diabetes mellitus is one of the major metabolic disorders. it is a global epidemic with an estimated worldwide prevalence of 6% (246 million people) in 2007. diabetes is recognized for severe complications including diabetic nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy. currently, available therapy acts by increasing insulin secretion (sulphonylurea and glinides), decreasing insulin resistance (gli...

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of root of C. colocynthis on the biochemical parameters of normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes mellitus was induced by intraperitoneal (120 mg/kg b.w.) injection of alloxan monohydrate for three days and the animals showing blood glucose level in the range of 175-300 mg/dL were selected for study. The blood glucose concentrations of...

It is still challenging and difficult to treat patients with eumycetoma; the current treatment has many side effects and has proven to be expensive and characterized by high recurrence rate, hence the poor patients' treatment compliance. Most of the patients are of low socio-economic status, have many financial constraints and hence, many of them rely on alternative and herbal medicine for the ...

The impacts of aqueous extracts from different parts (root, stem, leaf and fruit) of bitter apple Citrullus colocynthis (Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae), with five different concentrations, on controlling the bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) (Homoptera: Aphididae) were investigated under laboratory conditions. Results showed that the effects of the aqueous extracts from different par...

Background: Numerous plants in traditional practices of medicine have been used to treat cognitive disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other memory related disorders. Materials and Methods: We present here the evaluation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory and antioxidant activities of the aqueous methanol extracts of five traditional medic...

Studies on the antibacterial activities of the leaf extract of Citrullus colocynthis (Cucurbitaceae), a medicinal plant used for the treatment of various ailments was carried out using agar disc diffusion technique. The results revealed that the crude acetone extract exhibited antibacterial activities against Pseudomonas aeruginosa with zones of inhibition measuring 14.0mm. The chloroform leaf ...

A full-length drought-responsive gene Ccrboh, encoding the respiratory burst oxidase homologue (rboh), was cloned in Citrullus colocynthis, a very drought-tolerant cucurbit species. The robh protein, also named NADPH oxidase, is conserved in plants and animals, and functions in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The Ccrboh gene accumulated in a tissue-specific pattern when C. colo...