KU study on herbs’ curative properties wows scientists

KU study on herbs’ curative properties wows scientists Herb Extracts Have Anti-Diabetic, Anti-HIV Compounds Jinka Nagaraju TNN  Hyderabad: In a rare feat for a rural Indian university, little known Infectious Diseases and Metabolic Disorders Lab (IDMDL) of Kakatiya University, Warangal, has attracted the attention of the global scientific community by discovering antidiabetic and anti-HIV compounds in the extracts of herbs which are used by local tribes as a cure for various disorders. The lab, headed by a young scientist Estari Mamidala, extracted anti-diabetic chemical from a plant called Physalis Minima (budamma in Telugu; ban tipariya in Bengali; parpoti in Gujarati and tulati pati in Hindi ) and found anti-HIV properties in Tinospora Cordifolia (tippa teega in Telugu and giloe in Hindi) and Cassia Occidentalis (penta chennagi in Telugu and bendra lathi in Hindi).      After conducting an ethnobotanic survey for about a year, from July 2011 to August 2012, based on the local medical knowledge practices among the tribes in Mulugu Venkatapur, Regonda, Parkal, Shayampet, Hasanparthy areas of Warangal district in Andhra Pradesh, the team led by Estari identified about 65 plants believed to have great curative value. His team studied extracts from various parts, leaves, stem, roots and flowers, for the medicinal properties and found amazing qualities. Estari says these experiments are expected to pave a new path for alternative medicines from plants extracts which are cheaper and safe to use.     The Estari team also found four more medicinal plants (Phyllanthus emblica, Eclipta alba, Tinospora cordifolia and Casia occidentalis) which have the ability to inhibit replication of HIV-1. The extracts of these plants have the potential to be used as natural products in HIV chemotherapy, said Estari.     In the studies conducted on rats, it was found that the leaf and flower extract of Physalis Minima significantly lowered the fasting blood sugar. However, the stems have not shown such a property. Repeated experiments with flowers and leaves clearly exhibited more potent anti-diabetic activity by reducing the blood glucose level significantly compared with the root and stem extracts of P. Minima.      Similarly, Tinospora Cordifolia was found to have anti-HIV property comparable to the drugs available in the market. Another plant, Cassia Occidentalis has also exhibited HIV inhibiting properties in a significant way. Speaking to TOI from Warangal, Estari said Cassia Occidentalis extracts had exerted their anti-HIV property by inhibiting the HIV Reverse Transcriptase activity. The study seems to justify the traditional use of plant for the treatment of infectious disease of viral origin, he said. The plant has great potential to develop drugs, he added.     The results of IDMDL studies have been published in the International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research (Volume 3, Issue dated 7 June, 2012), Biology and Medicine (2013) and BMC Infectious Diseases (December, 2012)