Study of sedative-hypnotic effects of Aloe vera L. aqueous extract through behavioral evaluations and EEG recording in rats

In the present work sedative and hypnotic effects of aqueous extract of Aloe vera in rats have been investigated. In order to evaluate the overall hypnotic effects of the Aloe vera extract, open field and loss of righting reflex tests were primarily used. The sedative and hypnotic effects of the extract were then confirmed by detection of remarkable raise in the total sleeping time through analysis of electroencephalographic [EEG] recordings of animals. Analysis of the EEG recordings showed that there is concomitant change in Rapid Eye Movement [REM] and None Rapid Eye Movement [NREM] sleep in parallel with the prolonged total sleeping time. Results of the current research show that the extract has sedative-hypnotic effects on both functional and electrical activities of the brain

Primula auriculata extracts exert cytotoxic and apoptotic effects against HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells

Primula auriculata [Tootia] is one of the most important local medicinal plants in Hamedan district, Iran. To investigate cytotoxicity and apoptosis induction of crude methanolic extract and different fraction of it we compared several methods on HT-29 human colon Adenocarcinoma cells. Cancer cell proliferation was measured by 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl]-2, 5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide [MTT] assay and apoptosis induction was analyzed by fluorescence microscopy [acridin orange/ethidium bromide, annexin V/propidium iodide staining, TUNEL assay and Caspase-3 activity assay]. Crude methanolic extract [CM] inhibited the growth of malignant cells in a dose-dependent manner. Among solvent fractions, the dichloromethane fraction [CF] was found to be the most toxic compared to other fractions. With double staining methods, high percentage of 40 microg/mL of [CM] and [CF] treated cells exhibited typical characteristics of apoptotic cells. Apoptosis induction was also revealed by Apoptotic fragmentation of nuclear DNA and activation of caspas-3 in treated cells. These findings indicate that crude methanolic extract and dichloromethan fraction of P.auriculata induced apoptosis and inhibited proliferation in colon cancer cells and could be used as a source for new lead structures in drug design to combat colon cancer

Antiplasmodial activity and cytotoxicity of plants used in traditional medicine of Iran for the treatment of fever

Malaria is the most serious parasitic disease and one of the oldest recorded diseases in the world. Because of the resistance of malaria parasites to current drugs, it is necessary to discover new antiplasmodial drugs. Traditional medicine is one of the important sources of new antiplasmodial drugs. In this study, twenty methanolic extracts from different parts of sixteen medicinal plants used in traditional medicine of Iran for the treatment of "Nobeh fever" and/ or fever were screened for in-vivo antiplasmodial activity against Plasmodium berghei and cytotoxic effect on Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells [MDBK]. Eleven species [55%] were found to have antiplasmodial activity. Methanolic extract from Rosa damascena Mill. reduced parasitemia by 57.7% compared to untreated control mice at intra-peritoneal [i.p.] injection doses of 10 mg/Kg per day for 4 days. This is the first report that mentioned in-vivo antiplasmodial activity of Rosa damascena Mill

Herbal remedies connected to malaria like fever in Iranian ancient medicinal books- brief review article

Malaria is a major international public health problem. Drug-resistant parasites have made treatment and control of malaria more difficult. Therefore, safe, affordable and effective new drugs are urgently needed. Traditional medicine is an important source for new drugs. Determining the ancient medicinal books was the first step of this study for finding malaria or disease that has symptoms like malaria. Then the plants that used to treat "Ghebbe Khalesseh fever" were listed. Finally, recent antimalarial researches were explored. About 31 plants were identified. Information from these resources is valuable for the selection of plants for antiplasmodial screening programs

Chronic cold-water-induced hypothermia impairs memory retrieval and nepeta menthoides as a traditional "hot" herb reverses the impairment

