当药黄素抗抑郁作用研究

研究当药黄素的抗抑郁作用及其可能的作用机制。研究采用动物行为绝望模型评价当药黄素抗抑郁活性;采用药物交互作用模型探讨其主要作用环节及其可能的作用机制。结果显示当药黄素没有中枢神经兴奋性,能缩短小鼠悬尾和强迫游泳的不动时间;增加5-HTP诱导的小鼠甩头次数,可拮抗利血平引起的小鼠体温下降和眼睑下垂,对育亨宾毒性具有增强作用,但对盐酸色胺所致大鼠惊厥无影响。上述结果表明当药黄素具有抗抑郁活性,其抗抑郁活性可能与抑制5-羟色胺重摄取、增强脑内神经递5-HT神经功能和影响去甲肾上腺素有关;而与抑制体内单胺氧化酶活性无关。     

药用植物内生细菌多样性及其生物学作用

药用植物内生细菌资源丰富,其产生的多种活性成分,在医药业、农业等方面表现出良好的应用前景,是人类生存与发展的重要资源。该文综述了近年来药用植物内生细菌的研究进展情况,特别是对其多样性、产生的活性成分及其生物学作用进行了系统总结,并从药用植物内生细菌研究的特殊性出发,对其前景进行了展望。该文对于药用植物功能内生细菌的研究、开发与利用具有重要的理论指导和现实意义。     

石蒜科药用植物生物碱的药理学研究

石蒜科药用植物主要含生物碱成分,具有广泛的药理活性.参阅近十多年来国内外石蒜科生物碱化学成分及药理学的研究文献,对石蒜科植物生物碱的几种主要药理活性进行归纳.石蒜科植物生物碱药理作用主要包括对心血管系统作用、中枢神经系统作用、对多种癌细胞的细胞毒活性或抗肿瘤作用、抗炎抗菌、抗病毒、免疫功能等方面.石蒜科药用植物生物碱有着潜在而广泛的药用价值.     

海马cAMP反应元件结合蛋白与抗抑郁治疗

随着对抑郁症发病机制研究的不断深入,当前的重点已从单胺递质调节机制转向抑郁症的病理生理基础研究和抗抑郁治疗的长期作用机制。以脑内cAMP反应元件结合蛋白(cAMP response element binding protein,CREB)为交汇点的细胞内信号转导通路正受到越来越多的关注,尤其是海马CREB的改变。明确海马CERB与抗抑郁治疗的关系,对深入理解抑郁症的病理生理基础和抗抑郁治疗的长期作用机制有重要的意义。因此,本文对近年来海马CREB与抗抑郁治疗的相关研究进行综述,主要涉及CREB的结构和海马内的分布、海马CREB的上游信号通路与抗抑郁治疗、调节海马CREB发挥抗抑郁作用的可能机制。     

淫羊藿属植物化学成分及药理活性研究进展

淫羊藿属植物是中国传统的药用植物,淫羊藿总黄酮是淫羊藿属植物中的主要活性成分,迄今从国内淫羊藿属13种植物中分离鉴定的黄酮类化合物有106种.药理研究表明,淫羊藿总黄酮具有抑制破骨细胞、促进成骨细胞生长、抗抑郁、增强免疫调节、保护心脑血管系统、抑菌、抗炎、抗病毒、抗氧化、抗衰老、抗肿瘤等多方面的药理活性.本文对国内外有关淫羊藿属植物的化学成分及药理作用的研究进展进行综述,为进一步研究与开发利用提供参考.     

当归抗抑郁作用及配伍应用

旨在探讨当归在抑郁症治疗中发挥的作用。通过分析相关文献,结合当归的临床功效和抑郁症的疾病特点,概括当归抗抑郁作用规律。当归在抑郁症治疗中具有补血以养肝体、活血以通心脉、通便以利肠腑的作用,以其为主药的抗抑郁复方临床应用广泛。当归的抗抑郁作用值得进一步深入研究。     

苍术属药用植物水溶性化学成分及其药理活性的研究进展

药用植物包括苍术,关苍术等,其水溶性化学成分包括糖苷,糖类,氨基酸等;药理活性包括肠道免疫作用,降血糖,降血压,免疫调节,抗衰老等。对其水溶性化学成分和药理活性进行综述,为进一步开发利用提供依据。     

