Two kinds of 'shapunkha', the 'Shvet' (white) and 'Rakta' (red) are described in some of the Ayurvedic texts and the former is reported therapeutically more effective. Some of the Ayurvedic physicians use T. villosa Pers. as 'Shvet sharpunkha' due to its persistently villous silky white parts. While others have advocated white colour of flowers as main feature for distinguishing "Shvet sharpunk...

The effect of dietary Echinacea purpurea (EP) on the response of zebrafish (Danio rerio) to a Flavobacterium columnare vaccine was investigated. Two hundred D. rerio with an average weight of 290 ± 40 g were selected and fed different levels of E. purpurea (5 g kg(-1) diet--group 1, 10 g kg(-1) diet--group 2, 20 g kg(-1) diet--group 3, 30 g kg(-1) diet--group 4, and 0 g kg(-1) diet--group 5). E...

Bioassay-guided fractionation of extracts from temperate Australian collections of the marine sponge Pseudoceratina purpurea resulted in the isolation and characterisation of two new and six known bromotyrosine-derived alkaloids with antibiotic activity. Surprisingly, a single specimen of the mollusc Tylodina corticalis, which was collected while feeding on P. purpurea, contained only a few of ...

While radiation hazards, due to free radical generation, present an enormous challenge for biological and medical safety, Echinacea purpurea is a potent scavenger of a variety of free radicals. The aim of this study was to investigate the radioprotective effect of Echinacea purpurea against oxidative stress in spleen tissues and alterations in some immune responses. Rats were whole body irradia...

The aim of this open-label, fixed-sequence study was to investigate the potential of the botanical supplement Echinacea purpurea to interact with etravirine, a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor of HIV. Fifteen HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy with etravirine (400 mg once daily) for at least 4 weeks were included. E. purpurea root/extract-containing capsules wer...

Echinacea preparations, which are used for the prevention and treatment of upper respiratory infections, account for 10% of the dietary supplement market in the U.S., with sales totaling more than $100 million annually. In an attempt to shed light on Echinacea's mechanism of action, we evaluated the effects of a 75% ethanolic root extract of Echinacea purpurea, prepared in accord with industry ...

The effect of aqueous extract of Echinacea purpurea roots on the murine antibody response to Bothrops asper snake venom in vivo was studied. Three groups were used. Group #1, baseline control, was treated with snake venom plus PBS. Group #2 was treated with snake venom plus sodium alginate as adjuvant (routine method used at Instituto Clodomiro Picado), and group #3 or experimental group, was t...

In this study, the genetic diversity and structure of 13 natural locations of Salix purpurea were determined with the use of AFLP (amplified length polymorphism), RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA) and ISSR (inter-simple sequence repeats). The genetic relationships between 91 examined S. purpurea genotypes were evaluated by analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA), principal coordinates an...

In order to assess the immunopathological effects of aqueous Echinacea purpurea extract (EPE) on mice experimentally challenged with Pasteurella multocida serotype A, forty female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into four groups. The groups included a control group (received sterile distilled water 2 times/week for 2 weeks, intraperitoneally and then 100 µl sterile saline intranasally), a PMA...

Bauhinia purpurea is a flowering plant. Several species of this plant are known to possess pharmacological activities. It is a less explored plant, but it possesses phytoconstituents such as flavonoids which are purported to exhibit wide pharmacological activities. In the present study the ethanol extract of unripe pods and leaves of Bauhinia purpurea was evaluated for antihyperlipidemic activi...