Iranian Traditional Medicine [ITM] describes a kind of dementia with similar signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease [AD]. It explains the pathology of dementia with cold intemperament of the brain, which means that the brain is colder than its healthy form. ITM strategy for treatment of dementia is to heat the brain up by medical "hot" herbs. Nepeta menthoides [NM] is one of these "hot" herbs. To evaluate the veracity of ITM concept about dementia and its treatment, we first try to examine if coldness of brain can make memory impairment. If so, can NM reverse memory impairment? Rats in cold-water-induced hypothermic [CWH] groups were immersed up to the neck in 3.5 [degree sign]C water, for 5 min during 14 consecutive days. As a control, rats were forced to swim in warm water at the same conditions. To eliminate the impact of forced swimming stress, a group of intact rats was also added. After last swimming in day 14, some groups received drug [100 or 500 mg/Kg aqueous extract of NM] or vehicle via i.p. injection. Learning and memory were assessed by Morris water maze, and tau hyperphosphorylation was measured by western blotting. The results showed that CWH impairs learning and memory and induces tau hyperphosphorylation. 100 mg/Kg of NM reversed memory impairment as well as tau hyperphosphorylation. ITM theory about the relationship between brain hypothermia and dementia is in accordance with our findings

Cytotoxic activity of some medicinal plants from Hamedan district of Iran

Medicinal plants have been investigated for possible anti-cancer effects. The aim of the present study was to examine the cytotoxic activity of several medicinal plants on different tumor cell lines. 11 selected plant species which have been used in folkloric prescriptions were collected from different sites of Hamedan district of Iran. The methanolic extracts of the plants were prepared and their cytotoxic effects on four human cancer cell lines [A549, human lung adenocarcinoma; MCF7, human breast adenocarcinoma; HepG2, hepatocellular carcinoma and HT-29, human colon carcinoma] and one normal cell line [MDBK, bovine kidney] were examined using the MTT assay. Three of these were exhibited antiproliferative activity against one or more of the cell lines. The extract from Primula auriculata demonstrated the highest cytotoxicity with IC[50] of 25.79, 35.79 and 43.34 micro g.mL[?1] against MCF7, HepG2 and HT-29 cells, respectively. For some of the plants, their traditional use was correlated with the cytotoxic results, whereas for others the results may support the non-cytotoxicity of species used traditionally as natural remedies. The cytotoxic species could be considered as potential of anticancer compounds

Jovarish-e Jalinus, the herbal treatment of gastro-esophageal reflux disease in the history of medicine

History of medicine is a treasure of interesting experiences of humankind to treat diseases. Traditional medicine is a major part of this long history. World Health Organization [WHO] encourages all countries to extend their complementary and traditional medicines and support trained practitioners in this field. This strategy can lead to finding new treatments and opening new horizons to the herbal medicine researchers. Nowadays, a movement toward the integration of traditional and complementary medicine into mainstream medicine is evident. Iranian Traditional Medicine [ITM] remedies, similar to other branches of complementary and alternative medicine, have been documented to offer the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. According to the principles of ITM, the production of abnormal "Humours" in human body can trigger a process through which a disease occurs. Heartburn is known as "Horqat" in ITM. Phlegmatic Horqat occurs due to the presence of abnormal "Phlegm" in the stomach. Phlegm creates heartburn usually after a meal and at the beginning of gastric digestion. There are several single and compound herbal treatments for Horqat in ITM. In this article, a novel treatment of GERD in Greek and Iranian traditional medicines called Jovarish-e Jalinus [Galen's digestive] has been introduced

Comparison between complementary dietary treatment of Alzheimer disease in Iranian traditional medicine and modern medicine