神经营养因子在抗抑郁治疗中的作用研究新进展

抑郁症是一种严重的精神疾病,具有患病率高、致残率高和自杀率高等特点,给社会带来沉重的负担。目前针对抑郁症的治疗主要以药物治疗为主,且普遍存在起效慢、药物耐受、副作用多、易复发以及疗效时间有限等局限性,使得抗抑郁治疗亟需开发新的策略。近年研究发现,在抑郁症动物模型中调节神经营养因子的表达水平可调控神经细胞存活,促进神经发生,提高神经元可塑性等,从而发挥抗抑郁作用。这为临床抗抑郁治疗提供了新的策略。本文主要介绍几种重要的神经营养因子对抑郁行为的影响及其应用于抗抑郁治疗的研究新进展。     

元宝草培养物的总黄酮含量

元宝草 (ＨｙｐｅｒｉｃｕｍｓａｍｐｓｏｎｉｉＨａｎｃｅ)为藤黄科金丝桃属植物 ,分布于陕西及江南各地。全草入药 ,用于止血、生肌、调经、抗风湿 ,治疗内出血、肝炎、坐骨神经痛、牙痛和疮肿毒等症效果明显[1,2 ] 。金丝桃属的一些种在国内外民间被广泛作为药用 ,特别是该属所含的金丝桃素具有抗抑郁、抗病毒和治疗脑瘤的辅助作用 ,以及在癌症的光化学治疗及创伤治疗方面的应用 ,引起医药界的极大重视。国内外对贯叶连翘 (Ｈ .ｐｅｒｆｏｒａｔｕｍＬｉｎｎ .)的研究已相当深入[3～ 5] ,人们一直认为金丝桃素为抗抑郁主要活性成分 ,但近…     

山竹子的有效成分及药理作用

山竹子是泰国、印度、缅甸等东南亚国家的传统药用植物,被当地人广泛用于治疗腹泻、疟疾、抗炎、抗溃疡以及抗白血病和败血病等疾病,现代研究揭示其含多种活性成分.本文综述了山竹子的主要活性成分及其药理作用.     

Exploring antifungal activities of acetone extract of selected Indian medicinal plants against human dermal fungal pathogens

A broad spectrum of medicinal plants was used as traditional remedies for various infectious diseases. Fungal infectious diseases have a significant impact on public health. Fungi cause more prevalent infections in immunocompromised individuals mainly patients undergoing transplantation related therapies, and malignant cancer treatments. The present study aimed to investigate the in vitro antifungal effects of the traditional medicinal plants used in India against the fungal pathogens associated with dermal infections. Indian medicinal plants (Acalypha indica, Lawsonia inermis Allium sativum and Citrus limon) extract (acetone/crude) were tested for their antifungal effects against five fungal species isolated from skin scrapings of fungal infected patients were identified as including Alternaria spp., Curvularia spp., Fusarium spp., Trichophyton spp. and Geotrichum spp. using well diffusion test and the broth micro dilution method. All plant extracts have shown to have antifungal efficacy against dermal pathogens. Particularly, Allium sativum extract revealed a strong antifungal effect against all fungal isolates with the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of 50–100 μg/mL. Strong antifungal activity against Curvularia spp., Trichophyton spp., and Geotrichum spp. was also observed for the extracts of Acalypha indica, and Lawsonia inermis with MFCs of 50–800 μg/mL respectively. The extracts of Citrus limon showed an effective antifungal activity against most of the fungal strains tested with the MFCs of 50–800 μg/mL. Our research demonstrated the strong evidence of conventional plants extracts against clinical fungal pathogens with the most promising option of employing natural-drugs for the treatment of skin infections. Furthermore, in-depth analysis of identifying the compounds responsible for the antifungal activity that could offer alternatives way to develop new natural antifungal therapeutics for combating resistant recurrent infections.     

