Advances in Traditional Medicine最新文献

Methotrexate (MTX) is a chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases; however, its clinical applicability is limited due to its cytotoxic nature. The present study tested elecampane (Inula helenium L.) rhizome extract (ERE) for its protective effects against MTX-induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in male rats. The rats were divided into five experimental groups (n = 10): control (physiological saline); MTX, physiological saline, and MTX [40 mg/kg intraperitoneal (i.p.)] on the fourth day; and three groups in which rats concurrently received MTX plus three doses of ERE (100, 200, 400 mg/kg) orally for 10 consecutive days. The findings revealed that MTX administration substantially elevated serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine. Additionally, it increased malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrotic factor-α (TNFα) levels in the liver and renal tissues while decreasing superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT) activities. However, treatment with ERE at a dosage of 400 mg/kg reversed the adverse effects of MTX toxicity by decreasing the levels of TC, LDL-C, MDA, AST, ALT, ALP, IL-1β, TNFα and increasing the activities of GPx, CAT, and SOD in the tissues mentioned above. A histological examination of the liver and renal tissues also confirmed the ameliorating effects of ERE. The present study indicated that EER could inhibit MTX-induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity by improving antioxidant defense and decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation.

Diabetes is a major deadly disease. In 2019 alone, it caused an estimated 1.5 million deaths world-wide. Cases of diabetes are rising rapidly in low- and middle-income countries. Natural remedies that can lower the glucose level would be very useful, particularly to people living in low- and middle-income countries. A 2-year case study was carried out, therefore, to determine if Nigella sativa tea can lower the glucose level in a 72-year-old man with type-2 diabetes, stage 3–4 chronic kidney disease, and congestive heart failure. Changes in body weight, lipids, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) were also studied. N. sativa tea was prepared with N. sativa, barley, and wheat seeds. The 72-year-old drank approximately 50 ml of N. sativa tea daily, in the morning. Results showed that after drinking N. sativa tea daily, hypoglycemia started to occur and occurred more frequently as time went by and that the glycated hemoglobin, HbA1c, was decreasing. Subsequently, the dosages of insulin glargine and insulin aspart were reduced by 33% and 50%, respectively. Results also showed that weight loss led to the 72-year-old cutting back his intake of the diuretic furosemide by at least 50%. His triglycerides level was also lower and there were no changes in his total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. His eGFR was stable but his UACR was worsening. N. sativa tea is easy to prepare, costs very little, and could be a natural remedy for mitigating diabetes and edema. Many more studies on N. sativa are warranted.

This study evaluated the ameliorative effect of Amaranthus spinosus leaf methanol extract (ASLME) against doxorubicin-induced multi-organ damage in Sprague Dawley Rats. Forty-nine (49) male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly stratified into 7 groups with 7 rats per group. Groups A and B received distilled water for 7 days. Groups C, D, and E were pretreated for 7 days with 200 mg/kg silymarin, 500 and 1000 mg/kg ASLME, respectively followed by intraperitoneal injection of 20 mg/kg doxorubicin (DOX) to groups B, C, D, and E on the 8th day. Groups F and G were orally administered 500 and 1000 mg/kg ASLME respectively for 7 days with an intraperitoneal injection of distilled water on the 8th day. After 48 h of DOX administration, blood was withdrawn by cardiac puncture, and organs were excised for biochemical and histopathological assays. Pretreatment with ASLME decreased the levels of tissues malondialdehyde and nitric oxide as well as serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) with a concomitant (p < 0.05) increase in the levels of serum interleukin-10 (IL-10) and tissues reduced glutathione in a dose-dependent manner compared to group B. The activities of antioxidant enzymes increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the ASLME pretreated groups as well as groups F and G when compared to group B. Administration of doxorubicin induced degenerative hepatic, nephrotic and cardiac biomarkers and histological changes in Group B, while remarkable reversal of these pathological features was observed in groups pretreated with ASLME. Our findings suggest the chemo-protective effect of ASLME against doxorubicin-induced multi-organ damage, by alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation in rats.

