Comparative Evaluation of Triphala, Aloe vera, and Chlorhexidine Mouthwash on Gingivitis: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of two herbal mouthwashes in comparison with Chlorhexidine mouthwash on gingivitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a triple-blind randomized controlled clinical trial, where in 60 patients were randomly allocated into three study groups: Triphala mouthwash (Group A), Aloe vera mouthwash (Group B), and Chlorhexidine mouthwash (Group C). All groups were treated with scaling and asked to rinse with respective mouthwashes twice daily for 1 month. Clinical parameters such as plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), and bleeding index (BI) were recorded at baseline, 15 days, and 30 days, respectively. RESULTS: Our results suggested that Triphala group effectively demonstrated a higher reduction in GI and BI index scores compared to A. vera group (P ≤ 0.005) and the effect is equivocal to the reduction seen with Chlorhexidine group. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the mouthwashes in reduction of PI scores (P > 0.005). CONCLUSION: The results of our study evidenced Triphala to be superior in the reduction of plaque, gingival inflammation, and bleeding compared to that of A. vera. However, the results of our study also indicated that Triphala was as effective as chlorhexidine mouthwash in its ability in reducing plaque accumulation, gingival inflammation, and bleeding. Furthermore, Triphala is relatively free of side effects compared to that of chlorhexidine.

Potent α-amylase inhibitory activity of Indian Ayurvedic medicinal plants.

BACKGROUND: Indian medicinal plants used in the Ayurvedic traditional system to treat diabetes are a valuable source of novel anti-diabetic agents. Pancreatic α-amylase inhibitors offer an effective strategy to lower the levels of post-prandial hyperglycemia via control of starch breakdown. In this study, seventeen Indian medicinal plants with known hypoglycemic properties were subjected to sequential solvent extraction and tested for α-amylase inhibition, in order to assess and evaluate their inhibitory potential on PPA (porcine pancreatic α-amylase). Preliminary phytochemical analysis of the lead extracts was performed in order to determine the probable constituents. METHODS: Analysis of the 126 extracts, obtained from 17 plants (Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f., Adansonia digitata L., Allium sativum L., Casia fistula L., Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don., Cinnamomum verum Persl., Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt., Linum usitatisumum L., Mangifera indica L., Morus alba L., Nerium oleander L., Ocimum tenuiflorum L., Piper nigrum L., Terminalia chebula Retz., Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers., Trigonella foenum-graceum L., Zingiber officinale Rosc.) for PPA inhibition was initially performed qualitatively by starch-iodine colour assay. The lead extracts were further quantified with respect to PPA inhibition using the chromogenic DNSA (3, 5-dinitrosalicylic acid) method. Phytochemical constituents of the extracts exhibiting≥ 50% inhibition were analysed qualitatively as well as by GC-MS (Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry). RESULTS: Of the 126 extracts obtained from 17 plants, 17 extracts exhibited PPA inhibitory potential to varying degrees (10%-60.5%) while 4 extracts showed low inhibition (< 10%). However, strong porcine pancreatic amylase inhibitory activity (> 50%) was obtained with 3 isopropanol extracts. All these 3 extracts exhibited concentration dependent inhibition with IC50 values, viz., seeds of Linum usitatisumum (540 µgml-1), leaves of Morus alba (1440 µgml-1) and Ocimum tenuiflorum (8.9 µgml-1). Acarbose as the standard inhibitor exhibited an IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration)value of 10.2 µgml-1. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, saponins and steroids with the major phytoconstituents being identified by GC-MS. CONCLUSIONS: This study endorses the use of these plants for further studies to determine their potential for type 2 diabetes management. Results suggests that extracts of Linum usitatisumum, Morus alba and Ocimum tenuiflorum act effectively as PPA inhibitors leading to a reduction in starch hydrolysis and hence eventually to lowered glucose levels.

Acute toxicity of lake water to fishes.

The present study investigates the acute toxicity of Hussainsagar lake water to fishes. In this context, experiments were conducted on three species of fishes (Cyprinus carpio, Tilapia mozambica and Lebistus reticularis), using 5, 10 and 20% volume of Jeedimetla nallah wastewater and were observed for the signs of survival within the specified period of time. The TLm value for 96 hours test period was found to be 17%. Similarly Toxicity studies were carried out on Hussainsagar lake water with dilutions varying from 10-100%. Absence of mortality during 96 hours of test period indicates that there is no acute toxicity of Hussainsagar lake water to fishes.