@article {1136, title = {Revealing Anti-Microbial Potential of Traditional Siddha Formulation Pancha Karpa Chooranam against Infectious Pathogens}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Research}, volume = {15}, year = {2023}, month = {February 2023}, pages = {399-404}, type = {Original Article }, chapter = {399}, abstract = {

Background: Infectious diseases are considered to be the most significant threat to human health due to the fact that they are responsible for one-half of all deaths in tropical countries. The majority of the currently available antibiotics have significant drawbacks in terms of antimicrobial spectrum and side effects. Over usage of such antibiotics has contributed to the development of clinical resistance in formerly sensitive microorganisms. Siddha system of medicine offers interesting possibilities to combat drug{\textendash}resistant pathogens. Medicinal herbs constitute an essential component of Siddha preparations are known for its diverse range of biological activity. One such potential formulation that exists in the Siddha system is Pancha Karpa Chooranam (PKC) which comprises a unique blend of five (pancha) potential herbal ingredients. Materials and Methods: The main objective of the present investigation is to evaluate the anti-microbial efficacy of the formulation PKC using the disc diffusion method. Results: Results of the study clearly emphasise that the drug PKC exhibits significant antimicrobial activity against all the tested organisms. Potency was measured in terms of zone of inhibition against Escherichia coli (15{\textendash}23 mm), Staphylococcus aureus (13{\textendash}19 mm), B. subtilis (12{\textendash}19 mm), Salmonella typhi (16{\textendash} 23 mm), and Candida albicans (17{\textendash}21 mm). It was concluded from the results of the present investigation that the Siddha formulation PKC reveals broad spectral anti-bacterial activity against both gramme-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, B. subtilis) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi) pathogens. Conclusion: Further, it was evident that the formulation advocates potential anti-fungal activity against Candida albicans represented by the maximal zone of inhibition which attributes to the existence of structurally diverse phytochemicals present in the preparation. Hence traditional formulations like PKC shall be recommended for clinical management of drug{\textendash}resistant pathogens in near future.

}, keywords = {Anti-bacterial, Anti-fungal., Infectious diseases, Medicinal herbs, Pancha Karpa Chooranam, Phytochemicals, Siddha formulation}, doi = {10.5530/pres.15.2.043}, author = {Sattanathan Iyswarya and Sampath Meena and Shanmugasundaram Visweswaran and Narayanan Jagathambal Muthukumar} } @article {57, title = {Herbs and Medications Used for Treatment and Prophylaxis of Influenza Infections Including H5N1, H1N1, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Research}, volume = {13}, year = {2021}, month = {May 2021}, pages = {96-103}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {96}, abstract = {

Background:\ Herbs are plants or plant parts used for their scent, flavor, or therapeutic properties. Herbal medicine is one type of dietary supplement that has been used for thousands of years for treatment or prophylaxis of many diseases including influenza virus infection. Although there are many previous studies about these issues, I did not find many research about using these herbs in treatment or prophylaxis of other influenza infections including H5N1, H1N1, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and SARS-CoV-2.\ Objective:\ To collect, evaluate, and explore new important data about using medicinal herbs in these disorders{\textquoteright} treatment or prophylaxis.\ Materials and Methods:\ I collected and explored new results and data from 24 professional health-care givers who had an experience about using these herbs in treatment or prophylaxis of these diseases. Then, I evaluated descriptively and quantitatively the results with alpha significance level <=5\% by tests such as Chi-square one-sample and reliability and validity tests.\ Results:\ The study showed many significant results about using these herbs, through using descriptive tests including one-sample Chi-square test, like in SARS-CoV-2 treatment (n\ = 414) with mean = 2.5870 {\textpm} 0.06730 and\ P\ \< 0.05, while in SARS-CoV-2, prophylaxis (n\ = 275) with mean = 2.1164 {\textpm} 0.06271 and\ P\ \< 0.05.\ Conclusion:\ This study revealed that there are some particular herbs that can be used in the treatment and prophylaxis of these diseases as adjunctives to the main typical treatment regimen, not as a monotherapy. Furthermore, many studies should be conducted in this field.

}, keywords = {Dietary supplement, Echinacea, H1N1, H5N1, Infectious disorders, Medicinal herbs, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2}, doi = {10.4103/pr.pr_32_20}, author = {Sameh Monir Abdou Desouki} }