A Multilayer Network Constructed for Herb and Prescription Efficacy Analysis

Chinese Medicine(CM)has been widely used as an important avenue for disease prevention and treatment in China especially in the form of CM prescriptions combining sets of herbs to address patients’symptoms and syndromes.However,the selection and compatibility of herbs are complex and abstract due to intrinsic relationships between herbal properties and their overall functions.Network analysis is applied to demonstrate the complex relationships between individual herbal efficacy and the overall function of CM prescriptions.To illustrate their connections and correlations,prescription function(PF),prescription herb(PH),and herbal efficacy(HE)intranetworks are proposed based on CM theory to identify relationships between herbs and prescriptions.These three networks are then connected by PF-PH and PH-HE interlayer networks adopting herb dosage to form a multidimensional heterogeneous network,a Prescription-Herb-Function Network(PHFN).The network is applied to 112 classic prescriptions from Treatise on Exogenous Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases to illustrate the application of PHFN.The PHFN is constructed including 146 functions in PF intra network,89 herbs in the PH intra network,and 163 herbal efficacies in the HE intra network.The results show that herb pairs with synergistic actions have stronger relevance,such as licorice-cassia twig,licorice-Chinese date,fresh ginger-Chinese date,etc.The integration of dosage to the network helps to indicate the main herbs for cluster analysis and automatic formulation.PHFN also reveals the internal relationships between the functions of prescriptions and composed herbal efficacies.

Herbalife hepatotoxicity: Evaluation of cases with positive reexposure tests

AIM: To analyze the validity of applied test criteria and causality assessment methods in assumed Herbalife hepatotoxicity with positive reexposure tests. METHODS: We searched the Medline database for suspected cases of Herbalife hepatotoxicity and retrieved 53 cases including eight cases with a positive unintentional reexposure and a high causality level for Herbalife. First, analysis of these eight cases focused on the data quality of the positive reexposure cases, requiring a baseline value of alanine aminotransferase(ALT) < 5 upper limit of normal (N) before reexposure, with Nas the upper limit of normal, and a doubling of the ALT value at reexposure as compared to the ALT value at baseline prior to reexposure. Second, reported methods to assess causality in the eight cases were evaluated, and then the liver specific Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) scale validated for hepatotoxicity cases was used for quantitative causality reevaluation. This scale consists of various specific elements with scores provided through the respective case data, and the sum of the scores yields a causality grading for each individual case of initially suspected hepatotoxicity. RESULTS: Details of positive reexposure test conditions and their individual results were scattered in virtually all cases, since reexposures were unintentional and allowed only retrospective rather than prospective assessments. In 1/8 cases, criteria for a positive reexposure were fulfilled, whereas in the remaining cases the reexposure test was classified as negative (n = 1), or the data were considered as uninterpretable due to missing information to comply adequately with the criteria (n = 6). In virtually all assessed cases, liver unspecific causality assessment methods were applied rather than a liver specific method such as the CIOMS scale. Using this scale, causality gradings for Herbalife in these eight cases were probable (n = 1), unlikely (n = 4), and excluded (n = 3). Confounding variables in- cluded low data quality, alternative diagnoses, poor exclusion of important other causes, and comedication by drugs and herbs in 6/8 cases. More specifically, problems were evident in some cases regarding temporal association, daily doses, exact start and end dates of product use, actual data of laboratory parameters such as ALT, and exact dechallenge characteristics. Short-comings included scattered exclusion of hepatitis A-C, cytomegalovirus and Epstein Barr virus infection with only globally presented or lacking parameters. Hepatitis Evirus infection was considered in one single patient and found positive, infections by herpes simplexvirus and varicella zoster virus were excluded in none. CONCLUSION: Only one case fulfilled positive reexposure test criteria in initially assumed Herbalife hepatotoxicity, with lower CIOMS based causality gradings for the other cases than hitherto proposed.

