Plant Chemical Composition and Pharmacological Attributes: Targeting Clinical Studies from Preclinical Evidence.

Members of the genus are native to America, Africa and Asia, and have long been used in traditional medicine. The species most commonly used for medicinal purposes are , , , , , , , and , which are highly effective in asthma, birth/postpartum pains, callouses, conjunctivitis, diabetes, diarrhea, expectorant, fever, flu, lactation, liver infection, malaria, otitis, pains, pediculosis, rheumatism, scabies, skin inflammations, spasm, stomach ache, bladder and pancreas stone removal. Flour, syrup, and beverages from pods have also been potentially used for foods and food supplement formulation in many regions of the world.

Therapeutic Potential of α- and β-Pinene: A Miracle Gift of Nature.

α- and β-pinene are well-known representatives of the monoterpenes group, and are found in many plants' essential oils. A wide range of pharmacological activities have been reported, including antibiotic resistance modulation, anticoagulant, antitumor, antimicrobial, antimalarial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti- and analgesic effects. This article aims to summarize the most prominent effects of α- and β-pinene, namely their cytogenetic, gastroprotective, anxiolytic, cytoprotective, anticonvulsant, and neuroprotective effects, as well as their effects against HO-stimulated oxidative stress, pancreatitis, stress-stimulated hyperthermia, and pulpal pain.

Plants-Drifting from Farm to Food Applications, Phytotherapy, and Phytopharmacology.

The genus includes about 500 different species and commonly grown in Europe, the United States, South Asia, and some northern areas of Iran and Pakistan. Leaves and fruits can be prepared as food flavorings, juices, and teas. Phytochemical analysis of these species has reported alkaloids, tannins, phenolic compounds and oleanolic acid, among others.

Plant diversity of the Kangchenjunga Landscape, Eastern Himalayas.

The Kangchenjunga Landscape (KL) in the Eastern Himalayas is a transboundary complex shared by Bhutan, India, and Nepal. It forms a part of the 'Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot' and is one of the biologically richest landscapes in the Eastern Himalayas. In this paper, we use secondary information to review and consolidate the knowledge on the flora of the KL.

Flavonoids nanoparticles in cancer: Treatment, prevention and clinical prospects.

The conventional therapies for cancer have a major concern of poor accessibility to tumor tissues. Furthermore, the requirement of higher doses and non-selective nature of therapeutic are associated with a range of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). However, flavonoids are documented to be effective against various types of cancer, but they are not evaluated for their safety profile and tumor site-specific action.

plants - Review on phytopharmacy properties.

plants consist of more than 230 species that are largely distributed in the Sino-Himalayan region and the Western Pacific islands. species are being used in traditional medicine worldwide to treat various ailments such as cough, rheumatic pain, scorpion stings, sores, burns and scalds, intestinal fever, pain, specifically breast pain during child birth, to increase milk flow, as an antiparasitic, anthelmintic, and carminative. A deep look in the literature has revealed that species have been poorly investigated for their food preservative applications and and biological and phytochemical studies.

Implications of grape extract and its nanoformulated bioactive agent resveratrol against skin disorders.

The grape seed extract (GSE) and its main active polyphenol, resveratrol (RES), have shown considerable antioxidant activities, besides possessed protective and therapeutic effects against various skin complications. This paper discusses the favorable effects of RES, GSE and their nanoformulations for dermatological approaches, with specific emphasis on clinical interventions. In this manner, electronic databases including PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar were searched.

Plants: A Key Emphasis to Its Pharmacological Potential.

genus has received a renowned interest in the last years. This plant species, native to the Americas, has served worldwide folk medicine for treating gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal parasites, among other clinical conditions. These pharmacological effects have been increasingly correlated with their nutritional and phytochemical composition.

Polyphenols in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

In addition to protecting body from infections and diseases, the immune system produces auto-antibodies that can cause complex autoimmune disorders, such as Type I diabetes, primary biliary cirrhosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis, to name a few. In such cases, the immune system fails to recognize between foreign agents and its own body cells. Different factors, such as genetic factors (CD25, STAT4), epigenetic factors (DNA methylation, histone modifications) and environmental factors (xenobiotics, drugs, hormones) trigger autoimmunity.

Trends of polyphenolics and anthocyanins accumulation along ripening stages of wild edible fruits of Indian Himalayan region.

Wild fruits are important food resources that provide health promoting nutraceutical components, which vary with ripening stages. In present study, five wild edible fruits of Indian Himalayan Region i.e.

Functionalized graphene oxide as a nanocarrier for dual drug delivery applications: The synergistic effect of quercetin and gefitinib against ovarian cancer cells.

Graphene Oxide (GO) has been extensively studied in the field of biomedical sciences as one of the most promising biomaterials due to its exceptional physiochemical properties. Experts have long favored anticancer drug cocktails over single drugs, given that the former may provide a more balanced molecular basis for novel chemotherapeutic strategies. Here, we investigated a combinatorial anticancer drug treatment involving the well-proven anticancer drugs quercetin and gefitinib and compared it with gefitinib and quercetin loaded separately onto polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-functionalized graphene oxide (GO-PVP).

Medicinal plants and their isolated phytochemicals for the management of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy: therapeutic targets and clinical perspective.

Background: Chemotherapy, as one of the main approaches of cancer treatment, is accompanied with several adverse effects, including chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Since current methods to control the condition are not completely effective, new treatment options should be introduced. Medicinal plants can be suitable candidates to be assessed regarding their effects in CIPN.

Phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity and antimutagenic activity in different growth stages of in vitro raised plants of Origanum vulgare L.

