Mandrake Research Articles

High Throughput Screening of Natural Products for Anti‐mitotic Effects in MDA‐MB‐231 Human Breast Carcinoma Cells

Some of the most effective anti-mitotic microtubule-binding agents, such as paclitaxel (Taxus brevifolia) were originally discovered through robust National Cancer Institute botanical screenings. In this study, a high-through put microarray format was utilized to screen 897 aqueous extracts of commonly used natural products (0.00015-0.5 mg/mL) relative to paclitaxel for anti-mitotic effects (independent of toxicity) on proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells. The data obtained showed that less than 1.34 % of the extracts tested showed inhibitory growth (IG50 ) properties <0.0183 mg/mL. The most potent anti-mitotics (independent of toxicity) were Mandrake root (Podophyllum peltatum), Truja twigs (Thuja occidentalis), Colorado desert mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens), Tou Gu Cao [symbol: see text] Speranskia herb (Speranskia tuberculata), Bentonite clay, Bunge root (Pulsatilla chinensis), Brucea fruit (Brucea javanica), Madder root (Rubia tinctorum), Gallnut of Chinese Sumac (Melaphis chinensis), Elecampane root (Inula Helenium), Yuan Zhi [symbol: see text] root (Polygala tenuifolia), Pagoda Tree fruit (Melia Toosendan), Stone root (Collinsonia Canadensis), and others such as American Witchhazel, Arjun, and Bladderwrack. The strongest tumoricidal herbs identified from amongst the subset evaluated for anti-mitotic properties were wild yam (Dioscorea villosa), beth root (Trillium Pendulum), and alkanet root (Lithospermum canescens). Additional data was obtained on a lesser-recognized herb: (S. tuberculata), which showed growth inhibition on BT-474 (human ductal breast carcinoma) and Ishikawa (human endometrial adenocarcinoma) cells with ability to block replicative DNA synthesis, leading to G2 arrest in MDA-MB-231 cells. In conclusion, these findings present relative potency of anti-mitotic natural plants that are effective against human breast carcinoma MDA-MB-231 cell division.

Comedy and politics

This article analyzes the relationship between two of Machiavelli’s political textsThe Prince(1513) and theDiscourses on Livy(1512–1517), and his popular comedyThe Mandrake Root(La Mandragola) (1515). Through an examination of these works, I will show what influence his political ideas may have had on his comedy and, conversely, how key points in his comedy emerge as central ideas in his political texts. By demonstrating how his texts communicate with each other, I will show how he recycles established concepts and even changes their meaning.

