GC-MS analysis, anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities of Saussurea hypoleuca spreng. Root.

Study has been premeditated to appraise the anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities of a native medicinal plant Saussurea hypoleuca Spreng root. Anticancer assays including MTT, Alamar Blue (AB), Neutral Red (NR) & LDH were employed on root methanolic extract (RME) and all fractions to calculate % age of cell viability and cell cytotoxicity. All fractions of plant root were tested for in vitro as well as in vivo anti-inflammatory assays by reported methods. GC-MS analysis of n-hexane: chloroform fractions in column chromatography has shown isopropyl myristate, hexadecanoic acid, 11-octadecenoic acid, Di-n-octyl phthalate, dioctyl ether, decanedioic acid, 1H-3a,7-Methanoazulene, 3,4-hexanedione and Tetracosapentaene. Percentage of cell viability in anticancer assays was significantly high in all fractions. However, whole results were momentous with ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions owning to excellent profile in evaluating cytotoxicity in each assay. COX-2 inhibition was calculated which was high in RME (68.69%), ethyl acetate (56.52%), aqueous (55.21%) and chloroform fraction (53.47%). Carrageenan and formalin models were developed on rats to investigate in vivo anti-inflammatory activity. RME (56.19%, 71.09%, 66.4%, 67.99%) and ethyl acetate (51.36%, 64.97%, 55.63% & 61.01%) produced significant % age inhibition in dose dependent manner at 200 and 400 mg/kg doses respectively. All above findings direct that plant root holds strong anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities.

Comparing the effects of salts of diclofenac and alminoprofen with aspirin on serum electrolytes, creatinine and urea levels in rabbits.

The effects of diclofenac sodium, diclofenac potassium, alminoprofen and aspirin on serum electrolytes (serum Na(+) and K(+)), urea and creatinine were compared in rabbits in acute and chronic phases of treatment. The data suggested that all the four drugs markedly increased the serum electrolytes, urea and creatinine levels in both post-treatment phases. In conclusion, present study does not present any advantage of diclofenac sodium over diclofenac potassium at electrolyte levels on short and long term treatment. Nevertheless, current data support the evidence of renal function impairment by all the four drug therapies used in the present study, which is generally caused by NSAIDS.

Phytochemical analysis, antioxidant and antibacterial effects of sea buckthorn berries.

Sea buckthorn berries are therapeutically used as folk medicine for a variety of diseases, however, the scientific evidence is hardly available to support their role. This study explored their chemical constituents and their role as antioxidant and antibacterial agents. Three common solvents such as petroleum ether (40° - 60°C), chloroform and methanol were successively used for the extraction of active principles from sea buckthorn berries. Five major fractions (F1-F5) were isolated from the active methanol extract by column and thin layer chromatography. An attempt was made to identify the chemical nature of pooled fractions by available spectral means. Antioxidant potential of methanol extract and its fractions was measured by DPPH, formation of phosphomolybdenum complex and TBA methods. The hole-plate diffussion method was used to find out the antibacterial activity. A very brief structure-activity relationship of the potent antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds is discussed. Methanolic extract and its fractions contain numerous phenolic compounds such as flavonoids, which may be responsible for antioxidant and antibacterial effects.

A comparative study of antioxidant vitamins and simvastatin in hypercholesterolimic rabbits.

The anti-lipidemic effects of orally administered antioxidant vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E) individually and in combination were studied in cholesterol-fed rabbits and compared to the group of hypercholesterolemic animals that were treated with simvastatin. All treatment groups exhibited a decrease in serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides concentrations, whilst vitamin C, vitamin E, the combination and simvastatin showed a more profound decrease in the lipid profile than vitamin A at different time intervals. The order of increase in high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels remained in favour of simvastatin, as none of the antioxidant vitamins treated group could exhibit a profound increase in the HDL-C.