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Green tea (GT) is derived from the leaves of Camellia sinensis implicated in a wide range of health attributes. In the present comprehensive study, methanolic, acetone and aqueous extract of leaves of C. sinensis var. sinensis [Kashmir (KW), Uttarakhand (IP & PN)] and C. sinensis var. assamica (Assam, AT) were explored for their phytoconstituents. Solvent extracts of GT cultivars showed rich presence of phytoconstituents in comparison with aqueous extracts. The methanolic extract of AT and acetone extract of KW showed highest total phenol content (18.32 ± 0.357 mg of GAE equivalent/g of sample) and total flavonoid content (29.25 ± 0.015 mg of catechin equivalent/g of sample), respectively. All the cultivars revealed higher free radical scavenging activity in the range of 73.80 ± 0.152 to 82.40 ± 0.004 % confirming antioxidant potentials. The HPLC analysis of purified residue procured from solvent partitioning depicted AT with highest concentration of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) i.e., 154.7 ± 4.949 mg/g followed by Kashmir and Uttarakhand GT cultivars. The present study revealed that Assam GT could be a potent herbal candidate with multiple nutraceutical applications. However, significant investigation of the cultivars is to be done to further explore the EGCg-dependent activity of GT for herbal drug development.

The term ‘Antiviral agents’ has been defined in very broad terms as substances other than a virus or virus containing vaccine or specific antibody which can produce either a protective or therapeutic effect to the clear detectable advantage of the virus infected host. The herbal medicine has a long traditional use and the major advantage over other medicines is their wide therapeutic window with rare side effects. There are some disadvantages of synthetic drugs like narrow therapeutic window and more importantly the various adverse side effects which occur quite frequently. Due to these disadvantages and other limitations, there is an increasing trend in the field of research for discovering new and noble drugs based on various herbal formulations. This review attempts to address the importance of developing therapeutic herbal formulations from various medicinal plants using the knowledge based on traditional system of medicines, the Ayurveda. Although natural products have been used by civilization since ancient times, only in recent decades has there been growing research into alternative therapies and the therapeutics use of natural products, especially those derived from plants. Plants synthesize and preserve a variety of biochemical products, many of which are extractable and used for various scientific investigations. Therefore, medicinal plants proved to be a major resort for the treatment of diseases and sicknesses by traditional healers in many societies

Candida albicans and Candida glabrata are two important human pathogens associated with high mortality. The anti-Candida potential of an antihypertensive drug, amlodipine besilate (AB), was studied against 10 strains of Candida, including 8 clinical isolates. AB is an inhibitor of voltage-gated Ca channel (VGCC) of mammals. CCH1 expresses in a part of Ca channel of Candida, which is a homologue of α subunit of mammalian VGCC. In plate assays, all strains of Candida showed sensitivity to AB on agar media at 256 μg/mL concentration, AB caused lethality at concentrations of 16 and 64 μg/mL in clinical isolates of C. glabrata and all strains of C. albicans, respectively. Minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values of AB varied for different strains. The clinical isolates of C. glabrata turned out to be more susceptible to AB than those of C. albicans. At 16 μg/mL, AB showed reduction of biofilm in the range of 41.51%-79.66% for C. glabrata strains and 32.00%-54.06% for C. albicans strains. AB has shown potential antifungal properties against the laboratory strains and clinical isolates of C. glabrata and C. albicans. In conclusion, AB exhibited potential antifungal properties against planktonic form and biofilm of C. glabrata and C. albicans. It was more effective against C. glabrata than against C. albicans in vitro.

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