Conservation of indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants of Western Himalayan region Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.

The aim of present was to document indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants traditionally used by inhabitants of Rawalakot Azad Kashmir and to screen selected medicinal plants for their antibacterial potential. Several field surveys were conducted to document indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants through interviews from local inhabitants during 2010-2013. During the study, 58 plant species, belonging to 37 families, were identified and their medicinal uses were recorded. Ethnobotanical data indicates that inhabitants of Rawalakot use medicinal plant mainly for the treatment of stomach, liver and sexual disorders. Usually fresh plant materials were used for medicinal preparations and administrated orally. Among all the species studied, three most frequently used medicinal plants Achillea millefolium, Berberis lycium and Zanthoxylum armatum were screened for their antibacterial potential by using disc diffusion method. The crude aqueous, petroleum ether and ethanolic extracts were found to be very active against selected bacterial strains. The present study contributes significantly to the medicinal plant knowledge and shows that medicinal plant knowledge is deteriorating among younger generations. Therefore, further research is needed to document indigenous knowledge, to find conservation status of medicinal plant species and to find antimicrobial compounds for more sophisticated usage of medicinal plants in future.

Antimicrobial activities of three species of family mimosaceae.

The antimicrobial activities of crude methanolic extract of leaves of Acacia nilotica L., Albizia lebbeck L. and Mimosa himalayana Gamble belonging to family mimosaceae were investigated in this research work. Antibacterial activity was studied by agar well diffusion method against one gram-positive Bacillus subtilis and three gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia. Crude extract of all plants showed best activity against gram-negative bacterial strains while minor inhibition zones were found against gram positive bacterial strains. Antifungal activity of crude plant extract was screened by agar tube dilution method against Aspergillus nigar and Aspergillus flavus. These results showed that these plants extracts have potential against bacterias, while against fungi their activity is not much effective.

Survey of artemisinin production by diverse Artemisia species in northern Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Artemisinin is the current drug of choice for treatment of malaria and a number of other diseases. It is obtained from the annual herb, Artemisia annua and some microbial sources by genetic engineering. There is a great concern that the artemisinin production at current rate will not meet the increasing demand by the pharmaceutical industry, so looking for additional sources is imperative. METHODS: In current study, artemisinin concentration was analysed and compared in the flowers, leaves, roots and stems of Artemisia annua and 14 other Artemisia species including two varieties each for Artemisia roxburghiana and Artemisia dracunculus using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). RESULTS: The highest artemisinin concentration was detected in the leaves (0.44 ± 0.03%) and flowers (0.42 ± 0.03%) of A. annua, followed by the flowers (0.34 ± .02%) of A. bushriences and leaves (0.27 ± 0%) of A. dracunculus var dracunculus. The average concentration of artemisinin varied in the order of flowers > leaves > stems > roots. CONCLUSION: This study identifies twelve novel plant sources of artemisinin, which may be helpful for pharmaceutical production of artemisinin. This is the first report of quantitative comparison of artemisinin among a large number of Artemisia species.

3-Hydr-oxy-1,2,3,9-tetra-hydro-pyrrolo[2,1-b]quinazolin-4-ium chloride dihydrate: (+)-vasicinol hydro-chloride dihydrate from Peganum harmala L.

The title compound, C(11)H(13)N(2)O(+)·Cl(-)·2H(2)O, the dihydrate of (+)-vasicinol hydro-chloride, is a pyrrolidinoquinazoline alkaloid. It was isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the leaves of Peganum harmala L. The pyrrolidine ring has an envelope conformation with the C atom at position 2 acting as the flap and the C atom at position 3, carrying the hydroxyl substituent, has an S configuration. The absolute configuration was determined as a result of the anomalous scattering of the Cl atom. In the crystal structure, mol-ecules stack along the a axis, connected to one another via inter-molecular O-H⋯Cl and N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, forming approximately triangular-shaped R(2) (1)(7) rings, and O-H⋯Cl and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming penta-gonal-shaped R(5) (4)(10) rings. The overall effect is a ribbon-like arrangement running parallel to the a axis.

