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Phyllanthus emblica L., a distinctive fruit, is rich in polyphenols and polysaccharide. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the role of these compounds as glycolipid lowering ingredients. In this study, the glycolipid lowering ingredients and their effects have been determined by gradually comparing varieties, parts, and components, splitting components, and calculating combined index via their interactions with digestion enzymes, bile acids, cholesterol micelles and probiotics. Results indicated that the glycolipid lowering ingredients were polyphenols and polysaccharide, which located in the pulp, and not influenced by the variety. Pectin with multiple structural domains, and hydrolyzable tannins, i.e. gallic acid, ellagic acid and their derivatives interacted with multiple gut action targets could regulate glycolipid digestion, absorption and metabolism. Polysaccharide and polyphenols demonstrated a synergistic effect in lowering glycolipid by interacting with gut action targets. These findings highlight the potential for further investigation and utilization of glycolipid lowering ingredients in fruits., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Triphala is a traditional Ayurvedic herbal formulation composed of three fruits: amla (Phyllanthus emblica), bibhitaki (Terminalia bellerica), and haritaki (Terminalia chebula). Triphala is a potent Ayurvedic remedy that promotes digestion, detoxification, and overall wellness, while also providing antioxidant benefits through its trio of nutrient-rich fruits. In order to elucidate the individual contributions of the three ingredients of Triphala from molecular perspective, the individual ingredients were used for the untargeted LCMS/MS analysis. Fresh fruits (PE, TC, and TB) were collected, processed into coarse powders, and sequentially extracted {hexane, chloroform, and ethyl acetate}. LCMS/MS data analysis was performed on the resultant metabolites, with bioinformatics tools employed for pathway enrichment, target prediction, and classification of identified compounds. Additionally, polyphenols were identified as key compounds with potential health benefits. LCMS analysis of the individual extracts identified a total of 10227 features, resulting in 2515 annotated metabolites, with PE contributing the highest number at 1286. Comparative analysis revealed 408 non-redundant metabolites, with 74.2% being unique to individual fruits, underscoring the complementary phytochemical profiles. Pathway enrichment analysis highlighted dominant phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways across all extracts, while a comprehensive polyphenol classification identified 71 polyphenols, with significant interactions predicted between polyphenols and gut microbiota. Additionally, five common polyphenols showed potential human targets related to antioxidant activity. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the phytochemical diversity and potential health benefits of Triphala, supporting its traditional use in promoting health., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Pharmacological treatments for colitis have limited efficacy and side effects. Plant polysaccharides improve colitis by modulating the gut microbiota. However, the specific benefits of Phyllanthus emblica L. polysaccharides (PEPs) in colitis remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the physical characteristics and health advantages of PEP in rats subjected to 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) treatment. The results showed that PEP (1.226 × 10 3  kDa) was an α-acidic pyran heteropolysaccharide rich in galactose and galacturonic acid. Prefeeding rats with PEP significantly decreased the levels of NO, MDA, proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α), apoptosis, and the activities of mucinase and β-glucuronidase. These changes were accompanied by increases in the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10) and antioxidant enzymes (SOD, catalase, GPx) in colitis rats. Mechanistically, PEP suppressed the abundance of inflammatory-related bacteria (Bacteroides, Intestinimonas, and Parabacteroides) while promoting the growth of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria (Romboutsia, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, and Lactobacillus), along with an increase in SCFA secretion. SCFAs may engage with the GPR43 receptor and inhibit downstream HDAC3, consequently downregulating the activation of the RAGE/NF-κB and MAPK pathways. In conclusion, PEP demonstrated preventive effects through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and microbiota modulation properties, thereby ameliorating TNBS-induced colitis in rats., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables in the daily diet may alleviate the risk of developing chronic diseases. Daucus carota L. (carrot), Beta vulgaris L. (beetroot) Phyllanthus emblica L. (amla), and Lycopersicon esculentum M (tomatoes) are traditionally consumed functional foods that contain a high concentration of antioxidants, ascorbic acid, polyphenols, and numerous phytochemicals. This study assessed how three distinct preparation methods affect the phenolic, flavonoid, carotenoid, and ascorbic acid contents, antioxidant level, and cytotoxicity of the combined fruit extract. The fruit samples were taken in the ratio of carrot (6): beetroot (2): tomato (1.5): amla (0.5) and processed into a lyophilized slurry (LS) extract, lyophilized juice (LJ) extract, and hot-air oven-dried (HAO) extract samples. The sample extracts were assessed for their phytoconstituent concentrations and antioxidant and cytotoxic potential. The total phenolic content in LS, LJ, and HAO extracts was 171.20 ± 0.02, 120.73 ± 0.02, and 72.05 ± 0.01 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g, respectively and the total flavonoid content was 23.635 ± 0.003, 20.754 ± 0.005, and 18.635 ± 0.005 mg quercetin equivalent/100 g, respectively. Similarly, total ascorbic acid content, carotenoids, and antioxidant potential were higher in the LS and LJ extracts than in HAO. Overall, the LS extract had a substantially higher concentration of phytochemicals and antioxidants, as well as higher cytotoxic potential, compared to the LJ and HAO extracts. The LS extract was tested in the MKN-45 human gastric cancer cell line to demonstrate its effective antioxidant potential and cytotoxicity. Hence, lyophilization (freezing) based techniques are more effective than heat-based techniques in preserving the phytoconstituents and their antioxidant and cytotoxic potential.

