Department of pharmacognosy
Details of the publications of the department can be viewed at:
1. Pratap, Rahul and Ram, Aswatha HN and Chandrashekar, KS and Pai, Vasudev and Kamath, Venkatesh (2019)
Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 18 (3). pp. 485-492. ISSN 0972-5938
Balacaturbhadrika churna (BC) is an important pediatric preparation in Ayurveda. It is used to treat various diseases of gastro-intestinal tract particularly diarrhea in children. Free radicals cause oxidative damage in the intestine and are correlated with its diseases. In the current study, total phenolic and flavonoid contents of BC extracts were determined and their antioxidant evaluation in various in vitro models was carried out. Procedures mentioned in The Ayurvedic Formulary of India were followed to prepare in-house BC; alcoholic (BCAL) and aqueous (BCAQ) extracts were prepared and tested by standard procedures. BCAL was tested for antidiarrheal activity in castor oil induced model. The ethanolic extract showed better antioxidant activity in many of the models as compared to aqueous extract. The present study showed substantial amounts of flavonoids and phenolics in churna extracts. BCAL showed significant antidiarrheal activity against the tested model. The potential antioxidant and antidiarrheal activities displayed by Balacaturbhadrika churna extracts could be attributed to these contents.
2. Shah, Abhishek and Lobo, Richard and Nandakumar, K (2019)
Sesamol and health – A comprehensive review.
Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, 53 (2(S)). s-28. ISSN 0019-5464
Antioxidant potential of sesamol has led to being studied extensively in recent decades for its beneficial role in vast aliments. There has been a renewed interest in this compound recently, due to its activities such as hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, chemopreventive, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, skin protective and antiaging properties which were established in various preclinical models. Further studies may be required to develop its underlying mechanisms and to investigate its various biological activities to develop an optimal dose range. Hence, a comprehensive review is necessary on in vivo and in vitro activities of sesamol. This review is to highlight the potential of sesamol as a potent therapeutic agent for humans.
3. Sumalatha, Suhani and Kumar, Nitesh and Padma, Divya and Pai, Sreedhara Ranganath K and Choudhary, Shilpee (2019)
Journal of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences University, 8 (2). pp. 1-12. ISSN 2231-4261
Background: Caesalpinia bonduc (CB) is said to own various pharmacological and therapeutic application against a number of diseases. It is used widely in folk medicine to treat liver diseases. In the present study,we have made a sincere effort to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of CB leaf extracts against Paracetamol (PCM) induced toxicity and their mechanism of hepatoprotection in the human Hepatocarcinoma cells (HepG2 cells) thereby providing scientific evidence for the same. Material and Methods: The hepatoprotective activity of CB was assessed in-vitro by the estimation of glutathione (GSH) and Malondialdehyde (MDA), anti-apoptotic assay/Annexin V and the expressions of genes such as Glutathione Reductase (GS-R) and Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase, Catalytic (GCLC). Results: The obtained results suggest that the aqueous extract of CB possess significant hepatoprotective activity. This activity may be due to the possible antioxidant property and the free radical scavenging ability of the extracts, which might clear the toxic metabolites of PCM. Conclusion: The present study suggests that the aqueous extract of CB have potential hepatoprotective activity, which may prevent the lipid peroxidation of the cell membrane by its antioxidant properties
4. Amuthan, Arul and Devi, Vasudha and Shreedhara, CS and Rao, Venkata J and Lobo, Richard (2019)
Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 13 (2). pp. 1-6. ISSN 0973-709X
Introduction: Traditional Siddha Medicine literatures suggest to use the decoction of Vernonia cinerea (VC) to alleviate toxic effects caused by metals. Cisplatin, a metal used in cancer treatment is known to cause nephrotoxicity.Aim: To evaluate and compare protective activity of aqueous extract and fractions of VC in Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK293) cells and Human Cervix Epitheloid Carcinoma (HELA) cell lines against cisplatin induced cytotoxicity.Materials and Methods: The Crude Aqueous Extract (CAE) was obtained from whole plant of VC. CAE was fractioned using nonpolar to polar solvents, and Butanol Fraction (BF) as well as Aqueous Fractions (AF) were obtained. The cell lines were exposed with the IC50 dose of cisplatin, then treated with different doses of the extract or fractions. After 48 hours of incubation, viable cell growth was determined by MTT reduction assay in all the treatments by observing at absorbance of 540 nm. Dose response (% cell viability) curve was drawn and the values were statistically compared using One-Way ANOVA, followed by Dunnett’s (2-sided) post-hoc test.Results: Aqueous fraction showed 2.8 times higher cytoprotection (improvement in cell viability by 54%) than CAE against cisplatin induced toxicity in HEK293 cells. BF did not show protective activity in HEK293 cells. In HELA cells, AF showed 1.73 times higher cytoprotection than CAE and 1.55 times higher cytoprotection than BF against cisplatin, as evidenced by improvement in cell viability by 30%, 11% and 13% in AF, CAE and BF respectively. AF exhibited 80% higher cytoprotection against cisplatin cytotoxicity in normal HEK293 than cancer HELA cells. Whereas, CAE and BF showed lesser cytoprotective activity than AF.Conclusion: This study created scientific basis for using Vernonia cinerea against metal toxicities in Siddha system and suggests that the AF is suitable for further discovery of drug that selectively protect normal renal cell during cisplatin treatment in cancer patients.
