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At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

The reversible antifertility effect of Piper betle Linn. on Swiss albino male mice.

To study the antifertility effect of an extract (alcoholic) of the leaf-stalk of Piper betle Linn., one set of experiments with two different doses in Swiss male albino mice were evaluated. Initially, 500 mg of the leaf-stalk extractive for 30 days and then 1000 mg for next 30 days/animal/day/kg body weight were administered orally. The extract reduced fertility to 0% within 60 days. Suppression of cauda epididymal sperm count and motility (p <0.05) was observed. Biochemical parameters did not show any marked alterations in testosterone content in serum nor 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17beta-HSD) activity in testes although fructose content in seminal vesicles was reduced as are the weights of reproductive organs. The cholesterol content in testes increased, although not appreciably. After cessation of drug (plant extract) treatment, the altered parameters recovered. Results suggest that the contraceptive effect of the extract of leaf-stalk of Piper betle Linn. is mainly on the maturation process of spermatozoa in epididymides without influencing hystemic hormonal profiles. Withdrawal of the extract restored all altered parameters including organ weights and fertility after 60 days.

17-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Children and drug education: the P.I.E.D. Pipers. People Involved in Education about Drugs.

Substance use and abuse are a part of daily life for many children in the 1990s. An innovative project, The P.I.E.D. Pipers, focused on drug education for children as a positive strategy. Changes occurred in children through the educational process at a primary level of intervention. Changes in life-styles to promote drug-free health and the development of coping mechanisms to deal with the drug culture on a daily basis were identified by the children as positive outcomes of the project. Nursing has a responsibility to protect and promote health in a changing society. Positive health habits learned and established in early childhood and continued into adolescence can protect and promote healthful and productive living in adulthood. Research utilization was the basis for the project, with the application of research-based knowledge available from multiple sources. Research utilization for the P.I.E.D. Pipers project provided the impetus and opportunity for children and many professionals to address a societal problem. Nurses as leaders united with trainees, drug counselors, and administrators to form a family that developed a sense of togetherness by promoting a capacity for change, mutual and independent activities, and a feeling of cohesiveness to face the challenge of substance abuse and its consequences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Hypoglycemic effect of the water extract of Piper sarmentosum in rats.

The hypoglycemic effect of the water extract of the whole plant of Piper sarmentosum Roxb. (Piperaceae, Thai name: Chaplu) was examined in normal and streptozotocin-diabetic rats. In an oral glucose tolerance test, a single oral administration of the water extract at doses of 0.125 and 0.25 g/kg significantly lowered the plasma glucose level in the normal rats. A reference drug, glibenclamide, at a dose of 5 mg/kg (per os, p.o.) also showed a significant hypoglycemic effect in the normal rats. In contrast, a single oral administration of the water extract at these doses and glibenclamide did not significantly lower the plasma glucose level in the diabetic rats. However, the repeated oral administration of the water extract at a dose of 0.125 g/kg for 7 days produced a significant hypoglycemic effect in the diabetic rats. Glibenclamide (5 mg/kg, p.o.) also caused significant hypoglycemia in the diabetic rats. These results demonstrated that the water extract of whole plant of Piper sarmentosum has a hypoglycemic effect in rats.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Trade-offs in antiherbivore defenses in Piper cenocladum: ant mutualists versus plant secondary metabolites.

Ant-plant mutualisms may provide indirect evidence for costs of antiherbivore defenses when plants demonstrate trade-offs between allocating resources and energy into ant attractants versus chemical defenses. We tested the hypothesis that ecological trade-offs in defenses are present in Piper cenocladum. This plant possesses two distinct defenses: food bodies that attract predatory ants that destroy herbivore eggs and amides that deter herbivores. Previous studies have demonstrated that the food bodies in P. cenocladum are an effective defense because the ants deter herbivory by specialist herbivores. Amides in other Piper species have been shown to have toxic qualities, but we tested the additional hypothesis that these amides have an actual defensive function in P. cenocladum. To test for ecological trade-offs between the two putative defenses, fragments of P. cenocladum were examined for the presence of amides both when the plant was producing food bodies and when it was not producing food bodies. Plants with active ant colonies had redundant defenses, producing food bodies and high levels of amides at the same time, but we detected a trade-off in that they had significantly lower levels of amides than did plants with no ants. To test for the defensive value of P. cenocladum amides, we used an ant bioassay and we examined herbivory results from previous experiments with plants that had variable levels of amides. These tests demonstrated that amides are deterrent to omnivorous ants, leaf cutting ants, and orthopterans. In contrast, the resident Pheidole bicornis ants are effective at deterring herbivory by specialist herbivores that oviposit eggs on the plant but not at deterring herbivory by nonresident omnivores. We concluded that although both amides and food body production appear to be costly, redundancy in defenses is necessary to avoid damage by a complex suit of herbivores.

