Journal of Medicinal Herbs
Volume:10 Issue: 4, Winter 2019

Armenian cucumber (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus) is one of the varieties of Cucurbitaceae family that is freshly consumed in Iran, while due to the presence of useful fatty acids and minerals, it can play a special role in the health diet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative of fatty acids in the seeds of Armenian cucumber.

Fruits were harvested in summer of 2018 at a fully ripened stage.The seeds were manually separated from the fruits and dried in roomtemperature. Evaluation of morphological traits was performed in the laboratory of horticulture sciences department. The seed oil extraction was done using Soxhlet apparatus and fatty acids analysis was performed by gas chromatography at Central Research Institute of Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch.

The mean of 100-seed weight was 4.08 g, the mean of seed length and diameter were 12.46 and 4.84 mm, respectively, andthe ratio of kernel to seed shellwas 2.75. The seed oil content was 34.8% and included of 24 kind of different fatty acids. The most important unsaturated fatty acids were linoleic with 51.62% and oleic acid with 28.31% and the most important saturated fatty acids were palmitic and stearic acids with 11.16% and 7.16%, respectively. The sum of unsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids and the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids were 19.46, 80.54 and 4.13, respectively.

According to the results of this research, America cucumber seeds are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids that will make them suitable for food, pharmaceutical and industrial applications.

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that affects all systems in the body, including the liver. This study evaluated the in-vitro antioxidant capacity and liver function status of STZ-induced diabetic rats treated with petroleum and diethyl ether fractions of Blighia sapida stem barkfor 14 days.

The antioxidant ability of the petroleum and diethyl ether fraction of Blighia sapida stem bark was evaluated by total flavonoids and phenolic content (TFC and TPC) and DPPH scavenging activity using standard protocol. Thirty-five rats in seven groups were used. Plasma transaminases (ALT and AST) activities and bilirubin level was determined using standard procedure.

The TFC and TPC of petroleum ether fraction of B. sapida (PEFBS) (47.16 mg QUE/100g and 39.87 mg GAE/100g) was observed to be higher compared to diethyl ether fraction of B. sapida (DEFBS) (37.44 mg QUE/100 g and 36.74 mg/GAE/100g). The DPPH scavenging activity of the fractions were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced across the concentrations compared to the standard (gallic acid). STZ induced diabetes rats administered 2 ml/kg b. w. of normal saline significantly (p < 0.05) increased plasma ALT, AST activities and bilirubin level compared to the normal control rats while treatment of diabetic rats with petroleum and diethyl ether fraction of B. sapida at both dosesreduced the activities of these enzymes and level of bilirubin.

The results sustain the fact that, the fractions of B. sapida have an immense potential to be developed further into a therapeutic agent.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. In Unani system of medicine, psoriasis is termed as Daʹus Sadaf or Taqashshur-i Jild which has been treated successfully since antiquity with various single and compound drugs. In recent years, various clinical studies have been conducted to validate the claims of Unani medicine in the management of psoriasis. The aim of this study was to review the published scientific clinical studies, performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Unani drugs in the treatment of psoriasis.

Author searched four databases for psoriasis, using the terms “Daʹus Sadaf OR psoriasis”, “Taqashshur-i Jild OR psoriasis”, “Unani medicine and psoriasis”. Author also hand searched journals available in the library of Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine & Jamia Hamdard (New Delhi) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Raipur). All published clinical studies with Unani intervention were included in this review.

A total of 58 articles were reviewed; out of them 46 articles based on animal studies, epidemi ological reports, studies of general concepts were discarded leading to inclusion of 12 articles. Different Unani drugs were used in the trials. Although each clinical study reported beneficial effect, but there were very few trials that were controlled and randomized.

Various clinical studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of Unani drugs in the treatment of psoriasis have been carried out, but well-designed randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) still need to be conducted using standardized tools to scientifically validate the safety and efficacy of Unani drugs in the treatment of psoriasis.

Diabetes mellitus is an intricate metabolic disorder of the endocrine system associated with complications that result in morbidity and mortality. This study was carried out to establish the antihyperglycaemic profile and the effect of hexane extract of Chlorophytum alismifolium (HECA) on diabetic neuropathy in high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced hyperglycaemic Wistar rats.

C. alismifolium tubers were extracted with n-hexane using a soxhlet apparatus. The LD50 was determined using the OECD 425 guideline. The animals were served high fat diet for 6 weeks and then administered 40 mg/kg of streptozotocin to induce diabetes. Experimental groups were set up using normal rats in group I and hyperglycaemic rats in 5 groups of 5 rats each. Group I and II were the normal and hyperglycaemic controls given distilled water (1 mL/kg); groups III, IV and V were given categorized doses of HECA (150, 300 and 600 mg/kg) respectively. Group VI received pioglitazone (20 mg/kg). Fasting glycaemic level was evaluated and diabetic neuropathy was investigated using thermal and mechanical methods.

Phytochemical screening showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids and triterpenes while the oral median toxic dose was estimated to be >5000 mg/kg. Administration of HECA at all doses evidently (p < 0.05) reduced the glycaemic level relative to the hyperglycaemic group and over time. Treatment with HECA also remarkably (p < 0.05) lowered the withdrawal times in both thermal and mechanical hyperalgesic methods of diabetic neuropathy compared to the hyperglycaemic control.

