Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anthracycline antibiotic with broad spectrum anti-tumour activity. Its effectiveness has been limited by the occurrence of dose-related myocardial and bone marrow toxicity. As oxidative stress is the main factor in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, we presumed that agents which enhance endogenous antioxidants can prevent DOX induced cardiotoxicity. Animals received either DOX ...

Background: Some fungi have double host attacks for animals and plants, among them Alternaria alternata. Using a local medicinal plant such as Ephedra alanda is one way to fight its spreading. Aim: Evaluate the effect of different extracts against mold Material Methods: This work used solvent by successive extraction (Hexane, Chloroform, Ethyl acetate, Methanol) total alkaloids evaluate Anti- a...

A field survey was carried out to record plant species climbed by Ephedra alte in certain parts of Jordan during 2008-2010. Forty species of shrubs, ornamental, fruit, and forest trees belonging to 24 plant families suffered from the climbing habit of E. alte. Growth of host plants was adversely affected by E. alte growth that extended over their vegetation. In addition to its possible competit...

A new method involving concurrent solid-phase microextraction combined with continuous hydrodistillation of essential oil was developed. This new methodology allowed for the detection by GC-MS of very small amounts of a diagnostic peak for the authentication of Ephedra sinica, in a short period of time and using only small sample sizes. This diagnostic peak was identified as 4-vinylanisole, and...

On February 6, 2004, FDA issued a final rule stating that supplements containing “ephedra” present an unreasonable risk of illness to those taking them. This rule puts ban on manufacture and distribution of ephedra containing dietary supplements with effect from April 12, 2004. This was the first time in US that a supplement has been removed from the market under DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Healt...

Amphetamine analogues are produced by plants in the genus Ephedra and by khat (Catha edulis), and include the widely used decongestants and appetite suppressants (1S,2S)-pseudoephedrine and (1R,2S)-ephedrine. The production of these metabolites, which derive from L-phenylalanine, involves a multi-step pathway partially mapped out at the biochemical level using knowledge of benzoic acid metaboli...

This review focuses on the efficacy and safety of effective herbal medicines in the management of obesity in humans and animals. PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and IranMedex databases were searched up to December 30, 2008. The search terms were "obesity" and ("herbal medicine" or "plant", "plant medicinal" or "medicine traditional") without narrowing or limiting search elements...