Amides↗
PubMed2002

Inhibition of cytochrome P450 3A4 by extracts and kavalactones of Piper methysticum (Kava-Kava).

Inhibitors of cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) were identified in crude extracts from the rhizomes of Piper methysticum G. Forst. (Kava-Kava) using bioassay-guided fractionation. After preliminary purification of an ethyl acetate extract with solid phase extraction, the eluate was further fractionated by means of HPLC and fractions were tested for inhibitory potency using cDNA expressed CYP3A4. Positive fractions were analysed with LC/MS using electrospray ionisation and kavapyrones could be identified as the main CYP3A4 inhibitory components of Piper methysticum.

Anisoles↗
PubMed2004

New amides and gastroprotective constituents from the fruit of Piper chaba.

The 80 % aqueous acetone extract from the fruit of Piper chaba was found to show protective effects on ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric lesions in rats. From the aqueous acetone extract, four new amides named piperchabamides A ( 1), B ( 2), C ( 3), and D ( 4) were isolated, and their structures were determined on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence. In addition, the gastroprotective effects of the principal constituents, piperine ( 5), piperanine ( 6), pipernonaline ( 7), dehydropipernonaline ( 8), piperlonguminine ( 9), retrofractamide B ( 10), guineensine ( 11), N-isobutyl-(2 E,4 E)-octadecadienamide ( 12), N-isobutyl-(2 E,4 E,14 Z)-eicosatrienamide ( 13), and methyl piperate ( 14), were examined. As a result, compounds 5 - 10 and 12 - 14 significantly inhibited ethanol-induced gastric lesions at a dose of 25 mg/kg, p. o., while 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, and 13 also significantly inhibited indomethacin-induced gastric lesions at the same dose.

Amides↗
PubMed1991

Occupational health management of police officers involved in the Piper Alpha disaster.

The Occupational Health Management of Police Officers involved in the Piper Alpha Incident is described with reference to the factors likely to cause either physical or psychological distress and the measures taken to overcome these. Once the enormity of the Piper Alpha Disaster became apparent with the realization that the recovery of the bodies would extend over a period of months, the problems of maintaining the physical and mental health of the Police Officers involved assumed prime importance.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1980

The pied Piper of Hamelin. A medical-historical interpretation.

A historical basis is proposed for the 13th-century legend of the Pied Piper, who led away the rats from the town of Hamelin and when refused payment for his services, led away 130 children and disappeared with them in the mountains. It is suggested that the children actually died in an outbreak of disease and were buried in a common grave at the site of the legendary disappearance. The association with rats points to a rodent-borne infection, and the pied (mottled) coat of the piper seems to indicate a disease causing conspicuous macular lesions. Historical and epidemiologic arguments are presented in favor of murine typhus as the predominant infection in the Hamelin epidemic.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Levodopa reversible loss of the Piper frequency oscillation component in Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVES: Although Parkinson's disease is typically characterised by bradykinesia, rigidity, and rest tremor, the possibility that two additional motor deficits are manifest during small hand muscle activity was explored-namely, weakness and abnormal physiological tremor. METHODS: A paradigm previously used in normal subjects reliably records the strength, tremor and surface EMG of index finger abducting contractions against a compliant (elastic) resistance. In addition to the well known physiological tremor at around 10 Hz, there are other co existing peak tremor frequencies at around 20 and 40 Hz; the last of these frequencies corresponds to the range of EMG Piper rhythm. The same technique was used to study parkinsonian patients while on and off dopaminergic medication. RESULTS: The maximum strength of finger abduction produced by first dorsal interosseous contraction was considerably lower when patients were off medication (mean (SD) 6.27 (1.49) N when off v 12.33 (3.64) N when on). There was also a marked reduction in the power of Piper frequency finger tremor (p<0.0005) and EMG (p<0.0005) oscillations that did not simply result from weaker contraction. CONCLUSION: As the components of physiological tremor at higher frequencies are thought to derive from CNS oscillations important in motor control, their loss in parkinsonism in association with severe off symptoms may represent an important pathophysiological link between dopaminergic depletion and parkinsonian motor deficits.

