ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI CLASTOGENIC POTENTIAL OF PIPER LONGUM L.

Objective: Present study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti clastogenic potential of methanol extract of Piper longum L (MEPL). Methods: Chromatographic analysis was carried out using thermo GC-Trace Ultra Ver: 5.0 GC-MS. Antioxidant activities were assessed by DPPH free radical scavenging assay and reducing power assay. Based on the antioxidant activity, micronuclei formation in peripheral blood lymphocytes was analyzed. The protection afforded by Piper longum L. against the cytotoxicity of peripheral blood lymphocytes were confirmed by the micronucleus (MN) assay. Results: The GC-MS analysis provides different peaks determining the presence of eighteen phytochemical compounds with different therapeutic activities. The methanol extract at a concentration of 40 μg/ml showed the highest antioxidant activity by DPPH assay (68.42%) comparable to standard, ascorbic acid (73.68%). The reducing power observed was in the order of 40 μg/ml>20 μg/ml>10 μg/ml. MEPL treatment decreased the frequency of MN in a concentration dependent manner. Conclusion: A substantial amount of bioactive components are present in Piper longum L. A good correlation of the antioxidant capacity of the plant was established by different assay methodologies. MN test confirmed the anti clastogenic potential in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Keywords: Piper longum L., MEPL, GC-MS, DPPH, reducing power, Micronuclei

Anthelmintic Activity of Trikatu Churna and its Ingredients

The alcoholic extract of Trikatu churna and its ingredients were evaluated for anthelmintic activity. The dried fruits of Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae), Piper longum L. (Piperaceae) and rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roscoe. (Zingiberaceae) were powdered and mixed together in equiproportions to get a polyherbal formulation, Trikatu churna. All these three ingredients are spicy, commonly used in our daily diet, also well known for their tremendous therapeutic potential, since from the Vedic period. The alcoholic extract of Trikatu churna and its ingredients were screened for preliminary phytochemical studies and also tested for anthelmintic activity against Pheritima posthuma and recorded the time taken for induction of paralysis and death. Piperazine citrate (10 mg/ml) was included as standard reference and distilled water as control. The results demonstrated that, the extracts of Trikatu churna and its plant ingredients showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, lignins and steroids, these test samples were also exhibited potent anthelmintic activity, but the highest activity was noticed in Trikatu churna, this might be due to the multifunctional effect of all the three plant ingredients of Trikatu churna. Based on the above results, it is confirmed that, combination of Piper nigrum, Piper longum and Zingiber officinale in Trikatu churna offered promising anthelmintic effect than using the ingredients alone

Book Reviews

Lhasa and its Mysteries by L. Austine Waddell; Peaks and Lamas by Marco Pallis; Tibetan Medicine illustrated in original texts by Rechung Rinpoche Jampal Kunzan

Evaluation of antibacterial potential of Trikatu churna and its ingredients: An in vitro study

Herbal medicines are being used increasingly as dietary supplements to fight or prevent common disease. The dried fruits of Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae), Piper longum L. (Piperaceae) and rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roscoe. (Zingiberaceae) were powdered and mixed together in equiproportions to get a polyherbal formulation, Trikatu churna. The aqueous, ethanol, methanol and acetone extracts of these plant’s fruits and Trikatu churna were prepared and antibacterial activities were tested by disc diffusion method against enteric bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella typhimurium and Enterobacter aerogenes. The extracts of Piper longum, Piper nigrum and Zingiber officinale were found antibacterial to all bacterial pathogen tested. Trikatu churna exhibited potent antibacterial activity; this might be due to the multifunctional effect of all the three plant ingredients of Trikatu churna. Antibacterial activity of Trikatu churna and its ingredients was carried out in attempt to support the use of Trikatu churna for the treatment of enteric bacterial infections.Keywords: Antibacterial activity, Trikatu churna, bacterial pathogens

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BAL CHATURBHADRA CHURNA IN MANAGEMENT OF CHILDHOOD DISORDERS- EVIDENCES FROM AYURVEDA

