Potential therapeutic applications for Terminalia chebula in Iranian traditional medicine.

Terminalia chebula (family: Combretaceae) is widely used in the traditional medicine of India and Iran to treat diseases that include dementia, constipation, and diabetes. This tree is known in Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) as halileh or halilaj and the fruit is used to develop treatments. It is described in ITM as an astringent that has a "cold" and "dry" temperament. References to the medicinal properties of Terminalia chebula were collected from important ITM sources and from modern medical databases (PubMed, Scirus, ScienceDirect, and Scopus). The medicinal properties described for this tree in ITM were compared with those reported in studies of modern phytotherapy. The results confirm that the tree referred to as halileh in traditional books is the Terminalia chebula used in present-day studies. Treatments that have not been evaluated in modern phytotherapy but have been traditionally treated with Terminalia chebula include fever, and psychological and psychiatric issues. This article confirms the medicinal uses of Terminalia chebula.

Review of Scientific Evidence of Medicinal Convoy Plants in Traditional Persian Medicine.

One concept used in traditional Persian medicine (TPM) for multidrug therapy is that of the convoy drug (Mobadregh). According to TPM texts, convoy drugs are substances (or drugs), which facilitate the access of drugs or foods to the whole body or to specific organs. This study reviewed some convoy drugs presented in TPM, their biological effects, and their probable interactions with main drugs, considering the increased absorption through inhibition of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux function, bioavailability-enhancing effects, and decreased metabolism of the main drug using electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar in November and December, 2013. Recent studies have proven the beneficial effects of Crocus sativus L. (saffron) and camphor on the heart and brain, the cerebral therapeutic effects of Asarum europaeum (hazelwort), the hepatoprotective effects of Cichorium intybus (chicory), and Apium graveolens (celery) seeds, and the diuretic effects of Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon), and Cucumis melo (melon) seeds. The effects of vinegar in targeting the liver and brain have also been demonstrated. An evaluation of the results demonstrated that the suggested convoy drugs, including Piper nigrum (black pepper), Piper longum (long pepper), red wine, Camellia sinensis (tea), hazelwort, Mentha longifolia (pennyroyal), Anethum graveolens (dill), Foeniculum vulgare (fennel), cinnamon, and Sassafras albidum (sassafras) can increase the bioavailability of coadministered drugs by inhibition of P-gp or cytochrome P450s (CYP450s) or both of them. This evidence could be a good basis for the use of these agents as convoys in TPM.

Biosurfactant-producing bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa MA01 isolated from spoiled apples: physicochemical and structural characteristics of isolated biosurfactant.

An extensive investigation was conducted to isolate indigenous bacterial strains with outstanding performance for biosurfactant production from different types of spoiled fruits, food-related products and food processing industries. An isolate was selected from 800 by the highest biosurfactant yield in soybean oil medium and it was identified by 16S rRNA and the two most relevant hypervariable regions of this gene; V3 and V6 as Pseudomonas aeruginosa MA01. The isolate was able to produce 12 g/l of a glycolipid-type biosurfactant and generally less efficient to emulsify vegetable oils compared to hydrocarbons and could emulsify corn and coconut oils more than 50%. However, emulsification index (E(24)) of different hydrocarbons including hexane, toluene, xylene, brake oil, kerosene and hexadecane was between 55.8% and 100%. The surface tension of pure water decreased gradually with increasing biosurfactant concentration to 32.5 mNm(-1) with critical micelle concentration (CMC) value of 10.1mg/l. Among all carbon substrates examined, vegetable oils were the most effective on biosurfactant production. Two glycolipid fractions were purified from the biosurfactant crude extracts, and FTIR and ES-MS were used to determine the structure of these compounds. The analysis indicated the presence of three major monorhamnolipid species: R(1)C(10)C(10), R(1)C(10)C(12:1), and R(1)C(10)C(12); as well as another three major dirhamnolipid species: R(2)C(10)C(10), R(2)C(10)C(12:1), and R(2)C(10)C(12). The strain sweep experiment for measuring the linear viscoelastic of biosurfactant showed that typical behavior characteristics of a weak viscoelastic gel, with storage modulus greater than loss modulus at all frequencies examined, both showing some frequency dependence.

Enhanced phenol degradation by Pseudomonas sp. SA01: gaining insight into the novel single and hybrid immobilizations.

In this work, Pseudomonas sp. SA01 cells were immobilized in a series of singular and hybrid immobilization techniques to achieve enhanced phenol removal. The singular immobilization strategies consisted of various concentrations of alginate (2-4%) and pectin (3-5%), while the hybrid strategies incorporated polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-alginate and glycerol-alginate beads and alginate-chitosan-alginate (ACA) capsules. Immobilization protected cells against phenol and resulted in remarkable reduction (65%) in degradation time by cells immobilized in either alginate (3%) beads, in a hybrid PVA-alginate beads, or in ACA capsules compared to freely suspended cells. Cells immobilized in PVA-alginate and ACA provided the best performance in experiments using elevated phenol concentrations, up to 2000 mg/L, with complete degradation of 2000 mg/L phenol after 100 and 110 h, respectively. Electron microscopy examination indicated that cell loading capacity was increased in PVA-alginate hybrid beads through reduced cell leakage, resulting in higher activity of PVA-alginate hybrid beads compared to all other immobilization methods.