Herbal Cure: Pudina relieves stomach-ache Take mint to keep stomach healthy

2010
By Syed Akbar
Pudina (mint) leaves are not only refreshingly aromatic, but also protect us from digestive problems including stomach-ache. This common herb, a must in many kitchens in all countries, has found its way in several traditional systems of medicine including Ayurveda and Unani. Pudina tea is popular in many cultures and societies.
Apart from its several medicinal properties, Pudina is capable of killing house pests like cockroaches, ants and mosquitoes. In agriculture, Pudina is grown along with other major crops as it drives away harmful
insects from fields, while attracting those beneficial to farmers in the form of pollination.
Pudina has a little over two dozen species. The peppermint species is quite popular in Indian kitchens. It is a good breath freshener and antiseptic natural mouth rinser.
Apart from stomach-ache, Pudina gives relief from chest pain, decongests nose in case of common cold and whitens teeth. Pudina also prevents pus formation in wounds and thus helps in fast healing. It is a
natural diuretic (promotes urine formation and removes excess water from body).
Mint contains several trace elements and vitamins good for health. They include chromium, magnesium, manganese, copper and sulphur and carotene, vitamin C, folic acid and vitamins B1, B2 and B3.

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Quick remedies
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For quick relief from morning sickness take freshly prepared pudina juice mixed with lemon, ginger and honey.
For those suffering from acidic stomach, pudina juice is the best natural remedy.
To remove facial blemishes left behind by purulent pimples, gently massage mint oil on the affected area.

Inclusion of garlic in daily dietary intake will prevent cataract

By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad: Inclusion of garlic in daily dietary intake will prevent cataract, particularly the one related to diabetes.
A joint study by the department of zoology of Osmania University and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology revealed that garlic had properties that would prevent the onset of cataract. The effect of garlic on cataract was more pronounced in the case of diabetics.
Thus far there's no potent therapeutic agent that could prevent or control the lens from opacification. Metabolic intervention through natural dietary ingredients like garlic will help in better management of the problem.

T Naga Raju and V Rajani Kanth of Osmania University and K Lavanya of CCMB carried out the research on rats.
"The ability of methanolic garlic extract in scavenging the transition metal ion-generated hydrogen peroxide reflected its antioxidant activity and indicated that it can prevent protein modifications mediated through metal-catalysed reactions in cataractous lenses," they said.
Garlic administration was found to normalise the glucose levels in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting its hypoglycemic (lower sugar levels) potential. The glycemic-mediated oxidative damage was countered by the garlic extract by delaying the progression of cataract.
Glycemic-induced stress is a major culprit contributing to oxidative insult that has far-reaching effects in diabetic cataract world-wide. And garlic being an antioxidant, it checks the growth of cataract.

Take cloves to beat stress, keep away heart attacks

2009
By Syed Akbar
We all know that laung or clove is good for teeth. Clove oil helps in fighting tooth decay and gives relief from toothache. But now Indian scientists have come out with a study that tells us that clove (Eugenia caryophyllus) is the best stress buster and keeps away heart problems. Stress is emerging as the major killer in the world and clove is the simplest remedy to the problem. Since stress and heart ailments are related, by taking cloves regularly one will not only beat the stress but also fights heart attacks.

Clove contains a special substance called hydro alcohol and this substance is known to give relief from stress. The scientific team studied the anti-stress effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of clove by evaluating it on cold restraint induced gastric ulcers, sound stress induced biochemical changes and anoxic stress induced convulsions.

As part of the research project the extract from the clove was given orally twice daily to mice. The first dose was of 100 mg/kg while the second dose was of 200 mg/kg. The team used zeetress, a known anti-stress formulation as the standard drug.

The scientific team comprised Anand Kumar Singh, Sunil S Dhamanigi and Mohammed Asad of Krupanidhi College of Pharmacy, Bengaluru. The researchers found that both the doses of clove extract showed good anti-stress effect in all the tested models. The clove extract reduced the development of cold restraint induced gastric ulcers and prevented the biochemical changes induced by sound stress such as increase in plasma levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, glucose, cholesterol and corticosterone.

"Stress is a common phenomenon that is experienced by every individual. When stress becomes extreme, it is harmful for the body and, hence, needs to be treated. Stress is involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases that includes psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety, immunosuppression, endocrine disorders including diabetes mellitus, male impotence, cognitive dysfunction, peptic ulcer, hypertension and ulcerative colitis," the study pointed out saying that clove, is one of the natural stress busters.

For the purpose of the study, the team selected albino Wistar rats weighing between 175 and 250 gm and Swiss albino mice weighing 25 to 40 gm. The experiment continued for 14 days. Stress was induced in the mice through chemicals and later clove extract was administered to them.

