€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ ****CHUNG HSI I CHIEH HO TSA CHIH CHINESE JOURNAL OF MODERN DEVELOPMENTS** Wang B Ma L Liu T [406 cases of angina pectoris in coronary heart disease treated with saponin of Tribulus terrestris] In: Chung Hsi I Chieh Ho Tsa Chih (1990 Feb) 10(2):85-7, 68 ISSN: 0254-9034 (Published in Chinese) Coronary heart disease (CHD) was treated with saponin of Tribulus terrestris. According to 406 cases of clinical observation and a cross test (67 cases treated with Yufen Ningxin Pian as control), the results showed that the total efficacious rate of remission angina pectoris was 82.3%. It was higher than the control group with a total effective rate of 67.2% (P less than 0.05). The total effective rate of ECG improvement (52.7%) was even higher than that of the control group (35.8%). It is shown that saponin of Tribulus terrestris has the action of dilating coronary artery and improving coronary circulation, and thus has better effects on improving ECG of myocardial ischemia. If taken for a long time, it has no adverse reaction on blood system and hepatic and renal functions. Neither does it have side effects. It is one of the ideal medicines to treat angina pectoris. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****INDIAN JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY***** Anand R Patnaik GK Kulshreshtha DK Dhawan BN Activity of certain fractions of Tribulus terrestris fruits against experimentally induced urolithiasis in rats. In: Indian J Exp Biol (1994 Aug) 32(8):548-52 ISSN: 0019-5189 An ethanolic extract of the fruits of T. terrestris showed significant dose dependent protection against uroliths induced by glass bead implantation in albino rats. On subsequent fractionation of the ethanol extract, maximum activity was localised in the 10% aqueous methanol fraction. It provided significant protection against deposition of calculogenic material around the glass bead. It also protected leucocytosis and elevation in serum urea levels. Further, fractionation lead to decreased activity. This could be either due to loss of active compounds during fractionation, or the antiurolithiatic activity of T. terrestris being a combined effect of several constituents present in the methanolic fraction. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY***** Sangeeta D Sidhu H Thind SK Nath R Effect of Tribulus terrestris on oxalate metabolism in rats. In: J Ethnopharmacol (1994 Oct) 44(2):61-6 ISSN: 0378-8741 This study concerns the effect of an aqueous extract of Tribulus terrestris on the metabolism of oxalate in male rats fed sodium glycolate. Glycolate feeding resulted in hyperoxaluria as well as increased activities of oxalate synthesizing enzymes of the liver i.e. glycolate oxidase (GAO), glycolate dehydrogenase (GAD) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and decreased kidney LDH activity. T. terrestris administration to sodium glycolate fed rats produced a significant decrease in urinary oxalate excretion, and a significant increase in urinary glyoxylate excretion, as compared to sodium glycolate fed animals. The supplementation of T. terrestris with sodium glycolate also caused a reduction in liver GAO and GAD activities, whereas liver LDH activity remained unaltered. The isoenzyme pattern of kidney LDH revealed that normalization of kidney LDH by T. terrestris feeding was mainly due to an increase in the LDH 5 fraction. The LDH 1 isoenzyme remained unchanged in all the groups. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****MYCOPATHOLOGIA***** Abeywickrama K Bean GA Toxigenic Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxins in Sri Lankan medicinal plant material. In: Mycopathologia (1991 Mar) 113(3):187-90 ISSN: 0301-486X The fungal flora of 6 Asian medicinal plants, Aerva lanata (Linn.) Juss. Alyssicarpus vaginalis D.C., Tribulus terrestris Linn. Adhatoda vasica Nees., Centella asciatica (L.) Urb., Cardiospermum halicacabum Linn. was determined. After surface disinfection Aspergillus spp. were most frequently observed. Aspergillus flavus, isolated from Alyssicarpus vaginalis and Aerva lanata produced aflatoxins in culture. Aflatoxin B1 was also detected in a sample of Aerra lanata at a level of 0.5 micrograms/g. Plant material destined for medicinal use should be stored carefully prior to its use to prevent growth of naturally occurring toxigenic mold fungi. