Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products
Volume:7 Issue: 2, Jun 2012

Research in the area of herbal psychopharmacology has clearly improved in recent decades. Self-administration of herbal medicines has been the most popular therapeutic alternative to standard medicine. Since the extract of Echium amoenum exhibits an anxiolytic effect, the aim of this study is to evaluate the anxiolytic and hypnotic effects in mice of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of aerial parts of E. italicum, a member of the Boraginaceae family. Mice were administered the agents intraperitoneally before the start of the experiments for evaluation of hypnotic activity (induced by sodium pentobarbital, 30 mg/kg, i.p.), anxiolytic activity (elevated plus-maze [EPM] test), locomotor activity (open field test), and motor coordination (rotarod test). The ethanolic and aqueous extracts of E. italicum, at doses of 1.2 and 2.1 g/kg, increased the percentage of time-spent and the percentage of arm entries in the open arms of the EPM and decreased the percentage of time-spent in the closed arms of the EPM. Moreover, both extracts decreased the pentobarbital-induced latency to sleep and significantly increased the total sleeping time induced by pentobarbital. In addition, locomotor activity was affected by aqueous extracts and ethanolic extract (at higher doses). Both extracts showed no effect in the rotarod test. These results suggest that both ethanolic and aqueous extracts of E. italicum may have anxiolytic effects and sedative activity but no effect on muscle relaxation.

Substrates in medical science are hydrophilic polymers undergoing volume expansion when exposed to culture medium that influenced on cell attachment. Although crosslinking by chemical agents could reduce water uptake and promote mechanical properties, these networks would release crosslinking agents. In order to overcome this weakness, silicone rubber is used and reinforced by nanoclay. Attempts have been made to prepare nanocomposites based on medical grade HTV silicone rubber (SR) and organo-modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanoclay with varying amounts of clay compositions. Incorporation of nanocilica platelets into SR matrix was carried out via melt mixing process taking advantage of a Brabender internal mixer. The tensile elastic modulus of nanocomposites was measured by performing tensile tests on the samples. Produced polydimetylsiloxane (PDMS) composites with different flexibilities and crosslink densities were employed as substrates to investigate biocompatibility, cell compaction, and differential behaviors. The results presented here revealed successful nanocomposite formation with SR and OMMT, resulting in strong PDMS-based materials. The results showed that viability, proliferation, and spreading of cells are governed by elastic modulus and stiffness of samples. Furthermore, adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) cultured on PDMS and corresponding nanocomposites could retain differentiation potential of osteocytes in response to soluble factors, indicating that inclusion of OMMT would not prevent osteogenic differentiation. Moreover, better spread out and proliferation of cells was observed in nanocomposite samples. Considering cell behavior and mechanical properties of nanobiocomposites it could be concluded that silicone rubber substrate filled by nanoclay are a good choice for further experiments in tissue engineering and medical regeneration due to its cell compatibility and differentiation capacity.

Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS) officiated as host to the second nanodrugs congress on March 2012, which was held by nanotechnology research center of AJUMS in cooperation with Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran. This scientific event was scheduled to be held in a bid to create an appropriate environment for idea exchange among the specialists and researchers active in the field of drug delivery. The objectives of the organization of this congress was introducing the latest achievements in the field of nanodrugs, considering targeted drug delivery aim for the treatment of incurable diseases, improving the life quality and social health, and converting science and technology into wealth.One of the major scopes of the congress was the application of nanotechnology in the field of natural pharmaceutical products. Recently there have been considerable researches on developing biocompatible and biodegradable nanocarriers/nanodevices as novel drug delivery systems. Natural polymers or biopolymers are generally biocompatible, biodegradable, non-toxic and non-immunogenic. They occur widely in nature and are classified into 2 groups; polysaccharides and proteins (1). Chitosan, starch, dextran, and alginate are examples of commonly used polysaccharides while collagen, gelatin, and albumin are examples of commonly used proteins. These biopolymers are widely applied in formulation of nanospheres, nanocapsules, and recently nanofibers in order to enhance drug delivery to specific pharmacological sites or tissue engineering.Lipids also are a broad group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, phospholipids, fat-soluble vitamins, mono-, di-, and tri-glycerides which are advantageous to formulation of a wide range of lipid-based nanocarriers; such as solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), and lipid drug conjugates (LDC) to minimize the drawbacks associated with polymeric nanoparticles specially low drug loading for hydrophobic drugs (2).Moreover some research are being focused on development of novel drug delivery systems for herbal extracts or plant actives, such as polymeric nanoparticles, nanocapsules, liposomes, phytosomes, nanoemulsions, microsphere, transferosomes, and ethosomes, to protect active herbal ingredients from physical and chemical degradation, enhance safety and pharmacological activity, and overcome solubility and bioavailability problems associated with plant medicine (3). Finally, future prospects of advancements in utilizing nanotechnology for drug delivery, cancer therapy, gene therapy, tissue engineering etc. represents the need to further efforts and focus of researchers in this field.

Foods are enriched with variety of chemical elements. Some of these elements are necessary for human health. These elements enter liquid, enter to the cells and other organs, certain amount of these elements are essential for body organs to work properly. This research was conducted to compare the level of lead and cadmium contamination in garlic species planted in Ramhormoz and Rasht and discuss about the source of this contaminations. Twenty composite samples were collected from each province, Khozestan (Ramhormoz) and Gilan (Rasht). Each sample was burned according to instruction reported in AOAC. Then the white residue was dissolved in diluted nitric acid then the Pb and Cd contents were determined using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer at 217 and 228.8 nm, respectively. garlic No Pb level was detected for the garlic cultured in both cities. The mean concentration of cadmium was 0.40 and 0.58 mg/kg in garlics planted in Ramhormoz and Rasht garlic, respectively. Statistical analysis showed significant difference between mean concentration of cadmium in Rasht garlic and the permitted value (P < 0.001). The cadmium level in Rasht garlic is much higher than the standard level. In order to test the reliability of the data obtained using this method, randomly selected samples were spiked with Pb and Cd standard solutions.The cadmium and lead recovery were reported 93.93 and 90.18 percent.

