Annals of Phytomedicine; An International Journal

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Authors: Padma Shri Professor P. Pushpangadan

20 th century witnessed a paradigm shift in the driving force of the world from the traditional military power to the industrial and financial powers. In the 21 st century, we are witnessing yet another revolutionary driving force, ‘the knowledge’. The 21 st century will be a ‘century of knowledge... and a nation’s ability to convert knowledge into wealth and social good through the process of innovation will determine its future (Mashelkar, 2001). A new thinking centered on the concept of knowledge engineering for building up future ‘knowledge societies’ and ‘knowledge industries’ is gaining attention and acceptance both nationally and internationally. Four technologies; namely Biotechnology ( BT ), Information Technology, Herbal Technology and Nanotechnology are going to be the most powerful instruments of the 21 st century that would control the world trade and economy. Generating new knowledge and converting it into useful products, processes and services using the latest advances made in S&T , an d subsequent t ran sfer of such products a nd technologies to industry and commerce with appropriate safeguards of IPR protections are some of the key strategies that countries like India should focus on to achieve economic prosperity and sustainable development. The promotive, preventive and corrective approach of health prevalent in the traditional medicine (TM) of India and China are now being widely appreciated and getting increasing recognition in the world over. Besides being the mainstay of health care of over 80% of the world population, TM , particularly those of India and China is looked upon as a source for developing effective therapeutic agents to many degenerative and gerentological disabilities and metabolic disor ders for which th ere is n o cure or satisfa ctory management available in modern medicine. ‘Rasayana’ and ‘Panchakarma’ method of treatment of Ayurveda are the two important treatment regime attaining greater appreciation and acceptance in this context.

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Authors: Ch. Saidulu, C. Venkateshwar and S. Gangadhar Rao

Abstract Withania somnifera L. Dunal is one of the most important ayurvedic medicinal plants which was investigated to know how heavy metal content distributes into the plant parts and their remediation. Plants were grown in pot culture experiments with three treatments in black soil . Treatment No . I . A control without any addition to the soil, Treatment No . II . Cadmium 10ppm, Chromium 20ppm, Nickel 16ppm were introduced into the soil, Treatment No. III . one % of Calcium hydroxide was also added along with heavy metals to the soil, and were grown up to the productivity levels. The amount of heavy metals distribution in different plant parts of Withania somnifera was analyzed with AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy) after acid digestion. Heavy metals were more in plants, grown only in heavy metal treated soils (Treatment No. II) when compared to 1% Calcium hydroxide treated soil (Treatment No. III). The Ni, Cd, Cr, Cu, Co, Zn were present in higher concentration in the roots, leaves, stem and seeds except in the plants treated with 1% Ca (OH) 2 and heavy metals. In addition, the plants grown in 1% Calcium hydroxide treated, reversed the growth suppression of heavy metal toxicity in plants as evidenced by reduced metal contents in plants, grown with remediation. This study is a boon for cropping pattern of growing Withania somnifera L. Dunal even in polluted areas with 1% Calcium hydroxide treatment, results in genuine pure ayur vedic plant parts which can be used in medicine

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Authors: Meenu Thakur and Wamik Azmi

Abstract  -carotene has been used for years as natural food colorants and in cosmetics and healthcare due to their antioxidant property. The production of  -carotene by Mucor azygosporus was evaluated, utilizing deproteinized waste whey filtrate. Since pigments are intracellular, their extraction needed after cell cultivation. In this study, different strategies for extraction of  -carotene from M. azygosporus MTCC 414 were investigated. The combinations of various cell disruption and extraction methods were employed and maximum  -carotene (985 μg/ml) was extracted when sonicator was used for disruption of cells, followed by extraction with hexane and ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v). The extracted crude pigment was purified by adsorption column chromatography using neutral alumina. The purified  -carotene was, further, analyzed by HPLC before subjecting to NMR and MS

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Authors: Rashmi Tripathi, Supriya Gupta, Sarojni Rai, Poonam C. Mittal