Gastric ulcer is a serious global health challenge, and various natural products are being investigated to prevent and manage the condition. This study evaluated the gastroprotective and ulcer healing potentials of Nigerian bee propolis flavonoid-rich extract (NPE) on acetic acid-induced gastric ulcers in albino rats. Sixty adult male albino rats (222 ± 6.4 g) randomised into 5 groups (n = 12) were studied. Group A (SHAM) was left untreated, while gastric ulcer was induced in groups B (NPE), C (omeprazole) and D (saline). Group E (PRPE) was pre-treated with NPE prior to ulcer induction. The rate of ulcer contraction, volume and pH of gastric juice, and histopathological parameters were evaluated. The results showed a significantly higher rate of contraction (P = 0.001) between days 9 and 12 (NPE > OME > PRPE > SAL) and a significant decrease (P = 0.003) in the volume of gastric juice between days 9 and 12 (NPE < OME < PRPE). Gradual increase in pH was observed in all the groups from days 3 to 12, with a significantly higher rate (P < 0.001) between day 6 and 12 (SHAM > NPE > OME > PRPE > SAL). Histological evaluation showed significantly high neutrophils and macrophages on day 6 (P = 0.006) and lymphocytes (P = 0.004) between day 6 and 12 in the OME and NPE groups. NPE showed gastroprotective and ulcer healing properties by inhibiting ulcer formation and facilitating the curation of induced ulcers and is, therefore, a valuable alternative to conventional gastric ulcer therapy, especially in poor resource settings.

Zanthoxylum species are credited with various uses in ethnomedicine due to their rich metabolite composition. In Kenya, these include management of cancer and microbial related ailments. However, there are limited reports showing how the bioactivity of Kenyan Zanthoxylum species is linked to their phytochemical profiles. This study therefore aimed at examining the chemical variation among five Zanthoxylum species found in Kenya (Z. chalybeum, Z. gilletii, Z. holtzianum, Z. paracanthum and Z. usambarense) using metabolomics approaches and the anti-oxidant and antimicrobial activities of these species. In a Folin–Ciocalteu test, the phenolic content of the stem bark extracts of these species were 73.083–145.272 mg TAE/g, while the alkaloids (in bromothymol blue chromogenic test) and flavonoids (in aluminium chloride test) were found to be 152.39–207.19 mg ME/g, and 109.416–186.413 mg CE/g, respectively. These extracts also exerted strong antioxidant activities in the 2,2-iphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power assays. In a broth dilution assay, the extract of the stem bark of Z. holtzianum ability showed the highest antimicrobial activity, followed by Z. chalybeum stem bark extract. The activities were positively correlated to both flavonoids and alkaloids concentrations, while the concentration of phenolics had weak negative correlation to antimicrobial activities. A chemometric analysis of the liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry profiles led to grouping of the species into three clusters. This study illustrates the variation in the bioactivity of Zanthoxylum species based on metabolite composition and justifies the wide usage of Zanthoxylum species in Kenyan traditional medicinal practices.

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Tetrapleura tetraptera Taub. (Fabaceae), commonly known as Aidan is ethnopharmacologically used for the management of health conditions such as diabetes mellitus, leprosy, epilepsy, and stroke in Nigeria. This study evaluated the anti-oxidoinflammatory properties of T. tetraptera methanol leaf extract (TTE) in lithium-pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in Wistar rats. The extract was phytochemically screened and HPLC fingerprinting was performed. Animals were intraperitoneally administered with 127 mg/kg lithium chloride followed by 25 mg/kg pilocarpine 20 h later to induce status epilepticus. The animals were post treated with 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg TTE with 10 mg/kg valproic acid as the reference standard drug. Phytochemical screening of TTE confirmed the presence of tannins, phenols, alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, glycosides and steroids. Quantitative phytochemical and antioxidant analyses of the extract indicated significant in vitro antioxidant and radical scavenging activity. HPLC analysis of the extract confirmed the presence of aridanin and polyphenols. TTE ameliorated redox imbalance by increasing markers for oxidative stress such as ferric reducing antioxidant power, glutathione level, catalase, glutathione S-transferase and superoxide dismutase activities. Moreover, TTE ameliorated pro-inflammatory events by reducing the level of the pro-inflammatory mediator nitric oxide, attenuating lipid peroxidation (which produces inflammatory lipid peroxidation-derived aldehydes), and decreasing the activities of xanthine oxidase and lactate dehydrogenase in the brain. These results indicated that the leaf of Tetrapleura tetraptera has therapeutic potential against status epilepticus by reversing oxidoinflammatory events. Tetrapleura tetraptera leaf extracts could be used to produce novel plant-based pharmaceuticals for treating status epilepticus and associated disorders.

