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Medicinal Properties (medicinal + property)
Selected AbstractsCapillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry characterisation of secondary metabolites from the antihyperglycaemic plant Genista teneraELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 11 2006Emma L. Edwards Abstract Genista tenera is endemic to the Portuguese island of Madeira, where an infusion of the aerial parts of the plant is used in folk medicine as an antidiabetic agent. Consequently the medicinal properties of the secondary metabolites of this plant have been the subject of an ongoing study. A recently reported LC-MS method using a 100,min separation allowed identification of five flavonoid components in an extract of the aerial parts of this plant. In order to obtain additional information on the range and complexity of the plant's secondary metabolite components a CE-MS method has been developed and applied for the analysis of an extract of G.,tenera. Twenty-six different components are distinguished in an analysis time of only 10,min. Results demonstrate that CE-MS/MS rapidly generates data complementary to those obtainable by LC-MS/MS and is particularly suited to the analysis of plant metabolites where concentration is not limiting. [source] Screening for Alternative Antibiotics: An Investigation into the Antimicrobial Activities of Medicinal Food Plants of MauritiusJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 3 2010M.F. Mahomoodally ABSTRACT:, The present study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of 2 endemic medicinal plants; Faujasiopsis flexuosa,(Asteraceae) (FF) and Pittosporum senacia,(Pittosporaceae) (PS) and 2 exotic medicinal plants, Momordica charantia,(Cucurbitaceae) (MC) and Ocimum tenuiflorum,(Lamiaceae) (OT) that forms part of local pharmacopoeia of Mauritius and correlate any observed activity with its phytochemical profile. Aqueous and organic fractions of the leaves, fruits, and seeds of these plants were subjected to antimicrobial testing by the disc diffusion method against 8 clinical isolates of bacteria and 2 strains of fungus. It was found that MC, OT, and FF possessed antimicrobial properties against the test organisms. The MIC for MC ranged from 0.5 to 9 mg/mL and that of FF from 2 to 10 mg/mL and the lowest MIC value (0.5 mg/mL) was recorded for the unripe fruits of MC against E. coli. On the other hand, higher concentration of the unripe MC fruit extract of 9 mg/mL was needed to be effective against a resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus,(MRSA). The antimicrobial effect against MRSA was lost upon ripening of the fruits. The methanolic extract of both MC and FF showed highest MIC values compared to the corresponding aqueous extract, which indicates the low efficacy and the need of higher doses of the plant extract. Phytochemical screening of the plants showed the presence of at least tannins, phenols, flavonoids, and alkaloids, which are known antimicrobial phyto-compounds. In conclusion, the observed antimicrobial properties would tend to further validate the medicinal properties of these commonly used endemic medicinal and food plants of Mauritius. [source] Synthetic approaches to 3H -naphtho[2,1- b]pyrans and 2,3-dihydro-1H -naphtho[2,1- b]pyransJOURNAL OF HETEROCYCLIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2009Amitabh Jha Naphtho[2,1- b]pyran nuclei are prevalent in natural products with significant biological and medicinal properties. 3,3-Disubstituted 3H -naphtho[2,1 -b]pyrans are photochromic and find use in electronic display systems, ophthalmic lenses, optical switches, and temporary or permanent memories. Of the various possible structural isomers of naphthopyran framework, this review is an account of reported synthetic procedures to produce 3H -naphtho[2,1-b]pyrans and their dihydro analogs, 2,3-dihydro-1H -naphtho[2,1 -b]pyrans. The advantages and disadvantages of each procedure in terms of yields, complexity, formation of side-products, use of uncommon/expensive reagents, etc., are also described. J. Heterocyclic Chem., (2009). [source] PREDICTION OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CUMIN SEED USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKSJOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 1 2010M.H. SAIEDIRAD ABSTRACT In this paper, two artificial neural networks (ANNs) are applied to acquire the relationship between the mechanical properties and moisture content of cumin seed, using the data of quasi-static loading test. In establishing these relationship, the moisture content, seed size, loading rate and seed orientation were taken as the inputs of both models. The force and energy required for fracturing of cumin seed, under quasi-static loading were taken as the outputs of two models. The activation function in the output layer of models obeyed a linear output, whereas the activation function in the hidden layers were in the form of a sigmoid function. Adjusting ANN parameters such as learning rate and number of neurons and hidden layers affected the accuracy of force and energy prediction. Comparison of the predicted and experimented data showed that the ANN models used to predict the relationships of mechanical properties of cumin seed have a good learning precision and good generalization, because the root mean square errors of the predicated data by ANNs were rather low (4.6 and 7.7% for the force and energy, respectively). PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Cumin seed is generally used as a food additive in the form of powder for imparting flavor to different food preparations and for a variety of medicinal properties. Physical properties of cumin seeds are essential for the design of equipment for handling, harvesting, aeration, drying, storing, grinding and processing. For powder preparation especially the fracture behavior of the seeds are essential. These properties are affected by numerous factors such as size, form and moisture content of the grain and deformation speed. A neural network model was developed that can be used to predict the relationships of mechanical properties. Artificial neural network models are powerful empirical models approach, which can be compared with mathematical models. [source] Glucosinolates in isaño (Tropaeolum tuberosum) tubers: qualitative and quantitative content and changes after maturityJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 7 2004Rodrigo Ramallo Abstract Six varieties of isaño (Tropaeolum tuberosum), an Andean edible tuber, were analysed. The aim was to characterise qualitatively and quantitatively their content of glucosinolates and to determine concentration changes of these compounds upon delayed harvest. Additionally, exploratory assays were carried out on the effect of postharvest cold storage of the tubers as well as of a drying process imposed on blanched tuber slices. Only one glucosinolate (p -methoxybenzyl glucosinolate) was found in the six domestic varieties analysed. Its concentration varied between 36.5 and 90.0 µmol g,1 dry matter. This range is relatively high when compared with other edible glucosinolate-containing vegetables. ,Dark' coloured tuber varieties showed higher levels than ,light' coloured tuber varieties at normal harvest time. Of the two varieties on which the effect of delayed harvest was studied, one showed increasing and then decreasing changes until 44 days after maturity, while the other did not show any significant change with time. Postharvest cold stored samples showed similar changes to tubers kept in soil, and glucosinolate levels in dried blanched tubers did not differ significantly from those in fresh samples. Taken together, the data indicate that the glucosinolate content of isaño is highly dependent on both the variety and the time of harvest. These parameters should be taken into account when considering isaño as a promising food source with medicinal properties for humans and animals, but also with possible adverse biological effects, all related to the presence of glucosinolates. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Chemoprotective effects of a protein from the red algae Porphyra yezoensis on acetaminophen-induced liver injury in ratsPHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue 9 2008Hye-Jung Hwang Abstract Seaweeds contribute to the maintenance of health through their nutritional and medicinal properties. The effects of PYP, a 14 kDa protein isolated from a hot-water extract of the marine alga Porphyra yezoensis, on AAP-induced liver injury in rats was evaluated. AAP induced acute liver injury and AAP-induced hepatotoxicity is the leading cause of liver failure. In this study, male Sprague,Dawley rats were assigned to one of three treatment groups: control, AAP, or AAP + PYP. Compared with the control group, liver tissue from the AAP group showed increased levels of caspase-3 activity and DNA fragmentation, decreased levels of GSH and increased serum GOT/GPT levels. In contrast, treatment with AAP + PYP produced levels of caspase-3 activity, DNA fragmentation, GSH and GOT/GPT that matched the values seen in the control group. It is concluded that PYP may prevent AAP-induced liver injury. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||