Mucuna pruriens Seed Aqueous Extract Improved Neuroprotective and Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory Effects Compared with Synthetic L-Dopa.

L-dopa, a dopaminergic agonist, is the gold standard for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. However, due to the long-term toxicity and adverse effects of using L-dopa as the first-line therapy for Parkinson's disease, a search for alternative medications is an important current challenge. Traditional Ayurvedic medicine has suggested the use of Mucuna pruriens Linn. (Fabaceae) as an anti-Parkinson's agent. The present study aimed to quantify the amount of L-dopa in M. pruriens seed extract by HPLC analysis. The cytotoxicity and neuroprotective properties of M. pruriens aqueous extract were investigated by two in vitro models including the serum deprivation method and co-administration of hydrogen peroxide assay. The results showed the significant neuroprotective activities of M. pruriens seed extracts at a concentration of 10 ng/mL. In addition, the effects of L-dopa and M. pruriens seed extract on in vitro acetylcholinesterase activities were studied. M. pruriens seed extract demonstrated acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, while synthetic L-dopa enhanced the activity of the enzyme. It can be concluded that the administration of M. pruriens seed might be effective in protecting the brain against neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. M. prurience seed extract containing L-dopa has shown less acetylcholinesterase activity stimulation compared with L-dopa, suggesting that the extract might have a superior benefit for use in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Development of Jelly Loaded with Nanogel Containing Natural L-Dopa from Mucuna pruriens Seed Extract for Neuroprotection in Parkinson's Disease.

The first line therapy of patients with Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, is levodopa (L-dopa) given orally. Recently, the presence of natural L-dopa in the seed of Mucuna pruriens, a tropical legume in the Fabaceae family, was reported and it showed superior efficiency compared with synthetic L-dopa. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the phytochemical compounds, particularly for natural L-dopa, in M. pruriens seed extract and subsequently prepare a nanogel containing the extract prior to incorporation into a jelly formulation for use as a functional food in elderly patients with Parkinson's disease. The results show that M. pruriens seed extract contains phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, terpenoids, and saponins. The quantitative analysis performed by the HPLC method revealed that spray-dried M. pruriens seed extract contained 5.59 ± 0.21% L-dopa. M. pruriens seed extract possesses a ferric-reducing antioxidant power and shows free-radical scavenging activity, determined by DPPH and ABTS methods, suggesting a distinctive antioxidant ability of the extract. M. pruriens seed extract at 10 ng/mL did not show cytotoxicity against a neuronal cell line (SH-SY5Y cells), kidney cells (HEK293 cells), or Caco-2 cells. Nanogel of M. pruriens seed extract prepared by ionic gelation had the hydrodynamic diameter, polydispersity index and zeta potential value of 384.53 ± 11.24 nm, 0.38 ± 0.05, and -11.23 ± 1.15 mV, respectively. The transepithelial transport of L-dopa in M. pruriens seed-extract nanogel through Caco-2 cells was measured. Nanogel containing M. pruriens seed extract at the concentration of 10 ng/mL exhibited neuroprotective activity. A jelly formulation containing M. pruriens seed-extract nanogel was successfully developed. The prepared jelly exhibited the acceptable physical and microbiological stabilities upon 6 months of the stability test. The half-life of natural L-dopa in jelly were 3.2, 0.9, and 0.6 years for storage conditions at 4, 30, and 40 °C, respectively, indicating the thermal degradation of natural L-dopa. The prepared jelly containing natural L-dopa from M. pruriens seed extract with the prominent antioxidant activity is a promising option for elderly patients suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Wound-healing activity and quantification of bioactive compounds from Derris scandens extract.

Derris scandens (DS) is a Thai herbal medicine used to relieve musculoskeletal pain. It has been found as a single crude medication, ethanolic extract, and compounded herbal recipe for oral administration in pharmacies across the country. Due to its medicinal benefits and enriched phytochemicals, researchers are now drawn to examine the new pharmacological effects of this plant to increase its usage in complementary medicines. The purpose of this research was to investigate the wound-healing properties of the plant's ethanolic extracts as well as their active chemical composition. The extracts (both 50% and absolute ethanol) prepared by Soxhlet extraction were examined for cytotoxicity and wound-healing activity using human skin fibroblast cells, and the active chemical contents in the extracts were analyzed further using the HPLC method. For this study, genistein and lupeol compounds were selected as chemical markers. In the concentration range of 0.0001-1 mg/mL, all extracts had no cytotoxic effects on the examined cells, and 1 mg/mL of both ethanolic extracts was effective for wound closure in a scratch assay. The phytochemicals genistein and lupeol were found to be 0.0332% and 0.0588% (w/w) in the 50% ethanolic extract, respectively, and 0.0309% and 0.3472% (w/w) in the absolute ethanolic extract. The ability of DS extracts containing these compounds on in vitro wound-healing activity was demonstrated in this study.

Chemical Components of Four Essential Oils in Aromatherapy Recipe.

