Remarks on “Tinospora cordifolia: One plant, many roles”
Sir, We read an article entitled “Tinospora cordifolia: One plant, many roles,” with great interest and would like to place few remarks on this.[1] The article is aptly written, informative and seems to be a product of a sincere effort of the researcher. The authors have aimed at encompassing the genetic diversity of the plant and they were also able to present the scarcity of reports on conservation strategies, propagation of the germplasm, morphological and physiological characters, and other characteristics of the plant. Unfortunately however, nothing has been discussed much about genetic diversity with special reference to Tinospora. Authors could have compiled reported studies on male and female varieties of Tinospora.[2,3]
Remarks on “Herbal Immune Booster-Induced Liver Injury in the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Case Series”
1. There is published evidence in animal models and clinical studies suggesting TC as a safe and natural remedy for hepatoprotection. 2. Nagral et al. do not clarify from the patient’s history, which variety of Tinospora was consumed by the patient, as the two varieties (T. cordifolia and T. crispa) look similar in themorphology, and peoplemaymistake T. crispa for T. cordifolia. T. cordifolia is referred to as Giloy in Ayurveda; however, T. crispa is known to be hepatotoxic. The same concern about the nature of the prescribed medicine has also been raised by Ministry of AYUSH in a press release. 3. Case 1 may have self-consumed TC in excess. The reported findings of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) are further weakened as the patient took two additional herbs in an undefined dosage. Cases 2 and 4 were diabetic, Case 3 had beta-thalassemia minor, while Cases 5 and 6 had hypothyroidism, which are also confounders. Therefore, presenting TC as a sole factor for autoimmunity development in these patients has confounding factors. Further, the authors have mentioned that certain non-hepatotropic viruses were not tested in the study, which could alter the findings. 4. Cases 2 to 6 might be taking some concomitant conventional medications (unclear from the publication) e.g. for diabetes and hypothyroidism, which may be associated with DILI as confounders. Effect of all drugs and drug-drug interactions on liver health should have been discussed. 5. All cases had a history of unsupervised consumption of TC. Four cases consumed twigs (undefined amount), while Ayurveda clearly advocates using thumb-sized mature stems. Two cases consumed commercial syrup and tablet with TC as one of the ingredients where a chance of adulteration is possible. Excessive, prolonged, and unscrupulous use of any herb could be dangerous. Ayurveda does not recommend the continuous unsupervised use of TC for several months.
Mastering Web Services Security
Acknowledgments. Foreword. Introduction. Overview of Web Services Security. Web Services. Getting Started with Web Services Security. XML Security and WS-Security. Security Assertion Markup Language. Principles of Securing Web Services. Security of Infrastructures for Web Services. Securing .NET Web Services. Securing Java Web Services. Interoperability of Web Services Security Technologies. Administrative Considerations for Web Services Security. Planning and Building a Secure Web Services Architecture. Glossary. References. Index.