Due to the enormous variety of phytochemicals present in plants, their extracts have been used for centuries in the treatment of innumerable diseases, being perceived as an invaluable source of medicines for humans. Furthermore, the combination of different plants was reported as inducing an improved effect (synergism) in comparison with the additive activity of the plants present in those mixt...

Hydrangeae Dulcis Folium, the fermented and dried leaves of Hydrangea macrophylla SER. var. thunbergii MAKINO, suppressed D-galactosamine-induced liver injury by 85.2% when added to the diet at 1% and fed to rats for fifteen days. The hepatoprotective effect is more potent than that of a milk thistle extract and turmeric powder. Some fractionated extracts showed hepatoprotective activity in the...

Invasive species have the potential to alter trade-offs leading to selection in the populations they invade. Here we quantify the demographic and selective effects of herbivory by native insects and the introduced floral feeder Rhinocyllus conicus on Platte thistle (Cirsium canescens), a sparse monocarpic thistle endemic to North America. Rhinocyllus first invaded the Platte thistle population ...

Silybin is a secondary metabolite isolated from the seeds of blessed milk thistle (Silybum marianum) that has anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antifibrotic, and antitumor properties. Here, we showed that silybin protected against cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) by improving mitochondrial function through the regulation of sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) expression. Male SV129 and SIRT3 knockout ...

Treating male albino rats with the pyrethroid insecticide, deltamethrin induced various histological changes in the liver. These changes included congestion of blood vessels, leucocytic infiltration, cytoplasmic vacuolization of the hepatocytes and fatty infiltration. Deltamethrin also caused significant elevation in serum ALT and AST enzymes after 2 and 3 weeks of treatment. . Silymarin, an ex...