Application of Aloe Vera on Wound Healing

In traditional medicine, Aloe vera has been predominantly used for curative purposes in wound healing.  Numerous scientific research had recently confirmed the efficiency of Aloe vera for healing many kinds of wounds, such as burn wound, wound in diabetic mellitus, oral ulcer, gastric ulcer, surgical wound, and radiation-induced wounds, etc.  This review examines several scientific papers describing  pharmacological effects, molecular mechanisms, and pharmaceutical preparations of Aloe vera in wound healing to serve as a scientific evidence for the potential of Aloe vera in wound healing.  In the future, it might be possible to safely use this plant with same standard as those used in conventional medicine

Application of Orthosiphon stamineus for diuretic effect

The most common pharmacological effect of Orthosiphon stamineus predominantly mentioned is a diuretic effect via adenosine receptor leading to the contraction of urinary bladder muscle and relaxation of urethral muscle. Evidence show its safe application in some diseases (1) hypertension; decrease blood pressure and vasoconstriction (2) urinary tract infection; antiinflammatory analgesia antipyretics and antiadhesive activity against uropathognic Escherichiacoli to uroepithelial tissue (3) diabetic mellitus; decrease blood glucose due to the α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition, and decrease glucotoxicity (4) urolithiasis; increase uric acid excretion, decrease the risk of uric stone formation and kidney injury from calcium oxalate (5) cancer; cytotoxic to many cancer cells and decrease angiogenesis to cancer mass (6) urethral constriction; relaxation of urethral smooth muscle to facilitate urination. Evidence supports the use of Orthosiphon stamineus for diuretic effect and safety for other diseases. That was the reason that  traditional medicine mentioned about the application for other diseases. It is worth to consume medicinal plants grown and manufactured in Thailand

Chemical compositions of essential oils of Amomum verum and Cinnamomum parthenoxylon and their in vitro biological properties

Introduction: In eastern Thailand, Amomum verum and Cinnamomum parthenoxylon are native plants used by local communities for their medical and culinary properties. This study determined the chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oils from A. verum shoots (AVSEO) and C. parthenoxylon wood (CPW-EO). Methods: Essential oils were extracted using hydro-distillation and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the disc diffusion method and broth microdilution assay. The cytotoxic activity of the essential oils was assessed against the human prostate adenocarcinoma (DU145) cell line using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The antioxidant activity of the essential oils was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assays. The expression of antioxidant genes in the DU145 cells was evaluated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results: 1,8-Cineole was the main component in AVS-EO and CPW-EO with 84.38, and 45.65 %, respectively. AVS-EO had stronger antimicrobial activity than CPW-EO. The lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum microbicidal concentration (MMC) values of AVSEO against Candida albicans were 0.3125 and 2.5 mg/mL, respectively. Both essential oils had timedependent and dose-dependent cytotoxic effects on the DU145 human prostate adenocarcinoma cells. CPW-EO had high antioxidant activity toward DPPH and ABTS radicals with IC50 values of 4.528±0.233 and 0.045±0.007 mg/mL, respectively. The two essential oils up-regulated glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GRx) mRNA expression in the oxidative stress response of DU145 cells. Conclusion: AVS-EO and CPW-EO might be added as natural ingredients in food or dietary supplement products for the benefit of microbial and prostate cancer inhibition

Phytochemical and antioxidant studies of Laurera benguelensis growing in Thailand

The aim of this study was to investigate metabolites of the lichen Laurera benguelensis. A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method has been developed for the characterization of xanthones and anthraquinones in extracts of this lichen. Lichexanthone, secalonic acid D, norlichexanthon, parietin, emodin, teloschistin and citreorosein were detected in the lichen samples, which were collected from two places in Thailand. Components of the lichen were identifed by relative retention time and spectral data. This is the frst time that a detailed phytochemical analysis of the lichen L. benguelensis was reported and this paper has chemotaxonomic signifcance because very little has been published on the secondary metabolites present in Laurera species. Some of the metabolites were detected for the frst time in the family Trypetheliaceae. The results of preliminary testing of benzene extract and its chloroform and methanol fractions showed that all samples showed a weak radical scavenging activity. The chloroform extract showed the highest antioxidant activity