A review of plants used in the treatment of liver disease: part two. (1/172)

Botanical medicines have been used traditionally by herbalists and indigenous healers worldwide for the prevention and treatment of liver disease. Clinical research in this century has confirmed the efficacy of several plants in the treatment of liver disease, while basic scientific research has uncovered the mechanisms by which some plants provide their therapeutic effects. This article is Part Two in a review of botanicals used in the treatment of liver disease. Curcuma longa (turmeric), Camellia sinensis (green tea), and Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) are reviewed in this installment. Silybum marianum (milk thistle) and Picrorhiza kurroa (kutkin) were reviewed in Part One.  (+info)

Antioxidative effects of turmeric, rosemary and capsicum extracts on membrane phospholipid peroxidation and liver lipid metabolism in mice. (2/172)

Phospholipid hydroperoxides (PLOOH) in the plasma, red blood cells (RBC) and liver of mice were measured after dietary supplementation for one week (1% w/w of diet) with a turmeric extract (curcuminoid), hexane extract of rosemary, and supercritical CO2-extracted capsicum pigment (supplemented with alpha-tocopherol to prevent fading). A lower PLOOH level was found in RBC of the spice extract-fed mice (65-74% of the non-supplemented control mice). The liver lipid peroxidizability induced with Fe2+/ascorbic acid was effectively suppressed by dietary supplementation with the turmeric and capsicum extracts to mice. While no difference in the plasma lipids was observed, the liver triacylglycerol concentration of the turmeric extract-fed mice was markedly reduced to one-half of the level in the control mice. These findings suggest that these spice extracts could act antioxidatively in vivo by food supplementation, and that the turmeric extract has the ability to prevent the deposition of triacylglycerols in the liver.  (+info)

Lowering of lipid composition in aorta of guinea pigs by Curcuma domestica. (3/172)

BACKGROUND: A short-term study was carried out using guinea pigs to determine the effects of Curcuma domestica on lipid composition in the serum and aorta. METHODS: Animals were given food pellets containing 4% (w/w) powdered rhizome of C. domestica in order to determine its effect on cholesterol, triglyceride and phospholipid levels in the aorta and serum. The animals were fed either a cholesterol free diet or a high cholesterol diet (2% cholesterol, w/w, in food pellet) in order to induce hypercholesterolemia. After five weeks of this diet treatment, blood and aorta were taken for biochemical analysis and histological studies. RESULTS: C. domestica in the diet showed no significant effect on the levels of cholesterol, triglyceride and phospholipid in the serum and aorta of the cholesterol free diet animals. However, addition of C. domestica to a high cholesterol diet counteracted increases in the levels of cholesterol, triglyceride and phospholipid in the aorta. Histology studies showed less cholesterol deposits in the aorta of high cholesterol diet animals given C. domestica compared to the high cholesterol diet animals not given C. domestica supplement. C. domestica also had a lowering effect on triglyceride level in the serum of high cholesterol diet animals but showed no effect on serum cholesterol and phospholipid levels. CONCLUSION: This study has shown that dietary intake of C. domestica decreased all lipid composition levels in the aorta and also the serum triglyceride level. In addition, C. domestica also reduced cholesterol deposition in the aorta of high cholesterol diet animals.  (+info)

Curcuma longa (turmeric). Monograph. (4/172)

Curcuma longa, a perennial herb, is a member of the Zingiberaceae (ginger) family. The plant grows to a height of three to five feet, and is cultivated extensively in Asia, India, China, and other countries with a tropical climate. It has oblong, pointed leaves and bears funnel-shaped yellow flowers. The rhizome is the portion of the plant used medicinally; it is usually boiled, cleaned, and dried, yielding a yellow powder. Dried Curcuma longa is the source of the spice turmeric, the ingredient that gives curry powder its characteristic yellow color. Turmeric is used extensively in foods for both its flavor and color. Turmeric has a long tradition of use in the Chinese and Ayurvedic systems of medicine, particularly as an anti-inflammatory agent, and for the treatment of flatulence, jaundice, menstrual difficulties, hematuria, hemorrhage, and colic. Turmeric can also be applied topically in poultices to relieve pain and inflammation. Current research has focused on turmeric's antioxidant, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, and antimicrobial properties, in addition to its use in cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal disorders.  (+info)

Effects of Curcuma Longa on proliferation of cultured bovine smooth muscle cells and on expression of low density lipoprotein receptor in cells. (5/172)

