Use of asiatic pennywort Centella asiatica aqueous extract as a bath treatment to control columnaris in Nile tilapia

J Aquat Anim Health. 2010 Mar;22(1):14-20.

Rattanachaikunsopon P, Phumkhachorn P.

Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Ubon Ratchathani
University, Warin Chamrap, Ubon Ratchathani 34190, Thailand.
rattanachaikunsopon@yahoo.com

To develop antibiotic-free and chemical-free aquaculture, it is
necessary to have natural substances to control diseases of aquatic
animals. The aim of this study was to find an herb having therapeutic
effect against columnaris, a fish disease caused by the bacterium
Flavobacterium columnare. Of all tested herbs (including kalmegh
Andrographis paniculata, candle bush Cassia alata, Asiatic pennywort
Centella asiatica, mangosteen Garcinia mangostana, pomegranate Punica
granatum, and guava Psidium guajava), the aqueous extract of Asiatic
pennywort exhibited the strongest antimicrobial activity against F.
columnare; the minimal inhibitory concentration was 31.25 lg/mL. It
was also found to have a bactericidal effect on F. columnare. When
experimental bath exposures of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus to
F. columnare were performed, the median lethal dose was determined to
be 2.37 x 10(5) colony forming units/mL. For in vivo trials, six
different concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 mg/L) of Asiatic
pennywort aqueous extract were used as bath treatments to control
experimentally induced columnaris in Nile tilapia. The decrease in
fish mortality was dose dependent, and at a concentration of 100 mg/L
no mortality or adverse effects were noted in the infected fish. This
study suggests that Asiatic pennywort aqueous extract has the
potential to control disease caused by F. columnare.

PMID: 20575361 [PubMed - in process]

Biosynthesis of andrographolide in Andrographis paniculata

Phytochemistry. 2010 Jun 15. [Epub ahead of print]

Srivastava N, Akhila A.

Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow 226 015, India.

Andrographolide, a diterpene lactone, is isolated from Andrographis
paniculata which is well known for its medicinal properties. The
biosynthetic route to andrographolide was studied using
[1-(13)C]acetate, [2-(13)C]acetate and [1,6-(13)C(2)]glucose. The peak
enrichment of eight carbon atoms in the (13)C NMR spectra of
andrographolide suggested that deoxyxylulose pathway (DXP) is the
major biosynthetic pathway to this diterpene. The contribution of the
mevalonic acid pathway (MVA) is indicated by the observed
(13)C-labeling pattern, and because the labeling patterns indicate a
simultaneous contribution of both methyl erythritol phosphate (MEP)
and MVA pathways it can be deduced that cross-talk occurs between
plastids and cytoplasm. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights
reserved.

PMID: 20557910 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Effect of a novel antiinflammatory polyherbal preparation (Sudarshanam oil) on hematological parameters in Wistar rats

Acta Pol Pharm. 2010 May-Jun;67(3):277-81.

Patel CD, Modi VD, Chakraborty BS, Mathuria N, Dadhaniya P, Borade PA,
Morankar P.

The present investigation was an attempt to evaluate the
anti-inflammatory effect of a polyherbal preparation (Sudarshanam Oil)
on hematological parameters in Wistar rats. This polyherbal formula
contains main ingredients of Tinaspora Cordifolia, Curcuma longa,
Terminalia chebula, Emblica officinalis, Andrographis paniculata and
Terminalia belerica. The active phytochemicals such as tannins,
glycosides, flavonoids and triterpenoids are extracted from these
herbal plants. And extract was prepared in corn oil. Young adult
Wistar rats of either sex were divided into 4 groups and each group
having 6 males and 6 females were dosed for 28 days. First group was
the control group which was dosed with corn oil as vehicle (15 mL/kg
body weight). Groups II, III and IV were treated with different doses
of Sudarshanam oil, viz. as 5 mL/kg, 10 mL/kg and 15 mL/kg body weight
respectively. On 29th day, after overnight fasting, the blood samples
were collected through cardiac puncture under CO2 anaesthesia. The
blood samples were collected and transferred into prelabelled
vaccutainer coated with EDTA for hematological parameters
investigation by using Advia-120 hematology analyser. The results
revealed that no treatment related adverse effects in any of the
hematological parameters. Thus, Sudarshanam oil proves to be highly
potent, novel anti-inflammatory preparation which can be a challenge
against allopathic anti-inflammatory drug.

