Anti-inflammatory activity and selective inhibition of iNOS gene expression by a polyherbal formulation.

Background: Link Samahan® (LS), a product of Link Natural Products (Pvt) Limited, Sri Lanka contains extracts of 14 medicinal plants. It is used as a prophylactic against cold and cold related symptoms. It has immunomodulatory activity, specifically enhancing the humoral immune response.

Increased expression of co-stimulatory molecules and enhancement of the IgG response in rats orally administered with a polyherbal formulation.

Background: Link Samahan® (LS) is a standardized modern formulation of a polyherbal preparation used in the indigenous system of medicine in Sri Lanka.

Objective: Evaluation of the immunostimulatory activity of LS and the molecular mechanisms that modulate the humoral immune response.

Material And Methods: Immunostimulatory activity of LS was tested in rats following oral administration on days 1-5 and 15-19 and immunization with bovine serum albumin (BSA) on day 1 and 15.

Immunomodulatory Activity of a Traditional Sri Lankan Concoction of L. and G.

Objective: To investigate the immunomodulatory activity of a traditional Sri Lankan concoction of L. and (Gaertn.) Colebr.

Identification of a native strain from Sri Lanka active against Dipel-resistant .

Background: Biopesticides based on strains of the bacterium (Bt) are used globally for effective and environmentally friendly pest control. The most serious threat to the sustainable use of these microbial pesticides is the development of resistance on targeted pests. Populations of (diamondback moth) have evolved field resistance to Bt pesticides at diverse locations worldwide.

In vitro pro-inflammatory enzyme inhibition and anti-oxidant potential of selected Sri Lankan medicinal plants.

Background: The extracts of the ten selected Sri Lankan medicinal plants have been traditionally used in the treatment of inflammatory mediated diseases. The extracts were investigated for anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant potential in vitro to identify bio-active extracts for further chemical characterization.

Methods: In vitro anti-inflammatory activities of total ethanol extracts were investigated measuring the inhibitory activities of four pro-inflammatory enzymes, arachidonate-5- lipoxygenase (A5-LOX), hyaluronidase (HYL), xanthine oxidase (XO) and inducible nitric oxide (iNO) synthase.

A putative nuclear growth factor-like globular nematode specific protein.

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are an effective approach for discovery of novel genes. In the current study, approximately 250 ESTs of the cattle parasitic nematode Setaria digitata were examined and a cDNA clone identified whose coding sequence could not be functionally annotated by searching over publicly available genome, protein, EST and STS databases. Here, we report the extensive characterization of this ORF (UP) and its homologues using a bioinformatic approach.