Diabetes is caused by excessive accumulation of glucose in human blood. The disease is hereditary, but can also be affected by the environment. At present, there are many limitations in the development of single-target drug therapy for the treatment of diabetes. Chinese herbal medicine has long been used for diabetes treatment as well as many other diseases in East Asia. Clinical practice has d...

Adults and larvae of Leptotrachelus dorsalis (Fabricius), the Sugarcane Savior Beetle, live in association with grasses, the larvae in the appressed leaf axils. Both adult and larval Leptotrachelus dorsalis eat larvae of the Sugarcane Borer, Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius), and perhaps other insects living in the confines of the leaf sheaths of that and other grass-like species. The geographic...

Populations of three North American species of Lycium (Solanaceae) are morphologically gynodioecious and consist of male-sterile (i.e., female) and hermaphroditic plants. Marked individuals were consistent in sexual expression across years and male sterility was present throughout much of the species' ranges. Controlled pollinations reveal that L. californicum, L. exsertum, and L. fremontii are...

Potassium in plants accounts for up to 10% dry weight, and participates in different physiological processes. Under drought stress, plant requires more potassium but potassium availability in soil solutes is lowered by decreased soil water content. Forming symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi not only enlarges exploration range of plant for mineral nutrients and water in soil, but a...

The study is aimed to explore the effects of Lycium barbarum Polysaccharide (LBP), the main active compound of Lycium barbarum, on H2O2-induced oxidative stress in myocardial cells, thereby to investigate the possibility of LBP to be an effective prophylactic agent for cardiac vascular disease (CVD). In the study, rat myocardial cells were randomly divided into control group, H2O2 model group a...

Selective estrogen receptor modulators represent accepted therapy for estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer, exhibit adverse side effects, and reduce patient compliance. The use of phytoestrogen containing herbal medicines is limited because of efficacy and safety concerns. The ER+ MCF-7 model examined growth inhibitory effects of the medicinal herb Lycium barbarum (LB) and identified ...