Tragia involucrata Leaf-Mediated ZnO NPs: Biomedical Applications, Ointment Formulation and Electrochemical Studies.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs, owing to their broad biomedical applications, have recently attracted the scientific community with incredible interest as therapeutic agents. So, the present study aims at preparation of ZnO NPs, using Tragia involucrata leaf extract and exploring their capability as antioxidant, anticancer and anti-inflammatory agents. Besides, the ointment formulation and electrochemical studies were also carried out in this work. The antioxidant activity of the synthesized ZnO NPs was evaluated using DPPH assay method and the results clearly showed higher inhibition of about 70% and lower inhibition of about 14% for 100 µg/ml and 25 µg/ml concentrations, respectively. The cytotoxic effects of ZnO NPs were evaluated against human cancer cell lines such as A549 (lungs), HeLa (cervical), HeP-2 (laryngeal) and MCF-7 (breast). The outcome of this investigation confirmed the effectiveness of the synthesized NPs against HeP-2 even at the lowest concentration. The anti-inflammatory activity was measured by the inhibition of protein denaturation assay. A higher inhibition of about 54% was noticed at the concentration of 100 µg/ml. In the case of the ointment formulation study, the pastes prepared using the biosynthesized ZnO NPs and commercially available ZnO powder were compared and evaluated using the parameters such as pH, spreadability, moisture content, extrudability, foamability and physical examinations. As it has been noticed that all the observed parameters were matching well with those of the commercially available ZnO powder, ZnO NPs, synthesized using Tragia involucrata, may be suggested for the clinical trials. Cyclic voltammetry was used to measure the specific capacitance of the synthesized ZnO NPs for different scan rates. The results of this study showed the gradual decrease in specific capacitance value for the corresponding increase in scan rates. Therefore, the results of present study indicated that ZnO NPs prepared using Tragia involucrata leaves were found to be effective for all the above chosen applications and hence, have multifunctional capacity.

Barringtonia acutangula improves the biochemical parameters in diabetic rats / 中国天然药物

AIM@#This study was aimed at evaluating the anti-diabetic activity of the ethanol and aqueous extracts of the leaf material of Barringtonia acutangula in a diabetic animal model.@*METHODS@#The ethanolic and aqueous extracts (250 and 500 mg·kg(-1) body weight) of the leaves of B. acutangula were assessed for antidiabetic activity in a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes animal model following 21 days of treatment. Glibenclamide (0.6 mg·kg(-1) p.o.) was used as a positive control. The hematological parameters, such as blood glucose level, urea, creatinin, cholesterol, HDL-C, and LDL-C levels were examined.@*RESULTS@#An acute toxicity study (5 000 mg·kg(-1), p.o.) did not produce any symptoms of toxicity. Significant reductions in blood glucose level, and serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were noted in animals treated with the extract. The high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDLC) level was found to increase as compared with the diabetic control group.@*CONCLUSION@#These results suggest that the leaf aqueous and ethanolic extracts of B. acutangula have anti-diabetic effects. The aqueous extract of B. acutangula produced a similar effect when compared with the ethanol extract. It is proposed that consumption of B. acutangula in some form like tea may help the management of diabetes.

Effect of Biophytum sensitivum on streptozotocin and nicotinamide-induced diabetic rats

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of aqueous solution of Biophytum sensitivum leaf extract (BSEt) on normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-nicotinamide-induced diabetic rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Diabetes was induced in adult male Wistar rats by the administration of STZ-nicotinamide (40, 110 mg/kg b.w., respectively) intraperitoneally. BSEt (200 mg/kg) was administered to diabetic rats for 28 days. The effect of extract on blood glucose, plasma insulin, total haemoglobin, glycosylated haemoglobin, liver glycogen and carbohydrate metabolism regulating enzymes of liver was studied in diabetic rats.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>BSEt significantly reduced the blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin levels and significantly increased the total haemoglobin, plasma insulin and liver glycogen levels in diabetic rats. It also increased the hexokinase activity and decreased glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase activities in diabetic rats.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The results of our study suggest that BSEt possesses a promising effect on STZ-nicotinamide-induced diabetes.</p>