Thesis (MSc. (Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences))-University of Pretoria, 2003. / Also available in print format.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 321-333). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D) -- University of Western Sydney, 2007. / A thesis submitted to the University of Western Sydney, College of Health and Science, Centre for Complementary Medicine, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 321-333). Also available on the Internet.

The search for cheap, non toxic and readily available antidiabetic drugs has been a challenge for researchers and the pharmaceutical industries. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease characterized by defects in the synthesis of insulin and/or insensitivity to the action of insulin at the target cells. The disease has been on the increase mostly in developing countries where large proportions of the population have little access to good medical care due to either accessibility or non availability of synthetic drugs. This has led to the use of medicinal plants to treat diabetes because it is safe, cheap and with few side effects. There is little scientific evidence on the dosages, active compounds, mechanisms of action and toxicity of these traditionally used plants. Two of the most frequently used plants; Albuca setosa and Albuca bracteata were investigated in this study. The qualitative analysis of different extractions of these plants revealed the presence of phenolics, alkaloids, tannins and saponins. The antioxidant properties of aqueous, acetone and methanollic extracts of Albuca setosa and Albuca bracteata were investigated using models such as Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2, 2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), Ferric ion reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP), Nitric Oxide and Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2). Both plants revealed inhibitions against DPPH in a concentration - dependent manner with Albuca setosa (0.330 mg/ml) showing higher activity than Albuca bracteata (0.647 mg/ml) determined from the IC50. The aqueous extract of Albuca setosa showed a higher inhibition against DPPH radical compared to the Albuca bracteata aqueous extract at all concentrations investigated. The isolated saponins from Albuca bracteata had a higher DPPH scavenging activity than the crude methanolic extract of the plant in a concentration - dependent manner but are significantly different from each other at 0.4, 0.6 and 1.0 mg/ml only. The IC50 of the saponins was also observed to be higher than the crude extracts and standards.The Albuca setosa aqueous extract showed a higher percentage inhibition of ABTS radicals than Albuca bracteata at all the concentrations investigated. Overall, the Albuca setosa aqueous extract (0.0809 mg/ml) showed maximum activity against ABTS radicals. The iron reducing power was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the methanolic extract of both plants compared to the aqueous counterpart. Overall, the Albuca bracteata aqueous extract (0.344 mg/ml) showed maximum activity as indicated by the IC50. The aqueous extracts of both plants also revealed percentage inhibitions in a concentration - dependent manner against NO2. The aqueous extract of Albuca bracteata bulb was more active against nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide inhibition. In this study, the cytotoxicity of the extracts was evaluated at a high dose of 100 μg/ml on Chang liver cells and determined using MTT, crystal violet, glucose consumption, lactate production and lactate dehydrogenase release and FRAP. The aqueous extracts of both Albuca setosa and Albuca bracteata were non-toxic on Chang liver cells at the concentrations investigated. The MTT revealed that the aqueous extract of Albuca setosa bulb had the optimum cell viability of 108.09 percent while the acetonic extract of Albuca bracteata showed the least cell viability (37.72 percent) compared with the control. The crystal violet test also revealed the acetone extract of Albuca bracteata to have the least percentage of cell viability at 31.47 percent, while the aqueous extract of Albuca setosa showed the maximum cell viability at 112.5 percent. The aqueous extracts of both plants showed higher percentage cell density on the second day of incubation from the proliferation assay. All the tested samples were observed to consume more glucose than the blank except for the methanollic and acetone extracts of Albuca bracteata bulb. The aqueous and methanolic extracts of Albuca setosa bulbs produced the highest lactate with 120.2 μg/ml and 113.7 μg/ml respectively. The acetone extracts of both Albuca setosa and Albuca bracteata revealed toxicity with a higher lactate dehydrogenase release compared to the control.