Electromyography↗
PubMed2006

Melanogenesis stimulation in murine B16 melanoma cells by Kava (Piper methysticum) rhizome extract and kavalactones.

Melanogenesis stimulation activity of aqueous ethanolic extracts obtained from several different parts of five Piper species, namely Piper longum, P. kadsura, P. methysticum, P. betle, and P. cubeba, were examined by using cultured murine B16 melanoma cells. Among them, the extract of P. methysticum rhizome (Kava) showed potent stimulatory effect on melanogenesis as well as P. nigrum leaf extract. Activity-guided fractionation of Kava extract led to the isolation of two active kavalactones, yangonin (2) and 7,8-epoxyyangonin (5), along with three inactive kavalactones, 5,6-dehydrokawain (1), (+)-kawain (3) and (+)-methysticin (4), and a glucosylsterol, daucosterin (6). 7,8-Epoxyyangonin (5) showed a significant stimulatory effect on melanogenesis in B16 melanoma cells. Yangonin (2) exhibited a weak melanogenesis stimulation activity.

Cell Proliferation↗
PubMed1986

Chemical constituents of peppers (Piper spp.) and application to food preservation: naturally occurring antioxidative compounds.

In a structure analysis of the compounds of the genus Piper (Family Piperaceae), we identified five phenolic amides from Piper nigrum, seven compounds from P. retrofractum, and two compounds from P. baccatum. All the phenolic amides possess significant antioxidant activities that are more effective than the naturally occurring antioxidant, alpha-tocopherol. One amide, feruperine, has antioxidant activity as high as the synthetic antioxidants, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Naturally occurring antioxidants, therefore, may surpass BHA and BHT in their ability to inactivate mutagens in food.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2000

The British offshore oil industry after Piper Alpha.

In 1998, the explosion of the Piper Alpha platform claimed 167 lives, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster. Following this disaster, the U.K. offshore regulatory regime underwent a fundamental reconstruction which was based on the principles of self-regulation and goal-setting. This article argues that there has been no clearly discernable pattern of improvement in terms of offshore incidents since the post-Piper Alpha reforms. The authors attribute this lack of improvement to three principal factors, namely, the lack of effective workforce participation and representation in safety matters, the oil industry's strategic use of "veto points" and, lastly, the failure of the new regulator to police offshore safety and to adequately deter rogue operators.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

[French validation of the revised Piper Fatigue Scale].

The need for a valid and reliable multi-dimensional instrument in French to enable nurses and clinicians to assess intensity and changes in cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and evaluate efficacy of intervention stratégies on patient outcome, prompted us to translate the Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS) and assess its psychometric properties in a French speaking population. The revised PFS is a 22 item self-report instrument with four sub-scales: behavioural/severity, affective, sensory and cognitive/mood. The PFS was translated using a procédure of translation and back translation and tested on 20 bilingual subjects. Correlation coefficients were measured between the item scores of the English and French version of the PFS. The French version of the PFS was adjusted and then completed by 229 adult cancer patients with solid tumours under-going treatment by chemo-, radio-, hormono- or immunotherapy. A factorial analysis and a multi-traits analysis were used to assess the reliability and the dimensional structure of the translated version of the PFS. Cronbach's alpha correlations ranged between 0.85 and 0.92 for the various sub-scales, thus indicating good sub-scale reliability. Item internal consistency was good with 100% of item-scale correlations greater than or equal to 0.4. Item discriminant validity checking showed 3 items to be insufficiently discriminating. Item-scale correlations greater than the correlation of the item with other sub-scales were 98%. The Cognitive/Mood dimension appeared to group 2 separate dimensions. Convergent validity, tested by correlating the PFS with a Visual Analogue Scale measuring fatigue and with the OMS Physical Performance Status Scale, revealed significant relationships. A five sub-scale model of the PFS is proposed containing 22 items to increase performance of the French version of the PFS comparatively to the 4 sub-scale model of the original PFS. Translation of 2 items has been slightly modified to reduce ambiguity. The overall results of this preliminary study are satisfactory. We expect results to be further improved by the modifications proposed and testing is now underway in homogenous populations to evaluate the sensitivity of the instrument to changes over time. This will enable us to ascertain the definitive French version of the Piper Fatigue Scale.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1984

