Vijender Singh

Composition of the essential oil from the root of Artemisia annua

Upon hydrodistillation, dried roots of Artemisia annua L. cultivar Jwarharti gave a pleasantly fragrant essential oil with a yield of 0.25%. GC and GC–MS analyses of the oil enabled the identification of 52 components representing 83.2% of the oil. The oil was rich in sesquiterpenes and oxygenated sesquiterpenes and had cis-arteannuic alcohol (25.9%), (E)-β-farnesene (6.7%), β-maaliene (6.3%), β-caryophyllene (5.5%), caryophyllene oxide (4.4%) and 2-phenylbenzaldehyde (3.5%) as its major components. The oil was found to possess considerable fumigant activity and ability to repel adult Tribolium castaneum beetles.

Essential oils of petal, leaf and stem of the antimalarial plant Artemisia annua

The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from petals, leaves and stems of the flowering stage of plants of Artemisiaannua cultivar Jwarharti was analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS); 86, 77, and 63 compounds were identified in the leaf, petal, and stem oils, respectively. Large compositional differences were detected between the three oils. The petal and leaf oils were rich in monoterpenes. The stem oil was rich in sesquiterpenes. Camphor, present in the leaf oil, was absent from petal oil.

Hypoglycemic herbs and their polyherbal formulations: a comprehensive review

Diabetes has been described as the common metabolic disorder of carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, which is due to absolute or relative lack of insulin and is characterized by hyperglycemia. Two main types of diabetes based on their clinical manifestations are identified as Type I diabetes—known as Juvenile diabetes or insulin sensitive diabetes and Type II diabetes or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Diabetes has been conventionally treated with orthodox medicines that function as hypoglycemic agents, or insulin production modulators and/or lipoprotein lowering agents. Since the therapy is life long, therapeutic agents devoid of side effects would be appreciated and one of such approach is use of alternative system of medicine comprising herbal products. Phyto-constituents identified from traditional medicinal plants are presenting an exciting opportunity for the development of new types of therapeutics. Due to increase in demand by patients to use natural products with anti-diabetic activity, investigations on hypoglycemic agents derived from medicinal plants have gained popularity in recent years. The novelty of this review article is to focus on the utility of hypoglycemic herbs and their polyherbal formulations.

Volatile Metabolite Compositions of the Essential Oil from Aerial Parts of Ornamental and Artemisinin Rich Cultivars of Artemisia annua

Abstract The essential oils of the aerial parts (flowers, leaves and stems) of the artemisinin rich cultivar ‘Jeevanraksha’ and artemisinin poor ornamental type cultivar Suraksha of Artemisia annua, grown at New Delhi, were characterized for their metabolite composition by GC and GC/MS analyses. Ninety-seven compounds comprising 91.3% of the total oil of ‘Jeevanraksha’ were identified. Forty-three monoterpenes (56.6%), 32 sesquiterpenes (31.1%), and 2 diterpenes (0.2%) comprised bulk of the oil (87.9%). The oil was devoid of artemisia ketone and contained camphor (13.5%), 1,8-cineole (9.4%), trans-sabinol (7.1%), p-mentha-1(7), 5-dien-2-ol (6.3%), myrcene (4.7%), germacrene D (4.4%), (E)-β-farnesene (3.9%), β-caryophyllene (3.7%), dihydroartemisinic lactone (3.0%) and p-cymene (2.0%) as the major constituents. Eighty-six compounds representing 93.3% of the composition were identified in the Suraksha oil. This oil contained artemisia ketone (47%), 1,8-cineole (8.4%), camphor (5.9%) and α-pinene (5.2%) as the major components. Many compounds were detected in the A. annua oil for the first time. Consistent with hybrid origin of the cultivar ‘Jeevanraksha’, its oil possessed characteristics reported earlier for the corresponding essential oils of the A. annua accessions of Vietnamese origin and North-American accessions.

Study of colouring effect of herbal hair formulations on graying hair

Objective: To screen the hair colouring properties of hair colorants/ herbal hair colouring formulations. Materials and Methods: The dried aqueous herbal extracts of Gudhal leaves (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), Jatamansi rhizome (Nardostachys jatamansi), Kuth roots (Saussurea lappa), Kattha (Acacia catechu), Amla dried fruit (Embelica officinalis), were prepared. Coffee powder (Coffea arabica)and Henna powder (Lowsonia inermis) were taken in the form of powder (# 40). Fourteen herbal hair colorants were prepared from these dried aqueous herbal extracts and powders. Activities of hair colorants were observed on sheep wool fibers. On the basis of the above observation six hair colorants were selected. These six formulations were taken for trials on human beings. Observation: The formulation coded HD-3 gave maximum colouring effect on sheep wool fibers as well as on human beings and percentage of acceptance among the volunteers were in the following order: HD- 3 > HD- 4 > HD-1 > HD-13 > HD-14 > HD-11. Results and Discussion: The remarkable results were obtained from five herbal hair colorants, viz., HD-1, HD- 3, HD- 4, HD-13 and HD-14 on sheep wool fibers and human beings. Formulation HD-3, having gudhal, jatamansi, kuth, kattha, amla, coffee and henna, was the maximum accepted formulation and suggested that these herbs in combination acts synergistically in hair colouring action. It also concluded that jatamansi, present in different hair colorants, was responsible to provide maximum blackening on hair

Antibacterial potency of Ziziphus mauritiana (Fam-Rhamnaceae) roots

Background: Ziziphus mauritiana is a well known herb generally its fruit is used in stomach ailments or infections.The genus Ziziphus is known for its antimicrobial potency. Material and Methods: Here Z. mauritiana roots were taken for conducting experiments in various bacterial strains for evaluating its antibacterial potency by disc diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration and zone of inhibition were also determined. The mode of action was determined by leakage of nucleic acid and its determination by UV spectrometry. Results: The root extract of Z.mauritiana posses excellent antibacterial activity against as the activity is well compared with standard drug ciprofloxacin. The mode of action of the extract was bactericidal. Conclusion: Effective and safe herbal antibiotic may be produced in the future by root extract of Z.mauritiana.