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The study investigates the role of Anogeissus leiocarpus methanol stem bark extract (ALSE) on seizure, oxidative stress and cognitive performance in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced epilepsy in rat model. Thirty Wistar rats were allocated into five groups (n = 6). Groups 1 and 2 received normal saline intra-peritoneal (i.p) every day and PTZ (i.p) at 35 mg/kg every other day respectively. Groups 3–5 were given ALSE orally at (250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg) and Diazepam at 4 mg/kg (i.p) respectively. Groups 3–5 were given PTZ (i.p) at 35 mg/kg every other day for 30 days, 30 min after ALSE and Diazepam administration. The rats were observed for seizure activities and also evaluated for cognitive functions. The rats were euthanized thereafter and the brain histology and oxidative stress biomarkers were evaluated. PTZ induction resulted into increased seizure activities leading to the development of kindling, oxidative stress, cognitive impairment and histological aberration of the hippocampus. However, pretreatment with ALSE decreased seizure activities, reversed oxidative stress and cognitive impairment and preserved hippocampal histology relative to the PTZ alone treated rats. Conclusively, ALSE was found to increase seizure latency, prevented cognitive decline, and decreased seizure activities induced by PTZ-kindling in rats. Additionally, ALSE ameliorates PTZ-induced oxidative stress and histological aberrations of the hippocampus. Hence, this study proposed that ALSE might be a promising tool for ameliorating seizure in epilepsy.

Psoralea corylifolia L. has been used in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine systems for management of various diseases. The various phytochemical constituents work in orchestric manner to treat diverse illnesses. Current pharmaco-therapies shown beneficiary role in treatment of dyslipidaemia but facing life threatening side effects. The usage of herbs increased worldwide and paves the way for development of pharmaceuticals for hyperlipidemia treatment. The main objective of present work was to investigate anti-hyperlipidemic activity and in-silico pancreatic lipase inhibitory potential of Psoralea corylifolia L. (PC) leaf extract. The existence of several phytoconstituents was confirmed by the chromatographic research and mainly includes the flavonoids and furanocoumarins. All studied phytoconstituents were found to have superior binding affinity than standard orlistat (− 7.1 kcal/mol), with docking score ranges from − 10.6 to − 7.3 kcal/mol. At 200 mg/kg/day the ethanolic leaf extract demonstrated highest lipid lowering action. Ethanolic leaf extract of Psoralea corylifolia revealed evidential antihyperlipidemic potential in a concentration dependent manner (P < 0.01). The serum lipid profile (LDL, VLDL, TG, TC) dropped firmly and HDL elevated in hyperlipidemic rats treated with plant extract compared with the hyperlipidemic group rats (P < 0.01). The hepatic TC and TG abruptly increased in hyperlipidemic rats and significantly reduced in hyperlipidemic rats administered with EPC compared with the control group (P < 0.01). The hyperlipidemic rats treated with atorvastatin and PC at different doses shown evidentiary increase in secretion of TC and TG compared with the hyperlipidemic group rats. The study results proposed that EPC leaf extract demonstrated noteworthy antihyperlipidemic action. The findings of docking study recommend utilization of the best ligands experimentally to develop novel anti-obesity agents.

Traditional herbal medicine has been playing an essential role in primary health care globally. The aim of this work is to present an overview of traditional herbal medicine research productivity over the past years. The data was accessed from the Scopus database (www.scopus.com), while VOSviewer.Var1.6.6, Bibliometrix, and R studio were used for further analysis of the obtained data. The results showed that researches on traditional herbal medicine increased annually after 1990, followed by a corresponding increase in global citations during the period, with a total of 22,071 authors contributing to all the publications. Yiling Wang of Shanghai Institute of Drug Control, Shanghai, China was the most productive author (TNP = 303), while Journal of “Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine”, and “Journal of Ethnopharmacology” were the top ranked journals, respectively. Also, China, Japan, and India were found to be the top Corresponding Author's Countries for researches on traditional herbal medicine, as Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and China Medical University were top affiliations. Moreover, National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, and Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan were top funding agencies, with more than 100 documents. The bibliometric research study has revealed an annual increasing trend in traditional herbal medicine, while also revealing that the topmost ranked authors and funding agencies were from Asia especially China.