Medicinal plants of Moraceae family have been well-recognized traditionally due to their versatile applications in various fields including agriculture,cosmetic and food as well as in pharmaceutical industries. Their biomedical and medicinal importance is reflected from their broad range of pharmacological activities for treatment of various inflammatory conditions,cancer,infectious diseases,and gastrointestinal disorders.The present review was aimed to summarize and critically discuss the biomedical implications of Morus species,their bioactive compounds,and phytochemicals.Bioactivity guided fractionation of these medicinal plants revealed that different types of bioactive phytochemicals and secondary metabolites such as steroids, saponins, alkaloids, glycosides and phenolic compounds including terpenoids,flavonoids,anthocyanins and tannins were present.The critical analysis of the literature revealed that the aqueous,methanolic,and ethanolic ex-tracts of Morus species and their bioactive compounds exhibit remarkable anti-oxidative, anti-diabetic, anti-stress, nephroprotective, antimicrobial, anti-mutagenic, anticancer, anxiolytic, hepatoprotective, anthelmintic, antimicrobial, immune-modulatory and cholesterol lowering effects.Based on the literature review and bioactivity guided inves-tigation of Morus species and their phytomedicinal effects,we anticipate that these herbal products hold excellent potential for future research.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive method that may increase the rehabilitation effects in stroke. The objective of the study was to test whether tDCS priming with training on an arm ergometer boosts motor performance in chronic stroke patients. Three chronic subcortical stroke patients had continued a sole unilateral stroke 30–36 months formerly. They had some voluntary control of the arm in the affected side underwent a cycling training on an arm ergometer for 20 minutes a day, during 5 days a week priming with cathodal tDCS stimulation of unaffected hemisphere. They were tested during 4 sessions 1 week before, at the beginning, at the end, and 1 week after the end of the training priming with tDCS. We executed; 1) Rivermead Motorik Assessment (global function, arm and leg), 2) the Modified Ashworth Scale of the elbow flexors and extensors, 3) the minimum torque on the lesion side, 4) grip strength, and 5) pegboard performance at each time of testing the patients. All patients tolerated tDCS very well during experiment. Patients showed significant (p = 0.01) improved of force and spasticity (p = 0.03). The grip strength and pegboard performance improved significantly too after DCS priming with training. These results showed that cathodal tDCS is a useful device for rehabilitation when priming with motor training in stroke patients. These patients proved the clinical relevance of the results.
Arm* ; Elbow ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Methods ; Muscle Spasticity ; Neuronal Plasticity ; Paresis ; Pilot Projects* ; Rehabilitation ; Stroke ; Torque ; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation*

Medicinal plants of Moraceae family have been well-recognized traditionally due to their versatile applications in various fields including agriculture, cosmetic and food as well as in pharmaceutical industries. Their biomedical and medicinal importance is reflected from their broad range of pharmacological activities for treatment of various inflammatory conditions, cancer, infectious diseases, and gastrointestinal disorders. The present review was aimed to summarize and critically discuss the biomedical implications of Morus species, their bioactive compounds, and phytochemicals. Bioactivity guided fractionation of these medicinal plants revealed that different types of bioactive phytochemicals and secondary metabolites such as steroids, saponins, alkaloids, glycosides and phenolic compounds including terpenoids, flavonoids, anthocyanins and tannins were present. The critical analysis of the literature revealed that the aqueous, methanolic, and ethanolic extracts of Morus species and their bioactive compounds exhibit remarkable anti-oxidative, anti-diabetic, anti-stress, nephroprotective, antimicrobial, anti-mutagenic, anticancer, anxiolytic, hepatoprotective, anthelmintic, antimicrobial, immune-modulatory and cholesterol lowering effects. Based on the literature review and bioactivity guided investigation of Morus species and their phytomedicinal effects, we anticipate that these herbal products hold excellent potential for future research.

Objective To investigate the hepatoprotective efficacy of cranberry extract (CBE) against carbon tetrachloride (CCl

OBJECTIVE: The present study explored the effects of the combined herbal therapy consisting of curcumin (CUR) and Fructus Ligustri Lucidi (FLL) on aspects of bone regeneration. METHODS: Prior to analyzing the ability of this novel combined herbal therapy to promote aspects of bone regeneration, its cytotoxicity was determined using MC3T3-E1 cells (pre-osteoblast model). Cell proliferation was evaluated using phase-contrast microscopy and cell differentiation was estimated using alkaline phosphatase activity. The effect of the combined herbal therapy (CUR + FLL) was also assessed in terms of mineralization in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of cultured cells. Further, to explore the molecular mechanisms of bone formation, time-dependent expression of bone-regulating protein biomarkers was also evaluated. RESULTS: Combined herbal therapy (CUR + FLL) significantly upregulated the viability, proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells compared to the monotherapy of CUR or FLL. The magnitude of ECM mineralization (calcium deposition) was also higher in MC3T3-E1 cells treated with combined therapy. The time-dependent expression of bone-forming protein biomarkers revealed that the tendency of expression of these bone-regulating proteins was remarkably higher in cells treated with combined therapy. CONCLUSION The co-administration of CUR and FLL had superior promotion of elements of bone regeneration in cultured cells, thus could be a promising alternative herbal therapy for the management of bone erosive disorders such as osteoporosis.