Background: Heliotropium indicum is used by traditional medical practitioners in North Central Nigeria for the management of ailments including diabetes. However, the folkloric use of H. indicum as antidiabetic has been asserted, but its roles on the hyperglycemia-induced organ-specific complications are not yet scientifically proven. Thus, ameliorative effect of aqueous leaf extract of H. indi...

When tested for ornithine and arginine decarboxylases, pyrrolizidine alkaloid-bearing Senecio riddellii, S. longilobus (Compositae), and Crotalaria retusa (Leguminosae) plants exhibited only ornithine decarboxylase activity. This contrasts with previous studies of four species of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-bearing Heliotropium (Boraginaceae) in which arginine decarboxylase activity was very high re...

The ethnobotanical utilization of five neglected herbaceous species, Argemone mexicana L., Heliotropium indicum Kedrostis foetidissima (Jacq.) Cogn., Peperomia pellucida (L.) Kunth and Schrankia leptocarpa DC. was investigated in Southern Benin to determine the ethnomedicinal magic knowledge on them. Thirty-six herbal medicine traders were surveyed six different markets three districts. Four in...

The basic properties of many pyrrolizidine alkaloids are well known l.5, A lthough they have been isolated from representatives of about 13 plant fami lies, they occur most abundantly in the large genera sen~cio (Asteraceae), Crola/aria (Papilionaceae) and in many members of Boraginaceae including Heliotropium and CynoglossUlI1. More recently they have been detected in LepidopheraJ,4 Over 75 sp...

UNLABELLED Plant-derived molecules (PDMs) are known to be a rich source of diverse scaffolds that could serve as the basis for rational drug design. Structured compilation of phytochemicals from traditional medicinal plants can facilitate prospection for novel PDMs and their analogs as therapeutic agents. Atropa belladonna, Catharanthus roseus, Heliotropium indicum, Picrorhiza kurroa and Podoph...