Indian Spices for Healthy Heart - An Overview

Spices were some of the most valuable items of trade in the ancient and medieval world. Herbalist and folk practitioners have used plant remedies for centuries, but only recently have scientist begun to study the powers of common herbs and spices. In the current set-up, the anti-proliferative, anti-hypercholesterolemic, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory effects of spices have overriding importance, as the key health concern of mankind nowadays is diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases, arthritis and cancer. Spices or their active compounds could be used as possible ameliorative or preventive agents for these health disorders. Spices are rich in antioxidants, and scientific studies suggest that they are also potent inhibitors of tissue damage and inflammation caused by high levels of blood sugar and circulating lipids. Because spices have very low calorie content and are relatively inexpensive, they are reliable sources of antioxidants and other potential bioactive compounds in diet. This review outlines the role of some spices used in the Indian kitchen for its flavour and taste which are potential to maintain a healthy heart

Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of \u3cem\u3eMussaenda\u3c/em\u3e Species (Rubiaceae)

The genus Mussaenda is an important source of medicinal natural products, particularly iridoids, triterpenes and flavonoids. The purpose of this paper is to cover the more recent developments in the ethnobotany, pharmacology and phytochemistry of this genus. The species in which the largest number of compounds has been identified is Mussaenda pubescens. Pharmacological studies have also been made, however, of other species in this genus. These lesser known plants of the genus are described here according to their cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant and antibacterial properties. The information given here is intended to serve as a reference tool for practitioners in the fields of ethnopharmacology and natural products chemistry

STANDARDIZATION OF A SIDDHA FORMULATION AMUKKARA CURANAM BY HPTLC

Amukkara curanam, a Siddha formulation, currently used in all types of gastric disorders, rheumatic pain, insomnia and sexual insufficiency, was investigated for the estimation of the marker compounds, withaferine A and piperine contents in a prepared standard formulation and a commercial formulation by using HPTLC method of analysis. The two formulations were subjected to methanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform extractions by using Soxhhlet apparatus The chromatogram was developed using chloroform: methanol (8.5:1.5 v/v) and toluene: ethyl acetate (7:3 v/v) as mobile phases for the estimation of withferine A and piperine respectively. The detection and quantification were performed at a wavelength of 220 nm for withaferine A and 254 nm for piperine. The linear regression analysis of calibration plots of withferine A and piperine exhibited linear relationship in the range of 5 – 15 µg and 50 – 150 ng respectively, while the % recovery was found to be 94.52% w/w of withaferine A and 98.73%w/w of piperine, thus proving the accuracy and precision of the analysis. Methanol and ethyl acetate were found to be the suitable solvents for the extraction of withaferin A and piperine respectively. The withaferine A content in standard formulation was found to be much higher in all the three extracts than that of the commercial sample. However, the piperine content in all the three extracts of standard formulation was slightly lower than the respective extracts of commercial formulation. The proposed HPTLC method was found to be rapid, simple and accurate for quantitative estimation of withferine A and piperine in different formulation extracts

Wastewater Sequencing Reveals Community and Variant Dynamics of the Collective Human Virome

Wastewater is a discarded human by-product, but its analysis may help us understand the health of populations. Epidemiologists first analyzed wastewater to track outbreaks of poliovirus decades ago, but so-called wastewater-based epidemiology was reinvigorated to monitor SARS-CoV-2 levels while bypassing the difficulties and pit falls of individual testing. Current approaches overlook the activity of most human viruses and preclude a deeper understanding of human virome community dynamics. Here, we conduct a comprehensive sequencing-based analysis of 363 longitudinal wastewater samples from ten distinct sites in two major cities. Critical to detection is the use of a viral probe capture set targeting thousands of viral species or variants. Over 450 distinct pathogenic viruses from 28 viral families are observed, most of which have never been detected in such samples. Sequencing reads of established pathogens and emerging viruses correlate to clinical data sets of SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus, and monkeypox viruses, outlining the public health utility of this approach. Viral communities are tightly organized by space and time. Finally, the most abundant human viruses yield sequence variant information consistent with regional spread and evolution. We reveal the viral landscape of human wastewater and its potential to improve our understanding of outbreaks, transmission, and its effects on overall population health

Antihyperlipidemic Potential of Polyphenol and Glycoside Rich Nerium oleander Flower against Triton WR-1339-Induced Hyperlipidemia in Experimental Sprague Dawley Rats

Nerium oleander Linn. (NO), an evergreen cardiac glycoside-rich shrub is used as folklore medicine in China to treat many diseases. It exhibits a wide spectrum of bioactivities but there were not much scienti�c reports on the bioactivity of N. oleander �owers. In the present study, we have evaluated the toxicity pro�le of the 50% hydroethanolic extracts of Nerium oleander �owers (ENO) using in vitro brine shrimp lethality assay and MTT cytotoxicity assay and in vivo acute toxicity test as per the OECD guidelines. e antihyperlipidemic activity of the ENO was also studied using Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipemic rats and compared with standard Atorvastatin. In vitro brine shrimp, MTT cytotoxic assay, and in vivo acute toxicity assays showed a wide safety margin which has been evidenced through its lethal concentration (LC 50 : 795.46 g/mL) and growth inhibition (GI 50 : 993.60 g/ml) values. Plasma lipids and lipoproteins were signi�cantly elevated by the intraperitoneal in�ection of Triton WR 1339 in hyperlipidemic rats at 6th and 24th hour. ENO pretreatment showed a signi�cant ameliorative action on elevated lipids and lipoproteins in a dosedependent manner when compared to standard. Altogether, the results prove that Nerium oleander �owers are not toxic at the tested doses and exhibit antilipimic activity