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ Abeywickrama K Bean GA Cytotoxicity of Fusarium species mycotoxins and culture filtrates of Fusarium species isolated from the medicinal plant Tribulus terrestris to mammalian cells. In: Mycopathologia (1992 Dec) 120(3):189-93 ISSN: 0301-486X Ayurvedic medicine, which uses decoctions made of medicinal plants, is used to cure diseases in many Asian countries including Sri Lanka. Although proper storage facilities for medicinal plants are unavailable in Sri Lanka, neither the potential for growth of toxigenic fungi nor their ability to produce mycotoxins in stored medicinal plants has been investigated. We isolated three Fusarium species, F. culmorum, F. acuminatum and F. graminearum from the medicinal plant Tribulus terrestris. Culture extracts of the 3 Fusarium spp. were cytotoxic to mammalian cell lines BHK-21 and HEP- 2. Three toxic metabolites produced by Fusarium spp; T-2 toxin, zearalenone, and diacetoxyscirpenol were also cytotoxic to the mammalian cell lines. The 3 Fusarium spp. grown on rice media produced zearalenone. Plant material destined for medicinal use should be stored under suitable conditions to prevent growth of naturally occurring toxigenic fungi prior to its use. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****PHYTOCHEMISTRY***** Achenbach H Hubner H Brandt W Reiter M Cardioactive steroid saponins and other constituents from the aerial parts of Tribulus cistoides. In: Phytochemistry (1994 Apr) 35(6):1527-43 ISSN: 0031-9422 From the petrol extract of the aerial parts of Tribulus cistoides three steroid sapogenins and two N-acyltyramines were isolated, whereas the methanolic extract gave nine steroid saponins, among them the cardioactive cistocardin, saponin-3, saponin-4 and saponin-7. Furthermore, a furostanol diglycoside was isolated besides 5'- (hydroxysulphonyloxy) jasmonic acid, D-(+)-pinitol and sucrose. The structures were established by spectroscopic investigations of the isolated compounds and their hydrolysis products. 5'- (Hydroxysulphonyloxy) jasmonic acid has been prepared by partial synthesis. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ Wu G Jiang S Jiang F Zhu D Wu H Jiang S Steroidal glycosides from Tribulus terrestris. In: Phytochemistry (1996 Aug) 42(6):1677-81 ISSN: 0031-9422 In addition to hecogenin 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1--> 4)-beta-D- galactopyranoside, two new steroidal saponins were isolated from the aerial parts of Tribulus terrestris L. On the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence, especially 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques, the structures of the new saponins were established as 26-O-beta-D- glucopyranosyl-3-O-[-beta-D-xylopyranosyl(1--> 3)--beta-D- galactopyranosyl(1-->2)--beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1--> 4)-beta-D- glucopyranosyl]-5 alpha-furost-20(22)-en-12-one-3 beta, 26-diol and 26- O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-3-O-[{beta-D-xylopyranosyl (1-->3)--beta-D- galactopyranosyl(1-->2)--beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1 -->4)-beta-D- glucopyranosyl]-5 alpha-furostan-12-one-3 beta,22,26-triol. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ Achenbach H Hubner H Reiter M Cholestane- and pregnane-type glycosides from the roots of Tribulus cistoides. In: Phytochemistry (1996 Feb) 41(3):907-17 ISSN: 0031-9422 From the methanolic extract of the roots of Tribulus cistoides the cardioactive saponin-3, which is known to occur in the leaves, was isolated along with tribulosin, a pregnane-type glycoside and eight new cholestane glycosides. D-(+)-Pinitol and sucrose were major constituents. The structures were established by spectroscopic studies of the isolated compounds, their acetylated derivatives and their hydrolysation products. Chemical conversions revealed the configurations at C-22 and C-25, respectively. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****YAO HSUEH HSUEH PAO [ACTA PHARMACEUTICA SINICA]***** Huang XL Zhang YS Liang ZY [Studies on water soluble polysaccharides isolated from Tribulus terrestris L--purification and preliminary structural determination of heteropolysaccharide H] In: Yao Hsueh Hsueh Pao (1991) 26(8):578-83 ISSN: 0513-4870 (Published in Chinese) Crude polysaccharides extracted from the stem and leaf of Tribulus terristris L after the removal of crude saponins are a mixture of heteropolysaccharides composed of Ara, Rha, Xyl, GalA, Gal, Glc and Man in molar ratios of 6.0:2.1:1:3.6:3.4:7.7:2.9. A homogeneous polysaccharide H obtained by gradation and purification contains Ara, Rha, Xyl, GalA. Gal and Glc. in molar ratios of 1.6:2.4:0.1:3.5:1.3:1. Its molecular weight was found to be 1 x 10(5). By means of pectinase and beta-D-galactosidase enzymolysis, periodate oxidation, Smith degradation, partial hydrolysis with acid, methylation, GC and GC-MS, the H contains alpha-D-GalA (1-4) and L- Rha (1-2) probably linked alternately as main chain with some L-Rha (1-2) side chains. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€