Novel Medicine: Cancer Ward, Alexander Solzhenitsyn

I read Cancer Ward thirty years ago. About to enter medicine, I found the book's clinical aspects exciting, although I was not yet able to interpret it with the eye of a practicing physician. On re-reading it recently, the novel's magic remains. The book's literary device is simple but clever, offering a mirror of Soviet society—especially around one of the ‘cultural thaws’ which the USSR repeatedly experienced. ‘One of the sub-themes involves changing weather: premature spring thaws are followed by cold spells with everything freezing over again. These natural phenomena stand as a metaphor for the unnatural decisions of the powers that thaw and freeze political freedom. It is not only the weather which is a powerful symbol, but the practice of medicine which Solzhenitsyn compares to the USSR's political culture. Diverse characters, put together in the oncology ward of a provincial hospital, have two things in common: they all suffer from a malignancy and all are citizens of the great USSR, which is going through the momentous changes of de-Stalinization. However, here is where all similarities break down. Each patient has his own political/historical background which Solzhenitsyn uses to relate to Soviet history—both past and contemporary. Kostoglotov and Rusanov are two major characters; the former a distinguished soldier expelled to the Gulag immediately the war ended, the latter is a party functionary who comfortably spent the war as a ‘manpower manager’, heroically informing on his fellow citizens. Both suffer from cancer and both are cured by a combination of heavy-duty radiotherapy and injections (presumably hormonal therapy) which threaten their potency and, as such, their masculinity. Although most of the doctors come off well (the exception is the ‘Chief Doctor’, who enjoys more privileges than medical abilities), Solzhenitsyn makes much out of ironically comparing the ward to a prison. While the subjects, prisoner or patient, are promised many rights in theory, they enjoy almost none in practice. For their part, while the patients are lied to by the clinical staff ‘for their own good’, in theory they may refuse therapy. Of course, given the alternatives presented (or implied), they end up almost always ‘agreeing’ to treatment. The prisoner is presented as a distorted mirror image of the patient. Even in Stalin's Gulag there was a pretense of ‘correcting’ the inmates. Prisoners, while cruelly abused, were allowed to write ‘official complaints'’. Of course, these letters were ignored by the authorities. The brave soldier Kostoglotov compares the present hospital environment with his recent camp experiences. In a letter to friends (page 291), he offers a riddle: ‘Here's a puzzle picture for you: what is it and where am I? Bars on the windows (only on the first floor, it is true, to keep the burglars out, and they are in a geometric pattern like rays of light... and there are no shields to bar the view either). The rooms are full of bunks... and on each bunk lies a little man terrified out of his wits. In the morning you get a bread roll, sugar and tea (this is a breach of regulations, because they give you breakfast later on). All through the morning people are gloomy and silent... but in the evenings there is a constant hum and lively discussion: about opening and closing windows, about who can hope for the best and who can expect the worst, and about how many bricks there are in the mosque at Samarkand... Well, have you guessed? Of course you'll say I must be lying: if it's a transit prison, why the bedclothes? And if it's a prison, why are there no night-time interrogations?’ A secondary theme, more medical, involves the ongoing conflict between conventional and alternative medicine. Another letter from Kostoglotov (page 296): ‘When I get back to Ush-Terek [his place of exile], I'll give my tumor another pummeling with that mandrake root... just to make sure it doesn't start throwing secondaries about. There's something noble about treating oneself with a strong poison. Poison doesn't pretend to be a harmless medicine, it tells you straight out, ’‘I'm poison! Watch out! Or else!’‘ So we know what we're in for.’ Over the years in Israel, I have had the opportunity to work with many physicians and nurses of Russian origin. At times I found myself somewhat perplexed by their clinical reflexes and choices. This book has helped me to better understand my colleagues. Cancer Ward offers insights into both politics and medicine, as well as into the politics of medicine. Solzhenitsyn also has much to teach us about clinical practice and respect for patients.

Anesthesia Techniques in the Fifteenth Century by Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu

To the Editor: Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu lived during the fifteenth century in Amasya. During the early period of the Ottoman Empire, Amasya was a center of commerce, culture, and arts. During this period, Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu practiced medicine in Amasya Hospital, which was built in 1308. In 1465, at the age of 80 yr, he wrote a book called Cerrahiyet'ül Haniye (Imperial Surgery). This is the first illustrated Turkish-written medical text book, consisting of three chapters, 191 topics, and 412 pages. There are three original handwritten copies, one in Istanbul's Fatih Millet Library, one at the Capa Medical History Department of Istanbul University, and one in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. Each copy differs somewhat from the others, and none is complete (1–3). Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu operated throughout the human body well before the development of sterile technique and modern anesthesia. He used a combination of mandrake root and almond oil for analgesia and general anesthesia (1). Mandrake (mandragora officinarum L., of the nightshade family [Solanaceae]) has the general properties of belladonna and was formerly used as a narcotic and sedative. It contains the alkaloids mandragorine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine. In the Ancient Greek and Roman civilization periods many plants were used as drugs to induce narcosis. The Mandragora officinarum plant, used like opium for anesthesia and painkilling, is also known as the love plant (4). The knowledge of medicine and pharmacy in Anatolian Seljucks Dynasties and the Ottoman period is the continuation of the civilization of the Great Seljukian State. Between the 12th and 14th centuries many were established hospitals with functioning pharmacies that prepared medicines for their patients. In hospitals established in the Ottoman period, those in charge of drug-preparation as pharmacists were named as “Saydalan” or “Ispençiyar” (1–3). Serafettin Sabuncuoglu discusses operational anesthesia in his text as follows: ”Some patients might be able to resist incisions and cauterization, while others might not. Therefore, narcotic medicine called murkid is necessary to prepare when needed, so that the operation might be possible. Take and cut the fresh parts of Luffah (mandragora), pound and mix it with almond oil and let it stay for a day and night. Then, the surgeon who wants to use it must give one drachm of it to be eaten before meal. A little later you'll see that the patient will lie down and fall asleep without perceiving you. Then, practice whatever treatment you want to do. Give one drachm (dirhem = dram = 4 g) of it to the adult, but administer only the amount needed for children, so that no malpractice occurs. This is the narcotic I used all through my life and did not need any other anesthetic medicine.” Ibrahim Basagaoglu, MD S. Karaca, MD Ziya Salihoglu, MD Departments of Medical History and Anesthesiology Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical School Istanbul, Turkey [email protected]

