• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.295-299
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• 2007

The methanol extract of seeds of Swietenia macrophylla King. (MESM) was studied for its antidiabetic activity in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. It was principally aimed to correlate the efficacious role of MESM on reduction of oxidative state associated with diabetes. The extract was found to be potent antidiabetic evidenced by significant reduction of blood glucose level in diabetic rats (47.96% reduction of blood glucose level, at 300 mg/kg, on day 10). It was found that, MESM at 300 mg/kg, significantly decreased TBARS (35.03 and 22.22%) whilst increased GSH (86.75 and 31.45%), SOD (93.05 and 45.88%) and CAT (56.99 and 68.46%) levels in liver and kidney respectively in diabetic rats.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 1993.09a
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• pp.33-35
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• 1993

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.329-338
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• 2008

The aim of the study is to investigate the antioxidant activity through, reducing power, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl radical (DPPH), nitric oxide radical (NO), superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide radical ($H_2O_2$) scavenging activity and the amount of total phenolic compounds of chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous extracts of the leaves of Talinum portulacifolium. Chloroform extract of leaves of T. portulacifolium showed highest antioxidant activity, with a direct relationship between activity and concentration of extracts ($15-240\;{\mu}g/mL$). Among all the extracts, the highest amount of the total polyphenolic compounds was found in the chloroform extract. Chloroform extract of T. portulacifolium showed an important free radical scavenging activity towards the DPPH, NO, Superoxide and $H_2O_2$ radicals, with $IC_{50}$ values of 133.26, 165.75, 156.34 and $135.29\;{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. In the lipid peroxidation assay, extracts of chloroform and ethyl acetate showed a remarkable inhibitory activity. The extracts showed significant activity in all the experiments but lower than the standard antioxidant, ascorbic acid.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.279-285
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• 2008

Diospyros peregrina Gurke. (Ebenaceae) is a small middle sized tree grows luxuriantly in the plains of costal West Bengal, India. The objective of the study was to explore the antidiabetic activity of methanol extract of matured fruits of Diospyros peregrina to substantiate the folklore claim of traditional practitioners. It was also aimed to establish correlation with reduction of oxidative state associated with diabetes. Methanol extract of matured fruits of Diospyros peregrina was administered orally at doses of 150 and 300 mg/kg body weight for 12 consecutive days to normal and streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Fasting blood glucose level was estimated in both normal and diabetic rats while serum lipid profiles, liver glycogen level and pancreatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were evaluated for diabetic rats. Initial and final changes in body weight were also recorded. Oral glucose tolerance test was performed during the course of study. Experimental findings showed significant antidiabetic potential of extract in term of reduction of fasting blood glucose level of both normal and diabetic rats. It was found that extract at the dose of 300 mg/kg body weight is more effective and percentage reduction (55.64) of elevated blood glucose level is comparable to that of standard drug glibenclamide (60.60) at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight. Observed data found statistically significant in reduction of serum lipid and pancreatic TBARS levels whilst improvement was observed in liver glycogen level and body weight profiles in extract treated diabetic rats.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.363-371
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• 2007

The methanol extract of the seed of Swietenia macrophylla (Meliaceae) seeds were investigated for its hypoglycaemic activity in normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats. Seed extract suspended in aqueous Tween 80 solution, the graded doses were administered to normal and experimental diabetic rats for 10 days. Fasting blood glucose levels, serum lipid profiles and changes in body weight were evaluated in normal rats while the hepatic marker enzymes and liver glycogen levels were evaluated additionally in diabetic rats. The diabetic groups treated with the seed extract were compared with standard drug glibenclamide. The findings showed the significant antidiabetic potential of the extract in ameliorating the diabetic conditions in diabetic rats. The extract also has hypoglycaemic action in normal rats. A toxicity study has been performed for the extract, which revealed that the extract is safe to use even at the doses of 3.2 mg/kg of body weight orally. The result from the present investigation indicates good correlation between the folk use and scientific investigation.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.286-289
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• 2007

Heracleum nepalense D Don. (Umbelliferae) is a small shrub having high glabrescent stem found in stream banks in Sikkim. Various medicinal properties which include antidiarrhoeal, antiseptic, anti-influenzal etc. have been attributed for this plant in the traditional system of medicine in Sikkim. In present investigation the methanol extract of roots of Heracleum nepalense was subjected for its effectiveness against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria causing diarrhoea. The roots extract was tested for its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms causing diarrhoea. Further, the zones of inhibition produced by the crude extract against few sensitive strains was measured and compared with those of standard antibiotic ciprofloxacin. It is evident that the methanol extract is very active against the bacteria causing diarrhoea at low concentrations. The antibacterial efficacy of the root extract was found to decrease in the following order against different tested bacterial strains like Shigella dysenteriae, Escherichia coli, Shigella boydii, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhimurium.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.7-18
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• 2015

