Kava (Piper methysticum) Extract for the Treatment of Nervous Anxiety, Tension and Restlessness.

Aim: Prior to the kava ban of 2002, the indication for kava () extracts defined by the German Commission E was "nervous anxiety, tension and restlessness". In 2000, an observational trial was started in Germany with the aim of defining symptoms of these indications best treated with kava extract. The trial was interrupted and archived "unevaluated" in 2001 due to the upcoming safety debate on kava.

German Kava Ban Lifted by Court: The Alleged Hepatotoxicity of Kava (Piper methysticum) as a Case of Ill-Defined Herbal Drug Identity, Lacking Quality Control, and Misguided Regulatory Politics.

Kava, the rhizome and roots of Piper methysticum, are one of the most important social pillars of Melanesian societies. They have been used for more than 1000 years in social gatherings for the preparation of beverages with relaxing effects. During the colonial period, extract preparations found their way into Western medicinal systems, with experience especially concerning the treatment of situational anxiety dating back more than 100 years.

Hydroxycinnamic Acid Derivatives Obtained from a Commercial Crataegus Extract and from Authentic Crataegus spp.

Eleven hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were isolated from a 70% methanolic Crataegus extract (Crataegi folium cum flore) and partly verified and quantified for individual Crataegus species (C. laevigata, C. monogyna, C.

What is the best strategy for preclinical testing of botanicals? A critical perspective.

The development of a new drug is generally marked by a number of preclinical investigations in a sequential order with regard to contents and logic. However, ethnopharmacology often uses the "reverse pharmacology" approach, which is based on anecdotal therapeutic effects of plants in ancient texts or based on the empirical knowledge of traditional healers. While this approach could successfully lead to new therapeutic applications by using sophisticated techniques and appropriate bioassays in a logical order, unfortunately there is an exponentially increasing number of reports of pharmacological effects of botanical extracts with insignificant bioactivities obtained in often irrelevant in vitro bioassays.

Proanthocyanidins from Ginkgo biloba leaf extract and their radical scavenging activity.

Context: Ginkgo biloba L (Ginkgoaceae) is a traditional herbal medicinal plant for the treatment of mild to moderate cognitive disorders, tinnitus, and dementia. These uses may be correlated with the presence of radical scavenging compounds.

Objective: The chemical composition and the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of the flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins from G.

Polyphenols from Ginkgo biloba.

By Sephadex LH-20 gel chromatography of an extract from Gingko biloba leaves, polymeric proanthocyanidins were eluted after the fractions of flavonol glycosides and biflavone glycosides. A purified proanthocyanidin polymer accounted for 86.6% of the total proanthocyanidins, and for 37.

Synthesis and characterisation of α-Glycosyloxyamides derived from cyanogenic glycosides.

Introduction: After exposure to oxidative stress, the leaves of some cyanogenic plants contain primary α-glycosyloxyamides with structures corresponding to their original cyanogenic glycosides.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to prepare such amides from their nitrile precursors and to characterise the new substances in order to facilitate their early identification in forthcoming studies. Methods - A simple but highly specific method is described for the in-vitro synthesis of the amides from their nitrile glycoside precursors using the Radziszewski reaction with hydrogen peroxide and a single-step purification of the reaction product.

A bioactive prodelphinidin from Mangifera indica leaf extract.

A new trimeric proanthocyanidin, epigallocatechin-3-O-gallat-(4beta-->8)-epigallocatechin-(4beta-->8)-catechin (1), was isolated together with three known flavan-3-ols, catechin (2), epicatechin (3), and epigallocatechin (4), and three dimeric proanthocyanidins, 5-7, from the air-dried leaves of Mangifera indica. Their chemical structures were determined on the basis of 1D- and 2D-NMR spectra (HSQC, HMBC) of their peracetylated derivatives, MALDI-TOF-mass spectra, and by acid-catalyzed degradation with phloroglucinol. The isolated compounds 1-7 were in vitro tested for their inhibitory activities against COX-1 and COX-2.

Lessons learned from herbal medicinal products: the example of St. John's Wort (perpendicular).

The example of St. John's wort offers convincing evidence for the concept that modern methods of pharmacological and phytochemical research are effective in advancing the development of traditional herbal remedies. As a consequence of these efforts, it is known today that several compounds from different structural groups and with different mechanisms of action seem to be responsible for the observed antidepressant efficacy of St.

Cinchonain Ib isolated from Eriobotrya japonica induces insulin secretion in vitro and in vivo.

Aims Of The Study: Eriobotrya japonica leaves had been used traditionally for the treatment of diabetes mellitus by immersing the dried leaves in a hot water drink. Few studies have shown the hypoglycemic effect of Eriobotrya japonica using crude alcoholic extract and isolated methanolic compounds. These studies proposed that the mechanism of action could be by stimulating the beta-islets of Langerhans to secrete insulin, however with no scientific evidence.

Generation of primary amide glucosides from cyanogenic glucosides.

The cyanogenic glucoside-related compound prunasinamide, (2R)-beta-d-glucopyranosyloxyacetamide, has been detected in dried, but not in fresh leaves of the prunasin-containing species Olinia ventosa, Prunus laurocerasus, Pteridium aquilinium and Holocalyx balansae. Experiments with leaves of O. ventosa indicated a connection between amide generation and an excessive production of reactive oxygen species.

Cyanogenic and non-cyanogenic pyridone glucosides from Acalypha indica (Euphorbiaceae).

