Journal of Medicinal Herbs
Volume:5 Issue: 2, Summer 2014

diseases are most common diseases in pets, especially dogs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potency of herbal composition containing green tea extract as a mouthwash on preventing plaque formation and oral diseases in dogs. In order to achieve this goal, 20 male dogs selected and were divided randomly in to two groups including control (Chlorhexidine 0.1%) and treatment (herbal mouthwash) groups. total microbial cunt was performed in swab samples were taken from each dog-oral cavity. In addition, Silness-Loe Plaque Index System was used to evaluate the Improvement of dental plaque and gingivitis.   Percentage of colonies reduction on the last day of the study compared with the first day in control and treatment groups are 84.90% and 73.41%, respectively. In addition, Silness-Loe Plaque Index for control and treatment groups is 0.71 and 0.75, respectively. Results of the present study indicate a favorable effect of herbal mouthwash to prevention and reduce plaque and bacteria in the mouth of pet animals. The herbal mouthwash could reduce the aerobic mouth bacterial load and may prevent plaque formation on teeth and come over halitosis due to infection of the bacteria.

Ethnoveterinary medicinal plants of Iran are not scientifically well known, but they have been using traditionally especially in rural areas.This study was carried out to identify the Folk Herbal Veterinary Medicines (FHVM) of ZilberChay watershed in east Azerbaijan province in northwest of Iran. FHVM plants were identified by collecting plant species from the study area and comparing them with previous studies to identify the plant with FHVM value. Overall, 493 plant species that were belong to 243 genera and 59 families were collected. From those, 42 species belong to 37 genera and 23 families were identified as FHVM. These plants can be used for treatment of different disease and syndromes in livestock, such as internal parasites, mastitis, burns, skin disease, gastrointestinal tract problems, diarrhea, etc. Results showed that most of the FHVM belong to the families including: Fabaceae (14.29%), Asteraceae (14.29%), Apiaceae (7.14%), Poaceae (7.14%), Rosaceae (7.14%), Cupressaceae (4.76%), Lamiaceae(4.76%) and Moraceae (4.76%). Moreover, results showed that chrotypes of identified FHVM belong to IT (Irano-Toranian) with 49.1%, Plur (Plural) with 27.27%, ES (Euro-Siberian) with 18.18 % and M (Mediterranean) regions with 5.45%, respectively. Furthermore, identified FHVM belong to life forms of He (Hemicryptophytes) with 55%; Ph (Phanerophytes) with 26.19%; Th (Therophytes) with 14.28% and Ch (Chamaephytes) with 4.76%, respectively. Identifying FHVM of ZilberChay and their application in treating domestic animals can give us opportunity to increase our knowledge about FHVM and attempt to conserve the area and its plant species.

Eugenia caryophyllata well known as Clove is a tree from Myrtaceae family that several parts of this plant traditionally used in dental care as an analgesic. This study aimed to assess the chemical composition, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities of the essential oil extracted from Clove buds. The essential oil of Clove buds (EOC) was extracted by Clevenger type apparatus and its chemical composition determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Analgesic activities of EOC were measured by formalin-induced orofacial pain and tail immersion test in rat. Also anti-inflammatory effect of the EOC was evaluated by using xylene induced ear edema test in mice. EOC (100, 200 mg/kg, SC) and ketoprofen (80 and 160 mg/kg, IP) inhibit only the second phase of orofacial pain. Morphine (5 mg/kg) as a positive control significantly (p <0.05) reduced pain response in the both phases of pain. Pre-treatment of animals with naloxone did not prevent the EOC (200 mg/kg) analgesic activity. Co-administration of sub-analgesic doses of EOC (50 mg/kg) and ketoprofen (40 mg/kg) significantly (p <0.05) reduced nociceptive behavior in second phase. Also EOC (100 and 200 mg/kg) failed to increase nociceptive response latency in the tail immersion test. Meanwhile, EOC (100 and 200 mg/kg) and ketoprofen (80 mg/kg) significantly (p <0.001) attenuated xylene-induced ear edema in mice. Also according to GC-MS results the major components of the EOC were eugenol (54.86%), β-Caryophyllene (20.19%), α-Humulene (7.11%), eugenol acetat (4.85%) and Chavibetol (2.23%). These data showed that EOC possessed potent anti-inflammatory activity and produced non-opioid mediated analgesia in the second phase of orofacial pain without any effect on tail immersion response.