This study focused on characterization of the chemical components of an aromatherapy recipe. The formulation consisted of four blended essential oils; rosemary oil, eucalyptus oil, pine oil and lime oil (volume ratio 6 : 2 : 1 : 1). The single and combination essential oils were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The analysis of GC-MS data revealed that several components exist in the mixture. The five most important components of the blended essential oils were 1,8-cineole (35.6 %), α-pinene (11.1%), limonene (9.6%), camphor (8.4%), and camphene (6.6%). The main components of rosemary oil were 1,8-cineole (37.3%), α-pinene (19.3%), camphor (14.7%), camphene (8.8%), and ß-pinene (5.5%); of eucalyptus oil 1,8-cineole (82.6%) followed by limonene (7.4%), o-cymene (4.3%), γ-terpinene (2.7%), and α-pinene (1.5%); of pine oil terpinolene (26.7%), α-terpineol (20.50%), 1-terpineol (10.8%), α-pinene (6.0%), and γ-terpineol (5.3%); and of lime oil limonene (62.9%), γ-terpinene (11.5%), α-terpineol (7.6%), terpinolene (6.0%), and α-terpinene (2.8%). The present study provided a theoretical basis for the potential application of blended essential oils to be used as an aromatherapy essential oil recipe. GC-MS serves as a suitable and reliable method for the quality control of the chemical markers.

Antimicrobial constituents and synergism effect of the essential oils from Cymbopogon citratus and Alpinia galanga.

From the fresh leaf sheathes of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and rhizomes of galanga (Alpinia galanga) light yellow and colorless oils, respectively, were obtained by hydrodistillation and microwave assisted extraction (MAE) in yields of 0.24% and 0.03%, and 0.11% and trace (w/w), respectively. By GC/MS analysis, five major constituents were identified in lemongrass oil, E-citral, Z-citral, beta-myrcene, selina-6-en-4-ol, and cis-ocimene, and five in galanga oil, 1,8-cineole, phenol 4-(2-propenyl)-acetate, dl-limonene, alpha-pinene, and a-terpineol. Three major components of the combined lemongrass and galanga oils (ratio 7:3, 1:1, 3:7) were 1,8-cineole (46.3%, 31.5%, 19.3%), E-citral (12.8%, 22.7%, 32.8%) and Z-citral (8.5%, 15.2%, 21.6%). The MICs of lemongrass and galanga oils were: against Staphylococcus aureus 0.5% and 4%, v/v, against Pseudomonas aeruginosa 40% and >40%,v/v, against Streptococcus bovis 0.25% and 0.5%, v/v, and against Candida albicans 0.25% and 0.5%, v/v. Citral (from lemongrass oil) gave greater potentiation than 1,8-cineole (from galanga oil). The combination profiles of galanga oil with lemongrass oil (volume ratios 3:7, 1:1, and 7:3) were tested against the four pathogenic microorganisms. Synergistic activity was best noted for only one ratio (volume ratio 3:7) as the sigmafic< 1 against all tested microorganisms. The present investigation provides evidenc that the utilization of two essential oils in combination should be assessed for synergistic antimicrobial activity in order to reduce their minimum effective dose.

Effect of Vernonia cinerea in improvement of respiratory tissue in chronic nicotine treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the effect of Vernonia cinerea (VC) on rat respiratory tissue in chronic nicotine condition. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Pathology of rat respiratory tissue was induced by intraperitoneally injection with 1 mg/kg BW of rat. Male Wistar rats were divided into three groups, control group (C), nicotine treated group (N) and nicotine treated with Vernonia cinerea (VC) supplementation (NV, 100 mg/kg BW of rat) for 3 and 6 months. The animals were sacrificed and the respiratory tissues were removed and further processed for paraffin embedment and stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E), Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS), and Masson's trichrome techniques. RESULTS: The histopathology of lung tissue and trachea occurred in a chronic nicotine treatment. The thickness of alveolar walls and proliferation of alveolar type 2 cell were found. There was remarkable increasing of various inflammatory cells, alveolar macrophages, lymphocytes and plasma cells after nicotine treatment for 6 months. A large number of small blood vessels appeared in the alveolar wall. Nicotine also caused fibrosis which dispersed throughout the lung parenchyma in perivascular peribronchiole and alveolar wall regions. Moreover there was the appearance of epithelial cell injury and goblet cell hyperplasia in the trachea. Regarding the VC supplementation, the result of a recovery of alveolar walls, i.e. decreasing of various inflammatory cells and alveolar type 2 cells was clearly demonstrated. In addition, the fibrosis and goblet cell hyperplasia were almost disappeared in the lung tissue after VC treatment. CONCLUSION: Administration of VC in a chronic nicotine treatment resulted in an improvement of respiratory tissue. The recovery of the respiratory tract, especially trachea and lung tissue was characterized by the remarkable decrease of various inflammatory cells, fibrotic areas, and goblet cell hyperplasia. The VC, therefore shows the potential effect to be a new herbal therapeutic agent for alleviate the symptoms of the respiratory tract caused by nicotine from heavy cigarette smoke.

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of traditional Thai herbal remedies for aphthous ulcers.

Four medicinal plants (Quercus infectoria, Kaempferia galanga, Coptis chinensis and Glycyrrhiza uralensis) as well as one traditional Thai treatment for aphthous ulcers based on these four plants were tested for antimicrobial activity. MIC values for a range of bacteria and Candida albicans were determined, with both type strains and clinical isolates being used. Antioxidant activity was determined using the ABTS radical scavenging assay. Among the four plants, Q. infectoria showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with an MIC of 0.41 mg/mL, while C. chinensis showed antifungal activity against C. albicans with an MIC of 6.25 mg/mL. Activity was also shown against a range of other organisms including Salmonella typhi, Serratia marcescens, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis. The antimicrobial activity of the traditional aphthous ulcer preparation (a powder) was comparable to that for the individual plant extracts, however, incorporation of the powder into a gel formulation resulted in the loss of almost all activity. All extracts, with the exception of K. galanga, also showed good antioxidant activity. This study supports the traditional use of these plants and suggests that they may also be useful in the treatment of other infections.