Evaluation of gut modulatory and bronchodilator activities of Amaranthus spinosus Linn.

Background The aqueous-methanolic extract of Amaranthus spinosus (A. spinosus Linn.,) whole plant, was studied for its laxative, spasmolytic and bronchodilator activities to validate some of its medicinal uses. Methods The crude extract of A. spinosus was studied in-vivo for bronchodilator and laxative activities and in-vitro using isolated tissue preparations which were mounted in tissue baths assembly containing physiological salt solutions, maintained at 37°C and aerated with carbogen, to assess the spasmolytic effect and to find out the possible underlying mechanisms. Results In the in-vivo experiments in mice, the administration of A. spinosus increased fecal output at doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg showing laxative activity. It also inhibited carbachol-induced bronchospasm in anesthetized rats at 1, 3, 10 and 30 mg/kg indicative of bronchodilator activity. When tested on isolated gut preparations, the plant extract showed a concentration-dependent (0.01-10.0 mg/ml) spasmogenic effect in spontaneously contracting rabbit jejunum and guinea-pig ileum. The spasmogenic effect was partially blocked in tissues pretreated with atropine (0.1 μM). When tested on K+ (80 mM)-induced sustained contractions in isolated rabbit jejunum, the plant extract caused complete relaxation and also produced a shift in the Ca++ concentration-response curves (CRCs) towards right, similar to diltiazem. In rabbit trachea, the plant extract completely inhibited K+ (80 mM) and carbachol (CCh, 1 μM)-induced contractions at 1 mg/ml but pretreatment of tissue with propranolol (1 μM), caused around 10 fold shift in the inhibitory CRCs of the plant extract constructed against CCh-induced contraction. The plant extract (up to 0.3 mg/ml) also increased both force and rate of spontaneous contractions of isolated guinea-pig atria, followed by relaxation at higher concentration (1.0-5.0 mg/ml). The cardio-stimulant effect was abolished in the presence of propranolol, similar to that of isoprenaline. Activity-directed fractionation revealed that the spasmolytic component(s) was separated in the organic fraction, whereas the spasmogenic component was concentrated in the aqueous fraction. Conclusion These results indicate that A. spinosus possesses laxative activity partially mediated through cholinergic action. The spasmolytic effect was mediated through calcium channel blocking (CCB), while bronchodilator activity through a combination of β-adrenergic and CCB pathways, which may explain the traditional uses of A. spinosus in gut and airways disorders

Antiglycation and Antioxidant Activities and HPTLC Analysis of Boswellia sacra Oleogum Resin: The Sacred Frankincense

Purpose: To evaluate antiglycation and antioxidant activities as undertake HPTLC analysis of Boswellia sacra resin.Methods: Sub-fractionation of the crude methanol extract of Hougari regular (HR) grade resin of Boswellia sacra was carried out by vacuum liquid chromatography. Free radical scavenging and antiglycation activities of sub-fractions were characterized in order to assess their anti-aging properties. Furthermore, high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis of Boswellia sacra resins was also carried out.Results: Polar fractions of the extract obtained exhibited the highest antiglycation activity while nonpolar fractions showed more than 50 % inhibition in superoxide anion scavenging assay. Scavenging activity of reactive oxygen species results indicate that non-polar sub-fractions showed > 50 % inhibition, except Shabi frankincense (SF) oil which showed 33 % inhibition. Dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) fraction, 40 % dichloromethane (CH2Cl2)/n-hexane sub-fraction, and SF oil showed moderate activity in di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)iminoazanium (DPPH) assay. Furthermore, HPTLC analysis indicates the presence of 11-keto-β-boswellic acid (KBA) and 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) along with some other terpenoids.Conclusion: Various sub-fractions of Boswellia sacra exert effective antiglycation and antioxidant activities. The extracts should be studied further for possible formulation into pharmaceutical products.Keywords: Frankincense, Boswellia sacra, Terpenoids, HPTLC, Antioxidant, Antiglycatio

Species and tissue-specificity of prokinetic, laxative and spasmodic effects of Fumaria parviflora

