Posted by admin on Jun 30, 2025 in |
Objective: Knowledge about medicinal plants can contribute to modern therapeutics. Impatience walleriana [Family: Balsaminaceae] an ornamental, nutritive herb has relevance in African and Asian traditional medicines. Traditionally I. walleriana is used for anti-inflammatory, anti-dermatitis effects and is known to relieve skin irritation. It is applied on skin to treat bacterial and fungal infection. Acne is a common skin disorder mainly seen in adolescents. Treatment for acne revolves around anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of drugs. Anti-bacterial and antioxidant activities of I. walleriana have been reported previously reported. In the present study anti-acne potential of I. walleriana extract is evaluated against Propionibacterium acne and an attempt has been made to co-relate findings with traditional claims. Methods: Hydroalcoholic extract of aerial parts of I. walleriana is evaluated for effectiveness against P. acne by measuring zone of inhibition using well diffusion method and by finding MIC. Tetracycline is used as standard. Results: Results of Zone of Inhibition are promising with an average of 11mm, 08mm and 4mm in the duplicate readings obtained....
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Posted by admin on Jun 30, 2025 in |
Catharanthus roseus, population known as Vinca rosea, is a significant medicinal plant from the Apocynaceae family, used to treat various life-threatening diseases. It is known by names such as bright eyes, cape periwinkle, pink periwinkle, and Madagascar periwinkle. The plant contains chemical compounds like carbohydrates, flavonoids, saponins, and alkaloids, including vinblastine, vincristine, vindoline, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, indole, and indoline glycosides. Catharanthus roseus is native to the Indian Ocean Island of Madagascar and was once considered an endangered species in the wild. However, it is now found in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, including the southern United States. The plant demonstrates various pharmacological activities, such as anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, memory enhancement, wound healing, hypotensive, antidiarrheal, antiulcer, and hypolipidemic effects. In this review article express taxonomy, synonym, vernacular names, distribution, ethnomedical uses, phytochemicals and pharmacological activities of Catharanthus...
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Posted by admin on Jun 30, 2025 in |
Sickle cell disease (SCD) treatment and management remain a challenging puzzle, especially among developing Nations. We evaluated catechin’s sickling-suppressive properties using in-vitro and bioinformatics approaches in human sickle erythrocytes. Sickling was maximally induced (76%) using 2% sodium metabisulfite (SMS) at 3h. Addition of catechin prevented the sickling by SMS at 1mM (81.19%) and reversed the same at 1mM (84.63%), with IC50 values of 1.026µM and 1.103µM, respectively. Based on functional chemistry, catechin alters the functional groups of certain notable compounds within erythrocytes, favouring its anti-sickling effects, as indicated by the observed bends and shifts. From GC-MS and LC-MS analyses, it was observed that catechin treatment favours fatty acid alkyl monoesters (FAMEs) production with concomitant shutting down effects on selenocompound metabolism. Pathway enrichment and topology analyses revealed activation of fatty acid biosynthesis, linoleic acid metabolism and steroid hormone biosynthesis pathways upon catechin treatment. Thus, sickling-suppressive effects of catechin could potentially be associated with modulation of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin via alteration of human sickle erythrocytes’ functional chemistry and metabolic pathways...
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Posted by admin on Jun 30, 2025 in |
Inflammation is a part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells or irritants. It is characterized by redness, swollen joints, joint pain, stiffness and loss of joint function. Inflammation is currently treated by NSAIDs. Unfortunately, these drugs cause increased risk of blood clot resulting in heart at tacks and strokes. Therefore, the developments of potent anti-inflammatory drugs from the natural products are now under considerations. Natural products are rich source for discovery of new drugs because of their chemical diversity. A natural product from medicinal plants plays a major role to cure many diseases associated with inflammation. The conventional drug available in the market to treat inflammation produces various side-effects. Due to these side-effects, there is need for the search of newer drugs with less or no side-effects. There are hundreds of phytoconstituents reported to have many pharmacological activities although most of these reports are of academic interest and very few find entry in clinical trials. The present review is...
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Posted by admin on Jun 30, 2025 in |
Dental caries, a widespread infection caused by cariogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans, is traditionally managed in Nigeria using chewing sticks like Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides and Nauclea latifolia. This study compares the anti-caries activity of these two plants and provides a scientific basis for their traditional use. The stems of Z. zanthoxyloides and N. latifolia were collected, identified, and subjected to powder microscopy, proximate analysis, phytochemical screening, and GC-MS analysis. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., and Candida albicans. Both plants exhibited significant antibacterial activity, with Z. zanthoxyloides showing effectiveness against S. aureus even at low concentrations, while N. latifolia was broadly effective against all tested organisms. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, and steroids in both extracts, with GC-MS analysis identifying key bioactive compounds. Incorporating Z. zanthoxyloides into a plain toothpaste enhanced its antimicrobial activity, suggesting its potential in modern preventive dental care. These findings validate the traditional use of Z. zanthoxyloides and N. latifolia as effective oral hygiene...
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