1,720,999 research outputs found
Wild species of vaccinium composition, nutritional value and utilization
Full text linkThere are still, in many parts of the globe, some edible fruit collects from the wild for human feeding and other uses. These fruits are utilised either in their raw nature or after some form of processing. One of these wild fruits are Vaccinium species such as Vaccinium myrtoides (Blume) Miq., Vaccinium cylindraceum, Vaccinium padifolium, Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium myrtillus and others from the plant family Ericaceae. The term wild infers non-cultivated plants found in plantation felids or the forest. The species Vaccinium myrtoides and the others are small trees (shrubs) that are well known in Southeast Asian countries such as Philippines, Indonesia and other neighbouring islands. The plants classified as wild growing shrubs. However, the locals have made it be fully utilized in some areas as the wood that are used in grafting utensils and cutleries, or as fuel and fruits. The small-sized berry-like fruits with an average diameter of about 4–5 mm turn black when ripe. They have a delicious flavour that makes it edible and used in the making of other delicacies such as tart and pies to add flavour and as preservatives as well. A few published researches were done on Vaccinium myrtoides showing that it is still used in folkloric medicine. Leaves and fruits extracts showed strong antioxidant activity when tested in-vitro using DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging activity as part of a preliminary phytochemical screening for V. myrtoides. The study revealed that the antioxidant activity is due to the presence of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds in the plant leaves and fruit extracts
Muntingia calabura: chemical composition, bioactive component and traditional uses
Full text linkMuntingia calabura, commonly known as Jamaican cherry, is a plant species belonging to the family Muntingiaceae with variety of traditional uses. Following on these folklore claims, the works on phytochemicals constituents, traditional uses, pharmacological benefits and their mechanisms are presented in a number of studies as well as the in vitro and in vivo investigations. This species contains valuable phytochemicals with known medicinal properties that are beneficial to the well-being (e.g. anti-microbial, anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory etc.). Still, further and in-depth researches including a well-designed pharmacological tests and randomized clinical trials are required to unlock the hidden potential medicinal values of this plant, thus lead to the new drug discoveries of M. calabura
Flacourtia rukam: Biochemistry, Functions and Utilization
Full text linkFlacourtia rukam is a species of the Flacourtiaceae. The edible, cherry-like, sweet and sour fruits of the species are not known to be commercially exploited. Phenolic compounds and flavonoids are the main constituents of the fruits, which have also been reported to have good antioxidant properties. However, the available information on the phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of F. rukam indicated it to be very much an underutilized tropical fruit tree. Nevertheless, based on the ethnomedicinal uses of the fruits and other parts of the plant, its economic potential as a health giving food crop should be further investigated and properly evaluated
Propiedades fisicoquímicas, ácidos grasos y tocoferoles de aceites obtenidos de plantas y semillas de Sudán
Full text linkSeven oils, obtained from seven Sudanese oil bearing sources that are Albizia lebbek Oil (ALO), Cassia obtusifolia Oil (COO), Cassia occidentalis Oil (CCO), Abutilon pannosum Oil (APO), Mitracarpus villous Oil (MVO), Ipomea indica Oil (IIO) and Sesamum alatum Oil (SAO), were investigated. The seeds were collected in Sudan from Ghibaish, North Kordofan state. In addition to the oil content, the fatty acid was determined by capillary gas chromatography and the tocopherols were evaluated by highperformance liquid chromatography. The oil content of the seven seeds amounted to 12.8, 7.0, 3.2, 7.1, 11.5, 8.8, and 21.3%, respectively.The oils contained 16.4, 20.0, 14.3, 16.8, 19.4, 19.9 and 10.9 % palmitic acid and 21.0, 24.4, 22.1, 10.9, 27.7, 34.0, 45.1 % oleic acid, and 43.8, 38.2, 45.0, 63.9, 34.6, 33.5, 36.3 % linoleic acid and traces of linolenic acid, respectively.The tocopherol content of these oils amounted to 85.6, 48.2, 32.7, 163.5, 52.5, 30.9, and 26.4 mg/100 g oil, respectively. Alpha-tocopherol was the predominant tocopherol in the oil of Albizia lebbek, Cassia obtusifolia, Cassia occidentalis, and Abutilon pannosum, while gamma-tocopherol was the predominant tocopherol in the oil of Mitracarpus villous, Ipomea indica and Sesamum alatum.Se analizan siete aceites procedentes de plantas y semillas de Sudán: Albizia lebbek Oil (ALO), Cassia obtusifolia Oil (COO), Cassia occidentalis Oil (CCO), Abutilon pannosum Oil (APO), Mitracarpus villous Oil (MVO), Ipomea indica Oil (IIO) y Sesamum alatum Oil (SAO). Las semillas se recolectaron en el estado de Ghibaish, North Kordofan. Además del contenido en aceite (12.8, 7.0, 3.2, 7.1, 11.5, 8.8, y 21.3 %, respectivamente), se determinaron los ácidos grasos mediante cromatografía de gases y los tocoferoles mediante HPLC. Los aceites contenían, respectivamente, 16.4, 20.0, 14.3, 16.8, 19.4, 19.9 y 10.9 % de ácido palmitito, 21.0, 24.4, 22.1, 10.9, 27.7, 34.0, 45.1 % de ácido oleico, 43.8, 38.2, 45.0, 63.9, 34.6, 33.5 y 36.3 % de ácido linoleico y trazas de ácido linolenico. El contenido en tocoferol total fue de 85.6, 48.2, 32.7, 163.5, 52.5, 30.9, y 26.4 mg/100 g oil, respectivamente. Alfa-tocopherol fue el predominante en los aceites de Albizia lebbek, Cassia obtusifolia, Cassia occidentalis, y Abutilon pannosum, mientras gamma-tocopherol fue el mayoritario en los aceites de was the predominant tocopherol in the oil of Mitracarpus villous, Ipomea indica y Sesamum alatum
Traditional Remedies Used in the Treatment of Urinary System and Kidney Diseases in Sudan
No full textBackground: Ethnopharmacological approaches to treating urinary and renal disorders remain integral to healthcare practices throughout Sudan, yet comprehensive documentation of these traditional interventions is lacking. The growing incidence of kidney disorders in Sudan, attributable to environmental conditions and limited healthcare access, underscores the importance of these traditional approaches.
Methods: This review employed a systematic approach following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify and synthesize information about traditional Sudanese remedies for urinary system and kidney diseases. A literature search was conducted using databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and African Journals Online. Initially, 487 articles were identified, with 52 included in the qualitative synthesis.
Results: Analysis reveals diverse botanical agents used across Sudanese regions, with significant usage of Acacia senegal (gum Arabic), Ambrosia maritima, Boscia senegalensis, Solenostemma argel, and Cymbopogon proximus. Preliminary investigations have substantiated the potential of select remedies, notably gum Arabic, for renal insufficiency, demonstrating improved metabolic parameters and reduced serum creatinine in controlled trials.
Conclusion: While traditional Sudanese remedies show promising potential, most lack rigorous validation. This review highlights the need for phytochemical analysis, toxicological assessment, and clinical trials to establish safety and efficacy for integration into contemporary nephrology practice.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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