Clinical complementary medicine and pharmacology最新文献

Background

Mosquito is a big threat to the human health. Mosquito-borne diseases cause millions of death to the human beings. Hence, a permanent solution is eagerly to be established to control its excessive growth in stagnant water. Portulaca oleracea Linn is a natural larvicidal agent, which contains active ingredients such as linolenic acid, linoleic acid (omega-3 fatty acids). These bioactive compounds may be responsible for its larvicidal properties on mosquito.

Objective

The present study is focussed on identifying the bioactive compounds, such as linolenic acid, through GC–MS, and analyzing the larvicidal efficacy of Portulaca oleracea L. against Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles stephensi larvae.

Methods

Preliminary phytochemical analysis, total protein content, total carbohydrate content, total phenol content, total flavonoid content and GC–MS analysis exhibited the presence of rich phytoconstituents in Portulaca oleracea. DPPH analysis was carried out to analyze the antioxidant potential of plant extract. Larvicidal activity and histological change were detected to evaluate the efficacy of Portulaca oleracea L. on the Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles stephensi larvae.

Results

Aqueous and ethanol leaf extracts of Portulaca oleracea L. against both Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles stephensi larvae, showed a very good larvicidal activity at 500 µg/mL among the various concentrations. Histological damages of mosquito larvae were observed when treated with the Portulaca oleracea L. extract, and provided further evidence for its larvicidal activity.

Conclusion

This study concluded that the plant Portulaca oleracea L. contained many useful bioactive compounds, can be a strong larvicidal agent against both Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles stephensi larvae. The molecular mechanism for the larvicidal activity will be identified in future studies.

Background

Cardiovascular disease is the world's number one killer disease and the leading non-communicable disease in terms of causing premature deaths. Overwhelming evidence suggest that effective management of metabolic syndrome will markedly reduce morbidity and premature deaths from cardiovascular disease. Although many therapies exist, most of them are ineffective due to decreased effectiveness and/or side effects following prolonged usage. Policosanol, a well-tolerated long-chain aliphatic alcohol has been proven to be effective against the components of metabolic syndrome (namely dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity) even when used for a long period with minimal or no adverse effects.

Objective

This study intends to explore the potential benefits of Policosanol in the management of metabolic syndrome.

Methods

PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct were used as the search engines to retrieve articles related to Policosanol and metabolic syndrome from 2010 to 2021.

Results

The results from the three search engines were scrutinized and merged. Duplicate publications were excluded. Similarly, four articles from the WHO website (www.who.int/publications) were included making a total of 63 articles used in this review. Most of the reviewed articles show Policosanol to be effective in reducing systolic and diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose level, body weight, total cholesterol level, triglyceride level, low density lipoprotein and increasing high density lipoprotein levels. There are few conflicting articles that reported Policosanol to have no effect on lipid parameters.

Conclusion

Policosanol was shown to be a safe and well-tolerated natural product that is effective against all the components of metabolic syndrome. Thus, using this natural product will go a long way in reducing the burden and economic consequences of the syndrome.

Background

To date, there has been a great lack of investigation on the influence of age on blood flow and temperature of acupoints in specific regions.

Objective

This study aimed to determine the association between different age categories and acupoint blood flow/temperature on the forearm.

Methods

Acupoint blood flow and temperature were measured in healthy adults of different age categories using laser doppler flowmetry (LDF) and infrared thermography (IRT), respectively. A total of 60 eligible healthy volunteers were divided into the young group, mid age group and old age group. All groups received LDF and IRT examination. Shenmen (HT7), Shaohai (HT3), Taiyuan (LU9) and Chize (LU5) of the Heart and Lung meridians on the forearm were selected as 4 test acupoints.

