Cuminum cyminum and Carum carvi are the sources of cumin and caraway seeds respectively, which have been used since antiquity for the treatment of various indications in traditional healing systems ...in wide geographical areas. Cumin and caraway seeds are rich sources of essential oils and have been actively researched for their chemical composition and biological activities. In recent times (especially during the last 3 years) considerable progress has been made regarding validation of their acclaimed medicinal attributes by extensive experimental studies. In this attempt many novel bioactivities have been revealed. This review highlights the significance of cumin and caraway as potential source of diverse natural products and their medicinal applications.
Aim of the study is to evaluate the anti-ulcer efficacy of the boswellic acids (BA), a triterpenoid known as anti-inflammatory/anti-arthritic agent, which is in clinical use. The reason for the study ...is that, the known non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are full of side effects especially ulceration which is at the top. BA, although, used as an anti-arthritic agent yet it is not only devoid of ulcer production but protective also. The activity evaluation was done by the following universally accepted animal models viz., pyloric ligation, ethanol–HCl, acetylsalicylic acid, indomethacin and cold restrained stress-induced ulceration in rats. Results of the present study revealed that BA possess a dose dependent antiulcer effect against different experimental models. It showed different degree of inhibition of the ulcer score towards different ulcerogenic agents. The ulcer score against various ulcer inducing agents viz., pyloric ligation, ethanol/HCl, (acute and chronic) acetylsalicylic acid, indomethacin and cold restraint stress, was inhibited by 39%, 38%, 51%, 31%, 37% and 42% respectively at 250
mg/kg. From the data it is concluded that BA inhibited ulcer production non-specifically in all the experimental models, whereby, it is not possible to propose a single specific mechanism. Nevertheless it is possible that BA might be acting by increasing the gastric mucosal resistance and local synthesis of cytoprotective prostaglandins and inhibiting the leukotriene synthesis.
In the present investigation, a UPLC–qTOF-MS/MS method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of etoposide and a piperine analogue, namely, 4-ethyl ...5-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2E,4E-pentadienoic acid piperidide (PA-1). The analytes were separated on a reverse phase C18 column using methanol–water (72:28, v/v) mobile phase with a flow rate of 250
μL/min. The qTOF-MS was operated under multiple reaction monitoring mode using electro-spray ionization (ESI) technique with positive ion polarity. The major product ions for etoposide and PA-1 were at
m/
z 185.1350 and 164.1581, respectively. The recovery of the analytes from mouse plasma was optimized using solid phase extraction technique. The total run time was 6
min and the elution of etoposide and PA-1 occurred at 1.24 and 2.84
min, respectively. The calibration curves of etoposide as well as PA-1 were linear over the concentration range of 2–1000
ng/mL (
r
2, 0.9829), and 1–1000
ng/mL (
r
2, 0.9989), respectively. For etoposide intra-assay and inter-assay accuracy in terms of % bias was in between −7.65 to +6.26, and −7.83 to +5.99, respectively. For PA-1 intra-assay and inter-assay accuracy in terms of % bias was in between −7.01 to +9.10, and −7.36 to +6.71, respectively. The lower limit of quantitation for etoposide and PA-1 were 2.0 and 1.0
ng/mL, respectively. Analytes were stable under various conditions (in autosampler, during freeze–thaw, at room temperature, and under deep-freeze conditions). The method was used for a pharmacokinetic study which showed that PA-1 enhanced the oral bioavailability of etoposide in mice by 2.32-fold.
Coccidiosis, caused by various Eimeria species, is a major parasitic disease in chicken. However the increasing resistance of these parasites to currently used anticoccidial drugs has stimulated the ...search for new methods of control. As part of this effort we investigated the root bark of Berberis lycium (barberry) as a potential source of compounds with anticoccidial activity. In the present study anticoccidial activity of different solvent extracts of the root bark of B. lycium and berberine was evaluated in vivo using broiler chicken. Results of the study demonstrated equipotent efficacy of pure berberine in comparison to that of standard drug amprolium on the basis of reduction in coccidian oocyst output, body weight gain of chicken and feed conversion ratio. Among the extracts crude methanolic extract showed highest anticoccidial activity tested at 300mg/kg body weight which could be due to the presence of alcohol-soluble active ingredients in root bark of B. lycium. Toxicological studies revealed that B. lycium extracts as well as berberine were not lethal up to dosage of 2000mg/kg body weight. LD50 was not determined as mortalities were not recorded in any of the five groups of chicken. From the present study it can be concluded that root bark of B. lycium has the immense potential to contribute to the control of coccidian parasites of chicken. Our results corroborate the use of berberine for treatment of severe diarrhoea, amoebiasis and intestinal infections and could justify its use in folk medicine for treatment of haemorrhagic dysentery.
Boswellic acids (BA), a natural mixture isolated from oleo gum resin of
Boswellia serrata comprised of four major pentacyclic triterpene acids:
β-boswellic acid (the most abundant), 3-acteyl-
...β-boswellic acid, 11-keto-
β-boswellic acid, and 3-acetyl-11-keto-
β-boswellic acid, is reported to be effective as anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, anti-asthmatic and in Chron's disease. It inhibits pro-inflammatory mediators in the body, specifically leukotrienes via inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase, the key enzyme of leukotriene synthesis, is the scientifically proved mechanism for its anti-inflammatory/anti-arthritic activity. All previous work on BA for its biological activity has been done through the systemic application but no pre-clinical data reported for its anti-inflammatory activity by topical application. We here by report anti-inflammatory activity of BA through this route by applying different acute and chronic models of inflammation i.e., arachidonic acid and croton oil-induced mouse ear edema, carrageenan-induced rats paw edema and adjuvant-induced developing arthritis in rats. The results of the study revealed that the effect observed through this route is in accordance to the study conducted with the systemic route, thus establishing that BA when used through topical application is as effective as through the systemic route.
