Review article: anthranoid laxatives and their potential carcinogenic effects.
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Anthranoid laxatives are widely used laxatives of natural origin. Because of their chemical structure they are carried unabsorbed to the large bowel, where metabolism to the active aglycones takes place. These aglycones exert their laxative effect by damaging epithelial cells, which leads directly and indirectly to changes in absorption, secretion and motility. Damaged epithelial cells can be found as apoptotic bodies in the pigmented colonic mucosa, characteristic for pseudomelanosis coli. Pseudomelanosis coli is a condition caused by chronic (ab)use of anthranoid laxatives and has recently been associated with an increased risk of colorectal carcinoma. In vitro and animal studies have shown a potential role of anthranoid laxatives in both the initiation and promotion of tumorigenesis. Studies in humans have also suggested tumour promoting activities for these laxatives. Although the short-term use of these substances is generally safe, long-term use cannot be recommended. (+info)
A stabilized flavonoid glycoside in heat-treated Cassia alata leaves and its structural elucidation.
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Heat-treated leaves of Cassia alata were studied for any change in chemical constituents using sun dried leaves as the reference standard. A high concentration of a constituent was observed in the heat-treated leaves. Spectroscopic studies revealed the structure of the constituent as kaempferol 3-gentiobioside, which has not yet been detected in the Cassia species. In a stability study disappearance of kaempferol 3-gentiobioside was noted in the sun dried leaves while there was little or no change in the kaempferol 3-gentiobioside concentration in the heat-treated leaves when incubated in an aqueous solution, suggesting a possible presence of enzymatic activities in the sun dried leaves. Therefore, heat-treatment may be a good method to stabilize kaempferol 3-gentiobioside in Cassia alata leaves. (+info)
Effect of Cassia auriculata leaf extract on lipids in rats with alcoholic liver injury.
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We studied the effect of administering Cassia auriculata leaf extract to rats with experimentally induced liver damage. Hepatotoxicity was induced by administering 9.875 g/kg bodyweight ethanol for 30 days by intragastric intubation. C. auriculata leaf extract was administered at a dose of 250 mg/kg bodyweight daily in one group and 500 mg/kg bodyweight daily in another group of alcohol-treated rats. All rats were fed with standard pellets. The control rats were also given isocaloric glucose solution. The average bodyweight gain was significantly lower in alcohol-treated rats, but improved on supplementation with C. auriculata leaf extract. Alcohol supplementation significantly elevated the cholesterol, phospholipid and triglyceride concentration in the liver, brain, kidney and intestine, as compared with those of the normal control rats. Treatment with C. auriculata leaf extract and alcohol significantly lowered the tissue lipid levels to almost normal levels. Microscopic examination of alcohol-treated rat liver showed inflammatory cell infiltrates and fatty changes, which were reversed on treatment with C. auriculata leaf extract. Similarly, alcohol-treated rat brain demonstrated spongiosis, which was markedly reduced on treatment with C. auriculata. In conclusion, this study shows that treatment with C. auriculata leaf extract has a lipid-lowering effect in rats with experimentally induced, alcohol-related liver damage. This is associated with a reversal of steatosis in the liver and of spongiosis in the brain. The mechanism of C. auriculata leaf extract lipid-lowering potential is unclear. (+info)
Capillary electrophoresis of anthraquinones from Cassia siamea.
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The separation and determination of two anthraquinones, emodin and chrysophanol, and two bianthraquinones, cassiamin A and cassiamin B, were achieved by capillary electrophoresis (CE). The running electrolyte used in this method was 0.05 M hydroxypropyl-gamma-cyclodextrin in 0.1 M borate buffer (pH 9) containing 10% acetonitrile, with an applied voltage of 20 kV. Application of this technique in the determination of the main bianthraquinones, cassiamin A and cassiamin B, of Cassia siamea is demonstrated in this paper. (+info)
Inhibitory activity of Cinnamomum cassia bark-derived component against rat lens aldose reductase.