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation causes acute and chronic cutaneous effects that may result in photodamage and photoaging. Epidermis keratinocytes, as the closest surface of skin, are susceptible to damage from UV rays. Phyllanthus emblica Linn. fruit (PE) extract, as a medicine and food dual-use plant, contains high levels of polyphenols and possesses multiple pharmacological properties. The present study investigated common and different molecular mechanisms and signaling pathway activations of UVA and UVB stimulated cell damage and photoprotective effect of PE extract against UVA and UVB by Methyl Thiazolyl Tetrazolium (MTT) method, Elisa assay, flow cytometry, differentially expressed genes analysis and western blot analysis. The results showed that UVA exposure (10 J/cm 2 ) reduced HaCaT cell viability significantly, increased the apoptosis rate, elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species level and reduced antioxidant enzyme activities. And UVA irradiation could inhibit the ERK/TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway to downregulate collagen I, collagen III and elastin expressions, resulting in the photoaging of skin cells. We also found UVB exposure (30 mJ/cm 2 ) caused HaCaT cell damage, promoted apoptosis, increased ROS production and induced the release of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-6 and PGE2). Further, in HaCaT cells, UVB ray was able to induce the activation of apoptosis markers (cleaved PARP1 and cleaved caspase3) through the MAPK/AP-1 signaling pathway using western blot analysis. Pre-treatment of PE extract prevented the UVA and UVB induced photoaging and injury in HaCaT cells through activation of ERK/TGF-β/Smad pathway and inhibition of MAPK/AP-1 pathway, respectively. Therefore, PE extract has the potential to be used as an oral and topical preparation against skin aging and injury induced by UVA and UVB., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to European Photochemistry Association, European Society for Photobiology.)

