Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products
Volume:16 Issue: 3, Aug 2021

 Allium jesdianum (AJ), as a plant in onion category, has antioxidant features. Moreover, γ-ray potentially generates oxidative stress in living organisms.

 In this study, the probable therapeutic effects of AJ on destruction of pancreas tissue following γ-ray were evaluated.

 Sixty-four mature NMRI mice (8 animals in each group) were assigned to eight groups as follows: (1) Control; (2) γ-ray (dose rate of 1 Gy/min); (3-5) AJ extract (500, 1,000, and 2,000 mg/kg); and (6-8) AJ + γ-ray. AJ extract was prepared, and all administrations were applied orally for 70 consecutive days. Antioxidant parameters (nitrite oxide, peroxidation, and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP)), the expression of apoptotic genes (p53 and Bax, by quantitative real-time PCR), and blood concentrations of glucose and insulin were determined biochemically and genetically. Inflammatory cytokines were evaluated by ELISA technique. The number and diameter of Langerhan islets were also studied histologically.

 In this study, γ-ray increased the levels of all parameters significantly (except for FRAP, insulin, and morphometric parameters, which were reduced) in the γ-ray group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). In the γ-ray and AJ + γ-ray groups, all factors were reduced significantly (except for FRAP, insulin, and morphometric parameters, which were increased) compared to the γ-ray group (P < 0.05).

 Administration of AJ extract can decrease the damage and radiosensitization in pancreatic cells induced by γ-ray.

 Bromelain (BL) is an enzyme extracted from Ananas comosus, which has been known for its therapeutic properties.

 The anticarcinogenic activity of BL was examined with and without the presence of magnetic carbon nanotubes (MCNTs) against HT-29 colorectal cancer cells.

 The operational factors affecting BL adsorption, such as contact time (30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 min), adsorbent dosage (1 g/L and 5 g/L), initial bromelain concentration (50, 150, and 300 mg/L), and temperature (35 and 50°C) were studied in details. Then, cancer cells were exposed to various BL concentrations (0.1, 1, 10, and 100 μg/mL), and the cell viability was determined by methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay after 24, 48, and 72 h.

 The highest adsorption of BL on nanotubes was at 41.62 mg/L and achieved at 35°C and 90 min at the initial concentration of 50 mg/L and 1 g/L of MCNTs. The adsorption followed the Freundlich model and second-order kinetics. The results indicated that MCNTs could be a potential effective adsorbent for the removal of BL.

 MTT assay indicated that BL at a concentration of 100 μg/mL alone and in combination with MCNTs efficiently inhibited the HT-29 cancerous cells. However, encapsulated BL had a considerable advantage of slow delivery, which is favorable for cancer treatment.

 Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent reproductive and metabolic disorder. Insulin resistance (IR) is highly associated with PCOS and aggravates its symptoms. Thiazolidinediones (TZDs), as insulin sensitizing agents, are PPARγ agonists that improve many of the symptoms of PCOS. The Magnolia officinalis extract (MOE) is a natural peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonist that improves insulin sensitivity in experimental models.

 Using a dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)-induced rat model of PCOS and IR, this study aimed to explore both the potential beneficial effects and the molecular mechanisms of action of MOE.

 Post-pubertal female Sprague Dawley rats were subcutaneously injected daily with DHEA (6 mg/100 g body weight) dissolved in sesame oil for 28 days (n = 30). Age- and weight-matched control rats received only sesame oil (n = 12). Afterward, 16 of the DHEA-injected rats, along with five control rats, were sacrificed for blood and tissue collection. The 14 remaining DHEA-injected rats received either treatment of 30 days of oral MOE (500 mg/kg) dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (n = 7), or oral DMSO only (n = 7). Meanwhile, the remaining control rats (n = 7) continued to receive daily oral DMSO for 30 days. At the end of the treatments, the rats were sacrificed for blood and tissue collection.