Abstract The National Nutritional Anemia Control Program of the Government of India prescribes a mandatory supplement of 100 mg elemental iron to all pregnant women for 100 days because of widespread iron deficiency anemia. However, such iron supplementation has been recently reported to cause oxidative stress (OS) . The present study was undertaken to assess whether short-term supplementation to healthy pregnant women is a better strategy. Disease-free pregnant women, 20-35 years, blood hemoglobin (Hb)>10g/dL , 30 in each trimester (T1, T2, T3) , were enrolled. T2+T3 respondents were divided into unsupplemented (UnS) and those receiving 100mg elemental iron with 500  g folic acid daily, for only 2-4 weeks (S) and compared with 50 matched non- pregnant (NP) controls. Supplemented (S) gained more weight than unsupplemented (UnS) . Hb and hematocrit (Hct) declined in T2+T3 in UnS , but not in S . However, Hct remained lower than NP throughout pregnancy. Plasma ferritin declined through gestation in UnS , but S showed recovery of iron stores. OS marker, malonyldialdehyde (MDA) increased and antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) declined through pregnancy. S showed statistically significantly more changes than UnS . Overall antioxidant capacity marker, Ferric Reducing Activity of plasma increased throughout pregnancy, but was only marginally higher in S compared to UnS . Thus, even short-term high-dose iron supplementation improved iron status marginally, but produced increase in OS in healthy pregnant women. We discuss the implications of these findings in the light of current knowledge regarding phytonutrients, especially iron and antioxidants which may provide a better strategy for supplementation of iron to pregnant women.

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Authors: P. Sreedevi, T.P. Ijinu, S. Anzar, A. J. Bincy, V. George, S. Rajasekharan and P. Pushpangadan

Abstract Ethnobiology is the scientific study of the plants and animals as treated or used by different traditional communities. Early man looked for the best nutritious food to have a healthy and disease free long life from the surrounding environment. This effort has resulted in selecting a large number of food items by human communities who lived in different parts of the world. The early humans perhaps combined instinct with indulgence to select his food items. Countless members from various human communities who spread to the different parts of the world, continued to expand the food basket. Since the early 1970s, different groups in various Universities and Research Institutions have been working on ethnobotany and traditional knowledge system of the region and published several reports. Most of the publications were concerned with ethnobotany or agricultural operations including shifting cultivation and festivals of the region. Ethnobotanical reports were mainly on ethnomedicinal plants with a few publications on food and beverages. The ethnomedicinal publications in most cases cited only the names of plants, used without going into the details of the method of use, the quantum of use and other related aspects. During 1980s, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) , Govt. of India launched an All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Ethnobiology (AICRPE) , to document ethnobotanical and ethnozoological informations on plants and animals used by the indigenous people of India. The growth and development of ethnobotanical studies in India and elsewhere are briefly reviewed in this article

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Authors: Shaikh Nikhat, Sufiyan Ahmad, Jamal Akhtar and Shakir Jamil

Abstract In the age of globalization, a majority of population still rely on herbal medicines to cure the ailments. As far as the Unani System of Medicine is concerned, the Unani physicians have claimed to possess many safe, effective single or compound drugs for the management of various diseases. One such drug is Afsantin ( Artemisia absinthium Linn.). Absinthium means “without sweetness” or bitter herb which belongs to the family Asteraceae . Flavonoids, tannins, glucosides, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds are major phytoconstituents of Artemisia absinthium Linn. Therapeutically, it is a highly potent drug, has been used since thousands of years by Unani physicians as anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, hepatoprotective, antiseptic, antimicrobial etc . The present study will provide essential phytochemical and ethnopharmacological information about Afasntin

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Authors: C.U. Rajeshwari, R.I. Shobha and B. Andallu

Abstract Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species are produced during metabolism and immune activity, and are triggered by several environmental factors such as pollution, chemicals, smoke, and sunlight. Harmful effects of these reactive species include cellular damage to nucleic acids, proteins and lipids leading to several diseases. The quality of life and the lifespan of the patients with these diseases depend on their complications. Increased oxidative stress is a widely accepted participant in the development and progression of diabetes and its complications. This has accelerated the global effort to harness and harvest those herbs and spices that bear substantial amount of potential phytochemicals, showing multiple beneficial effects in combating diabetes and diabetes-related complications. Herbal products or plant products rich in phenolic compounds, flavonoids, terpenoids, coumarins, and other constituents show reduction in blood glucose levels. Therefore, to combat the ever-increasing oxidative stress-induced diseases, increased consumption of diet derived antioxidants may be particularly helpful as antioxidants, in diminishing cumulative oxidative damage.