Oil-Gan, also known as emblica, is the fruit of the genus Phyllanthus emblica L. The fruits are high in nutrients and display excellent health care functions and development values. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the activities of ethyl acetate extract from Phyllanthus emblica L. (EPE) on type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) and immunoregulatory activities in non-obese diabetes (NOD) mice with spontaneous and cyclophosphamide (Cyp)-accelerated diabetes. EPE was vehicle-administered to spontaneous NOD (S-NOD) mice or Cyp-accelerated NOD (Cyp-NOD) mice once daily at a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight for 15 or 4 weeks, respectively. At the end, blood samples were collected for biological analyses, organ tissues were dissected for analyses of histology and immunofluorescence (IF) staining (including expressions of Bcl and Bax), the expression levels of targeted genes by Western blotting and forkhead box P3 (Foxp3), and helper T lymphocyte 1 (Th1)/Th2/Th17/Treg regulatory T cell (Treg) cell distribution by flow cytometry. Our results showed that EPE-treated NOD mice or Cyp-accelerated NOD mice display a decrease in levels of blood glucose and HbA1c, but an increase in blood insulin levels. EPE treatment decreased blood levels of IFN-γ and tumor necrosis α (TNF-α) by Th1 cells, and reduced interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 by Th17 cells, but increased IL-4, IL-10, and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) by Th2 cells in both of the two mice models by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis. Flow cytometric data showed that EPE-treated Cyp-NOD mice had decreased the CD4 + subsets T cell distribution of CD4 + IL-17 and CD4 + interferon gamma (IFN-γ), but increased the CD4 + subsets T cell distribution of CD4 + IL-4 and CD4 + Foxp3. Furthermore, EPE-treated Cyp-NOD mice had decreased the percentage per 10,000 cells of CD4 + IL-17 and CD4 + IFNγ, and increased CD4 + IL-4 and CD4 + Foxp3 compared with the Cyp-NOD Con group ( p < 0.001, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, and p < 0.05, respectively). For target gene expression levels in the pancreas, EPE-treated mice had reduced expression levels of inflammatory cytokines, including IFN-γ and TNF-α by Th1 cells, but increased expression levels of IL-4, IL-10, and TGF-1β by Th2 cells in both two mice models. Histological examination of the pancreas revealed that EPE-treated mice had not only increased pancreatic insulin-expressing β cells (brown), and but also enhanced the percentage of Bcl-2 (green)/Bax (red) by IF staining analyses of islets compared with the S-NOD Con and the Cyp-NOD Con mice, implying that EPE displayed the protective effects of pancreas β cells. EPE-treated mice showed an increase in the average immunoreactive system (IRS) score on insulin within the pancreas, and an enhancement in the numbers of the pancreatic islets. EPE displayed an improvement in the pancreas IRS scores and a decrease in proinflammatory cytokines. Moreover, EPE exerted blood-glucose-lowering effects by regulating IL-17 expressions. Collectively, these results implied that EPE inhibits the development of autoimmune diabetes by regulating cytokine expression. Our results demonstrated that EPE has a therapeutic potential in the preventive effects of T1D and immunoregulation as a supplementary.

Two pigment producing fungi, Talaromyces atroroseus and Penicillium choerospondiatis, were isolated and identified from infected fruits of Phyllanthus emblica L. based on amplification and sequencing of internal transcribed spacer region and beta-tubulin gene. This is the first occurrence report of these two fungi from fruits of P. emblica. Culture extract containing metabolites of T. atroroseus and P. choerospondiatis contained phenolics of 26.35 mg and 30.89 mg GAE/g dry extract respectively; whereas no significant amount of flavonoids and tannins were detected. P. choerospondiatis metabolites extract showed higher DPPH and ABTS activity with IC 50 values of 21.94 mg/ml and 27.03 mg/ml respectively than T. atroroseus. LC-HRMS analysis of metabolites extract of T. atroroseus revealed presence of trimethyl-isopropyl-butanamide, perlolyrine, N-hexadecanoylpyrrolidine etc. whereas P. choerospondiatis displayed presence of tangeraxanthin, ugaxanthone, daphniphylline, etc. Therefore, fungal metabolites are rich natural sources of diversified compounds that can be utilized in dyeing industries, cosmetics and novel drug development., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Plant extracts antiproliferative effects were determined by using mammalian cells along the expression profile of Caspases 3, 8 and the BID gene of the death receptor-induced pathway. Two medicinal plants viz., Turmeric (Curcuma longa) and Amla (Emblica officinalis) extracts were examined for antiproliferative effect through Neutral Red-Dye uptake assay on Vero and MDA-MB 231 cell lines. A reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the expression of genes while GAPDH expression was used as an internal control. Expression of BID was up-regulated in methanolic turmeric extract-induced MDA-MB 231 cells while Caspases 3,8 expressions were the same in induced and uninduced MDA-MB 231 cells. Activated BID cleaved into tBID and activated the intrinsic pathway which caused death in methanolic turmeric extract-induced cancerous cells. Ethanolic extracts of turmeric exerted the strongest antiproliferative effects on Vero and methanolic extracts on MDA-MB 231 cells. The morphological studies of cell lines and gene expression analysis of turmeric methanolic extract-treated cells showed activation of apoptosis via converting BID into t-BID (intrinsic pathway) and activating Caspase-3 and Caspase-8 (extrinsic pathway). With the differential cytotoxicity and induction of apoptosis in induced cancer cells in comparison to uninduced cancerous cells, hence turmeric is a natural source of new anti-cancerous compounds.

