Artemisia

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by rise in blood glucose level called "hyperglycaemia". The main long term vascular complications are coronary artery disease, stroke, renal failure etc. The measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin (GHb) is one of the well established means of monitoring glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus. Hemoglobin (Hb) is composed of four globin chains. Adult hemoglobin (HbA) is the most abundant form in most adults and consists of two α and two β chains. Fetal hemoglobin (HbF), which is predominantly present at birth, consists of two α and two γ chains. Glycosylation is a non- enzymatic reaction between free aldehyde group of glucose and free amino groups of proteins. The biosynthesis of glycosylated hemoglobins (HbA1a, HbA1b, and HbA1c) occurs slowly, continuously and almost irreversibly throughout the four month life span of erythrocytes and the process is non-enzymatic. Recent reports have shown that the...

Ten field experiments were conducted at Viswavidyalaya farm during 2004–14 in system intensification methodology on SRI rice (Oryza sativa), groundnut (Arachis hypogea), soybean (Glycine max), rapeseed (Brassica campestris), sesame (Sesamum indicum), greengram (Vigna mungo) and blackgram (Vigna aureus) crops grown in inceptisols following annual planning of weed management to find out the efficacy of botanical extracts. In all experiments varied treatments 5–12 numbers were used in RBD with 3–5 replications in plot size 3–4 x 5 m. The botanical extracts (BE) of different plants with 0.25% Tween 80 surfactants were used at 5, 10 and 100% at pre-emergence (PE) in moist soil along with two mechanical weeding (MW) at 20 and 40 DAP. Weedy check (WC), hand weeding (HW) at 20 and MW at 40 days after planting (DAP), pre-emergence (PE) herbicides at 1–2 DAP pretilachlor at 500 g/ha, alachlor at 1500 g/ha or pendimethalin at 750 g/ha + MW at 30 DAP and post-emergence (POE) herbicides quizalof...

For most of the African countries agriculture still remains the mainstay of the economies supplying both food and incomes via marketable surpluses. However, many odds against agriculture such low productivity, poor prices, and drought among others make it unsustainable. Results thus far show that such dependence has contributed little to neither economic development nor growth. Still many of its people living on and from agriculture remain poor, and are susceptible to hunger and malnutrition. Additionally, their over reliance on a few traditional exports such coffee, tea, and cocoa etc., products whose world prices keep declining has not helped either. At most this is futile response to raising incomes of its people, let alone spur any meaningful development. Agricultural may still contribute to development, if the countries could diversify from traditional products to the untapped areas. The continent's rich botanical heritage offers an excellent opportunity to diversify away f...

Artemisia annua L. (Asteraceae) is an aromatic annual herb, up to 2 m in height, found in temperate Asia, especially China and naturalized in many countries of the world. The plant is prescribed against fever, malaria, skin diseases, jaundice, malignant ulcers and haemorrhoids. Phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of A. annua led to the isolation of alkyl alcohols, fatty acid esters, alkyl glucoside and fatty acids characterized as n-nonadecan-2-ol (1), n-heptadecanyl n-octadec-9,12-dienoate (2), n-octacosanyl alcohol (3), n-nonacosanyl n-octadec-9,12-dienoate (4), n-cos-(Z)-10-enoic.acid (5), nheptadecanyl- β-D-glucopyranoside (6), n-docosan-9β-ol (7), n-cos-(Z)-9-enoic acid (8) and n-octadecanyl, n-octadec-9,12,-dienoate (9). The structures of all phytoconstituents, isolated for the first time from A. annua, have been elucidated on the basis of spectral data analysis and chemical reactions.

SummaryBackground Ragweed and mugwort have nearly identical flowering periods. Clinical and serological studies showed that ragweed and mugwort sensitization are often associated and this poses relevant clinical problems in patients for whom specific immunotherapy is warranted.Objective To establish whether the concurrent ragweed and mugwort pollen hypersensitivity is the result of co‐sensitization or of co‐recognition by using purified recombinant allergens.Methods Sensitization to ragweed and mugwort pollen was assessed by skin prick test (SPT) in all patients reporting allergic symptoms in August and September. IgE reactivity of sera from 42 patients (26 Amb+/Art+, 14 Amb+/Art−, and two Amb−/Art+) to ragweed and mugwort pollen extract as well as to several recombinant ragweed (rAmb a 1, rAmb a 5, rAmb a 6, rAmb a 8, rAmb a 9, and Amb a 10) and mugwort (rArt v 1, rArt v 4, rArt v 5, rArt v 6, and three EF‐hand calcium‐binding protein) allergens was detected by dot‐blot and ELISA a...

