen species scavenging property, Hypericum perforatum extract exhibing the highest scavenging activity. These results confirm the potential of Calendula officinalis and Hypericum perforatum investigated hydroalcoholic extracts as medicinal remedies to be used in different inflammatory/allergic diseases. These extracts could be a useful tool for obtaining new antioxidant/anti-inflammatory agents.     

An ethnobotanical survey of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants used by the traditional healers of the Lwamondo area,Limpopo province,South Africa

The use of medicinal plants in the treatment and prevention of diseases is attracting the attention of scientists worldwide. Approximately 3000 plant species are currently used by an estimated 200,000 indigenous traditional healers in South Africa. The specific part of the plant used for medicinal applications varies from species to species, and from one traditional healer to another. This study was carried out to explore and record those plants and plant parts used for treating various human ailments by the traditional healers of the Lwamondo area in the Limpopo province, South Africa for medicinal purposes. Ethnobotanical data were collected from 30 traditional healers (24 females and 6 males) in the Lwamondo area of Venda, by means of a data capture questionnaire focusing on the local names of the medicinal plants, their medicinal uses, the plant parts used, and methods of preparation and of administering treatments to patients. The survey identified 16 medicinal plants from 7 families, with 14 genera, used to treat a range of ailments in the Lwamondo area. The Fabaceae family was the most commonly used plant family representing 43.8% of all the medicinal plants species recorded by this study, followed by the Varbenaceae family at 18.8%. The plant parts most frequently used were the roots (44.5%), followed by the leaves (25.9%), bark (14.8%), the whole plant (11%), and flowers (3.7%). Most of the traditional healers obtained their extracts by boiling the medicinal plants. The most often recurring ailment treated by healers was stomach problems, using 31.3% of all the medicinal plants reported in this study for preparing such treatments. The following medicinal plants were covered by this study: Annona senegalensis, Schkuhria pinnata, Diospyros mespiliformis, Piliostigma thonningii, Senna obtusifolia, Bauhinia galpinii. The rural communities of the Lwamondo area possess a wealth of information on medicinal plants and their applications. This ethnobotanical survey can help scientists identify for further research those plants whose medicinal properties may be useful in the development of new drugs.     

金华市郊10种杂草的热值和灰分含量及其适应意义

在金华市郊,选择了婆婆纳(Veronica didyma)、水蓼(Polygonum hydropiper)、车前(Plantago asiatica)、北美车前(Plantago virginica)、毛茛(Ranunculus japonicus)、商陆(Phytolacca acinosa)、鹅观草(Roegneria kamoji)、早熟禾(Poa annua)、北美独行菜(Lepidium virginicum)、窃衣(Torilis japonica)等10种常见杂草,测定了生殖生长时期这些杂草不同器官的热值和灰分含量。研究结果表明, 10种杂草花穗、叶、茎和根的干重热值的平均值分别为15.942、14.293、13.344和13.463 kJ/g,去灰分热值平均为16.983、16.219、14.480和15.233 kJ/g,整体上表现出花穗 > 叶 > 根 > 茎的趋势;10种杂草的花穗、叶、茎和根中的平均灰分含量为6.127%、11.899%、8.071%、11.383%,叶片和根中的灰分含量较高,花穗与茎中的较低。对于北美车前来讲,随着生长时间的推移,北美车前的营养器官热值下降,随着种群密度的上升,北美车前的繁殖器官干重热值上升。采取低热值策略可能是杂草适应严酷环境的选择方式,具有进化上的积极意义。     

MEDDB: a medicinal plant database developed with the information gathered from tribal people in and around Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Tribal peoples are endowed with enriched traditional wisdom to use available nature resources around them. They are well versed in the usage of plant for treating various diseases. They have used powder or extract or paste form of the plant parts such as root, shoot, whole plant, fruits and leaves etc. The recipe known by the tribal people was passed on only to their family members and community through mouth to mouth practice. Hence, the knowledge is confined to particular people alone. It is always expedient to store information in the database, so that it will be accessible by everyone from everywhere. To achieve this, MEDDB has been developed, which stores the details of 110 plant species that are commonly used by tribes for fever, asthma, cold, cough, diabetes, diarrhea, dysentery, eye infections, stomach ache, wounds and snake bite. The details of each plant were collected from the literature and through web search to give comprehensive and exhaustive information. Each plant entry is compiled under the subheadings viz., common name, classification, physical characteristics, medicinal uses, active constituents, and references.     

Medicinal plants in southwestern Saudi Arabia

Folk medicine practiced in southwestern Saudi Arabia has helped people prevent and cure various diseases and sicknesses such as rheumatism, asthma, diabetes, stomach problems, constipation, eye and ear problems, colds, fever, measles, bladder and urinary diseases, toothache, epilepsy, and skin allergy. The most common medicinal plants found in the region belong to the Leguminosae, Labiatae, Compositae, and Euphorbiaceae.