IN-VITRO NEPHROPROTECTIVE ROLE OF ETHANOLIC ROOT EXTRACT OF Boerhaavia diffusa AGAINST CISPLATIN-INDUCED NEPHROTOXICITY

Context and purpose of the study: The present study was carried out to investigate the antioxidant and nephroprotective role of ethanolic root extract of Boerhaavia diffusa (ERE).Results:  Antioxidant activity of ERE was studied using DPPH free radical scavenging activity, Nitric oxide scavenging activity and reducing power assay. To study the nephroprotective role of ERE against cisplatin, a porcine renal epithelial cell line (LLC-PK1) was used. Cisplatin increases the apoptotic and necrotic cells and also increases the production of ROS in the treated cells. Co-treatment of ERE decrease the apoptotic and necrotic cells and attenuates the ROS production. This nephroprotective activity could probably be correlated with the phytochemicals like polyphenols (4.5 ±0.02 mg/g), flavonoids (4.2 ±0.08 mg/g) and tannins (6.5 ±0.3 mg/g) present in the extract.Brief summary and potential implications: These findings suggested that toxicity induced by cisplatin could be reduced by the presence of phytoconstituents in the ERE. This study showed that phytoconstituents present in B.diffusa could manage the nephrotoxicity induced by life saving drugs and it can be considered to be given as an adjuvant therapy. 

Free radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory potential of a marine brown alga <i style="">Turbinaria ornata </i>(Turner) J.Agardh

664-670In the present study, in-vitro free radical scavenging potential of aqueous extract of Turbinaira ornata (ATO) was evaluated by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-pricrylhydrazyl (DPPH) inhibition assay, Nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging assay, lipid peroxide (LPO) inhibition and ABTS radical scavenging assay. Further, the anti-inflammatory effect of ATO was evaluated by carrageenan induced paw edema in rats and vascular permeability assay in mice. ATO showed maximum DPPH and NO scavenging activity at 500 and 250 µg/mL respectively. Maximum LPO inhibition was found to be at 62 µg/mL by ATO. Maximum ABTS scavenging assay was found to be 95.63% at 1000 µg/mL. On the other hand the in-vivo anti-inflammatory activity of the aqueous extract of T.ornata showed a significant (P<0.05) dose dependent protection at 30, 100, and 300 mg/kg, b.wt. in both carrageenan induced paw edema and vascular permeability test. Present study reveals that anti-inflammatory activity of ATO could be due its potential antioxidant and free radical scavenging property

Standardization of a Siddha Formulation Amukkara Curanam by HPTLC

Amukkara curanam, a Siddha formulation, currently used in all types of gastric disorders, rheumatic pain, insomnia and sexual insufficiency, was investigated for the estimation of the marker compounds, withaferine A and piperine contents in a prepared standard formulation and a commercial formulation by using HPTLC method of analysis. The two formulations were subjected to methanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform extractions by using Soxhhlet apparatus The chromatogram was developed using chloroform: methanol (8.5:1.5 v/v) and toluene: ethyl acetate (7:3 v/v) as mobile phases for the estimation of withferine A and piperine respectively. The detection and quantification were performed at a wavelength of 220 nm for withaferine A and 254 nm for piperine. The linear regression analysis of calibration plots of withferine A and piperine exhibited linear relationship in the range of 5 – 15 µg and 50 – 150 ng respectively, while the % recovery was found to be 94.52% w/w of withaferine A and 98.73%w/w of piperine, thus proving the accuracy and precision of the analysis. Methanol and ethyl acetate were found to be the suitable solvents for the extraction of withaferin A and piperine respectively. The withaferine A content in standard formulation was found to be much higher in all the three extracts than that of the commercial sample. However, the piperine content in all the three extracts of standard formulation was slightly lower than the respective extracts of commercial formulation. The proposed HPTLC method was found to be rapid, simple and accurate for quantitative estimation of withferine A and piperine in different formulation extracts

Antiaging Properties of a Grape-Derived Antioxidant Are Regulated by Mitochondrial Balance of Fusion and Fission Leading to Mitophagy Triggered by a Signaling Network of Sirt1-Sirt3-Foxo3-PINK1-PARKIN

It was proposed that resveratrol, a polyphenolic antioxidant and a calorie restriction mimetic could promote longevity but subsequent studies could not prove this. The original proposal was based on the fact that a grape-derived antioxidant could activate the antiaging gene Sirt1. Most studies agree that indeed grape activates Sirt1, but a question remains whether Sirt1 is the cause or consequence of resveratrol treatment. Subsequently, mitochondrial Sirt3 was found to be activated. The present study on ischemic reperfusion (I/R) in rat hearts demonstrates that Foxo3a is activated subsequent to Sirt3 activation, which then activates PINK1. PINK1 potentiates activation of PARKIN leading to the activation of mitochondrial fission and mitophagy. Confocal microscopy conclusively shows the coexistence of Sirt3 with Foxo3a and Foxo3a with PINK1 and PARKIN. Mitophagy was demonstrated both by confocal microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Western blot analyses data are consistent with the results of confocal microscopy. It appears that the grape-derived antioxidant modifies the intracellular environment by changing the oxidizing milieu into a reducing milieu and upregulating intracellular glutathione, potentiates a signal transduction cascade consisting of Sirt1/Sirt3-Foxo3a-PINK1-PARKIN-mitochondrial fusion fission-mitophagy that leads to cardioprotection, and paves the way to an anti-aging environment