This study is the first phytochemical investigation of Selaginella sellowii and demonstrates the antileishmanial activity of the hydroethanolic extract from this plant (SSHE), as well as of the biflavonoids amentoflavone and robustaflavone, isolated from this species. The effects of these substances were evaluated on intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis, an aetiologi...

The cytotoxic activity and the chemical composition of the dichloromethane/methanol root extract of Linum scabrellum Planchon (Linaceae) were analyzed. Using NMR spectra and mass spectrometry analyses of the extract we identified eight main constituents: oleic acid (1), octadecenoic acid (2), stigmasterol (3), α-amyrin (4), pinoresinol (5), 6 methoxypodophyllotoxin (6), coniferin (7), and 6-met...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of leukocyte nitric oxide (NO) production on the antiplatelet aggregant effect of aspirin and ticlopidine. This in vitro study was done with platelets (platelet-rich plasma, PRP) and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) separated from samples of human blood. Collagen-induced platelet aggregation and calcium-dependent NO production by PMNL were...

The ethanol extracts of Datura stramonium and Datura metel (Family: Solanaceae) collected from Pappakovil, Nagapattinam Dist of Tamil Nadu, India. The Ethanol extract obtained by maceration extraction was examined for its antioxidant activities. The antioxidant activity was determined by means of the DPPH radical scavenging test, Total antioxidant (TAA) and superoxide anion scavenging activity ...

Plasmodium falciparum infecting hemoglobin (Hb)H and/or Hb Constant Spring erythrocytes has higher resistance to artemisinin in vitro than when infecting normal erythrocytes. This is due to low drug accumulation of infected erythrocytes resulting from competition with uninfected variant erythrocytes, which have a higher accumulation capacity than genetically normal cells. Drug accumulation of t...

The effects of milrinone, a bipyridine with known vasodilator activity, on guinea pig tracheal-spirals, lung parenchymal strips and pulmonary artery rings in vitro were compared with the effects of isoproterenol and aminophylline on these tissues. The concentration of milrinone that produced 50% relaxation (IC50) of tracheal spirals constricted by carbachol was 3.6 X 10(-5) M. Isoproterenol (IC...

Free oxygen radical scavenging activity of brahma rasayana (BR) was studied by in vitro and in vivo models. Addition of aqueous extract of BR was found to scavenge the lipid peroxides already present in rat liver homogenate (IC50 700 micrograms/ml) and inhibit the lipid peroxide generated by Fe(2+)-ascorbate (IC50 2600 micrograms/ml) and Fe(3+)-ADP-ascorbate system (IC50 1200 micrograms/ml). BR...

Nuclear receptors such as the estrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ) modulate the effects of the estrogen hormones and are important targets for design of innovative chemotherapeutic agents for diseases such as breast cancer and osteoporosis. Conjugate and bifunctional compounds which incorporate an ER ligand offer a useful method of delivering cytotoxic drugs to tissue sites such as breast cancers w...

Pitaya is a tropical and subtropical plant with various uses. In this study, the maceration method obtained acetone, ethanol, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, methanol from bark parts of pitaya fruit. The in vitro effects fruit peel extracts on critical metabolic enzyme activities acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), human carbonic anhydrase (hCA I hCA II), α-glycosidase, w...

The involvement of protein kinase CK1δ in the pathogenesis of severe disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, familial advanced sleep phase syndrome, and cancer has dramatically increased interest in the development of effective small molecule inhibitors for both therapeutic application and basic research. Unfortunately, the design of CK1 isoform-specific compounds ...