Annals of Phytomedicine; An International Journal

4

Authors: Vandana Mishra , Neelam Yadav, Shalini Pandey and Vinita Puranik

Abstract Whole-gr ain cereals have rece ived considerable attention in the past years due to the presence of bioactive components like phytochemicals and antioxidants. However, still the bioactive and antioxidant properties of cereals have not received much attention as compared to fruits and vegetables. Studies show that increased consumption of whole-grains and its products has been associated with reduced risk of developing chronic diseases. T he various bioactive components present in coarse cereals are recognized for their health benefits. In this study, the bioactive and nutritional composition of underutilized cereals, Foxtail and Kodo millets are evaluted. The total polyphenolic content by Folin-Ciocalteu, and antioxidant activity by DPPH % scavenging activity was analyzed. The crude proteins, crude fiber, total ash and fat contents of the two cereal grains were analyzed. Hence, it is suggested that both of the selected underutilized cereals can be considered to be functional crops due to their antioxidant effects and high nutrient contents

4

Authors: D. Madhavi, Rama Rao Bethapudi, G.L. David Krupadanam and P.B. Kavi Kishor

Abs tract Lemna paucicostata Hegelm is traditionally used as healthy feed for fish, broilers and as a source for vitamin A. In the present study, we report the isolation of an aromatic compound and a steroid glycoside from Lemna pauciscostata . T he methanolic extract of dried and powdered Lemna paucicostata was fractionated using solid phase extraction (SPE). T he compound was collected in a series of fractions. While first fraction contributed (80% pure) to an aromatic compound, 3 rd fraction contained a steroid glycoside. Preliminary analysis of the compounds was performed with nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. Aromatic compound was analyzed by 1 H NMR and MS spectra, steroid glycoside were analyzed by 1 H NMR and IR spectra. Aromatic compound showed significant inhibition of growth (10 mm) against Gram-negative bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa

5

Authors: Deepika, Kuldeep Singh Yadav, Preeti Maan, Sanjana Bhatia and Narayan Prasad Yadav

Abstract T he turmeric and onion mixture is used as home remedy for acute inflammation. T he anti- inflammatory effect of this mixture was evaluated on acute inflammatory condition i nduced by 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-Acetate (TPA) in mouse ear. The changes in ear redness, edema, production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IFN-γ), anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10), lipid peroxidation assay and nitric oxide as say were evaluated as indicators of acute inflammation. Topically applied turmeric and onion extract mixture (1:1, 250 mg/kg body weight) significantly inhibited the TPA induced acute inflammation, leading to substantial reduc- tions in ear redness, ear weight (edema), pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress. T he data suggest that turmeric and onion extract mixture is topically effective anti-inflammatory agent useful to treat the acute skin inflammatory conditions.

5

Authors: Mhaveer Singh, Shahid H. Ansari and Sayeed Ahmad

Abs tract Acorus calamus Linn., a traditionally known drug, used in Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine, find its diversified uses in treatment of different neurodisorders. Recently, beta asarone main ingredient of calamus oil is reported to have antiobese action whereas plant extract and alpha asarone have already been reported to contain such activity. The whole plant contains oil glands, containing terpenes that in turn, create difficulty to initiate calli from the explants. However, efforts have been made by employing MS and B5 Gamborg media, supplemented with different growth regulators. T he excellent shoot regeneration was observed in MS basal media, supplemented with 6-BA (4.0 ppm) + IAA (0.5 ppm). The distinguishing effects were noticed on the growth of the shoots by altering the nutritional content of MS medium. Simultaneously, estimation of its major constituents, alpha and beta asarones was carried out by HPTLC method in different cultured shoots along with assay of total phenolic and flavonoidal contents. T he present research work can be used for the production of high content of therapeutically active constituents of calamus as well as for quality control of the drug, using HPTLC method.

6

Authors: Satyendra Kumar, Alka Madaan, Ritu Verma, Arun Gupta and J.L.N Sastry

Abstract Mahanarayan (MN) oil is ayurvedic polyherbal oil for relieving joint and muscular pains. We investigated mechanism of a ction underlying the ant i-inflamma tory potential of M N oil at cellular level. Variants of MN oil (A, B, C, D and E) containing “kesar” and “haldi” in different ratios were evaluated for in vitro anti-inflammatory activity using key immune cells; Dendritic cells (DCs). At non-cytotoxic concentrations, all the 5 MN oil formulations significantly inhibited secretion of key cytokines; MIP-1-  , TNF-  and IL-1-  from DCs against LPS-stimulated levels. Alterations in the morphology of LPS-treated DCs were also induced by MN oil formulations (A- E) indicating their anti-inflammatory activity. The data obtained suggested that MN oil exerts anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting cytokines produced by DCs. MN oil formulations with varying ratios of kesar and haldi possess comparable anti-inflammatory effects.