1-Methyl-1H-benzimidazole-2(3H)-thione.

The title compound, C(8)H(8)N(2)S, was prepared by the condensation of N-methyl-1,2-phenyl-enediamine and carbon disulfide. The crystal structure is stabilized by a C-H⋯π inter-action between a benzene H atom and the benzene ring of a neighbouring mol-ecule, and by inter-molecular N-H⋯S inter-actions.

Predictors of ischemic versus hemorrhagic strokes in hypertensive patients.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the factors that predispose to ischemic versus hemorrhagic stroke in hypertensive patients. DESIGN: Cohort study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, from August 1999 to May 2001. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All the hypertensive patients, who were registered in AKUH acute stroke outcome data base, over a period of 22 months, were identified and from this cohort the patients with first ever stroke were selected. The data regarding demographics, stroke type (ischemic vs. hemorrhagic), pre-existing medical problems, laboratory and radiological investigations was recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Five hundred and nineteen patients with either ischemic stroke or parenchymal hemorrhage were registered over a period of 22 months. Three hundred and forty-eight patients (67%) had hypertension and of these, 250 had first ever stroke at the time of admission. Presence of diabetes mellitus (OR: 3.76; CI:1.67-8.46) and ischemic heart disease (OR: 6.97; CI:1.57-30.98) were found to be independent predictors of ischemic strokes. CONCLUSION: Presence of diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease predict ischemic stroke in a patient with hypertension.

Hexane soluble extract of Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Muell. Arg. root possesses anti-leukaemic activity.

BACKGROUND: Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Muell. Arg. is a well known medicinal plant of Asia and Australia. Various compounds from different aerial parts of the plant have been reported possessing potent pharmacological, antiviral, antibacterial and cytotoxic activities. We were interested to determine the effects of some root extracts from M. philippensis on human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cell proliferation, cell cycle regulators and apoptosis in order to investigate its anti-leukemic potential. RESULTS: Root extract of M. philippensis was initially extracted in organic solvents, hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol. The hexane extract showed highest toxicity against p53-deficient HL-60 cells (IC50 1.5 mg dry roots equivalent/ml medium) after 72 h and interestingly, inhibition of cell proliferation was preceded by the upregulation of the proto-oncogenes Cdc25A and cyclin D1 within 24 h. The hexane extract induced 18% apoptosis after 48 h of treatment. Chemical composition of the hexane extract was analyzed by GC-MS and the 90% fragments were matched with polyphenolic compounds. CONCLUSIONS: The present study confirms that the hexane fraction of M. philippensis root extract possesses anti-leukemic activity in HL-60 cells. The polyphenols were the main compounds of the hexane extract that inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis.

The effect of medicinal plants of Islamabad and Murree region of Pakistan on insulin secretion from INS-1 cells.

In vitro testing of the extracts of medicinal plants collected from Islamabad and the Murree region on insulin secretagogue activity was carried out. Dried ethanol extracts of all plants (ZH1-ZH19) were dissolved in ethanol and DMSO, and tested at various concentrations (between 1 and 40 microg/mL) for insulin release from INS-1 cells in the presence of 5.5 mM glucose. Glibenclamide was used as a control. Promising insulin secretagogue activity in various plant extracts at 1, 10, 20 and 40 microg/mL was found, while in some cases a decrease in insulin secretion was also observed. Artemisia roxburghiana, Salvia coccinia and Monstera deliciosa showed insulin secretagogue activity at 1 microg/mL (p < 0.05) while Abies pindrow, Centaurea iberica and Euphorbia helioscopia were active at 10 microg/mL (p < 0.05). Extracts of Bauhinia variegata and Bergenia himalacia showed effects at 20 microg/mL (p < 0.05), and Taraxacum officinale and Viburnum foetens at 40 microg/mL (p < 0.05). Insulin secretagogue activity could not be detected in the extracts of Adhatoda vasica, Cassia fistula, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, Morus alba, Plectranthus rugosus, Peganum harmala and Olea ferruginea. The results suggest that medicinal plants of Islamabad and the Murree region of Pakistan may be potential natural resources for antidiabetic compounds.