Inside Bowie and the Spiders 1972-1974: An Independent Critical Review, and: Inside Deep Purple: The Independent Critical Guide, 1969-1973, and: Inside Led Zeppelin: A Critical Review, 1968-1972 (review)

Reviewed by: Inside Bowie and the Spiders, 1969–1972: An Independent Critical Review, and: Inside Deep Purple: The Independent Critical Guide, 1969–1973, and: Inside Led Zeppelin: A Critical Review, 1968–1972 Michael Adams Inside Bowie and the Spiders, 1969–1972: An Independent Critical Review. DVD. [UK]: Classic Rock Productions, 2004. CRL 1606. Inside Deep Purple: The Independent Critical Guide, 1969–1973. DVD. [UK]: Classic Rock Productions, 2004. CRL 1593. Inside Led Zeppelin: A Critical Review, 1968–1972. DiVD. [UK]: Classic Rock Productions, 2003. CRL 1581. $24.95 each. Classic Rock Productions's Inside the Music series features looks at mostly British rock bands from the sixties and seventies. Most of the DVDs are a bit over or under an hour and feature early music videos, clips from concerts and television appearances, and commentary by British journalists, all members of the Association of Music Critics and Reviewers, recording producers, and musicians. Each title is as labeled as "the definitive critical review," but the commentary ranges widely in depth [End Page 791] and quality. The DVDs are accompanied by supplementary books, but these were not seen for the reviewed titles. The Bowie disc features performances of "Space Oddity," "Changes," "Oh! You Pretty Things," "Life on Mars," "Starman," "John, I'm Only Dancing," and "Jean Genie," clips from a 1973 BBC documentary about Bowie, and commentary by writers Bob Carruthers, Malcolm Dome, and Jonathan Wingate, producer Pip Williams, session guitarist John McKenzie, and two members of Bowie's Spiders: bass player Trevor Bolder and drummer Woody Woodmansey. All the songs are from the Hunky Dory album, which the commentators see as Bowie at his most inventive as songwriter and performer. As with other titles in the series, no songs are performed in their entirety. Most of the commentary focuses on how this music represented Bowie's growth as an artist and how it differed from the other music of the time, with occasional references to similarities to T-Rex and the Velvet Underground. Although several songs feature the shifting tones and tempos associated with the Beatles, this obvious influence receives scant attention. One problem with all three titles is the failure of the commentators to say much about how these musicians arrived at this point. There is almost nothing about their earlier lives and work and too little about influences and similarities to other groups other than vague generalities. It is almost as if the music was created in a vacuum. The commentators discuss how Bowie's experiences with drugs and mental illness affected his music and address the frequent homoerotic themes. Mick Ronson's guitar playing and arrangements are analyzed, as is Rick Wakeman's piano performances. The implication is that Bowie's later work missed these collaborators. Bolder and Woodmansey, the most entertaining of the speakers, explain how they created distinctive sounds. Williams is the only commentator to go into detail about musical techniques. He also explains the significance of Bowie's use of a stylophone in "Space Oddity." Bolder says that "Jean Genie" was written on a bus traveling to Memphis after Bowie was inspired by a band member's strumming some Chuck Berry chords. The consensus is that Bowie is important for his eagerness to experiment. Often dismissed as musically marginal, he is, the commentators say, often quite sophisticated at times. Inside Deep Purple includes performances from of "Concerto for Group and Orchestra," "Mandrake Root," "Wring That Neck," "Black Night," "Speed King," "Child in Time," "Fireball," "The Mule," "No, No, No," "Strange Kind of Woman," "Smoke on the Water," "Highway Star," "Lazy," "Space Truckin'," and "Woman from Tokyo." Commenting again are Dome and McKenzie, along with writers Jerry Bloom and Hugh Fielder, producer Rob Corich, and musicians Bryan Josh, Neil Murray, Steve Whale, Doogie White, and Geoff Whitehorn. No one from Deep Purple participated in the DVD. Inside Deep Purple opens with "Concerto for Group and Orchestra," the 1969 collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as an example of the band's striving to be different and experimental before guitarist Ritchie Blackmore took charge and directed it toward a heavier sound. One commentator calls "Speed King" "balls-to-the-wall hard rock." Dome says "Highway Star" is a...