Results

Regarding blood flow of the 4 test acupoints, the PU of Taiyuan (LU9) in the old age group was significantly different compared with that of the young age group (P < 0.05) and the mid age group (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in PU of the other acupoints between 3 groups (all P > 0.05). Similarly, regarding acupoint temperature of the 4 test sites, the temperature of Shaohai (HT3) in the old age group was significantly different compared with that of the mid age group (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in the temperature of the other 3 acupoints between 3 age groups (all P > 0.05).

Conclusion

Age category tends to have notable influence on the blood flow and temperature in specific acupoints in the forearm. Therefore, particular concerns should be taken into consideration regarding the effect of age differences for future studies in this field. Nevertheless, further studies with a large sample size and more test acupoints are needed to further verify current findings.

Dengue fever is a flu-like ailment propagated by female mosquitos of the Aedes aegypti species. It is also known as dandaka jwara in Ayurveda. It is most common in the world's subtropical and tropical climate zones. Vomiting, severe headache, nausea, rashes, joint pain, pain behind the eyes, muscle pain, and swollen glands are all common dengue symptoms. If not handled promptly, these symptoms can lead to more severe issues such as exhaustion, blood in the vomit, continuous vomiting, bleeding gums, restlessness, severe abdominal pain, and rapid bleeding. Because there is no specific medication for dengue fever, the disease is treated by eliminating and managing the symptoms. Fortunately, there are a variety of ayurvedic remedies (like Carica papaya L., Cissampelos pareira L., etc.) that can help to tackle the same by strengthening the immune system and controlling hyperthermia. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of dengue virus infections, clinical symptoms, diagnosis, mitigation, and treatments, focusing on ayurvedic and herbal remedies.

Background

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common causes of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in older men. Nowadays, there are several plant extracts used for the treatment of LUTS due to BPH.

Objective

The aim of this study is to compare the effect of combining silodosin 8 mg with Serenoa repens, Urtica dioica, Cucurbita pepo (Rotaprost 530 mg) compared to silodosin 8 mg and Rotaprost 530 mg alone in patients with LUTS/BPH.

Methods

Four hundred five men with symptomatic BPH were recruited for the study from June 2020 to January 2021. Three hundred eighty-nine patients were followed up for 6 months. All participants provided written informed consent. This prospective study included analysis of three treatment groups: Group I patients (n = 130) received a combination of silodosin 8 mg and Rotaprost 530 mg (containing a dry extract of Serenoa repens 80 mg, a dry extract of Urtica dioica 150 mg, a dry extract of Cucurbita pepo seeds 200 mg, zinc (in the form of zinc picolinate) 0.105 mg, and selenium (as sodium selenite) 22.5 µg); the group II (n = 129) received silodosin 8 mg alone, and the group III (n = 130) received Rotaprost 530 mg alone. Outcomes were measured by changes from baseline in International Prostate Symptom Score (IPPS) total score, PSA value, prostate volume, residual urine after urination, and maximum flow rate. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

Results

In group I, IPSS, prostate volume, and maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) improved significantly (P < 0.05) compared with groups II and III during follow-up. Prostate volume in group I showed a significant decrease only during 6 months of therapy (P < 0.05). No serious adverse effects were registered in the three groups.

Conclusion

Combination therapy with silodosin 8 mg significantly reduced LUTS/BPH, Qmax, and prostate volume compared with silodosin 8 mg alone. Rotaprost 530 mg can also reduce PSA by at least 20.6−25.7% after 6-months of treatment.

Background

Jieduquyuziyin prescription (JP) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, which has been applied to the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) for decades, and its efficacy and safety have been confirmed in clinical practice. However, little is known about its molecular mechanism.

Objective

To explore the effects of JP on macrophages' inflammatory activity and NOTCH1/NF-κB pathway.

Methods

The JP-treated serum was prepared to determine its optimal concentration. Given the fact that active components in rats' serum might affect the results, control serum without JP components was prepared simultaneously. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to activate RAW264.7, and the cells were interfered with DAPT (NOTCH1 blocker), control serum, and JP-treated serum, respectively. After the above intervention, the expression of NOTCH1 and RBPJ, the nuclear translocation of NF-κB, and the extracellular release of IL6, TNFα, and NO, was evaluated by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blotting (WB), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Griess method.