5. Chandrashekar, KS and Pai, Vasudev (2019)
Latin American Journal of Pharmacy, 38 (7). pp. 1385-1388. ISSN 0326 2383
Moringa oleifera is a fast growing deciduous small or middle sized tree up to 10m tall and 30cm in diameter. It is a soft wood tree. M. oleifera belonging to the family Moringaceae is taken for the study to justify and prove its folkloric use. From the literature survey it was found that no substantial work has been carried out to isolate the phytoconstituents and to screen the anti-inflammatory activity of M. oleifera root bark. Hence an effort has been made to carry out the phytochemical investigation and to screen the anti-inflammatory activity by carrageenan induced rat paw oedema to determine the activity on acute inflammation and cotton pellet induced granuloma to determine activity on chronic inflammation.Chemical investigation of the root bark of M. oleifera led to the isolation of ursolic acid, taraxerone and octacosanoic acid from Petroleum ether soluble fraction of methanolic extract. These constituents were isolated for the first time from this plant. The petroleum ether extract showed significant anti-inflammatory activity. The activity may be due to ursolic acid, taraxerone and octacosanoic acid. From the pharmacological studies carried out, it is evident that petroleum ether extract of M. oleifera endowed significant anticancer activity, thereby justifying their use in traditional system of medicine as anti-inflammatory.
2016
1. Nayak G, Honguntikar SD, Kalthur SG, D'Souza AS, Mutalik S, Setty MM, Kalyankumar R, Krishnamurthy H, Kalthur G, Adiga SK. Ethanolic extract of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves protect the pre-pubertal spermatogonial cells from cyclophosphamide-induced damage. Journal of ethnopharmacology. 2016 Apr 22;182:101-9.
2. Bhagath JK, Lobo R, Ballal M, Rao PP. Anti-neoplastic activity of anisochilus cornosus (Lf) wall on HeLa cell line. Der Pharmacia Lettre. 2016;8(4):186-90.
3. Kamath V, Lobo R, Pai V, Pai A. Structure Activity Relationship of Atropine Analogues with Muscarinic Acetyl Choline M1 Receptor: A Molecular Docking Based Approach. Der Pharma Chemica. 2016;8(10):221-9.
4. Kumar H, Savaliya M, Biswas S, Nayak PG, Maliyakkal N, Setty MM, Gourishetti K, Pai KS. Assessment of the in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo anti- tumor activity of the alcoholic stem bark extract/fractions of Mimusops elengi Linn. Cytotechnology. 2015 Feb 21:1-7.
5. Nayak G, Vadinkar A, Nair S, Kalthur SG, D'Souza AS, Shetty PK, Mutalik S, Shetty MM, Kalthur G, Adiga SK. Sperm abnormalities induced by pre‐ pubertal exposure to cyclophosphamide are effectively mitigated by Moringa oleifera leaf extract. Andrologia. 2016 Mar 1;48(2):125-36.
6. Kumari S, Naik P, Vishma BL, Salian SR, Devkar RA, Khan S, Mutalik S, Kalthur G, Adiga SK. Mitigating effect of Indian propolis against mitomycin C induced bone marrow toxicity. Cytotechnology. 2015 Nov 21:1-2.