Terminalia chebula Gertn. (Combetraceae) is an important herbal drug in Ayurvedic pharmacopea. In the present study, a 95% ethanolic extract of T. chebula (fruit) (TC extract), which was chemically ...characterized on the basis of chebuloside II as a marker, was investigated for hepatoprotective activity against anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) drug-induced toxicity. TC extract was found to prevent the hepatotoxicity caused by the administration of rifampicin (RIF), isoniazid (INH) and pyrazinamide (PZA) (in combination) in a sub-chronic mode (12 weeks). The hepatoprotective effect of TC extract could be attributed to its prominent anti-oxidative and membrane stabilizing activities. The changes in biochemical observations were supported by histological profile.
Statistical experimental design was used to optimize the concentration of trace elements for production of antifungal compound, 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG), from fluorescent pseudomonad R62 in ...shake-flask cultivation. The selection of the trace metal ions, influencing DAPG production, was done using Plackett–Burman design (PBD). Only Zn
2+, Mn
2+ and MoO
4
2− were the most significant components (
p
<
0.05). A quadratic model was used to fit the response. Application of response surface methodology (RSM) revealed that the optimum values of the salts of the trace elements Zn
2+ (ZnSO
4·7H
2O), Mn
2+ (MnCl
2·4H
2O), and MoO
4
2− (Na
2MoO
4·2H
2O) were 83, 42 and 135
μM, respectively, to achieve 125
mg/L of DAPG, which was nearly 13-fold more compared to its production in basal synthetic medium in shake flask. The studies in 14
L bioreactor resulted in 135
mg/L of DAPG at the end of 36
h of cultivation. The culture broth containing 125
mg/L of DAPG was found to be sufficient for keeping the bio-inoculant viable in non-sterile talcum powder-based formulations (which contained 25
μg DAPG/g carrier) when stored at 28
°C for 6 months. The structure of the purified DAPG was confirmed using
1H NMR and mass spectrometry.
Despite the advent of anticoccidial drugs and vaccines, coccidiosis continues to result in substantial economic losses to the poultry industry. Berberine, a natural alkaloid is well known in studies ...involving synergistic approaches, thereby reducing the dosage of principal drugs. Therefore, a study was designed to see whether a synergistic anticoccidial effect could be obtained between amprolium and berberine, in vivo using broiler chicken. Anticoccidial activity was measured in comparison to the reference drug amprolium on the basis of oocyst output reduction, mean weight gain and feed conversion ratio. Oocyst output was measured using Mc-Masters counting technique. Different combinations of berberine and amprolium were tested and out of which 1:1 ratio was the most effective for controlling these parasites. Oral gavaging of 100(50 + 50) mg/kg body weight of 1:1 ratio of amprolium and berberine caused the equivalent reduction in number of oocysts (38.85 ± 9.61) one day prior to that of standard drug amprolium (49.95 ± 16.65) as well as pure berberine (44.4 ± 9.61) used in the study. Weight gain of birds was also highest in the synergistic group (1547.43 ± 12.86) among all the infected groups. Besides feed conversion ratio in the synergistic group was also better (1.387 ± 0.026). The results of this study proved the effectiveness of both amprolium and berberine and revealed synergism between amprolium and berberine against coccidian oocysts, confirmed by significant reduction in the number of coccidian oocysts shed in the feces, leading to better weight gain and improved feed conversion ratio. The study deep-rooted the synergistic potential of berberine, a natural bioactive compound for controlling a protozoan parasite and the results of this study corroborate with its use for treatment of severe diarrhoea, amoebiasis and intestinal infections.
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•The paper describes the synergistic effect between berberine and amprolium while controlling coccidian parasites of chicken.•Different combinations of amprolium and berberine were tested, out of which 1:1 ratio showed the maximum effect.•The results were established on the basis of an in vivo study; thus are more applicable to the chicken industry.•The synergistic effect reported in this study is novel and has not been reported before.
The antimicrobial activity of root bark of Berberis lycium and its principal component berberine was tested against a panel of microbial strains using agar well diffusion test and further analyzed ...using micro-broth dilution method. Preliminary analysis, on the basis of zone of Inhibition (ZOI) showed that the methanolic extract of B. lycium was highly effective against Escherichia coli (ZOI 41 ± 1 mm). Among the bacterial strains E. coli was found to be most susceptible and among fungi Candida albicans was the most susceptible for berberine as well as the crude methanolic extract of the plant. Methanolic extract of the plant was more effective for E. coli (MIC 1.7 ± 1.18; MBC 2.4 ± 1.18) than berberine (MIC 3.5 ± 0.57) (p < 0.05), whereas berberine was more effective than crude extracts for C. albicans. In addition, E. coli showed the development of resistant colonies after 72 h when tested with berberine but the development of such colonies was not observed with the methanolic extract of the plant. This could be due to the presence of resistance breaking molecules in the crude methanolic extract of B. lycium. Also the MIC index of crude methanolic extract was 1.39 for E. coli, which showed the mode of action to be bactericidal. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of berberine at highest concentration in methanolic extract of the plant, followed by aqueous extract. Potentiation of this berberine by resistance breaking molecules in the crude extract could be a possible explanation for its strong effectiveness.
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