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the inhibitory effects of aqueous turmeric extract (AqT) and serum of rats orally treated with ethanol extract of turmeric (SeT) on proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and its effects on the expression of low density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R) antigen on the surface of smooth muscle cells. METHODS: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the expression of LDL-R protein and thiazolyl blue (MTT) assay for the proliferation of VSMC were used in this study. RESULTS: Both aqueous turmeric extract (AqT) and serum of rats orally treated with ethanol extract of turmeric (SeT) could inhibit 10% serum activated proliferation of VSMC. The inhibition shown in both experiments was dose-dependent with an inhibitory rate of 18.9% at 20 mg/ml AqT and rate of 20.1% at 10% SeT respectively. AqT up-regulated the expression of LDL-R protein with a highest rate at 5 mg/ml AqT in 3% lipoprotein deficient serum (LPDS). SeT did not show significant effect on the expression of LDL-R on the surface of VSMC. CONCLUSION: The extracts of turmeric may be extended to decrease the risk of atherosclerosis (AS).  (+info)

Clinical development of leukocyte cyclooxygenase 2 activity as a systemic biomarker for cancer chemopreventive agents. (6/172)

Advancement of cancer prevention and therapy requires clinical development of systemic biomarkers of pharmacological efficacy of the agent under scrutiny. Curcumin, a polyphenol derived from Curcuma spp., has shown wide-ranging chemopreventive activity in preclinical carcinogenic models, in which it inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 at the transcriptional level. COX-2 has been implicated in the development of many human cancers. To explore the inhibition of COX-2 activity as a systemic biomarker of drug efficacy, a biomarker of potential use in clinical trials of many chemopreventive drugs known to inhibit this enzyme, we measured COX-2 protein induction and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production in human blood after incubation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). When 1 microM curcumin was added in vitro to blood from healthy volunteers, LPS-induced COX-2 protein levels and concomitant PGE(2) production were reduced by 24% and 41%, respectively (P < 0.05 by ANOVA). To test whether effects on COX-2 activity could also be measured after oral dosing in humans, we conducted a dose-escalation pilot study of a standardized formulation of Curcuma extract in 15 patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Basal and LPS-mediated PGE(2) production was measured in blood, twice pretreatment and on days 1, 2, 8, and 29 of treatment. Analysis of basal and LPS-induced PGE(2) production during treatment demonstrated a trend toward dose-dependent inhibition (P < 0.005 by regression analysis), but there was no significant difference compared with values from pretreatment time points. Measurement of leukocyte COX-2 activity should be considered in clinical trials of other agents likely to inhibit this isozyme.  (+info)

Molecular analysis of medicinally-used Chinese and Japanese Curcuma based on 18S rRNA gene and trnK gene sequences. (7/172)

Curcuma drugs have been used discriminatingly for invigorating blood circulation, promoting digestion, and as a cholagogic in China. However, there is confusion about the drug's botanical origins and clinical uses because of morphological similarity of Curcuma plants and drugs. In order to develop an ultimate identification, molecular analysis based on 18S rRNA gene and trnK gene sequences were performed on 6 Curcuma species used medicinally in China and Japan. The 18S rRNA gene sequences were found to be of 1810 bps in length. In comparison with the common sequence of C. longa, C. phaeocaulis, C. wenyujin and C. aromatica, that of C. kwangsiensis had one base substitution, and the same base difference was observed between the Chinese and the Japanese populations of C. zedoaria. The trnK gene sequences were found to span 2698-2705 bps. There were base substitutions, small deletions or insertions at some sites between the trnK coding region and matK region among each species. Based on the base substitutions, C. zedoaria and C. kwangsiensis specimens were divided into two groups, respectively. An identical sequence was detected in C. phaeocaulis and in the Chinese population of C. zedoaria, as well as in the Japanese population of C. zedoaria and in one group of C. kwangsiensis with a purple-colored band in leaves. New taxonomic information to be used for authenticating Curcuma drugs was obtained.  (+info)

Effects of polysaccharides from rhizomes of Curcuma zedoaria on macrophage functions. (8/172)

The effects of Curcuma zedoaria, which is used as a condiment, in perfumery, and as a medicine, on immune response were investigated by measuring macrophage-stimulating activity in macrophages and RAW 264.7 cells. In this study, CZ-1 and CZ-1-III, the fractions partially purified from C. zedoaria, had a strong, dose-dependent lysosomal enzyme activity. It was suggested that active portions of CZ-1-III were polysaccharides rather than proteins. Phagocytic activity increased as a similar pattern in both the gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, time-dependently. It was demonstrated that CZ-1-III can augment the oxygen burst response but had an even higher activity in vivo than in vitro. Also a significant increase of H2O2, NO, and TNF-alpha production was observed. However, the production of TNF-alpha at the concentration of 1,000 microg/ml decreased. These data suggested that C. zedoaria had macrophage-stimulating activity and the possibility of being used as a biological response modifier.  (+info)

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