Richard Lobo

Manipal Academy of Higher Education | MAHE · Department of Pharmacognosy

Inflammation and oxidative stress can contribute to the etiology of metabolic and chronic illnesses. The ability to prevent oxidative stress induced diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and others has been the subject of global research. Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) pathogenesis can be either due to oxidative st...

The present study was aimed to isolate and perform qualitative analysis of macromolecules present in Boswellia serrata followed by evaluation of their anti-inflammatory activity by in-vitro IL-6 ELISA study. The oleo gum resin of B. serrata was pretreated with hexane, methanol and the obtained residue was extracted with water and the final dried po...

Terminalia catappa Linn (T. catappa) belongs to the family Combretaceae, locally known as Bengal Almond. The plant is known to have many phytochemicals such as carbohydrates, phytosterols, tannins, polyphenols, flavonoids, and saponins. It is widely used in the treatment of various diseases such as dermatitis, leprosy, and scabies and internally fo...

Pharmacological treatment for BPH includes 5-α reductase inhibitors as Finasteride and Dutasteride as a monotherapy or in combination with antimuscarinic drugs, alpha-blockers, 5-phosphodiesterase inhibitor drugs. Androgen receptor inhibitors revealed several adverse events as decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction, and gyn...

Ethnopharmacological relevance Sesamum indicum L. (Pedaliaceae) is an annual plant, which has been domesticated for well over 5000 years. It is widely cultivated for its seeds and is one of the oldest known oilseed crops. Traditionally, its seeds, seed oil, and different organs of the plant have been used to treat various diseases or conditions lik...

The study aimed to investigate the acute toxicity, antidiabetic potential (in-vitro and in-vivo) of the Operculina turpethum (L.) Silva Manso at fraction level. The plant was fractionated into different fractions, i.e., flavonoid fraction (OTFF), tannin fraction (OTTF), saponin fraction (OTSF). In-vitro alpha-amylase inhibition assay revealed that...

Androgen signaling is essential for the development of prostate cancer (PCa) initiated from prostatic basal cells with collocation of androgen receptor gene mutations. Phytoestrogens, the naturally occurring compounds are AR antagonist. These compounds downregulate prostate-specific antigen (PSA) expression and cell proliferation. Thus, this gives...

Arthritis is a chronic inflammatory condition that is a major disability throughout the world. For so many years there are several therapies used for the treatment but they have many disadvantages like side effects, poor bioavailability, high cost etc. So, researches are going on for the development of alternative effective therapy for arthritis. T...

All men, almost, suffer from prostatic disorders in average life expectancy. In the year of 1950s, the first autopsy of prostate gland discovered the link between Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and Prostate Cancer (PCa). After that, many histology, biochemistry, epidemiology studies explained the association and associated risk factor for the s...

Background: The control of biofilm adherence on tooth surface has always been the keystone of periodontal therapeutic systems. However, prevalence of gingivitis suggest inadequacy of self-performed oral hygiene measures and need for adjunctive aid for mechanical plaque control. Oral rinses containing chlorhexidine, has been widely used however, wi...

Arthritis is a chronic inflammatory condition which is a major disability throughout the world. The exact pathophysiology of the disease is still unknown but many factors may be responsible for this. Several conventional therapies are used for the treatment but they have certain disadvantages such as side effects, poor bioavailability, high cost et...

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder which is mainly characterized by hyperglycaemia and arises by the defects in insulin secretion or insulin action or both. It is categorized into two types, type-I and type-II diabetes. The risk factors that are responsible for diabetes are genetic factor, obesity, hypertension etc. Conventionally many drugs are used...

Terminalia tomentosa bark belongs to the family Combretaceae. The plant bark is astringent and useful in the treatment of ulcers, vata, fractures, hemorrhages, bronchitis, and diarrhea. Phytochemical investigation of T. tomentosa bark confirms the presence of flavonoids, polyphenols, and tannins. The plant has not been investigated for its anti-inf...

Treatment of periodontitis has been one of the most challenging aspects of periodontal therapy. The role of host immune inflammatory response in periodontal disease forms the basis of modernistic therapeutic approaches. The present study evaluates the efficacy of an indigenously formulated flax seed extract in the form of biodegradable gel, as an a...

Aim/Background: The anomalous production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) observed in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer particularly in tissues of the prostate gland. The primary male sex hormone, testosterone (T) is improved to a metabolite in cells by 5a-reductase (5aR) type II enzyme through NADPH. A metabolite is DHT which is more po...

Sansevieria roxburghiana Schult and Schult f. belonging to the family Asparagaceae commonly known as Indian bowstring hemp distributed in India, Indonesia, South Africa and Sri Lanka. The marker standardization of rhizomes of Sansevieria roxburghiana has not been carried out yet.Therefore the present study deals with the chemical characterization o...