Traditional remedies have been used for thousand years for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, particularly in developing countries. Of growing interest, the plant Artemisia annua, known for its malarial properties, has been studied for its numerous biological activities including metabolic, anti-tumor, anti-microbial and immunomodulatory properties. Artemisia annua is very rich in secondary metabolites such as monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and phenolic compounds, of which the biological properties have been extensively studied. The purpose of this review is to gather and describe the data concerning the main chemical components produced by Artemisia annua and to describe the state of the art about the biological activities reported for this plant and its compounds beyond malaria.

This review aimed to identify, shed light on, from a chemical and medicinal perspective and identify
its secondary metabolites, tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus), a culinary herb used as a food supplement
and in many dishes, and also medicinally. Essential oils, coumarins, flavonoids, phenolic carbonic acids,
and various mineral and vitamin combinations are among its physiologically active secondary
metabolites. It is known to possess antimicrobial activity against a wide range of bacterial species,
including Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus subtilis, and Escherichia coli (RSHI, ATCC 25922). It has
bactericidal activity against Helicobacter pylori and treats digestive problems, poor appetite, water
retention, and toothache. Its therapeutic digestive actions include appetite stimulation, spasm relief, and
laxative properties. It also has diuretic and choleretic properties. It is used as an antioxidant due to its
chemical content that protects cells from free radicals.

The potential of crude extracts of Artemisia judaica L. were evaluated for toxic and repellent effect against adult females and immature stage of Eutetranychus orientalis (Klein), in the laboratory. Ethanolic leaf extraction was more effective as toxic and repellent effect against adult females and immature stage of Eutetranychus orientalis (Klein), followed by acetone, petroleum ether and aqueous extraction (P < 0.05). The results indicated that adults are more susceptible to the leaf extracts than immature.

The paper refers to the estimation of Poaceae pollen seasons in Poland in selected areas. The aim of the study was to present the long-term variability of the start, end and duration of grass pollen seasons and the seasonal pollen index (SPI) in Poland against a background of the meteorological conditions over pollen seasons. The study was performed in eight Polish cities in 1992–2014 (the common seasons were 2003–2012). Pollen season start was relatively stable in the studied period, the seasons began about the 10th of May, a bit earlier in the south part of Poland. Pollen season ends were more changeable in comparison to the season start and fluctuated from the middle of July to the middle of September. SPI clearly depended on temperature and precipitation in April–August. Daily maximum pollen concentrations were achieved between the end of May and the first decade of July and no evident relationship between this day and weather conditions was found, apart from 2004.

The focus of this roadmap is to evaluate the possible efficacy of Artemisia herba-alba Asso. (Asteraceae) for the treatment of COVID-19 and some of its symptoms and several comorbidities using a combination of in silico (molecular docking) studies, reported ethnic uses, and pharmacological activity studies of this plant. In this exploratory study, we show that various phytochemicals from Artemisia herba-alba can be useful against COVID-19 (in silico studies) and for its associated comorbidities. COVID-19 is a new disease, so reports of any therapeutic treatments against it (traditional or conventional) are scanty. On the other hand, we demonstrate, using Artemisia herba-alba as an example, that through a proper search and identification of medicinal plant(s) and their phytochemicals identification using secondary data (published reports) on the plant’s ethnic uses, phytochemical constituents, and pharmacological activities against COVID-19 comorbidities and symptoms coupled with the...

