General Features Mechanism of Action

Aegle marmelos Corr. (Bael), is a popular plant and cosmopolitan in distribution. A. marmelos is rich in medicinal properties. Since Vedic kala, Bilva was found in many single and compound formulations in Ayurvedic literatures. Every part of plant such as root, unripe fruit, stem, bark, leaves, flowers have therapeutic values. It is one of the important ingredients of Dashamoola. In this review, critical analysis of these single and compound formulations was carried out and details summarized here.

Food Chemistry, 2007

The effect of a bilberry extract (BE, 25% anthocyanins) against oxidative damage in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes, induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide and allyl alcohol, was investigated. BE displayed cytoprotective effects at 100 and 500 lg/ml in the MTT viability test. It protected the cells against lactate dehydrogenase leakage and lipoperoxidation products formation. Maximum protection (58%) was noted using 500 lg/ml of BE and intoxication by allyl alcohol. The observed cytoprotective effect is probably due to the antioxidant properties of its constituents, mainly anthocyanins. BE scavenged DPPH (IC 50 3.99 ± 0.14 lg/ml) and enzymatically generated superoxide radical with an activity equivalent to 108 ± 7.2 U of superoxide dismutase per mg of extract. Our results support the use of bilberry and bilberry extracts in functional foods and food supplements designed for the prevention of chronic diseases associated with oxidative stress.

2018

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2008

Endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU), a useful animal model of ocular inflammation, is induced by injection of lipopolysacharide (LPS). These experiments showed that the nitric oxide (NO) level significantly increased in the whole eye homogenate of BALB/C mice 24 h after footpad injection of LPS at a dosage of 100 mg/mouse. However, the elevated NO level was significantly reduced by oral administration of bilberry extract (containing 42.04% anthocyanins) at dosages of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg/day for 5 days before the LPS injection. In addition, bilberry extract decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) level and increased oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) level, glutathione (GSH) level, vitamin C level, and total superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities. Moreover, bilberry extract increased expression of copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), and GPx mRNA. Taken together, bilberry extract showed protective effects against EIU, whereas the effects of bilberry extract (100 and 200 mg/kg/day, 5 days) were dose-dependent. In conclusion, these results provide new evidence to elucidate the beneficial effects of bilberry extract on eye health.

Turkish Journal of Geriatrics-Turk Geriatri Dergisi, 2011

ÖZ Vitaminler, mineraller, amino asidler, bitkisel ve di¤er do¤al ürünleri içeren besinsel destek ürünlerin kullan›m› son 20 y›ldan daha fazla süreden beri artm›flt›r. Biz bu olguda warfarin tedavisi s›ras›nda fazla miktarda yaban merisini tüketen ve acil servise rektal kanama ve hematüri ile baflvuran hastay› sunmay› amaçlad›k. 6 y›ld›r hipertansiyon flikayeti olan bir sene önce inme geçiren ve atrial fibrilasyon tespit edilen hastaya warfarin bafllanm›flt›r. Warfarin tedavisinin 16. gününde hasta acil servise rektal kanama ve bafl dönmesi nedeniyle baflvurmufltur. Yap›lan koagülasyon testlerinde protrombin zaman› 110.5 sn, international normalised ratio (INR):15.0, aktive parsiyel tromboplastin zaman›n› (aPTT) 76.4 sn olarak tespit edildi. 2 Ünite taze donmufl plazma sonras›nda rektal kanama durdu. Bir gün sonra hasta yeniden acil servise hematüri ve bafl dönmesi flikayeti ile baflvurdu. Koagülasyon testlerinde INR 6.24, protrombin zaman› (PT) 55.7 sn olarak tespit edildi. Hastaya...

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2010

Our experiments showed that 18 h restraint stress could induce serious liver damage, with an increase in plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level (107.68 (3.19 U/L vs 18.08 (1.46 U/L). Meanwhile, we observed increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and lowered oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) values in plasma and liver of restraint mice compared with starved mice. Bilberry extract (containing 42.04% anthocyanins) was oral administrated to mice at 50, 100, and 200 mg/ (kg • day) for five days, which remarkably decreased plasma ALT level to 17.23 (2.49 U/L at the dose of 200 mg/(kg • day) and thus alleviated stress-induced liver damage. In addition, bilberry extracts increased glutathione (GSH) and vitamin C levels and significantly decreased MDA and nitric oxide (NO) levels in the liver tissues. These results suggest that bilberry extract plays an important role in protecting against restraint stress-induced liver damage by both scavenging free radicals activity and lipid peroxidation inhibitory effect. This study showed the beneficial health effects of bilberry extract through its antioxidative action.

Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources, 2019

Medicinal plants or herbs belonging to different traditional medicinal systems have been used as therapeutic agents for curing a number of diseases and infections. Hence, the application of such traditionally known medicinal plants and its phytoconstituents have increased considerably even in modern medicines. Bixa orellana L. — an Indian medicinal plant which belongs to the family Bixaceae is an Ayurvedic herb used since ancient times. This review aims to highlight the ethnopharmacology, pharmacological and cosmeceutical uses of B. orellana not only from scientific literature but also from patent documents. The prior art review of the phytoconstituents shows that B. orellana contains a wide variety of biologically active compounds such as bixin, norbixin, β-carotene, lutein, tocotrienol, tocopherols, sesquiterpenes, monoterpenes, etc. Pharmacological review revealed that this plant is useful as anti-inflammatory, anti-asthma, anti-bacterial, anti-diabetic, anti-convulsant, hepatopr...

Czech Journal of Food Sciences, 2016

Bilberry is a valuable wild forest fruit harvested in many countries in Europe. The biological activities of bilberry include antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, and anticholinesterase activities. This study examines the protective effects of a bilberry (BB) preparation on IEC-6, Caco-2, and HepG2 cell lines. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was used to study the cytotoxicity of BB. The genotoxicity was determined using single-cell microgel electrophoresis. The Ames test was employed to assay bilberry mutagenicity. No significant effects of BB (12.5–100 µg dry mass/ml) were observed on the viability of IEC-6, Caco-2, and HepG2 cells. There were no differences in the percentage of DNA in the comet tail between the cells treated with BB (100 µg dry mass/ml) and the control cells. However, a significant reduction of oxidative DNA damage in the HepG2 cells was found. BB exhibited neither mutagenic nor promutagenic effects. Our results...

European Journal of Nutrition, 2010

Purpose Bilberries are abundant in polyphenols. Dietary polyphenols have been associated with strategies for prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. We investigated the effect of bilberry juice on serum and plasma biomarkers of inflammation and antioxidant status in subjects with elevated levels of at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Bixa orenalla the sindoor plant or Lipstick Tree, belonging to Bixaceae family has phytochemical and pharmacological use. Being native to the tropical American area, various parts of the plant has a variety of constituents. The bixin and other alkaloids present are being used for different medicinal and cosmeceutical uses also. Pharmacological activity proved as studied in in-vitro and in-vivo models reports antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, diuretic, hyperglycemic, antidysentric, laxative, as an antidote in snake bite and focusing on treatment and prevention of cancer. It is found safe and effective in various studies performed. Even it is worth noting that most of the works developed with the plant have been produced in tropical America. Special attention should be given by asian scientists to commercialize these historical plant. The published literatures provide information on the origin, chemistry, extraction methods, formulations and toxicological aspects in a quite scattered way. The present review compiles information in the literature that reveals the recent findings on its potential ethanobotanical applications with its Pharmacological and safety aspects.