Efficient micropropagation procedure was developed for Origanum vulgare, a high-value culinary herb, and the phytochemicals, phenolic content, antioxidant and antimutagenic activity of leaf and stem, derived from different growing stages were analyzed. The agar solidified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with a combination of 6-benzylaminopurine and α-naphthaleneacetic acid was optimized as best shoot-multiplication-medium. Shoots were rooted best on 1/2 strength MS medium supplemented with 50 µM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA).

Efficacy of a novel sequential enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass and inhibition characteristics of monosugars.

Efficient production of sugar monomers from lignocellulose is often hampered by serious bottle-necks in biomass hydrolysis. The present study reveals that ultra-sonication assisted pretreatment following autoclaving, termed as combined pretreatment, can lead to more efficient delignification of lignocellulosic biomass and an open, deformed polysaccharide matrix, found favorable for subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis, is formed. The pattern of inhibition for the enzymatic hydrolysis reaction on combined-pretreated saw dust is identified.

flavonoid glycosides in antimicrobial perspective with reference to extraction method.

The present study aims to investigate the effect of extraction method on the recovery of flavonoid glycosides, antimicrobials and antioxidants from leaves collected from six different locations in Uttarakhand, Indian Himalaya. Four extraction methods, namely maceration, reflux, shaker and soxhlet were considered, where reflux extracts showed higher antimicrobial antioxidant activity and higher content of flavonoid glycosides. The reference standards of flavonoid glycosides (quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin) and crude extracts were tested for their antimicrobial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria and fungi following disc diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).

Valeriana jatamansi: An herbaceous plant with multiple medicinal uses.

Valeriana jatamansi Jones (Family: Caprifoliaceae), a high value medicinal plant, was distributed in many countries of Asia. The species possesses important valepotriates and is a good source of flavones or flavone glycosides, lignans, sesquiterpenoids or sesquiterpenoid glycoside, bakkenolide type sesquiterpenoids, phenolic compounds, terpinoids, etc. The use of the species in traditional and modern medicines is well known.

Bioprospecting cold-adapted plant growth promoting microorganisms from mountain environments.

Mountain soils are challenging environments for all kinds of living things, including plants and microorganisms. Many cold-adapted microorganisms colonizing these extreme soils play important roles as promoters of plant growth and development; for that reason, they are called collectively plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM). Even though there is seldom doubt concerning the usefulness of PGPM to develop eco-friendly bioinoculants, including biofertilizers and biocontrollers, a series of aspects need to be addressed in order to make this technology field-applicable.

Genus Vanda: A review on traditional uses, bioactive chemical constituents and pharmacological activities.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The genus Vanda (Family: Orchidaceae) comprises about 73 species mainly distributed in Southeast Asia. Plants belonging to this genus are being used in the traditional medicine systems in Asian countries specially in India, Nepal, China and Bangladesh.

Aim Of The Review: The aim of this work was to review the scientific work about medicinal orchids of the genus Vanda regarding their traditional uses, reported bioactive components, and pharmacological activities.

Optimisation and characterisation of the orange pigment produced by a cold adapted strain of sp. (GBPI_P155) isolated from mountain ecosystem.

With globalisation and growing health risks of synthetic colourants, search for pigments from natural sources has increased owing to their non-toxic nature. The present study highlights the bioprospection of natural pigment from a cold adapted fungal strain of sp. (GBPI_P155), isolated from soil of Indian Himalayan region.

Diversity of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity in Delicious group of apple in Western Himalaya.

Apple contributes significantly to the livelihood and health of the people living in Himalayan regions. Among others, the Delicious group of apple is known for their health promoting and income generating attributes. However, the systematic investigation on morphological and phytochemical attributes of the apple growing in Indian Himalayan region is poorly known.

Targeting mTORs by omega-3 fatty acids: A possible novel therapeutic strategy for neurodegeneration?

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) such as Parkinson's (PD), Alzheimer's (AD), Huntington's disease (HD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cause significant world-wide morbidity and mortality. To date, there is no drug of cure for these, mostly age-related diseases, although approaches in delaying the pathology and/or giving patients some symptomatic relief have been adopted for the last few decades. Various studies in recent years have shown the beneficial effects of omega-3 poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) through diverse mechanisms including anti-inflammatory effects.

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of PM over Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), adjoining regions and Indo-Himalayan Range (IHR) during a winter 2014 campaign.

For source identification, a field campaign involving simultaneous sampling of particulate matter (PM) was conducted at eight sampling sites in the Indian mainland during winter 2014. The sampling sites include Delhi (upper IGP), Lucknow (middle IGP), and Kolkata (lower IGP) in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP); Mohal-Kullu and Darjeeling in the Indo-Himalayan Range (IHR). In addition, Ajmer, located upwind of the IGP in NW-India and Giridih and Bhubaneswar, in the downwind to the IGP has also been chosen.

Naringenin and its Nano-formulations for Fatty Liver: Cellular Modes of Action and Clinical Perspective.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease mainly caused by high-fat diets and sudden feed changes, vitamin and energy deficiency, and inflammatory processes. Fatty liver leads to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma as well as liver failure. Lifestyle-modifying such as weight loss and a healthy diet have an inverse correlation with the risk of fatty liver.

Hedychium spicatum: a systematic review on traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and future prospectus.

Objectives: Hedychium spicatum Buch. Ham. ex D.

Modeling of Electric Demand for Sustainable Energy and Management in India Using Spatio-Temporal DMSP-OLS Night-Time Data.

Changes in the pattern of electric power consumption in India have influenced energy utilization processes and socio-economic development to greater extent during the last few decades. Assessment of spatial distribution of electricity consumption is, thus, essential for projecting availability of energy resource and planning its infrastructure. This paper makes an attempt to model the future electricity demand for sustainable energy and its management in India.