Medicinal plants can be a good replacement for common cancer treatment including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery because they don’t have many side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of temperature on the free radical scavenging in the presence of medicinal plants. For determination of free radical scavenging activity was used the stable 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay at different temperatures. Ethanolic extracts of Sage (Salvia officinalis), red cabbage (Brassica oleracea), walnut (Juglans regia L.), yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis) and hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) one by one and then the mixtures of each pair of plants were investigated. The most free radical scavenging percentages are related to plants in single forms not mixtures. The results demonstrated that with increasing temperature, free radical scavenging increased in the presence of sage, while it decreased in the presence of hawthorn. The highest free radical scavenging percentages at temperatures ranging from ambient to body and fever are related to sage at 25˚C, and then walnut leaves at 37˚C and finally, hawthorn at 40˚C.  The results indicated that for preventing herb-herb interactions, medicinal plants as tea, food and fruit are used alone.

Considering that antioxidants are known as effective free radicals scavenger, it may be able to improve the in vitro oocyte maturation and the fetal quality. This study was designed to determine the effect of Gundelia tournefortii leaves (GTE) hydro-alcoholic extract as a source of antioxidant on in vitro oocyte maturation. Germinal vasicle (GV) were recovered from 6-8 weeks old NMRI ovaries. GV were cultured for 24 hours in maturation medium in MEMα supplemented with 7.5 IU/ml hCG, 100 mIU/ml rhFSH, 5% FCS (control group) and adding different doses of GTE extract (group I: 10 µg/ml,  group II: 20 µg/ml, and  group III: 40 µg/ml) and then in vitro maturation stages and resumption of meiotic in all groups was recorded by inverted microscope.  In group I, maturation rates were improved compared to the control group. But this difference was not significant. In group II, maturation rates showed a significant increase compared to the control group (p<0.05). In group III, also maturation rates showed a significant increase compared to the control group (p<0.05). The results of this study showed that the extract from Gundelia tournefortii leaves has a positive effect on oocyte maturation that is doses dependent. With increasing concentration of the extract, the rate of maturation immature oocytes increased.

Spirulina (Spirulina plantesis) and Tea (Camellia sinensis) has a long history of use in folk medicine. Recently, They have been widely studied for their potential antioxidant properties. The present study investigated neuroprotective effect of Spirulina and green tea extract against Cadmium [Cd]-induced brain lesions and to compare these effects with neuroprotective effect of Vitamin E. The rats were randomly divided into 5 groups and were treated with the following treatment for a period of 4 weeks. Control, CdCl2 alone, Vitamin E with CdCl2, Green tea extract with CdCl2, Spirulina solution with CdCl2. On the 29th day, animals were sacrificed humanely and their brains were placed in formalin. Hippocampus, caudate putamen, corpus callosum, cerebellum, and cerebrum were studied by light microscopy. Neuronophagia, satellitosis of oligodendrocytes, hyperemia, hemorrhage, neuronal necrosis, central chromatolysis, neuronal atrophy, laminar necrosis, and status spongiosus were the observed changes. Thickness of granular layer and molecular layer of cerebellum and size/diametr of purkenje cells reduced when cadmium used alone at P The results shows Spirullina as excellent antioxidant source indicating its use possibly in combination with vitamin E and other antioxidant agent in order to prevent adverse effects of free radicals.

Salvia spinosa L. is a perennial shrub and aromatic plant belongs to the family Lamiaceae. S. spinosa grows wild in some districts of Iran. The aim of this study was to identify of the chemical components of S. spinosa in Isfahan climatic conditions. The aerial parts of the plants were collected from Isfahan province in 2014. The essential oil was extracted by a Clevenger approach and analyzed using GC/MS. In total, 21 compounds were identified in the essential oil from the aerial parts of S. spinosa. Results indicated that the major components in the oil of  S. spinosa were α-terpinolene (32.73%), β-ocimene (30.92%), β-patchoulene (12.78%), β-bourbonene (4.26%), and 1,8-cineol (2.88%). There is only little report on the essential oil composition of S. spinosa from Isfahan, Iran, that S.spinosa can use in traditional medicines for activity antimicrobial.