英文與美語的「中國」是China，這是眾所周知的。大部分歐洲國家例如德國、荷蘭、西班牙、葡萄牙等的語文中，現在都用這個字，只是讀音不一樣；法國則有些改動，是為Chine。在拉丁語系中，「中國」的稱謂原是Sinae。這些字的根源，都是梵語的Cīnā，也就是來自印度一帶。至於印度本身，其名稱也是源自梵語的印度河Sindhu。在《史記》中的記載，印度當時是「身毒國」，相信這是梵語的音譯。同一個字，去到別的地方產生變音，在波斯是Hindu，在希臘是Indu。在中國直至唐初，中國人一般則稱之為「天竺」，也是基於變音。待唐僧玄奘取經回來後，才將Indu其名的正音，以「印度」這新的譯音出之，沿用至今。
然則「天竺」這個名詞，在其他地方仍有使用。例如天竺鼠Guinea Pig（畿內亞豬），又名豚鼠；牠曾是實驗室中主要的實驗對象，現今已大幅度被大鼠、小鼠取代。此外尚有天竺葵（Geranium）。嬰兒誕生後接種的疫苗當中，包括乙型肝炎病毒，不過，其後當中尚有乙肝病毒帶菌者，為什麼？根據一組在Scripps研究所的學者報告，他們是在母體中受了感染：母親的病毒分泌一種叫HBeAg的乙肝抗原，直接穿過胎盤，廢掉胎兒對病毒的警戒；於是，疫苗不能令嬰兒作出反應。對此情況，有方法補救，此乃是利用天竺葵，抑制母體內的病毒，不讓它分泌HBeAg（Biol. Pharm. Bull., Vol.31, pp.743-747）。除了能保護胎兒，天竺葵中的主要油（Essential Oil）Geraniol，可以用來對付一些真菌感染，例如導致「香港腳」的Trichophyton（Nippon Ishinkin Gakkai Zasshi, Vol.48, pp.27-36），以及令婦女陰道感染的Candida Albicans（Biol. Pharm. Bull., Vol.3, pp.1501-1506）；它比較其他同類的植物，例如茶樹油和鼠尾草油，刺激較小，功效更好。「主要油」乃是植物免疫系統中的主將。植物一樣會被細菌感染；為了保護自己，植物造出一些能殺細菌的成分，這些成分，往往可以澤及其他生物，例如人類。在天竺葵而言，它的主要油能殺死大腸桿菌、痢疾菌和傷寒菌（J. Ethnopharmacol., Vol.100, pp.153-157）。更重要的，是天竺葵能對付一種連抗生素Methicillin也對付不了的金黃葡萄球菌（Burns, Vol.30, pp.772-777）。
天竺葵的好處真不少。它其中一個叫Geranii的成分，可以促使黑色素癌自滅（Mol. Nutr. Food Res., Vol. 52, pp.655-683）。在最近爆發的H1N1型（豬）流感中，天竺葵也能發揮療效，因為它可以抑制流感病毒的蛋白質合成過程；縱是身體中的細胞已受到流感病毒傳染，天竺葵還能發功（ACTA Virol, Vol. 39, pp.5-10）。一旦病毒的蛋白質合成被阻，病毒的增生和細胞的傷害也相應地大減了（Antiviral Res., Vol.37, pp.121-130）。
Li J, Huang H, Zhou W, Feng M, Zhou P.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2008 Apr;31(4):743-7.
Department of Biosynthetic Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, PR China.
The ethanol extract of Geranium carolinianum L., a domestic plant grown in China, was subjected to sequential extractions with different organic solvents. The extracts were assayed for anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activities. The ethyl acetate fraction was found to contain the highest level of anti-HBV activity. In order to identify the active ingredients, the ethyl acetate fraction was further fractionated by column chromatography. Seven compounds were identified including ellagic acid, geraniin, quercitrin, hyperin, hirsutrin, quercetin, and kaempferol, whose structures were determined by NMR. The presence of the anti-HBV compounds geraniin, ellagic acid and hyperin in G. carolinianum L. may account for the effectiveness of this folk medicine in the treatment of HBV infections. Geraniin inhibited hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) secretion by more than 85.8% and 63.7%, respectively, at the non-cytotoxic concentration of 200 microg/ml. The inhibitions of HBsAg and HBeAg secretion by geraniin were higher than the inhibition by the positive control Lamivudine, 33.5% and 32.2% respectively, at the same concentration. Since HBeAg is involved in immune tolerance during HBV infection, the newly identified anti-HBV compound geraniin might be a candidate agent to overcome the immune tolerance in HBV-infected individuals. This is the first report of the anti-HBV effects of geraniin and hyperin, the active substances derived from G. carolinianum L.