Ulcerative colitis (UC), a subset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is a chronic uncontrolled inflammatory condition of the intestinal mucosa. As its etiology remains unclear, no specific effective treatment is available. Therefore, development of novel strategies for IBD treatment remains a major medical need. Qing-dai Powder (QDP), an ancient herbal medicinal formula, exerted potent therapeutic effect on intractable UC patients; however, evidence-based support is needed. The aims of this study are: i) to delineate the anti-colitis effect of QDP and its underlying mechanisms in murine colitis; 2) to explore the rationality of QDP formula; 3) to investigate the anti-colitis effects of major component(s) or/and active ingredient(s) of QDP and their underlying mechanisms in murine colitis. In the present study, the therapeutic effect of QDP on UC was investigated on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute murine colitis. Results showed that i) QDP dose-dependently attenuated disease activity index (DAI), colon shortening, histological damage and colonic myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity of DSS-treated mice; ii) QDP significantly decreased the infiltration of immune cells, particularly macrophages and CD4+ T cells, colonic levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6, and plasma level of chemokine MCP-1. In RAW 264.7 cells, QDP significantly suppressed lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced the production of TNF-α and IL-6, and the expression levels of COX-2 and iNOS via inhibiting IкB-α degradation and p65 nuclear translocation; Also, in primary CD4+ T cells, QDP significantly suppressed the differentiation of Th1 and Th17 cells. These findings indicate that the anti-colitis effects of QDP might be associated with inhibition of inflammatory responses of colonic macrophages and CD4+ T cells. QDP is composed of Qing-dai and Ku-fan. The comparative study of anti-colitis of QDP, Qing-dai and Ku-fan revealed that QDP is a reasonable TCM formula, and Qing-dai is mainly responsible for the anti-colitis effect of QDP and Ku-fan exhibits a weak beneficial effect. Mechanistically, it was found that Qing-dai significantly suppressed Th1 and Th17 responses, characterized as i) suppressing mRNA expression of Th1 cytokine IFN-γ and Th17 cytokine IL-17A, inhibiting the production of Th1 and Th17-related cytokines IFN-γ, IL-17A/F and TNF-α in the colon of DSS-treated mice; ii) restraining the proportions of Th1 and Th17 cells in mesenteric lymph nodes of DSS-treated mice; iii) suppressing the differentiation of Th1 and Th17 cells in vitro. Indirubin is the principle active component of Qing-dai. It was found that indirubin significantly suppressed the generation of Th17 cells in DSS-treated mice, evidenced by i) suppressing the mRNA expression of IFN-γ, IL-17A, and RORγt, and inhibiting the production of IL-17A/F, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the colon of DSS-treated mice; ii) reducing Th17 cells in mesenteric lymph nodes of DSS-treated mice through reducing GSK-3β activity and p-STAT3 expression; iii) suppressing the differentiation of Th17 cells through down-regulating the expression of GSK-3β and p-STAT3 in vitro. In summary, the present study provides evidence-based support for the clinical use of QDP in the management of UC, and indicates that indirubin is the main active compound of QDP responsible for its anti-colitis effect.

Xihuangcao is a folk medicinal herb used in southern China with three botanical origins: Isodon lophanthoides (IL), I. lophanthoides var. graciliflorus (ILG) and I. serra (IS). They are often used indiscriminately, numerous commercially available herbal products list Xihuangcao as an ingredient without listing the source. This situation has led to a growing concern about the differentiation and quality evaluation of Xihuangcao. To address this concern, a systematic study was conducted to identify the origin. The study is divided into five parts, which aimed to establish and apply the authentication methods of the origins. Four Isodon species were recorded in research papers as the plant sources. However, a new classification suggested in 2004 and two of the IL varieties were merged. In the ancient herbal documents, ILG was first recorded as the origin plant. IL was the major species in the ancient texts, IS was only listed as an additional sources in recent herbal references. The“yellow juices which proven to be the exudates of glandular scales was the key identification features recorded. Macroscopic and microscopic studies provided identification features of the three Isodon species. IL and ILG share very similar features, but IS can be easily distinguished. By morphological features, IL and ILG can be distinguished by the shape of leaves, which IL has a broader leaves than ILG; IS can be identified by its very bitter taste and broadly winged petioles. By microscopic features, IL and ILG have a tiny difference in the shape of epidermal cells of leaf, and IS can be recognized by small raphides of calcium oxalate. In the UPLC-MS fingerprinting and tissue-specific profiling, the chemical profiles the three species were revealed. The chemical profiles of IL and ILG were similar, while IS has its specific chemical profiles. Twenty-seven characteristic