Identification of Traditional Medicinal Plant Extracts with Novel Anti-Influenza Activity

The emergence of drug resistant variants of the influenza virus has led to a need to identify novel and effective antiviral agents. As an alternative to synthetic drugs, the consolidation of empirical knowledge with ethnopharmacological evidence of medicinal plants offers a novel platform for the development of antiviral drugs. The aim of this study was to identify plant extracts with proven activity against the influenza virus. Extracts of fifty medicinal plants, originating from the tropical rainforests of Borneo used as herbal medicines by traditional healers to treat flu-like symptoms, were tested against the H1N1 and H3N1 subtypes of the virus. In the initial phase, in vitro micro-inhibition assays along with cytotoxicity screening were performed on MDCK cells. Most plant extracts were found to be minimally cytotoxic, indicating that the compounds linked to an ethnomedical framework were relatively innocuous, and eleven crude extracts exhibited viral inhibition against both the strains. All extracts inhibited the enzymatic activity of viral neuraminidase and four extracts were also shown to act through the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) pathway. Moreover, the samples that acted through both HI and neuraminidase inhibition (NI) evidenced more than 90% reduction in virus adsorption and penetration, thereby indicating potent action in the early stages of viral replication. Concurrent studies involving Receptor Destroying Enzyme treatments of HI extracts indicated the presence of sialic acid-like component(s) that could be responsible for hemagglutination inhibition. The manifestation of both modes of viral inhibition in a single extract suggests that there may be a synergistic effect implicating more than one active component. Overall, our results provide substantive support for the use of Borneo traditional plants as promising sources of novel anti-influenza drug candidates. Furthermore, the pathways involving inhibition of hemagglutination could be a solution to the global occurrence of viral strains resistant to neuraminidase drugs.     

Antiviral activity of south Brazilian medicinal plant extracts.

Brazilian plants are potential sources of useful edible and medicinal plants. Hydromethanolic extracts prepared from 54 medicinal plants used in folk medicine to treat infections were screened for antiviral properties against five different viruses (HSV-1, HSV-2, poliovirus type 2, adenovirus type 2 and VSV). Fifty-two percent of the plant extracts exhibited antiviral against one or more tested viruses. More specifically, 42.6% showed activity against HSV-1 (herpes simplex virus type 1), 42.6% against HSV-2 (herpes simplex virus type 2), 26% against poliovirus and 24% against VSV (vesicular stomatitis virus). None of the extracts was active against adenovirus. Trixis praestans (Vell.) Cabr. and Cunila spicata Benth. extracts were further characterized for antiviral activity.     

In vitro antibacterial activities of methanol and aqueous leave extracts of selected medicinal plants against human pathogenic bacteria

People use medicinal plants as diet, and for treatment of infectious and noninfectious diseases and they use brief procedures like frying and cooking to do so. Medicinal plants; Moringa oleifera, Azadirachta indica, and Lepidium sativum which is believed to have active components that help to treat and manage various diseases were investigated for their antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhi, Streptococcus agalactiae and Shigella boydii. Solvent methanol and aqueous were used for extraction of crudes by means of maceration. Susceptibility testing was determined by using disc diffusion method and Minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by broth dilution method. Heat treated plant material activity against test pathogen was aimed to identify resistance capacity of plant material at different interval of time and temperature. All plant extracts under study was active against all tested pathogen after exposure to 45 °C for 30 min. The antibacterial activities of the non-heat-treated extracts of Azadirachta indica were relatively low; the results of this study show that extracts of Azadirachta indica have better residual antibacterial activities. Methanol extracts of all plant leaves showed highest activity as compared to the aqueous extracts. This is probably assigning the choice of extraction solvent for extracting desired active phytochemical from plants. Many of the people in the study area were illiterate and they did not have awareness about the ways use of medicinal plants. They use the medicinal plants by cooking and frying for different purposes. In the main, plant material can be affected as the temperature of treatment is increases with respect to various times of exposures.     

In vitro antimicrobial activity of Romanian medicinal plants hydroalcoholic extracts on planktonic and adhered cells

The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial and antifungal potential of some Romanian medicinal plants, arnica--Arnica montana, wormwood--Artemisia absinthium and nettle--Urtica dioica. In order to perform this antimicrobial screening, we obtained the vegetal extracts and we tested them on a series of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and also against two fungal strains. The vegetal extracts showed antimicrobial activity preferentially directed against the planktonic fungal and bacterial growth, while the effect against biofilm formation and development was demonstrated only against S. aureus and C. albicans. Our in vitro assays indicate that the studied plant extracts are a significant source of natural alternatives to antimicrobial therapy, thus avoiding antibiotic therapy, the use of which has become excessive in recent years.     