Results

Both DAPT and JP-treated serum could significantly suppress the expression of NOTCH1 and RBPJ induced by LPS, as well as the nuclear translocation of NF-κB, leading to the decreased release of IL6, TNFα, and NO, while control serum had little effect on macrophage activity and NOTCH1/NF-κB pathway.

Conclusion

These results demonstrated the effects of JP on macrophage activation and pro-inflammatory response and suggested that the molecular mechanism of JP might attribute to the inhibition of the NOTCH1/NF-κB pathway. Besides, previous studies suggested that paeoniflorin and ferulic acid are two major effective components in JP. In subsequent experiments, we would further explore the effects of these two components on MRL/lpr mice and macrophage activity.

Background

The prevalence of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is gradually increasing, safer and more effective treatments are urgently needed.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Ningxin-Yishen formula (NXYSF) on D-galactose-induced POI mice as well as to shed a light on its potential mechanisms.

Methods

Six to eight weeks old female C57BL/6 mice were used in this study and randomly divided into six groups: control group; model group; estradiol valerate (EV) treatment group and NXYSF treatment group with graded doses (9.5, 19, and 38 g·kg⁻¹/d). Both EV and NXYSF treatments were initiated at the 15th day of modeling and lasted for 28 days. Afterwards, the ovarian function was evaluated in each group by analyzing the proportion of primordial follicles as well as the serum sex hormone levels. Furthermore, network pharmacology approach was performed to elucidate the potential targets of NXYSF, which was verified through western blotting experiments finally.

Results

NXYSF could significantly reverse the inefficiency of weight gain caused by POI, and promote the development of primordial follicles. In addition, it could restore the abnormal serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), estradiol (E₂), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Moreover, some crucial key gene targets including TP53 were as propose to be relate with the effect of NXYSF through network pharmacology analysis. Last but importantly, western blotting experiments confirmed that NXYSF could inhibit the expression of p53 protein in mouse ovaries.

Conclusion

Our findings proposed that NXYSF might be an effective alternative treatment for POI.

Background

Lead (Pb), a naturally occurring environmental contaminant, has been implicated in several pathological conditions of the cardiovascular and renal systems.

Objective

The study was designed to evaluate the modulatory roles of the polyphenol-rich fraction of Terminalia catappa on chronic lead acetate-induced cardiovascular and renal toxicities in rats.

Methods

Thirty-six rats were randomly selected and divided into six groups of six rats each. Pb toxicity was induced by the administration of 100 mg/L Pb in drinking water for 12 weeks in groups B-F. Groups A and B were left untreated; groups C and D were treated with polyphenol-rich fraction of Terminalia catappa [PRFTC (100 and 200 mg/kg b.w.)]; vitamin E (50 mg/kg b.w.) and lisinopril (10 mg/kg b.w.) were administered to groups E and F, respectively.

Results

Exposure of rats to Pb induced significantly elevated (P < 0.05) primary haemodynamic parameters, severe disseminated congestion of blood vessels and haemorrhages in the cardiac and renal tissues, significantly elevated (P < 0.05) markers of oxidative stress markers of inflammation and myocardial infarction, but significantly decreased serum nitric oxide and the systemic antioxidants. Furthermore, rats exposed to Pb showed heightened immune-positive reactions to Caspase-3, a marker of apoptosis, in both renal and cardiac tissues. All manifestations of Pb-associated toxicities in the cardiovascular and renal systems were alleviated by the PRFTC treatment in rats.

Conclusion

The polyphenol-rich fraction of T. catappa proved effective in the reduction of oxidative stress-mediated derangements of the physiological homeostasis and decreased apoptosis in the cardiovascular and renal systems of rats chronically exposed to lead acetate toxicities and may therefore have therapeutic potential as a supplement that can be applied in chronic lead poisoning.