PMID: 20524430 [PubMed - in process]

Induction of Heme Oxygenase 1 and Inhibition of Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha-Induced Intercellular Adhesion Molecule Expression by Andrographolide in EA.hy926 Cells

J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Jun 10. [Epub ahead of print]

Yu AL, Lu CY, Wang TS, Tsai CW, Liu KL, Cheng YP, Chang HC, Lii CK, Chen HW.

Department of Nutrition, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Andrographolide is the most abundant diterpene lactone in Andrographis
paniculata, which is widely used as a traditional medicine in
Southeast Asia. Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) is an antioxidant enzyme
encoded by a stress-responsive gene. HO-1 has been reported to inhibit
the expression of adhesion molecules in vascular endothelial cells
(EC). Intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) is an inflammatory
biomarker that is involved in the adhesion of monocytes to EC. In this
study, we investigated the effect of andrographolide on the expression
of ICAM-1 induced by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in
EA.hy926 cells and the possible mechanisms involved. Andrographolide
(2.5-7.5 muM) inhibited the TNF-alpha-induced expression of ICAM-1 in
a dose-dependent manner and resulted in a decrease in HL-60 cell
adhesion to EA.hy926 cells (p < 0.05). In parallel, andrographolide
significantly induced the expression of HO-1 in a
concentration-dependent fashion (p < 0.05). Andrographolide increased
the rate of nuclear translocation of nuclear factor erythroid
2-related 2 (Nrf2) and induced antioxidant response element-luciferase
reporter activity. Transfection with HO-1-specific small interfering
RNA knocked down HO-1 expression, and the inhibition of expression of
ICAM-1 by andrographolide was significantly reversed. These results
suggest that stimulation of Nrf2-dependent HO-1 expression is involved
in the suppression of TNF-alpha-induced ICAM-1 expression exerted by
andrographolide.

PMID: 20536138 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Andrographolide Exhibits Anti-Invasive Activity against Colon Cancer Cells via Inhibition of MMP2 Activity

Planta Med. 2010 Jun 10. [Epub ahead of print]

Chao HP, Kuo CD, Chiu JH, Fu SL.

Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University,
Taipei, Taiwan.

Andrographolide, a major constituent of ANDROGRAPHIS PANICULATA, was
previously shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and
anticancer activities. The anticancer activity of andrographolide
includes growth suppression, apoptosis promotion, antiangiogenesis,
and antitransformation. However, the effect of andrographolide on
cancer metastasis, the most malignant feature of cancer, has not been
elucidated extensively. In the present study, we demonstrated that
andrographolide at nontoxic to subtoxic concentrations (0.3-3 microM)
suppressed the invasion ability of CT26 cells in Matrigel-based
invasion assays. In addition, the expression of cell adhesion
regulators ( beta-catenin and ILK) was not altered by andrographolide
treatment. However, andrographolide indeed inhibited matrix
metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) activity without affecting its expression.
Furthermore, the activation of ERK, but not Akt, was attenuated by
andrographolide treatment. Notably, a similar inhibitory effect of
andrographolide on the invasion and MMP2 activity of the human colon
cancer cell line HT29 was also observed. In summary, our results
indicate that andrographolide exhibits anti-invasive activity against
colon cancer cells via inhibition of MMP2 activity. © Georg Thieme
Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

PMID: 20539971 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Anticancer activity of andrographolide semisynthetic derivatives

Nat Prod Commun. 2010 May;5(5):717-20.

Menon V, Bhat S.

Laboratory for Advanced Research in Natural and Synthetic Chemistry,
V. G. Vaze College, Mumbai University, Mithagar road, Mulund (East),
Mumbai 400 081, India.

Andrographolide 1, a diterpene lactone of Andrographis paniculata,
displays in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity against breast cancer
models and mouse myeloid leukemia (M1) cells. In the present study, we
report the semi-synthesis of andrographolide derivatives and their in
vitro activity against A549 (ATCC) (NSCL cancer) cell line. Amongst
the derivatives tested, compounds 3-5 displayed maximum activity, with
IC50 values of 22-31 microg/mL.

PMID: 20521534 [PubMed - in process]