peaks were chosen and showed a good distinction of the three species. The tissue-specific profiling of leaves showed the diterpenoids of all the species were accumulated only in the glandular scales. Lipidomics study on IL, ILG and IS was also conducted. A total of 92 lipids were identified. The variation of lipid profiles of the three Isodon species was further quantified, the results showed that the contents of the lipids in the three Isodon species varied. Statistical analyses showed IS has distinctly different lipid profile, while that of IL and ILG are very similar. Finally, the methods of macroscopic microscopic authentication and UPLC-MS fingerprinting were applied in identifying the source species of commercial Xihuangcao products. Twenty-seven batches of Xihuangcao decoction pieces were identified, results showed ILG is the major source of the collected samples. The ingredients in eight Xihuangcao herbal tea bags were also identified. IS is the major species, and none of the samples match their labels. The study provided valuable information on the authentication and quality control of folk medicinal herb Xihuangcao. The work also provided fundamental information on further studies on the chemical constituents of IL and ILG, also and role of lipids in the production of bioactive diterpenoids in Isodon species

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:55:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:05:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Submitted by Gabriela Rodrigues Lima (rodriguesgabrielalima@gmail.com) on 2018-01-29T13:29:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação final Gabriela Lima pdf.pdf: 888023 bytes, checksum: 8c55a802d946777f2eae7f2907848489 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jacqueline de Almeida null (jacquie@franca.unesp.br) on 2018-01-29T18:11:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Lima_GR_me_fran.pdf: 888023 bytes, checksum: 8c55a802d946777f2eae7f2907848489 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-29T18:11:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lima_GR_me_fran.pdf: 888023 bytes, checksum: 8c55a802d946777f2eae7f2907848489 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-01 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A expansão marítima proporcionou ao homem europeu o contato com o Novo Mundo, onde se relacionaram com culturas, tradições e costumes diferentes. Levando consigo nas naus o imaginário mágico europeu, as práticas dos povos andinos foram interpretadas como sobrenaturais pelos espanhóis nos dois primeiros séculos da colonização. Nesse sentido,o presente trabalho tem como intenção compreender como os costumes indígenas nos séculos XVI e XVII onde hoje temos localizado o território do Peru foram encarados como feitiçaria pelos espanhóis.Tendo como foco a utilização de plantas, também será analisado de que forma as ervas nesse mesmo momento foram utilizadas como inovação farmacêutica e medicinal. Para isso, investigaremos os documentos de extirpação de idolatrias do Arquivo Arzobispal de Lima, o tratado do médico sevilhano Nicolás Monardes, e as contribuições dos jesuítas Bernabé Cobo e Joseph de Acosta sobre as descrições da natureza americana. Assim, pretende-se contribuir para a compreensão das diferentes abordagens e o que elas representavam naquele contexto, pois enquanto de um lado temos o pensamento do homem europeu marcado pelo imaginário mágico, de outro temos mais de um pensamento racional que buscou lucro, inovação científica e progresso urbano, gerando diversos renascimentos e nos mostrando vários prismas desse período histórico / The maritime expansion has provided the European man the contact with the New World, where they related to cultures, traditions and different habits. Taking with the ships the magical European imaginary, even though the practices of the Andean people were considered supernatural by the Spanish in the 16th and 17th centuries. The present study intends to comprehend how the native habits from the period, where nowadays is located the Peruvian territory, were viewed as witchcraft, focusing in the usage of plants. In contrast, it will be analyzed how the herbs from that same moment were used as pharmaceutical and medicinal innovations. For that, we will consider the documents of extirpation of idolatry from the Arzobispal de Lima Archive, the Sevillian medic Nicolás Monardes’ treaty, and the contributions from the Jesuits Bernabé Cobo and Joseph de Acosta about the descriptions of the American nature. Therefore, we expect to contribute with the comprehension of the different insights and what they represented in that context, since while in one side we have the European man’s way of thinking marked by the magical imaginary, on the other one we have more than one rational thinking that sought profit, scientific innovation and urban progress generating many revivals, showing us several prisms from that historical period. / CAPES: 194030-1