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth leading cause of cáncer mortality. Elytranthe parasitica (L.) Danser (EP), a hemiparasitic plant (Loranthaceae) has potent anti-cancer properties. Objective: In the study, we investigated the effect of EP fractions on expression of apoptosis and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) marke...

In the present study, five important binary fingerprinting techniques were used to model novel flavones for the selective inhibition of Tankyrase I. From the fingerprints used: the fingerprint atom pairs resulted in a statistically significant 2D QSAR model using a kernel-based partial least square regression method. This model indicates that the p...

Objective: The present work is an attempt to assess the in vitro antimicrobial activity of the leaves of Caesalpinia decapetala (Roth) fabaceae family collected from forest area of Tamilnadu, India. Methods: The crude drug was successively extracted by Soxhlet assembly using Petroleum ether, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol as solvents....

The present study envisages a fast and reliable 3D QSAR approach utilising pharmacophore mapping for the identification of specific inhibitors for the CDK2 inhibitors belonging to the kinase class. The model generated resulted in a statistically significant 3D QSAR equation with regression coefficient value of ( r² = 0.8131) and cross validation co...

Objective: Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and the emergence of strains with reduced susceptibility to metronidazole and vancomycinwarrants alternative therapy. Hence, we tested the potential efficacy of the natural compound berberine hydrochloride (BBRHCl) against toxigenicC. difficile.Methods: Three representative polymerase chain...

Background Sansevieria roxburghiana Schult. and Schult. f. (Asparagaceae) grows in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and tropical Africa. Even though the plant has been traditionally used for the treatment of many ailments, the antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of S. roxburghiana methanol extract and its fractions have not yet been explored....

Aim and Objective: The present study was carried to determine the anthelmintic activity of Heracleum afghanicum Kitamura (Umbelliferae) collected from the mountainous region of Karmi, Afghanistan. Material and Methods: Different extracts of H. afghanicum Kitamura were screened for anthelmintic activity against Indian earthworm Eisenia foetida. Diff...

Objective: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in India is high, and majority leads to severe gastrointestinal infections. Existing treatment regimens for H. pylori infections have increased failure rates and adverse side effects that desire the search for an effective substitute therapy. Anisochilus carnosus (L.f.) wall (Lamiaceae), a herb which...

The present study aimed to identify the photochemical constituents and possible microbicidal potential of ethanol and aqueous extract of Acalypha indica leaf extract on various gut pathogens. Shade dried leaves of Acalypha indica were extracted with solvents of increasing polarity. In vitro anti microbial activity of the water and alcoholic extract...

Objective: The present study details the phytochemical constituents and in vitro antioxidant activity of different extracts of dried Heracleum afghanicum Kitamura leaves belonging to the genus Heracleum, family Umbelliferae. It is an endemic plant of Afghanistan and grows wildly in different cold and mountainous regions of the country and very comm...

The current study aimed to screen the phytochemical constituents and antidiarrheal activity of Carica papaya fruit against selected gut pathogens. Powdered plant materials of raw and ripe fruit were extracted with diverse solvents such as petroleum ether, benzene, chloroform, acetone, ethanol and aqueous using Soxhlet apparatus. Phytochemical analy...

In the recent years, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has infected millions of people around the globe, making it an important public health concern of the future. Candida species found as a commensal is the most common etiology of oropharyngeal candidiasis, an opportunistic fungal infection seen in HIV patients. The objective of the present stud...

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly predominant malignancy affecting millions worldwide. Plants belonging to Loranthaceae family have remarkable chemopreventive properties. Objective: The goal of the present study was to assess the antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing effects of stem parts of Elytranthe parasitica (L.) Danser (EP...

Sansevieria roxburghiana Schult and Schult f. is an ornamental herb belonging to family Asparagaceae. It is known as murva in Sanskrit and Indian bow string hemp in English. There is no detailed study for assessing the quality control parameters of rhizomes of S. roxburghiana though rhizomes medicinally useful as expectorant, febrifuge, purgative a...

Drug discovery based on the pharmacophore searching is used in the leading modification and searching programmes. In this context, it was thought appropriate to extensively perform pharmacophoric searching in our laboratory for identifying an ideal scaffold for designing an anticancer candidate that eventually could emerge out to become a CDK inhib...

Terminalia tomentosa bark. Belongs to the family Combretaceae. Bark is astringent and useful in the treatment of ulcers, vata, fractures, hemorrhages, bronchitis and diarrhea.This study establish the antiinflammatory activity of ethanolic (TEA) and aqueous (TEW) of T. tormentors aback extracts in in-vitro methods by Inhibition protein denaturation...

The western Ghats of India present Pharmacognosists and botanist a rich source of biological diversity to explore their unearthed potential. V. indica, one among the thousands of such plant growing in the southern states of India especially in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, at about 750 m altitude is a slow growing plant of Dipterocarpaceae fami...

