Background Traditional healing practitioners of South India use fine paste (an Ayurvedic dosage form known as ‘ kalka ’) of Lobelia alsinoides Lam., an ethno medicinal plant for curing hepatic diseases. Objective To evaluate in-vivo hepatoprotective effect of a candidate formulation viz. kalka containing whole plant ( L. alsinoides Lam.) in rat model of Carbon-tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) induced hepatotoxicity. Materials & methods Hepatotoxicity was induced in Wistar albino rats by oral administration of 1.25 ml/kg CCl 4 once every day for 7 consecutive days. A candidate kalka formulation (fine paste) was prepared and administered to rats at different dose rates of 0.54 g/kg, 1.08 g/kg and 2.16 g/kg daily. At the end of the study-period, the serum levels of aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin, total protein, albumin and total cholesterol were monitored. Further, the hepatic pathology was evaluated for assessing the extent of hepatotoxicity in the control and hepatoprotective effect in treatment groups. Meanwhile in - vitro antioxidant activity of kalka was evaluated by hydroxy radical, nitric oxide and DPPH (2, 2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil) radical scavenging assays. Further, a ‘limit test’ was done in accordance with OECD Guidelines 425 (acute toxicity). Results The animals treated with the fine paste of L. alsinoides did not show an elevation in the biochemical values compared to CCl 4 treated rats and during histomorphologic evaluation, hepatoprotective effect was evident with scattered mitotic figures in the parenchyma. Acute toxicity evaluation indicated that doses up to 2500 mg/kg are not toxic to rats. It has a good anti-oxidant activity also. Conclusions From the study, it was obvious that L. alsinoides had significant hepatoprotective effect in CCl 4 induced liver toxicity in rats. This ethno medicinal plant is certainly a promising hepatoprotective drug in liver disorders.

Background Nayopayam kwatha (NK) is a well-known polyherbal formulation widely used to cure respiratory ailments, heart problems, and postnatal difficulties. Literature suggests that so far no standardization protocol was developed for NK to validate its quality and purity. Objective(s) To develop a standardization protocol for NK based on the marker phytoconstituents present in the individual herbs of the formulation. Materials and methods The roots of bala [ Sida cordifolia (B1) and Sida retusa (B2)], seeds of jeeraka ( Cuminum cyminum ), and rhizomes of nagara ( Zingiber officinale ) were the ingredients of NK. Since there were two source plants for bala , two sets of NK (NKB1 and NKB2) were prepared in the ratio 3:2:1 as per Vaidya Manorama and 10:1:1 as per Arogya r aksha Kalpadruma along with 1:1:1 as per the general way of Ayurvedic polyherbal decoctions. Both the individual herbs and the kwatha (decoction) prepared were analyzed in terms of pharmacognostical, organoleptic, and physcicochemical parameters as per the standard methods. Phytochemical analysis of the individual herbs resulted in the isolation of major phytoconstituents and the kwatha was quantified in terms of marker compounds with the aid of HPLC. Results HPLC quantification suggests that appreciable amount of marker phytoconstituents of individual herbs are present in the kwatha . Thus, the isolated compounds luteolin ( C. cyminum ), 6-gingerol ( Z. officinale ), β -sitosterol ( S . retusa ), and ecdysterone ( S . cordifolia ) can be used as markers to standardize NK. Conclusion Characteristics of NK, as well as its individual drugs, were well-established . The present study of NK with respect to its phytochemistry revealed that the classical drug ratios of the polyherbal formulation are of utmost importance rather than the ingredients in equal proportion. The characterization parameters of individual herbs and kwatha described in this study may serve as a standard reference for quality control analysis of NK and the method developed in this study can be used as a reliable technique for standardization of NK to ensure the purity and quality of raw drugs used.

Background Ampelocissus indica (L.)Planch, Vitaceae locally known as Chembravalli, is medicinal plant used for inflammatory skin ailments and documented in Hortus Malabaricus, and traditional Ayurveda books. Objective To conduct phyto-chemical and acute toxicity of root of A.indica and to evaluate its anti-inflammatory activity. Materials and methods Phyto-chemical profiling of root of A.indica was done as per standard ICMR methods and acute toxicity as per OECD-425. Decoction of A.indica (AI-8.64 ml/kg, AI-4.32 ml/kg) and ethanolic extract (AIE-500 mg/kg) were orally given to rats with Carrageenan induced rat paw edema and also in other rats with Cotton pellet induced granuloma; paw volume, weight of granuloma, histopathology, serum TNF α, IL1β were assessed. Results Oral administration of decoction AI-8.64 ml/kg, AI-4.32 ml/kg, and AIE-500 mg/kg significantly reduced inflammation by reducing paw volume, serum TNF α, IL1β. AI-8.64 ml/kg significantly reduced weight of granuloma and serum TNF α, IL1β. No acute toxicity was found upto 2000 mg/kg. Flavonoids, phenols, tannins, saponins, and steroids found in A.indica extract. Conclusion The present finding suggested that A.indica has a protective effect on experimental inflammation in rats and phytochemical profile will be useful for further studies

Characterization of plants with DNA markers is an ideal approach for identification of medicinal plant species as they provide objectively analyzable data for accurate and fast identification. There are many medicinal plants described in ancient literatures that have not been exploited for their medicinal values. A documented treasure of traditional knowledge of Kerala’s Ayurvedic and folklore practices is the ‘Hortus Malabaricus’. Description of various useful medicinal plants and their use as single drug can be seen in this ethnomedicinal compendium. The plants Justicia betonica Linn., Thottea siliquosa Lam., Memecylon edule Roxb., Pajanelia longifolia (Willd) K. Schum.) and Bauhinia accuminata Linn described in Hortus Malabaricus are considered to possess immense therapeutic potentials. As the Ayurveda industry as well as practitioners are facing severe scarcity of required medicinal plants, search for establishing the claimed pharmacologic values of hitherto unexplored plants is to be promoted. For this purpose, their proper identification and authentication is needed as a first step of scientific experiments. The molecular characterization including DNA isolation and sequencing provides fast and accurate identification of medicinal plant species. In this project, the molecular characterization of Justicia betonica, Thottea siliquosa, Memecylon edule, Pajanelia longifolia and Bauhinia accuminata, including DNA isolation and quantification, NCBI-BLAST analysis and DNA sequencing was done. The sequence analysis of Thottea siliquosa, Memecylon edule, Bauhinia accuminata and Justicia betonica by BLASTN (NCBI) is revealed 99 to 100 % nucleotide sequence homology with different database sequences enabling species level confirmation.

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