This study was designed to examine the antioxidant defense by chloroform extract of Calotropis gigantea on streptozotocin-(40mg/kg, intraperitonial, single-injection) induced diabetes in wistar albino rats. The extract significantly (P < .05) decreased the pancreatic thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) levels and significantly (P < .05) increased the superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione levels as compared to above levels in pancreatic tissue of pathogenic diabetic rats. The results of test drug were comparable to Glibenclamide (5mg/kg, daily), a standard antihyperglycemic agent. The study concludes that Calotropis gigantea enhances the antioxidant defense against reactive oxygen species produced under hyperglycemic condition and this protects...

The in vitro study of the antioxidant properties of the hydroalcoholic extracts of various Indian medicinal plants can logically help to develop a better and safer way of amelioration from oxidative stress. As aimed, the present study has been done to estimate and thereby conclude regarding the antioxidant activities of a few Indian medicinal plants, viz., Terminalia chebula, Terminalia belerica, Emblica officinalis, Caesalpinia crista, Cajanus cajan, and Tinospora cordifolia. The extracts of the plants have been subjected to the evaluation of antioxidant properties through scavenging assays for reactive oxygen species like superoxide, nitric oxide, peroxynitrite, hypochlorous acid, singlet oxygen, etc....

Infertility is the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse. In the present study, herbal composition prepared by using medicinal plants having aphrodisiac potentials was administered orally to the albino rats for 40 days and to the oligospermic patients for 90 days in order to prove the efficacy of herbal composition. Herbal composition was the mixture (powder form) of the medicinal plants namely, Mucuna pruriens (Linn), Chlorophytum borivillianum (Sant and Fernand), and Eulophia campestris (Wall). In the neem oil treated albino rats, there was significant reduction in almost all the parameters viz. body weight, testes and epididymes weight,...

Objectives: To determine regular use of alternative remedies amongst undergraduate students. Design: Questionnaire covered use of alternative remedies as well as demographic details. Settings/Location: Online completion of the questionnaire. Subjects: Sixty-nine participants (55 female, 14 male) aged between 18 to 30 years studying undergraduate psychology at Bournemouth University, Dorset, UK. Interventions: Structured open and closed questions; all questions were given to all of the participants. Outcome Measures: Qualitative comments were captured as well as percentage of respondents according to answers collected. Results: Most respondents had used remedies for exam "anxiety" and obtained these products from relatives or friends or relatives....

Shea butter is traditionally used in Africa for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. In this study we explored the anti-inflammatory activities of the methanolic extract of shea butter (SBE) using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced murine macrophage cell line J774. It was observed that SBE significantly reduced the levels of LPS-induced nitric oxide, Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukins, 1β (IL-1β), and -12 (IL-12) in the culture supernatants in a dose dependent manner. Expression of pro-inflammatory enzymes, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were also inhibited by SBE. These anti-inflammatory effects were due to an inhibitory action of SBE on LPS-induced iNOS,...