The present study aimed to investigate the inhibition mechanism of polyphenols from Phyllanthus emblica Linn. fruit (PEF, family Euphorbiaceous) on acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Interaction assay, enzyme kinetics, spectroscopic methods, and molecular simulations were performed. Results showed that myricetin, quercetin, fisetin, and gallic acid were the most active components in PEF, because of their low docking scores and strong inhibition ability on AChE with IC 50 values of 0.1974 ± 0.0047, 0.2589 ± 0.0131, 1.0905 ± 0.0598 and 1.503 ± 0.0728 mM, respectively. Among them, the results of kinetic study showed that myricetin, quercetin, and fisetin reversibly inhibited AChE in a competitive manner, while gallic acid inhibited it through a noncompetition type. The interaction assay implied that a combination of the four polyphenols at the selected concentrations manifested a synergistic inhibition effect on AChE in a mixed inhibition type. Fluorescence and UV-vis spectrophotometry revealed that the active PEF polyphenols could strongly quench the intrinsic fluorescence of AChE via a static quenching mechanism. Circular dichroism spectroscopy analysis indicated that the active PEF polyphenols gave rise to the secondary structure changes of AChE by increasing the content of α-helix and reducing β-sheet and random coil conformation. The molecular dynamics simulation results validated that all the four docked polyphenol-AChE complexes were relatively stable according to their root-mean-square distance, root-mean-square fluctuations, solvent accessible surface area, radius of gyration values and hydrogen bonds evaluations during the whole simulation process. Overall, our study provides a creative insight into the further utilization of PEF polyphenols as functional components in exploring natural AChE inhibitors., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Seven phenolic compounds, 1 - 7, including a new organic acid gallate, mucic acid 1-ethyl 6-methyl ester 2-O-gallate (7), were isolated from the MeOH extract of the fruits of Phyllanthus emblica L. (Euphorbiaceae). The structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data. Upon evaluated for their antioxidant abilities by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The inhibitory activities against melanogenesis in B16 melanoma cells induced by α-MSH, as well as cytotoxic activities against four human cancer cell lines were also evaluated. All phenolic compounds, 1 - 7, exhibited potent antioxidant abilities (DPPH: IC 50 5.6 - 12.9 μm; ABTS: 0.87 - 8.43 μm Trolox/μm; FRAP: 1.01 - 5.79 μm Fe 2+ /μm, respectively). Besides, 5 - 7, also exhibited moderate inhibitory activities against melanogenesis (80.7 - 86.8% melanin content), even with no or low toxicity to the cells (93.5 - 101.6% cell viability) at a high concentration of 100 μm. Compounds 1 - 3 exhibited cytotoxic activity against one or more cell lines (IC 50 13.9 - 68.4%), and compound 1 with high tumor selectivity for A549 (SI 3.2)., (© 2017 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

The present study deals about the vicinity of phytochemicals present in the Phyllanthus emblica (P. emblica) seed extract. The bio-active compounds present in the methanolic seed extract have been identified using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS)·The antioxidant activity of P. emblica seed extract was evaluated using assistance of DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. The determination of total phenol and flavonoid substance were contemplated. Further blood clot lysis activity was also done to check the percentage of clot lysis in methanolic seed extract. The result proved that seed extract has potential application. The GCMS results of P. emblica suggest that Octyl-β-d-Glucopyranoside is present in major quantity. The work has been designed towards the degradation of 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol using P. emblica methanolic seed extract. The progress of nitrophenol degradation has been observed in UV-visible spectroscopy. At 5min duration, the 4-nitrophenol has been degraded up to 82.42%. This may be due to the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, carbohydrate and phenols in the P. emblica seed extract. The seed extract showed good scavenging activity which resulted in IC50 value of 85.92μg/mL. The total phenol and flavonoid content present in the extract were 48.242 and 12.72mg/mL. Also the seed extract showed good lysis when compared to the standard streptokinase., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Biochemical profiling of physiologically mature fruits of 51 diverse Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis Gaertn) germplasm accessions was collected from Vindhyan hill region of Madhya Pradesh, with a view to select nutraceutically rich genotypes based on important biochemical traits. The mean ascorbic acid and total phenol (tannin) content amongst different accessions was recorded as 496.47 mg 100 g⁻¹ and 4.88% with highest value found in CISH A-12 (654.50 mg 100 g⁻¹) and CISH A-30 (7.18%), respectively. Apart from the above, wide range of variability in the composition of other important biochemical attributes viz., total soluble solids (8.60-17.70°Brix), acidity (1.61-2.94%), total sugar (4.15-9.17), reducing sugar (2.19-4.45%) and TSS/acid ratio (3.89-8.33) was also recorded. Highest significant and positive correlation was observed between total sugar and TSS (0.895) followed by reducing sugar and TSS (0.882). Significant positive correlation between ascorbic acid and tannins (0.551) was an indication to be associated with binding capacity of ascorbic acid over a longer period of storage.

