Introduction of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. to in vitro Culture

Author(s):  
A.V. Zhigunov ◽  
◽  
Q.T. Nguyen

The increasing need for herbal medicines requires the study of not only biological resources of medical plants, but also methods for their reproduction. Of special value are the medicinal plants that have a long history of success in traditional medicine. One of such plants is Eucommia ulmoides Oliv., which belongs to a rare relict species growing in natural conditions, for the most part, in the undergrowth of humid subtropical forests in China, mainly in the middle course of the Yangtze river. E. ulmoides compares favorably with most subtropical plants owing to its significant frost resistance, which makes it possible to cultivate it outside the humid subtropics. It has been widely introduced in Krasnodar Krai and in the Republic of Adygea (Russia) since the mid-20th century and successfully adapted to various environmental conditions in the Northwest Caucasus. The increasing demand for E. ulmoides bark can only be satisfied by laying out industrial plantations. However, the difficulties encountered in the traditional seed reproduction of E. ulmoides (dioecious species, pollen low quality, parthenocarpy, prolonged seed dormancy, irregular fruiting, long juvenile period, etc.) make scientists turn to modern biotechnological methods of plant propagation. While considering cultivation of planting material, we should focus on highly efficient methods that ensure stable and mass reproduction of the plants under study. An important role is played here by in vitro plant regeneration. The effectiveness of biotechnology methods is due to a reduction in timing of obtaining a large number of vegetative progeny of plants difficult for propagation, as well saving of the area required for their cultivation. The conditions for producing an aseptic culture of E. ulmoides were chosen based on the results of the studies. The highest degree of sterilization of E. ulmoides shoot segments was achieved when the explants were sequentially immersed first in 70 % ethanol (30 s) and then in 0.1 % mercuric chloride solution (5 min). With such a sterilization procedure, 63.3 % of the studied cuttings were made sterile, and 56.7 % of them proved to be viable. The optimal composition of the nutrient medium for regeneration of E. ulmoides microshoots has been determined: MS medium complemented with 1 mg/L 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) + 0.2 mg/L 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The best media for explant rooting are the following: 2/3 MS + 1.5 mg/L NAA + 30 g sucrose + 7 g agar; 2/3 MS + 1 mg/L NAA + 0.4 mg/L IBA + 30 g sucrose + 7 g agar.

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murat Özgen ◽  
Aslı Özdilek ◽  
Melahat A. Birsin ◽  
Sertaç Önde ◽  
Derya Şahin ◽  
...  

AbstractSeven ancient seeds, about 1600 years old, were found during an archaeological excavation in Asar Island which is located in south-western Turkey. These seeds were subjected to germination, in vitro callus induction and molecular characterization experiments to test the viability and plant origin of the seeds. Six of the seven seeds had viable seed components (such as cotyledons) and produced callus tissue in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2 mg l− 1 6-benzylamino purine (BAP), 0.2 mg l− 1 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 20 g l− 1 sucrose, 2 mg l− 1 glycine and 7 g l− 1 agar, but the calli from these seeds failed to yield adventitious shoots. DNA samples from callus tissues produced by ancient seeds in vitro were of good quality. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region in nuclear DNA (nDNA) of ancient seeds was amplified successfully. The sequences from amplified ITS DNA products of six ancient seeds indicated that their ITS sequences matched those of Anagyris foetida after subjecting them to BLAST searches in international sequence databases (NCBI). A. foetida is a relict species endemic to the Mediterranean region and used as a herbal medicine. We believe that seed characteristics such as the very hard, extremely smooth and shiny testa, toxic anagyrine alkaloid content and their storage in a pot further improved the longevity of these ancient seeds.


Author(s):  
Waras Nurcholis ◽  
Edy Djauhari Purwakusumah ◽  
Mono Rahardjo ◽  
Latifah K. Darusman

Temulawak (Curcuma  xanthorrhizaRoxb.) belongs to the family Zingiberaceae, has been empirically used as herbal medicines. The research was aimed to evaluate three promising lines of Temulawak based on their high bioactive contents (xanthorrhizol and curcuminoid) and its in vitro bioactivity (antioxidant and toxicity), and to obtain information on agrobiophysic environmental condition which produced high bioactive compounds. The xanthorrhizol and curcuminoid contents were measured by HPLC. In vitro antioxidant and toxicity were determined by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl) method and BSLT (Brine Shrimp Lethality Test). The result showed that promising line A produced the highest yield of bioactive and bioactivity, i.e. 0.157 and 0.056 g plant-1of xanthorrizol and curcuminoid respectively. The IC50 of antioxidant activity was 65.09 mg L-1and LC50of toxicity was 69.05 mg L-1. In this study, Cipenjo had the best temulawak performance than two other locations. According to the agrobiophysic parameters, Cipenjo environmental condition was suitable for temulawak cultivation with temperature 28-34 ºC, rainfall ± 223.97 mm year-1 and sandy clay soil. Keywords: antioxidant, curcuminoid, promising lines, temulawak, xanthorrhizol


