Thirty extracts of plants traditionally used by the Chacobos, a native community living in the Amazonian part of Bolivia, were screened in vitro and/or in vivo for antimalarial activity. Two of the four species designated as antimalarial, Geissospermum laeve and Maquira coriacea, displayed rather good activity, corroborating their traditional uses.

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycaemia together with biochemical alterations of glucose and lipid metabolism. This chronic disorder arises as a result of insufficient production of the pancreatic β-cells hormone insulin or inadequate utilization of insulin.

For centuries, malaria was treated with the bark of Cinchona calisaya and Cinchona succirubra plants named “quinas” in Brazil, from which the quinine molecule was isolated. Other plant species known also as “quinas” are used to treat fever and malaria, like Deianira erubescens (roots and leaves), Strychnos pseudoquina (bark), and Remijia ferruginea (bark).

The method of inducing edemas by applying carragenin to the feet of mice is a classic model for the study of products with anti-inflammatory activity. The by-products of the metabolism of araquidonic acid via cecloxigenesis and the production of reactive species of oxygen are also involved.

Infectious diseases account for high proportion of health problems in the developing countries like India. Microorganism has developed resistance to many antibiotics and this has created immense clinical problem in the treatment of infectious diseases.

Nature is a well-recognized source of compounds of interest, but access is often an issue. One pertinent example is the cinchona alkaloids from the bark of Cinchona calisaya. In this experiment, students at the third-year undergraduate level undertake the selective isolation and characterization of two of the four main alkaloids present in the bark.

Nature is a well-recognized source of compounds of interest, but access is often an issue. One pertinent example is the cinchona alkaloids from the bark of Cinchona calisaya. In this experiment, students at the third-year undergraduate level undertake the selective isolation and characterization of two of the four main alkaloids present in the bark.

Four of the most disabling human diseases are syphilis, malaria, schizophrenia, and manic-depressive illness. The history of the development of treatments for these seemingly unrelated disorders intersects at several points.

Four of the most disabling human diseases are syphilis, malaria, schizophrenia, and manic-depressive illness. The history of the development of treatments for these seemingly unrelated disorders intersects at several points. Treatment of tertiary cerebral syphilis (general paresis) by inducing fever with malaria led to a Nobel Prize.

The archives of Flora Medicinal, an ancient pharmaceuticallaboratory that supported ethnomedical research in Brazil for more than 30years, were searched for plants with antimalarial use.

Quina will be used in humans and therefore the vital importance of carrying out these first-step tests. They will not only guarantee the quality of the product, but will also establish that there are no adverse side effects in humans who take the product.