Medication Rules of Hub Herb Pairs for Insomnia and Mechanism of Action:Results of Data Mining,Network Pharmacology,and Molecular Docking

Objective To explore the medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)and mechanism of action of hub herb pairs for treating insomnia.Methods Totally 104 prescriptions were statistically analyzed.The association rule algorithm was applied to mine the hub herb pairs.Network pharmacology was utilized to analyze the mechanism of the hub herb pairs,while molecular docking was applied to simulate the interaction between receptors and herb molecules,thereby predicting their binding affinities.Results The most frequently used herbs in TCM prescriptions for treating insomnia included Semen Ziziphi Spinosae,Radix Glycyrrhizae,Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng,and Poria cum Radix Pini.Among them,the most commonly used were the supplementing herbs,followed by heat-clearing,mind-calming,and exterior-releasing ones,with their properties of warm and cold,flavors of sweet,Pungent,and bitter,and meridian tropisms of liver,lungs,spleen,kidneys,heart,and stomach.The hub herb pairs based on the association rules included Radix Astragali-Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng,Rhizoma Chuanxiong-Radix Glycyrrhizae,Seman Platycladi-Semen Ziziphi Spinosae,Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae-Radix Glycyrrhizae,Radix Polygalae-Semen Ziziphi Spinosae,and Radix Astragali-Semen Ziziphi Spinosae.Network pharmacology revealed that the cAMP signaling pathway might play a key role in treating insomnia synergistically with HIF-1 signaling pathway,prolactin signaling pathway,chemical carcinogenesis receptor activation,and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.Molecular docking indicated that there was good binding between the active ingredients of the hub herb pairs and the hub targets.Conclusions This study identified six hub herb pairs for treating insomnia in TCM.These hub herb pairs may synergistically treat insomnia with HIF-1 signaling pathway,prolactin signaling pathway,chemical carcinogenesis receptor activation,and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway through the cAMP signaling pathway.

Chinese herbal medicine decreases incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in diabetes mellitus patients with regular insulin management

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus(DM)is an independent risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),while insulin is a potent mitogen.Identifying a new therapeutic modality for preventing insulin users from developing HCC is a critical goal for researchers.AIM To investigate whether regular herbal medicine use can decrease HCC risk in DM patients with regular insulin control.METHODS We used data acquired from the Taiwan,Chinaese National Health Insurance research database between 2000 and 2017.We identified patients with DM who were prescribed insulin for>3 months.The herb user group was further defined as patients prescribed herbal medication for DM for>3 months per annum during RESULTS We initially enrolled 657144 DM patients with regular insulin use from 2000 to 2017.Among these,46849 patients had used a herbal treatment for DM,and 140547 patients were included as the matched control group.The baseline variables were similar between the herb users and nonusers.DM patients with regular herb use had a 12%decreased risk of HCC compared with the control group[adjusted hazard ratio(aHR)=0.88,95%CI=0.80–0.97].The cumulative incidence of HCC in the herb users was significantly lower than that of the nonusers.Patients with a herb use of>5 years cumulatively exhibited a protective effect against development of HCC(aHR=0.82,P<0.05).Of patients who developed HCC,herb users exhibited a longer survival time than nonusers(aHR=0.78,P=0.0001).Additionally,we report the top 10 herbs and formulas in prescriptions and summarize the potential pharmacological effects of the constituents.Our analysis indicated that Astragalus propinquus(Huang Qi)plus Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge(Dan Shen),and Astragalus propinquus(Huang Qi)plus Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim.(Tian Hua Fen)were the most frequent combination of single herbs.Meanwhile,Ji Sheng Shen Qi Wan plus Dan Shen was the most frequent combination of herbs and formulas.CONCLUSION This large-scale retrospective cohort study reveals that herbal medicine may decrease HCC risk by 12%in DM patients with regular insulin use.

