Research Journal of Pharmacognosy
Volume:5 Issue: 1, Winter 2018

Numerous scientific texts insist on safe topical application of specific herbal products like those containing Boswellia oleogumresin, but adverse effects arising during clinical trials of herbal medicines give the opportunity to clarify the blind spots in the area of drug safety. A 36-year-old woman without allergic background had two burn wounds because of hot oil. Her hand's wound was diagnosed a superficial 2nd degree while the wound of her thigh was a deep 2nd degree. She was enrolled in a single-blind randomized clinical trial. Having been recruited in the Boswellia group, she received the formulation on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th day after her injury. The wound of her hand was completely healed on the 13th day without showing any adverse reactions, but she was suffering from irritation and pruritus on her thigh. In our experience, complete healing of the patient’s hand wound without any side effects proved safe usage of the product for superficial burns, but its application in deeper injuries like the one on her thigh demonstrated the higher probability of severe reactions.

There are several methods to assess the in vitro capability of heme inhibitory activity of antimalarial compounds; most of them require some specific equipment or toxic substances and sometimes the needed materials are not accessible. Regarding the necessity and importance of optimizing and standardizing experimental conditions, the present study has intended to improve the in vitro assessment conditions of the β-hematin formation inhibitory activity for screening herbal samples.

Hemin, tween 20, and samples (9:9:2) were incubated in different conditions including: hemin concentration (30, 60, and 120 µg/mL), duration (4, 24, 48, and 72 h), pH of buffer (3.6, 4, 4.4, 4.8, and 5), and temperature (37 and 60 °C) in 96-well plates. Also, a total of 165 plant extracts and fractions were tested in the most suitable conditions.

The reaction time and the incubation temperature were determined as the critical factors. The effective conditions for β-hematin formation were found to be 60 °C after 24 h incubation. In this method, proper correlations with respect to negative (69%) and positive (67%) predictive values were obtained in comparison with the anti-plasmodial assay. Antimalarial activities of Pistacia atlantica, Myrtus communis, Pterocarya fraxinifolia, and Satureja mutica were found to correlate significantly with inhibition of the heme detoxification assay.

These results support a rapid, simple and reliable approach for selecting and identifying a number of herbs for further related antimalaria investigations.

Solanum trilobatum plant parts such as berries and flowers are normally used for the treatment of respiratory illnesses. The toxicity profile of the plant and its parts are not clear. Hence, the present study was planned to investigate the toxicological effects of ethanol extract of leaves of S. trilobatum (EEST) using acute and sub-chronic toxicological methods in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.

Leaves ofS. trilobatum were extracted with ethanol using hot percolation method. Acute and sub-chronic oral toxic effects of EEST were tested in SD rats. Acute toxicity testing was carried out as per guidelines set by OECD. In sub-chronic toxicity testing, animals were treated with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg EEST for 30 days. During the study, the animals were monitored for changes in their behaviour at regular intervals. At the end of the study, blood sample was collected from all animals for biochemical analysis, they were sacrificed and organs such as brain, lung, liver and kidney were collected for histopathological analysis. Part of the brain was used for estimation of dopamine and the remaining tissue was used for histopathological analysis.

In acute toxicity testing, EEST did not show mortality up to 2000 mg/kg. In sub-chronic toxicity testing, EEST at 200 mg/kg and above doses caused cannibalism. At the end of the study, EEST decreased locomotor action and immobilization time. Histopathological analysis showed mild to moderate toxicity in 400 mg/kg treated animals and no significant changes were observed in biochemical parameters compared to control group.

The present study concluded that, EEST exerted mild to moderate toxic effects on rodents. EEST caused cannibalism, increased the dopamine level in brain and histopathological alterations in lungs, liver and kidneys.

Stevia rebaudiana has been used in medicine as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antipyretic, anti-fungal, and antibacterial agent. The present study was conducted to investigate the healing effects of S. rebaudiana ethanol extracts on cutaneous wounds in rats.

