Herbal Formulation Comprised of Methanol Extracts of Tribulus terristris L. and Zingiber officinale Roscoe Has Antihypertensive Effects.

People prefer to use medicinal plants rather than chemical compounds because they are low cost and have fewer adverse events. Zingiber officinale Roscoe is a natural dietary rhizome with anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties. Tribulus terrestris L. has been used for the treatment of impotence, to enhance sexual drive and performance and for its diuretic and uricosuric effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the combined effect of 2 extracts, Tribulus terristris and Zingiber officinale (TZ) for antioxidant, enzyme modulation, liver function, kidney function, blood profile and anti-hypertensive effects, which may pave the way for possible therapeutic applications. Antioxidant potential was measured with the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate free radical method antioxidant assay (DPPH) and kojic acid was used as the standard drug for tyrosine inhibition assay. The effect of TZ on biochemical parameters of the liver (alanine transferase [ALT], alkaline phosphatase [ALP], aspartate aminotransferase [AST], total serum protein, total serum albumin, serum bilirubin), kidney (blood urea and creatinine) and hematology (hemoglobin, red blood cells [RBC], platelets, thin-layer chromatography, neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) of Wister rats were studied by administering 100, 250 and 500 mg/kg-1 body weight TZ dose orally for 28 days. Antihypertensive effects were measured by the invasive method. The results showed that the scavenging percentage of TZ was 78.5 to 80.4, with an IC50 value of 1166.7 µg/ ml and tyrosinase inhibition was 72% compared with 93% for kojic acid. Different doses (100, 250 and 500 mg/kg) did not show an increase in serum biomarkers of liver and renal parameters. A significant increase in hemoglobin, erythrocytes, hematocrit, white blood cells (WBC) and lymphocytes with no significant increase/decrease in platelet count was observed but blood pressure was significantly decreased. Therefore, we concluded that TZ is safe and can be used in the treatment of hypertension.

Pharmacological support to anti-arthritic prospective of physostigmine: a new approach.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a slowly progressing inflammatory autoimmune disease. Several features are involved in the RA pathogenesis in addition to environmental and genetic factors. Previously it has been reported that acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) activity is enhanced in old age and may contribute in the progression of RA. The current experimental work was projected to assess the activity of physostigmine (a cholinesterase inhibitor) for treatment of RA. In vitro and in vivo approaches were used for such evaluation. However, enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) was performed to determine the concentrations of Prostaglandins E2 (PGE2) and tumor necrosis factor-α in arthritic rats after treatment with physostigmine. Moreover, anti-oxidant assays were employed to calculate the level of super oxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase peroxidase (CAT) in tissue of treated animals. The results claimed the dose dependent protective and stabilizing effect of physostigmine on denaturation of albumin (egg and bovine serum) protein and human red blood cell membrane, respectively, through in vitro studies. Furthermore, the physostigmine (10 and 20 mg/kg) significantly (p < 0.001) reduced the swelling of paw after induction of arthritis with formaldehyde or complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) as compared to arthritic control animals. Moreover, significant (p < 0.001) reduction in the levels of inflammatory markers (PGE2 and TNF-α) at doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg of physostigmine has been observed in ELISA test. Likewise, there was a prominent rise in levels of SOD and CAT in animals treated with physostigmine. These findings pharmacologically conclude the anti-arthritic effect of physostigmine.

The genus Cassia L.: Ethnopharmacological and phytochemical overview.

Nature gifts medicinal plants with the untapped and boundless treasure of active chemical constituents with significant therapeutic potential that makes these plants a beneficial source in the development of phytomedicines. Genus Cassia, with approximately 500 species, is a large group of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. Cassia species are widely distributed throughout different regions mainly tropical Asia, North America, and East Africa. In the folk medicinal history, these plants are used as laxative and purgative agents. In the Ayurveda system of medicine, they are used to cure headache and fever. Cassia plants exhibit pharmacological activities at large scales such as antimicrobial, anticancer, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, hyperglycemic, antimutagenic, and antivirals. The phytochemical investigations of genus Cassia demonstrate the presence of more than 200 chemical compounds, including piperidine alkaloids, anthracene derivatives (anthraquinones), flavonoids, pentacyclic triterpenoids, sterols, phenylpropanoids, and γ-naphthopyrones. The literature illustrated anthraquinones and flavonoids as major secondary metabolites from this genus. However, some Cassia plants, with rich contents of anthraquinones, still show toxicology properties. As Cassia plants are used extensively in the herbal system of medicine, but only senna dosage forms have achieved the status of the pharmaceutical market as standard laxative agents. In conclusion, further investigations on isolating newer biologically active constituents, unknown underlying mechanisms, toxicology profiles, and clinical studies of Cassia species are needed to be explored. This review article specifies the systematic breach existing between the current scientific knowledge and the fundamentals for the marketization of genus Cassia products.