Investigations on Piper betle grown in Sri Lanka

Gastroprotective effect of Piper betle Linn. leaves grown in Sri Lanka

BACKGROUND Piper betle Linn. (Piperaceae) is used as a remedy for gastric ulcers in traditional medicinal systems in Sri Lanka. However, the gastroprotective activity has never been proven scientifically using betel leaves grown in Sri Lanka. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the gastroprotective activity of hot aqueous extract (HAE) and cold ethanolic extract (CEE) of P. betle in rats as the experimenta...

Alkaloids from Piper nigrum and Piper betle

An investigation, on the roots of Piper nigrum and the aerial parts of Piper betle, has yielded several alkaloids. The dried root sample of Piper nigrum was extracted using various solvents in increasing polarity. The dried aerial part of Piper betle was extracted using the Soxhlet extraction method. The alkaloids isolated were pellitorine(1), (E)-1-[3’,4’(Methylenedioxy)cinnamoyl]piperidine(2)...

Berberine content in Coscinium fenestratum grown in Sri Lanka

Coscinium fenestratum (Gaertn.) Colebr. (Family: Menispermaceae) is one of the most important plants used in traditional systems of medicine. The major compound in the C. fenestratum is berberine. In the present study, berberine content was quantified using C. fenestratum grown in Sri Lanka. Results revealed that hot extraction method was more suitable for getting high yield of berberine from C...

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a country with an approximate area of 66 thousand square kilometers (UNO, 2008). The population is 20,409,946 and the sex ratio (men per hundred women) is 98 (UNO, 2009). The proportion of the population under the age of 18 years is 28% and the proportion above age 60 is 8% (UNO, 2009). The literacy rate is 97% for men and 99% for women (UN Statistics, 2008). The life expectancy at...

Women in Sri Lanka