m.h. asghari

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.

Diabetes type I is a chronic disease mediated by the immune system that the prevalence of it’s in the past two decades has dramatically increased.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of oral administration of the aqueous extract of the leaf of sugar beet on the immunological aspect of STZ induced diabetes in mice.
For this purpose, 20 male inbred C57 BL/6 mice with 6-8 weeks of age were divided into 4 groups of 5 including: control, diabetic, treatment and pre-treatment groups. In the second, third and the fourth groups, five consecutive daily injections of 40 mg/kg STZ were performed to induce diabetes. The fasting blood sugar was recorded on a weekly basis. At the end, the mice were euthanized and after the removal of the spleens and the preparation of cell cultures, the cells were tested to determine the extent of lymphocyte proliferation and the severity of respiratory burst.
The results showed that the administration of Chard extract can significantly reduce blood glucose levels in diabetic mice (P In summary, the leaf extract of Chard has a positive effect on the immunological changes and can reduce the complications of autoimmune diabetes in mouse models.

Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive disease of the lungs, which leads to death in human. It has been suggested that transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) together with oxidative stress play a central role in the pathogenesis of the ailment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the possible curative effects of black radish, Raphanus sativus L. var niger (RSN) on bleomycine (BLM) -induced pulmonary fibrosis in a rat model. In this study, thirty-six male Wistar rats were divided into six groups, including: (I) positive (BLM) control group, (II) negative (normal saline) control group, (III) sham group (R. sativus extract 150 mg/kg), and (IV-VI) treatment groups. In order to induce pulmonary fibrosis, four groups were treated with a single dose of BLM sulfate (7.5 U/kg) through intratracheal instillation. Treatment groups (IV-VI) received RSN extract (75, 150, and 300 mg/kg) orally a week before and two weeks after the administration of BLM. At the end of the treatment course, blood and lung tissue samples were taken and the measurement of TGF-β1 and histopathological examination of the lung tissues performed. The results showed that RSN, at 300 mg/kg dose, could significantly decrease the serum level of TGF-β1 and severity of the histological lesions as compared to the positive control group. The results of the current study indicate that the components present in the extract can remarkably prevent the aggravation of pulmonary fibrosis via decreasing TGF-β1 level.