Darsan B Menon

University of Kerala · Inter University Centre for Evolutionary and Integrative Biology

Chromolaena odorata, commonly known as Siam weed, is popular as a traditional medicine. We report the isolation and characterization of four compounds from a cytotoxic fraction, F-17, isolated from the dichloromethane (DCM) extract of C. odorata by bioactivity-guided fractionation. The organic extracts were screened in five cancer cell lines of var...

The plant Plectranthus hadiensis is a rich source of many bioactive phytochemicals, especially terpenoids. The terpenoid fraction was isolated and phytochemical characterization was done using GC-MS. The aim of the present study was to find out the antiproliferative activity and the mechanism of cell death induction by the terpenoid fraction on hum...

Lactic acid fermentation and not oxidative phosphorylation is reported to be one of the major bioenergetics mechanisms by which cancer cells thrive and proliferate with such rapidity in nonambient hypoxic conditions. The objective of the study was to determine the synergistic effect of spices in a decoction; Turmeric (Curcuma longa), Pepper (Piper...

Herbal medicine has been in use by diverse civilizations in different parts of the world for centuries. Present study investigates the phytochemical constitution of the methanolic extract of the aerial part of Plectranthus hadiensis (Forssk.) Schweinf. ex Spreng. The preliminary phytochemical screening of the methanolic extract had revealed high co...

The extracts of Coleus forskohlii prepared by using hexane, chloroform, methanol, 80% methanol and water as solvents were screened for secondary metabolites and for its invitro anti-inflammatory activity. The extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, tannins, proteins, carbohydrates, saponins, glycosides and cardiac glycosides and most...

Study of gut microbiome is an emerging area in modern research with over one trillion population is known to inhabit the gut of organisms. The gut microbiome constitutes bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi and their collective genetic material present in the gastrointestinal tract. It is an essential part of a species’ ecology and influenced by t...

Background: This is a study of Clinical profile of Abdominal surgical site infections in a tertiary care centre of north east India. It was conducted for a period of 2 years and results were analysed using appropriate statistical tools. Methods: Study setting was General surgery department of RIMS, and study was conducted using interviews ,pre prep...

Bisphenol A (BPA) is primarily used in the manufacture of plastics and resins. There are many scientific reports that point to the adverse effects of this chemical to different animal models. There has been an increase in use of plastic during the last couple of decades and this has increased human exposure to plasticizers like Bisphenol A. But sin...

Plants belonging to Rubiaceae family have been used in Chinese folk medicine and Ayurveda. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of Mussaenin A isolated from root of Mussaenda glabrata on liver cancer cell line, Hep G2. MTT assay was performed to check the ability of Mussaenin A to induce death in cancerous Hep G2 cells and normal NIH3T3...

The use of medicinal plants in the form of extracts and oils dates back to pre-historic times. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of Essential oil (EO) extracted from leaves of Plectranthus amboinicus on lung cancer cell line, A549. MTT assay was performed to check the efficacy of Essential oil to induce death in cancerous A549 cells...

Natural products from plants have played a key role in lives of humans especially as source of food and medicines throughout history. The objective of the study was to determine the synergistic effect of the regularly used spices; Turmeric (Curcuma longa), Pepper (Piper nigrum) and Ginger (Zingiber officinale) in combination, on the antioxidant enz...

The genus Pinaceae is found to be rich in bioactive metabolites is used in Ayurveda for treating respiratory ailments. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of different protein fractions isolated from the leaves of the tree Abies webbiana Lindl, on adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial A549 cells. MTT assay was performed to ch...

Chromolaena odorata, commonly known as Siam weed, is popular as a traditional medicine. We report the isolation and characterization of four compounds from a cytotoxic fraction, F-17, isolated from the dichloromethane (DCM) extract of C. odorata by bioactivity-guided fractionation. The organic extracts were screened in five cancer cell lines of var...

Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities of the leaf extracts of Excoecaria agallocha L. Methods: To estimate the antioxidant effect of the extract from Excoecaria agallocha, various assays were carried out. Estimation of total phenolics was done by Folin–Ciocalteu micro-method, total antioxidant ca...

Objective: Medicinal plants have been used in primary health care over many centuries before the advent of modern medicine. Psidium guajava is one of the important medicinal plants having many therapeutic uses. The present study deals with phytochemical investigations of Psidium guajava bark and in vitro antioxidant activities of Psidium guajava ba...

In the present study, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of terpenoid fraction isolated from shoot of P. hadiensis was investigated. The terpenoid fraction was obtained from the aqueous ethanolic extract by liquid-liquid partitioning using Ethyl acetate as solvent. The terpenoid fraction thus obtained was concentrated and taken for furthe...

The herbal renaissance has been taking place throughout the world over the last few years. Over the period, herbal medicines have moved from an empirical basis to its present as an increasingly scientifically based system of healing, being referred as phytotherapy. Although the traditional medicinal systems adopt a holistic approach while using her...

Purpose: To evaluate the use of this plant in Ayurvedic formulation for treating various inflammation related ailments. Method: TLC, HPTLC and GCMS studies of the fraction confirmed the presence of terpenes. BSA denaturation inhibition, HRBC membrane stabilization and Platelet aggregation inhibition studies showed the antiinflammatory activity of...

The aim of the present study was to explore the probable in vitro anti inflammatory and cytotoxic activity of methanolic extract of the stem of Plectranthus hadiensis. The in vitro anti inflammatory assays included BSA denaturation inhibition, Platelet aggregation inhibition and HRBC membrane stabilization, and the MTT assay was carried out in cerv...

The in vitro anti oxidant and anti inflammatory activities of the methanolic extract of Mussaenda glabrata roots were tested. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, tannins, proteins, carbohydrates, saponins, glycosides and cardiac glycosides. The extract showed good DPPH (1, 1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical s...

The present study investigates the phytochemical constitution and antioxidant activity of various solvent (aqueous, butanol and ethyl acetate) extracts of the leaf and bark of Alstonia scholaris. The antioxidant assays performed include DPPH, ABTS and FRAP. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins, proteins, phenols and steroids...

Plectranthus is a genus which belongs to the family of Lamiaceae. Even though numerous studies have been carried out on plants belonging to this family, Plectranthus remains a genus in which a lot of incongruity exists. Even though Plectranthus hadiensis is used as a medicinal herb, the information regarding it is scanty and not well documented. Ou...