Background

Coumarins are secondary metabolites from the phenylpropanoid-type biosynthesis in higher plants. A plethora of potential phytopharmacological activities have been described for derivatives of the coumarin scaffold: hepatoprotective, antineoplastic, antimicrobial, antituberculosis, antiviral, anti-inflammatory anticoagulant, or antithrombotic effects.

Objective

A computer-based quantitative structure – activity relationships (QSAR) study for a series of 4‑chloro-3-formylcoumarins was carried out.

Methods

To this end we generated the 3D models of 17 published coumarin structures, calculated their physicochemical properties (descriptors) to correlate them to their experimentally known biological activities measured as inhibition concentrations to block the target enzyme activity. Our proposed approach used free molecular modeling software and applies our scripts written in the programming language R.

Results

The final multiple regression models achieved satisfactory results with a small number of descriptors – all of which were statistically significant and meaningful in the field of pharmacodynamics to develop new 3-formylcoumarins with enhanced activities targeting the human thymidine phosphorylase enzyme.

Conclusion

On theoretical grounds, our in silico research contributes in a crucial step in the field of complementary phyto-medicine. This step is located between in vivo pharmacological observations of plant extracts on ethnopharmacological, preclinical or controlled clinical levels and the need to identify – at an atomic scale – all those plant ingredients responsible for the biological actions under scrutiny. Our simulations shed light on the modification of phyto-medicine’s physicochemical properties to enhance the interaction with their biomolecular target in the patient's body.

Background

Bladder cancer is the tenth most common cancer worldwide. Considering its high prevalence (vulnerability to multiple recurrences and progression despite local therapy), which leads to a substantial health service burden, it becomes necessary to develop new strategies to increase the effectiveness of bladder tumor therapy. Natural compounds with antiproliferative effect on cancer cells could be a good choice for co-adjuvant chemotherapy. Microorganisms are one of the main sources for natural compounds. Pigments extracted from the cold-adapted microorganisms can contribute to the development of a broader range of applications in biotechnology. Violacein is a purple pigment commonly produced by many bacterial strains. We have previously shown that very low concentrations of violacein extracted from Janthinobacterium sp. produced an antiproliferative effect on HeLa cells.

Objective

With the aim to determine if violacein has an antiproliferative activity on bladder cancer cells, as well as to test if it has synergistic effects on cisplatin treated cells in vitro, T24 and 253J cell lines (derived bladder cancer cells from carcinoma in situ and retroperitoneal metastasis, respectively) were exposed to different concentrations of violacein in the presence or absence of cisplatin.

Methods

i) Resazurin assay and flow cytometry were performed in two bladder cancer-derived cell lines, namely T24 and 253J, to see if violacein affects cell viability and induce cell death. ii) To find out whether violacein sensitizes bladder cancer cells to cisplatin, the drug interaction among different doses of cisplatin and violacein was analyzed, as well their combination index was determined. iii) The effect of violacein to induce primary genetic damage was determined through the analysis of induced micronuclei frequency and γH2AX foci, as well as performing the comet assay.

Results

The half-maximal inhibitory concentration of violacein at 24 h for both cell lines were around 500 nM, and decreased below 400 nM in combination with 10 µM of cisplatin, indicating antiproliferative and sensitizing effects of violacein to cisplatin in both cell lines tested. A clear cell cycle delay, as well as an increase in the percentage of cell death was observed by flow cytometry at 300 nM of violacein, either alone or in combination with cisplatin. On the other hand, the analysis of the micronucleus frequency did not evidence an increase in genetic damage. Moreover, in combined treatments with cisplatin there was a slight decrease on micronucleus induction. Besides, the induction of genetic damage was not observed through comet assay when cells were treated with violacein alone, however, when cells were treated with violacein in the presence of cisplatin (10 µM). The production of genetic damage was diminished in T24 or 253J cells. By the same token, increase in