In liver, the major site of iron storage, iron overload is associated with oxidative damage of protein, lipid, and DNA and causes protein oxidation, lipid peroxidation, and rupture of hepatocytes, leading to cell death. Serum ferritin and liver iron content are the main forecasters of moderate to severe iron overload in the liver. The sequels of excess iron deposition in the liver are fibrosis and enhanced levels of serum enzymes and bilirubin markers. Emblica officinalis (EO) fruit extract was found efficient in lessening intraperitoneally injected iron dextran-induced liver toxicity in Swiss albino mice. Mice administered with different doses of 70% methanol extract of EO (50, 100, and 200 mg kg(-1) body weight) showed significant decrease in liver iron, serum ferritin, and serum enzyme levels, along with the decrease in lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, and collagen content. The activity was further supported by its considerable iron chelation with half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 70.24 ± 2.74 μg ml(-1) and the protection on ferrous ion-mediated DNA breakdown with 50% protection ([P]50) of 1.04 ± 0.01 μg ml(-1). Simultaneously, the extract effectively induced the antioxidant enzyme levels and also exhibited the potential activity of reductive release of ferritin iron. These findings suggest that the EO extract may be used as a potent drug for the treatment of pathological sequences arisen in the iron overload-induced liver damage., (© The Author(s) 2013.)

There is a wealth of information emanating from both in vitro and in vivo studies indicating fruit extract of the Phyllanthus emblica tree, commonly referred to as Indian Gooseberries, has potent anticancer properties. The bioactivity in this extract is thought to be principally mediated by polyphenols, especially tannins and flavonoids. It remains unclear how polyphenols from Phyllanthus emblica can incorporate both cancer-preventative and antitumor properties. The antioxidant function of Phyllanthus emblica can account for some of the anticancer activity, but clearly other mechanisms are equally important. Herein, we provide a brief overview of the evidence supporting anticancer activity of Indian Gooseberry extracts, suggest possible mechanisms for these actions, and provide future directions that might be taken to translate these findings clinically.

Magnesium oxides nanoparticles were successfully synthesized from Mg(NO3)(2)·6H2O through a simple greener route using fruit extract (Emblica officinalis). The synthesized samples were characterized by different techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis. The XRD pattern shows the face centered cubic structure with 27 nm of crystalline size of MgO nanoparticles was confirmed by the Debye-Scherrer's Formula. The spherical in shape of MgO nanoparticles is confirmed by SEM analysis. MgO nanoparticles treated cotton fabric produced stronger antibacterial activity. These types of treated fabrics are used in medical application., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

As part of an ongoing search for the novel pharmacological activities of Phyllanthus emblica, the present study has shown its type I collagen promoting and anti-collagenase effects on primary mouse fibroblast cells. At a concentration of 0.1 mg/ml, emblica extract significantly increased the type I pro-collagen level up to 1.65-fold, and 6.78-fold greater than that of an untreated control, determined by immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis, respectively. Emblica extract caused an approximately 7.75-fold greater type I pro-collagen induction compared to the known herbal collagen enhancer asiaticoside at the same treatment concentration (0.1 mg/ml). Moreover, emblica extract inhibited collagenase activity in a dose-dependent manner. Maximal inhibition was observed (78.67 +/- 3.51%) at a concentration of 1 mg/ml. In summary, emblica extract has a promising pharmacological effect that benefits collagen synthesis and protects against its degradation and could be used as a natural anti-aging ingredient.