The Song of Guinevere: A Defense of Arthur's Wife in Verse by Alicia Snow (review)

REVIEWS83 Professor Lehmann is an excellent translator. But occasionally there are more of these poems than the narrative requires, and they seem to be there for their own sake and not for the sake of the novel, as if in this instance scholarly instincts have taken precedence over literary ones—an impression enforced by a list of'manuscript sources of early English, Irish, and Welsh poetry quoted in Blessed Bastard.' Nevertheless, Blessed Bastard is a very readable novel and one that achieves the difficult goal of making the character of Galahad a man ofwhom Lancelot—and Lehmann—can be proud. ALAN LUPACK The University of Rochester Alicia snow, The SongofGuinevere: A DefenseofArthur's Wife in Verse. San Francisco: Belgrave House, 1999. Pp. 588; 6 illus. isbn: 0-9660643-6-4. $29.95 (paper); 16 compact discs, isbn: 0-9660643-5-6. $49.95. 'Not another book about the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot triangle!' you say. Yes, but with a difference. Alicia Snow's The Song ofGuinevere is written in poetry, a form which dominated English Arthurian literature until about 1940 when it virtually disappeared. Furthermore, it is written from the woman's perspective, providing the first detailed, psychologically convincing biography of Arthur's queen. Snow initiated The Song ofGuinevere as a riposte to Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Idylb ofthe King, choosing the same blank verse narrative form (with occasional rhyme) divided into books. She is no rival in the art ofpoetry, lacking the Victorian's philosophical grandeur and pictorial power. But her serviceable iambic pentameter, sometimes prone to cliché, effectively mimics the diction of ordinary discourses to establish the realistic mode which pervades this work and makes it so accessible. Major sources are the Historia Brittonum (with Arthur's battle sites providing the geographical structure) and Malory's Morte Darthur, stripped of Celtic magic, chivalric entertainments, courtly love and Grail allegory. The setting is Dark Age Britain from 486 A.D., when twelve-year-old Guinevere is introduced, to 520, when the exiled queen ruefully sums up her life. There are vivid localisations such as the civilized villa at Aquae Sulis (Bath) where Arthur's aunt Paulina maintains a Roman style ofliving or the demonic Bassas Fort where terrified Britons are besieged by the Angle invaders, but setting is subordinate to characterization and plot. (Robert Allen Gordons six colour illustrations, romantic and anachronistic, fail to evoke the menace of disintegration). Neither a figurehead nor a destroyer, Guinevere is distinguished by her role as healer. Educated in Latin and Greek, she begins as a child to learn from Mettodora, a woman trained in Roman medicine, then from books (Galen, Hippocrates), nuns, and the practical experience oftreating Arthur's wounded warriors, animals, women and children, even enemies. The medical lore is authentic—ointment of sempervivium and rose oil for the nuns' scorched skins, infusions of betany and goldenrod for wounds, anaesthetic mandrake root, wine and henbane to ease the pain ofcauterising, suturing, and amputation. A royal beauty, a scholar, a harpist, a 84ARTHURIANA just ruler of the realm inherited from her mother, a builder, a peacemaker, a loving and obedient wife, Guinevere provides everything Arthur requires except a son. To the archetypal roles of dux bellorum, Christianissimus rex, Pendragon, Conqueror, golden-haired Arthur adds irresistible charisma. Lancelot, 'a man ofstunning power in the battlefield,' intelligent, sensitive, exquisitely attuned to the demands ofhonour, completes the triangle. Snow intensifies the tragedy by stressing the characters' sympathetic aspects so that the reader will be emotionally strained as the conflict between love and loyalty develops. Within the familiar plot lines involving Morgause and Mordred, Gawain and his brothers, Lancelot, Elaine and Galahad, new people are introduced to individualize the protagonists. Interest is maintained as well by treating traditional motifs in original ways. For example, the image of the Virgin Mary which, as the Annales Cambriae record, Arthur carried into battle, becomes evidence ofthe king's adultery with the fair Angelica, as does the Torre-like peasant boy, 'too fine to be a shepherd's son,' who bears Arthur's bright blond curls. Guinevere's kidnapping, one ofthe oldest motifs on the evidence ofthe Modena archivolt, is the crisis which clarifies moral evaluations. Transposed from a courtly milieu...

The legacy of Atropos, the fate who cut the thread of life.

The legacy of Atropos, the fate who cut the thread of life.

