The in vitro antiradical activity of Schisandra chinensis lignans was investigated using DPPH, ABTS+, Fenton reaction inhibition and tyrosine-nitration inhibition assays, as were the in vivo antidiabetic activities of selected lignans in an animal model of alloxan-induced diabetes. Different degrees of antiradical activity were found, depending upon the structural parameters of the tested compo...

juniperus sabina l. is normally low shrub with procumbent or obliquely ascending branches, or rarely a small tree to about 4 m, monoecious or dioecious. juniperus sabina l. is a medicinal plant used in folk medicine as an abortive. its lignanes  have antineoplastic and antiviral activity, and also essential oil of juniperus sabina l. has shown antibacterial and antifungal activity. the aim of t...

Using dendroisotopic techniques, we show the recovery of Juniperus virginiana L. (eastern red cedar) trees in the Central Appalachian Mountains from decades of acidic pollution. Acid deposition over much of the 20th century reduced stomatal conductance of leaves, thereby increasing intrinsic water-use efficiency of the Juniperus trees. These data indicate that the stomata of Juniperus may be mo...

Ethnobotanical surveys indicated that in the traditional medicines worldwide, several Juniperus species are utilized as antihelmintic, diuretic, stimulant, antiseptic, carminative, stomachic, antirheumatic, antifungal, and for wound healing. In the present study, essential oils obtained from heartwood samples of Juniperus virginiana L., Juniperus occidentalis Hook. and Juniperus ashei J. Buchho...

Juniperus pollen is highly allergenic and is produced in large quantities across Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The pollen negatively affects human populations adjacent to the trees, and since it can be transported hundreds of kilometers by the wind, it also affects people who are far from the source. Predicting and tracking long-distance transport of pollen is difficult and complex. One para...

Drug resistance in cells is a major impedance to successful treatment of lung cancer. Taxus chinensis var. inhibits the growth of tumor cells and promotes the synthesis of interleukins 1 and 2 and tumor necrosis factor, enhancing immune function. In this study, T. chinensis var.-induced cell death was analyzed in lung cancer cells (H460) enriched for stem cell growth in a defined serum-free med...

Coptis chinensis Franch has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for treating infectious and inflammatory diseases for over two thousand years. Berberine (BN), an isoquinoline alkaloid, is the main component of Coptis chinensis. The pharmacological basis for its therapeutic effects, which include hepatoprotective effects on liver injuries, has been studied intensively, yet the therap...

Leymus chinensis (Trin.) is the dominant vegetation type in eastern Eurasian temperate grasslands but is decreasing due to the combined pressure of reduced precipitation and overgrazing. This study evaluated the separate and combined effects of precipitation and defoliation on net primary productivity (NPP) and composition of a L. chinensis steppe to promote the sustainable development of tempe...

Previous studies of transgenerational plasticity have demonstrated that long-term overgrazing experienced by Leymus chinensis, an ecologically dominant, rhizomatous grass species in eastern Eurasian temperate grassland, significantly affects its clonal growth in subsequent generations. However, there is a dearth of information on the reasons underlying this overgrazing-induced memory effect in ...

Two of the antigenic characters of erythrocytes, that in either identical or related forms differentiate four species of Streptopelia (chinensis, humilis, orientalis, and senegalensis) from a fifth (S. risoria) by interaction of the causative genes, are involved in the appearance in backcross hybrids of additional antigenic specificities to those of the parental species. The cells of backcross ...