Seven cyanopyridone derivatives and one corresponding seco compound have been isolated from a methanolic extract of the inflorescences and leaves of Acalypha indica L. (Euphorbiaceae). The absolute configuration of the main cyanogenic glucoside acalyphin, (-)-(5R,6S)-5-cyano-5-beta-d-glucopyranosyloxy-6-hydroxy-4-methoxy-1-methyl-2(5,6-dihydro)-pyridone, was deduced from an X-ray crystallographic study.

Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and wound healing activities of the leaves of Memecylon edule Roxb.

Aim Of The Study: To determine the anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant activities of the leaves of Memecylon edule Roxb. used traditionally in Thailand.

Materials And Methods: Hexane, (Hex), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), methanol (MeOH) and 50% methanol (MeOH50) fractions of the dry leaves were tested in vitro for their interleukin-10 production; the most active fraction was further studied in vivo for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities using the ethylphenylpropiolate (EPP)-induced mouse ear edema and the writhing test with mice.

Willow bark extract: the contribution of polyphenols to the overall effect.

The efficacy of willow bark extract in the treatment of painful mobility disorders, such as back pain and arthritis, has been attributed to the content of salicin and its derivatives as pro-drugs of salicylates. However, based on clinical experience and the evidence of experimental pharmacological studies, the fraction of total salicin cannot satisfactorily explain the clinical efficacy of willow bark. In addition, salicins and their metabolites lack the acetylating potential of ASA and must therefore possess a different mechanism of action.

Willow bark extract (BNO1455) and its fractions suppress growth and induce apoptosis in human colon and lung cancer cells.

Background: Recently, there have been extensive efforts to evaluate the chemopreventive role of substances present in natural products. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the main groups of compounds (salicylalcohol derivates, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins), and salicin isolated from willow bark extract BNO 1455 on proliferation and apoptosis in human colon and cancer cells.

Methods: We used human colon cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)-positive HT 29 and (COX-2)-negative HCT 116 or lung COX-2 proficient A 549 and low COX-2 expressing SW2 cells.

Petasiphenone, a phenol isolated from Cimicifuga racemosa, in vitro inhibits proliferation of the human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP.

Extracts of Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt. (syn.

Antioxidant oligomeric proanthocyanidins from Cistus salvifolius.

The purified proanthocyanidin oligomers of Cistus salvifolius herb extract accounted for 78% of the total proanthocyanidins and 73% of the total antioxidant activity of this extract. To elucidate the structure of the oligomer, it was depolymerized by acid catalysis in the presence of phloroglucinol. The structures of the resulting flavan-3-ols and phloroglucinol adducts were determined on the basis of 1D- and reverse 2D-NMR (HSQC, HMBC) experiments of their peracetylated derivatives, MALDI-TOF-MS and CD spectroscopy.

Phenolic esters from the rhizomes of Cimicifuga racemosa do not cause proliferation effects in MCF-7 cells.

Five phenylpropanoid esters, caffeoylglycolic acid, 2-caffeoylpiscidic acid (cimicifugic acid D), 3,4-dihydroxyphenacyl caffeate (petasiphenone), 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-2-oxopropyl isoferulate (cimiciphenol) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenacyl isoferulate (cimiciphenone) were isolated from a commercially available extract of the rhizomes of Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt. (syn.

New fatty acid esters originate during storage by the interaction of components in prasaplai, a Thai traditional medicine.

Prasaplai is a Thai traditional preparation composed of twelve ingredients; during storage three newly emerging compounds were detected by HPLC. Their structures were established as the new (E)-4-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)but-3-en-1-yl linoleate, (E)-4-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)but-3-en-1-yl oleate and the known (E)-4-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)but-3-en-1-yl palmitate on the basis of spectral data and chemical evidence. The artificial esters were already observable after one day of storage of the freshly prepared dry mixture, and steadily increased during a storage period of 30 days and more.

Pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions: are preventive screenings necessary and appropriate?

Pharmacokinetic interactions often occur as a result of activity changes of drug-metabolizing and transporting proteins, especially cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoenzymes and P-glycoprotein (P-gp). The activity of these enzymes and drug transporters can be enhanced or inhibited by synthetic drugs as well as by natural products. Since the number of herb-drug interactions has increased in recent years, systematic in vitro screenings and more clinical studies to identify such interactions were proposed for herbal medicinal products.

Quantitative determination of curcuminoids in Curcuma rhizomes and rapid differentiation of Curcuma domestica Val. and Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. by capillary electrophoresis.

The three major curcuminoids, curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bis-demethoxycurcumin, from Curcuma domestica Val. (Curcuma longa L.) and Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb.

In vitro studies indicate that miquelianin (quercetin 3-O-beta-D-glucuronopyranoside) is able to reach the CNS from the small intestine.

Miquelianin (quercetin 3-O-beta-D-glucuronopyranoside) is one of the flavonoids of St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) whose antidepressant activity has been shown by the forced swimming test, an in vivo pharmacological model with rats.

New and known iridoid- and phenylethanoid glycosides from Harpagophytum procumbens and their in vitro inhibition of human leukocyte elastase.

Ten compounds, harpagoside (1), 8- p-coumaroylharpagide (2), 8-feruloylharpagide (3), 8-cinnamoylmyoporoside (4), pagoside (5), acteoside (6), isoacteoside (7), 6'- O-acetylacteoside (8), cinnamic acid (9) and caffeic acid (10) were isolated from the storage roots of Harpagophytum procumbens, Pedaliaceae. Compounds 1, 2, 6, 7 and 9 are known for H. procumbens; 3 and 10 were isolated the first time from H.