Project description:Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wight & Arn., a well known Traditional medicine an. popularly known as Arjuna, has a long antiquity of its role as a cardiac stimulant, and has been stipulated in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, heart failure and atherosclerosis. The present study was carried out to access the effects of Terminalia arjuna as an adjuvant therapy in angiographically proven patients with stable coronary artery disease who were on conventional medications. The goal of the study was to establish whether Terminalia arjuna exerts beneficial effects in targetting disease signatures which remain unresponsive to the standard therapies currently employed in the clinics. The present study scientifically validates the therapeutic effects of this medicinal plant as an adjuvant therapy along with conventional drugs routinely used in the clinics for prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease. To access the effect of T.arjuna, a placebo-controlled, double blind randomized study was carried out in 100 angiographically proven non-diabetic patients with coronary artery disease having disease more than 3 months prior to their enrollment and using any combination of cardiac-related medications including ASA, ACEIs, ARBs, β-blockers and statins (Trial Registration Number : REF/2013/03/004810). Out of total 100 patients, 50 patients were on drug A and 50 patients were on drug B for a total duration of 6 months (Follow-up at 3 and 6 months). Both Drug as well as placebo was given in the form of capsule (500mg) provided by The Himalaya Drug Company, Bangalore. Method of concealment was through coded identical containers. All the participants, investigator, outcome Assessor and data-entry operator were blinded during the whole study. Micro-array was performed in 2 randomly selected patients in each sub-group i.e. Terminalia arjuna or Placebo at 3 and 6 months respectively. RNA extraction and hybridization was carried out using Affymetrix microarrays. Differential expression of genes in T.arjuna-treated and Placebo groups was studied to understand the specificity, efficacy and mechanism of action of T.arjuna.

Project description:Kidney stone formation during hyperoxaluric condition is inherently dependent on the interaction between renal epithelial cells and calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystals. Although modern medicine has progressed in terms of removal of these stones, recurrence and persistent side effects restricts their use. Strategies involving plant based agents which could be used as adjunct therapy is an area which needs to be explored. Plant proteins having antilithiatic activity is a hitherto unexplored area and therefore, we conducted a detailed identification and characterization of antilithiatic proteins from Terminalia arjuna (T. arjuna). Proteins were isolated from the dried bark of T. arjuna and those having molecular weights > 3 kDa were subjected to anion exchange chromatography followed by gel filtration chromatography. Four proteins were identified exhibiting inhibitory activity against CaOx crystallization and crystal growth kinetics The cytoprotective and anti-apoptotic efficacy of these purified proteins was further investigated on oxalate injured renal epithelial cells (MDCK and NRK-52E) wherein, injury due to oxalate was significantly attenuated and led to a dose dependent increase in viability of these cells. These proteins also prevented the interaction of the CaOx crystals to the cell surface and reduced the number of apoptotic cells. Identification of these 4 anionic proteins from the bark of T. arjuna was carried out by Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight Mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). This was followed by database search with the MASCOT server and sequence similarity was found with Nuclear pore anchor, DEAD Box ATP-dependent RNA helicase 45, Lon protease homolog 1 and Heat shock protein 90-3. These novel proteins isolated from T. arjuna have the potential to inhibit CaOx crystallization and promote cell survival and therefore, offer novel avenues which need to be explored further for the medical management of urolithiasis.

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Terminalia arjuna

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