Objective: Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and the emergence of strains with reduced susceptibility to metronidazole and vancomycin warrants alternative therapy. Hence, we tested the potential efficacy of the natural compound berberine hydrochloride (BBRHCl) against toxigenic C. difficile. Methods: Three representative polymerase ch...

Introduction: Luteolin, a natural flavonoid is known to possess variety of pharmacological activity, particularly growth inhibition. Reports are available to substantiate the interaction of luteolin with tankyrase II, one of the key enzymes responsible for sustenance of telomeres and involved in promoting cellular function. Objective:In our study,...

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer accounts for more than one million deaths worldwide. Current treatment modality for HCC is marginally effective. Plants belonging to Mistletoe family (Loranthaceae) have been used in chemotherapy for many years. The present study was aimed at exploring the anti-prolifer...

Anisochilus carnosus (L.f.) wall is an annual herb belonging to the family Lamiaceae which grows on rocks. It is used traditionally for the treatment of gastric ulcers, skin infections, cough, cold, digestion and eczema. Plant was collected and extracted with petroleum ether, ethanol and water separately and all the three obtained extracts were scr...

Context: Anisochilus carnosus (L.f.) wall belonging to the family Lamiaceae is a plant that is widely used in folk medicine for treating eczema, cold, cough, and fever. Objective: In the present study, we explored the anticancer potential of A. carnosus leaves against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) and estimated the quantity of luteolin present...

Macrosolen parasiticus (L.) Danser belonging to Loranthaceaea (mistletoe family) is a parasitic plant that grows on different host plants such as mango, jack fruit, peepal, neem tree, etc., This study was aimed to investigate the anti-cancer activity of methanolic and aqueous extract of stem of M. parasiticus. To investigate the in vitro cytotoxic...

To evaluate the effect of Graptophyllum pictum on lipid peroxidation and tissue antioxidant enzymes in liver and kidney of gentamicin induced nephrotoxic rats. Animals were grouped into 6: Group 1 received gum acacia, Group 2 received G. pictum ethanol extract (300 mg/kg), Group 3 received gentamicin, Groups 4, 5, 6 received gentamicin along with G...

Biotechnology offers great resources to the food industry, ranging from the production of raw materials and processing, to control food safety. Although the use of biotechnology in the feld of health is valued by most, consumers are reluctant to accept GM foods. European legislation guarantees the right of consumers to choose freely through proper...

Background Anisochilus carnosus (L.f.) wall (Lamiaceae), an annual herb which grows at high altitude is used extensively in folk medicine for the treatment of ailments such as gastric ulcer and skin diseases. The aim of our study was to evaluate the anticancer activity of different extracts of the leaves of A.carnosus. An attempt was also made to e...

Plants have been used since ancient times as medicines for the treatment of a range of diseases. In spite of the great advances observed in modern medicine in recent decades, plants still make an important contribution to health care. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), because of poverty and lack of access to modern medicine, about 6...

The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the anthelmintic activity of Ethanolic and aqueous extract of Vateriaindica (stem bark) using Indian earthworm Phretimaposthuma.Different concentrations viz. (50, 25 and 12.5 mg/ml) of each Ethanolic and aqueous extracts were used for bioassay, involve determination of time of paralysis (TP) and...

The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the anthelmintic activity of ethanolic and aqueous leaf extracts of Anisochilus carnosus, using Indian earthworm Pheretima posthuma.Three different concentrations (50, 25 and 12.5 mg/ml) of each of ethanolic and aqueous extract was used for bioassay, which involved determination of time of paraly...

Indian habitant Anisochilus carnosus (L.f.) Wall is an annual shrub found in the high altitude regions. The plant has been of interest to researchers due to its potency towards various pathological conditions. Pharmacognostical, physico-chemical and phytochemical evaluation of the leaves of A carnosus was carried out to determine its qualitative an...

The objective of present work was to evaluate the antidiabetic activity of petroleum ether and aqueous extract of stem bark of Bauhinia purpureaL. The samples were studied for their effect on inhibition of glycosylation of haemoglobin, glucose transport across yeast cells and a- Amylase inhibition. Inhibition of glycosylation of haemoglobin and a-...

The present study aim to evaluate phenol and flavonoid content of Ethanolic and aqueous extract of the stem bark of the plant Vateria indica (L.), Dipterocarpaceae, is a woody plant was distributed in India and Sri Lanka. The resin has been used as a traditional medicine for sore throat, chronic bronchitis, rheumatism, and diarrhea. The stem of the...

The objective of present work was to evaluate the anthelmintic activity of petroleum ether and aqueous extract of stem bark of Bauhinia purpureaL. using Indian earthworms Pheretimaposthuma as test worm. Various concentrations of petroleum ether extracts were tested in the bioassay, which involved determination of paralysis time and death time of th...

