OBJECTIVE--To compile and analyse information contained in non-medical texts of the Byzantine historians and chroniclers concerning arthritis, and to clarify the first use of Colchicum autumnale in the treatment of gout by the fifth century physician, Jacob Psychristus. CONCLUSIONS--This material gives an indication of the problem of arthritis and, in particular, a disease resembling gout that ...

The stimulatory or inhibitory effects of plant lectins on the production of gelatinase A (MMP-2) and gelatinase B (MMP-9) by mononuclear white blood cells was investigated by substrate zymography. Leukocyte cultures from 24-h old buffy coats were spontaneously activated and produced high levels of gelatinase B. Using such cultures the suppressing activity of the Datura stramonium, Viscum album,...

Background: Colchicum is a genus of the Colchicaceae family with various isolated compounds, especially tropolone alkaloids and flavonoids, which are used for osteoarthritis, gout, cancer, inflammatory diseases, jaundice, sexual impotence in different societies. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate phytochemical physicochemical properties anti-inflammatory activities three species. M...

BACKGROUND In this research paper efforts have been made to document the ethno-botanical knowledge of important plant species found in Northern Pakistan. It includes Thandiani, Galiat, Kaghan, Swat, Buner, Dir, Chitral and Northern Areas of Pakistan. The area has many climatic and vegetation zones or biomes. Locals residing in mountainous areas belonging to various ethnic groups are traditional...

Numerous studies have examined the evolution of sexual systems in angiosperms, but few explore the interaction between these and the evolution of pollination mode. Wind pollination is often associated with unisexual flowers, but which evolved first and played a causative role in the evolution of the other is unclear. Thalictrum, meadow-rues (Ranunculaceae), provides a unique opportunity to stud...

Bilateral acute iris transillumination (BAIT) is a recently defined disease characterized with bilateral acute, severe pigment dispersion of iris and pupil sphincter paralysis. The etiopathogenesis of the disease is unknown, but antibiotics such as moxifloxacin, clarithromycin, viral infections, and fumigation therapies were considered as probable etiologic factors. A 33-year-old female was ref...

Soil organic carbon (SOC) actively participates in the global carbon (C) cycle. Despite much research, however, our understanding of the temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization is still very limited. To investigate the responses of SOC mineralization to temperature, we sampled surface soils (0-10 cm) from evergreen broad-leaf forest (EBF), coniferous forest (CF), sub...