Free radicals and reactive oxygen species are generated in the body due to various physiological and biochemical processes. They are responsible for various chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and oxidative damage of DNA and proteins. There is a huge demand of herbal antioxidant compounds in the market. Padaeria foetida,Tribulus terrestris and Oxalis corniculata are used in traditional healt...

Methanolic extract of 15 Iranian medicinal plants were prepared and tested for their cytotoxic activities against three cancer cell lines (MCF7, HepG2, WEHI164) and one normal cell line (MDBK). Some plants showed cytotoxic activities. The extract of Ferula szowitsiana root, which proved to be the most active, was chosen for further phytochemical studies. The major compounds of the most potent a...

BACKGROUND In Ayurveda and traditional medicines of different countries such as Iran, America and Brazil, asafoetida has been used as an aphrodisiac agent. OBJECTIVE The present study was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of asafoetida on spermatic and testicular parameters in treated rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 30 male Wistar rats divided equally to five groups (one control an...

Ferula persica, is the well-known species of the genus Ferula in Iran and has two varieties: persica and latisecta. They have both been extensively used in traditional medicine for a wide range of ailments. A great number of chemical compounds including sesquiterpene coumarins and polysulfides have been isolated from this plant. Fresh plant materials, crude extracts and isolated components of F...

Objective: Asafoetida (Ferula assa-foetida) is known as a valuable remedy for whooping cough, pneumonia, bronchitis in children and asthma treatment in folk medicine. In the present study the relaxant effects of the asafoetida on tracheal smooth muscle of guinea pigs and its probable mechanism(s) were examined. Materials and Methods: The relaxant effects of three cumulative concentrations of th...

The present study was designed to evaluate and compare the phenolic (total phenols and flavonoid) contents and antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of Momordica foetida (AEMF) and ethanolic extract of Momordica foetida (EEMF) extract of Momordica foetida leaves; a popular medicinal plant used for traditional medicine preparations. The antioxidant activity of both extracts was assessed using ...

Comparisons were made of the ratios of the specific activities of stearic acid to oleic acid in adipose tissue and liver triglycerides of rats given methyl stearate-lJ4C dissolved in 0.25 ml of corn oil and Sterculia foetida oil. The ratios were about 3 in the corn oil control animals compared to 31 to 43 in adipose tissue and 44 to 246 in liver triglycerides of the S. foetida test animals. Whe...