Ginseng is a popular medicinal plant highly valued throughout the world. Asian ginseng is one of the most common species of ginseng. It has long occupied a significant position in oriental medicine and has been justified its name as the 'king herb'. As a nutritional supplement, ginseng is an extremely common and popular herbal medicine in the United States and Canada in recent decades. The multiple constituents of ginseng possess equally multifaceted pharmacological actions as demonstrated by numerous studies. Ginseng root and its constituents influenced the central nervous system, endocrine, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal system, sexual, renal organ and immune system, etc. One important action is its anti-hyperglycemic effect. Previous studies on ginseng demonstrate that only the root of ginseng has been used in the treatment of diabetes, while the other parts of ginseng plant were always neglected. Recently, we analyzed the constituents of ginseng berry, leaf and discovered that ginseng berry, leaf extracts and its total ginsenosides have the ability to reduce hyperglycemia and body weight and increase the peripheral glucose utilization in obese or diabetic ob/ob or db/db mice. Our data suggest that all parts of ginseng plant, including root, berry, leaf and stem exhibit potent anti-hyperglycemic and anti-obese effects and may provide an opportunity to develop a novel class of anti-diabetic agents.

Grewia tiliaefolia is commonly used in India and several other countries for its ethnomedical properties. The antioxidant effect of 50% methanol extract of Grewia tiliaefolia bark was investigated by in-vitro and in-vivo methods. The extract exhibited $IC_{50}$ value of $51.40{\pm}3.98\;{\mu}g/ml$ in DPPH assay. In the in vivo experiments, the treatment was given at 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight doses orally for seven days and catalase, SOD, TBA-RS and ascorbic acid levels were estimated. Both the doses caused a significant increase in the levels of catalase in the liver and kidney, and SOD in the liver, kidney and blood serum. A significant decrease in the level of TBARS was also observed. These results suggest potent antioxidant nature of the extract.

The leaf extracts of Araucaria bidwillii Hook. (Araucariaceae) were evaluated for their cytotoxic effect in various human cancer cell lines. Preliminary investigation by brine shrimp lethality assay indicated that $LC_{50}$ value of various successive extracts were found to be less than $1000\;{\mu}g/ml$, where the ethyl acetate extract showed maximum activity of less than $100\;{\mu}g/ml$. Further cytotoxic evaluation of various leaf extracts of Araucaria bidwilli Hook was carried out in four different human cancer cell lines-acute myeloblastic leukemia (HL-60), chronic myelogenic leukemia (K-562), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and cervical epithelial carcinoma (HeLa). Cytotoxicity was assessed by trypan blue dye exclusion method and 3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazole-2yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay. From the present investigation it was found that the ethyl acetate and methanol extract of Araucaria bidwilli Hook was found to be more effective in leukemic cell lines and was less effective in MCF-7 and HeLa. The $IC_{50}$ value of the ethyl acetate extract in leukemic cell lines was found to be $28.18\;and\;34.64\;{\mu}g/ml$ and methanol extract was found to be $33.11\;&\;39.81\;{\mu}g/ml$. It can be concluded that various extract from the leaves of Araucaria bidwillii Hook. posses cytotoxic activity tested in brine shrimps and various human carcinoma cell lines.

Polysaccharide hydrogels constitute a structurally diverse class of biological macromolecules with a wide range of physicochemical properties. They also constitute important members of the family of industrial water-soluble polymers. They find application in Pharmacy as binders, disintegrants, suspending, emulsifying and sustaining agents. According to the International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council (IPEC), an excipient must have an established safety profile. Hence, in the present study, in vitro cytotoxicity on Vero and HEp-2 cell lines, and in vivo acute toxicity in rats were carried out to establish the safety of polysaccharide hydrogels from the seeds of Plantago ovata and Ocimum basilicum. The in vitro cytotoxicity was determined by MTT and SRB assays. In the in vivo acute toxicity, the effects of three different doses of hydrogels (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight) on food and water intake, body weight, biochemical and hematological parameters were studied. The results of in vitro did not show any cytotoxicity on both the cell lines used. In the in vivo acute toxicity, the hydrogels did not show any toxic symptoms in all three dose levels. This establishes the safety of the selected hydrogels. Hence, they can be used as excipients in pharmaceutical dosage forms.

The crude methanolic extract of the leaves of Amoora cucullata Roxb. was investigated for its possible anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenin induced rat paw edema model and cotton pellet implantation method in rat. The extract was also studied for its antinociceptive activity using acetic acid induced writhing model in mice. At the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight, the extract showed significant anti-inflammatory activity in both models. At the same doses, the extract also significantly reduced the number of acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction (writhing) in mice. The crude extract also showed significant diuretic activity in albino mice.

