The genus Clerodendrum is very widely distributed throughout the world and has more than five hundred species. Many species of this genus have been described in various indigenous systems of medicine and are used in preparation of folklore medicines for the treatment of various life-threatening diseases. From the genus few species are very well studied for their chemical constituents and biolog...

The efficacy and tolerability of a butterbur root extract (Petadolex) for the treatment of asthma was analyzed in a prospective, non-randomized, open trial. Subjects included 64 adults and 16 children/adolescents treated for two months with the extract, followed by two months during which the intake of the extract was optional. Concomitant asthma medication was permitted. The number, duration, ...

Abstract During the last decades, research on biological activities of extracts from Cimicifuga / Actaea species and Petasites japonicus as well their active ingredients has been intensified. Besides terpenoids dominant natural product group, hydroxycinnamic acid esters such fukinolic several cimicifugic acids have isolated chemical structures elucidated. Investigations properties these are cur...

Natural enemies can be significant sources of mortality for herbivorous insects and therefore important agents of natural selection. One might expect selection to favor herbivores that escape from their natural enemies into enemy-free space. Although this is an appealing idea, it has received little empirical support, and no studies have documented enemy-free space as part of a nonagricultural,...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Why are sterile anthers and carpels retained in some flowering plants, given their likely costs? To address this question, a cryptically dioecious species, Petasites tricholobus, in which male and female plants each have two floret types that appear pistillate and hermaphroditic, was studied. The aim was to understand the function of sterile hermaphroditic florets in females...

In this study, we present initial data for the potential anti-cancer effects of standardized Bulgarian Petasites hybridus root extract against breast cancer cells. The results showed that Butterbur (BE) caused a dose-dependent selective reduction in viability with concomitant increase apoptosis human cells after 72 h treatment. We found highest cytotoxicity BE to MDA-MB-231 (IC50 – 520 ?g/mL), ...