Full-thickness excisional wounds (2×2 cm) were induced on the back of 32 rats. The rats were divided into four groups as follows; untreated (control) and treated with 1 mL basal cream, 1 mL S. rebaudiana ethanol extract 10%, and 1 mL tetracycline (3%) for 20 days (short term). Animals of each group were euthanized at 20 day post-injury and wounds were assessed through macroscopic and microscopic analyses.

During the experiment, S. rebaudiana indicated a significant reduction in the wound area compared to other groups. Parameters such as arrangement of the healing tissue, re-epithelilization and epithelial formation demonstrated considerable changes when compared to the control. In addition, treatment with S. rebaudiana decreased the total number of cells, fibrocytes/fibroblasts ratio, neutrophils, and lymphocytes and enhanced the number of blood vessels and fibroblasts at 20 day.

The present study demonstrated the wound healing activity of S. rebaudiana, lending credence to the folkloric use in the treatment of cutaneous wounds.

Alternative medicine is widely used to replace a variety of commonly prescribed synthetic drugs in order to achieve a state of substantial efficacy with considerably less adverse effects. The present work has focused on the comparative evaluation of the analgesic efficacy of five members of Lamiaceae family to prioritize their potentials to be used herein.

Two common models of pain studies including the hot-plate and tail-flick tests were used to compare the analgesic properties of Thymus vulgaris, Mentha piperita, Rosmarinus officinalis, Satureja hortensis, and Mentha pulegium essential oils (EOs) at two doses of 0.5 and 1 cc per animal.

Significant increase in the response times of both tests were recorded compared to the control group following the administration of the EOs with the order of potency T. vulgaris 1 mL > T. vulgaris (0.5 mL) > M. piperita (1 mL) > M. piperita (0.5 mL) > R. officinalis (1 mL) > R. officinalis (0.5 mL).

Although all studied EOs showed some extents of anti-nociceptive properties; however, T. vulgaris and M. piperita demonstrated the highest potential for pain management due to their rapid onset, long-lasting and steady mode of action. Their more potent anti-nociceptive effects in comparison to R. officinalis with previously proven analgesic efficacy, further supports this idea.

Sleep disorder is one of the main problems in children. Poor sleep quality can lead to adverse effects on their growth and development. Aromatherapy is a kind of method for improving sleep. In Iranian traditional medicine, inhaling Rosa damascena has been recommended for treating sleep disorder. Due to the side effects of chemical drugs and trend to alternative medicine due to less complication, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aromatherapy with Rosa damascena essential oil on sleep quality in children.

This study was an experimental before and after study that conducted in 30 children with sleep disorder. Children inhaled 5 drops of Rosa damascena essential oil on a cotton ball before sleep for 20 min (2 weeks). Before and after intervention, BEARS questionnaire was asked. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for comparisons by SPSS software.

The results of this study showed that resistance to sleep, difficulty waking in the morning, nightmare and waking up during the night in children decreased (p<0.05) by inhaling Rosa damascena essential oil. There was no significant improvement in daytime sleeping and fatigue of children after aromatherapy.

Aromatherapy with Rosa damascena was safe and could improve sleep quality in children with sleep disorders.

Sophora alopecuroides, one of the most important herbal medicines is widely grown in west of Iran, and has a long history for treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, leucorrhea, eczema, and psoriasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the ameliorative effect of Sophora alopecuroides essential oil on CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in mice.

Thirty five male mice were divided into five groups; group I as the negative control, received olive oil intraperitoneally and distilled water orally. Group II as the positive control, received CCl4 mixed with olive oil in the ratio of 5:5, intraperitoneally and distilled water orally. Group III, IV and V received CCl4 and 200, 800 and 1600 µg/kg of S. alopecuroides essential oil through gavages for 45 consecutive days.

The results showed that low and intermediate doses of S. alopecuroides essential oil significantly decreased the raised levels of Alanine aminotrasferase and Aspartate aminotransaminase toward control levels (p<0.05). Alkaline phosphatase was improved with tree examined doses of S. alopecuroides essential oil. The volume and weight of the liver, as well as the volume of hepatocytes and sinusoids which had increased significantly in the positive control group (p<0.05), decreased significantly following treatment by low dose of S. alopecuroides essential oil (p<0.05).