Despite the vast use of herbal medicines in the world, little is known about their use in pregnancy and the attitudes of pregnant women regarding their safety during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use and attitudes of pregnant women toward herbal medicine use in pregnancy in Iran. A questionnaire was completed by 400 women selected by convenience sampling from postnatal and prenatal wards of two hospitals. Data wereanalyzed using the SPSS software version 13.5. Chi2 test was used to analyze the data. The median age was 26.4 (± 5.2) years and the mean number of pregnancies was 1.9 (± 0.98). The use of herbal remedies during pregnancy was positive in 22.3% of patients. They took herbal medicines recommended by their physician (46.1%), through self-medication (44.9%), or with the advice of family members or friends (9%). Additionally,39.8% believed that it was safe to use herbal remedies during pregnancy, 32.3% believed that it was harmful for both mother and fetus, and 22% did not know whether it was safe or not. Herbal medicine use was not high among our subjects but was significantly affected by age. The level of education, place of living, and number of pregnancies significantly affected the attitudes of the subjects. Women with higher education mostly relied on their own information, whereas those with lower education relied on physician advice. Further educational programs are required to increase the information for this group of susceptible individuals.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a highly toxic and hepatocarcinogenic metabolite produced by Aspergillus species. Some natural products are known to kill fungi and destroy toxins and toxin-producing agents. The purpose of this study is to provide experimental data on the antifungal activity of cumin oils and their components that could be considered suitable for application in foods and drugs. The essential oil (EO) of Cuminum cyminum L. collected from Alborz mountain, Iran, was obtained by hydro-distillation. The oil was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and chromatography/mass spectrophotometry (GC/MS). The antifungal activity of the oil was studied with regard to the inhibition of the growth of Aspergillus flavus PICC-AF39, Aspergillus flavus PICC-AF24, Aspergillus parasiticus NRRL-2999 and Aspergillus niger. The minimal inhibitory (MIC) and minimal fungicidal (MFC) concentrations of the oil were determined. α–Pinene (29.2%), limonene (21.7%), 1,8-cineole (18.1%), linalool (10.5%), linalyl acetate (4.8%), and α-terpineole (3.17%) were the major components of the essential oil from C. cyminum L., and the oil showed a strong inhibitory effect on fungal growth. Essential oils could be safely used as preservatives in pharmaceuticals as well as health and food products to protect them against toxigenic fungal infections.

Compounds present in green tea have proved to inhibit the growth and activity of bacteria associated with infections. To assess the effects of green tea leaves extract in presence of propylene glycol on the aerobic mouth bacteria load. Saliva of 25 volunteer girl students aging 20-25 years were selected and evaluated by a mouthwash sample containing 1% tannin, as the most effective antibacterial complex in green tea. Comparative studies were also conducted between green tea mouthwashes containing 1% tannin and a similar sample with 10% propylene glycol added during extraction. This comparison was applied for a chlorhexidine 0.2% sample as a chemical mouthwash brand, too. There was a meaningful difference between the green tea mouthwashes containing 10% propylene glycol and the simple green tea extract (P < 0.05). Significant difference was also seen between the herbal and chemical mouthwashes (P < 0.05). The extract 1% tannin containing 10% propylene glycol reduced the aerobic mouth bacterial load of the student salvia about 64 percent. PH monotonousness in different days and temperatures approved the stability of tannin in liquid water medium. Using green tea extract as a herbal mouthwash is safe and harmless specially for children and pregnant women. This result led us to suppose that green tea may prevent plaque formation on teeth, coming over halitosis due to mouth infection, too. These effects need to be approved in an in vivo trial as a second study.

1, 5-Benzodiazepines have been investigated extensively by organic chemists due to their medicinal and pharmacological properties. These compounds are synthesized by condensation of o-phenylenediamines with carbonyl compounds in the presence of acid catalysts. During our studies on the application of silica resin with acid functional moieties, we found that SiO2/H2SO4 mixture is a simple and efficient catalyst for this method under microwave irradiation. The reaction was carried out simply by grinding SiO2/H2SO4 mixture with o-phenylenediamine, and ketone in the mortar; then the mixture was poured out into a sealed flask. Subsequently, it was irradiated in a microwave oven. In this method a series of cyclic and acyclic ketones underwent above conversion to form corresponding 1, 5-benzodiazepines. In conclusion, this method is a simple, rapid, and high yielding reaction (78–95%).

Aflatoxins are one of the most potent toxic substances that occur naturally. Nowadays extensive attention has been taken to their existence in food and environment, as there is the possibility of harm to humans following chronic exposure to extremely low levels via food chain. Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a hepatic carcinogenic metabolite found in the milk of lactating animals fed with contaminated feed contaminated by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). This study aimed to determine the levels of AFM1 in produced pasteurized milk in the Ahvaz of city. For this purpose, 100 samples of pasteurized milk from the Jamus Factory were analyzed the to determine AFM1 content by using an immunoaffinity column for clean-up and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a C18 column, a fluorescence detector (excitation 365 nm, emission 435 nm) and a mobile phase of acetonitrile–water (25:75, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. AFM1 was detected in all 100 samples of pasteurized milk at concentrations ranging from 0.45 to 9.760 ng/L. The mean concentration of AFM1 in the the pasteurized milk samples was 2.7 ng/L, which was below the 50 ng/L, accepted as level of for milk in Iran.