The team showed that hydro-alcoholic extract of clove possesses significant anti-stress activity. "The effect of clove may be due to its effect on the central nervous system or endocrines and it may also be due to its antioxidant effect as anti-oxidants are known to prevent stress induced damage due to generation of
free radicals," the study said.

The clove gets its medicinal properties mainly because of the presence of volatile oils like eugenol. The team however noted that the exact mechanism by which clove produces its anti-stress activity cannot be explained with the data collected during the study. "We speculated that the antioxidant effect of the clove buds might contribute at least in part to its anti-stress activity," the scientists said.

So, the next time you come across spicy food, do not complain. Ensure that the "spicy food" has a good number of cloves too. This will bust your stress, whether it is work-related or due to domestic problems.

Suffering from diabetes? Eat fruits and vegetables

August 25, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Contrary to common belief that fruits will enhance the blood sugar levels and aggravate the health problems associated with diabetes, a team of scientists from the United Kingdom has found that a greater intake of fruits and vegetables will in fact decrease the risk of diabetes.
The UK research study showed that a higher plasma vitamin C level, and to a lesser extent fruit and vegetable intake, were associated with a decreased risk of Type 2 diabetes that commonly affect the adults. People suffering from Type 2 diabetes need not take insulin injections as against those suffering from Type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes. Fruits and vegetables seem to work wonders in the case of "sugar" patients with Type 2 diabetes.
The results of the study gain significance from the fact that it was one of the long drawn research studies spanning about 12 years. More than 20,000 people, both men and women, were studied as part of the research.
The scientists established a strong, inverse relationship between plasma vitamin C level and the risk of developing diabetes. "The potential risk of developing diabetes was 62 per cent lower for those in the top quintile of plasma vitamin C, compared with those in the bottom quintile. A similar association was shown between plasma vitamin C and diabetes in participants who had a haemoglobin A1c (higher sugar) level of less than 7 per cent.
A weaker inverse association was found between the intake of fruit and vegetables and the risk of diabetes," the study pointed out.
Since fruits and vegetables are the main sources of vitamin C, the study suggests that eating even a small quantity of fruits and vegetables may be beneficial and that the protection against diabetes increases progressively with the quantity of fruit and vegetables consumed.
In another study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Georgia, the oldest state-chartered university in the USA, some of the most commonly used dried herbs and spices may help block the inflammation believed to drive diabetes and other chronic diseases.
The Georgia researchers tested extracts from 24 common herbs and spices and found that many contained high levels of inflammation-inhibiting antioxidant compounds known as polyphenols. "Liberal use of cinnamon will have a great impact on your health", says researcher James L Hargrove.
Ground clove and cinnamon have more potential to positively affect health,
he adds.
In yet another study a team from the University of Warwick found that eating broccoli could reverse the damage caused by diabetes to heart blood vessels.
Broccoli contains a chemical called sulforaphane which works wonders with the circulatory system. People with diabetes are up to five times more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. Both are linked to damaged blood vessels.
Sulforaphane recorded a 73 per cent reduction of molecules in the body called Reactive Oxygen Species. Hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar levels) can cause levels of ROS to increase three-fold and such high levels can damage human cells.

Tamarind good after fever, helps fight paracetamol poisoning

March 22, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, March 21: Just recovering from a bout of fever? Eat preparations containing tamarind like pulihora and you will be cleansing your body of the poisonous paracetamol traces that had accumulated in your body during medication.
According to a study conducted by the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, tamarind has properties that will remove the ill-effects of large doses of paracetamol, the medicine that is commonly prescribed for fevers.
Tamarind contains anti-bacterial, anti-diabetic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-malarial and antioxidant properties. Since large doses of paracetamol cause acute dose-dependent necrosis (death of living cells) in both animals and human beings, the antioxidants present in tamarind inhibit the dangerous oxidative changes involved in paracetamol-induced toxicity, says Dr MJ Patil, who led the research
study.
As part of the study, the IPSR team used male Wistar rats weighing between 150 and 200 grams and divided them into control and paracetamol-treated groups. Paracetamol caused acute liver damage in rats fed with large doses. The trend reversed after they were fed with tamarind extracts.
The hepatotoxicity (liver poisoning) caused by paracetamol has been attributed to the formation a highly reactive chemical formed in the process of its breaking down by the liver. The results showed that tamarind extracts (from fruit, seed as well as leaves) caused significant decrease in liver toxicity. It also reduced the bilirubin (a digestive enzyme secreted by liver) level and increased the secretary mechanism of
liver cells.
"It has been established that since barbiturates (medicines that act on brain) are metabolised exclusively in the liver, the sleeping time after a given dose is a measure of liver functioning. If there is any pre-existing liver damage, in this case paracetamol-induced toxicity, the sleeping time after a given dose of paracetamol will be prolonged because the amount of hypnotic broken down per unit time will be less.
The ability of tamarind extracts to reduce the prolongation of sleeping time in rats is suggestive of the liver protection potential of these extracts," he said.
The study of the liver cells of the rats revealed that the necrosis was reduced to a few inflammatory cells in the animals treated with tamarind. Inflammation of portal veins was also reduced.

