The traditional medical methods, especially the use of medicinal plants still play a major role in the developing countries. The history of the use of herbal medicine may be as old as the history of mankind. Many of the herbs and spices used by humans as food which yields useful medicinal compounds. Annona muricata L. leaves are traditionally used to treat diabetes. People have been consuming raw leaves of Annona muricata L. to control blood glucose levels. The acetone, methanol, hot water and successive water leaf extracts of Annona muricata L. were subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening of various plant constituents. The antioxidant potential of the Annona muricata L. leaves was established by total flavonoid content, FRAP assay, ABTS assay, Metal chelating activity, Phosphomolybdenum assay, Assay of superoxide radical scavenging activity, Free radical scavenging activity on DPPH along with the determination of total phenolic and tannin contents in the Annona muricata L. leaves extracts. This study aim is to evaluate bioactive constituents and invitro antioxidant activity of acetone, methanol, hot water and successive water extracts of Annona muricata L. leaf. Preliminary analysis revealed that all the four extracts responded positively for alkaloid, flavonoid, carbohydrate, glycosides, saponins, tannin, phytosterol and phenolics. The present study explored that Annona muricata L. shows efficient antioxidant activity and could act as safe and cost-effective with potential biological applications.

The aim of the study was to investigate the safety and anti-inflammatory effects of polysaccharide fraction (F1) of Curcuma longa extract (NR-INF-02) in classical rodent models of inflammation. F1 was evaluated for its acute oral toxicity and found to be safe upto 5000 mg/kg body weight in rats. The anti-inflammatory activity of F1 was evaluated in acute (carrageenan - induced paw edema; xylene - induced ear edema) and chronic (cotton pellet - induced granuloma) models of inflammation. The results of the study demonstrated that F1 significantly (p ≤ 0.05) inhibited carrageenan-induced paw edema at 1 h and 3 h at doses of 11.25, 22.5 and 45 mg/kg body weight in rats. Also, F1 at doses of 15.75, 31.5 and 63 mg/kg significantly inhibited the xylene induced ear edema in mice. In a chronic model, F1 at 11.25, 22.5 and 45 mg/kg doses produced significant reduction of wet and dry weights of cotton pellets in rats. Overall results indicated that F1 of NR-INF-02 significantly attenuated acute and chronic inflammation in rodent models. This study emphasizes on the importance of Curcuma longa polysaccharide's role in acute and chronic inflammation.

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The present study investigated anti-stress potential of Ocimum sanctum in chronic variable stress (CVS) paradigm. Further, the possible mechanism of anti-stress was explored in vitro using cell and cell-free assays. Rats were administered O. sanctum followed by CVS regimen for a period of 16 days. On days 4, 8, 12, and 16, body weight and immobility time in forced swim test were measured. In addition, the possible inhibitory effect of O. sanctum and ursolic acid on cortisol release and CRHR1 receptor activity were studied in cell-based assays, while inhibitory effects on 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) were studied in cell-free assays. CVS group demonstrated less body weight gain and higher immobility time than O. sanctum administered groups, while oral administration of O. sanctum significantly increased body weight gain and decreased the immobility time. Further, O. sanctum and its constituents inhibited cortisol release and exhibited a significant CRHR1 receptor antagonist activity. Also, they had specific inhibitory activity towards 11β-HSD1 and COMT activity. Thus, O. sanctum was found to be effective in the management of stress effects, and anti-stress activity could be due to inhibition of cortisol release, blocking CRHR1 receptor, and inhibiting 11β-HSD1 and COMT activities. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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