Chemistry, pharmacology and medicinal properties of Peganum harmala L.

The levels of some heavy metals in eight different medicinal plant samples along with soils were collected from two different locations from salt range of Punjab, Pakistan in order to evaluate those vital metals involved in human health implications. These plant species were: Dodonaea viscosa, Withania somnifera, Solanum nigrum, Calotropis gigantea, Mentha spicata, Paganum hermala, Cannabis sativa, Adhatoda vasica, especially those used in the treatment of diseases and their long term usage. The evaluated metals were cadmium (Cd), Nickel (Ni), Chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb). Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (wet digestion) was used for the analyses, and content of metals per sample was expressed as mg/kg. The analysis of variance revealed that there were significant effects of site variation on medicinal species in Ni and Cr contents while the opposite were observed in case of Pb and Cd at location I. The Ni concentrations found in medicinal plants varied significantly while Pb, Cd and Cr were evident as non significant at location II. There was positive non significant correlation of Pb and Cr among soil and plant while negative non significant for Ni and Cd at both locations. The findings suggest that the use of these plant species for the management of diseases will not cause heavy metal toxicity and may be beneficial to the users in cases of micronutrient deficiency, as these metals were found to be present in readily bioavailable form.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxic and some essential metals in medicinal plants used in herbal medicines: A case study in Pakistan

Khan¹

2013

“…As the use of these medicinal plants increases, experimental screening of their toxicity is crucial to guarantee the safety of the users (Asgarpanah and Ramezanloo, 2012;Nazri et al, 2012). Toxicity is an expression of being poisonous, indicating the state of adverse effects caused by the interaction between toxicants and cells (Alam et al, 2012;Syahmi et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of potential toxicity of three South African medicinal plants using the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) assay

Otang¹

2013

As the use of medicinal plants increases, screening of their toxicity is crucial to guarantee the safety of the users. Hexane and acetone extracts of three South African plants, traditionally used for the management of opportunistic fungal infections in human immune deficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) patients were assayed for toxicity to hatching and larval mortality of Artemia salina. Lowest percentage values of hatching success were observed in cysts incubated with hexane and acetone extracts of Arctotis arctotoides, respectively and were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that of the positive control (amphotericin B). Based on Meyer's toxicity index, both extracts of Pittosporum viridiflorum and the acetone extract of A. arctotoides with LC 50 values > 1 mg/ml were considered as non-toxic and may be further explored for development of plant-based pharmaceuticals. The hexane and acetone extracts of A. arctotoides and the hexane extract of Gasteria bicolor with LC 50 values < 1 mg/ml have shown significant biological activity, indicative of the presence of potent cytotoxic components which warrant further investigation. The in vivo lethality of A. salina has been used as a convenient toxicological screening system, while the resistance to harmful effects by Artemia cysts made the hatchability assay less desirable than the lethality test.

“…Antioxidants are gaining an increasing amount of attention in the recent decades as clinical trials and epidemiological studies have found a close correlation between the intake of fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants to the reduction of risk in several chronic diseases, such as cancer, inflammation and atherosclerosis (Kris-Etherton et al, 2002;Gosslau and Chen, 2004;Podsędek, 2007;Asgarpanah and Ramezanloo, 2012). Although, several synthetic antioxidants are available to date such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), their applications are limited due to controversies over their tumour promoting properties (Hocman, 1988).…”

Section: Antioxidant Activities and Total Flavonoids Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antioxidant, anti-cholinesterase and antibacterial activities of the bark extracts of Garcinia hombroniana

Jamila¹

2013

This study reports an antioxidant, anti-cholinesterase, antibacterial activities and total flavonoids content of different extracts (water, methanol, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane and n-hexane) of the bark of Garcinia hombroniana. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using radical scavenging of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Folin Ciocalteu assay (FCA). Ethyl acetate extract showed the highest antioxidant activity (DPPH = 8667.7 ±166.6 μmol TE/g (trolox equivalent), ABTS (IC50 = 3.03 μg/ml), FRAP (5579.8 ± 117.7.7 μmol TE/g) and FCA = 3320.4 ± 98.3 μmol GAE/g (gallic acid equivalent)). The flavonoids content of ethyl acetate extract is 2385.7 ± 87.3 RE/g (rutin equivalent) and 3317.6 ± 131.0 QE/g (quercetin equivalent) while the methanol extract is 2234.0 ± 90.0 RE/g and 3090.0 ± 135.1 QE/g). Both extracts are statistically close to each other. In anti-cholinesterase study, ethyl acetate extract showed the highest activity against both acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes with IC 50 of 13.73 ± 1.56 and 32.17 ± 0.36 μg/ml, respectively. Dichloromethane and nhexane extracts showed good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. The results of this study showed that the bark extracts of G. hombroniana have valuable pharmacological activities.