Immunostimulant Activity of Picroliv, the Iridoid Glycoside Fraction ofPicrorhiza kurroa, and its Protective Action againstLeishmania donovaniInfection in Hamsters1

Puri, Anju; Saxena, Richa; Guru, P. Y.; Kulshreshtha, D K; Kc, Saxena; Dhawan, B. N.

doi:10.1055/s-2006-961542

Cited by 95 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…Picroliv and kutkoside are hepatoprotective (Doreswamy & Sharma 1995) and immunostimulatory (Puri et al 1992). Powdered tuberous root relieve bronchial asthma (Rajaram 1976).…”

Section: *Neopicrorhiza Scrophulariiflora (Pennel) Dy Hong Scrophulmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Use and Ethnopharmacology of Medicinal Plants in Far-West Nepal

Kunwar

Uprety

Burlakoti

et al. 2009

Ethnobot. Res. App.

346

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Ethnopharmacological knowledge is common and import among tribal populations but much of the information is empirical at best lacking scientific validation. Despite widespread use of plant resources in traditional medicines, bioassay analysis of very few plant species have been conducted to investigate their medicinal properties, and to ascertain safety and efficacy of traditional remedies. The present study analyses indigenous uses of medicinal plants of far-west Nepal and compares with earlier ayurveda studies, phytochemical assessments and pharmacological actions. A field study was carried out in Baitadi and Darchula districts of far-west Nepal. Group discussions, informal meetings, questionnaire surveys and field observations were employed for primary data collection. Voucher specimens were collected with field notes and codes and deposited at Tribhuvan University Central Herbarium (TUCH), Kathmandu. Only 50% of species surveyed shared common uses with ayurvedic medicine. This implies that these herbal remedies are part of an independent health care system in the Nepal Himalaya, which is indigenous and influenced by ayurveda. The folk uses of some of the species were contradicting to those of ayurveda and phytochemical bioassays. A detailed phytochemical study on those species would be an important line of research. IntroductionMedicinal plants help in alleviating human suffering and are widely used for subsistence, home remedies, and trade (Kunwar et al. 2006). It is estimated that 70-80% of people worldwide rely on traditional herbal medicine to meet their primary health care needs (Farnsworth & Soejarto 1991). The ayurveda is an ancient traditional system of medicine with remedies for health and alleviation of illness. The acceptance of the ayurveda is gearing up and use of indigenous drugs of natural/plant origin is a maPublished: January 16, 2009 Ethnobotany Research & Applications 6www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol7/i1547-3465-07-005.pdf cuna pruriens (L.) DC. for Parkinson's disease, Commiphora as a hypolipidemic, Asclepias as cardiotonic, psoralens for vitiligo, curcumines for inflammation, baccoside for mental retention, picrosides for hepatoprotective, diosgenin for the synthesis of steroidal hormones, guggulsterons as hypolipidemic, piperidine as bioavailability enhancers, asarone as hallucinogenic, phyllanthins as anti-virals, withanolides and many other steroidal lactones and their glycosides as immunomodulators (Jain 1994, Patwardhan 2000. As an example, the sale of drugs derived from the plant Taxus The increasing use of traditional therapies demands more scientifically sound evidence for the principles behind therapies and for effectiveness of medicines (Patwardhan et al. 2005). The therapies are often criticized due to dearth of research, critical evaluation, in vivo studies and validations (Fong 2002, Houghton 1995 to support the safety of uses. At the same time, ethnopharmacological knowledge is percolating down these days among the tribal population. The present study, therefore aim...

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“…Picroliv and kutkoside are hepatoprotective (Doreswamy & Sharma 1995) and immunostimulatory (Puri et al 1992). Powdered tuberous root relieve bronchial asthma (Rajaram 1976).…”

Section: *Neopicrorhiza Scrophulariiflora (Pennel) Dy Hong Scrophulmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Use and Ethnopharmacology of Medicinal Plants in Far-West Nepal

Kunwar

Uprety

Burlakoti

et al. 2009

Ethnobot. Res. App.

346

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the last few decades, improved understanding of the mechanism of action of traditional plant based crude extracts and formulations, lead to the discovery of various class of compounds as potential immunostimulators viz., alkaloids, saponins, polysaccharide, triterpenoids, iridoids, organic acids, etc (Alamgir and Uddin 2010 (Puri, Saxena et al 1992). Several polysaccharides such as mannan and 1-3 glucan 5 isolated from many plant sources such as Chlorella sp, Tinospora cordifolia etc.…”

Section: Plant Based Products Currently Under Investigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pattern Recognition Receptors Based Immune Adjuvants: Their Role and Importance in Vaccine Design

Kumar¹,

Hyder²,

Singh³

2012

Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design

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“…The plant, P. kurrooa, was a traditional medicine used in India for treatment of jaundice, indigestion, common fever, acute viral hepatitis, and bronchial asthma [1]. Previous pharmacological studies for this species have revealed hepatoprotective [2], immunostimulative [3], anti-asthma [4], neuritogenic [5], anti-inflammatory [6] and scavenging free radical activities [7]. The other species, P. scrophulariiflora, is a traditional Chinese medicine, which also has hepatoprotective, choleretic, immunostimulative and antiinflammatory activities [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%