During wound healing, the wound site is rich in oxidants, such as hydrogen peroxide, mostly contributed by neutrophils and macrophages. Ascorbic acid and tannins of low molecular weight, namely emblicanin A (2,3-di-O-galloyl-4,6-(S)-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-2-keto-glucono-delta-lactone) and emblicanin B (2,3,4,6-bis-(S)-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-2-keto-glucono-delta-lactone) present in Emblica officinalis (emblica), have been shown to exhibit a very strong antioxidant action. We proposed that addition of these antioxidants to the wound microenvironment would support the repair process. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the efficacy of emblica on dermal wound healing in vivo. Full-thickness excision wounds were made on the back of the rat and topical application of emblica accelerated wound contraction and closure. Emblica increased cellular proliferation and cross-linking of collagen at the wound site, as evidenced by an increase in the activity of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, along with an increase in DNA, type III collagen, acid-soluble collagen, aldehyde content, shrinkage temperature and tensile strength. Higher levels of tissue ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase support the fact that emblica application promotes antioxidant activity at the wound site. In summary, this study provides firm evidence to support that topical application of emblica represents a feasible and productive approach to support dermal wound healing.

Efficacy of a herbal product of E. officinalis (fruit) (EO) has been evaluated against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and thioacetamide (TAA) induced changes in rat liver. Chronic treatment of CCl4 and TAA revealed abnormal histopathology indicative of pre-fibrogenic events. EO reversed such alterations with significant regenerative changes suggestive of its preventive role in prefibrogenesis of liver.

A new procedure has been developed to separate and quantify the free radical-scavenging activity of individual compounds from an Emblica officinalis extract based on the combination of HPTLC with a diode array detector (DAD) and postchromatographic DPPH* radical derivatization. Free gallic and ellagic acids and emblicanins A and B in the E. officinalis extract were separated by TLC and identified. All the compounds of the extract were capable of scavenging of DPPH* radicals. It was established that the DPPH* scavenging activity of emblicanins A and B was 7.86 and 11.20 times more than that of ascorbic acid and 1.25 and 1.78 times more than gallic acid, respectively. From the estimated ID50 values, it can be seen that the increasing order of activity was emblicanin B > emblicanin A > gallic acid > ellagic acid > ascorbic acid. Probably, the antioxidant activity of E. officinalis extract is associated with the presence of hydrolyzable tannins having ascorbic acid-like action.

The design, synthesis and characterization of biologically synthesized nanomaterials have become an area of significant interest. In this paper, we report the extracellular synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles using Emblica Officinalis (amla, Indian Gooseberry) fruit extract as the reducing agent to synthesize Ag and Au nanoparticles, their subsequent phase transfer to an organic solution and the transmetallation reaction of hydrophobized silver nanoparticles with hydrophobized chloroaurate ions. On treating aqueous silver sulfate and chloroauric acid solutions with Emblica Officinalis fruit extract, rapid reduction of the silver and chloroaurate ions is observed leading to the formation of highly stable silver and gold nanoparticles in solution. Transmission Electron Microscopy analysis of the silver and gold nanoparticles indicated that they ranged in size from 10 to 20 nm and 15 to 25 nm respectively. Ag and Au nanoparticles thus synthesized were then phase transferred into an organic solution using a cationic surfactant octadecylamine. Transmetallation reaction between hydrophobized silver nanoparticles and hydrophobized chloroaurate ions in chloroform resulted in the formation of gold nanoparticles.