 After 28 days, the DHEA-treated rats exhibited an increase in body weight as compared to controls (P < 0.05). DHEA injection induced a PCOS phenotype as evident by a statistically significant (P < 0.05) elevated serum luteinizing hormone (LH), and an increased number of cystically dilated follicles with thicker granulosa compared to controls. PCOS rats showed a statistically significant rise in fasting insulin with an increased homeostatic model assessment index of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) as compared to controls (P < 0.05). Compared to the control group, PCOS rats had a statistically significant lower ovarian protein expression of PPARγ, insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1), and protein kinase B (Akt) by Western Blot (P < 0.05). Conversely, the PCOS group showed an increased mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway activity as evident by an increase in the fraction of phosphorylated mTOR to total mTOR compared to the control group (P < 0.05). When treated for 30 days with oral MOE (500 mg/kg), the PCOS rats showed a statistically significant decrease in body weight and serum LH levels as compared to the non-treated PCOS rats (P < 0.05). The number of cystically dilated follicles in the MOE-treated PCOS rats was significantly reduced compared to the non-treated PCOS rats. In the MOE-treated PCOS rats, the ovarian protein expression of PPARγ, IRS1, and Akt was significantly increased, while the p-mTOR/mTOR expression was decreased compared to the non-treated PCOS group (P < 0.05).

 According to our results, the MOE ameliorated the DHEA-induced PCOS phenotype histologically, hormonally, and metabolically. Fundamentally, this explores the elusive pathophysiologic association between IR and PCOS by targeting pathways common to both disorders.

Context:

 Prevalence of metabolic disorders, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), dyslipidemia, obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and osteoporosis has been increased. Herbal medicine is an accessible, safe, and low-cost option in managing and caring for metabolic disorders. We conducted a bibliometric analysis of global scientific productions in herbal medications and metabolic disorders in the Middle East countries.

Study Selection: 

Our search terms were “diabetes”, “dyslipidemia”, “obesity”, “osteoporosis”, “metabolic syndrome”, “herb”, and “herbal medicine” in Middle East countries through the Scopus database until January 2020. We analyzed the data regarding publication year, main journal, geographical distribution, document type, subject area, co-authorship network, the h-index of citations by Scopus analysis tools, Visualizing Scientific Landscapes (VOSviewer) version 1.6.4, and SPSS version 15.

 Among 6408 global publications, most of the papers (> 85%) were original articles, and mostly (44.26%) were about dyslipidemia. A significant time-trend was shown in the number of documents (P < 0.001), mostly in 2019. Medicine and pharmacology were subject areas in > 80% of papers. The top country in the global publication number was Iran. The highest cited papers in dyslipidemia, obesity and osteoporosis were original articles from Turkey and Egypt, but in T2DM and MetS the highest cited paper was a review article from Iran. The top sources were “Phytotherapy Research” and “the Journal of Ethnopharmacology”. The top institutes were from Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia and the principal author in the co-authorship network assessment was from Iran.

 The time-trend growth in producing scholarly papers in the studied disorders is appreciated, but more evidence-based articles are still needed.

 Diabetes mellitus is believed to be the most serious metabolic disease. One of the treatments for diabetes is to delay glucose uptake by inhibiting carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes. Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors delay glucose uptake.

 The present study was conducted aiming to evaluate the efficacy of Salvia extracts in inhibiting diabetes marker enzymes and their effects on the treatment of diabetes.

 This experimental study was performed in vitro. The studied plants included Salvia macilenta and Salvia officinalis. The inhibitory effects of their dichloromethane and methanol extracts were also investigated. After calculating the percentage of inhibition and IC50, Km and Vmax using GraphPad Prism 7 were also calculated. The statistical analysis was performed employing GraphPad Instat 3 software.

 The results herein showed that the greatest inhibitory effect on alpha-glucosidase belonged to the methanol extract of S. macilenta with IC50 = 8.73 ± 0.26 mg/mL compared to that of acarbose with IC50 = 8.82 ± 0.14 mg/mL as a standard. The IC50 of dichloromethane extract of S. officinalis was 8.95 ± 0.23 mg/mL.

 The extracts had significant inhibitory effects on alpha-glucosidase. However, methanol extract of S. macilenta and dichloromethane extract of S. officinalis demonstrated the greatest inhibitory effects on alpha-glucosidase compared to acarbose as a standard.
 

 Episiotomy is a surgical incision in the perineal region to increase the vaginal diameter during delivery. Since the perineal region is not well visible to the mothers and there is a possibility of infection for the episiotomy wound by vaginal and rectal bacteria, such a cut is associated with infection and delay in wound healing.

 This study aimed to detect the effect of Olea ointment on episiotomy wound healing among primiparous women.

 This randomized controlled clinical trial included 73 women referring to the Al-Zahra Education, Research, and Remedial Center in Rasht, Iran, during 2017 - 18. Women were randomly assigned into two groups: Intervention group (n = 39) and control group (n = 34). Episiotomy wound healing was assessed using the REEDA scale prior to the intervention, 2 and 24 hours following the first intervention, and 5 and 10 days after delivery. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher’s exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, independent t-test, repeated-measure test, Friedman test, and chi-square.

