Naser M. AbdElsalam

Investigation of macro and micro-nutrients in selected medicinal plants

Department of Chemistry, Government Degree College, Ara Khel FR, Kohat KPK, Pakistan. Riyadh Community College, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Department of Chemistry, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat-26000, KPK, Pakistan. College of Science Research Centre, King Saud University, P. O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering King Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia.

Application of Ethnobotanical Indices on the Use of Traditional Medicines against Common Diseases

The present study was aimed at documenting the detailed ethnomedicinal knowledge of an unexplored area of Pakistan. Semistructured interviews were taken with 55 informants randomly chosen regarding detailed ethnomedicinal and sociocultural information. The study exposed 67 medicinal plant species used to prepare 110 recipes and the major modes of herbal formulation were decoction and powdering (20% each). The disease categories with the highest Fic values were gastrointestinal and dermatological (0.87 each). The study determined 3 plant species, i.e., Acacia modesta Wall., Caralluma tuberculata R.Br., and Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal with a FL of 100%. DMR results showed that Olea ferruginea (Sol.) Steud. ranked first, Morus alba L. ranked second, and Melia azedarach L. ranked third. Among the 55 informants, the male concentration was high (61%) and most of them were over 40 years old while a leading quantity of respondents (45%) was uneducated. There is a dire need to take necessary steps for the conservation of important medicinal plants by inhibiting overgrazing and providing alternate fuel resources. Young generations should be educated regarding the importance of ethnomedicinal knowledge and plants with high Fic and FL values should be further checked chemically and pharmacologically for future exploration of modern medicine.

Ethnopharmacological Assessment of Medicinal Plants Used against Livestock Infections by the People Living around Indus River

The present study was aimed to document detailed ethnopharmacological knowledge of medicinal plants against livestock infections of an unexplored remote region of Pakistan. Semistructured questionnaires were used for data collection. Total 43 plants belonging to 26 families were found to be used in ethnoveterinary practices. Seeds (29%) were found to be the most frequent plant part used followed by leaves (22%). Ethnoveterinary recipes were mostly prepared in the form of decoction and powdering. Informant consensus factor (Fic) results revealed high consensus for gastrointestinal (0.81), mastitis (0.82), and dermatological infections (0.80). Curcuma longa ranked first with highest fidelity level (FL) value (66%) followed by Trachyspermum ammi that ranked second (58%). Preference ranking (PR) results showed that Zingiber officinale, Punica granatum, Triticum aestivum, Gossypium hirsutum, and Withania coagulans were the most preferred species for the treatment of diarrhea. Direct matrix ranking (DMR) results showed that Morus alba, Melia azedarach, Withania coagulans, Cassia fistula, Azadirachta indica, and Tamarix aphylla were the multipurpose species of the region. We invite the attention of pharmacologists and chemists for further exploration of plants having high Fic, FL, and PR values in the present study. Conservation strategies should be adopted for the protection of multipurpose plant species.

Ethnoveterinary Study of Medicinal Plants in a Tribal Society of Sulaiman Range

The aims of the present study were (i) to document ethnoveterinary plants and their formulation techniques in an unexplored region of Pakistan and (ii) to select candidate medicinal plants with high consensus factor and fidelity value for further in vitro investigation. A total of 60 informants were interviewed using semistructured questionnaire. A total of 41 plants belonging to 30 families were used to treat livestock ailments in study area. Mostly leaves (47%) were used in recipes formulation mostly in the form of decoction. Gastrointestinal infections were found more common and majority of the plants were used against cow (31) and buffaloes (24) ailments. Recovery time of majority of the recipes was three to four days. Informant consensus factor (Fic) results have shown a high degree of consensus for gastrointestinal, respiratory, and reproductive (0.95 each) ailments. Fidelity level (FL) results showed that Asparagus gracilis ranked first with FL value 93% followed by Rumex hastatus ranked second (91%) and Tinospora cordifolia ranked third (90%). Aged farmers and nomads had more traditional knowledge as compared to younger ones. Plants with high Fic and FL values could be further investigated in vitro for the search of some novel bioactive compounds and young generation should be educated regarding ethnoveterinary practices.

Fasciola hepatica in some Buffaloes and cattle by PCR and microscopy.

