Herbal pharmaceutical wastewater treatment by a pilot scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor.

Water Sci Technol. 2009; 59(11): 2265-72Satyanarayan S, Karambe A, Vanerkar APHerbal pharmaceutical industry has grown tremendously in the last few decades. As such, literature on the treatment of this wastewater is scarce. Water pollution control problems in the developing countries need to be solved through application of cost effective aerobic/anaerobic biological systems. One such system-the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) process which is known to be cost effective and where by-product recovery was also feasible was applied for treatment of a high strength wastewater for a period of six months in a pilot scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor with a capacity of 27.44 m(3). Studies were carried out at various organic loading rates varying between 6.26 and 10.33 kg COD/m(3)/day and hydraulic retention time (HRT) fluctuating between 33 and 43 hours. This resulted in chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solids (SS) removal in the range of 86.2%-91.6%, 90.0%-95.2% and 62.6%-68.0% respectively. The biogas production varied between 0.32-0.47 m(3)/kg COD added. Sludge from different heights of UASB reactor was collected and subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated good granulation with efficient UASB reactor performance.

Evaluation of the hepatotoxic and hepatoprotective effect of Rwandese herbal drugs on in vivo (guinea pigs barbiturate-induced sleeping time) and in vitro (rat precision-cut liver slices, PCLS) models

Exp Toxicol Pathol. 2009 Jun 1; Mukazayire MJ, Allaeys V, Buc Calderon P, Stévigny C, Bigendako MJ, Duez PPrecision-cut liver slices (PCLS) preserve the tissular organization of the organ and represent an in vitro model closer to in vivo conditions than hepatocytes cultures. As this may be an interesting tool not only for the investigation of hepatotoxic and protective effects but also for bioguided fractionations schemes, the usefulness of PCLS was compared with an in vivo test of liver function. Crude extracts derived from five herbs used in Rwanda for hepatoprotective activity were tested on CCl(4)-treated guinea pigs by the method of barbiturate-induced sleep modification. Aqueous extracts of Ocimum lamiifolium, Crassocephalum vitellinum, Guizotia scabra and Vernonia lasiopus leaves allowed animals to recover barbiturate sleep duration in proportions of 88%, 78%, 61% and 34%, respectively and Microglossa pyrifolia was found inactive. Dried methanolic extracts of the 5 plants were then tested in vitro on rat PCLS for protection against acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity. In this model, G. scabra, M. pyrifolia and V. lasiopus were found hepatotoxic by themselves and unable to prevent acetaminophen toxicity. The most active extract, obtained from O. lamiifolium, was subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation by chromatography on Si-C(18) to yield two quite active fractions. From a single animal, at least 50 PCLS explants can be prepared, which allows testing large amounts of samples, strengthening ethnopharmacological data on hepatoprotective medicinal plants and investigating hepatotoxic effects.

Evaluation of the hepatotoxic and hepatoprotective effect of Rwandese herbal drugs on in vivo (guinea pigs barbiturate-induced sleeping time) and in vitro (rat precision-cut liver slices, PCLS) models

Exp Toxicol Pathol. 2009 Jun 1; Mukazayire MJ, Allaeys V, Buc Calderon P, Stévigny C, Bigendako MJ, Duez PPrecision-cut liver slices (PCLS) preserve the tissular organization of the organ and represent an in vitro model closer to in vivo conditions than hepatocytes cultures. As this may be an interesting tool not only for the investigation of hepatotoxic and protective effects but also for bioguided fractionations schemes, the usefulness of PCLS was compared with an in vivo test of liver function. Crude extracts derived from five herbs used in Rwanda for hepatoprotective activity were tested on CCl(4)-treated guinea pigs by the method of barbiturate-induced sleep modification. Aqueous extracts of Ocimum lamiifolium, Crassocephalum vitellinum, Guizotia scabra and Vernonia lasiopus leaves allowed animals to recover barbiturate sleep duration in proportions of 88%, 78%, 61% and 34%, respectively and Microglossa pyrifolia was found inactive. Dried methanolic extracts of the 5 plants were then tested in vitro on rat PCLS for protection against acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity. In this model, G. scabra, M. pyrifolia and V. lasiopus were found hepatotoxic by themselves and unable to prevent acetaminophen toxicity. The most active extract, obtained from O. lamiifolium, was subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation by chromatography on Si-C(18) to yield two quite active fractions. From a single animal, at least 50 PCLS explants can be prepared, which allows testing large amounts of samples, strengthening ethnopharmacological data on hepatoprotective medicinal plants and investigating hepatotoxic effects.

Evaluating the safety of St. John's Wort in human pregnancy.

Reprod Toxicol. 2009 Jul; 28(1): 96-9Moretti ME, Maxson A, Hanna F, Koren GSt. John's Wort is a herbal therapy, shown to be effective in treating mild to moderate depression; a disease common in women in their childbearing years. With a significant proportion of unplanned pregnancies, exposure to St. John's Wort into pregnancy is expected to occur. The purpose of this study was to determine whether exposure to this agent in pregnancy is associated with major malformations. We prospectively collected and followed subjects taking St. John's Wort and compared them to a matched group of pregnant women taking other pharmacologic therapy for depression and a third group of healthy women, not exposed to any known teratogens. We obtained follow-up information on 54 St. John's Wort exposed pregnancies and 108 pregnancies in the two comparator groups. Our results indicated that the rates of major malformations were similar across the three groups, with 5%, 4% and 0% in the St. John's Wort, disease comparator, and health group, respectively (p=0.26), This was not different that the 3-5% risk expected in the general population. The live birth and prematurity rates were also not different among the three groups. Though further large scale studies are still needed, this first study on the effects of St. John's Wort in human pregnancy does provide some evidence of fetal safety.