<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">Hi!</SPAN></div>
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<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">here's a news-item which I thought may interest some of you:</SPAN></div><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">
<H1 class=detail-title>Jatropha curcas acts as natural painkiller</H1>
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<SPAN style="RIGHT: auto" class=author><FONT color=#7f7f7f size=4>IANS, <SPAN class=upper>Cape Town, </SPAN>July 12, 2011<VAR id=yui-ie-cursor></VAR></FONT></SPAN> </SPAN></div><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto"><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<div class=body>An extract of the poisonous shrub Jatropha curcas acts as a strong painkiller and may function in a different way than morphine and other pharmaceuticals. </div>
<div class=body>Jatropha curcas, also known as the “physic nut”, is a perennial shrub that grows to five metres in height. It is native to Central America but grows widely in Africa and Asia. </div>
<div class=body>The plant fruit is combined with the stem bark of Cochlospermum planchonii for treating diabetes and is also used traditionally as a painkiller, says Omeh Yusuf and Ezeja Maxwell of University of Agriculture in Umudike, Nigeria. </div>
<div class=body>The plant’s seeds have been used for making soap, candles, detergents, lubricants and dyes and the seed oil is used in biodiesel, the <I>International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology</I> reports. </div>
<div class=body>The researchers extracted what they believed to be the physiologically active components of the leaves of Jatropha curcas using methanol as solvent, according to Umudike statement. </div>
<div class=body>They compared the effects of this extract at 100, 200 and 400 milligrams per kg (mg/kg) of body mass, against 400 mg/kg of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) in standard lab animal tests for assessing the strength of painkillers.</div>
<div class=body>They found that 100 mg/kg was an inadequate dose; however, 200 and 400 mg/kg doses produced analgesia (relief from pain) comparable to aspirin, affirming the use of the plant for pain relief. </div>
<div class=body>Yusuf and Maxwell are now carrying out more work on isolating and characterising the active ingredient in the extract and in determining the precise mode of action.</div>
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<DIV style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 0; MARGIN: 5px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 0px; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class=hr contentEditable=false readonly="true"></DIV><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> Emanuela Appetiti <ceo@medicaltraditions.org><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> Medicinal plants List <mpwg@lists.plantconservation.org><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Friday, July 15, 2011 4:02 AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> [MPWG] History Channel article on the uses of Frankincense and myrrh in ancient times<BR></FONT><BR>
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<div>Hi all!</div>
<div>I am happy to share with you <B><A title="uses of frankincense and myrrh in antiquity" href="http://www.history.com/news/2011/06/27/a-wise-mans-cure-frankincense-and-myrrh/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>this article on the historical uses of Frankincense and Myrrh</A></B>. Thanks for circulating it and I hope you will enjoy the reading.</div>
<div>Best,</div>
<div>Emanuela Appetiti </div>
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