Fasciolosis is the burning problem of the livestock rearing community having huge morbidity, mortality, and economic losses to livestock industries in our country Pakistan. The faecal and liver biopsy samplings were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and microscopy technique during the entire study. A total of 307 samples including 149 samples from Karak and 158 samples from Kohat abattoirs were examined by PCR method and overall prevalence of fasciolosis was 5.86% (18/307), amongst theses 8.05% (12/149) in liver biopsy and 3.79% (6/158) in feacal samples of cattle and Buffaloes were recorded. Similarly the microscopy based detection was 3.58% (11/307) including 4.61% (7/149) in liver biopsy and 2.5% (4/158) in faecal samples accordingly. Furthermore the areawise prevalence of fasciolosis in abattoirs by PCR method was found to be 7.59% (12/158) in Kohat and 4.02% (6/149) in Karak. A 618 pb DNA was amplified in 2% agarose gel electrophoreses. It is concluded from the study that prevalence of fasciolosis was higher in abattoir of district Kohat and PCR was a more sensitive method of diagnosis than microscopy.

Richness and cover of nontimber economic plants along altitude in temperate Himalayan forest-use types.

Pakistani Himalaya stretches over a wide range of altitudinal gradients and supports high diversity of medicinal plants that are an important source for rural livelihood. Altitudinal effects on ground vegetation have already been indicated but ground vegetation is also under severe threat of grazing and over collection. The present study investigated the effect of altitude on medicinal plants abundance in both old-growth and derived woodland forests. Each of the five line transects was selected in old-growth and derived woodland forests. Each line transect consisted of four plots distributed at four altitudinal levels (2200, 2300, 2400, and 2500 m asl). Species richness under derived woodland had shown strong negative correlation (r = −0.95) with altitude while it was found to be nonsignificant under old-growth. Cover of most of the species such as Veronica laxa (r = −0.95, P ≤ 0.05) had shown significant negative correlation with altitude under derived woodland. Cover abundance of some species like Valeriana jatamansi and Viola canescens has also shown significant negative correlation under old-growth forest. Derived woodland can decrease the cover abundance of valuable medicinal plants towards extension at higher altitudes. Thus, protection of the derived woodland could serve as a tool for the improvement of rural livelihood and ecological restoration.

Corrigendum to “Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around Indus River”

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2014/212634.].

In Vitro Antimicrobial Bioassays, DPPH Radical Scavenging Activity, and FTIR Spectroscopy Analysis of Heliotropium bacciferum.

The present study deals with the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and functional group analysis of Heliotropium bacciferum extracts. Disc diffusion susceptibility method was followed for antimicrobial assessment. Noteworthy antimicrobial activities were recorded by various plant extracts against antibiotic resistant microorganisms. Plant flower extracts antioxidant activity was investigated against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl radical by ultraviolet spectrophotometer (517 nm). Plant extracts displayed noteworthy radical scavenging activities at all concentrations (25–225 μg/mL). Notable activities were recorded by crude, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts up to 88.27% at 225 μg/mL concentration. Compounds functional groups were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies. Alkanes, alkenes, alkyl halides, amines, carboxylic acids, amides, esters, alcohols, phenols, nitrocompounds, and aromatic compounds were identified by FTIR analysis. Thin layer chromatography bioautography was carried out for all plant extracts. Different bands were separated by various solvent systems. The results of the current study justify the use of Heliotropium bacciferum in traditional remedial herbal medicines.

One New Royleanumoate from Teucrium royleanum Wall. ex Benth

One new royleanumoate, a benzene ester (1), has been isolated from T. royleanum Wall. ex Benth along with two known compounds, namely, 3,4-dihydroxymethyl benzoate (2) and oleanolic acid (3). The structure elucidation of the isolated compounds was established on two-dimensional (2D) NMR techniques including heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC), heteronuclear multiple quantum Coherence (HMQC), and correlation spectroscopy (COSY) experiment.

Comparative analysis of distinct diuretics through urine analysis

Diuretics are used for different diseases and are taken without knowing their adverse/side effects. To create awareness, four popular diuretics, Lasix, Spiromide, Aldactone and Conium were investigated for their effect on body. These were experimented over four volunteers with single and double doses. The urine of these volunteers was collected for analysis of sodium and potassium. The obtained results showed that the effect of medicine remained up to 6 to 12 h. In this duration, the sodium excreted value went up for a certain period and then became almost normal and same was true for potassium. The increase in dosage increased the rate of excretion of the cations and also prolonged the time period of their effects. It is concluded that although Lasix, a potential diuretic but its effects over body were also severe in terms of excretion of ions etc. Similarly, Spiromide was also noted to be a reasonably effective diuretic and its effects are totally different from Lasix in terms of excretion of ions and body weight loss. The other two medicines (Aldactone and Conium) did not show much effect upon excretion etc.