Background: Evidences show that Aloe vera (A. vera), Camellia sinensis, Hibiscus sabdariffa and Sophora alopecuroides may prevent gastric ulcer induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Objective: To examine the protective potential of these plants against indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in the rat. Methods: Saline, A. vera leaf gel powder and 70% alcoholic extracts of...

To find new antipruritic herbal medicines for pruritus, we screened the methanol extracts of seven herbal medicines which have been used to treat dermatologic diseases, testing them on mouse models of acute and chronic itch. When administrated perorally (p.o.) at a dose of 200 mg/kg, methanol extracts of Sophora flavescens and Cnidium monnieri, but not the others, significantly inhibited a sero...

The perennial grass Pennisetum alopecuroides was degraded using a conventional heating method with sulfuric acid. The effects of temperature (150 to 200 °C), reaction time (30 to 210 min), acid concentration (2% to 10%), and solid-liquid ratio (1:10 to 1:4) were optimized for P. alopecuroides hydrolysis. The production of levulinic acid was strongly affected by variations in these parameters. T...

Sophora comprises 45-50 species of worldwide distribution, but no general proposal as to the evolution of this group has been put forth. We used cladistic relationships of the quinolizidine alkaloids (matrine, sparteine, methylcytisine, anagyrine, and sophoranol) with morphological and palynological characters to suggest a hypothesis of evolutionary and biogeographic relationships. The mainland...