The radio protective effect of the fruit pulp of Emblica officinalis Gaertn (Emblica) was studied in adult Swiss albino mice. Mice were treated with 2.5 g/kg b.wt of Emblica for 10 consecutive days before irradiation and exposed to a single dose of 700 rads (7Gy) of radiation after the last dose. One group was given Emblica continuously for another 15 days after irradiation. Changes in the total leukocyte count, bone marrow viability and hemoglobin were studied after whole body irradiation. Administration of Emblica significantly increased these levels, which were lowered by irradiation. Animals were sacrificed at various time points after irradiation and the activities of the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and levels of glutathione were assayed in the blood. The damage to the cell membrane after whole body irradiation was studied by measuring the tissue lipid peroxides levels. Administration of Emblica significantly enhanced the activity of the various antioxidant enzymes and GST as well as glutathione system in the blood. Treatment with Emblica also lowered the elevated levels of lipid peroxides in the serum. The data clearly indicated that the extract significantly reduced the bioeffects of radiation. Emblica extract may be useful in reducing the side effects produced during therapeutic radiation.

The kinetics of ascorbic acid degradation in amla (Phyllanthus emblica L.) as well as in pure ascorbic acid solutions at initial concentrations present in amla over a temperature range of 50-120 degrees C (steady-state temperature) has been studied. The ascorbic acid degradation followed first-order reaction kinetics where the rate constant increased with an increase in temperature. The temperature dependence of degradation was adequately modeled by the Arrhenius equation. The activation energies were found to be 4.09 kcal/mole for amla and 4.49 kcal/mole for pure vitamin solution. The degradation kinetics of ascorbic acid was also evaluated in normal open pan cooking, pressure-cooking and a newly developed and patented fuel-efficient EcoCooker (unsteady state heating process). A mathematical model was developed using the steady-state kinetic parameters obtained to predict the losses of ascorbic acid from the time-temperature data of the unsteady state heating processing method. The results obtained indicate the ascorbic acid degradation is of a similar order of magnitude in all the methods of cooking.

A panchagavya Ayurvedic formulation containing E. officinalis, G. glabra, and cow's ghee was evaluated for its effect on pentobarbital-induced sleeping time, pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures, maximal electroshock-induced seizures, spontaneous motor activity, rota-rod performance (motor coordination) and antagonism to amphetamine in mice. The formulation (300, 500 mg/kg, po) produced a significant prolongation of pentobarbital-induced sleeping time and reduced spontaneous locomotor activity. The formulation also significantly antagonised the amphetamine induced hyper-locomotor activity (500, 750 mg/kg, po) and protected mice against tonic convulsions induced by maximal electroshock (500, 750 mg/kg, po). The formulation slightly prolonged the phases of seizure activity but did not protect mice against lethality induced by pentylenetetrazole. The formulation did not show neurotoxicity. The results suggest that the panchagavya formulation is sedative in nature.

Plant-derived phenolic compounds manifest many beneficial effects and can potentially inhibit several stages of carcinogenesis. In the present study, we investigated the efficacy of Emblica officinalis (E. officinalis) polyphenol fraction (EOP) on the induction of apoptosis in mouse and human carcinoma cell lineses and its modulatory effect on N- nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) induced liver tumors in rats. The results indicate that EOP treatment could induce apoptosis in Dalton's Lymphoma Ascites (DLA) and CeHa cell lines At 200 microg/ml dose EOP induced membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation and intenucleosomal breaks as evident from the morphology and DNA ladder pattern obtained in gel electrophoresis. The results also suggested that EOP treatment could decrease the liver tumour development induced by NDEA. Animals administered (oral) with NDEA (0.02%, 2.5 ml/rat, 5 days a week, 20 weeks) developed visible liver tumours by the end of the 20th week and the liver weight raised to 5.2 +/- 1.1 g/ 100 g body weight. Only 11% of the animals treated with EOP (60 mg/kg, oral, 5 days a week for 20 weeks) developed visible liver tumours by this period and the liver weights were reduced to 3.2 +/- 0.7 g/ 100 g body weight. gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity was raised to 88.4 +/- 16.2 U/l in serum of NDEA treated group was reduced to 48.4 +/- 14.8 U/l by EOP treatment. Elevated levels of serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), bilirubin, liver glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione (GSH) in the NDEA administered group were significantly reduced by EOP treatment. The EOP was found to scavenge superoxide and hydroxyl radicals and inhibit lipid peroxidation in vitro. EOP also inhibited DNA topoisomerase I in Saccharomyces cervisiae mutant cell cultures and the activity of cdc25 tyrosine phosphatase.