Royleanumioside--a new phytotoxic triterpenoid from Teucrium royleanum.

Royleanumioside (1), a new lupane type triterpenoid, was secluded from the CHCl3 soluble fraction of Teucrium royleanum. The structure of royleanumioside (1) was ascertained by spectral studies including 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and by the assessment with the reported data in literature. This new identified compound 1 was further tested for its phytotoxic activity against lettuce seedlings. Interestingly royleanumioside (1) had shown moderate phytotoxic activity.

Fasciola hepatica in some Buffaloes and cattle by PCR and microscopy.

Fasciolosis is the burning problem of the livestock rearing community having huge morbidity, mortality, and economic losses to livestock industries in our country Pakistan. The faecal and liver biopsy samplings were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and microscopy technique during the entire study. A total of 307 samples including 149 samples from Karak and 158 samples from Kohat abattoirs were examined by PCR method and overall prevalence of fasciolosis was 5.86% (18/307), amongst theses 8.05% (12/149) in liver biopsy and 3.79% (6/158) in feacal samples of cattle and Buffaloes were recorded. Similarly the microscopy based detection was 3.58% (11/307) including 4.61% (7/149) in liver biopsy and 2.5% (4/158) in faecal samples accordingly. Furthermore the areawise prevalence of fasciolosis in abattoirs by PCR method was found to be 7.59% (12/158) in Kohat and 4.02% (6/149) in Karak. A 618 pb DNA was amplified in 2% agarose gel electrophoreses. It is concluded from the study that prevalence of fasciolosis was higher in abattoir of district Kohat and PCR was a more sensitive method of diagnosis than microscopy.

Phytochemical and biological activities of four wild medicinal plants.

The fruits of four wild plants, namely, Capparis decidua, Ficus carica, Syzygium cumini, and Ziziphus jujuba, are separately used as traditional dietary and remedial agents in remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The results of our study on these four plants revealed that the examined fruits were a valuable source of nutraceuticals and exhibited good level of antimicrobial activity. The fruits of these four investigated plants are promising source of polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and saponins. These four plants' fruits are good sources of iron, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, and chromium. It was also observed that these fruits are potential source of antioxidant agent and the possible reason could be that these samples had good amount of phytochemicals. Hence, the proper propagation, conservation, and chemical investigation are recommended so that these fruits should be incorporated for the eradication of food and health related problems.

In Vitro Antimicrobial Bioassays, DPPH Radical Scavenging Activity, and FTIR Spectroscopy Analysis of Heliotropium bacciferum.

The present study deals with the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and functional group analysis of Heliotropium bacciferum extracts. Disc diffusion susceptibility method was followed for antimicrobial assessment. Noteworthy antimicrobial activities were recorded by various plant extracts against antibiotic resistant microorganisms. Plant flower extracts antioxidant activity was investigated against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl radical by ultraviolet spectrophotometer (517 nm). Plant extracts displayed noteworthy radical scavenging activities at all concentrations (25-225 µg/mL). Notable activities were recorded by crude, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts up to 88.27% at 225 µg/mL concentration. Compounds functional groups were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies. Alkanes, alkenes, alkyl halides, amines, carboxylic acids, amides, esters, alcohols, phenols, nitrocompounds, and aromatic compounds were identified by FTIR analysis. Thin layer chromatography bioautography was carried out for all plant extracts. Different bands were separated by various solvent systems. The results of the current study justify the use of Heliotropium bacciferum in traditional remedial herbal medicines.

Corrigendum to "Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around Indus River".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2014/212634.].

Smart nanocrystals of artemether: fabrication, characterization, and comparative in vitro and in vivo antimalarial evaluation.

Artemether (ARTM) is a very effective antimalarial drug with poor solubility and consequently low bioavailability. Smart nanocrystals of ARTM with particle size of 161±1.5 nm and polydispersity index of 0.172±0.01 were produced in <1 hour using a wet milling technology, Dena® DM-100. The crystallinity of the processed ARTM was confirmed using differential scanning calorimetry and powder X-ray diffraction. The saturation solubility of the ARTM nanocrystals was substantially increased to 900 µg/mL compared to the raw ARTM in water (145.0±2.3 µg/mL) and stabilizer solution (300.0±2.0 µg/mL). The physical stability studies conducted for 90 days demonstrated that nanocrystals stored at 2°C-8°C and 25°C were very stable compared to the samples stored at 40°C. The nanocrystals were also shown to be stable when processed at acidic pH (2.0). The solubility and dissolution rate of ARTM nanocrystals were significantly increased (P<0.05) compared to those of its bulk powder form. The results of in vitro studies showed significant antimalarial effect (P<0.05) against Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. The IC50 (median lethal oral dose) value of ARTM nanocrystals was 28- and 54-fold lower than the IC50 value of unprocessed drug and 13- and 21-fold lower than the IC50 value of the marketed tablets, respectively. In addition, ARTM nanocrystals at the same dose (2 mg/kg) showed significantly (P<0.05) higher reduction in percent parasitemia (89%) against P. vivax compared to the unprocessed (27%), marketed tablets (45%), and microsuspension (60%). The acute toxicity study demonstrated that the LD50 value of ARTM nanocrystals is between 1,500 mg/kg and 2,000 mg/kg when given orally. This study demonstrated that the wet milling technology (Dena® DM-100) can produce smart nanocrystals of ARTM with enhanced antimalarial activities.