Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products
Volume:8 Issue: 4, Dec 2013

Seaweeds are taxonomically diverse benthic algae, which are rich in bioactive compounds. These compounds have a potential application in medicine.. The aim of the study was to investigate the bioactive properties of three seaweed samples, Enteromorpha antenna, Enteromorpha linza and Gracilaria corticata were collected from the shoreline of Mahabalipuram, Tamilnadu.. Bioactive components were extracted by using various solvents. Antioxidant analysis methods like scavenging activity of nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radicals, free radical scavenging (DPPH), FRAP (ferric reducing ability plasma) ability and reducing power were carried out. MTT assay was employed to study the anticancer activity against cancer cell lines Hep-G2, MCF7 and normal VERO cell lines.. It was found that methanolic extracts elicited higher total phenolic content, higher percentage scavenging activity of nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radicals, free radical scavenging (DPPH), FRAP (ferric reducing ability plasma) ability and reducing power. Different concentrations of crude methanolic extracts of seaweeds showed potential antimicrobial activity by well diffusion method. Crude methanolic extract of G. corticata had significant anticancer activity followed by E. antenna and E. linza on cancer cell lines Hep-G2, MCF7 and normal VERO cell lines by MTT assay.. The methanolic extracts of seaweeds Enteromorpha antenna, Enteromorpha linza and Gracilaria corticata possess high total phenolic content and shows a good free radical scavenging activity and hence are proven to have better antioxidant activity and they might be good candidates for further investigations in order to develop potential anticancer drugs..

A new and efficient method have been developed for the synthesis of different indole derivatives from various ketones, having at least one hydrogen atom attached to each of their α-carbon atoms, and hydrazines in solvent-free conditions, using marine sponge/H3PO4 as a naturally occurring chiral catalyst.. This study recommended the use of marine sponge/H3PO4 as a naturally occurring chiral catalyst for preparation of phenylhydrazones from ketones having one α-hydrogen and subsequent cyclisation of the products to indoles.. The reaction was carried out by mixing the phenylhydrazine, ketone, and marine sponge/H3PO4 powder in mortar and pestle; the mixture was ground at room temperature in an appropriate time until TLC show the completion of the reaction. The product extracted by CH2Cl2 and evaporation of solvent yields the products.. In this research work, several indoles are synthesized using phenylhydrazine and aliphatic or aromatic ketone as starting materials, in the presence of marine sponge/H3PO4 powder as a natural catalyst under solvent-free condition.. We found marine sponge/H3PO4 to be an effective catalyst for indolisation of phenylhydrazones from ketones having α-hydrogens in solvent-free conditions..

One of the major diseases affecting the oral health is periodontal disease. Various therapeutic methods have been introduced to eliminate the periodonto-pathic subgingival microflora. Among these, Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) has a major role in the pathogenesis of different forms of periodontal diseases.. The present study investigated the antimicrobial effect of the essential oil of Myrtus communis on Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) as the most destructive periodontal pathogens.. The subjects included 27 male and 3 female patients with advanced chronic periodontitis. The mean age of the patients was 47.6 ± 2.0 years old. P. gingivalis was isolated from the samples and identified by various diagnostic tests, including Gram staining, Indol test, and fluorescent test. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the essential oil against isolated P. gingivalis was determined by broth micro-dilution method.. In this study, 0.12 - 64 μL/mL Myrtus communis essence were used for 30 P. gingivalis isolates and the MIC50 and MIC90 concentration of Myrtus communis essence against the isolates was equal to 1 and 8 μL/mL respectively.. The results showed that Myrtus communis has antimicrobial effects against P. gingivalis. Further studies are suggested to include this essence in therapeutic protocols of periodontal disease..

Pain experience makes a serious anxiety for both patient and clinician before and after root canal treatment. Pain is a complex psychophysiologic phenomenon.. The aim of this randomized control trial study was to evaluate the analgesic effect of Odontopaste® and a corticosteroid containing compound medicament between root canal therapy appointments.. One hundred and twenty lower first and second mandibular molars with spontaneous pain and sensitivity to percussion were selected and divided into three groups (40 patients per each group). After root canal preparation, patients were entered one of these groups randomly. Root canals in group 1 were dressed with Odontopaste, in group 2 with a compound intracanal medicament, and in group 3 with placebo. Patients determined their pain rate and percussion sensitivity on Heft-parker VAS diagram, before the first appointment and 24 hours and 7 days after that.. Spontaneous pain and Percussion sensitivity score averages of 24 hours after the first appointment in group 1 and group 2 were less than group 3, which indicates statistically significant difference between these groups. There was no statistically significant difference between these groups after 7 days neither on spontaneous pain nor percussion sensitivity.. Odontopaste® and compound intracanal medicaments resulted in statistically significant reduction in postoperative pain and percussion sensitivity after 24 hours, but there was no statistically significant difference after 7 days with placebo..

