Journal of Herbmed Pharmacology
Volume:2 Issue: 2, Dec 2013

Spices are now considered as agents that not only can prevent but may even treat chronic diseases. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of Allium hirtifolium as a hypolipidemic and anti-atherosclerotic substance in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Twenty four adult New Zealand male rabbits were divided randomly into 3 groups of 8 animals each and treated for 60 days as follows. Normal group received basal feed, while the two intervention groups were fed with hypercholesterolemic diet (1% cholesterol) and hypercholesterolemic diet plus A. hirtifolium extract, respectively. At the start and the end of the experiment, fasting blood was taken from all animals. Serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), apolipoproteins A and B, serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), glucose and insulin were measured at the end of supplementation period in all studied groups. Atherosclerotic plaque thickness of aorta to media was also determined in all groups. Rabbits fed only with high cholesterol diet showed increased atherosclerotic plaque thickness to media compared to the control group, while the group fed with hypercholesterolemia diet plus A. hirtifolium extract significantly decreased atherosclerotic plaque thickness to media, TC, TG, LDL-C, and significantly increased HDL-C compared to hypercholesterolemic diet group. Supplementation with A. hirtifolium extract did not cause any significant alteration in apolipoproteins, SGOT, SGPT, hs-CRP, glucose and insulin compared to the hypercholesterolemic diet group (p>0.05). Ethanolic extract of A. hirtifolium ameliorates fatty lesions in aorta and may reduce risk factors of cardiovascular diseases.

In this study the protective effects of Silymarin was investigated against thioacetamide (TAA) induced hepatotoxicity in rat. In an experimental study 24 male Wistar rats were designated in four equal groups as follows: Control group, the group treated with thioacetamide (TAA), Silymarin (400 mg/kg for 3 weeks) + TAA (400 mg/kg), TAA (400 mg/kg) + Silymarin (400 mg/kg for 3 weeks). The levels of serum aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and total bilirubin were measured to assess the hepatotoxicity and hepatoprotection. TAA significantly increased AST, ALT, ALP, LDH and bilirubin. Treatment by Silymarin caused a significant reduction in serum levels of AST, ALT, ALP, LDH and bilirubin contents. The results indicate a protective effect for Silymarin against thioacetamide induced hepatotoxicity which might be due to its ability to block the bioactivity of thioacetamide.

Melissa officinalis is usually used as antispasmodic, antiaxiety and antibacterial agent. However, its toxicity has not been evaluated, yet. In this study biochemical, liver and renal toxicities of Melissa officinals hydroalcoholic extract were evaluated in balb/C mice. In an experimental study, 21 balb/C male mice were randomly designated to three equal groups. Group I was treated with normal saline and groups II and III were respectively treated with 0.450 and 1.350 g/kg, hydroalcoholic extract of Melissa officinals daily for two weeks, intraperitoneally. Then on 15th day of the experiment, blood samples were obtained from the heart. The blood was centrifuged and then the sera were evaluated for alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, urea and creatinine, using autoanalyzer and commercial kits. The liver and kidney tissues were also hystopathologically evaluated. The data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, Tukey’s post hoc test, and Kruskal-Wallis at a significance level of p<0.05. Melissa officinals dose dependently caused a significant reduction in alkaline phosphatase and alanine aminotransferase levels compared to the control group. Furthermore, Melissa officinals extract had no effect on the amount of urea and creatinine compared to the control group. The liver and kidney histopathological changes in the groups that received different doses of the extract showed mild, moderate, and severe tissue injuries. The biochemical analysis in this study indicates that the extract of Melissa officinals causes liver tissue damage in mice; therefore, its consumption in high doses should be avoided.

Colonoscopy is a painful and invasive technique for patients especially for pediatrics. Peppermint has analgesic effect. Therefore, we wish to look at the effect of peppermint essence on the patients’ satisfaction and pain after colonoscopy. This clinical trial study was performed on 100 patient’s candidate for colonoscopy. Patients were randomly divided into two groups. Control group received no drug. Case group was administrated supermint essence thirty minutes before colonoscopy. A valid questionnaire was filled during the colonoscopy for patient’s satisfaction and pain evaluation. The mean value of abdominal pain was 0.527±2.500 in control group and 1.625±0.491 in case group after treatment (p<0.05). Degree of satisfaction was 8 and 17.6 percent in control and case groups, respectively. Mean value of satisfaction in control group was 1.833±0.389 that was significantly different from case group (2.607±0.566) (p<0.05). Duration of colonoscopy in control group was significantly higher than the one in case group (p<0.05). Our findings showed that peppermint essence causes an increasing in satisfaction as well as a reduction in pain in patients under the colonoscopy.

Royal jelly is a substance that appears to be effective on immune system and it appears to be effective on both prevention and growth of cancer cells. In this study, we aimed to carry out a research to investigate the effect of royal jelly on the growth of WEHI-164 fibrosarcoma cell in syngenic Balb/c mice. In an experimental study, 28 male Balb/c mice were designated into four equal groups. The mice were subcutaneously injected with 5x105 WEHI-164 tumor cells on the day zero in the chest area of the animal. Animals in groups 1 to 4 were orally given 100, 200, 300 mg/kg of royal jelly or vehicle, respectively. In every individual mouse, the tumour size was measured every 2 days from day 5 (days 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17). Data were statistically analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann Whitney-U tests. Our results showed that the mean size of tumor in case group was significantly smaller than the control group in days 11, 13, 15 and 17 (P<0.05). No metastasis was seen in test and control groups. With emphasize on antitumor effect of royal jelly, it seems that royal jelly has important role in control and regression of fibrosarcoma cells. Since royal jelly showed a delayed effect in control of fibrosarcoma, we suggest that royal jelly be used at least 10 days before tumor inoculation

The Matricaria chamomilla plant is one of the most important plants used for the therapeutic purposes. More than 120 chemical constituents have been identified in Matricaria chamomile plant including 28 terpenoids and 36 flavonoids. This plant has a variety of therapeutic applications including the treatment of diabetes, eczema, wounds and gastrointestinal diseases. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast is a non-pathogenic organism that is used as a model for pathogenic yeasts in order to identify compounds with antifungal properties and also to identify functional mechanism of these compounds. The aim of this study is to investigate the antifungal effect of Matricaria chamomilla hydroalcoholic extract on S. cerevisiae yeast. In this study Matricaria chamomilla extract was prepared by maceration method. In order to study the extract effect on growth and survival rate of the yeast cell, the spectrophotometry and methylene blue staining methods were used. Excel and SPSS 11 softwares were used to determine amounts and to infer the difference between control and treatment samples. Results obtained from spectrophotometry and analyses of methylene blue staining showed that the Matricaria chamomilla extract at the concentration of 3000 μg/ml caused a significant decrease in the yeast growth and reduced the cells survival rate up to 48% (p< 0.05). Results of this research confirm that the hydroalcoholic extract of Matricaria chamomilla has antiproliferative effect on Saccharomyces cerevisiae.