AimTo evaluate in vitro anti-oxidant potential of methanolic and aqueous extract of Indian habitants Anisochilus carnosus (L.F.) wall., which is an annual shrub belonging to the family Lamiaceae commonly known as mint family.Methods The present study describes the effects by DPPH, alkaline DMSO, scavenging of ferric ion, NO, H2O2, ABTS models. Both...

World is endowed with a rich heritage of medicinal plants. The use of medicinal agents presumably predates the earliest recorded history. The medicinal plants are widely used by the traditional practitioners for various ailments. Leucas lavandulaefolia (Labiatae) commonly known as 'Gumo' is a well-known plant used in the Indian system of medicine....

The present study was undertaken is to explore the anticancer activity of the methanolic and aqueous stem extract of the Macrosolen parasiticus in Swiss albino mice against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) cell line. The activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Macrosolen parasiticus was evaluated in Swiss albino mice against Ehrlich Ascites Ca...

Sphaeranthus indicus is a well-known plant used in the Indian system of medicine. The plant is widely distributed throughout the plains and wet-lands of India, Sri Lanka and Australia. Folklore medicine claims its use in epileptic convulsion, mental illness, hemicranias, as a general tonic, deobstruent, aphrodisiac etc. Various biologically active...

Curcuma longa Linn., commonly known as Turmeric, Indian saffron or Haldi belongs to family Zingiberaceae., is a perennial herb with simple and large leaves. Its tubers, rhizomes and oil have great importance. Melaleuca alternifolia commonly known as tea tree oil, belonging to the family myrtaceae, has been used as a botanical medicine in various fo...

This paper presents Flavonoid and phenol content of methanolic and aqueous extract of the stems of the plant Macrosolen parasiticus (L.) Danser, Loranthaceae, an important plant in the Indian system of medicine. Macrosolen parasiticus (L.) Danser a parasitic plant belongs to the family Loranthaceae commonly known as mistletoes. The family comprises...

In vitro studies were carried out to evaluate the cytotoxic potential of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts from stem of Dendrophthoe falcata against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Screening of these extracts was done using the brine shrimp lethality bioassay, MTT assay and SRB assay. The results showed the significant decrease of the viability...

Psidium guajava leaves, commonly known as guava was screened against some common enteric pathogens like Escherichia coli, Shigella spp, Salmonella spp, Aeromonas spp, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida spp. The alcoholic and aqueous extracts of Psidium guajava leaves were obtained using the Soxhlet apparatus. Antimicrobial activity of the extracts w...

Terminalia paniculata Roxb. (Family-Combretaceae) is a wild tree commonly used in traditional ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of inflammation of parotid glands and in menstrual disorders. To explore the folk use of Terminalia paniculata on pharmacological grounds to evaluate the scientific basis of anti-inflammatory activity. The anti-inflamma...

Punica granatum (pomegranate) is commonly used in India as a traditional medicine for the treatment of pathogenic bacteria. The present study investigates the antibacterial activity of Pomegranate rind extracts (alcoholic and aqueous) against various enteric pathogens. Both Standard strains and clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae, Entero toxigenic...

Aloe vera gel is a familiar ingredient in a range of widely available and advertisement healthcare and cosmetic products. As to date there are no documented reports on the standardization of A. vera gel and the following study is an attempt in this direction. A. vera gel was evaluated for its aloeverose content for the first time. Aloeverose, was s...

Ocimum gratissimum is a well-known plant used in the Indian system of medicine. Folklore medicine claims its use in headache, fever, diarrhoea, pneumonia etc. Research carried out using different in vitro and in vivo techniques of biological evaluation supports most of the claims. This review presents the ethnobotanical, natural product chemistry,...

Curcuma zedoaria Rosc is a perennial herb found in tropical countries, such as India, Japan and Thailand. Various parts of this plant are used in Ayurveda and other folk medicines for the treatment of different ailments such as diarrhoea, cancer, flatulence and dyspepsia. This study is an attempt to compile an up-to-date and comprehensive review of...

The free radical scavenging potential of the plant Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. was studied by using different antioxidant models of screening. The aqueous extract at 1000 μg/ml showed maximum scavenging of the radical cation, 2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS) observed upto 26.21 % followed by the scavenging of the stable radi...

The leaves of Annona reticulate Linn. (Annonaceae), commonly known as Bullock's heart, are frequently used as a substitute for Annona squamosa for the treatment of diabetes by various tribes in India. The leaves are also used for their powerful insecticidal activity, especially for destroying lice. Pharmacognostical study of Annona reticulate leaf...

Fungal infections of skin are one of the most common infections in human beings. The areas which are likely to get infected include the scalp, the hands and the feet. Dermatophytes, yeasts and moulds are the three major fungi responsible for skin infections. Earlier oral antifungal agents were used for treatment of fungal infection in finger and to...