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Fumaria parviflora </it>Linn. (<it>Fumariaceae</it>), is a small branched annual herb found in many parts of the world including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. This study was designed to provide pharmacological basis for the medicinal use of <it>Fumaria parviflora </it>in gut motility disorders.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The <it>in-vivo </it>prokinetic and laxative assays were conducted in mice. Isolated intestinal preparations (ileum and jejunum) from different animal species (mouse, guinea-pig and rabbit) were separately suspended in tissue baths containing Tyrode's solution bubbled with carbogen and maintained at 37°C. The spasmogenic responses were recorded using isotonic transducers coupled with PowerLab data acquisition system.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The aqueous-methanol extract of <it>Fumaria parviflora </it>(Fp.Cr), which tested positive for the presence of alkaloids, saponins, tannins and anthraquinones showed partially atropine-sensitive prokinetic and laxative activities in the <it>in-vivo </it>in mice at 30 and 100 mg/kg. In the <it>in-vitro </it>studies, Fp.Cr (0.01-1 mg/ml) caused a concentration-dependent atropine-sensitive stimulatory effect both in mouse tissues (jejunum and ileum), and rabbit jejunum but had no effect in rabbit ileum. In guinea-pig tissues (ileum and jejunum), the crude extract showed a concentration-dependent stimulatory effect with higher efficacy in ileum and the effect was partially blocked by atropine, indicating the involvement of more than one types of gut-stimulant components (atropine-sensitive and insensitive). This could be a plausible reason for the greater efficacy of Fp.Cr in gut preparations of guinea-pig than in rabbit or mouse.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study shows the prokinetic, laxative and spasmodic effects of the plant extract partially mediated through cholinergic pathways with species and tissue-selectivity, and provides a sound rationale for the medicinal use of <it>Fumaria parviflora </it>in gut motility disorders such as, indigestion and constipation. This study also suggests using different species to know better picture of pharmacological profile of the test material.</p

<i>Myrica salicifolia</i> Hochst. ex A. Rich. suppress acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis in rats by reducing TNF-alpha and interleukin-6, oxidative stress parameters and improving mucosal protection

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with rising prevalence in developing countries, and limited success of current therapies, natural products have immense potential for therapy due to their “disease modifying and side-effect neutralizing” potential. Myrica salicifolia is traditionally used for gastrointestinal diseases and have reported antiinflammatory activities, but its use in IBD has not yet been studied. Therefore, in the present study, the effects of the root extract of M. salicifolia (Ms.Cr) were investigated using the acetic acid-induced UC model in rats. For 6 days, the rats were given either vehicle (10 mL/kg), lower (200 mg/kg), and higher (400 mg/kg) doses of Ms.Cr, or the positive control drug (prednisolone; 2 mg/kg) orally. A single dosage of 5% acetic acid (1.0 mL) was administered intrarectally to rats on day 6 to induce UC. Disease activity index (DAI), histological observations, the biochemical parameters related to oxidative stress, and specific cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were determined to assess the effect of Ms.Cr. In comparison to the AA-induced colitis rats, Ms.Cr’s pretreatment significantly decreased DAI, colonic ulceration, and inflammatory score. Total glutathione levels and catalase activity were considerably recovered in the colitis group treated with Ms.Cr, whereas enhanced lipid peroxidation in colon tissues was significantly decreased. Moreover, Ms.Cr pretreatment also caused inhibition of the activation of IL-6 and TNF-α in the colonic tissues of respective groups. Based on these findings, Ms.Cr might be developed to treat UC in the future. </jats:p

Presence of laxative and antidiarrheal activities in Periploca aphylla: A Saudi medicinal plant.

Periploca aphylla (Famly; aselepiadaceae) in notive to Saudi Araba and is used as purgative. The aim of this study was to investingation the gut modulatiory effect of the aqueau

Analysis of codon usage bias of lumpy skin disease virus causing livestock infection

Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) causes lumpy skin disease (LSD) in livestock, which is a double-stranded DNA virus that belongs to the genus Capripoxvirus of the family Poxviridae. LSDV is an important poxvirus that has spread out far and wide to become distributed worldwide. It poses serious health risks to the host and causes considerable negative socioeconomic impact on farmers financially and on cattle by causing ruminant-related diseases. Previous studies explained the population structure of the LSDV within the evolutionary time scale and adaptive evolution. However, it is still unknown and remains enigmatic as to how synonymous codons are used by the LSDV. Here, we used 53 LSDV strains and applied the codon usage bias (CUB) analysis to them. Both the base content and the relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) analysis revealed that the AT-ended codons were more frequently used in the genome of LSDV. Further low codon usage bias was calculated from the effective number of codons (ENC) value. The neutrality plot analysis suggested that the dominant factor of natural selection played a role in the structuring of CUB in LSDV. Additionally, the results from a comparative analysis suggested that the LSDV has adapted host-specific codon usage patterns to sustain successful replication and transmission chains within hosts (Bos taurus and Homo sapiens). Both natural selection and mutational pressure have an impact on the codon usage patterns of the protein-coding genes in LSDV. This study is important because it has characterized the codon usage pattern in the LSDV genomes and has provided the necessary data for a basic evolutionary study on them