Exploring the mechanism of action of herb pair Pinellia Ternata-Magnolia Officinalis in the treatment of liver cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Background:Explore the anti-tumor mechanism of herb pair Pinellia ternate-Magnolia officinalis(BX-HP)in liver cancer through network pharmacology using molecular docking methods.Method:The active ingredients and corresponding targets of the herb pair Pinellia ternate-Magnolia officinalis were obtained from the HERB database.The relevant targets for liver cancer were obtained from GeneCards,DisGeNET,TTD,and Drugbank databases.Obtain common targets between herb pair Pinellia ternate-Magnolia officinalis and liver cancer through the Bioinformatics platform,establish a PPI network diagram using STRING software,and perform GO functional enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis on the DAVID platform.AutoDockTools 1.5.7 software and molecular dynamics simulation analysis are used to evaluate the binding of components to target proteins.HERB database,SwissTargetPrediction database,SwissADME database,UniProt database,GeneCards database,TTD database,DRUGBANK database,DisGeNET database,String,DAVID.Bioinformatics platform,PDB database,PubChem and TCMSP database.Result:A total of 22 active ingredients with a Probability>0.1 targets in Magnolia officinalis were screened,26 active ingredients with a Probability>0.1 targets in Pinellia ternata,ten vital active ingredients,corresponding to 979 and 803 targets with a Probability>0.1 targets,2536 liver cancer-related targets,and 279 targets in the herb pair Pinellia ternata-Magnolia officinalis.The GO functional enrichment analysis resulted in 1297 entries,namely 971 biological process entries,118 cell localization entries,and 208 molecular function entries.Three signaling pathways were annotated through the KEGG pathway.Based on molecular docking,ten vital active ingredients and five target proteins were validated to exhibit an excellent binding affinity.The above data indicates that combining the herb pair Pinellia ternata-Magnolia officinalis may treat liver cancer through specific targets and signaling pathways.Conclusion:Herb pair Pinellia ternata-Magnolia officinalis has a synergistic effect on treating liver cancer through multicomponent,multitarget,and multi-pathway approaches.This study provides a sufficient theoretical basis for subsequent research.

Herbal hepatotoxicity:Challenges and pitfalls of causality assessment methods

The diagnosis of herbal hepatotoxicity or herb induced liver injury(HILI) represents a particular clinical and regulatory challenge with major pitfalls for the causality evaluation.At the day HILI is suspected in a patient,physicians should start assessing the quality of the used herbal product,optimizing the clinical data for completeness,and applying the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences(CIOMS) scale for initial causality assessment.This scale is structured,quantitative,liver specific,and validated for hepatotoxicity cases.Its items provide individual scores,which together yield causality levels of highly probable,probable,possible,unlikely,and excluded.After completion by additional information including raw data,this scale with all items should be reported to regulatory agencies and manufacturers for further evaluation.The CIOMS scale is preferred as tool for assessing causality in hepatotoxicity cases,compared to numerous other causality assessment methods,which are inferior on various grounds.Among these disputed methods are the Maria and Victorino scale,an insufficiently qualified,shortened version of the CIOMS scale,as well as various liver unspecific methods such as thead hoc causality approach,the Naranjo scale,the World Health Organization(WHO) method,and the Karch and Lasagna method.An expert panel is required for the Drug Induced Liver Injury Network method,the WHO method,and other approaches based on expert opinion,which provide retrospective analyses with a long delay and thereby prevent a timely assessment of the illness in question by the physician.In conclusion,HILI causality assessment is challenging and is best achieved by the liver specific CIOMS scale,avoiding pitfalls commonly observed with other approaches.

Study on the Effects of Chinese Herb Additive on Milk Yield and Anti-heat Stress Ability of Holstein Cow

[Objective] The research aimed to explore the effects of Chinese herb additive on milk yield and anti-heat stress ability of Holstein cow.[Method] 36 Holstein cows with similar birth order and milk yield were equally and randomly divided into 3 groups which were control group, Chinese medicine Ⅰ group and Chinese medicine Ⅱ group. In control group, cows were fed with basic feed, while in Chinese medicine Ⅰ group, cows were fed with basic feed containing 4% compound Chinese herb additive and in Chinese medicine Ⅱ group, cows were fed with basic feed containing 3% compound Chinese herb additive.All cows in the 3 groups were analyzed comparatively.[Result] Adding some compound Chinese herb additive into basic feed would increase milk yield and anti-heat stress ability of Holstein cow,besides,it also could decrease cow diseases such as cow mastitis.Chinese medicine Ⅰ would generate the highest economic benefit of practical production.[Conclusion] Adding Chinese herb additive into basic feed is an effective way for reliefing heat stress and increasing milk yield.

A Survey of the Pteridophyte Herbs of Hainan Island

There are almost 400 species(containing 8 varieties)of pteridophytes on Hainan Island,belonging to 43 families and 114 genera,one third of which are officinal.To understand the distribution of pteridophytes resources of Hainan Island,we conducted this survey mainly by photographing the habitat,plant morphology,sorus and specific traits of some pteridophytes.The results showed that nearly 32 families and 94 species were recorded.These pteridophyte herb resources play important roles in medical treatment of native Li nationality people.