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-208
Author(s):  
Pravin Kumar ◽  
Dinesh Kumar Sharma ◽  
Mahendra Singh Ashawat

Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is a prolonged reverting skin ailment with characteristically distributed skin lesions. In the previous decades, researchers had shown a marked interest in AD due to its increased prevalence in developed countries. Although different strategies including biological and immune modulators are available for the treatment of AD, each has certain limitations. The researchers had shown considerable interest in the management of AD with herbal medicines. The establishment of herbal drugs for AD might eliminate local as well as systemic adverse effects associated with long term use of corticosteroids and also higher cost of therapy with biological drugs. The present review discusses the traditional East Asian herbal medicines and scientific data related to newer herbal extracts or compositions for the treatment of AD. In vivo animal models and in vitro cell cultures, investigated with herbal medicines to establish a possible role in AD treatment, have also been discussed in the paper. The paper also highlights the role of certain new approaches, i.e. pharmacopuncture, a combination of allopathic and herbal medicines; and novel carriers (liposomes, cubosomes) for herbal drugs on atopic skin. In conclusion, herbal medicines can be a better and safe, complementary and alternative treatment option for AD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 3417-3424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Hodge ◽  
Fiona Marra ◽  
Catia Marzolini ◽  
Alison Boyle ◽  
Sara Gibbons ◽  
...  

Abstract As global health services respond to the coronavirus pandemic, many prescribers are turning to experimental drugs. This review aims to assess the risk of drug–drug interactions in the severely ill COVID-19 patient. Experimental therapies were identified by searching ClinicalTrials.gov for ‘COVID-19’, ‘2019-nCoV’, ‘2019 novel coronavirus’ and ‘SARS-CoV-2’. The last search was performed on 30 June 2020. Herbal medicines, blood-derived products and in vitro studies were excluded. We identified comorbidities by searching PubMed for the MeSH terms ‘COVID-19’, ‘Comorbidity’ and ‘Epidemiological Factors’. Potential drug–drug interactions were evaluated according to known pharmacokinetics, overlapping toxicities and QT risk. Drug–drug interactions were graded GREEN and YELLOW: no clinically significant interaction; AMBER: caution; RED: serious risk. A total of 2378 records were retrieved from ClinicalTrials.gov, which yielded 249 drugs that met inclusion criteria. Thirteen primary compounds were screened against 512 comedications. A full database of these interactions is available at www.covid19-druginteractions.org. Experimental therapies for COVID-19 present a risk of drug–drug interactions, with lopinavir/ritonavir (10% RED, 41% AMBER; mainly a perpetrator of pharmacokinetic interactions but also risk of QT prolongation particularly when given with concomitant drugs that can prolong QT), chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine (both 7% RED and 27% AMBER, victims of some interactions due to metabolic profile but also perpetrators of QT prolongation) posing the greatest risk. With management, these risks can be mitigated. We have published a drug–drug interaction resource to facilitate medication review for the critically ill patient.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 320
Author(s):  
Nisar Ahmad Zahid ◽  
Hawa Z.E. Jaafar ◽  
Mansor Hakiman

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) var. Bentong is a monocotyledon plant that belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. Bentong ginger is the most popular cultivar of ginger in Malaysia, which is conventionally propagated by its rhizome. As its rhizomes are the economic part of the plant, the allocation of a large amount of rhizomes as planting materials increases agricultural input cost. Simultaneously, the rhizomes’ availability as planting materials is restricted due to the high demand for fresh rhizomes in the market. Moreover, ginger propagation using its rhizome is accompanied by several types of soil-borne diseases. Plant tissue culture techniques have been applied to produce disease-free planting materials of ginger to overcome these problems. Hence, the in vitro-induced microrhizomes are considered as alternative disease-free planting materials for ginger cultivation. On the other hand, Bentong ginger has not been studied for its microrhizome induction. Therefore, this study was conducted to optimize sucrose and plant growth regulators (PGRs) for its microrhizome induction. Microrhizomes were successfully induced in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with a high sucrose concentration (>45 g L−1). In addition, zeatin at 5–10 µM was found more effective for microrhizome induction than 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) at a similar concentration. The addition of 7.5 µM 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) further enhanced microrhizome formation and reduced sucrose’s required dose that needs to be supplied for efficient microrhizome formation. MS medium supplemented with 60 g L−1 sucrose, 10 µM zeatin and 7.5 µM NAA was the optimum combination for the microrhizome induction of Bentong ginger. The in vitro-induced microrhizomes sprouted indoors in moist sand and all the sprouted microrhizomes were successfully established in field conditions. In conclusion, in vitro microrhizomes can be used as disease-free planting materials for the commercial cultivation of Bentong ginger.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
Nilufar Z. Mamadalieva ◽  
Davlat Kh. Akramov ◽  
Ludger A. Wessjohann ◽  
Hidayat Hussain ◽  
Chunlin Long ◽  
...  

