Bilateral carotid artery occlusion followed by reperfusion produced significant cerebral infarction and impaired short-term memory, motor co-ordination and lateral push response. Individual pretreatments with chlorophyll and aqueous extracts of B. monniera and V. wallichii markedly attenuated ischaemia-reperfusion induced cerebral injury in terms of decreased infarct size, increase in short-ter...

Aim Free radicals are an outcome of various metabolic activities and their excess production leads to many diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to neutralize excess free radicals. Materials & methods Free-radical scavenging activity of various extracts of Schima wallichii was evaluated using standard protocols. Results Chloroform, ethanol and aqueous extracts of S. wallichii scavenged DPPH,...

Four plant bioregulators were tested for their effects on production of valepotriates in Valeriana wallichii and Fedia cornucopiae cell suspension cultures. Concentrations of more than 10 ppm reduced valepotriate yield. A t lower concentrations production was increased. For optimal activi­ ty, bioregulators had to be applied during early exponential growth, up to day 8 of the growth cycle. At e...

PURPOSE To evaluate the effect of topical instillation of traditional herbal medicines, herbal extracts, and their components on the elevation of aqueous flare induced by prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) in pigmented rabbits. METHODS Transcorneal diffusion of 25 micro g/mL of PGE(2) was carried out through a glass cylinder placed on the cornea to induce aqueous flare elevation in pigmented rabbits...

The chloroform extract of Valeriana wallichii (V. wallichii) rhizomes was investigated to elucidate the structures responsible for reported antileishmanial activity. Besides bornyl caffeate (1, already been reported by us previously), bioassay-guided fractionation resulted in two additional cinnamic acid derivatives 2-3 with moderate leishmanicidal activity. The structure of a novel nepetolacto...

Krimpsiekte, an economically important neuromuscular affliction of small stock, follows upon ingestion of certain members of the Crassulaceae (plakkies) containing cumulative neurotoxic bufadienolides. Tylecodon wallichii (Harv.) Tölken subsp. wallichii is probably the most important species of the group of plants causing krimpsiekte. The growing tip of the stem and various other plant parts of...

Three extracts of Valeriana wallichii DC (Valerianaceae) rhizome and fluoxetine were studied for antidepressant-like activity in two behavioral models, namely the forced swim test (FST) and the tail suspension test (TST). Fluoxetine as well as methanolic and aqueous extracts of V. wallichii induced monophasic dose-related decrements in immobility times in both tests. However, the aqueous-ethano...

Valeriana wallichii, an Indian medicinal plant, has been on trial for its role in stress disorders in hospital based clinical set-up. Hamilton’s Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was used and thorough clinical investigations were carried out to screen the subjects. Thirty-three subjects (20 male and 13 female; average age 34.2 years) were medicated with the plant extract in a fixed dose reg...

Euphorbia wallichii of the family Euphorbiaceae yielded a new rearranged pentacyclic triterpene of the multiflorane class which we have named spirowallichiione. The structure of this natural spirocompound was elucidated with the aid of modern spectroscopic techniques, including 2D-NMR.

Tetramethylpyrazine, a natural compound from Ligusticum wallichii (Chuan Xiong), has been extensively used in China for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases for about 40 years. Because of its effectiveness in multisystems, especially in cardiovascular, its pharmacological action, clinical application, and the structural modification have attracted broad attention. In this paper its mecha...