Methanolic extracts of Plumbago zeylanica (Root), Acorus calamus (Rhizome), Hemidesmus indicus (Stem) and Holarrhena antidysenterica (Bark), used in Ayurvedic medicines for number of ailments were evaluated for their antioxidant activity by ferric thiocyanate (FTC) assay and compared with thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method. The order of antioxidant potential according to FTC assay was found to be...

A rapid and simple reversed phase liquid chromatographic system has been developed for simultaneous analysis of terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs) and their precursors. This method allowed separation of 11 compounds consisting of eight TIAs (ajmalicine, serpentine, catharanthine, vindoline, vindolinine, vincristine, vinblastine, and anhydrovinblastine) and three related precursors i.e., tryptoph...

The leaves extract of Catharanthus roseus was investigated for hypotensive and hypolipidemic effects in adrenaline-induced hypertensive rats (AIHR) and compared with those of Atenolol in a crossover design. The pharmacologically Active components responsible for hypotensive activities were isolated from plant using bioassay guided purification approach and the structure of the compounds was pro...

As one type of the most important alkaloids in the world, terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs) show a wide range of pharmaceutical activities that are beneficial for clinical treatments. Catharanthus roseus produces approximately 130 identified TIAs and is considered to be a model plant to study TIA biosynthesis. In order to increase the production of high medical value metabolites whose yields ar...

Herbal products derived from Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R. Br. ex Schult, Leucas aspera (Wild.), Plumbago zeylanica L., and Tridax procumbens (L.) R. Br. ex Schult. are widely used in traditional medicine. Though the extracts of these plants were found to be antimicrobial in nature and have the potential to be used in clinics, the mechanism of action of is not reported. The ethanolic extracts of H...

BACKGROUND As a valuable medicinal plant, Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) produces many terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs), such as vindoline, ajamlicine, serpentine, catharanthine, vinblastine and vincristine et al. Some of them are important components of drugs treating cancer and hypertension. However, the yields of these TIAs are low in wild-type plants, and the total chemical sy...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate numerous crucial biological processes in plants. However, information is limited on their involvement in the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites in plants, including Catharanthus roseus that produces a number of pharmaceutically valuable, bioactive terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs). Using small RNA-sequencing, we identified 181 conserved and 173 novel miRNAs (cro...

Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don is a medicinal plant well known for producing antitumor drugs such as vinblastine and vincristine, which are classified as terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs). The TIA metabolic pathway in C. roseus has been extensively studied. However, the localization of TIA intermediates at the cellular level has not been demonstrated directly. In the present study, the metabol...

Ayurveda is time-tested science of treating disease with natural things like plant, animals and minerals. It remains one of the most ancient and yet living traditions practised widely in India, Sri Lanka and other countries and has a sound philosophical and experiential basis. Plumbago zeylanica is commonly known as white chitraka, belongs to family plumbaginaceae. It is distributed as a weed t...

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity of fifteen Indian medicinal plants has been evaluated by in vitro enzyme assay. Methanol extracts of Cyperus rotundus (tubers), Plumbago zeylanica (root), Symplocos racemosa (bark), and Terminalia arjuna (bark) had displayed 100% inhibition with the IC50