7

Authors: M.S. Sheeba, K.H. Muneeb Hamza, N. Krishna Radhika and V.V Asha

Abstract A collection of Cardiospermum halicacabum Linn. plants was made from five different regions of Kerala to determine the extent of genetic variability using analysis at DNA level. As germplasm diversiti es are not influenced by the envir onment, RAP D (Ra ndom Amplifi ed Polymorphic DNA) provides different approach t owards the genotype ba sed classification of plants. T he present study was aimed to reveal the genetic polymorphism among five different populations of C. halicacabum . For this, the plants were collected from five different locations in Kerala. DNA was isolated from the leaves by CTAB (Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Bromide) method and quantified spectrophotometrically. The isolated DNA was subjected to RAPD analysis by Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using 120 different primers. Among the 120 primers, 25 primers yielded the best product for RAPD analysis. Unweighted Pair Group Method and Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) dendrogram analysis resulted in two clusters such as the plants collected from T rivandrum, Kanyakumari and Kollam were grou ped in one cluster and the remaining popul ations from Alappuzha and Palakkad grouped in the other cluster. From the results, it has been observed that the plants col lected from five di fferent l oca tions showed a low pol ymorphism. T he tot al polymorphism among the plants was 38% and the the number of polymorphic fragments ranged from 125 bp to 3.5 Kb

8

Authors: Meenu Thakur and Wamik Azmi

Abstract Mucor azygosporus MTCC 414, a homothallic orange colored fungus has been studied for production of  -carotene. Effect of different physico-chemical parameters such as selection of medium, medium pH, incubation temperature, inoculum size as well as carbon and nitrogen sources and role of growth supplements on  -carotene production by Mucor azygosporus MTCC 414 in shake flask cu ltu re was investigated. T he conventional one fact or at-a-t ime met hod wa s u sed for t he optimization. Response surface methodology (RSM) using central composite design was further employed to determine the process variables for maximum  -carotene production. The maximum production of  -carotene (3.4 mg/L ) from M. azygosporus MTCC 414 was obtained experimentally by applying RSM with specific production of 1940 μg/g dcw indicating approximately 4-fold increase than those obt ained under conditi ons before opti mizat ion ( 0.9 mg/L with speci fic production of 425 μg/g)

21

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

Ab stract Plants constitute an important source of natural products which differ widely in their structures, biological pr operties and mechanism of action. T he medicinal value of plants lies in some chemical substances that produce a definite physiological action in the human body. The most important of these bioactive constituents of plants are phenolic compounds, viz . tannins, flavonoids which are responsible for their antioxidant activity. The antioxidant effect of phenolic compounds is mainly due to their redox properties and is the result of various possible mechanisms: free- radical scavenging activity, transition metal-chelating activity, and/or singlet oxygen quenching capacity. Antioxidant assays have been developed to measure total antioxidants in plant extracts to provide various biomarkers of oxidative stress. Assays on antioxidant capacity are classified into two types based on their reaction with free radicals, viz . assays based on hydrogen atom transfer (HAT ) and assays based on electron transfer (ET) reactions. Besides their antioxidant pr operti es, they exhibit a wide r ange of biol ogi cal activiti es, su ch a s a nti -infla mma tor y, antibacterial, antiviral, antiallergic and anticarcinogenic effects. Nevertheless, epidemiological studies are useful tool to study the health effects of polyphenols. By utilizing in vitro biological activity assays, polyphenolic extracts and isolates can be tested for their biological response

4

Authors: Nlandu Roger Ngatu, Mimi Mukuamu, Ryoji Hirota, Luzitu Severin Nangana, Benjamin Longo-Mbenza and Narufumi Suganuma

