Yoshihisa Takaishi

Traditional medicine in Turkey X. Folk medicine in Central Anatolia

Traditional medicine used in Central Anatolia; Ankara, Kayseri, Niğde and south-eastern parts of Karaman and Konya provinces have been studied. Two hundred and ninety one folk remedies obtained from 103 plant species belonging to 40 families and 4 animal species are reported with their vernacular names, parts used, methods of preparing remedies and therapeutic usage.

Traditional medicine in Turkey. V. Folk medicine in the inner Taurus Mountains

Folk medicine in the inner region of the Taurus Mountains in south Anatolia has been studied; 256 remedies prepared from 124 plant and 3 animal species are listed. Data include vernacular names, the parts used, the methods of preparation of the drugs and the medicinal use.

Traditional medicine in Turkey IX:: Folk medicine in north-west Anatolia

Folk medicine in northwest Anatolia has been studied and 116 remedies prepared from 67 plant and 8 animal species are described, each with vernacular names, methods of preparation and traditional uses.

Traditional medicine in Turkey. VI. Folk medicine in West Anatolia : Afyon, Kütahya, Denizli, Mugla, Aydin provinces

Two hundred and one folk remedies of West Anatolia derived from 91 plant species in 40 families and 2 animal species are presented, each with vernacular names, method of preparation of drugs and traditional uses.

Traditional medicine in Turkey VII. Folk medicine in middle and west Black Sea regions

Traditional medicine in the middle and west Black Sea regions: Amasya, Bilecik, Bolu, Çankin, Samsun, Sinop and Tokat provinces has been studied and 194 remedies obtained from 96 plant and 5 animal species are compiled. Vernacular names, parts used, methods of preparation, and medicinal usages are listed.AbstractOrta ve Bati Karadeniz Bölgelerinde Amasya, Bilecik, Bolu, Çankin, Samsun, Sinop ve Tokat illerinde halk tababeti incelenerek, 96 ’si bitkisel ve 5’i hayvansal olmak üzere 194 halk ilaci tespit edilmi§tir. Kullamlan materyalin mahalli ismi, tedavide kullanilan kisimlari, ilacin hazirlani§ §ekli ve tedavideki kullamli§ amaci He ilgili bilgiler liste halinde verilmi§tir.

Inhibitory effects of Turkish folk remedies on inflammatory cytokines: interleukin-1α, interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor α.

In this study, in vitro inhibitory effects of 55 extracts or fractions obtained from 10 plant species on interleukin-1 (IL-1α, IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) biosynthesis were studied. The following plant materials from Turkish folk medicine for the treatment of various diseases which are thought to be inflammatory in nature e.g. rheumatism, fever, infections, edemas or related inflammatory diseases were selected as the subject of this study: Cistus laurifolius leaves, Clematis flammna flowering herbs, Crataegus orientalis roots, Daphne oleoides ssp. oleoides whole plant, Ecbalium elaterium roots, Rosa canina roots, Rubus discolor roots, Rubus hirtus roots, Sambucus ebulus flowers and leaves, Sambucus nigra flowers and leaves. All plants showed inhibitory activity against at least one of these models in various percentages depending upon the concentration, thus supporting the folkloric utilization. Daphne oleoides was found to be the most active plant against the test models.

Traditional medicine in Turkey VIII. Folk medicine in east anatolia; Erzurum, Erzíncan, Ağri, Kars, Iğdir provinces

Traditional drugs used in the east Anatolia including Erzurum, Erzincan, Ağri, Kars, Iğdir, and Ardahan provinces have been surveyed. In this report, 169 remedies obtained from 87 plant species belonging to 38 families and 10 animal species are listed with their vernacular names, parts used, methods of preparing drugs, and traditional usages.ResumenDoğu Anadolu bölgesinde Erzurum, Erzincan, Ağri, Kars, Iğdir ve Ardahan illerinin sinirlari arasinda bulunan köylerde kullanilan halk ilaÇlan incelenmiŞtir. Bu ÇaliŞmada tespit edilen 38 familyaya ait 87 bitki ve 10 hayvan türünden elde edilen 169 halk ilaci hakkinda Şu bilgiler tablo halinde verilmiŞtir; kullanilan materyalin mahalli isimi, Latince tarn adi, tedavideki kullaniliŞ amaci, kullanilan kismi ve ilacin hazirlaniŞ Şekli.

COUMARINS AND BICOUMARIN FROM FERULA SUMBUL: ANTI-HIV ACTIVITY AND INHIBITION OF CYTOKINE RELEASE

The methanol extract of the dried roots of Ferula sumbul afforded two furanocoumarin esters, fesumtuorin A, B, one bicoumarin, fesumtuorin C, five spirobicoumarins, fesumtuorin D, E, F, G and H, along with nineteen known coumarins. Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic studies. Some of the isolated compounds showed anti-HIV activity and very weak inhibition of cytokine release.

Alkyl gallates, intensifiers of beta-lactam susceptibility in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

ABSTRACT We found that ethyl gallate purified from a dried pod of tara (Caesalpinia spinosa) intensified β-lactam susceptibility in methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and MSSA strains, respectively). This compound and several known alkyl gallates were tested with MRSA and MSSA strains to gain new insights into their structural functions in relation to antimicrobial and β-lactam susceptibility-intensifying activities. The maximum activity of alkyl gallates against MRSA and MSSA strains occurred at 1-nonyl and 1-decyl gallate, with an MIC at which 90% of the isolates tested were inhibited of 15.6 μg/ml. At concentrations lower than the MIC, alkyl gallates synergistically elevated the susceptibility of MRSA and MSSA strains to β-lactam antibiotics. Such a synergistic activity of the alkyl gallates appears to be specific for β-lactam antibiotics, because no significant changes were observed in the MICs of other classes of antibiotics examined in this study. The length of the alkyl chain was also associated with the modifying activity of the alkyl gallates, and the optimum length was C5 to C6. The present work clearly demonstrates that the length of the alkyl chain has a key role in the elevation of susceptibility to β-lactam antibiotics.

Apoptosis induction in HL-60 cells and inhibition of topoisomerase II by triterpene celastrol.

Celastrol, which is a triterpene purified from Celastraceae plants, has anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study we investigated to clarify whether celastrol can induce apoptosis in a human leukemia HL-60 model system. Celastrol was found to induce apoptosis, and the rank order of the potency of celastrol and its derivatives to induce internucleosomal DNA fragmentation was found to be celastrol>cela-H>>the other derivatives=vehicle control. Many anticancer agents are known to possess the ability to inhibit topoisomerase II, so the inhibitory activities of celastrol and its derivatives on topoisomerase II were also explored. The rank order of the inhibitory activity was found to be celastrol>etoposide>cela-H, indicating that the apoptosis-inducing activities of cela derivatives correspond to their inhibitory activities on topoisomerase II. These data suggested that celastrol may cause its effects such as anticancer activity by the mechanism of apoptosis along with topoisomerase II inhibition.