The findings revealed that the hexane extract of Chlorophytum alismifolium has beneficial effects and can be applied in the management of diabetes and some of its complications.

 The use of traditional medicine and medicinal plants in most developing countries, as a normative basis for the maintenance of good health, has been widely observed. In the last century, approximately 121 pharmaceutical products have been discovered based on the information obtained from the traditional healers. In the present study, we thoroughly investigated the phyto-pharmacological potential of Calotropis procera which is extremely effective as medicine and its phyto-constituents show strong antioxidant properties.

The world health organization has estimated that world population of about 80 % from developing countries depends on herbal medicine for their basic health care needs. Calotropis procera is an important drug of Ayurvedic medicine and researchers are exploring the therapeutic potential of this plant. Calotropis is a plant with excellent medicinal properties which is used for curing different human ailments.

Recommended applications/industries: 

The present review article provides a viewpoint on phytopharmacological potential of Calotropis procera which could be beneficial for future research on development of better and economically superior therapeutic agents.

Nephropathy is one of the major complications of diabetes with oxidative stress as one of the possible mechanisms mediating the event. Natural products with antioxidant property may be a promising therapeutic approach to ameliorate renal damage from diabetic nephropathy hence the renoprotective activity of methanolic leaf extract of Momordica charantia (MEMC) was assessed.

 The effects of MEMC on alloxan-induced nephrotoxicity were examined where toxicity was induced by intraperitoneal administration of alloxan to 50 rats divided into five groups of 10 rats each. MEMC was administered to two groups at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg for 28 days; glibenclamide administered to another group of diabetic rats. While another group was left untreated, a group of normal rats received only distilled water. Nephroprotective effect of the extract was studied by assessing its effect on oxidative stress markers, antioxidant defence system, immunohistochemistry, histological and serum urea and creatinine analysis.

 Alloxan administration altered renal biomarkers (increased serum urea and creatinine levels), increased renal H2O2 malondialdehyde levels, and decreased reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase. Histological studies showed glomerular degeneration and hypercellularity. However, administration of glibenclamide (4 mg/kg) and MEMC ameliorated the alloxan-induced nephrotoxicity. Immunohistochemical studies revealed lower expressions of BCL2 but greater expressions of NF-κB in the kidney of the toxicant non-treated rats compared with the control, glibenclamide treated and MEMC treated rats.

MEMC showed renoprotective activity in alloxan-induced nephropathy mediated through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This extract could be used in the treatment of acute kidney failure.

Melissa officinalis (lemon balm), belongs to the family Lamiaceae is a known herb that has long been used in traditional medicine to treat many disorders and give fragrance to different food and beverage products. In this study, the effects of the foliar spray of L-phenylalanine on essential oil content and chemical composition of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), at field condition in Horeh, Saman city of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, southwestern Iran, were investigated.

This study was conducted in randomized complete block design with three replications. Experimental treatments were including three levels of the foliar application of L-phenylalanine including 1000, 2000 and 4000 mg/L. Distilled water was used as a control.

The essential oil contents of the treatments ranged between 0.11 to 0.19% (v/w). Statistical analysis indicated that there were significant differences among treatments for essential oil contents of M. officinalis. Neral, Z-Citral, E-Citral, Geranial, Citronellal and β-Caryophyllene were the six major compounds of M. officinalis essential oil. The results indicated that the foliar application of L-phenylalanine have significant impacts on main constitutes of the essential oil and generally the application of L-phenylalanine spraying have beneficial and effective role in improving the essential oil content and some of chemical composition of lemon balm.

The plant biostimulants as environmentally friendly products can be effective for increasing the quantity and quality of lemon balm essential oil. Application of L-phenylalanine can be a promising strategy in achieving organic production of medicinal plants such as lemon balm.

Drought is a natural and recurrent climatic characteristic in most parts of the world and plays an important and restrictive role in crop yield. One of these defense mechanisms is the reprogramming of gene expression using microRNAs. MiRNAs regulate the gene expression more by inhibiting the translation of mRNA and reducing the expression of target protein expression.

In the present study, the expression pattern of miR398 and its target gene (NtTG5b) in the leaf tissue of purple coneflower under controlled conditions and four levels of drought stress (85, 75, 50 and 25% Field Capacity (FC) were investigated using qRT-PCR method. To ensure the applying the stress on plants, the heat shock protein (HSP) expression was evaluated as a criterion.

The results showed increased expression of HSP in leaf tissue, therefore the selected levels for drought stress were confirmed. The expression of miR398 at each stress level was often the same, and the process of expression of the target genes in most cases revealed an inconsistent process that could be due to the difference between the target cell and the cell in which the miRNA was expressed, so this shows the complex regulatory network of miRNAs.

Finally, it can be concluded that miR398 is a drought-responsive miRNA that may play its effects through leaf development control. This could be an important aspect for future studies, because increasing leaf biomass in conditions that have water constraints can be an incentive to use purple coneflower as a plant for medicine.