Medicinal Plants and Phytomedicines. Linking Plant Biochemistry and Physiology to Human Health

Hypoglycemic Property of Ethnic Vegetables Consumed by the Tribal People of Chittagong Hill Tracts

“…Therefore, in search for newer hypoglycemic agent(s), some ethnic leafy vegetables, which are traditionally used in different ailments and so far no scientific study has been done, have screened for their hypoglycemic property on alloxan induced diabetes mice model. 7,8 . The variation in the hypoglycemic activity of plant extracts tested would be because of different varieties and content phytochemicals in them and also of different mechanisms of hypoglycemic action, like insulin mimetic or insulin secretory activity 7,8 or increase in insulin resistance, suppression of inflammation 21 and reduction or relief of stress by antioxidant activity 22 .…”

“…4 About 60-80% of world populations still rely on plant based medicines 5 and currently used 25% of modern medicines are made from the medicinal plants first used traditionally 6 . The medicinal action results from secondary metabolites or phytochemicals, the secondary metabolites present in the plants are responsible for the medicinal value and are specific to their taxonomic distinctions 7 . The phytochemicals or bioactive compounds in plants have a wide range of biological functions including antioxidant, antidiabetic, cardioactive, neuroprotective, anticancer, antimicrobial agents 8 .…”

Study of morphological changes in mammalian cell lines under action of medicinal herb extracts in vitro

“…Біологічно активні речовини (БАР) цих рослин -вітаміни, фенольні сполуки, терпе-ноїди -мають високий рівень антипроліферативних, антиоксидантних, проапоп-тичних властивостей [1,2,10,17], тому зроблено припущення про антипроліфера-тивну активність екстрактів цих рослин щодо злоякісних клітин in vitro.…”

Mood‐Enhancing Antidepressant St. John's Wort Inhibits the Activation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Gene Expression by Ultraviolet Light

“…St. John's wort extracts are as effective as commonly prescribed antidepressants, such as Prozac, Serzone, Paxil, Zoloft, and many others, in mild-to-moderate depression and it is used in Europe and is by far the most popular antidepressant in countries such as Germany (1,2). Promising results have been reported from a number of controlled studies on the antidepressant effects of SJW (3); however, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of these herbal remedies including SJW has yet to be elucidated (4).…”

“…St. John's wort can cause some other side effects in humans, such as increased sensitivity to sunlight (6) or fatigue, heartburn, nausea, diarrhea, dry mouth, and gastrointestinal disturbance (7). Therefore, more basic research is required in this area (4).…”