Jack bean urease was immobilized on gelatin beads with the help of glutaraldehyde. The optimum immobilization (67.6%) was obtained at 30mg/ml gelatin concentration, 0.5 mg/bead enzyme protein concentration, 1 % glutaraldehyde and at $4^{\circ}C$ incubation temperature. The $t_{1/2}$ of immobilized urease was approximately 90 days at $4^{\circ}C$ compared with $t_{1/2}$ of 20 days for the soluble urease, under identical condition. The apparent optimum pH shifted from 7.3 to 8.0 when the urease was immobilized. The optimum stability temperature of immobilized urease was found to be $60^{\circ}C$ while that of soluble urease was $45^{\circ}C$. Time-dependent thermal inactivation studies showed monophasic kinetics for soluble urease and immobilized urease at $70^{\circ}C$, respectively. The immobilized urease beads stored at $4^{\circ}C$ showed practically no leaching over a period of 30 days. Here we are presenting an easy and economical way of immobilizing urease on the gelatin beads making it suitable for various applications.

We studied the protective effect of Echinacea purpurea against radiation by evaluating changes in the peripheral blood cell count and peripheral blood antioxidant activity. Echinacea purpurea administration had a suppressive effect on radiation-induced leukopenia, especially on lymphocytes and monocytes and resulted in a faster recovery of blood cell counts. Mouse peripheral blood antioxidant activity was increased by Echinacea purpurea, and a relationship between the suppressive effect on radiation-induced leukopenia and the antioxidant effect was suggested.

Ethanol and aqueous extracts of Cassia auriculata were tested in vitro against fungi (Candida albicans and Microsporum canis) and bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteriditis, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis). M. canis showed dose-dependent susceptibility only towards ethanol leaf and bark extracts. C. albicans, were resistant to all types of plant extracts. Results were statistically smaller to antifungal drug ketoconazole and miconazole at equivalent concentration. Both ethanol and aqueous extracts of Cassia auriculata leaves and barks exhibit antibacterial activity against S. aureus and only the ethanol extracts of leaf and bark were detected against Bacillus subtilis. The results were compared to antibacterial drugs chloramphenicol, ampicillin, penicillin G, and enrofloxacin. The antibacterial activity was statistically similar to penicillin G. Based on the current findings, it can be concluded that this plant has antimicrobial activity, which is as potent as standard antimicrobial drugs.

Doxorubicin is a powerful anticancer antibiotic extensively used in the treatment of several types of cancers. Long-term administration of this drug results in cumulative dose related cardiotoxicity due to enhanced production of free radicals leading to oxidative stress. Our earlier investigations have demonstrated significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumour properties of Ganoderma lucidum extracts. We extended our investigations to evaluate the protective effect of Ganoderma lucidum extract against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Administration of 3 doses of doxorubicin, 6 mg/kg body weights, i.p. per each dose, alternative days, showed dear signs of cardiotoxicity in rats. The drug enhanced serum creatine kinase (CK) activity and lipid peroxidation in tissue drastically. The drug also induced significant decrease in GSH level and activities of CAT, SOD and GPx. Administration of methanolic extract of G.lucidum (500 and 1,000 mg/kg body weight) significantly increased the level of GSH and activities of CAT, SOD and GPx. Activity of CK was significantly lowered in a dose dependent manner. The treatment also caused significant decrease in lipid peroxidation (MDA). The results thus indicated that methanolic extract of G.lucidum prevented oxidative stress caused by doxorubicin administration and the increase in serum CK activity and lipid peroxidation in the tissue. The experimental findings suggest the therapeutic potential of G.lucidum as adjuvant in cancer chemotherapy.

'SecSec' has been used for the purpose of prevention and treatment of throat diseases such as sore throat, cough, bronchial asthma and allergic asthma in Korea. However, its effect in experimental models remains unknown. To investigate the biological effect of SecSec, we examined cytotoxicity and secretion of inflammatory cytokines on human leukemic mast cell line, HMC-1, stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and calcium ionophore A23187. SecSec by itself had no cytotoxicity on HMC-1. When SecSec (1 mg/ml) was added, the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha $(TNF-{\alpha})$, interleukin (IL)-6, and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was significantly inhibited about 47.20%, 25.55%, and 46.43%, respectively on PMA plus A23187-stimulated HMC-1 cells. But SecSec did not inhibit IL-8 secretion. These findings may help understanding the mechanism of action of this medicine leading to control activated mast cells on allergic inflammatory condition like asthma.