Journal of Medicinal Plants
Volume:11 Issue: 43, 2012

Many cultures have developed folk herbal remedies for various symptoms of mental illness. An evidence base now is being developed for some of these “alternative” herbal remedies. There has been an increase in the number and proportion of clinical trials of complementary medicine, which suggests a trend toward an evidence-based approach. This review presents the scientific information regarding herbal medicine with evidence based approaches for saffron.

Essential oils of medicinal plants such as chamomile are very complex natural mixtures which can contain compounds at quite different concentrations and some of their components have antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in foodstuff. The antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of chamomile essential oil in cake preparation were evaluated during 75 days of storage. Cake were produced: cakes were treated with chamomile essential oil in three levels (0. 05%، 0. 1%، 0. 15%)، cakes were not treated with synthetic and natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agents، and a commercial cake containing synthetic antioxidant (tert butyl hydro quinine= TBHQ) and antimicrobial (potassium sorbate) agents. In all samples peroxide value، thiobarbitoric value، acidity، microbial test (yeast and mould) and sensory test (color، flavor، texture، taste and overall quality) were determined at time intervals 1، 7، 15، 30، 40، 60 and 75 days. Statistical results showed that، the sample containing chamomile at 0. 15%، had good antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in comparison with the control samples (without any synthetic and natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agents) (p<0. 01). But its activity was less than that of synthetic ones (TBHQ and potassium sorbate as antioxidant and antimicrobial agent) (p<0. 01). In sensory evaluation، the sample containing chamomile at 0. 05% had higher score in flavor، taste and overall acceptability than the samples at 0. 15 and 0. 1% (p<0. 05). Chamomile essential oil as a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent can increase shelf-life of food products and due to absence of synthetic agents are safe with no side effect on human health.

Advanced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) needing insulin therapy is a common disease. Previous studies indicate that aloe (Aloe vera L.) leaf gel may positively affect the blood glucose and lipid levels in patients with advanced T2DM needing insulin. Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of aloe leaf gel in the treatment of type 2 diabetic patients resistant to oral synthetic anti-hyperglycemic drugs needing insulin. In this randomized double - blind placebo-controlled clinical trial with the patients aged 40-60 years, the efficacy and safety of taking aloe leaf gel (one 300 mg capsule every 12 hours for 2 months) combined with oral synthetic anti-hyperglycemic drugs in treatment of 35 patients were evaluated and compared with the placebo group (n = 35). The aloe leaf gel lowered the blood levels of fasting glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin significantly (p = 0.041 and p = 0.023 respectively) without any significant effects on the lipid profile and liver/kidney function tests (p > 0.05) compared with placebo at the endpoint. No adverse effects were reported. The results suggest that aloe leaf gel may safely improve glycemic control in patients with advanced T2DM needing insulin.

Oxidation of lipids causes reduction of different properties of products that contains lipids. Nowadays, there is a growing demand for the natural antioxidants due to the harmful effects of synthetic antioxidants such as BHA, BHT and TBHQ. In this study, extract of aerial parts of Echinacea purpurea L. was used instead of synthetic antioxidants in cake then, antioxidant and antifungal activity of Echinacea purpurea L. extract (EPE) were evaluated in cake. The antioxidant activity of EPE and synthetic antioxidant was compared by measuring peroxide and thiobarbituric acid values during 60 days storage at 25 ºC. Antimicrobial properties of EPE were evaluated by counting of molds in Dicholoran Glycerol agar (DG18%) medium and free fatty acid analyses were assessed by IUPAC method. The effect of the extract on the color, texture, taste and total acceptability of the cake samples was carried out by a group of 20 trained panelists using Hedonic test. Different levels of EPE were able to retard the oxidation rate of cake, the 1000 ppm of it showed the lowest PV and the antioxidant activity of EPE was higher than BHA 200 ppm (p<0.01). EPE at 1500 and 2000 ppm showed the best antimicrobial activity (p<0.01). Cakes which containing the extract were well acceptable in terms of sensory parameters. Results showed that EPE was more effective in controlling growing molds and lipid oxidation during 60 days storage at 25 ºC and it can be used instead of synthetic antioxidant and preservatives.