 The mean baseline scores of REEDA was 2.72 ± 0.46 in the Olea ointment group and 2.71 ± 0.46 in the control group; however, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. On the other hand, the episiotomy healing scores in the Olea ointment group were significantly lower than those of the control group at four intervals in the follow-up assessments: -0.34 (95% CI: -0.56 to -0.12) two hours after intervention, -0.63(95% CI: -0.89 to -0.37) 24 hours after intervention, -0.30 (95% CI: -0.48 to -0.12) on Day 5 postpartum, and -0.29 (95% CI: -0.46 to -0.13) on Day 10 postpartum.

 The present findings suggested that the Olea ointment facilitated wound healing of episiotomy; however, further studies are suggested to support these data.
 

 The imbalanced expression of chemokines plays critical role in the development of Helicobacter pylori-mediated complications.

 Our aim was to determine ginger extract (GE) effects on the expression of chemokines CCL17, CCL20, CCL22, and CXCL10, as well as CCR4, CCR6, and CXCR3 receptors by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from H. pylori -infected patients with peptic ulcer (PU).

 Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from 20 patients with H. pylori-associated PU, 20 H. pylori-infected asymptomatic subjects (HAS), and 20 non-infected healthy subjects (NHS). The PBMCs were stimulated by 10 µg/mL of H. pylori-derived crude extract (HPCE) in the presence of 0, 10, 20, and 30 µg/mL of GE. After 36 hours, the supernatant and the RNA extracted from the cells were tested for chemokine concentration and chemokine receptor expression using ELISA and real-time PCR techniques, respectively.

 In PU patients, treating HPCE-stimulated PBMCs with 10, 20, or 30 µg/mL GE reduced the production of CXCL10 (1.47, 1.5, and 1.53 folds, respectively, P < 0.001 for all), CCL20 (1.44, 1.62, and 1.65 folds, respectively, P < 0.003), and treatment with 30 µg/mL GE increased CCL17 (1.28-fold, P < 0.001) and CCL22 (1.59-fold, P < 0.001) production compared with untreated HPCE-stimulated PBMCs. In PU patients, the HPCE-stimulated PBMCs treated with 10, 20, or 30 µg/mL GE expressed lower levels of CXCR3 (1.9, 3, and 3.5 folds, respectively, P < 0.001) and CCR6 (2.3, 2.7, and 2.8 folds, respectively, P < 0.002) while treating with 10 µg/mL GE upregulated CCR4 (1.7 fold, P = 0.003) compared with untreated HPCE-stimulated PBMCs.

 Ginger extract modulated the expression of chemokines and their receptors in the PBMCs derived from H. pylori-infected PU patients. The therapeutic potentials of ginger for treating HP-related complications need to be further explored.

 The first drug for the treatment of leishmaniasis is pentavalent antimony compounds which have great side effects.

 This study aimed to assess apoptosis induction by HESA-A, an herbal marine compound in Leishmania major promastigotes.

 Leishmania major promastigotes were treated with HESA-A in different increasing concentrations ranged 1.625 - 120 µg/mL, and amphotericin B and the phenomenon of apoptosis in the parasite were evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), flow cytometry, and DNA fragmentation tests.

 The IC50 value of the compound and amphotericin B at 72 h were estimated at 2.81 µg/mL and 40 µg/mL, respectively. After 72 h of the adjacency of Leishmania major promastigotes with IC50 dose (2.81 µg/mL), the percentage of promastigotes in early and late apoptosis phases in the treated group was 5.4% and 60.4%, respectively. DNA fragmentation of Leishmania major promastigotes treated with 2.81 µg/mL for 72 h was observed.

 HESA-A, with significant induction of apoptosis in Leishmania major promastigotes, can be plausible in the treatment of cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

The popularity of complementary and alternative medicine is on the rise.

The current study aimed to compare the effect of vaginal royal jelly with intrauterine insemination (IUI) on sub-fertility in men.

The sample size was estimated as 27 subjects, based on a study power and confidence interval of 80% and 95%, respectively. The study was conducted in Mashhad, in the Northeast of Iran, from 2015 to 2017. Men with sub-fertility (asthenozoospermia, defined as total sperm motility below 40% and sperm concentration below 20 million/mL), with healthy wives, based on salpingography, participated in this study. Patients were assigned to the royal jelly group, which received 5 grams of royal jelly, and the IUI group, which received 75 units of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) from the second day of the menstrual cycle. Semen samples were collected in sterile plastic caps after 72 hours of sexual abstinence by normal sexual intercourse. Samples were prepared using the standard swim-up technique.