Bal chaturbhadra churna is a poly-herbal formulation used in pediatric practice in Ayurveda especially in the treatment of vomiting, diarrhea, fever and respiratory disorders. The human clinical dose of Bal chaturbhadra churna is 1000 mg per day. It is prepared by mixing equal proportions of rhizome of Cyperus rotundus Linn. (Cyperaceae), fruit of Piper longum Linn. (Piperaceae), root of Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. ex. Royale. (Ranunculaceae) and gall of Pistacia integerrima Stew. Ex. Brandis. (Anacardiaceae). Aims and objectives: Critical analysis of Bal chaturbhadra churna in management of childhood disorder. Material and Methods: Various Ayurveda classics and studies published in journals related to use of Bal chaturbhadra churna in management of childhood disorder are reviewed and analyzed. Discussion: Contents of Bal chaturbhdra churna are mostly katu rasa, laghu guna, usna veerya and also deepana, pachana, krimighna, visaghna, hridya, ruchya, vrisya, rasayana, rochana, sthoulyahara, trisnanigrahana, tvakadosahara, jwaraghna etc. properties. Therefore due to presence of these qualities, it is used in vomiting, diarrhea, fever and respiratory disorders. According to studies published in journals, it is beneficial as immuno-modulator, anti inflammatory, anti spasmodic, anti asthmatic activity, anti bacterial activity, antidiabetic activity, antioxidant activity, anti-fungal activity, hepatoprotective action, analgesic activity.  Conclusion: Present review reveals Bal chaturbhadra churna is quite safe for administration among Children and therefore can be used in various ailments in children which can limit the irrational use of antibiotics in them

Evaluation of antibacterial potential of Trikatu churna and its ingredients: An in vitro study

Herbal medicines are being used increasingly as dietary supplements to fight or prevent common disease. The dried fruits of Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae), Piper longum L. (Piperaceae) and rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roscoe. (Zingiberaceae) were powdered and mixed together in equiproportions to get a polyherbal formulation, Trikatu churna. The aqueous, ethanol, methanol and acetone extracts of these plant’s fruits and Trikatu churna were prepared and antibacterial activities were tested by disc diffusion method against enteric bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella typhimurium and Enterobacter aerogenes. The extracts of Piper longum, Piper nigrum and Zingiber officinale were found antibacterial to all bacterial pathogen tested. Trikatu churna exhibited potent antibacterial activity; this might be due to the multifunctional effect of all the three plant ingredients of Trikatu churna. Antibacterial activity of Trikatu churna and its ingredients was carried out in attempt to support the use of Trikatu churna for the treatment of enteric bacterial infections.Keywords: Antibacterial activity, Trikatu churna, bacterial pathogens

Anti-mycobacterial activity of Piper longum L. fruit extracts against multi drug resistant Mycobacterium Spp

A long tradition of using pepper as to fight against several ailments by the local tribal people is still in the practice, in many parts of the rural India. So utilizing this tribal knowledge base for this highly medicinal plant, an attempt was made to isolate some novel natural bioactive compounds with potential activity against multidrug resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium. A bioassay guided fractionation of Pippali (Piper longum L.) was performed in five different organic solvents and their activities were monitored against different pathogenic bacteria including MDR Mycobacterium. Different fractions were screened for the bioactivity against Mycobacterium, and the structure of bioactive compound was characterized with H1 and C13 NMR. An ethyl acetate fraction of Pippali extract was found active against M. smegmatis (3000µg ml-1) and M. tuberculosis (39 µg ml-1). It also shows very significant activity against other bacterial strains like E.coli (152 µg ml-1), Staphylococcus aureus (14 µg ml-1), Salmonella typhi (180 µg ml-1), Enterococcus faecalis (15 µg ml-1), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (52 µg ml-1). This fraction of ethyl acetate was then purified and characterized as piperine [5-(1, 3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-1-piperidin-1-ylpenta-2,4-dien-1-one], a well known alkaloid from this plant. Bioactivity guided fractionation concludes that Piperine is the only active ingredients in various fractions of fruit extract evaluated for antibacterial activity. Fraction having piperine has significant activity against multi drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium spp. than other purified fractions of fruit extract. The current finding encourages us to develop new alternative medicine that includes piperine alone and/or in combination with other drugs to fight against the drug resistance among Mycobacterial strains.   

