BACKGROUND Medicinal plants are considered new resources for producing agents that could act as alternatives to antibiotics in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of 28 plant extracts and oils against four Gram-negative bacterial species. METHODS Experimental, in vitro, evaluation of the activities of 28 plant extrac...

Background & Aims: Many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson and Huntington diseases are associated with the deposition proteinaceous aggregates known as amyloid fibrils. Currently, there is no approved therapeutic agent for inhibition of fibrillar assemblies. One important approach in the development of therapeutic agents is the use of herbal extracts. At the present com...

Aqueous extracts of 30 plants were investigated for their antioxidant properties using DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging capacity assay, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay, superoxide dismutase (SOD) assay, and ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) assay. Total phenolic content was also determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Antioxidant properties and total phenolic conten...

Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom is an important pest of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) in Africa. To propose an alternative to chemical control, the repellency of 24 plant extracts was evaluated against adult female thrips of M. sjostedti in the laboratory. Plant extracts in ethanol were separately applied on a filter paper disk in a still air visual cue olfactometer. The results showed highly s...

The use of cinnamon as a spice and flavouring agent is widespread throughout the world. Many different species of plants are commonly referred to as 'cinnamon'. 'True cinnamon' refers to the dried inner bark of Cinnamomum verum J. S. Presl (syn. C. zeylanicum) (Lauraceae). Other 'cinnamon' species, C. cassia (Nees & T. Nees) J. Presl (syn. C. aromaticum Nees) (Chinese cassia), C. loureiroi Nees...

The purpose of this study was to identify the anti-Candida activity and chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) of Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon). For this, tests were conducted to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) and the action of C. zeylanicum EO on fungal cell wall of Candida albicans, C. tropicalis and C. krusei strains...

The long–term effects of Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume oil on some physiological parameters were investigated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic and non-diabetic male Wistar rats. STZ-induced diabetic rats showed significant increases in the levels of blood glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, low density lipoprotein LDL-cholesterol, urea, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminot...

OBJECTIVE To explore the in vitro antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum; CIN), clove (Syzygium aromaticum, CLV) and cumin (Cuminum cyminum, CMN) against clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), from Kolkata, India. METHODS The CIN, CLV and CMN were tested for their antibacterial activity against MRSA by in vitro methods...

Piedra, is an asymptomatic fungal infection of the hair shaft, resulting in the formation of nodules of different hardness on the infected hair. The infection also known as Trichomycosis nodularis is a superficial fungal infection arising from the pathogen being restricted to the stratum corneum with little or no tissue reaction. The nodules are a concretion of hyphae and fruiting bodies of the...