Bispyribac-sodium [sodium 2,6-bis(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yloxy)benzoate] is a selective herbicide of the group of pyrimidinebenzoates, employed in commercial formulation for the post-emergent control of weeds in the culture of irrigated rice in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. The herbicide is highly toxic and hazardous for the environment, with security interval of 118 days (ANVISA, 2011). It is highly mobile, diffusing easily in the soil, resulting in possible contamination of groundwater and surface water in surrounding areas. Application of this herbicide in flooded rice crops can result in its accumulation in the soil and sediments, from where it can reach irrigation water supplies (BRASIL, 2011). The bispyribac-sodium herbicide is relatively flexible with regards to utilized dosage and application timing. With increasing dosages, control over weeds in more advanced stages of development is achieved. This characteristic has stimulated some producers to abuse the d...

Reliable chronologies in ice cores and snow pits from many alpine glaciers in latitudes between 60° N and 60° S are often difficult to establish owing to problems with annual-layer counting. Problems arise from melting, wind erosion and the negligible amount of precipitation in some seasons, all of which tend to obscure the seasonal variations in δ18O and chemical concentrations that are typically used to date ice cores. However, alpine glaciers contain many species of pollen grains that peak at particular times of the year. We used the peaks in Betulaceae, Pinus, Artemisia and a combination of Abies and Picea pollen species to determine the four seasonal layers of a snow pit on Belukha glacier in Russia’s Altai Mountains. Comparing the pollen-dated profiles with wind and precipitation records allows us to determine where a seasonal layer is missing. Thus, the pollen-dating method described here may be a useful tool to measure the annual snow deposition on alpine glaciers, even when...

This study deals with the potential antimicrobial activity of Artemisia absinthium L. (from Saudi Arabia) and A. herba-alba Asso. (from Egypt) extracts by using variety of solvents. The pathogenic microorganisms; Candida albicans, Cronobacter sakazakii, Enterococcus faecalis and Salmonella enterica, were manipulated. The MICs recorded different affinities for each solvent. The MBC and MFC were also determined. The chemical compositions of two plant species were determined by GC-MS analysis. A comparative study was conducted among Artemisia sp. belonging to the Middle East region. They are A. absinthium, A. abyssinica, A. annua, A. herba-alba, A. judaica, A. monosperma, A. scoparia, A. sieberi and A. vulgaris. The binary matrix included the chemical components of Artemisia sp. The phenogram and similarity matrix cleared the recent chemotaxonomic position of this genus in the Middle East. MIC values of both plant species were analyzed using the ANOVA test. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated in the form of SLR curves. The two studied plant species were recommended as alternative natural antimicrobial inhibitor agents.

Cestodes or true tapeworms are important group of the Platyhelminthes, endoparasitic in the alimentary tract and associated ducts of various vertebrates and therefore, of great interest to the medical and veterinary profession. Moniezia expansa, the tapeworm under study is the common parasite of oldest domesticated animal sheep. It inhabits the small intestine especially the lower portion and absorb the nutrition of host from the intestine and deprive it of many important nutrients and thus deteriorates the quality of meat, wool, skin of host which leads to ecomical losses as well. Phosphatases are enzymes hydrolysing esters of phosphoric acid and play an important role in many metabolic processes. The histochemical localization of acid and alkaline phosphatase has been studied in Moniezia expansa as an effort to study some of its biological aspects which would help in its control and chemotherapy. Acid phosphatase was found to be localized in tegument, subtegumental cells, parenchymal muscles, interproglottidal gland tegument, Mehlis glands, testes, uterine wall and eggs and was not observed in parenchyma, interproglottidal gland cells, excretory vessels, ovaries and vitellaria. Alkaline phosphatase activity was observed in tegument, subtegumental cells, parenchymal muscles, parenchyma, interproglottidal glands, excretory vessels, membranes enclosing ovaries, vitellaria, Mehlis gland, testes, uterine wall and eggs. The presence of acid phosphatase in testes, mehlis' glands, uterine wall and eggs as well as alkaline phosphatase in eggs in Moniezia expansa has been reported for the first time. Both the acid and alkanine phosphatases showed the variations in their activity in the tegument along the strobila with highest in mature region. This gives the idea of high metabolic activity in the mature region of the cestode. These phosphatases play important role in metabolism of the parasite and seems to be involved in transportation, digestion, distribution of nutrients and metabolites and absorption of metabolic end products.