This study showed no significant difference between groups concerning spousal age, occupation, education (husband and wife), and social class (P = 0.745). Also, no significant difference was found between groups concerning fertility success rate (P = 0.573).

Based on similar treatment success rates of royal jelly and IUI, it seems that royal jelly can be considered as an alternative to IUI.

 Bleomycin-induced pneumonitis (BIP) is a common consequence of bleomycin (BLE) use during chemotherapy. Kefir is a probiotic with many health benefits. Many cancer patients in Indonesia consume kefir as a complementary traditional medicine alongside standard chemotherapy.

 This study aimed to investigate the effects of high-dose kefir consumption on BIP in a rat model.

 Wistar male rats were given 0.3 mg of BLE via intranasal inhalation for 6 days with a daily intragastric administration of either phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or kefir at dosages of 2.5 mL, 3.5 mL, and 4.5 mL per day for 30 days. On day 30, lung sections were obtained and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histological examinations. Immunohistochemistry tests were carried out to determine the activity levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, signal transducer, and activator of transcription (STAT)-3. TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations in plasma were also evaluated.

 Histological results showed damage to the lung structure by inflammation with diffuse infiltrate, with some areas exhibiting slight fibrosis. The number of alveolar epithelial cells expressing MMP-1 significantly increased with the kefir dosage. Interestingly, only the highest dose of kefir raised IL-6 levels, while TNF-α levels increased at all kefir doses. STAT-3 showed a slight increase in activity level. As MMP-1 works to degrade fibrosis while both TNF-α and Il-6 are correlated with inflammation, these findings might explain the observed histological changes in lung structure in the BLE and kefir groups.

 The administration of high doses of kefir in rats increased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which worsened BIP.

 Leishmaniasis is among the most important neglected tropical infections, affecting millions of people worldwide. Since 1945, chemotherapy has been the primary treatment for leishmaniasis; however, lengthy and costly treatments associated with various side effects and strains resistant to the conventional therapy have dramatically reduced chemotherapy compounds’ efficacy.

 The antileishmanial activity of the leaf extract of Xanthium strumarium (Asteraceae) was studied. New insights into its mechanism of action toward Leishmania major were provided through a metabolomics-based study.

 J774 macrophages were cultured, infected with stationary promastigotes, and treated with different leaf extract concentrations for three days. Antileishmanial activity was assayed by the MTT colorimetric method, and cell metabolites were extracted. 1HNMR spectroscopy was applied, and outliers were analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis.

 X. strumarium extract (0.15 µg/mL) showed the best activity against L. major amastigotes with the infection rate (IR) and multiplication index (MI) values of 51% and 57%, respectively. The action of X. strumarium extract on amastigotes was comparable with amphotericin B as the positive control (0.015 µg/mL). According to the obtained P-values, pentanoate and coenzyme A biosynthesis, pentose and glucuronate metabolism, valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis, galactose metabolism, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism were the most important metabolic pathways affected by the plant extract in the amastigote stage of L. major.

 Our finding demonstrated that X. strumarium leaf extract could be used for discovering and producing novel leishmanicidal medicines. Moreover, the affected metabolic pathways observed in this study could be potential candidates for drug targeting against leishmaniasis.

 There is growing evidence that oxidative stress may play a principal role in the etiology of psychiatric disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The potent oxidant peroxynitrite (ONOO-) is the final yield of rapid reaction nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide anions.

 The present study aimed to investigate whether serum peroxynitrite levels in patients with OCD disorder can be used as an oxidative biomarker

 Twenty-one patients with freshly diagnosed OCD and not using any drugs and 19 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. Serum peroxynitrite levels were measured in the control and OCD groups.

 Serum peroxynitrite values in patients with newly diagnosed OCD were significantly increased compared to the control group (7.968 ± 2.576 µmol/L in patients and 4.983 ± 1.300 µmol/L in the control) and were significantly correlated with Yale-Brown Obsession Compulsion Scale scores. However, they were not significantly different between male and female groups.

 Our findings revealed a correlation between increased peroxynitrite level and OCD. Serum peroxynitrite level may be considered an oxidative biomarker for OCD patients in the future. It seems that using drugs with antioxidant properties can be used for the prevention of further damage by oxidants in the treatment of OCD patients.