Research on Anti-bacterial Effects of 5 Kinds of Chinese Herb Extracts on Ameromonas hydrophila in vitro

[Objective] The aim was to study the anti-bacterial effects of 5 kinds of Chinese herb extracts on Ameromonas hydrophila in vitro. [Method] in vitro anti-bacterial effects of 5 kinds of Chinese herb extracts like Galla Chinensis,Syzygium aromaticum,Salvia miltiorrhiza,Punica granatum L. and Terminalia chebula Retz on Ameromonas hydrophila were studied; furthermore,cure rates of the Chinese herb extracts with better anti-bacterial effects were determined to find out the optimal drug dosage. [Result] Under the same experimental conditions,Galla Chinensis,Punica granatum and Terminalia chebula Retz had relatively strong anti-bacterial effects on Ameromonas hydrophila,among them the anti-bacterial effect of Galla Chinensis was significantly higher than those of the others （P0.05）. The optimal treatment dose of Galla Chinensis treating bacterial septicemia caused by Aeromonas hydrophila was that they were treated with medicated bath for 40 min by 0.5 mg/ml Galla Chinensis extract,and the cure rate was 100%. [Conclusion] The research provides a scientific drug basis for the control and prevention of outbreak bacterial diseases of fish.

Advances in treatment of ulcerative colitis with herbs: From bench to bedside

Ulcerative colitis(UC), an idiopathic inflammatory disorder in the colon, has become a clinical challenge, owing to the increasing incidence and poor prognosis. The conventional treatments for UC including aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressants, induce remission in only half of patients. Meanwhile, the treatments often come with serious side effects which can be life-threatening. Herbal medicine, one of the most common traditional Chinese medicine modalities, has been introduced for centuries into clinical treatment of many human diseases such as infections and functional disorders. Recently, the potential effectiveness of herbs has been suggested as the treatment of UC, as shown by a variety of clinical trials and experimental studies. The herbs reported in the literature include aloe vera gel, butyrate, tormentil extracts, wheat grass juice, and curcumin. In the review, bioactivity of the herbs and their involvement in UC treatment are discussed.

Herbs祛斑系列治疗黄褐斑31例临床验证报告

目的 :研究中药植物萃取液加基质复配而成的系列产品 ,对治疗黄褐斑的疗效。 方法 :将 Herbs祛斑系列产品以不同剂型种类作用于体外。 结果 :治疗组治愈 6例 ,达 19.4% ;显效 14例 ,达 45 .2 % ,有效 5例 ,达 16 .1% ;总有效率为 80 .6 %。对照组治愈 4例 ,达 13.3% ;显效 10例 ,达 33.3% ;有效 10例 ,达 33.3% ;总有效率为 79.9%。 结论 :Herbs祛斑系列在体表能明显抑制酪氨酸酶活性 ,清除氧自由基 。

DNA Molecular Identification of Botanical Origin in Chinese Herb Qingjiao

[Objective] The research aimed to distinguish Chinese herb Qingjiao from its botanical origin plants by comparing different DNA sequences,so as to provide a molecular basis for origin identification and quality evaluation.[Method] The cpDNA psbA-trnH and nrDNA ITS sequences of five Chinese herb Qingjiao plants,including Gentiana macrophylla pall.,Gentiana straminea Maxim.,Gentiana crassicaulis Duthie ex Burk.,Gentiana dahurica Fisch and Gentiana officinalis H.Smith,were amplified with PCR,and then sequenced by direct PCR sequencing method for homologous analysis.[Results] The length of cpDNA psbA-trnH of five plants was 316-318 bp;there were seven different haplotypes and seven variable sites;the GC content of the sequence was 21.2%;the phylogenetic clustering showed the same result as haplotype analysis.The length of nrDNA ITS sequence of five plants was 624-625 bp,there were five different haplotypes and 13 variable sites;the GC content of the sequence was 59.3%.The result of phylogenetic clustering suggested that G.dahurica and G.straminea,G.macrophylla and G.officinalis clustered together as sister clades,respectively.[Conclusion] The nucleotide differences of nrDNA ITS regions could be used for distinguishing botanical origin in Chinese herb Qingjiao.

