Rhubarb [Rewand] a review

Rhubarb is a perennial herb of Polygonaceae family. It consists of the dried rhizomes of R. emodi and R. webbianum and other species of Rheum. Mostly three main types of Rhubarb viz., the Chinese Rhubarb, the Indian or Himalayan Rhubarb and the Rhaphontic Rhubarb are found. The commercial Rhubarb known as Chinese, Russian, Turkish and East Indian, is said to be obtained from the R. officinale and R. palmataum but Chinese rhubarb is the best among them. It is of saffron colour, has a fractured surface, and is friable. In India it is distributed in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Sikkim at altitudes of 3,300-5,200 mts. It is also cultivated in Assam. It has been used for centuries in Unani System of Medicine for its effect as a Purgative, Resolvent, Liver Tonic, Anti-inflammatory, Stomachic, Diuretic and Emenagogue and Deobstruent

Antioxidant activity of a standardized sample of the Unani drug, Abresham [Bombyx mori Cocoon] with Vit. E as standard

Many natural drugs of Traditional Medicine have been shown to possess anti-oxidant activity. Unani Medicine, practised from Morocco to India, is likely to possess outstanding antioxidants. So, the Unani drug, Abresham [Silk Bombyx mori] Cocoon]. was studied for its effect on lipid Peroxidatior, [TBARS], SOD [Superoxide dismutase] and Catalase, The drug was also subjected to amino acid analysis, successive extraction etc. for physico-chemical characterization. After 7-day oral treatment with 175 mg/kg of 50% ethanolic extract of Abresham [Silk Cocoon] and Vit.E as the standard antioxidant for comparison, the rats: were subjected to immobilization stress and the post-mitochondrial supernatant of Iiver was used for estimating the team parameters. The MDA concentration was decreased and SOD and Catalase activity were increased not only vis a vis the untreutcd and Vit.E - treated stressed animals but even the unstressed animals [P<0.001]. So, the Unani drug Abresham [Silk Cocoon is shown to possess a striking antioxidant effect. The remarkable increase in both SOD and Catalase, that effectively block the generation of Reactive Oxygen Species [ROS] in two successive steps, indicates that the test drug's antioxidant effect is exerted mainly by ROS generation blockade

Environment and health, challenges of the new millennium

More than a century after John Snow identified a hand pump in Broad Street, London as the Primary source of cholera epidemic, then raging through the areas, supply of safe water and providing human excreta disposal facilities to all, still remain illusive targets in most communities in India, particularly in rural areas. Today the urban population of the country is at the interface of the process of development and environmental degradation, concurrently the rural population continues to suffer from lack of sanitation and safe drinking water, malnutrition and ecological insecurity. Ecological degradation brings in its wake, poverty and ill health and they combine to jeopardize the productivity of the country. Unfortunately, however, the costs of their health impact were never considered seriously by the economic planners

Pharmacological Investigation of Cassia Sopheral Linn. Var. Purperea, Roxb

Ethanol extract of seed of Cassia sophera, Linn. var. purpurea, Roxb. was studied for some pharmacological activities in rats. Eddy's hot plate and Analgesiometer tests were used to asses antinociceptive activity of Cassia sophera. Pentobarbitone narcosis potentiation test was used to evaluate hypnotic and sedative effect, while anticonvulsant activity was evaluated by Maximum electroshock-induced seizure test and Pentylenetetrazol induced seizure test. Test drug [440 mg/kg] produced significant analgesia, potentiated the pentobarbitone induced sleeping time and exhibited anticonvulsant effect against hind limb tonic extension phase of maximum electroshockinduced seizure test and seizures induced by pentylenetetrazol. The preliminary screening of seed extract of Cassia sophera, Linn. var. purpurea, Roxb. exhibited analgesic, anticonvulsant effects and potentiated pentobarbitone sleeping time. The ethanol extract of seed of Cassia sophera, Linn. var. purpurea, Roxb. deserve further investigation for elucidation of the mechanisms of action