It was concluded that although Sophora alopecuroidesessential could protect liver against CCl4-induced toxicity at lower doses, further studies would be needed to define the selective dose of this plant against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity.

Variety of extraction methods coupled with definite solvents could increase the removal rate ofmajor constituents from plants. This research has been conducted to evaluate the effect of extraction methods on the main group of compounds, cytotoxicity, anti acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and antioxidant activity of Trachyspermum ammi fruits.

To compare the quality of extracts earned from maceration and reflux techniques, the amounts of total phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant property of T. ammi’s fruits extracts were determined; moreover, the cytotoxic activity against Human acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell lines (NALM-6) was conducted using MTT assay. Anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) activity of both extracts were also examined by Ellman’s method.

The extraction yield of the plant was significantly higher for maceration compared to reflux extraction. Also, both antioxidant activity and total flavonoid contents (IC50=132.95 µg/mL and 140.15 mg catechin/g dry extract, respectively) showed higher amounts considerably in the maceration extraction. In reverse, the content of phenolic compounds (147.28 mg gallic acid/g dry extract and 16.6 mg thymol/g dry extract) was elevated in the refluxed extract. The result exerted moderate inhibition on butyrylcholinesterase activity (IC50= 394.161 µg/mL) and cytotoxicity (IC50 =166.92±1.76 μg/mL for NALM-6 cell line) of the extract using maceration.

The maceration method could provide additional amounts of major constituents and greater biological properties compared to the reflux technique.

Plants have been used to treat diseases like cancer for many years and today the trend towards their use is increasing. One of the most effective mechanisms of plants against cancer is inducing apoptosis. Apoptosis is a programmed cell death which acts opposite to cell division. It starts in response to some stimuli. Despite the effectiveness of apoptosis inducing agents, their use has been limited due to side effects and resistance to these treatments; so, applying medicinal herbs due to their lower cost and toxicity has drawn attentions. Recent research at the Traditional Medicine and Materia Medica Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences on two medicinal plants Acanthophyllum bracteatum and A. microcephalum has shown cytotoxic effects of these two species, but the mechanism of their toxicity has remained unknown; thus, the present study was designed to evaluate the apoptotic potential of Acanthophyllum bracteatum and A. microcephalum.

In the present study, the cytotoxic effects of the methanol extract of Acanthophyllum bracteatum and A. microcephalum was evaluated against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cells by MTT assay; furthermore, their apoptosis potential has been evaluated by annexin-V/propidium iodide assay and Hoechst 33258 staining in the same cell lines.

The methanol extract of A. microcephalum and A. bracteatum showed cytotoxic effects against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cell lines with IC50 values of 64, 159 and 102, 250 μg/mL, respectively. The results of the apoptosis assays confirmed the potential of the two plants extracts to induce apoptosis in both cell lines while A. microcephalum demonstrated more considerable results.

A. microcephalum could be a suitable choice for further breast cancer studies.

Cancers are the result of uncontrollable multiplication of abnormal cells. In order to control progression of cancers, various therapeutic regiments are used that have side effects and are costly. Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) contains comprehensive subjects regarding cancerous tumors. In the present study, the nature and development of cancer from ITM point of view and the effect of flax as an easily accessible medicinal herb which has been mentioned in several ancient prescriptions and has been used in the management of dropsies and tumors has been discussed. In a library search through the valid ITM references and Avicenna and other scholars texts, explanations of ITM regarding cancer has been investigated and flax and its therapeutic effects in the cancer management has been described. A number of medical databases were searched for contemporary medicine articles; finally, the findings in these two systems of medicine were compared. Flax possesses a cleansing effect in the whole body according to ITM and can be used for management of dropsies inside the body especially hard tumors and cancers. The present work has shown its uses in cancers of breast, prostate, ovary, small intestine and colon as well as its analgesic effects. New studies have approved the anti-cancerous effects of flaxseed that have been reported by ITM scholars. Since they believed that flax was beneficial for tumors of all organs, investigations of its effects against cancerous tumors of other organs is recommended.