Abstract We report on a 5-year old girl from Mbanza-Ngungu (formerly T hysville), a Congolese rural city, who developed atopic eczema skin lesions during infancy and which, later on, became recalcitrant despite a long period treatment with some steroid preparations, zinc oxide and also local ethnomedicine products. She was first diagnose d with psoriasis by the first doctor 4 years befor e. At the admi ssion, she present ed wit h sever e li chenificat ion, oozing, swell ing and hyperpigmention on large areas of upper and lower limbs and trunk. Her skin condition has seriously affected her quality of life and she had an associated Tinea capitis. After a careful history taking, physical examination and use of the Haniffin and Rajka AD diagnostic criteria whi le consi deri ng t he locali zati on of sk in l esi ons, the dia gnosis of sever e and recalcitra nt atopic eczema was considered. She was treated with a twice daily application of 10% Vernonia amygdalina e xtracts, an African edible plant that exerts anti-itch and antiallergic activities. And Tinea capi tis was successfully treated with 3 week topical 2% Miconazole. A marked impr ovement of eczema a rea severi ty i ndex (EASI ) and dermat ol o gical life qua li ty i ndex (DLQI) was noted 3 weeks later, with reduction of total serum IgE, eosinophilia and erythrocytes sedi menta ti on ra te (E SR ) at da y4 0 of tr eat ment. An improvement of the cou nt ry’s heal th system a nd pr ovi si on of speci al i zed hea lt h car e i n t he ru ra l a rea s cou ld help t o pr event misdiagnosis of treatable diseases in poor settings

6

Authors: Shivani Chaturvedi, Suaib Luqman* and Sunil Kumar Khare

Abstract Effect of different processing conditions on isoflavone, phenol and flavonoid content of Indian soybean varieties ‘Punjab long’, ‘Hardee’ and ‘Kalitur’ were appraised employing a variety of commonly prevalent processing practices such as boiling, soaking, sprouting and drying. The isoflavone contents were reduced on boiling, soaking, roasting and defatting, however, exposure of flour to ultra-violet radiation, soaking and sprouting under 50 o C increased the amount. T he examined varieties contained 1020.0 g, 611.8 g and 659.0 g of isoflavone per kg, respectively in soyflour. The black variety ‘Kalitur’ showed a superior phenol and flavonoid content, compared to other two varieties. The investigation revealed that process of soaking and sprouting contribute s towards increasing the isoflavone content in soybean varieties. The phenol and flavonoid contents were found to be significantly higher in Hardee and Kalitur varieties as compared to Punjab Long

6

Authors: Sharadha Srikanth, Joel Chandrakanth, V. Uma Maheswara Rao and G. Krishna Mohan*

Abstract Nootropics are agents that enhance cognition and memory and are alleged to work by increasing the levels of neurochemicals in the brain, especially cholinergic transmission or by neutralizing free radical s. Onion ( Allium cepa L.) is a known tradit ional medicina l plant that has been consumed for its putative nutritional and health benefits for centuries. Onion is a rich source of sever al phytonutr ients such as thiosulphinate, vola til e sulfur compounds and ma ny pol ar components of phenolic origi n. T he present study was aimed t o evaluate the cogniti ve and memory enhancing effect of aqueous as well as methanolic extract of onion bulb on mice. T he effects were also compared with some commercially available memory enhancer supplements. T he evaluation parameter, transfer latency, showed significant ( p <0.01) change in methanolic extract when compared with the aqueous extract. Whole brain acetyl cholinesterase enzyme activity was studied which indicated that the methanolic extract of onion may be useful as a memory enhancer. The rich storehouse of antioxidants in the form of flavonoids and its ability to improve the cholinergic transmission may be attributed to the nootropic activity of onion extr acts.

7

Authors: Rand R. Wilcox

Abstract During the last fifty years, there have been many advances and insights relevant to the most basic statistical methods, designed to compare groups and study associations. Classic, routinely used methods assume sampling is from a normal distribution. Numerous papers make it clear that violating this assumption can result in missing true differences among groups and true associations among variables. Many new methods have been derived that are designed to perform well when dealing non-normal distributions and outliers that can make a substantial difference when analyzing data. Broadly, modern technology offers the opportunity to get a deeper and more accurate understanding of data. The paper reviews the basic reasons why standard methods can be highly unsatisfactory and provides an overview of some of the more modern methods that have been derived. Comments on SPSS and the software R are included

8

Authors: Nlandu Roger Ngatu, Ryoji Hirota, Maiko Kaneko Okajima, Luzitu Severin Nangana, Basilua Andre Muzembo, Masamitsu Eitoku, Okitotsho Stanislas Wembonyama, Tatsuo Kaneko Benjamin Longo-Mbenza and Narufumi Suganuma