The use of natural products as anticancer and antioxidant agents has a long history. Several drugs currently used in chemotherapy were isolated from plant species. The aim of this study was to evaluate cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity as well as phenol and flavonoid contents of five plant species of Solanaceae family. Five plant species of Solanaceae family were collected from different regions of Iran. Methanol extracts and chloroform fractions of these species were tested by brine shrimp lethality assay in order to detect cytotoxicity. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH method. The total phenol content was measured using Folin - Ciocalteu method. The flavonoid content was measured by a colorimetric assay. The extracts of Datura innoxia and Datura stramonium showed the highest cytotoxicity activities with LC50 values of 22.08 and 21.66 μg/ml, respectively. The chloroform fractions of these two species were subjected to cytotoxicity assay with LC50 values of 33.00 and 4.29 μg/ml, respectively. In comparing, Solanum dulcamara showed the highest antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 52.51 μg/ml and the highest phenol and flavonoid content of the dry weight. It could be seen among five tested plant species that D. stramonium had the highest cytotoxic activity and S. dulcamara had the highest antioxidant activity, phenol and flavonoid content. Further studies are necessary for chemical composition of the extracts and more comprehensive biological assays.

As Moringa peregrina is a valuable medicinal plant in traditional medicine, it is necessary to determine responses of this plant to salinity. To determine some biochemical and growth responses of Moringa peregrina to salinity at the seedling stage. This experiment was conducted in Institute of Medicinal Plants-ACECR, on base of factorial experiment as completely randomized design with four replications. The treatments included a combination of 3 different sources of salt (NaCl, NaCl + CaCl2 and natural saline water) and eight levels of salinity (control, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 dS/m). The results showed that the salinity levels had significant effect (p < 0.01) on the studied traits. Although the sources of salinity hadn’t a significant effect on shoot and root length, other traits were significantly (p < 0.01) affected by it. This study indicated that Moringa peregrina hadn’t reduction in growth parameters and seedling emergence up to 6 dS/m, then these traits significantly decreased with increasing salinity. Proline and carbohydrate content as compatible organic solutes increased with increasing salinity and these results indicated an important role of proline and carbohydrates in Moringa peregrina tolerance to salinity. The survival and no reduction in seedling emergence and growth parameters up to 6 dS/m indicated that moringa was a salt tolerant species at the early growth stage.

Ferula persica has been used in traditional medicine for treatment of high blood pressure. In this study acute and chronic effect of aqueous F. persica extract on BP of hypertensive rats and its possible mechanism of action have been investigated. Eighty two male Wistar rats were divided into 12 experimental groups. Hypertension was induced by Goldblatt method in the anesthetized rats. Aqueous extract of F. persica (15 or 30 or 60 mg/kg, iv) or it’s vehicle were administered in treatments or control groups to evaluate their effects on BP and heart rate. To assess the mechanism of F. persica action on BP, L-NAME (5 mg/kg), Atropine (1 mg/kg) or Indomethacin (5 mg/kg) were injected intraperitoneally followed by intravenous administration of F. persica (30 mg/kg) in the different groups of hypertensive rats. Chronic effect of F. persica (30 mg/kg) on BP was evaluated by the aqueous extract administration in drinking water for a month. Intravenous administration of F. persica reduced BP of hypertensive rats (p<0.001). There is no significant different between three doses of F. persica. Intraperitoneal injection of L-NAME, Atropine or Indomethacin has no significant effect on basal BP, but L-NAME eliminated and Atropine reduced hypotensive effect of F. persica extract on BP. Chronic administration of F. persica has no effect on BP. Our findings showed the hypotensive effect of F. persica in hypertensive rats may be mediated by muscarinic receptors and NO release.

Mayonnaise is one of the food emulsions (O/W) that is used as a condiment in various foods. Linseed oil (containing omega-3 fatty acids) was used at the replacement levels of 10, 15 and 20% of soybean oil in mayonnaise formulation and the sensory properties of samples were evaluated. In the second part of this research, the Zataria multiflora Boiss. (ZMEO) and Satureja hortensis L. (SHEO) (500, 1000 and 1500) were added to oil of mayonnaise and their antioxidant effects, peroxide (PV) and conjucated diene (CD) values were compared with BHA syntethic antioxidant (100 and 200 ppm). 15% of linseed oil used as replacer for soybean oil, showed no significant differences in the color, texture, taste, smell, mouth feel and overal acceptability compared with control samples, and this same ratio of 15 percent was used in subsequent tests. Statistical results of PV and CD indexes revealed that ZMEO (500) and the SHEO (1000 and 1500) had better antioxidant effect than BHA (100 and 200). In determination of secondary oxidation products, TBA value showed that ZMEO (500) was not significantly different than BHA (200) and that SHEO (1000) had better antioxidant activity than BHA (100 ppm). The results of antioxidative effect and sensory properties (showed no significant difference in taste and smell score compared with control sample) of formulated mayonnaise showed that these natural antioxidants in mayonnaise formulation can ameliorate the quality of product as functional food due to advancing the public health.

