Public Health

The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries – a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage. Results of the cervical study currently appear online in the journal Stem Cells. UCI scientist Hans Keirstead hopes the data will prompt the FDA to authorize clinical testing of the treatment in people with both types of spinal cord damage. About 52 percent of spinal cord injuries are cervical and 48 percent thoracic. "People with cervical…

With the so called obesity epidemic in full swing, many people have turned to low-carb, high-fat diets as an alternative way to lose weight in recent years. While these diets can help people lose weight, some scientists say that they do very little to improve  mood and cognition. A study published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine followed two groups of dieters for one year and found that a low-calorie, low-fat diet appears to be more beneficial to dieters' mood than a low-carbohydrate plan with the same number of calories Researchers conducted a randomized clinical trial…

Scientific Name Oroxylum indicum Vent Family Bignoniaceae Used Part Bark Distribution Area Found throughout the greater part of India up to an altitude of 1,200 m. Common Uses . The root bark is a well known drug in Ayurvedic system and is prescribed fresh. The root bark is tonic and astringent and useful in diarrhoea and dysentery; it is diaphoretic and is used in rheumatism. Boiled in sesamum oil, it has been recommended for otorrhoea. Tender fruits are refreshing and stomachic and the seeds purgative. In Malaya, a decoction of the leaves is given in stomach ache and rheumatism;…

Scientific Name Amomum subulatum Roxb. Family Zingiberaceae Used Part Fruit Distribution Area A tall, perennial herb, with leafy stems, up to 2.5 m in height, found in the eastern Himalayas and cultivated in Nepal, northern West Bengal, Sikkim, and Assam hills. Common Uses . The seeds are aromatic and pungent, with a sharp, pleasant taste; they are similar in properties to the true cardamom for which they are often substituted both as a spice and as a masticatory or as an ingredient of chewing preparation. In South India, large cardamom is used in the preparation of…

Calotropis procera (Ait.) Ait. f. giant milkweed ASCLEPIADACEAE Synonym: Asclepias procera Ait. General Description.—Giant milkweed is also known as sodom apple, calotrope, French cotton, small crown flower (English), algodón de seda, bomba (Spanish), cotton-france, arbre de soie, and bois canon (French) (Howard 1989, Liogier 1995, Neal 1965, Parrotta 2001). This plant is a soft-wooded, evergreen, perennial shrub. It has one or a few stems, few branches, and relatively few leaves, mostly concentrated near the growing tip. The bark is corky, furrowed, and light gray. A copious white sap flows…

S containing bioactive cancer preventive compounds in almost all major genera and in every class of primary and secondary metabolites of Euphorbiaceae. The glucosinolates are especially abundant among families of the order Capparales: Tovariaceae, Resedaceae, Capparaceae, Moringaceae, and Brassicaceae. Families outside the order exhibit occasional occurrence and include the Caricaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Gyrotemonaceae, Limnathaceae, Salvadoraceae, and Tropaeolaceae (Fenwick et al. 1983). A recent literature review provides a comprehensive list of all species known to contain glucosinolates (…

Pharmacognostical studies on Calotropis procera (Ait.) R.Br. Ashwani Kumar Calotropis procera (Asclepiadaceae) is a wild shrub, which grows upto a height of 1-3 m and its leaves are 10-13 cm wide by 17-19 cm long. Calotropis procera commonly known as Akra is a popular medicinal plant. This plant is very drought resistant and grows throughout the Sahelian countries, notably in Burkina Faso. Medicinal properties: Its latex is used in leprosy, eczema, inflamation, cutaneous infections, syphilis, malarial and low hectic fevers, and as abortifacient ( Kumar and Basu, 1994). Leaves: in…

“Nature has been a source of medicinal agents for thousands of years, and an impressive number of modern drugs have been isolated from natural sources, many based on their use in traditional medicine.” These plant-based traditional medicine systems continue to play an essential role in health care, with about 80% of the world’s inhabitants relying mainly on traditional medicines for their primary health care. Plant products also have an important role in the health care systems of the remaining 20%, who reside in developed countries. About 25% of prescription drugs dispensed from community…

The use of natural products with therapeutic properties is as ancient as human civilization and these natural products are the foundation of preventing and curing diseases. Numerous present day medicines of the western world have been developed based on traditional medicines by studing and recognozing the mechanisms of action and their receptors. This interest in drugs of plant origin is due to several reasons, eg, abusive or incorrect use of synthetic drugs results in side effects and other problems, a huge part of the world’s population does not have access to conventional pharmacological…

Pharmacognosy of Chlorophytum tuberosum Family Liliaceae This is a genus of two hundred species and twelve are native to India. These are rhizomatous herbs and roots fascicled, often thick fleshy and tuber like. It is a rhizomatous herb. Leaves are suberect lanceolate and many nerved. Inflorescence is an erect, dense-flowered racemes. Flowers are star like, white upto 2 cm across, sepals are acute, anthers are longer than filaments are green or yellow in colour, bracts are long. Seeds are black in colour with angular edges. Organic rich well drained sandy loamy soil and warm humid climate…