Rats, Wistar

The antiamoebic effect of a crude drug formulation against Entamoeba histolytica was studied. In the traditional system of medicine in India, the formulation has been prescribed for intestinal disorders. It comprises of five medicinal herbs, namely, Boerhavia diffusa, Berberis aristata, Tinospora cordifolia, Terminalia chebula and Zingiber officinale. The dried and pulverized plants were extracted in ethanol together and individually.

The activity of a crude extract formulation was evaluated in experimental amoebic liver abscess in golden hamsters and in immunomodulation studies. The formulation comprises the following five plants-Boerhavia diffusa, Tinospora cordifolia, Berberis aristata, Terminalia chebula and Zingiber officinale. The formulation had a maximum cure rate of 73% at a dose of 800 mg/kg/day in hepatic amoebiasis reducing the average degree of infection (ADI) to 1.3 as compared to 4.2 for sham-treated controls.

Methanolic extract (75%) of Terminalia chebula, Terminalia belerica, Emblica officinalis and their combination named 'Triphala' (equal proportion of above three plant extracts) are being used extensively in Indian system of medicine. They were found to inhibit lipid peroxide formation and to scavenge hydroxyl and superoxide radicals in vitro. The concentration of plant extracts that inhibited 50% of lipid peroxidation induced with Fe(2+)/ascorbate were food to be 85.5, 27, 74 and 69 micro g/ml, respectively.

Free radicals react with biological molecules and destroy the structure of cells, which eventually causes free-radical induced disease such as cancer, renal failure, aging, etc. In this study, 6 extracts and 4 pure compounds of Terminalia chebula RETZ. were investigated for anti-lipid peroxidation, anti-superoxide radical formation and free radical scavenging activities. The superoxide radical scavenging of the 4 pure compounds was further evaluated using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry. The results showed that all tested extracts and pure compounds of T.

Allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever, rose fever or summer catarrh, is a major challenge to health professionals. A large number of the world's population, including approximately 40 million Americans, suffers from allergic rhinitis. A novel, botanical formulation (Aller-7) has been developed for the treatment of allergic rhinitis using a combination of extracts from seven medicinal plants, including Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia chebula, T. bellerica, Albizia lebbeck, Piper nigrum, Zingiber officinale and P. longum, which have a proven history of efficacy and health benefits.

Aqueous extract of a natural herb, Terminalia chebula was tested for potential antioxidant activity by examining its ability to inhibit gamma-radiation-induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes and damage to superoxide dismutase enzyme in rat liver mitochondria. The antimutagenic activity of the extract has been examined by following the inhibition of gamma-radiation-induced strand breaks formation in plasmid pBR322 DNA.

Allergic rhinitis is an immunological disorder and an inflammatory response of nasal mucosal membranes. Allergic rhinitis, a state of hypersensitivity, occurs when the body overreacts to a substance such as pollens or dust. A novel, safe polyherbal formulation (Aller-7/NR-A2) has been developed for the treatment of allergic rhinitis using a unique combination of extracts from seven medicinal plants including Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellerica, Albizia lebbeck, Piper nigrum, Zingiber officinale and Piper longum.

Antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract of fruits of Terminalia chebula (500 mg/kg body wt, orally for 30 days) against isoproterenol-induced oxidative stress was investigated in rats. The levels of serum lipid peroxides, iron, ascorbic acid, vitamin E, plasma iron-binding capacity, and the activities of ceruloplasmin and glutathione were assayed, in addition to the activities of the antioxidant enzymes--glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-transferase, superoxide dismutase and catalase in the heart tissue.

Immune activation is an effective as well as protective approach against emerging infectious diseases. The immunomodulatory activities of Triphala (Terminalia chebula, Terminalia belerica and Emblica officinalis) were assessed by testing the various neutrophil functions like adherence, phagocytosis (phagocytic index (P.I) and avidity index (A.I)) and nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction in albino rats. In recent years much attention is being focused on the immunological changes occur during stress. Noise (100 dB) stress for 4 h/d for 15 d, was employed to alter the neutrophil functions.

The aqueous extract of the fruits of Emblica officinalis (T1), Terminalia chebula (T2) and Terminalia belerica (T3) and their equiproportional mixture triphala were evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant activity. gamma-Radiation induced strand break formation in plasmid DNA (pBR322) was effectively inhibited by triphala and its constituents in the concentration range 25-200 microg/mL with a percentage inhibition of T1 (30%-83%), T2 (21%-71%), T3 (8%-58%) and triphala (17%-63%).