Dissertação(mestrado)- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem, Escola de Enfermagem, 2003. / Submitted by eloisa silva (eloisa1_silva@yahoo.com.br) on 2012-08-21T19:52:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 stelladeoliveira.pdf: 555050 bytes, checksum: aa5e6bdb5c67d644d010c94f4245c1dd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Bruna Vieira(bruninha_vieira@ibest.com.br) on 2012-08-25T22:07:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 stelladeoliveira.pdf: 555050 bytes, checksum: aa5e6bdb5c67d644d010c94f4245c1dd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-08-25T22:07:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 stelladeoliveira.pdf: 555050 bytes, checksum: aa5e6bdb5c67d644d010c94f4245c1dd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003 / The use of medicinal herbs as a therapeutic alternative has been encouraged lately. This study has evaluated the use of these herbs to promote and recover health in communities which are monitored by the health teams of the Family Health Program in Rio Grande, RS. Their uses, how knowledge about these herbs is transmitted, the most used ones, their manipulation and preparation, their popular indication compared to literature, the first action taken in case of sickness in the family, and their uses associated with allopathic medication, were investigated. Ninety five percent out of 360 interviewees reported that they use medicinal herbs. In this study, the knowledge about medicinal herbs was taught mostly by mothers to their daughters (55.68%), or by their grandmothers (19.82%). Thirteen herbs were used by more than 50% of the interviewees: Egletes viscosa L. (88.62%), Mikania glomerata (81.87%), Foeniculum vulgare (77.84%), Peumus boldus molina (77.55%), Malva silvestris L. (72.88%), Plantago tomentosa L. (71.26%), (68.22%), Lippi alba B. (67.25%), Cymbopogon citratus (66.18%), Baccharis triptera (63.63%), Pimpinella anisium (60.64%), Pimpinella anisium (58.53%), and Mentha (53.50%). Considering these herbs, most are used against illnesses in the digestive tract, specially, Peumus boldus molina, Egletes viscosa, Foeniculum vulgare, Baccharis triptera and the Mentha. To alleviate pain, infection, and inflammation, both Malva silvestris L. and Plantago tomentosa L. were suggested. Mikania glomerata was the herb most interviewees suggested in case of respiratory diseases. In case of emotional instability, Pimpinella anisium and Cymbopogon citratus were suggested. The use of teas made of medicinal herbs was mentioned by 68.03% of the interviewees as being the first step taken in case of sickness in the family. The use of these herbs associated with allopathic medication was mentioned by only 29.61% of the interviewees. These data show us that medicinal herbs play a very important role in the prevention and promotion of health in this community and that knowledge about them is transmitted mainly from one generation to another. There is some connection between popular knowledge and practice, and prescriptions found in literature. Aiming at building a public policy for medicinal herbs, this study offers subsidies so that it can be carried out in our city. / En los años pasados lo han estimulado el uso de plantas medicinales como forma de alternativa terapéutico. Este estudio evaluó el uso de estas plantas en la promoción y la recuperación de la salud en comunidades folloied para los equipos del programa de la salud de la familia del Río Grande-RS. El uso, la forma de transmisión del conocimiento en las plantas medicinales, las plantas uso principales, su forma de manipulación y preparación, su indicación popular compararon con la indicación de la literatura, el primer comportamiento adoptado en caso de que de enfermedad en la familia y el uso asociado hubiera sido investigado la medicación del alopática. De la 360 gente entrevistada con, el 95% habían dicho el uso de plantas medicinales. En este estudio el conocimiento en las plantas medicinales era excedente adquirido todo de la madre para el hijo (el 55.68%) o con la abuela (el 19.82%). Trece plantas habían sido utilizadas para más el de 50% entrevistadas con: macela (el 88.62%), guaco (el 81.87%), funcho (el 77.84%), boldo (el 77.55%), color de malva (el 72.88%), transagem (el 71.26%), palminha (el 68.22%), hierba-cidreira (el 67.25%), capim-cidrão (el 66.18%), carqueja (el 63.63%), anís (el 60.64%), hierba-caramelo (el 58.53%) y menta (el 53.50%). De éstos la mayoría es utlizadas para afecções del tratamiento gastrointestinal que es boldo distinguido, macela, funcho, carqueja y la menta. Para la relevación del dolor, las infecciones y las inflamaciones habían sido indicadas el color de malva y el transagem. El guaco era la planta indicada más para afecções del sistema respiratorio. Para los cuadros del malestar emocional la hierbacidreira y el capim habían sido cidrão indicado. El uso de los tés de plantas medicinales era referenciado por el 68.03% entrevistados con como primero comportamiento adoptado en caso de que de la enfermedad en la familia. El uso asociado de estas plantas con la medicación del alopática fue relacionado por solamente 29.61% entrevistadas con. Estos datos en la demostración ellas que el excedente todo de las plantas medicinales tiene un papel muy importante en la prevención y la promoción de la salud de esta población que es este conocimiento transmitido de la Inter geracional forma. Tiene un empalme entre saber y popular práctico y las indicaciones a ellas encontró en literatures. En la vista de la construcción de una política pública de plantas medicinales, este trabajo trae los subsidios para la implantación de esto en nuestra ciudad.