In recent years, plants natural products have gained considerable attention as natural preservers for use in different industries. Due to their free radical scavenging activities, phenolic compounds can prevent a wide range of diseases such as cancers and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. For a long time, different Ferulago species have been in use as medicinal plants worldwide. The aim of this research was to investigate total phenolics and the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of essential oil and different extracts from F. angulata growing wild in Iran. Antioxidant activity of our samples was examined by DPPH assay and their phenolic content was determined using the Folin – Ciocalteau method. Moreover, their inhibitory effects against five gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria including Shigella boidii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis were tested by using the disk diffusion method. Ethyl acetate fraction and methanol extract contained the highest levels of phenolic compounds (229.2 and 202.9 µg/mg galic acid) in this study. Also, essential oil of this plant exhibited low free radical scavenging activity (IC50= 36129.43µg/ml). On the other hand, ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions had the highest antioxidant activity (IC50 values of 20.153 and 28.28 µg/ml, respectively). Finally, studied samples had no significant antibacterial activities against tested organisms. The essential oil of this plant can be used as a flavoring agent while extracts prepared from it have the potential to be used as natural antioxidants in relevant industries.

Cadmium has toxicological significance and there is no effective therapy for its poisoning. The effects of silymarin on the parameters indicative of cadmium-induced toxicity were studied in rats. 130 adult male Wistar rats were divided into 13 groups each comprising 10 rats. 1 group as control group was not administered neither cadmium nor silymarin. Cadmium chloride (3mg/kg/week) was administered intraperitoneally to 12 groups for 6 weeks. The 12 groups were divided into two sets of 6 groups. In the first set، one group was kept as control and silymarin in the doses of 15، 30، 60، 120 and 240 mg/kg/week was administered orally to each group for 6 weeks. In the second set، one group was kept as control and the aforementioned doses of silymarin were administered orally to each group for 6 weeks after 6 weeks of cadmium administration. Blood samples were taken after 6 weeks from the first set and after 12 weeks from the second set to determine AST (aspartate aminotransferase)، ALT (alanine aminotransferase) and ALP (alkaline phosphatase) levels and catalase activity. In the first set in all silymarin treated groups، ALP level significantly decreased compared with control and in the second set، AST level decreased significantly compared with control only in groups treated with high doses of silymarin. Different doses of silymarin except the dose of 15 mg/kg significantly increased serum catalase activity compared with control in both sets. Silymarin prevents and reverses cadmium-induced toxicity possibly through its anti-oxidative property in rats.

The rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae and rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica are major and cosmopolitan insect. Adults of S. oryzae (male and female) and both larvae are insatiable feeders on a great variety of grains. This study was conducted to estimate the insecticidal effect of essential oils from peppermint, Mentha piperita L. and black pepper, Piper nigrum L. against two major stored product insects. Essential oils from two species of plants were obtained by clevenger-type water distillation. The major compounds in these essential oils were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and their insecticidal effect was tested against adults of the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae L. and the 3rd instars larvae of rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica (St.). The major compounds found in peppermint were menthol, isomenthone, limonene and cineole and in black pepper were limonene, α and β pinene and caryophyllene. Highest toxicities were observed against S. oryzae populations treated with M. piperita and P. nigrum essential oils with LC50 values of 85.0 and 287.7 µL/L air after 72 hours after commencement, respectively. In the case of C. cephalonica larvae, the LC50 values were 343.9 and 530.5 µL/L air for M. piperita and P. nigrum essential oils at 72 hours after commencement, respectively. These results are attributed to the compounds present in essential oils of M. piperita and P. nigrum. It was resulted that M. piperita and P. nigrum oils have insecticidal effects against S. oryzae and C. cephalonica. For this reasons, the selected plant oils have potential for development of novel insecticides.