Drug and herb induced liver injury: Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences scale for causality assessment

Causality assessment of suspected drug induced liver injury(DILI) and herb induced liver injury(HILI) is hampered by the lack of a standardized approach to be used by attending physicians and at various subsequent evaluating levels. The aim of this review was to analyze the suitability of the liver specific Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences(CIOMS) scale as a standard tool for causality assessment in DILI and HILI cases. PubMed database was searched for the following terms: drug induced liver injury; herb induced liver injury; DILI causality assessment; and HILI causality assessment. The strength of the CIOMS lies in its potential as a standardized scale for DILI and HILI causality assessment. Other advantages include its liver specificity and its validation for hepatotoxicity with excellent sensitivity, specificity and predictive validity, based on cases with a positive reexposure test. This scale allows prospective collection of all relevant data required for a valid causality assessment. It does not require expert knowledge in hepatotoxicity and its results may subsequently be refined. Weaknesses of the CIOMS scale include the limited exclusion of alternative causes and qualitatively graded risk factors. In conclusion, CIOMS appears to be suitable as a standard scale for attending physicians, regulatory agencies, expert panels and other scientists to provide a standardized, reproducible causality assessment in suspected DILI and HILI cases, applicable primarily at all assessing levels involved. 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All

Herbal Traditional Chinese Medicine and suspected liver injury: A prospective study

AIM To analyze liver tests before and following treatment with herbal Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) in order to evaluate the frequency of newly detected liver injury.METHODS Patients with normal values of alanine aminotransferase(ALT) as a diagnostic marker for ruling out pre-existing liver disease were enrolled in a prospective study of a safety program carried out at the First German Hospital of TCM from 1994 to 2015. All patients received herbal products, and their ALT values were reassessed 1-3 d prior to discharge. To verify or exclude causality for suspected TCM herbs, the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method(RUCAM) was used.RESULTS This report presents for the first time liver injury data derived from a prospective, hospital-based and largescale study of 21470 patients who had no liver disease prior to treatment with herbal TCM. Among these, ALT ranged from 1 × to < 5 × upper limit normal(ULN) in 844 patients(3.93%) and suggested mild or moderate liver adaptive abnormalities. However, 26 patients(0.12%) experienced higher ALT values of ≥ 5 × ULN(300.0 ± 172.9 U/L, mean ± SD). Causality for TCM herbs was RUCAM-based probable in 8/26 patients, possible in 16/26, and excluded in 2/26 cases. Bupleuri radix and Scutellariae radix were the two TCM herbs most commonly implicated. CONCLUSION In 26(0.12%) of 21470 patients treated with herbal TCM, liver injury with ALT values of ≥ 5 × ULN was found, which normalized shortly following treatment cessation, also substantiating causality.

Test of Feeding Dairy Cows with Chinese Herbal Additive for Improving Production and Quality of Milk

At Baiyin dairy farm, the Chinese herbal additive was added into feed which was then fed to dairy cows from August to October, 2014, and the changes in milk production and quality were observed. The test showed that the additive added into the feed had obvious milk-increasing effect, the milk production was im- proved by 12.67%-17.26%, and the milk quality was improved. The additive has the effects of preventing miscarriage, expelling parasite and preventing diseases. The nutritional components in the feed additive were determined, and the results showed that the contents of protein, crude fat, Ca and P in the additive were 12.29%, 2.66%, 1.8% and 0.22%, respectively.

Growth and Competition of Fourteen Herb Species in Experimental Microcoenosiums

Growth and competition of 14 herb species were investigated in the experimental microcoenosiums in laboratory under the following environmental factors and treatment levels: high and low fertility, clipping and un-clipping, and with and without microbial infusion. The most intense competition and the biggest difference in biomass among the species were detected in the high fertility microcoenosiums subjected to no clipping disturbance. Clippings or low fertility reduced the growth of the competitors and resulted in more even biomass distribution among the species. Successive clippings reduced the total accumulative biomass of the microcoenosiums. Microbial infusion significantly increased the growth of legume species Lotus corniculatus L. and Trifolium pratense L. The growth of Alopecurus pratensis L. was also raised by microbial infusion, whereas Dactylis glomerata L. had more biomass in without-microbial-infusion microcoenosiums than in microbial infusion ones. Most of the 14 species were not obviously affected. The positive effect of microbial infusion was more marked in the low fertility microcoenosiums.