Dietary notifications have been introduced recently for Alzheimer Disease [AD]. In Iranian old medical manuscripts, there are some nutritional recommendations related to Nesyan [AD equivalent]. The aim of this article was to compare dietary recommendations of Iranian traditional medicine [ITM] with novel medical outcomes. 1] Searching for dietary recommendations and abstinences described in ITM credible manuscripts; 2] Extracting fatty components of ITM diet according to the database of the Department of Agriculture of the USA; 3] Statistical analysis of fatty elements of traditionally recommended foods via Mann-Whitney Test in comparison with elements of the abstinent ones; 4] Searching for AD dietary recommendations and abstinences which currently published in medical journals; 5] Comparing traditional and new dietary suggestions with each other. 1] Traditionally recommended foods are fattier than abstinent ones [P<0.001]. There are meaningful differences between unsaturated fatty acids [UFAs] [P<0.001], saturated fatty acids [P<0.001], and cholesterol [P<0.05] of recommended foods and abstinent ones. 2] Traditionally recommended diet is also fattier than the abstinent diet [4.5 times]; UFAs of the recommended diet is 11 times more than that of the abstinent one; it is the same story for cholesterol [1.4 times]; 3] Recent studies show that diets with high amounts of UFAs have positive effects on AD; a considerable number of papers emphasizes on probable positive role of cholesterol on AD; 4] Traditional recommended diet is in agreement with recent studies. ITM recommended diet which is full of unsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol can be utilized for complementary treatment of AD

Synthesis and cytotoxic evaluation of novel 3-substituted derivatives of 2-indolinone

The assessment of the degree or rate of cellular proliferation and cell viability is critical for the assessment of the effects of drugs on both normal and malignant cell populations. In the present study, a few novel 3-substituted derivatives of 2-indolinones were synthesized by condensation of substituted oxindole or isatin derivatives with appropriate aldehydes or primary aromatic amines respectively. The synthesized compounds were screened for their cytotoxicity against HT-29 [human colon adenocarcinoma cell line] and MCF-7 [human breast adenocarcinoma cell line] cells using short term cytotoxicity MTT assay protocol. A few derivatives with IC[50] < 10 microM were identified among them. The compound bearing 5-bromo substitution was the most potent derivative. Global physicochemical properties for compounds IVa-e and Va-h were calculated and the two most active compounds [IVa and IVb] showed similar Clog P-values

Determination of 18 beta-glycyrrhetinic acid in glycyrrhiza glabra l. extract by HPLC

A high performance liquid chromatography method was studied for determination of 18 p-glycyrrhetinic acid in Glycyrrhiza glabra L. [licorice] extract. The operating condition were C-18 reversed phase column [VP-ODS, [250x4.6 mm, 5 mm]] at room temperature, acetonitril/phosphoric acid [3/1] as mobile phase, at flow rate of 0.6ml/min [0-8min], 0.4ml/ min [8-20min] and UV detection at 230 nm. The recoveries were%99.60-%102.81 with relative standard deviation between%0.01-% 1.58. The relative standard deviation of the repeatability test was%2.96. The method is simple, rapid, safe, accurate, economical and useful for standardization of the licorice products

Labiatae family in folk medicine in Iran: from ethnobotany to pharmacology

Labiatae family is well represented in Iran by 46 genera and 410 species and subspecies. Many members of this family are used in traditional and folk medicine. Also they are used as culinary and ornamental plants. There are no distinct references on the ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology of the family in Iran and most of the publications and documents related to the uses of these species are both in Persian and not comprehensive. In this article we reviewed all the available publication on this family. Also documentation from unpublished resources and ethnobotanical surveys has been included. Based on our literature search, out of the total number of the Labiatae family in Iran, 18% of the species are used for medicinal purposes. Leaves are the most used plant parts. Medicinal applications are classified into 13 main categories. A number of pharmacological and experimental studies have been reviewed, which confirm some of the traditional applications and also show the headline for future works on this family

Study on the effect of Paliums spina-christi on cholesterol, triglyceride and HDL levels in diabetic male rats fed a high cholesterol diet

Paliurus spina-christi Mill [Rhamnaceae] has been used in folk medicine as a hypocholesterolemic agent. In this study, the effect of total fruit extract on lowering lipid content of serum was investigated. Male rats were introduced streptozocin, subsequently fed with a high cholesterol diet and concomitantly treated with various doses of the extract. After 8 days, serum levels of cholesterol, triglyceride and HDL were measured. It was found that the administration of 100 mg/kg/day of the extract had reduced the amount of total cholesterol by 45.5% and the administration of 50 mg/kg/day reduced the amount of triglyceride by 48.73%. No significant enhancement was found in the amount of HDL. It was concluded that of Paliurus spina-christi extract can inhibit the enhancement of cholesterol and triglyceride