SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS WITH ANTI-DIABETIC ACTIVITY IN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS

Diabetes is a long-term endocrine disease that affects people all over the world and is getting increasingly common. Because of its multisystem involvement and life-threatening effects, diabetes has become a major health concern for people of all ages in recent years. In 2019, diabetes was directly responsible for around 1.5 million fatalities. It's the primary cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and lower-limb amputations. Despite advances in pharmacological research and therapy, effective diabetes management remains a problem. Many therapeutic plants have demonstrated promising outcomes in animals in studies, and these findings can be applied to humans. This review examines the antidiabetic activity of common medicinal herbs such as Gymnema sylvestre, Swertia chirata, Momordica charantia, and others in experimental animals

Optimization of harvest and extraction factors by full factorial design for the improved yield of C-glucosyl xanthone mangiferin from Swertia chirata

Swertia chirata Buch.-Ham. ex C.B. Clarke is an important medicinal plant used in various herbal formulations as it shows significant biological activities such as hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, antioxidant and anti-parkinson. C-glucosyl xanthone glycoside (mangiferin) is known as bio-marker compound of genus Swertia L. Development of efficient extraction methods of C-glucosyl xanthone mangiferin from Swertia chirata was attempted by optimizing the pre-harvest, post-harvest and extraction techniques by full factorial design. Firstly, a full factorial design was implemented to evaluate the single and interactive effects of pre-harvest (growth stage and plant part), post-harvest (drying condition and storage periods) followed by selection of best extraction technique such as heat reflux extraction (HRE), microwave assisted extraction (MAE) and ultrasound assistant extraction (UAE) at different solvent types on mangiferin yield. HPTLC and HPLC techniques were used for the determination of mangiferin content in extracts generated from different plant samples. In addition, anti-oxidant and anti-diabetic properties were determined by using DPPH assay and percentage inhibition of α‑amylase enzyme. Substantial variation of mangiferin yield, ranged from 1.46 to 4.86% was observed, depending on the growth stage, plant part, drying condition, storage periods and extraction method. Results showed that drying of the leaves of Swertia chirata in the shade harvested at budding stage and stored for not more than 1 month was recommended for obtaining a higher mangiferin yield. Among different extraction techniques, MAE and UAE in 50% aqueous ethanol solvent were found to be efficient and cost-effective with better yield of mangiferin (4.82% and 4.86%, respectively) as compared to HRE (4.14%). Highest DPPH activity and percentage inhibition of α‑amylase was observed in the aqueous ethanol extract of S. chirata leaves harvested at bud-stage of plant followed by flowering stage. The study shows that optimization of various factors by full factorial design was found to be an effective procedure to improve mangiferin yield from Swertia chirata and can be used for extraction of mangiferin.

Effect of coded Unani formulation Unim-401 and Soranil with NB-UV-B therapy in a case of chronic palmo-plantar plaque psoriasis- A Case Study.

Da’ al-Sadaf (Plaque psoriasis) is the most common form of the psoriasis in which raised, red patches covered with a silvery white buildup of dead skin cells. These patches or plaques most often show up on the scalp, knees, elbows and lower back. Sometimes it is itchy and painful and, may cracked and bleed. Unani oral and topical medicines along with Narrow Band Ultra-Violet (NB-UV-B) therapy is used here for treatment. Unani coded formulation UNIM-401 containing Barg Shahtra (Fumaria parviflora Linn.), Chiraita Talkh (Swertia chirata Buch.), Babchi (Psoralea corylifolia Linn.) and Haleela Siyah (Terminalia chebula Retz.) in the ratio of 5:5:5:2, in a dose of 2 capsules (500 mg each) orally with lukewarm water twice a day in empty stomach for a period of three months are given and Soranil ointment mixed with clarified butter in 1:1 ratio was applied on the affected part and exposed to the NB-UVB light for 10 minutes. Plaques of psoriasis getting shade off after one month of treatment and almost disappeared from the site of lesion after three months. The skin of patient almost become normal. It may be concluded that Unani drugs (oral & topical) along with NB-UVB therapy is beneficial for controlling and treating plaque psoriasis.

Antimicrobial activity of bacterial endophytes from Chirata (Swertia chirata Wall.) and Datura (Datura stramonium L.)

Background Exploration of biocides in microbial system becomes increasingly interesting. Among the different microbial systems, the study of endophytes becomes an important field of research because of their agricultural as well as pharmaceutical importance. Bacterial endophytes from two medicinal plants from North Easter states of India had been studied for their potential antibacterial and antifungal properties. Results Bacterial endophytes from two medicinal plant species abundantly available in North Eastern states of India, Chirata (Swertia chirata) and Datura (Datura stramonium), had been isolated and studied for their anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activities. Six bacterial endophytes were isolated from Chirata and 5 from Datura. All these bacterial isolates were initially isolated by observing their colony morphology, and then 9 morphologically distinct bacterial isolates were identified at molecular level by their 16s rRNA sequencing. Among the identified isolates, 5 were found to be belonged to genus Staphylococcus, 2 Bacillus, and one each belonged to Rhodococcus and Cupriavidus. Antibacterial study was carried out against 2 plant pathogenic bacteria, viz., Xanthomonas oryzae and Ralstonia solanacearum. Antifungal study was carried out against 2 plant pathogenic fungi, viz., Fusarium oxysporum and F. solani. Out of 6 bacterial isolates from Chirata, one showed antibacterial as well as antifungal properties, and another one showed antifungal properties only. Likewise, out of 5 bacterial isolates from Datura, one found to have both antibacterial and antifungal properties, and another one has only antifungal properties. Conclusion Few bacterial endophytes isolated from S. chirata and D. stramonium L., abundantly available in North Eastern part of India, had potential antibacterial as well as antifungal properties. This could be considered as the baseline information on potential antibacterial and antifungal agents from bacterial endophytes. Further investigations are required to assess their efficacy against several other bacterial and fungal diseases of economic importance.