PMID: 18379075 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Inouye S, Uchida K, Nishiyama Y, Hasumi Y, Yamaguchi H, Abe S.
Nippon Ishinkin Gakkai Zasshi. 2007;48(1):27-36.
Teikyo University Institute of Medical Mycology, Tokyo, Japan.
This work was originally undertaken to determine the effective conditions of essential oils against Trichophyton mentagrophytes in vitro for the treatment of tinea pedis in a foot bath. Agar blocks implanted with T. mentagrophytes were immersed in 0.1% aqueous agar containing two-fold dilutions of essential oils with or without sodium chloride at 27 degrees C, 37 degrees C and 42 degrees C for 10 and 20 min. The number of surviving mycelia on the agar blocks was determined from the standard curves of the colony diameter and original inocula of the conidia. At the same time, the thermal effect on the cellular morphology was examined using SEM. Most fungal mycelia (99.7%) were killed after treatment at 42 degrees C for 20 min without essential oil. The fungicidal activity of essential oils was markedly enhanced by treating at 42 degrees C for 20 min as compared with that at 27 degrees C, showing 1/4 - 1/32-fold reduction of minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC to kill 99.99%). The order of the fungicidal activity of 11 essential oils was oregano, thyme thymol, cinnamon bark > lemongrass > clove, palmarose, peppermint, lavender > geranium Bourbon, tea tree > thyme geraniol oils. MFCs were further reduced to 1/2 - 1/8 by the addition of 10% sodium chloride. The salt effect was explained, at least partly, by an increase in mycelial adsorption of antifungal constituents in the presence of sodium chloride. Considerable hyphal damage was done at 27 degrees C by the essential oils, but no further alteration in morphology of the hyphae treated at 42 degrees C with or without oil was observed by SEM. The inhibitory effect of heat and oils was also observed against mycelia of T. rubrum and conidia of T. mentagrophytes. Thermotherapy combined with essential oils and salt would be promising to treat tinea pedis in a foot bath.
PMID: 17287720 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Maruyama N, Takizawa T, Ishibashi H, Hisajima T, Inouye S, Yamaguchi H, Abe S.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2008 Aug;31(8):1501-6.
Teikyo University Institute of Medical Mycology, Tokyo, Japan.
nmaruyama-teikyo@umin.ac.jp
In order to evaluate an effective administration method of essential oils for vaginal candidiasis, efficacy of vaginal application of essential oils against murine experimental candidiasis was investigated. The effect on vaginal inflammation and Candida growth form was also studied. Vaginal candidiasis was established by intravaginal infection of C. albicans to estradiol-treated mice. These mice intravaginally received essential oils such as geranium and tea tree singly or in combination with vaginal washing. Vaginal administration of clotrimazole significantly decreased the number of viable C. albicans cells in the vaginal cavity by itself. In contrast, these essential oils did not lower the cell number. When application of geranium oil or geraniol was combined with vaginal washing, the cell number was decreased significantly. The myeloperoxidase activity assay exhibited the possibility that essential oils worked not only to reduce the viable cell number of C. albicans, but also to improve vaginal inflammation. The smear of vaginal washing suspension suggested that more yeast-form cells appeared in vaginal smears of these oil-treated mice than in control mice. In vitro study showed that a very low concentration (25 microg/ml) of geranium oil and geraniol inhibited mycelial growth, but not yeast growth. Based on these findings, it is estimated that vaginal application of geranium oil or its main component, geraniol, suppressed Candida cell growth in the vagina and its local inflammation when combined with vaginal washing.
PMID: 18670079 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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