Crocus sativus L. (saffron), which belongs to the Iridaceae family, is widely cultivated in Iran. Cardiovascular effects of saffron has been established in some studies but the effects of chronic administration of saffron (C. sativus) stigma aqueous extract on blood pressure has not been investigated.. In this study the effects of saffron (C. sativus) stigma aqueous extract on blood pressure of normotensive and desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt induced hypertensive rats, in chronic exposure was evaluated.. Five weeks administration of three doses saffron aqueous extract (10, 20 and 40 mg/Kg/day) and spironolactone (50 mg/Kg/day) in different groups of normotensive and hypertensive rats (at the end of 4 weeks treatment by DOCA-salt) was carried out and their effects on mean systolic blood pressure (MSBP) and heart rate (HR) were evaluated using tail cuff method. The duration of the effect of saffron on systolic blood pressure (SBP), was also evaluated.. Our results indicated that chronic administration of saffron aqueous extract could reduce the MSBP in DOCA salt treated rats in a dose dependent manner. This compound did not decrease the MSBP in normotensive rats. The data also showed that antihypertensive effects of saffron did not persist.. It is concluded that saffron aqueous extract possesses antihypertensive and normalizing effect on BP in chronic administration..

Ziziphora tenuior L. known as Kakuti in Persian, is used in traditional medicine for fever, dysentery, uterus infection and as an analgesic. It is used also in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders as carminative, or remedy of diarrhea or nausea. Major components of plant essential oil including pulegone, isomenthone, thymol, menthone, and piperitone are suggested to be responsible for the mentioned medicinal properties.. In the present study, a normal high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/photodiode array validated method for quantification of isomenthone, one of the major constituents of Ziziphora, was established for the first time with a simple, rapid and accurate method.. HPLC analysis was done on a Waters system, equipped with 515 HPLC pump and waters 2996 photodiode array detector. The column was a Nova-Pak Silica (3.9 × 150 mm), and Empower software was used for the determination of the compounds and processing the data. The method was validated according to USP 32 requirements.. A selective method for the resolution of isomenthone from two nearest peaks, thymol, and carvacrol was obtained with gradient system of hexane (A), and hexane: ethyl acetate (9:1) (B), starting with A: B (100:0) for 2 minutes, then 0−20% B in 5 minutes, A:B (80:20) for 5 minutes, then 20-30% B in 3 minutes, 30-100% B for 5 minutes, A:B (0:100) for 4 minutes following with equilibrating for 10 minutes. The flow rate was 1 mL/min at 22˚C and the injection volume for the standards and the samples was 20 μL. The retention time for isomenthone was found to be 7.45 minutes. The regression equation was y = 143235x - 2433 with the correlation co-factor R2 = 0.9992 and the percent recovery of 65.4 ± 3.85%. The sample obtained from 5 g of Z. teniour dried powder in 6 mL extract was standardized to contain 1.14 ± 0.030 μL/mL isomenthone which is equivalent to % 1.37 μL/g of the dried powdered plant. Limit of detection (LOD) and Limit of Quantification (LOQ) were 0.037, and 0.122 µL/mL determined by using the formula based on the signal to noise ratio.. Due to this fact that plant extracts may cause irreversible damages to the capillary GC columns, using validated HPLC method for the analysis of these compounds in cruse plant extracts is recommended..

Apoptosis or programmed cell death is an essential process for elimination of damaged cells. Also, induction of apoptosis is fundamental for treating cancer. Screening for agents that induce apoptosis in tumor cells help in the development of novel agents for cancer treatment. Numerous studies suggest that the exposure of tumor cells to statins can lead to cell death via two separate processes: apoptosis or necrosis. Severe fragmentation of DNA during apoptosis can be readily measured by the neutral comet assay. Migration of DNA fragments of apoptotic cells by the electrical field can produce comet-like images.. The aim of this study was to determine the type of cell death induced by lovastatin on human colon tumor cells by using the neutral comet assay and to evaluate the utility of this method for detection of apoptosis.. HT29 cells were grown in DMEM medium then exposed to different concentrations of lovastatin, and DNA fragmentation associated with apoptosis was detected by the neutral comet assay method.. Lovastatin induced an apoptotic response in the HT29 cell line and produced a comet pattern similar to the positive control.. This study showed that lovastatin can induce apoptosis in the HT29 cell line and confirmed the utility of comet assay for detection of apoptosis..

Burns are a worldwide problem. The incidence of severe burns has been higher than the combined incidence of tuberculosis and HIV infections. Throughout history there have been many different treatments prescribed for burns. The Canon is the masterpiece of Avicenna’s medical books. The Canon includes a description of 785 simple drugs. Avicenna believed in burn treatment, which follows two goals. The first goal is prevention of blistering and the second goal is treatment of the burn wound after it has created blisters, cold drugs are suitable for the first goal and dry drugs with moderate in cold and hot qualities are better for second goal, this study reviewed remedies for burn wounds in Canon..