Herbs bioactivity

Qi, S., Ding, L., Tian, K., Chen, X., and Hu, Z., Novel and simple nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis separation and determination bioactive diterpenes in Chinese herb, /. Pharm. Biomed. Anal., 40, 35-41, 2006. 

Dr. Meskin s major areas of research interest include (1) hepatic drug metabolism and the effects of nutritional factors on drug metabolism and clearance (2) nutrient-drug interactions (3) the role of bioactive non-nutrients (phytochemicals, herbs, botanicals, and nutritional supplements) in disease prevention and health promotion (4) fetal pharmacology and fetal, maternal, and pediatric nutrition (5) nutrition education and (6) the development of educational programs for improving science literacy and combating health fraud. 

There are many review articles concerning application of USE in food technology [57] and for isolation of bioactive substances from herbs and other plant materials [58], as well as leaching of heavy metals from environmental and industrial samples [59]. Application of ultrasound during sequential extraction of trace elements significantly shortens the whole procedure however, for satisfactory efficiency it is necessary to increase the temperature and modify the matrix. 

Vinatoru, M. An overview of the ultrasonically assisted extraction of bioactive principles from herbs. Ultrason. Sonochem. 8, 303-313 (2001)... 

In vitro studies KOI Cynthia Wenner/ Bastyr University Investigate the correlation between formulation composition and bioactivity of echinacea Study herb/drug interactions by examining echinacea s effects on drug-induced inhibition of Cytochrome P450 isoenzymes involved in drug metabolism... 

A problem with the medicinal use of plants and herbs is that substitutions can occur, inadvertently or on purpose, hi addition, the herbal activity of a given species may vary with the geographic location, the season, and sometimes even with the time of day. Furthermore, the bioactive substance will usually concentrate in a particular plant part, such as the leaf or root, although it may occur in a much lesser degree throughout the plant... 

Another problem with plants and herbs is that there are many chemical constituents present, some of which are more bioactive than others. It becomes difficult or impossible to discern the action of each chemical constituent, which is compounded by the fact that the chemical compositions may vary from plant to plant, and from plant part to plant part, depending on a number of factors. Only if the pure compounds are isolated and tested can a consensus be reached. This is an argument in favor of synthetic drugs, in that quality control can be maintained, and controlled testing can be performed. All of these can become a monumental task. 

It may be added that the chemistry of plant biochemicals is every bit as interesting as that of synthetic biochemicals. The biochemicals that occur in each plant or plant extract are myriad in number, with some having more pronounced bioactivity than others. For an indication of the possibUities, one may consult James Duke s Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents of GRAS Herbs and Other Economic Plants (the acronym GRAS means genraaUy recommended as safe ). 

While the major effort in the study of Chinese medicines has been focused on active principles, there are considerable efforts focused on the study of active fractions of herbs. Numerous evidences suggest that multiple components contained in an active fraction of an herb would play synchronism in treatment of disease, although a single component may play a major role and other components would enhance the bioactivity and reduce the toxicity of the fraction. In addition, multiple ingredients in formulae of TCM from different medicines may as well show similar synchronism. 

Q Physiologically Bioactive Compounds of Functional Foods, Herbs, and Dietary Supplements... 

FIGURE 8.21 Chemical structures of bioactive compounds contained in some herbs. 

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