Cultivation is cost effective for conservation and sustainable supply of rare and high value medicinal plants. Assessment of productivity and quality testing validates cultivation and improves trade prospective. Picrorhiza kurroa is a recently domesticated Himalayan medicinal herb. Despite, specific habitat preference above 3000 m in natural habitats, P. kurroa is cultivated successfully below 3000 m under diverse cultivation conditions. In addition to roots/rhizomes, the leaves of P. kurroa are known to contain picrosides (I & II). Therefore, it is inevitable to assess production (roots/rhizomes and leaves), and picroside content (in roots/rhizomes and leaves) of cultivated P. kurroa. A total 12 locations having different age group crop were selected for assessing the production of roots/rhizomes and leaves, and HPLC method was used for estimation of picrosides (I & II) content. Production of roots/rhizomes and leaves (on dry weight basis) of less than two years old crop was 1146.67±95.04 to 1583.33±420.63kg/ha and 1146.67±298.72 to 1396.67±110.15kg/ha respectively. Crop having more than two years, but less than three years age, produced 1760.00±79.37 to 2316.67±330.05 kg/ha roots/rhizomes and 1256.67±11.55 to 2180.00±208.81 kg/ha leaves. Productivity of roots/rhizomes and leaves was 2996.67±90.18 to 3546.67±173.88 kg/ha and 3046.67±56.86 to 3423.33±299.56 kg/ha, respectively for the crop that has completed three years. Irrespective of age of crop and variability in cultivation conditions, picroside I content in roots/rhizomes was from 0.54 to 2.43%, while it was 1.42 to 4.42% in leaves. Picroside II content was from 4.72 to 8.62% in root/rhizomes and from 1.93 to 7.03% in leaves. Production of roots/rhizomes and leaves of P. kurroa under cultivation (ex-situ) is encouraging and based on picroside content in different plant parts, the quality of cultivated P. kurroa is comparable to naturally growing (in-situ) plants. Keywords: Picrorhiza kurroa, cultivation, roots/rhizomes, leaves production, picrosides (I&II).
In this study, the productivity of the red watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) crop in arid regions with saline water is examined in relation to the effects of magnetic treatment of irrigation water.The greenhouse experiments compared two treatments (magnetic treatment of irrigation water) and (no magnetic treatment of irrigation water).Magnetic treatment device delta water with a power of 14500 gausses (1.45 T) that was delivered from the company professional hydraulic (CPH) was used for vegetative traits on growing periods and quantitative, qualitative, and chemical production characteristics at maturity.The leaf area and the number of seedlings treated with magnetic water (MW) increased significantly by 8.7 and 1.4%, respectively, compared to control seedlings.Leaf holder length also decreased.Except for plant height prior to branching, it also demonstrated a notable increase in stem characteristics.Magnetic water (MW) enhanced the yield characteristics (quantitative, qualitative, and chemical), resulting in increases in the number of fruits produced per plant 11.4%, fruit weight 2%, the weight of a kilogram of seeds, and yield, respectively with 0.34, 10.34 and 16.5% decrease in fruit peel thickness.Additionally, it revealed that the sugar content had increased by 15.4% and that the acidity and electrical conductivity (EC) had changed.By adding magnetic treatment to irrigation water, fruits ripen earlier and have better texture, traceability and homogeneity.
The objective of this study is to study the sedative and hypnotic effects of the compatibility of Schisandra chinensis (SC) and Polygala tenuifolia (PT) on insomnia mice and its mechanisms.The 160 SPF KM mice were divided into 8 groups with 20 each group (10 female and 10 male mice), including control, model, estazolam, SC, PT, SC-PT 1:1, SC-PT 1:2, and SC-PT 2:1 group.Insomnia mice model was established with intraperitoneal injection of P-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) for 3 days.The mice were investigated by the sleep time of mice induced by pentobarbital sodium, the levels of GABA, DA, 5-HT and 5-HIAA in hypothalamus by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the GABAα1 and DRD2 mRNA expression in hypothalamus by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).SC-PT reduced the sleep latency of insomnia mice and prolonged the Pentobarbital-sodium induced sleep time than model group.SC-PT 2:1 group increased the levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), 5hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the expression of GABAARα1 and decreased the levels of dopamine (DA) and the expression of DRD2 in the hypothalamus of insomnia mice.The compatibility of SC and PT can enhance the function of sedation and hypnosis than single group.This study provides a basis for the compatibility of SC and PT in the insomnia treatment.
Herbal medicine is an important age-long resource for healthcare.The aim of this study was to determine the development of herbal medicine in relation to compliance to regulatory guidelines and product development in pursuance of the integration of herbal medicine into the healthcare system in Nigeria.Using Imo State as a case study, a cross-sectional investigation was conducted among the Traditional Medicine Practitioners (TMPs) using questionnaires.One Hundred TMPs were administered with questionnaires to determine relevant demographic details, information relating to regulatory guidelines and the quality of finished products.Ninety-eight of the questionnaires were returned completed.Of these, 72% of the TMPs were male.The dominant age of the TMPs was between 25 to 65 years.Over 80% of the TMPs were literate having a minimum of secondary school education.About 86% of the TMPs are herbal medicine practitioners.All the TMPs claimed knowledge of the existence of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) as the regulatory authority for herbal medicine.Only 5% had any contact with the agency in relation to product registration, while only 1% of the products owned by the TMPs had NAFDAC registration number.Also, 97% of the TMPs produced only extemporaneous products for their patients, and only 6% have any knowledge on the formulation of some conventional dosage forms.Of the 300 herbal medicines owned by the TMPs, only 8% were presented in conventional dosage forms with appropriate packaging.The few number of herbal medicines registered with NAFDAC reflects the low level of development of herbal medicine in Nigeria.This makes the products unsafe for integration into the healthcare system at the present stage.
Salix humboldtianaWilld.(Salicaceae) colonizes Brazilian riverine forests and, besides other congeneric species, is traditionally used to treat fever.In folk medicine, it is even used as a Quinine substitute to treat malaria fever.Although its occurrence worldwide was largely reduced between 2000-2015, in Brazil, the case numbers induced by Plasmodium falciparum have increased.Thus, new tools and strategies are necessary against malaria according to the World-Malaria-Report.In the present study the characterization of flavonoids, phenolic acids, phenolic glycosides, and salicylates detected in the ethanol extract of willow leaves, and the antiplasmodial activity of extract of S. humboldtiana and its fractions are firstly reported.Chromatography, UV-Visible spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry were used to characterize substances, and the antiplasmodial activity was accessed by cellular DNA fluorescence measurement with ethidium bromide on a flow cytometer.Kaempferol, apigenin, salicylic acid, and salicylates were found in the extract among other phenolics.The bioassays revealed that lyophilized extract of S. humboldtiana Willd showed antiplasmodial activity.Hexane, AcOEt, and Methanol fractions were active against P. falciparum at IC 50 of 0.655, 0.929 and 0.688 μg/mL, respectively.Quinine, used as a reference, showed an IC 50 of 0.147 μg/mL.The polyphenols -salicylates and flavonoids, especially kaempferol and catechin, detected in LESh, exhibit biochemical interference on the plasmodial metabolism, as already reported, and they could also promote the antiplasmodial activity detected.This alleged medicinal use has been already reported for some Salix species.Moreover, this work presents scientific evidence for the antiplasmodial activity of S. humboldtiana, which can be helpful in the development of antiplasmodial phytomedicine.
