Search Results (5)

Background/Objectives: Bryophyllum spp. preparations are widely used in Anthroposophic Medicine, most often for mental and behavioral disorders, including anxiety. Studies in animals revealed various anxiolytic and neurosedative effects for Bryophyllum pinnatum. We set out to investigate the effectiveness of Bryophyllum 50% chewable tablets, a product registered without indication by means of notification in Switzerland, in the treatment of anxiety symptoms in psychiatric and psychosomatic patients. Methods: A total of 99 patients with anxiety symptoms were recruited from the waiting list for an inpatient stay at the hospital “Klinik Arlesheim”, Department of Psychiatry and Psychosomatics; of these, 54 completed the study and returned fully completed questionnaires. Patients were treated with Bryophyllum 50% chewable tablets (350 mg tablets, made from leaf press juice, 3 × 2 per day; Weleda AG Arlesheim, Switzerland) and filled out questionnaires at baseline and after two and three weeks of tablet intake. The primary endpoint of the study was the change in anxiety symptoms measured with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Results: A clinically relevant decrease in BAI score from baseline (27.4 ± 12.0) to after two (22.4 ± 12.1; p < 0.001) and three (20.6 ± 12.9; p < 0.001) weeks of treatment was observed. Additional improvements were observed in the secondary endpoints (including in depression, sleep quality, and stress); tolerability and compliance were very good. Conclusions: The results suggest that Bryophyllum 50% chewable tablets have beneficial effects on anxiety-related symptoms. Since the study design does not allow us to conclude causality between treatment and observed improvements, a randomized clinical trial is urgently needed. Full article

Bryophyllum pinnatum (BP) is a medicinal plant used to treat many conditions when taken as a leaf juice, leaves in capsules, as an ethanolic extract, and as herbal tea. These preparations have been chemically analyzed except for decoctions derived from boiled green leaves. In preparation for a clinical trial to validate BP tea as a treatment for kidney stones, we used NMR and MS analyses to characterize the saturation kinetics of the release of metabolites. During boiling of the leaves, (a) the pH decreased to 4.8 within 14 min and then stabilized; (b) regarding organic acids, citric and malic acid were released with maximum release time (t_max) = 35 min; (c) for glycoflavonoids, quercetin 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (Q-3O-ArRh), myricetin 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (M-3O-ArRh), kappinatoside, myricitrin, and quercitrin were released with t_max = 5–10 min; and (d) the total phenolic content (TPC) and the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) reached a t_max at 55 min and 61 min, respectively. In summary, 24 g of leaves boiled in 250 mL of water for 61 min ensures a maximal release of key water-soluble metabolites, including organic acids and flavonoids. These metabolites are beneficial for treating kidney stones because they target oxidative stress and inflammation and inhibit stone formation. Full article

Plants have been used as sources of medicine since ancient times. Natural products have been used extensively in Chinese, ayurvedic and folk medicine. In addition, a significant portion of the world’s population still utilizes herbal medicine. Diabetes is a common ailment affecting almost 463 million people in the world. However, current medications exert harmful after-effects on patients, while herbal medicines have fewer adverse effects. Plants possess secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, etc., which exert numerous beneficial effects on health. Extensive research has been conducted over the years investigating and proving the hypoglycemic potential of various plants. The present paper reviews 37 such plants that are rich in phytoconstituents that possess a variety of pharmacological activities and have been experimentally proven to possess potentially hypoglycemic properties in animal models: Ficus racemosa, Agremone mexicana, Bombax ceiba, Cajanus cajan, Coccinia cordifolia, Momordica charantia, Syzygium cumini, Neolamarckia cadamba, Mangifera indica, Cocos nucifera, Tamarindus indica, Punica granatum, Azadirachta indica, Costus speciosus, Moringa oleifera, Andrographis paniculata, Ficus benghalensis, Anacardium occidentale, Annona squamosa, Boerhaavia diffusa, Catharanthus roseus, Cocculus hirsutus, Ficus hispida, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia catappa, Amaranthus tricolor, Blumea lacera, Piper betle leaves, Achyranthes aspera, Kalanchoe pinnata, Nelumbo nucifera, Mikania cordata, Wedelia chinensis, Murraya koenigii, Aloe barbadensis, Bryophyllum pinnatum and Asparagus racemosus. These 37 plant extracts exhibit antidiabetic activities through different mechanisms, including α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition, increases in glucose uptake and the stimulation of insulin secretion. Full article

This review comprehensively covers and analyzes scientific information on plants used in Tanzanian traditional medicine against respiratory diseases. It covers ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological information extracted from SciFinder, Google Scholar, and Reaxys as well as the literature collected at the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Dar-es-Salaam. Crude extracts and fractions of 133 plant species have literature reports on antimicrobial bioassays. Of these, 16 plant species had a minimum inhibitory activity of MIC ≤ 50 µg/mL. Structurally diverse compounds were reported for 49 plant species, of which 7 had constituents with MIC ≤ 5 µg/mL against various bacteria: Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.) Oken, Warburgia ugandensis Sprague, Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst. ex DC., Cassia abbreviata Oliv., Entada abyssinica A. Rich., Strychnos spinosa Lam., and Milicia excelsa (Welw.) C.C. Berg. The low number of antimicrobial active extracts and compounds suggests that antibacterial and antimycobacterial drug discovery needs to have a fresh look at ethnobotanical information, diverting from too reductionist an approach and better taking into account that the descriptions of symptoms and concepts of underlying diseases are different in traditional African and modern Western medicine. Nevertheless, some structurally diverse compounds found in anti-infective plants are highlighted in this review as worthy of detailed study and chemical modification. Full article

To develop a new antioxidant, antibacterial and natural cosmetic ingredient without cytotoxicity to skin cells, bioactive molecules contained in Kalanchoe pinnata leaf methanolic extract were targeted using semi-preparative HPLC fractionation linked to biological activity tests. Chromatographic effluent was collected at the column outlet into a 96 deep-well microplate, filling successively all the wells. After freeze-drying, the microplate was ready to use for different biological tests such as antimicrobial activity on microorganisms, skin cell viability and antioxidant activity on human keratinocyte cells. The injection of only 2.64 mg of crude extract into the HPLC system reveals a good correlation between the chromatographic peaks and the different biological activities. One fraction is mainly of interest since good antibacterial and antioxidant activities without cytotoxicity are observed. The analysis of this fraction using mass spectrometry allows the identification of glycoside derivatives of quercetin, isorhamnetin and kaempferol. Thus, a correlation between biological activity and the presence of these flavonoids is obtained. This screening method allows a rapid fractionation associated with a biological activity evaluation and a first molecular identification, saving time by limiting sample treatments and solvent consumption. Full article