Although spices have been used for thousands of years and are known for their flavor, taste and color in the food, they are not usually recognized for their medicinal value. Extensive research within the last two decades from our laboratory and others has indicated that there are phytochemicals present in spices that may prevent various chronic illnesses including cancerous, diabetic, cardiovas...

Extraction of essential oils from medicinal plants has received researcher’s attention as it has a wide variety of applications in different industries. In this study, ultrasonic method has been used to facilitate the extraction of active ingredient anethole from fennel seeds. Effect of different parameters like extraction time (20, 40, and 60 min), power (80, 240, and 400 Watts) and solid part...

The bibionid fly Plecia nearctica Hardy, commonly called the ‘lovebug’, is a widely recognized insect found alongside roadways in all southern states bordering the Gulf of Mexico as well as Georgia, and North and South Carolina (Denmark et al. 2010). In Florida, descriptions of this insect in large numbers coincide with peak seasonal flight periods in Apr-May and Aug-Sep, with a smaller third f...

Twenty-three naturally occurring and synthetic alkenylbenzene derivatives structurally related to the hepatocarcinogen safrole (1-allyl-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene) were assayed for their hepatocarcinogenicity in mice. Some of these compounds (safrole, estragole, eugenol, anethole, methyleugenol, myristicin, elemicin, and dill and parsley apiols) may be ingested in very small amounts by human as ...