Cyclophosphamide

Rasayanas are a group of herbal drug preparations widely used in Ayurveda to improve the general health of the body. In mice, Rasayanas are potent myeloprotective agents against chemotherapeutic agents and radiation. Rasayanas are also effective myeloprotectors in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. In this study, we provide further evidence to support the chemoprotective and radioprotective efficacy of four Rasayanas in mice. Rasayanas were found to reduce the loss of body weight and organ weight induced by cyclophosphamide and radiation significantly.

The immunomodulatory activities of an Indian Ayurvedic medicinal preparation, i.e. extracts from Ashwagandha, Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (Solanaceae), namely WST and WS2, were studied in mice for immune inflammation: active paw anaphylaxis and delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH). Immunomodulatory effect was assessed in If IgE-mediated anaphylaxis as reduction of ovalbumin-induced paw edema, in animals treated with WS2 at doses of 150 and 300 mg/kg, and the results were compared with the standard drug disodium chromoglycate.

Rasayanas are a group of herbal drug preparations widely used in Ayurveda to improve the general health of the body. In mice, Rasayanas are potent myeloprotective agents against chemotherapeutic agents and radiation. Rasayanas are also effective myeloprotectors in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. In this study, we provide further evidence to support the chemoprotective and radioprotective efficacy of four Rasayanas in mice. Rasayanas were found to reduce the loss of body weight and organ weight induced by cyclophosphamide and radiation significantly.

Most of the synthetic chemotherapeutic agents available today are immunosuppressants, cytotoxic, and exert variety of side effects that are particularly evident in cancer chemotherapy. Botanical based immunomodulators are often employed as supportive or adjuvant therapy to overcome the undesired effects of cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents and to restore normal health.

Information available on the mutagenicity of a large number of indigenous drugs commonly employed in the Siddha and Ayurveda systems of medicine is scanty. In this context, the current investigation on plumbagin, 5-hydroxy-2methyl-1,4-napthoquinone, an active principle in the roots of Plumbago zeylanica used in Siddha and Ayurveda for various ailments, was carried out; 16 mg/kg b.w. (LD(50)) was fixed as the maximum dose.

Investigations on plants are revealing the potential therapeutic benefits of medicinal herbs in treating immunological disorders. Nephrotic syndrome has emerged as an immunological disorder. Steroid dependence poses a therapeutic challenge in the management of nephrotic syndrome. Our pilot study compares the efficacy of an ayurvedic polyherbal preparation 'Shathavaryadi Yoga (NS001)' with oral cyclophosphamide in maintaining remission in steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome.

Caesalpinia bonducella FLEMING (Caesalpiniaceae) is a plant well known for its medicinal value in Indian Ayurveda. However, to prove its efficiency for the clinical utilization, more experimental data will be beneficial. AIMS OF THE STUDY: The present study involved the investigation of immunomodulatory activities of ethanolic extract of Caesalpinia bonducella seeds.

The leaves of Cinnamomum tamala Linn (Lauraceae), component of Indian spices are associated with hypoglycemic property in Ayurveda; however, no report is available towards its immunomodulation property, which has been explored here. The dried powder of CT leaves was extracted with hexane and solvent free extract (CTH) was given orally to rats for 10 days, in various doses. Its effect was studied on peritoneal macrophage functions, and was compared with ascorbic acid (1,000 mg/kg, immune-stimulant) and cyclophosphamide (10 mg/kg, immune-suppressant).

CONTEXT: Anacyclus pyrethrum DC (Compositae) roots, commonly known as Pellitory root and locally as akarkara, are widely recognized in the Indian traditional systems of medicine, Ayurveda, as a 'rasayana', i.e. a plant with immunomodulatory properties. OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of A. pyrethrum extract for its effect on normal and chemically suppressed immune systems in vivo. MATERIALS: Petroleum ether extract (PEE) of roots was tested at 50 and 100 mg/kg dose.

Cinnamic acid (C9H8O2), is a major constituent of the oriental Ayurvedic plant Cinnamomum cassia (Family: Lauraceae). This phenolic acid has been reported to possess various pharmacological properties of which its antioxidant activity is a prime one. Therefore it is rational to hypothesize that it may ameliorate myelosuppression and oxidative stress induced by cyclophosphamide, a widely used chemotherapeutic agent.