No abstract

The nitric oxide (NO) scavenging activities of traditional polyherbal drugs like abana, chyavanaprasha, geriforte, septilin, mentat and triphala were examined using sodium nitroprusside as a NO donor in vitro. All the drugs tested demonstrated direct scavenging of NO and were superior to Gingko biloba, which was used as a positive control. The extracts of various polyherbal drugs exhibited dose-dependent NO scavenging activities and the potency was in the following order: abana > chyavanaprasha > triphala > geriforte > septilin > mentat > Gingko biloba. The present results suggest that the traditional Indian polyherbal crude drugs may be potent and novel therapeutic agents for scavenging of NO, and thereby inhibit the pathological conditions caused by excessive generation of NO and its oxidation product, peroxynitrite. These findings may also help to explain, at least in part, the pharmacological activities like rejuvenating, adaptogenic, anti-infection, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective and neuroprotective activities of these traditional, clinically used non toxic drugs.

Chemotherapy is a major treatment modality for cancer and some of the plants like Catharanthus roseus, Podophyllum peltatum, P. emodii, Taxus brevifolia, Ochrosia elliptica and Campototheca acuminata, have provided active principles which are in clinical use for controlling advanced stages of malignancies.1) However, most of these chemotherapeutic agents exhibit severe normal toxicity, resulting in undesirable side effects. Moreover, many of the active molecules sold for the treatment of cancer, are highly expensive, mutagenic, carcinogenic and teratogenic. Hence, there is a need to find alternative drugs, which are highly effective at non-toxic doses, inexpensive and accessible to common man. A need is therefore felt to search newer remedies, which are cheaper economically and do not have severe side effects of the pure compounds.Medicines derived from plants have played a pivotal role in health care of ancient and modern cultures. Ayurveda, the Indian system of medicine mainly uses plant based drugs or formulations to treat various ailments including cancer. Recent surveys suggest that one in three Americans uses dietary supplements daily and the rate of usage is much higher in cancer patients, which may be up to 50% of patients treated in cancer centers. 2)Tinospora cordifolia (WILLD.) MIERS ex HOOK. F. & THOMS is a large, glabrous, deciduous climbing shrub belonging to the family Menispermaceae.3,4) It is distributed throughout tropical Indian subcontinent and China, ascending to an altitude of 300 m. The plant is commonly known as Guduchi, Giloy or Amritha, which are Hindu mythological terms that refer to the heavenly elixir that have saved celestial beings from old age and kept them eternally young. Guduchi is widely used in veterinary folk medicine and Ayurvedic system of medicine for its general tonic, antiperiodic, anti-spasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic, anti-allergic and antidiabetic properties.5-7) The whole plant is used in Ayurvedic "Rasayanas" to improve the immune system and the body resistance against infections and root is known for its antistress, anti-leprotic and anti-malarial activities. 7,8) Guduchi has been reported to be active against throat cancer in man and it has been reported to be non-toxic in acute toxicity studies in vivo, with almost no side effects. [9][10][11] A variety of constituents have been isolated from T. cordifolia and their structures elucidated. They belong to different classes such as alkaloids, diterpenoid lactones, glycosides, steroids, sesquiterpenoid, phenolics, aliphatic compounds and polysaccharides. Leaves of T. cordifolia are rich in protein (11.2%) and are fairly rich in calcium and phosphorus.7,12) Alkaloids like berberine, palmatine, tembetarine and magnoflorine have been isolated from the stem of T. cordifolia. The roots of T. cordifolia are also reported to contain other alkaloids like choline, tinosporin, isocolumbin, palmatine, tetrahydropalmatine and magnoflorine.13-18) Our preliminary studies on the stem extracts of T. cordifolia have shown...

The 3 9 2 m spacing currently used for eucalyptus plantations in the state of Andhra Pradesh, southern India does not permit intercropping from the second year. This discourages small landholders who need regular income from taking up eucalyptus plantations and benefiting from the expanding market for pulpwood. Therefore, on-farm experiments were conducted near Bhadrachalam, Khammam district (Andhra Pradesh) for over 4 years from August 2001 to November 2005 to examine whether wide-row planting and grouping of certain tree rows will facilitate extended intercropping without sacrificing wood yield. Eucalyptus planted in five-spatial arrangements in agroforestry [3 9 2 m (farmers' practice), 6 9 1 m, 7 9 1.5 m paired rows (7 9 1.5 PR), 11 9 1 m paired rows (11 9 1 PR) and 10 9 1.5 m triple rows (10 9 1.5 TR)] was compared with sole tree stands at a constant density of 1,666 trees ha -1 . Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) was intercropped during the post-rainy seasons from 2001 to 2004, and fodder grasses (Panicum maximum and Brachiaria ruziziensis) were intercropped during both the seasons of 2005. At 51 months after planting, different spatial arrangements did not significantly affect height and diameter at breast height (dbh). Total dry biomass of eucalyptus in different spatial arrangements ranged between 59.5 and 52.9 Mg ha -1 , the highest being with 6 9 1 m and the lowest with 10 9 1.5 TR, but treatment differences were not significant. The widely spaced paired row (11 9 1 PR) and triple row (10 9 1.5 TR) arrangements produced 62-73% of sole cowpea yield in 2003, 59-66% of sole cowpea yield in 2004, and 79-94% of sole fodder in 2005. In contrast, the 3 9 2 m spacing allowed only 17-45% of sole crop yields in these years. The better performance of intercrops in widely spaced eucalyptus was likely because of limited competition from trees for light and water. Intercropping of eucalyptus in these wider rows gave 14% greater net returns compared with intercropping M. R. Rao-Former staff of ICRAF (World Agroforestry Centre), Nairobi, Kenya. in eucalyptus spaced at 3 9 2 m, 19% greater returns compared with that from sole tree woodlot and 263% greater returns compared with that from sole crops. Therefore, in regions where annual rainfall is around 1,000 mm and soils are fairly good, eucalyptus at a density of 1,666 plants per ha can be planted in uniformly spaced wide-rows (6 m) or paired rows at an inter-pair spacing of 7-11 m for improving intercrop performance without sacrificing wood production.

The plant extracts of some commonly used spices were examined for their possible regulatory effect on nitric oxide (NO) levels using sodium nitroprusside as a NO donor in vitro. Most of the extracts tested demonstrated direct scavenging of NO and exhibited significant activity and the potency of scavenging activity was in the following order: Foeniculum vulgare (aqueous) > Citrus limettiodes > Murraya koenigii (seed, aqueous) > Murraya koenigii (leaf, aqueous) > Curcuma aromatica (aqueous) > Murraya koenigii (leaf, dichloromethane:methanol) > Mentha arvensis (chloroform) > Mentha arvensis (aqueous) > Curcuma longa > Gingko biloba > Foeniculum vulgare (dichloromethane:methanol) > Zingiber officinale (aqueous) > Curcuma aromatica (ethanolic) > Murraya koenigii (seed, dichloromethane:methanol). All the evaluated extracts exhibited a dose-dependent NO scavenging activity. The aqueous extract of Foeniculum vulgare showed a greatest NO scavenging effect of 79.75% at 62.5 microg/mL as compared to the positive control, Gingko biloba where 36.22% scavenging was observed at similar concentration. The present results suggest that these spices might be potent and novel therapeutic agents for scavenging of NO and the regulation of pathological conditions caused by excessive generation of NO and its oxidation product, peroxynitrite.