Crocus sativus L. (C. sativus), commonly known as saffron, is used as a food additive, preservative and medicinal herb. It has been considered as an alternative treatment for cardiovascular diseases. C. sativus’ medicinal effects are associated to its major ingredients including crocin, crocetin and safranal. This study found that the cardiovascular effects of C. sativus and its major ingredien...

OBJECTIVES To determine the extent to which college students are intermixing mood-altering herbs with prescription medications and whether they are disclosing this information to their health care providers. DESIGN AND SETTING A nonrandom sample was drawn from the student body of a Northwestern state university (n=305). METHODS In November 2008 participants completed an online survey detail...

The side effects of marijuana (a.k.a., pot, weed, herb, and many other names!) use are highly debated ? by both politicians and health care professionals. Marijuana use for recreational and medicinal purposes has existed for quite some time (Mayo Clinic [2] estimates medicinal use began as early as the mid-19th century). Interestingly, the politics of marijuana use and studies related to the ef...

The thunder god vine or Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F. is a representative Chinese medicinal herb which has been used widely and successfully for centuries in treating inflammatory diseases. More than 100 components have been isolated from this plant, and most of them have potent therapeutic efficacy for a variety of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. In the past four decades, the anticance...

Being effective and relatively safe, the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Brucea javanica (BJ) has been valuable in curing patients in East Asia and its nearby regions for years. Recent reports suggested that the medicinal herb possesses broad antitumor activity against various cancer cells. This study evaluated whether low concentrations of BJ aqueous extract inhibited the growth of liver ca...

The side effects of marijuana (a.k.a., pot, weed, herb, and many other names!) use are highly debated ? by both politicians and health care professionals. Marijuana use for recreational and medicinal purposes has existed for quite some time (Mayo Clinic [2] estimates medicinal use began as early as the mid-19th century). Interestingly, the politics of marijuana use and studies related to the ef...

In recent times, focus on plant research has increased all over the world. Centella asiatica is an important medicinal herb that is widely used in the orient and is becoming popular in the West. Triterpenoid, saponins, the primary constituents of Centella asiatica are manly believed to be responsible for its wide therapeutic actions. Apart from wound healing, the herb is recommended for the tre...

The present study aimed at evaluating the in vitro antimicrobial activity of methanolic extracts of some medicinal plants against Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus sp. The methanolic extract of Caryophyllus aromaticus presented the highest anti-S. aureus activity and was effective against all bacterial strains tested.