Natural products assessed in animal models for orofacial pain – a systematic review

ABSTRACT Orofacial pain is related to tissues of the head, face, neck and all the intraoral structures; it is rather debilitating to the patient and also difficult to treat. There are relatively few studies dedicated to the use of natural products to alleviate orofacial pain in preclinical experiment models (performed in experimental animals which provide support for clinical trials). Main objectives of the present systematic review summarize the studies on natural products assessed in animal models for orofacial pain seeking to give evidence to future development of new pharmaceutical products to manage the orofacial pain. Our review includes a thorough search of literature using the terms of orofacial pain, facial pain, medicinal plants and natural products. This search was performed using to retrieve English language articles in Medline-PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. A total of eighteen studies were included in our survey for the inclusion criteria. Firstly, this review identified 210 citations from electronic search, after removal of duplicates and screening for relevant titles and abstracts, a total of eighteen articles were selected to the inclusion criteria established. Our findings suggest that natural products can be a promising or a trump tool for the development of new drugs to treat orofacial pain conditions, but the researchers that deal with experimental preclinical trials of new drugs (including natural products or synthetic drugs) for orofacial pain conditions urgently need to show translational evidence (with clinical approach) of these compounds.

Neck circumference as screening measure for identifying adolescents with overweight and obesity

OBJECTIVE: To study the neck circumference (NC) cut-off points for identifying excess body weight levels in adolescents from age between 12-17 years METHODS: Cross-sectional study was conducted using the data from a Brazilian multicentric project called Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents - ERICA, which included adolescents with age between 12-17 years' residents in two Brazilian cities from the Northeast part of Brazil. Anthropometric measurements and blood pressure data were collected from the adolescent's sample. The mean average in between the adolescents' groups was compared using the Mann-Whitney. The correlation was estimated by Spearman correlation coefficient to evaluate the association between the NC and other anthropometric variables like age, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure. The ROC curve was used to analyze the predictive validation of NC as well as to determine the cut-off point of overweight and obesity identification among the adolescents RESULTS: This study comprised 1474 adolescents with a mean age of 14.59 ± 1.57 years, in which 55.3% were female. It was found a positive correlation between NC and WC; NC and BMI. The cutoff point for overweight according to the NC for male adolescents aged 12 to 14 years was equivalent to 34.1 cm and for females 32.05 cm. The adolescent male aged 15 to 17 years group the cutoff point was 36.85 cm and for women 32,95 cm. The cutoffs points for obesity according to the NC for male adolescents aged 12 to 14 years was 34.9 cm and for females 33.85 cm. In the age group 15-17 years, the cutoff point for obesity for males was 38.4 cm and for females 35.85 cm CONCLUSIONS: The neck circumference represented significant correlation among waist circumference and body mass index well stablished indicators of adiposity and can identify adolescents with high body mass index.

OBJETIVO: Identificar pontos de corte de acordo com a circunferência do pescoço (CP) para determinação dos níveis de excesso de peso em adolescentes MÉTODO: Estudo transversal com adolescentes entre 12 e 17 anos, residentes em dois municípios do nordeste brasileiro. Foram coletados dados antropométricos e Pressão Arterial (PA). Foi realizado o teste de Mann-Whitney para comparação dos dados e o Coeficiente de Correlação de Spearman para associação entre a CP e outras variáveis antropométricas como a idade, circunferência da cintura (CC), Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC) e a PA. Foi analisada a validade preditiva da CP na determinação de pontos de corte para identificação do excesso de peso nos adolescentes. RESULTADOS: A amostra foi composta por 1474 adolescentes com idade média de 14,59 ± £,££ anos, sendo 55,3 % do gênero feminino. Foi encontrada uma correlação positiva entre CP e CC e CP e IMC. De acordo com a CP, os pontos de corte para identificação de sobrepeso na faixa etária entre 12 e 14 anos foi equivalente a 34,1 cm para meninos e 32,05 cm para meninas. Na faixa etária entre 15 e17 anos foi 36,85 cm para meninos e 32,95 cm para meninas. Os pontos de corte para obesidade na faixa etária entre 12 e 14 anos foi 34,9 cm para meninos e 33,85 cm para meninas. Na faixa etária entre 15-17 anos, o ponto de corte para a obesidade foi 38,4 cm para meninos e 35,85 cm para meninas. CONCLUSÕES: A Circunferência do Pescoço apresentou correlação significativa com a CC e o IMC, indicadores bem estabelecidos de adiposidade, podendo identificar adolescentes com sobrepeso e obesidade.

Total phenolic content, Free radical scavenging and Antimicrobial activities of Passiflora subpeltata seeds.

The study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of seeds from Passiflora subpeltata. The powdered seed material was subjected to successive solvent extraction in a soxhlet extractor. The antioxidant activities were analyzed the methods of DPPH•, ABTS•+, superoxide radical scavenging and metal chelating activity. The antimicrobial activities of seeds were performed by disc diffusion method. The acetone extract of P. subpeltata seed recorded highest total phenolic (340.70 mg GAE / g extract) and tannin (214.30 mg GAE / g extract) contents and possessed high antioxidant activity. The IC50 value of DPPH was (26.37 μg/mL) and the scavenging activity of superoxide radical was (75.18%). P. subpeltata seeds also demonstrated an effective antibacterial property against seven pathogens and antifungal property against two pathogens tested. Therefore, the results suggest that the seeds of P. subpeltata have promising therapeutic value for natural antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.