NOPR Collection:

Effect of combination of fenugreek with insulin and Glimepiride on male reproductive system in Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Effect of combination of fenugreek with insulin and Glimepiride on male reproductive system in Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats Authors: Haritha, C; Reddy, A Gopala; Reddy, Y Ramana; Anjaneyulu; Kumar, Anil Abstract: Present study was conducted to assess the effect of fenugreek, insulin and Glimepiride alone and their combination on male reproductive system in diabetic rat. Fifty six male Sprague Dawley rats of uniform age were randomly divided into seven groups. Group 1 and 2 kept as non-diabetic control and Streptozotocin (40 mg/kg i/p single dose)-induced diabetic control; Group 3, 4 and 5 were given treatment with insulin, Glimepiride and fenugreek seed powder, respectively; Group 6 and 7 were given combination of insulin + fenugreek seed powder and Glimepiride + fenugreek seed powder, respectively. At the end of experiment, testes were collected, weighed and used for histopathology and estimation of GSH, TBARS and epididymus was collected for estimation of total sperm count. The concentration of TBARS was increased, while GSH and relative testis weights were decreased in diabetic rats. The histology of testis revealed marked changes in diabetic rats and mild changes in combination treatment groups. The treatment groups showed significant improvement as compared to diabetic rats, while the combination groups showed greatest improvement. The study revealed that addition of fenugreek seed powder to insulin and Glimepiride had positive interaction in improving the male reproductive parameters in streptozotocin-induced diabetic Sprague Dawley rats. Page(s): 156-161

Evaluation of anthelmintic activity of Momordica charantia L. seeds

Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Evaluation of anthelmintic activity of Momordica charantia L. seeds Authors: Vedamurthy, A B; Rampurawala, Jamila; Paarakh, Padmaa M; Jogaiah, Sudhis; Hoskeri, Joy H Abstract: Momordica charantia L. (Family Cucurbitaceae) commonly known as bitter gourd or bitter melon is used in the Traditional System of Medicine for the treatment of many ailments such as abortifacient, contraceptive, dysmenorrhoea, eczema, emmenagogue, antimalarial, galactagogue, gout, jaundice, abdominal pain, kidney stone, laxative, leprosy, leucorrhoea, piles, pneumonia, psoriasis, purgative, rheumatism, fever and scabies. The present work aims at evaluation of anthelmintic property of M. charantia seeds extracts against Indian adult earthworm Pheretima posthuma. Albendazole was used as the standard drug. Petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol and aqueous extracts at concentration of 20 mg/mL each were evaluated for anthelmintic activity. The time taken for each worm for paralysis and death were determined. Among all the extracts chloroform extract showed best anthelmintic activity by inducing paralysis within 3 min and death within 8 min. The extracts showed better result when compared to the standard drug Albendazole. Page(s): 153-155

Pharmacognostical standardization of Arisaema leschenaultii Blume

Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Pharmacognostical standardization of Arisaema leschenaultii Blume Authors: Selvakumari, P Annie Sulochana Abstract: Arisaema leschenaultii Blume is endemic to South India and Sri Lanka. It grows in shades, especially on shola floor of 1200 – 2000 m altitude, it is rare and threatened in silent valley. The corms and tender leaves are cooked with tamarind paste and eaten as a vegetable by Kanis tribe in Tirunelveli hills. It is employed medicinally by Singhalese as a substitute to Arisaema jacquemontii Blume, whose juice is good for ringworm infection and the paste is applied as ointment in skin diseases. The corms are used to cure piles. This paper focuses on the pharmacognosy of A. leschenaultii Blume because pharmacognosy is an important link between pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. Morphological and anatomical description of plant, pharmacognostical and analytical standards and physical constants were obtained by employing standard methods of analysis as described in Pharmacopoeia of India. The results of the present investigation provide dependable diagnostic features of the vegetative organs of the plants for the identity of the drug in entire and in fragmentary conditions. Page(s): 143-152

Pharmacognostic evaluation and establishment of quality parameters of seeds of Cuminum cyminum L.

Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Pharmacognostic evaluation and establishment of quality parameters of seeds of Cuminum cyminum L. Authors: Rizvi, Aleza; Mishra, Anuradha; Mahdi, Abbas Ali; Wahab, Shadma; Kaleem, Sarjeel Abstract: Cuminum cyminum L. (Family Apiaceae), is a medium sized annual herb whose all parts are useful. Herbal drug standardization is an essential step in order to assess the quality of drugs, based on the concentration of their active principle, physical and chemical standards. An attempt has been made to highlight this herbal medicine through present study which may assist in standardization for quality, purity and sample identification. Various standardization parameters like morphological features, microscopic evaluation, physico-chemical evaluations (foreign matter, loss on drying, ash values, extractive values), preliminary phytochemical screening, thin-layer chromatography, and fluorescence analysis of powdered seeds were carried out and the qualitative parameters were reported. These studies provided referential information for correct identification and standardization of this plant material. Page(s): 138-142