Variation in spike initiation in some Piper longum germplasms of North East India

The risk of adverse reactions in herbal remedies is less and has become popular to be used traditionally for treating various diseases. The species associated with genus Piper are important medicinal plants used for preparation of herbal medicines. The present investigation was carried out in the Experimental farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-13 during 2013-14 and 2014-15 to investigate the flowering variation of some Piper longum germplasms of North East  India. A total of 16 Piper longum germplasms including ‘Viswam’ as check variety were evaluated and experimental data revealed significant difference in spike initiation time among the germplasms with shortest spike initiation period (245.30 days) that recorded in germplasm PLJ-19 while the check var. recorded 287.40 days. Significant and shortest period for spike initiation to maturity was recorded in germplasm PLJ-19 (61.04days) followed by PLJ-01 (61.00days), PLJ-11 (61.38days) and check var. (70.03days).The number of flowering spike per plant ranges in between 58.53-113.73. The highest number of flowering spike per plant 113.73 was observed in germplasm PLJ-19 followed by PLJ-01 (109.40), PLJ-11 (104.11), PLJ-16 (100.33) and were found to be superior over check var.  (92.07). The present findings has a significant contribution in determination and identification of germplasm having shorter spike formation period with higher number of flowering spike as the variation in piperine content depends on both the characters also

Evaluation of In-Vitro Antioxidant Activity of Piperlongumine Isolated from Piper Longum

ABSTRACT Piper longum is widely used as a folk medicine to cure various ailments. Roots of Piper longum has many alkaloids, out of which Piperlongumine have been isolated. Piperlongumine has been evaluated for various antioxidant assays like DPPH, ferric Ion reducing Power, total antioxidant capacity and hydroxyl radical scavenging assay. The antioxidant activity of the Piperlongumine increased in a concentration-dependent manner. The compound showed significant reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity in all in vitro antioxidant assays. These results clearly indicate that Piperlongumine is effective against various diseases

Antibacterial, antioxidant, and phytochemical analysis of Piper longum fruit extracts against multi-drug resistant non-typhoidal Salmonella strains in vitro

Most bacteria are becoming resistant to almost all of the currently recommended drugs, leading to difficulty in their treatment. The present study focused on evaluating the therapeutic potential of Piper longum fruit extracts in terms of bactericidal, antioxidant and phytochemical evaluation by conducting antibacterial sensitivity tests against four multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains (Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae, Salmonella Newport, Salmonella enterica ser. Typhi, and Salmonella enterica ser. Paratyphi) obtained from the Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh. The Agar Well Diffusion method and the Minimum Inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods were performed to implement the anti-sensitivity test of crude extracts of the plant. The present study showed that the MIC of the P. longum  was between 0.25-0.0625mg/ml, which was lowest in the aqueous extract at 0.5mg/100µl, and the highest in the methanol extract (1mg/100µl). The Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was lowest in aqueous (0.5mg/100µl) and highest in methanol plant extract (1mg/100µl). The methanol extract had the maximum antibacterial potency, whereas the aqueous extract had the lowest. The antioxidant capacity of the plant extracts was determined using a DPPH assay. Methanol plant extract revealed the highest antioxidant power (81.92%) and the lowest was found in the aqueous extract (62.84%). The GC-MS approach identified active bioingredients, important botanicals including caryophyllene, eicosane, and piperazine (potent antibacterial agent) as naphthyridine (having antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities), among others. The unique aspect of the study was the effectiveness of P. longum against Salmonella strains that are resistant to multiple antibiotics. This suggests that P. longum can be a great source of novel antibacterial compound for the development of herbal formulations