Infertility treatment: Aloe vera can increase semen count

February 20, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Feb 19: Aloe vera, the thorny succulent herb quite popular among beauticians, contains natural medicinal properties that enhance the fertility status of an individual and protect men from radiation-induced reproductive problems.
Health experts attending the 18th annual scientific meet on recent trends in reproductive health research, here point out that Aloe vera acts as a good radio protector and inhibits the testicular damage against gamma radiation.
According to Prashasnika Gehlot and PK Goyal of Radiation and Centre Biology Laboratory of Department of Zoology, University of Rajasthan, Aloe vera extract initiated, in laboratory animals, an early recovery from radiation-induced damage to restore normal architecture of testes.
The finding gains significance as radiation has become part of every day life and applications of ionising radiation in difficult areas are constantly increasing including the use for medicinal and industrial purposes.
"Testis is one of the radio-sensitive organs because of cell renewal system. Ionising radiation was found to produce marked effects on testes in terms of lethality and impaired spermatogenesis," they said adding that extract from the leaves of Aloe vera will improve the sperm count and rectify the damage caused to the tissue.
Aloe vera plant has traditionally been used around the world, particularly in India, as a folk remedy for treating inflammation, wounds, hepatitis and gastric ulcers. This is for the first time that Aloe vera's properties have been found to extend beyond beauty parlours and folk medicine.
The Jaipur scientists selected three groups of Swiss albino mice for their study. One group was treated with Aloe vera extract for 15 days. The second group was exposed to radiation and the third group was exposed to radiation and treated with Aloe vera extract.
The treatment of Aloe vera leaf inhibited lipid peroxidation elevation and significantly increased hormonal level as compared to control group. Besides, spermatogenic counts in Aloe vera treated group were found to be significantly higher than the irradiated control animals.
Moreover, Aloe vera extract initiated early recovery from radiation-induced damage to restore normal architecture of testes.

Turmeric prevents cataract in diabetics

January 1, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Dec 31: Turmeric, a common kitchen ingredient, has been known for its anti-septic properties, and city nutritionists now find out that it also has the natural chemicals that are capable of preventing cataract in people suffering from diabetes.
"It is for the first time we report that turmeric, at the levels that are close to
average daily intake, can be effective in preventing diabetic cataract. One of
the important observations of this study is that both turmeric and its chemical
constituent, curcumin, delay the progression and maturation of cataract, despite elevated levels of glucose. These results thus provide a clue, for the first time, that turmeric or curcumin may act downstream to glucose-mediated changes," says a study by nutrition scientists of the National Institute of Nutrition.
Diabetes and cataract are inter-linked and cataract is more pronounced in people suffering from the disease. At present, the only treatment for cataract is surgery. It has been estimated that a delay in cataract onset by 10 years could reduce the need for cataract surgery by as much as half. The pronounced effect of turmeric may be due to other ingredients besides curcumin. The NIN study gains significance as any strategy that prevents or slows the progression of cataract has a significant health impact.
The joint study by P Suryanarayana, M Saraswat, T Mrudula and others involved feeding Wistar rats a diet including curcumin and turmeric. The turmeric and curcumin rich diet delayed the progression of diabetic cataract in rats. "Although, multiple mechanisms may contribute to these effects, the antioxidant effect of curcumin and turmeric appears to be the predominant mechanism of action," they said.
The NIN scientists selected Wistar rats and diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (a substances that damages insulin producing cells). They monitored the cataract progression due to hyperglycemia (high levels of sugar in blood). At the end of eight weeks, the animals were killed and the crystalline profile in the lens was investigated.
"Although, both curcumin and turmeric did not prevent streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia, as assessed by blood glucose and insulin levels, slit lamp microscope observations indicated that these supplements delayed the progression and maturation of cataract," they added.
The results indicated that turmeric and curcumin are effective against the development of diabetic cataract in rats. Further, these results imply that ingredients in the study’s dietary sources, such as turmeric, may be explored
for anticataractogenic (that works against cataract formation) agents that prevent or delay the development of cataract.