Evaluation of Antifungal Activity of Medicinal Plant Extracts Against Oral <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida albicans</Emphasis> and Proteinases

Proteinases produced by Candida albicans are one kind of virulence factor expressed that contribute to adherence and invasion of host tissue. Proteinase inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus in experimental candidiasis suggested reduction in fungal infection, and medicinal plants could be a source of alternative agent to prevent diseases. In this study, we investigated the production of proteinases by C. albicans from clinical isolates and the action of plant extracts against strains of C. albicans and its synthesized proteinases, comparing with antifungal fluconazole and amphotericin B and proteinase inhibitors pepstatin A, amprenavir, and ritonavir. The results reported here showed that these extracts have a certain kind of action and that the search for new antifungal agents could be found at the plants.     

Complement modulating activity of Rwandan medicinal plants

Forty-two ethanolic extracts of thirty-six Rwandan medicinal plants were investigated for their influence on complement-mediated hemolysis. The plants were selected on the base of their ethnomedicinal use in infections and autoimmune diseases. Eight plant extracts showed an inhibitory activity against the classical pathway of the complement system and ten plant extracts against the alternative pathway. Three plant extracts exhibited an interesting activity against both pathways, i.e. Aspilia pluriseta, Coleus kilimandschari, and Macaranga kilimandscharica (leaves and stem). Further study indicated that the complement inhibitory activity was not caused by chelation of bivalent cations or by direct action on the target erythrocytes.     

Exploration of the in vitro cytotoxic and antiviral activities of different medicinal plants against infectious bursal disease (IBD) virus

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) caused by non-enveloped double stranded RNA virus is an acute and contagious poultry disease. Outbreak of IBD could result in 10–75% mortality of the birds; hence it has gained socio-economic importance worldwide. Medicinal plants have shown broad spectrum anti-viral activities against RNA and DNA viruses. Moringa oleifera Lam (MOL), Phyllanthus emblicus Linn (PEL), Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn (GGL), and Eugenia jambolana Lam (EJL) are commonly available medicinal plants of the sub-continent and exhibited anti-viral potential against different viruses. Ethanolic extracts of the leaves of MOL and EJL, roots of GGL and dried fruit of PEL were investigated for their cytotoxic and anti-viral potential against IBD virus using MTT colorimetric assay and anti-viral assay. Significant anti-viral potential (P<0.001) was demonstrated at concentrations 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 µg ml^?1 of GGL, PEL, MOL and EJL, respectively, with no cytotoxicity. Data also spotlighted that all tested plant extracts possess significant anti-viral potential and this trend was higher in GGL followed by PEL, MOL, and EJL. The data undoubtedly conclude that these medicinal plants contain several health beneficial phyto-chemicals which got significant anti-viral potential and effectively be utilized against IBD virus. Moreover, the outcomes of this study provide a platform on the way to discover novel anti-viral agents against IBD virus and other viruses from plant origin.     

Larvicidal activities against Aedes aegypti of some Brazilian medicinal plants

Larvicidal activities against Aedes aegypti have been determined in the ethanolic extracts obtained from 51 Brazilian medicinal plants. Eleven of the 84 extracts studied showed significant (LC50 < 100 microg mL(-1)) activities against larvae, with extracts from Annona crassiflora (root bark, LC50 = 0.71 microg mL(-1); root wood, LC50 = 8.94 microg mL(-1)) and Annona glabra (seed, LC50 = 0.06 microg mL(-1)) showing the highest activities. The results obtained should be of value in the search for new natural larvicidal compounds.     

In vitro antimicrobial activity of six medicinal plants traditionally used for the treatment of dysentery and diarrhoea in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Twenty-four crude extracts derived from six medicinal plants highly valued as antidiarrhoeal agents in Congolese folk medicine were screened for antimicrobial activity against several enteric pathogens. The results of this study indicated that the methanolic and aqueous extracts derived from three of them (Roureopsis obliquifoliolata, Epinetrum villosum and Cissus rubiginosa) possessed prominent antibacterial activity, therefore supporting the ethnomedical uses of these species. In addition, phytochemical analysis of these medicinal plants showed that 1/6 plant sample contained alkaloids, 6/6 triterpenes and/or sterols, 4/6 flavonoids, 3/6 tannins and 5/6 saponins. Anthraquinones were not detected in any of these plants.