North-East India represents a unique ecosystem with treasured medicinal plant wealth closely related with Folk medicines. A large number of plants having medicinal properties and their folk uses have remained confined to the natives of this region. The tribal community of Jonai, Assam was explored to expose the indigenous herbal remedy for malaria. Sixteen antimalarial plants belonging to 13 families were reported. The analysis revealed highest fidelity level (FL) value for Ajuga integrifolia (100%) followed by Ricinus communis (94%), Alstonia scholaris (88%), Oroxylum indicum (86%) and Achyranthes aspera (82%). The percentage of respondent’s knowledge (PRK) about anti-malarial plants showed Alstonia scholaris as the most commonly known antimalarial species (53%) within this region. Preference ranking (PR) unveiled eight species to be very effective against malarial parasite, which includes Allium sativum, Artemisia indica, Azadirachta indica, Carica papaya, Clerodendrum glandulosum, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Oroxylum indicum, Piper longum and Piper nigrum. All medicine preparations are made using water as the medium and are orally administered in the form of crude extract, powder, juice and decoction. Overall analysis suggested Ajuga integrifolia, Achyranthes aspera, Alstonia scholaris, Artemisia indica, Oroxylum indicum and Ricinus communis to be used for the development of novel, economical, effective and ecofriendly herbal formulations for healthcare management.

Acetaminophen (APAP) is a common antipyretic drug and leads to liver failure at over dose. In this study, the hepatoprotective effect of Aqueous Methanolic Bark Extract of Oroxylum indicum (L.)Vent. (AMBEOI) has been evaluated in rat model. Rats were treated with 1000 mgkg?1 body weight of APAP alone or with AMBEOI (10, 50 and 100 mgkg?1). Serum Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Lipid peroxidation (LPO) in liver tissues were estimated 24 hrs after APAP and AMBEOI treatment. AMBEOI administration effectively reduced serum level of ALT and AST released from liver cells when compared to APAP treated group. AMBEOI also inhibited production of LPO in the liver tissues of APAP treated rats. Histopathological examination of liver samples revealed reduced necrotic areas in AMBEOI treated APAP group compared to APAP alone treated group. Together, this study confirmed the hepatoprotective activities of AMBEOI in APAP induced liver damage in rat.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/icpj.v3i2.17511 International Current Pharmaceutical Journal, January 2014, 3(2): 223-227

The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the antiproliferative activity of aqueous bark extract of Oroxylum indicum L. on Vigna radiata L. (Green gram) seedlings. For different concentrations of plant extract (250, 500, 1000 and 2500 µg/mL) were treated in a 24 well microplate containing the Vigna radiata L. seeds (n=30) for 24, 48 and 72 hours. Colchicine (50 µg/mL) was used as standard drug. Seed germination and seedlings growth were measured. Mitotic index was calculated for the proliferation of cells. The treatment with plant extracts significantly inhibits the germination of seeds, roots and shoots growth, and reduced the mitotic index in meristem ells of Vigna radiata L. at dose and time dependent manner. Qualitative phytochemical screenings of the aqueous stem bark extract of Oroxylum indicum L. revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, glycosides, saponins, phytosterols, phenolic compounds and flavonoids. Saponins were found to be in high concentration in the extract

Oroxylum indicum is a frequently reported traditional medicinal plant known to possess antiproliferative and antitumor activity. The present study investigated the effect of crude methanolic bark extract of Oroxylum indicum on testosterone induced benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) in rat. Adult male rats were given either corn oil or testosterone dissolved in corn oil and testosterone with aqueous methanolic bark extracts of Oroxylum indicum (10, 50 and 100 mg/kg/day) for 14 days. The inhibitory effect of Oroxylum indicum on testosterone induced hyperplasia was evaluated by prostatic index and histopathological examination. Serum marker of liver injury (alanine aminotransferase, ALT and aspartate aminotransferase, AST) and liver histopathological examination were also conducted. Compared with testosterone induced BPH model group, Oroxylum indicum extract treated groups exhibited significant reduction in the prostatic index. Oroxylum indicum treated group also exhibited reduced hyperplasia of prostatic epithelium likewise finasteride treated group. Aqueous methanolic extract of Oroxylum indicum significantly inhibited testosterone induced prostate hyperplasia thus indicated the presence of efficient ingredients which can be used for the treatment of BPH.

Medicinal plants extend to show an imperative role in the rural healthcare system of developing countries, where herbal medicine has a continuous history of long use. Field studies were conducted following standard ethnobotanical techniques to collect information on the use of toxic and medicinal plants used by the Wancho tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. Vigna radiata was used as a plant model in this study to investigate the antiproliferative property of selected medicinal plant extracts. Green gram seedling root apical meristem cells were used to determine the inhibition of germination and slow growth. Different concentrations of plant extract (20, 50, 250 and 500 µg/ml) were treated in a test tube containing the green gram seeds (n=5) on time dependent manner. Colchicine (20 mg/ml) was used as a standard drug for the growth retardation of green gram seedlings, while the distilled water group served as negative control. Germination test of Vigna radiata L. was performed according to ISTA (International Rules for Seed Testing) rules. The present study concludes that the methanolic plant extracts of all the collected plants significantly inhibited the rate of seed germination and seedling growth at dose dependent manner. It signifies that the use of Phlogacanthus parviflorus and Mikania micrantha in high concentrations may be potentially therapeutic for inhibiting the cell cycle in eukaryotic organisms.