The genus Jatropha is distributed through out the tropics and sub-tropics growning in marginal lands and is a potential biodiesel crop world wide. The plants can prevent soil erosion, grown as a live fence and used as an alternate commercial crop. The seed oil can be used as a feed stock for biodiesel. Alternatively Jatropha oil is used in soap, glue or dye industry. The seed cake is rich in ni...

The cultivation of plants with specific properties has been the foundation of medicine for milennia. Modern biotechnology may one day extend their medicinal uses to include the delivery of vaccines. Edible vaccines that are heat stable, easy to administer and cheap to produce have the potential to redress many of the production, distribution and delivery limitations faced by traditional vaccine...

Interest in traditional medicine and in particular herbal medicine has increased in both developed and developing countries over the past two decades. Some reported adverse events following the use of certain herbal medicines have been associated with a variety of possible explanations, including the inadvertent use of the wrong plant species, adulteration with undeclared other medicines. The s...

The authors review the various bone substitutes which are currently available on the market place in Belgium. After describing the requirements for clinical use of such materials, they compare the biological and mechanical values of bone autografts, bone allografts, demineralised bone, xenografts, coral and synthetic materials such as calcium sulfate, calcium phosphate, ionic cement and bioacti...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Several members of the genus Lignosus, which are collectively known as cendawan susu rimau (in Malay) or tiger׳s milk mushrooms (TMM), are regarded as important local medicine particularly by the indigenous communities in Malaysia. The mushroom sclerotia are purportedly effective in treating cancer, coughs, asthma, fever, and other ailments. The most commonly enco...

Portulaca oleracea L. belongs to the family Portulaceae, is a warm-climate annual herb, known as khurfa in Arabic and common purslane in English. The plant is succulent, herbaceous, erect or decumbent growing up to 30 cm height with cylindrical stem of 2-3 mm in diameter. The plant, which is common weed of cultivation, are eaten as a vegetable and used for medicinal purposes. Traditionally, sin...

Calophyllum brasiliense is a species native to Brazil and has potential for use in the timber industry, in the reforestation of degraded areas, besides having medicinal properties. Its propagation is mainly by seeds which, depending on their recalcitrant characteristics, leads to difficulty in conservation, due to changes in its physiological potential during storage. Aiming to contribute to th...

Mushrooms have been used as food supplement from times immemorial not only for their nutritive value, but also for their medicinal properties. This investigation attempts to update the present cultivation status and project the future prospects of the oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreaus for its biomedical potential. Comparative analysis of the yield and the chemical composition of clusters of P...

Investigating the effects of different cultivation media and biological mineral fertilizers on yield active ingredients ginger medicinal plant (Zingiber officinale Rosc)

This study analysed women s indigenous knowledge of folk medicines with respect to human and livestock illnesses in selected areas in upper Swat, Buner, and Chitral Districts of the Malakand region of North West Frontier Province, Pakistan in the summer 2003. This analysis was completed by a male and female multi-disciplinary team of specialists. Interviews were conducted using Questionnaires a...