Objectives: Lawsone (1,4 naphthoquinone) is a non redox cycling compound that can be catalyzed by DT diaphorase (DTD) into 1,2,4-trihydroxynaphthalene (THN), which can generate reactive oxygen species by auto oxidation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of the phytomarker 1,4 naphthoquinone and its metabolite THN by using the molecular docking program AutoDock 4. Methods: The 3D structure of ligands such as hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), glutathione reductase (GR), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen (NADPH) were drawn using hyperchem drawing tools and minimizing the energy of all pdb files with the help of hyperchem by $MM^+$ followed by a semi-empirical (PM3) method. The docking process was studied with ligand molecules to identify suitable dockings at protein binding sites through annealing and genetic simulation algorithms. The program auto dock tools (ADT) was released as an extension suite to the python molecular viewer used to prepare proteins and ligands. Grids centered on active sites were obtained with spacings of $54{\times}55{\times}56$, and a grid spacing of 0.503 was calculated. Comparisons of Global and Local Search Methods in Drug Docking were adopted to determine parameters; a maximum number of 250,000 energy evaluations, a maximum number of generations of 27,000, and mutation and crossover rates of 0.02 and 0.8 were used. The number of docking runs was set to 10. Results: Lawsone and THN can be considered to efficiently bind with NOS, CAT, GSH, GR, G6PDH and NADPH, which has been confirmed through hydrogen bond affinity with the respective amino acids. Conclusion: Naphthoquinone derivatives of lawsone, which can be metabolized into THN by a catalyst DTD, were examined. Lawsone and THN were found to be identically potent molecules for their affinities for selected proteins.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.7-15
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• 2014

Objectives: The present study investigated the toxic properties of petroleum ether extract of Wattakaka (W.) volubilis in Wistar female rats. Methods: An in vitro brine shrimp lethality bioassay was studied in A. Salina nauplii, and the lethality concentrations were assessed for petroleum ether extract of W. volubilis. A water soluble portion of the test extract was used in different concentrations from $100-1000{\mu}g/mL$ of 1 mg/mL stock solution. A 24-hours incubation with a 1-mL aliquot in 50 mL of aerated sea water was considered to calculate the percentage rate of dead nauplii with test extract administration against a potassium-dichromate positive control. The acute and the sub-acute toxicities of petroleum ether extract of W. volubilis were evaluated orally by using gavage in female Wistar rats. Food and water intake, body weight, general behavioral changes and mortality of animals were noted. Toxicity or death was evaluated following the administration of petroleum ether extract for 28 consecutive days in the female rats. Serum biochemical parameters, such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, glucose, urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium and ${\alpha}$-amylase levels, were measured in the toxicity evaluations. Pathological changes in isolated organs, such as the liver, kidneys, and pancreas, were also examined using hematoxylin and eosin dye fixation after the end of the test extract's administration. Results: The results of the brine-shrimp assay indicate that the evaluated concentrations of petroleum ether extract of W. volubilis were found to be non-toxic. In the acute and the sub-acute toxicity evaluations, no significant differences were observed between the control animals and the animals treated with extract of W. volubilis. No abnormal histological changes were observed in any of the animal groups treated with petroleum ether extract of W. volubilis. Conclusion: These results suggest that petroleum ether extract of W. volubilis has a non-toxic effect in Wistar female rats.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.93-105
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• 2008

Goldfish, Carassius auratus (wt 13 g) was intramuscularly infected with Aeromonas hydrophila (4.3x106 cfu / ml). Infected gills showed edematous lamellae with bacterial invasion into the capillaries and gill congestion on 12th day. By 24th day post-infection, histological analysis revealed irregular aggregates of macrophages in gill lamellae, large amount of mucus cells, gill lamellae edematous with bacterial invasion into capillaries, gill congestion and damaged gill epithelium with hyperplasia. Inflammation of the gill filament and hemorrhage globe was associated with the development of severe necrosis on the 36th day in the infected fishes. In infected and herbal treated fish the regenerative responses like fibrosis and infiltration of the leucocytes (neutrophils and monocytes) occurred on 12th day; moderate hypertrophy in the gills was noticed on the 36th day. These results suggest that phytotherapy ensures better protection and regenerative response against A. hydrophila infection in goldfish, C. auratus.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2014

Objectives: The present study investigated the protective effect of Wattakaka (W.) volubilis leaf extract against streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into five groups (with six rats in each group) and were fed ad libitum. The rats were fasted for sixteen hours before diabetes was induced by injecting a single dose of 90 mg/kg body weight of STZ in 0.9-percent normal saline through an intraperitoneal route. The five groups were as follows: Group 1: normal control (saline-treated), Group 2: untreated diabetic rats, Groups 3 and 4: diabetic rats treated orally with petroleum ether cold maceration extract (PEME) of W. volubilis (50 and 100 mg/kg body weight), and Group 5: diabetic rats treated orally with metformin (250 mg/kg body weight). All rats received treatment for 21 days. For the STZ-induced diabetic rats, the blood-glucose, ${\alpha}$-amylase, total protein and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels were measured on days 7, 14 and 21 of the treatment with PEME of W. volubilis and the treatment with metformin. Histopathological changes in the liver were examined with hematoxylin-eosin staining. Morphological changes in the liver were also examined with glutaraldehyde fixation. Results: The treatments with PEME of W. volubilis and with metformin in experimental rats by oral injections for 21 days produced reductions in the levels of serum biochemical markers. Histopathology and scanning electron microscopy results showed that the administrations of PEME of W. volubilis and of metformin suppressed the generation of abnormal liver cells in the STZ-treated rats. Conclusion: These results suggest that both PEME of W. volubilis and metformin have a protective effect against STZ-induced diabetes.