Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicine (TIM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) remain the most ancient yet living traditions. There has been increased global interest in traditional medicine. Efforts to monitor and regulate herbal drugs and traditional medicine are underway. China has been successful in promoting its therapies with more research and science-based approach, while Ayurveda still needs more extensive scientific research and evidence base. This review gives an overview of basic principles and commonalities of TIM and TCM and discusses key determinants of success, which these great traditions need to address to compete in global markets.

Phyllanthus emblica LINN. Syn: Emblica officinalis GAERTN. (Indian Gooseberry) family-Euphorbiaceae fruit is one of the top selling botanicals having diverse applications in healthcare, food and cosmetic industry. It has been well studied for immunomodulatory, 1) anticancer, 2) antioxidant 3) and antiulcer 4) activities. An official drug of Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia 5) and Indian Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 6) it forms a main ingredient of various multi-component formulations. Correct genotype identification of the plant material, therefore, remains important for protection of both the public health and industry. Chemoprofiling and morphological evaluation are routinely used for identification of the botanical. Chemical complexity and lack of therapeutic marker(s) are some of the limitations associated with chemical approach while subjective bias in morphological evaluation limits its use.Molecular biology offers various techniques that can be applied for plant identification.7) Genetic polymorphism in medicinal plants has been widely studied which helps in distinguishing plants at inter-and/or intra-species level.8,9) PCRbased methods including Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) 10) can be effectively used for authentication of the medicinal plant material. Further, development of more specific, sensitive and reproducible markers like RAPD based Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) can increase industrial application of the molecular techniques. These markers have been used for authentication of medicinal plant species of ginseng, 11) Artemisia 12) and other commercially important timbers like bamboo. 13)In the present study, we have chosen six Phyllanthus species (other than P. emblica) that are commercially and therapeutically important; and are widely used in Ayurvedic system of medicine for treating various ailments.14) SCAR marker for correct genotype identification of P. emblica from a species-specific RAPD amplicon is developed by comparative analysis. The marker is further used for authentication of commercial samples of P. emblica fruit powders (Amlachurna) as well as Triphalachurna, a multi-component formulation which contains fruit powders of P. emblica, Terminalia chebula ROTZ. and Terminalia belerica ROXB. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant MaterialFresh leaf tissues of Phyllanthus distichus LINN., Phyllanthus reticulatus POIR., Phyllanthus urinaria LINN., Phyllanthus simplex RETZ., Phyllanthus niruri LINN. and Phyllanthus indofischeri BENNET. were collected from different parts of India (three samples of each species) and authenticated in Agharkar research Institute, Pune, India. Leaf tissues of eleven cultivars of P. emblica viz.; NA-06, NA-07, NA-10, Kanchan, Chakaiya, Francis, Banarasi, Hathizool, Dongri, Bansired and Anand-01 were collected from standard cultivated plots of Mahatma Phule Agricultural University, Rahuri, India. The collected fresh tissues were powdered in liquid nitrogen and stored in deep freezer (Ϫ70°C) till further processing.Three commercial P. emblica fruit powder sample...

Polyunsaturated fatty acids like EPA and DHA have attracted a great attention due to their beneficial effects on human health. At present, fish oil is the major source of EPA and DHA. Various alternative sources are being explored to get these essential fatty acids. Genes encoding enzymes involved in the biosyntheses of PUFAs have been identified, cloned and gene prospecting becomes a novel method for enhanced PUFA production. Desaturase and elongase genes have important biotechnological appeal from genetic engineering point of view. This review highlights the research and results on such enzymes.

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Progranulin (PGRN) haploinsufficiency associated with loss-of-function mutations in the granulin gene causes frontotemporal dementia (FTD). This suggests that increasing PGRN levels could have promising therapeutic implications for patients carrying GRN mutations. In this study, we explored the therapeutic potential of sortilin1 (SORT1), a clearance receptor of PGRN, by generating and characterizing monoclonal antibodies against SORT1. Anti-SORT1 monoclonal antibodies were generated by immunizing Sort1 knockout mice with SORT1 protein. The antibodies were classified into 7 epitope bins based on their competitive binding to the SORT1 protein and further defined by epitope bin-dependent characteristics, including SORT1-PGRN blocking, SORT1 down-regulation, and binding to human and mouse SORT1. We identified a positive correlation between PGRN up-regulation and SORT1 down-regulation. Furthermore, we also characterized K1-67 antibody via SORT1 down-regulation and binding to mouse SORT1 in vivo and confirmed that K1-67 significantly up-regulated PGRN levels in plasma and brain interstitial fluid of mice. These data indicate that SORT1 down-regulation is a key mechanism in increasing PGRN levels via anti-SORT1 antibodies and suggest that SORT1 is a potential target to correct PGRN reduction, such as that in patients with FTD caused by GRN mutation.

Zingiber officinale Roscoe (common or culinary ginger) is an official drug in Ayurvedic, Indian herbal, Chinese, Japanese, African and British Pharmacopoeias. The objective of the present study was to develop DNA-based markers that can be applied for the identification and differentiation of the commercially important plant Z. officinale Roscoe from the closely related species Zingiber zerumbet (pinecone, bitter or 'shampoo' ginger) and Zingiber cassumunar [cassumunar or plai (Thai) ginger]. The rhizomes of the other two Zingiber species used in the present study are morphologically similar to that of Z. officinale Roscoe and can be used as its adulterants or contaminants. Various methods, including macroscopy, microscopy and chemoprofiling, have been reported for the quality control of crude ginger and its products. These methods are reported to have limitations in distinguishing Z. officinale from closely related species. Hence, newer complementary methods for correct identification of ginger are useful. In the present study, RAPD (random amplification of polymorphic DNA) analysis was used to identify putative species-specific amplicons for Z. officinale. These were further cloned and sequenced to develop SCAR (sequence-characterized amplified region) markers. The developed SCAR markers were tested in several non-Zingiber species commonly used in ginger-containing formulations. One of the markers, P3, was found to be specific for Z. officinale and was successfully applied for detection of Z. officinale from Trikatu, a multicomponent formulation.

Voltage-gated sodium channel Na V 1.7 is a genetically validated target for pain. Identification of Na V 1.7 inhibitors with all of the desired properties to develop as an oral therapeutic for pain has been a major challenge. Herein, we report systematic structure−activity relationship (SAR) studies carried out to identify novel sulfonamide derivatives as potent, selective, and statedependent Na V 1.7 inhibitors for pain. Scaffold hopping from benzoxazine to chroman and indane bicyclic system followed by thiazole replacement on sulfonamide led to identification of lead molecules with significant improvement in solubility, selectivity over Na V 1.5, and CYP2C9 inhibition. The lead molecules 13, 29, 32, 43, and 51 showed a favorable pharmacokinetics (PK) profile across different species and robust efficacy in veratridine and formalin-induced inflammatory pain models in mice. Compound 51 also showed significant effects on the CCI-induced neuropathic pain model. The profile of 51 indicated that it has the potential for further evaluation as a therapeutic for pain.

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