Abs tract Vernonia amygdal ina Del. is an edible plant which is a member of the Asteracaea family, genus Vernonia, growing in the tropical Africa, whose leaf extracts are used as a remedy for malaria, cough, gastrointestinal disorders and hepatitis , whereas both root and leaf extracts are used to treat fever, hiccups, kidney disease, diabetes and helminthiasis in African ethnomedicine. The plant extracts are reported to contain antioxidant flavonoid compounds(Luteolin, Luteolin 7-O- b-glucoroniside, Luteolin 7-O-b-glucoside) and saponins such as Vernoniosides A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, D3 and C. T heir ma in active sesquiterpenes areVernodalin, Vernodalol, Vernolepin and Vernomygdin and Vernolides. We report on the safety and efficacy of the water and alcoholic extracts of Vernonia amygdalina leaf in children with atopic eczema.In this preliminary clinical trial, 25 atopic eczema or atopic dermatitis (AD) school children (age: 5-17 y) who satisfied entry criteria and completed at least 2 weeks of treatment were considered in this study. Each patient was randomly assigned one of the following topical treatments: water (Vamex1) and ethanol extract s (Vamex2) of V. amygdalina leaf, dexamethasone or Vaseline (5 -7 patients/ group). Clinical assessment and the evaluation of disease severity were performed once a week using the Eczema Area Severity Index (EASI) scoring system. The treatment was administered topically twice daily; hematological assays and hepatic function assessments were performed. Topical application of Vamex1, Vamex2, as well as dexamethasone, significantly reduced the disease severity (EASI score) (vs. Vaseline; p<0.05); though dexamethasone showed a relatively better effect as compared to Vamex1 and Vamex2, the difference did not reach the significance level. In addition, topical Vamex1 and Vamex2 relieved itch within the second week of treatment (vs. Vaseline; p<0.05). Results from the hematological and immunological assays showed a significant reduction in ESR in Vamex1, Vamex2 and dexamethasone-treated patients (vs. Vaseline; p<0.05), whereas serum transaminases (AST, ALT ) remained within normal ranges in all groups after a four-week treatment period. In addition, a decrease in total IgE was noted in dexamethasone and Vamex-treated patients, but not significantly. No side effects related to any of the treatments was noted.Results from this preliminary trial show that topical application of Vernonia amygdalina leaf extracts might be safer and has a potential to serve as natural alternative remedy for mild to moderate atopic dermatitis

10

Authors: Sharadha Srikanth, K. Prathyusha, V. Uma Maheswara Rao and G. Krishna Mohan*

Abstract The evaluation of the nootropic activity of cod liver oil was carried out, using standard animal mode ls. C o d live r oil is ric h sourc e of e ssential fat ty acids lik e,  - 3- fatty ac ids suc h as docasahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid which are antio xidants by nature. They can scavenge free radicals and prevent oxidative damage which is essential to reverse the effects of memory deficit which is a common problem now- a- days, occurring due to many reasons. O ur literature survey revealed that the nootropic activity and formulation of cod liver has not been scientifically evaluated. Hence, we decided to evaluate and formulate it. O ur preclinical studies revealed that it has significant nootropic activity as evidenced by its ability to reduce the transf er latency in elevated plus maze, step down latency (p<0.05), water maze (p<0.01) and reduce the acetyl choline esterase activity (p<0.01). The transdermal patches of cod liver oil were prepared by solvent evaporation method. Its preformulation studies and patch evaluation were carried out successfully

21

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

Abstract Science has shown that diet affects human health. T herefore, healthy diets promote good health. The suggestion that certain food components and nutrients are associated with the prevention / treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease (CHD), and osteoporosis has encouraged consumer’s interest in functional foods and natural health products. A nutraceutical is a product, isolated or purified from foods that is generally sold in medicinal forms not usually associated with food. A functional food is similar in appearance to, or may be, a conventional food, is consumed as part of a usual diet, and is demonstrated to have physiological benefits and/ or reduce t he risk of chronic di sea se beyond basic nut rit ional functi ons. T he creati on of nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics, two fields with distinct approaches to elucidate the interaction between diet a nd genes but wi th a common ult ima te goa l t o opti mize heal th thr ough t he personalization of diet, provide powerful approaches to unravel the complex relationship between nutritional molecules, genetic polymorphisms, and the biological system as a whole. Ayurveda as a way of life and habits is the most ideally suited systems to inspire a discovery path to nutraceut icals. Ayurveda , enables sub grouping of individuals into three major categories namely: Vata , Pitta and Kapha , based on Prakriti . Research with this line will add a newer dimension to functional food science as having great potential for t he development of new food science, technology and industry. The emerging disciplines branching from genomics such as transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, RNomics, miRNomics, liponomics, fluxomics, toxigenomics etc . will, further facilitate these kinds of research