Editorial

Dear readers and authors,

Welcome to a new and hopefully fruitful year. I am pleased to bring you the first issue of Pharmacognosy Communications for 2018: volume 8, issue 1. In this issue we present 8 new original research reports examining the pharmacognosy of several important medicinal plants including reports on: a review of both the positive actions and side effects of statins; the anticancer properties of Uncaria tomentosa Willd. DC. extracts against Caco2 and HeLa cancer cell lines; a comparison of the anticholinesterase, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of Allium cepa and Ocimum basilicum and therefore their potential in drug develop ment for the treatment of Alzheimers Disease; the hepatoprotective effects of Monodora myristica (Gaertn.), Chromolaena odorata (Linn), Buccholzia coriacea (Engl.) and Sphenostylis stenocarpa (Hochst ex A. Rich) following carbon tetrachloride exposure; the effects of herbal combinations on serum lactate dehydrogenase activity and organ weight in a diabetes mellitus model system; a pharmacognostic comparison of the leaves of Citrus sinensis var. jaffa and Citrus paradisi var. redblush; the antioxidant, antihemolytic and anti inflammatory activities of Santolina chamaecyparissus extracts; the antioxidant properties and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of the Algerian medicinal plant Paronychia argentea L..