The magic of mandrake

The magic of mandrake

Robert Millett, The Vultures and The Phoenix: A Study of The Mandrake Press Edition of The Paintings of D. H. Lawrence. D. H. Lawrence, Ten Paintings

Robert Millett, The Vultures and The Phoenix: A Study of The Mandrake Press Edition of The Paintings of D. H. Lawrence. D. H. Lawrence, Ten Paintings

The Vultures and the Phoenix: A Study of the Mandrake Press Edition of the Paintings of D. H. Lawrence

The Vultures and the Phoenix: A Study of the Mandrake Press Edition of the Paintings of D. H. Lawrence

Folk Medical Practice in North Carolina and Adjacent States

Aside from the commercial facets of crude drug collection, preparation, and marketing, North Carolina and eastern Tennessee have also been states with predominantly rural populations, both white and colored, which are knowledgeable about the medicating values of many of the indigenous plants and often use them in the practice of domestic medicine. These people regularly use or have used pokeweed (or pokeberry) root (Phytolacca americana), mandrake root (Podophyllum peltatum) (often used for “the itch”), yellow root (Zanthorrhiza simplicissima) (as general tonic and with poke root externally for warts), mullen (Verbascum thapsus, etc.) (cooked with honey as cough syrup, also for “rheumatism”), “bricklin ash” (prickly ash, Zanthoxylum clava-herculis) (for “rheumatism”), American pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides), rabbit tobacco (Gnaphalium obtusifolium), sassafras (“sassafac”) root or root bark (Sassafras albidumy . yaupon leaves and twigs (Ilex vomitoria) (stimulant beverage like mate, which belongs to the same genus), blood root (Sanguinaria canadensis) (for liver disorders), and catnip herb (Nepera cataria). Many other plants are also less commonly used, including boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) (for colds and pneumonia), wild cherry bark (Prunus serotina, etc.) (as tonic powder before meale to stirnulate appetite), spree wood (Lindera benzoin)*, devil’s shoestring (Tephrosia virginiana, goat’s rue) (in poultices for local pain, sedative), dogwood root bark (Cornus florida) (quinine substitute, also for dentalgia), balm of gilead buds (Populus candicans) (for cuts and bruises, as ointment), “black gulver root” (Culver’s root, Veronicastrum virginicam) (used for “kidneys”), dewberry root and blackberry root (Rubus spp.) (used to reduce diarrhea), and * Used as beverage (tea) in the spring to “thin and purify the blood” and to make it easier to sustain the hot weather of summer (sic). Many persons also claimed sassafras tea stimulated in the same way as coffee or Chinese tea.

European mandrake (Mandragora officinarum and M. autumnais). The structure of the rhizome and root.

The roots and rhizomes of European Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum L. and M. autumn ali s Bertol.J contain tropane alkaloids and have a long history of usage in medicine. Investigations have shown that the histological characters of the roots and rhizomes of the two species are identical and are similar to those of At r op a belladonna root. They can be distinguished from belladonna root by the absence of fibres and lignified xylem parenchyma and by the presence of sclereids. Also, in mandrake root, prisms and irregular cluster crystals of calcium oxalate occur in addition to microsphenoids.

Two Antineoplastics From Mandrake Root

Two Antineoplastics From Mandrake Root

Preparation of the colon with a new senna compound.

Emptying of the colon is necessary for the proper conduct of many radiographic examinations of abdominal organs. This paper reports our experience with a new senna preparation, Roenten,2 as a colon evacuant. The study was conducted to compare the patient acceptance, associated discomfort, and cleansing efficiency of this compound and castor oil. The active ingredient of Roenten is 2,000 mg. of the dried leaflets of Cassia angustifolia (senna) biologically assayed (1, 2). Our previous experience with a 1,600-mg. preparation proved this smaller dosage to be inadequate. Podophyllum (mandrake root), Asarum (Canada snake root), fennel seed, and Glycyrrhiza (licorice root) are included in the preparation, supposedly to reduce the amount and severity of cramping. Senna anthracene compounds are thought to be absorbed in the small bowel, ultimately reaching the colon by the blood stream and stimulating colonic contraction, presumably through Auerbach's plexus (3). Stools induced tend to be formed rather than water...

Donne on the Mandrake

Donne on the Mandrake

On Mandrake and Tragacanth in Cuneiform

On Mandrake and Tragacanth in Cuneiform

About scopolyamine anesthesiaѣ

"Russian Surgical Archive". 1902 Prince 6.The English surgeon of the 13th century Scotus recommended giving the patient a tincture before the operation, which included between other substances opiy, bolena and mandrake root.

The Mandrake

The Mandrake

The misletoe and mandrake

The misletoe and mandrake