Ethnobotany 
Controlling Blood Pressure: Essential oil from Hrivera root
(2)Researchers from Tamil Nadu delve into the secrets of the Siddha medicine used for treating high blood pressure. The essential oil from the root of Hrivera is indeed effective and acts on the calcium channels as most other antihypertensives do, they find.
Fucoidan: A Natural Polysaccharide for Cervical Cancer
The drug, SAHA, used for treating cervical cancer has too many side effects. Ilora Ghosh and team from JNU has now suggests a nontoxic alternative, fucoidan, a sulphated polysaccharide from brown seaweed.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from plants
Angamba Potshangbam and team from Manipur University queried their database of medicinal plants to search for alternatives to donezepil, used for Alzheimer’s. Using molecular docking and in vitro studies they identified two plants with potential for ameliorating Alzheimer’s disease.
Cash from Cashew
Cashew nut factories in India now have more capacity than the nuts they can churn out. Farmers are not happy with the returns on investment. Here is a mini-review on recent discoveries that may change the situation.
Tambulin Prevents Aging – Useful in Parkinsons’ Disease
Tambulin from tejphal is seen to delay ageing, increase longevity of the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. Perhaps tambulin may be useful in treating Parkinsons’ disease too, find scientists from CSIR-CIMAP
Arrest that Biofilm! Starring the Spider Lily
The beach spider lily, Hymenocallis littoralis, has medicinal benefits. It has anti-viral properties and is useful in tumour or cancer cases. It also inhibits biofilm formation – important in overcoming pathogens. Biofilms make cells impermeable to antimicrobials and can cause antibiotic resistance. However, we lack studies on the active compounds that inhibit biofilm formation. Last… Read More ›
Documenting Discrimination: Perceptions of plant gender
Plants that bear either male or female flowers differ in their medicinal properties depending on the sex of the plant. Do Ayurveda practitioners and folk healers distinguish the distinct properties of male and female plants?
