Palynomorphs extracted from the mud coffins and plant remains preserved at the archaeological site of Xiaohe Cemetery (Cal. 3980 to 3540 years BP) in Lop Nur Desert of Xinjiang, China were investigated for the reconstruction of the ancient environments at the site. The results demonstrate that the Xiaohe People lived at a well-developed oasis, which was surrounded by extensive desert. The veget...

Plant remedies, despite their innocuity reputation, are implicated in adverse events. The present review focuses on 30 popular herbs which are associated with severe and sometimes fatal hepatotoxicity: Actaea racemosa, Aloe barbadensis, Atractylis gummifera, Callilepsis laureola, Camellia sinensis, Centella asiatica, Chelidonium majus, Ephedra sinica, Garcinia cambogia, Hypericum perforatum, La...

Antioxidant capacities of 56 selected Chinese medicinal plants were evaluated using the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, and their total phenolic content was measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The strong correlation between TEAC value and FRAP value suggested that the antioxidants in these plants possess free radical scaveng...