The genus Lagochilus (Lamiaceae) is native to Central, South-Central, and Eastern Asia. It comprises 44 species, which have been commonly used as herbal medicines for the treatments of various ailments for thousands of years, especially in Asian countries. This review aims to summarize the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of species from the genus Lagochilus to unveil opportunities for future research. In addition, we provide some information about their traditional uses, botany, and diversity. More than 150 secondary metabolites have been reported from Lagochilus, including diterpenes, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, triterpenoids, iridoid glycosides, lignans, steroids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, volatile, non-volatile and aromatic compounds, lipids, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, and other secondary metabolites. In vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies on the crude extracts, fractions, and isolated compounds from Lagochilus species showed hemostatic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, cytotoxic, enzyme inhibitory, antispasmodic, hypotensive, sedative, psychoactive, and other activities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 747
Author(s):  
Eder Villegas Sánchez ◽  
Mariana Macías-Alonso ◽  
Soraya Osegueda Robles ◽  
Lisset Herrera-Isidrón ◽  
Hector Nuñez-Palenius ◽  
...  

Emerging infectious diseases have become a major global problem with public health and economic consequences. It is an urgent need to develop new anti-infective therapies. The natural diterpene carnosol exhibit a wide variety of interesting antibacterial and antiviral properties, and it is considered a theoretical inhibitor of COVID-19 Mpro. However, this compound is present in the family Lamiaceae in low quantities. To obtain carnosol in concentrations high enough to develop pharmacological studies, we evaluated the efficiency of a micropropagation protocol of Rosmarinus officinalis using a solid medium and a temporary immersion system (TIS), as well as the effect of 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BAP) and α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) on the growth of shoots. Moreover, we developed and validated an analytical method to quantify carnosol using the H-point standard additions method in the high-performance liquid chromatography diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). After 30 days of culture, TIS produced the maximum number of shoots per explant (24.33 ± 1.15) on a liquid medium supplemented with 6-BAP at 5.0 mg L−1. Next, we also evaluated the effect of immersion time and frequency for TIS. After 72 days of culture, the best results were obtained with an immersion cycle of 1 min every 12 h, yielding 170.33 ± 29.40 shoots. The quantification of carnosol on the samples was performed at a flow rate of 1.2 mL min−1 using binary isocratic mobile phase system 60:40 (v/v) 10 mM formic acid (pH 3.0) (A) and acetonitrile (B) on a reverse-phase column. The content of carnosol in the in vitro cultures was around 8-fold higher than in the wild plant. The present study represents an efficient alternative method to obtain carnosol for its pre-clinical and clinical development.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 532
Author(s):  
Hae-Soo Yun ◽  
Sylvatrie-Danne Dinzouna-Boutamba ◽  
Sanghyun Lee ◽  
Zin Moon ◽  
Dongmi Kwak ◽  
...  

In traditional Chinese medicine, Ranunculus japonicus has been used to treat various diseases, including malaria, and the young stem of R. japonicus is consumed as a food in the Republic of Korea. However, experimental evidence of the antimalarial effect of R. japonicus has not been evaluated. Therefore, the antimalarial activity of the extract of the young stem of R. japonicus was evaluated in vitro using both chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) and chloroquine-resistant (Dd2) strains; in vivo activity was evaluated in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice via oral administration followed by a four-day suppressive test focused on biochemical and hematological parameters. Exposure to extracts of R. japonicus resulted in significant inhibition of both chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) and resistant (Dd2) strains of P. falciparum, with IC50 values of 6.29 ± 2.78 and 5.36 ± 4.93 μg/mL, respectively. Administration of R. japonicus also resulted in potent antimalarial activity against P. berghei in infected mice with no associated toxicity; treatment also resulted in improved hepatic, renal, and hematologic parameters. These results demonstrate the antimalarial effects of R. japonicus both in vitro and in vivo with no apparent toxicity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document