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PURPOSE: To evaluate the inhibitory activity of active compounds isolated from Cinnamomum cassia bark against lens aldose reductase and compare to that of three commercially available compounds (cinnamyl alcohol, trans -cinnamic acid, and eugenol) and quercitrin as aldose reductase inhibitors. The IC (50) value of cinnamaldehyde was determined. METHODS: Active compound was purified on repeated silica gel column and HPLC (Waters Delta Prep 4000). Aldose reductase was prepared from lenses of Sprague-Dawley male rat eyes. The incubation mixture contained 135 mM Na, K-phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), 100 mM lithium sulfate, 0.03 mM NADPH, 0.04 mM DL-glyceraldehyde and 50 micro L of an enzyme preparation, with or without a plant extract. The reaction was initiated by adding NADPH at 37 degrees C and stopped by adding 0.5 N hydrochloric acid. Subsequently, 6 N NaOH containing 10 mM imidazole was added, and the mixture was incubated at 60 degrees C for 10 min to convert NADP into a fluorescent product. The fluorescence was measured with a spectrofluorophotometer. RESULTS: The biologically active constituents of C. cassia extract against lens aldose reductase were characterized as trans -cinnamaldehyde by spectral analysis. The IC (50) value of cinnamaldehyde is 0.003 mg/mL. However, cinnamyl alcohol, trans -cinnamic acid and eugenol exhibited only weak inhibition against aldose reductase. In comparison, quercitrin was 6 times more potent than cinnamaldehyde. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that cinnamaldehyde isolated from C. cassia barks may be useful as a lead compound and a medicinal foodstuff for aldose reductase inhibition. (+info)
Antiinflammatory activity of heat-treated Cassia alata leaf extract and its flavonoid glycoside.
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Antiinflammatory activities of heat-treated Cassia alata leaf extract and kaempferol 3-O-gentiobioside (K3G) isolated from C. alata as an abundant flavonoid glycoside were studied by comparing their activities with the activities of sun-dried C. alata leaf extract. We observed strong inhibitory effects on Concanavalin A-induced histamine release from rat peritoneal exudate cells both in the extracts of heat-treated and sun-dried C. alata leaves. Furthermore, the heat-treated leaf extract exhibited stronger inhibitory effects than the effects of the sun-dried leaf extract at low concentrations in the studies of Concanavalin A-induced histamine release, 5-lipoxygenase inhibition, and also inhibition of cyclooxygenases (COX-1 and COX-2), whereas K3G showed weak inhibitory effects on Concanavalin A-induced histamine release, 5-lipoxygenase, and COX-1. No anti-hyaluronidase effect was detected in any of the materials tested. (+info)
Water uptake, priming, drying and storage effects in Cassia excelsa Schrad seeds.
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The aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of osmotic potential on the water uptake curve in Cassia excelsa seeds and use the results to analyze the effects of dehydration and storage on primed seed germination. Seeds were imbibed in distilled water and polyethylene glicol (PEG 6000) osmotic solutions at -0.2, -0.4, and -0.6 MPa, at 20 degrees C. The radicle emergence and seed moisture content were evaluated at 6-hour intervals during 240 hours. Afterwards, seeds were primed in distilled water and PEG 6000 solutions at -0.2, -0.4, and -0.6 MPa for 48, 72, 96, and 168 hours at 20 degrees C, followed by air drying and storage for 15 days at 5 degrees C. The lower the osmotic potential, the higher the time required for priming. The osmoconditioning yields benefits with PEG solutions at 0.0 and -0.2 MPa; seed improvements were maintained during storage for 15 days at 5 degrees C, but were reverted by seed drying. (+info)
Adenine, an inhibitor of platelet aggregation, from the leaves of Cassia alata.
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Adenine was isolated as a platelet aggregating inhibitor from the leaves of Cassia alata by HPLC using a triacontylsilyl silica (C(30)) column. The inhibitory effects of adenine and adenosine (positive control) on the platelet aggregation induced by collagen or adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP) as an aggregating agent was evaluated with a platelet aggregometer using a laser-scattering method. As a result, the inhibitory effect of adenine was observed in the platelet aggregation induced by collagen (1.0 microg/ml as the final concentration), but little inhibitory effect was noted in the aggregation induced by ADP (5.0 microM as the final concentration), whereas adenosine exhibited potent inhibitory effects on platelet aggregation induced both by collagen and ADP under the same experimental conditions. (+info)