The mutagenicity of nitrite-treated aqueous extract of Piper betle L.

Betel quid is chewed as a masticatory material by people in certain areas of Asia. The quid chewing has been related to oral cancer by epidemiological study. The mutagenic components in the aqueous extracts of betel quid ingredients were studied. Only nitrite-treated aqueous extract of Piper betle L fruits, leaves or rhizoma were demonstrated to exhibit a mutagenic response, using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA100 and TA1535 in the Ames test. When the aqueous extract of the fruit was nitrosated, the greatest number of mutagenic substances were formed at pH 3. The formation of mutagens was enhanced by increasing the temperature from 5 to 95 degrees C. Maximum production of the mutagens occurred within 15 min when nitrosation was conducted at 35 degrees C. The mutagenic components in nitrite-treated aqueous extract of Piper betle L fruit were found to be N-nitrosopiperidine, N-nitrosopyrrolidine, N-nitrosomorpholine, and other compounds, as determined by gas chromatography-thermal energy analyzer.

Areca↗
PubMed1997

[Essential oil components in leaves and stems of Piper bisasperatum (Piperaceae)].

The composition of the essential oils of the leaves and spikes of Piper bisasperatum Trel. (Piperaceae) obtained by hydrodistillation were investigated by GC-MS. The main constituents of the leaves oil were the sesquiterpenes germacrene D (30.7%), beta-caryophyllene (9.5%) and gamma-elemene (5.9%), together with the monoterpene beta-pinene (5.5%). The main constituents of the spikes (flowers and fruits) were the monoterpenes beta-pinene (17.5%), alpha-pinene (14.0%) and the sesquiterpenes germacrene D (19.5%), beta-caryophyllene (7.9%) and ylangene (7.6%). The C6-C1 compounds benzyl benzoate (0.3%) and benzaldehyde (< 0.1%) were identified for the first time in the genus Piper.

Costa Rica↗
PubMed1997

Toxicity of Piper abyssinica seeds to Nubian goats.

An investigation is described in which Nubian goats were given daily oral doses of Piper abyssinica seeds at 0.25; 1 and 5 g/kg body weight. The results of liver and kidney function tests were correlated with the clinical and pathological changes. In goats receiving the plant seed at 5 g/kg body weight/day, death occurred within 5-14 days and the main signs were bloated rumen, diarrhoea, dysponoea and ataxia. Enterohepatonephropathy was accompanied by increases in the activity of serum ALP and GGT, in the concentration of cholesterol, globulin, total lipids and urea and decreases in the level of albumin. Piper seed was toxic but not lethal to goats at doses of 0.25 and 1 g/kg body weight.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

New prenylated benzoic acid derivatives of Piper hispidum.

Three new 4-hydroxy-benzoic acid derivatives, 4-methoxy-3,5-bis-(3-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-butenyl)benzoate, 3-hydroxy-2-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-5-carboxylic acid, and 3-hydroxy-2-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-5-carboxylic acid methyl ester together with eight known compounds, have been isolated from the stems of Piper hispidum. Their structures were elucidated by a detailed spectroscopic analysis. In addition, the cytotoxicity of seven isolated compounds has been evaluated, revealing a moderate activity for three derivatives of dillapiole.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