Frangula bark 100mg / Taraxacum 100mg tablets

The botanical publications of Boris S. Kharitontsev, who has worked on the flora and vegetation of Tobolsk District (Tyumen Region, south-western Siberia, Russia) for 30 years, make a typical case of grey literature in taxonomic botany. Kharitontsev has described about 400 local “new species” from a single district in this floristically poor territory. Although the taxonomic results of this work are not credible, this vast nomenclatural output requires attention and urges for comprehensive indexing due to requirements of the botanical nomenclature (principles of priority and homonymy). A new species name, Taraxacum stepanekii Sennikov, is proposed for Taraxacum roseolum Kirschner & Štěpánek from Kyrgyzstan, which is an illegitimate later homonym of Taraxacum roseolum Charit.

Abstract licence: CC BY

This article sheds light on the historical dyeing traditions of rural inhabitants of the Eastern Baltic region. The 19th- and early 20th-century Estonian archival sources mention that rotted alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus Mill.) bark was used to dye woollen yarn red. The bark was rotted by leaving it outside for weeks or months before dyeing. Although dyeing red with alder buckthorn bark by fermenting it in wood ash lye is well known, the combination of rotting the bark and using the boiling method to dye red has not been reported. Practical experiments testing shorter and longer-term rotting of alder buckthorn bark both on and under the ground were conducted. Woollen yarns were dyed with rotted bark using the boiling method and were tested for lightfastness and alkaline pH sensitivity, and analysed using HPLC-DAD. The results show that rotting alder buckthorn bark has a strong effect on the achievable colours and that woollen yarns can be dyed different shades of red. The colours were sensitive to alkaline pH and their light fastness varied from very low to good. HPLC-DAD analysis showed that the pretreatment of the bark affected not only the colour but also the dye composition of the dyed wool.

Abstract licence: CC BY

Background/Aim: The use of doxorubicin is limited due to its toxic effects on normal cells. A substance containing antioxidant properties, such as taraxacum officinale, would be useful in preventing doxorubicin toxicity. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of taraxacum officinale on doxorubicin-induced damage in the rat liver. Methods: Forty Wistar albino rats were allocated into four groups. In group 1 (control group), no treatment was given. In group 2 (Taraxacum officinale, group T), 100 mg/kg Taraxacum officinale was administered via the gavage route for 10 days. In group 3 (doxorubicin, group D), a single intraperitoneal dose of 40 mg/kg doxorubicin was given. In group 4 (doxorubicin + Taraxacum officinale, group D+T), a single intraperitoneal dose of 40 mg/kg doxorubicin was administered on the eighth day, and 100 mg/kg Taraxacum officinale was administered for 10 days. Blood malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and the activities of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured. Histopathology was assessed by examining preparations of hepatic tissue with light microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Results: MDA levels were significantly higher, and the activities of SOD and CAT were lower in group D than in group D+T (P=0.04). Tissue damage was significantly higher in group D than in group D+T (P=0.03). Conclusion: Our short-term results indicate that oxidative stress could be responsible for the damage to liver tissue due to doxorubicin, and Taraxacum officinale might reverse these harmful effects.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0