he Aloe genus, known and used in phytotherapy for thousands of years, continues to be of therapeutic interest from new points of view as well: in addition to its recognised laxative and disinfectant qualities, its immunostimulant, antiulcerogenous and ant i-tumoural characteristics mak e it worthy of closer study. Despite some terminological difficulties of a botanical […]
The various species of aloe (see Par t One in Natural 1, September 2002) are the source of two important groups of compounds used in therapy: anthranoids [aloe latex] and polysaccharides (aloe gel) ; both groups are contained in the leaf and this may cause some discr iminatory difficulties, aggravated by the easy, reciprocal and […]
As already recalled in Par t One (Natural 1, September 2002), Pharmacopoeias do not refer to a drug consisting of aloe leaf but of its dried latex (see Par t Two, point 2.1 in Natural 1, October 2002). In this regard, the American Pharmacopoeia (USP 25, p. ) states: “Aloe is the dr ied juice […]
Aloe and its constituents/derivatives is considered the most energetic laxative of the common purgative drugs (senna, cascara, frangula, rhubarb) and, as such, was greatly used in the past from time immemorial (the Ebers Papyrus from Thebes). Even today, in the presence of serious constiption and in individual, non-continuous cases, it can be used profitably… Scarica […]
…at present however, these compounds are gradually losing the interest of gastro-intestinal phytotherapeutic research because they have been replaced by compounds with a blander action (such as the so-called “mechanical” laxat ives”, that is of swelling, such as psyllium) point ing out , however, new horizons in the antitumour field (apoptosis of carcinogenic cells) of […]
In the past ten years, phytotherapeutic knowledge on St. John’s wort has undergone a radical change, allowing it a more objective positive evaluation. From the biological point of view, St. John’s wort is not , as was thought, a drug that is active against psychovegetative disorders, anxiety and nervous agitation but is exclusively an anti-depressant […]
Clinical experimentation with extracts of St.. John’s wort in depressed patients – Results, comparisons and final conclusions of pharmaco ther apy against depression… Scarica PDF
Medicinal herbs are subject to many parasites that at tack both the roots and the shoots or epigeal part of the plant and these have negative effect s on the plant ’s growth and effective ness. The diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria, phytoplasms, viruses and organisms that are similar to viruses, like viroids, as […]
The widespread consumption of preparations with St. John’s wort which, in Germany alone, reached hundreds of millions of prescriptions in the 1990s (1) and selfmedications, allowed valid information to be obtained on the interactions and unwanted effects… Scarica PDF
The menopause is the time when ovarian activity comes to a halt and the woman’s fertility ceases, even if in the early stages of menopause (sometimes even in the first year or two) there may very rarely be ovulatory cycles with the product ion of ovocytes… Scarica PDF