Effects of Chinese Herb Extract on Performance of Local Chicken

[ Objective] The paper presents the effects of Chinese herbal extract on the performance of local chickens for its application in animal production. [Method] The herbal extract Ⅰ and Ⅱ were added to the basal diet of 10 day-old chickens at the ratio of 0.6%, respectively. Then the chickens was fasted and respectively weighed at 0, 17, 24 and 31 days old. And the feed consumption and mortality of each group were recorded to determine average weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio. Economic benefit was also analyzed. [ Result] There was no significant difference in average daily gain between the test groups and the control group as well as between the two test groups （P〉0.05） ; there was signifi- cant difference in feed conversion ratio between the test groups and the control group （ P 〈0.05）, but no significant difference between the two test groups （ P 〉 0.05） ; the survival rate and the economic benefits of the test groups were significantly higher than that of control （ P 〈 0.05）. [ Conclusion ] Chinese herbal extract Ⅰ and Ⅱ should improve chicken average daily gain, feed conversion ratio and survival rate, promote growth, and signifi- cantly improve economic benefit.

Effects of Integrated Chinese Herbs and Western Medicine on Swine Toxoplasmosis

[ Objective] To evaluate the efficacy of integrated Chinese herbs and western medicine on the treatment of swine toxoplasmosis, in order to increase cure rate and lower recurrence rate. [ Method] Pigs artificially infected by Toxoplasma gondii were treated with compound suffonamide and a self-designed Chinese herbs formula, and the quantities of toxoplasma in ascites were determined. Animal regression experiment was per- formed after mice were inoculated with pathological samples of the pigs infected with toxoplasma. After treatment with integrated Chinese herbs and western medicine, the clinical manifestations of pigs were observed and the level of circulating antigen （CAg） in sera was detected. Curative effect indexes of integrated Chinese herbs and western medicine-treated group were compared with that of Chinese herbs-treated group, western medi- cine-treated group and positive control group. [ Result] All the toxoplasma trophozoites were killed by integrated and westem medicine. Regression expedment results showed that toxoplasma appeared only in one mouse that was inoculated with brain of pig. The treated pigs had nonsignificant clinical symptoms; the peak of serum CAg was lower than that of the positive control group and CAg turned negative faster than that of Chinese herbs-treated group, westem medicine-treated group, and positive control group. [ Conclusion] The integrated Chinese herbs and western medicine has good effect on the treatment of swine toxoplasmosis.

Ideas and Ways of Designing Multi-functional Garden Landscapes—— with the Eco-function Planning of South Chinese Herb Garden in Hainan as an Example

The planning of Hainan Branch Institute of Medicinal Plant, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "South Chinese Herb Garden") requires the integrated functions of scientific research, education, science popularization and propaganda, tourism sceneries, demonstration of production activities, thus the whole design should target at constructing multi-functional garden landscapes, utilize South Chinese herb resources, so as to build a knowledge-based tourism garden with dominant functions of scientific research, science popularization and sightseeing. The authors always insist that ecological thoughts should be borne to construct multi-functional sceneries with proper layout, elegant and honest landscapes, the construction of infrastructures and service system should be attached more importance in garden planning, functional division should be done according to actual landforms, constructions and functional demands, to form a healthy, environment-friendly and modern landscape system that can meet the demands for scientific research, education, science popularization and propaganda, and sightseeing. Through elaborating the design thoughts and principles of South Chinese Herb Garden, its design process, basis of regional planning and functional division, garden beautification means as well as road landscape designs, this study shows the ideas and ways of designing multi-functional garden landscapes.

Screening of some indigenous herbal dyes for use in plant histological staining

The efficacies of some indigenous herbal dyes for use in staining plant materials were examined to obtain non-toxic, eco-friendly and cheap stains for use in plant histology. Dye extracts from Bixa orellana, Curcuma domestica, Lonchocarpus cyanescens and Pterocarpus osun were used to stain wood sections using the existing standard staining procedures with little modification. All the extracts had affinity for the fibre and vessel elements except the extract from L. cyanescens. The extracts from C. domestica and B. orellana had higher selectivity than those ofP. osun for fibre. From the results of the absorbance curves, each of the dye extracts from all speciese had minimum of two peaks, indicating that they had two or more colour imparting chromophores except dye extract from C. domestica. All the dye extracts were acidic with pH range of 3.77 to 6.77. Therefore, this study shows that dye extracts from B. orellana, C. domestica and P. osun could be solitarily or in combination with artificial dyes for plant histological staining.