Local massage with safflower oil for phlebitis following peripheral intravenous catheters / 国际中医中药杂志

ObjectiveTo evaluate the curative effect of local massage with safflower oil in patients with phlebitis following peripheral intravenous catheters.MethodsA total of 71 patients with phlebitis following peripheral intravenous catheters wererandomly divided into 2 groups, a safflower oil group with 36 cases, and a magnesium sulfate group with 35 cases. The magnesium sulfate group was treated by local external application of 33% magnesium sulfate on phlebitis at the puncture site, while the safflower oil group was treated by external application of safflower oil 3~5 cm around the peripheral vein puncture site and massage. Both groups were treated for 48 h. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to assess pain degree, marking method to label the localred swelling area.ResultsThe VAS score (0.81±0.13vs.0.94±0.11;t=4.543,P<0.01) at 48 h after the treatment, and the local red swelling area at 24 h (3.62±1.22 cm2vs.4.42±1.72 cm2;t=2.335, P=0.022) and 48 h (1.07±0.25 cm2vs.3.26±1.07cm2;t=11.952,P<0.01) after the treatment in the safflower oil group were significant lower or smaller than the magnesium sulfate group.ConclusionsLocal massage with safflower oil can effectively alleviate the severity of phlebitis, relieve symptoms, reduce the score of VAS and local red swelling area, and promote the damaged tissue to restore normal.

Comparative effect of dietary borage oil and safflower oil on anti-proliferation and ceramide metabolism in the epidermis of essential fatty acid deficient guinea pigs / 한국영양학회지

PURPOSE: Borage oil (BO) and safflower oil (SO) are efficacious in reversing epidermal hyperproliferation, which is caused by the disruption of epidermal barrier. In this study, we compared the antiproliferative effect of dietary BO and SO. Altered metabolism of ceramide (Cer), the major lipid of epidermal barrier, was further determined by measurement of epidermal levels of individual Cer, glucosylceramide (GlcCer), and sphingomyelin (SM) species, and protein expression of Cer metabolizing enzymes. METHODS: Epidermal hyperproliferation was induced in guinea pigs by a hydrogenated coconut diet (HCO) for 8 weeks. Subsequently, animals were fed diets of either BO (group HCO + BO) or SO (group HCO + SO) for 2 weeks. As controls, animals were fed BO (group BO) or HCO (group HCO) diets for 10 weeks. RESULTS: Epidermal hyperproliferation was reversed in groups HCO + BO (67.6% of group HCO) and HCO + SO (84.5% of group HCO). Epidermal levels of Cer1/2, GlcCer-A/B, and beta-glucocerebrosidase (GCase), an enzyme of GlcCer hydrolysis for Cer generation, were higher in group HCO + BO than in group HCO, and increased to levels similar to those of group BO. In addition, epidermal levels of SM1, serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), and acidic sphingomyelinase (aSMase), enzymes of de novo Cer synthesis and SM hydrolysis for Cer generation, but not of Cer3-7, were higher in group HCO + BO than in group HCO. Despite an increase of SPT and aSMase in group HCO + SO to levels higher than in group HCO, epidermal levels of Cer1-7, GlcCer-A/B, and GCase were similar in these two groups. Notably, acidic ceramidase, an enzyme of Cer degradation, was highly expressed in group HCO + SO. Epidermal levels of GlcCer-C/D and SM-2/3 did not differ among groups. CONCLUSION: Dietary BO was more prominent for reversing epidermal hyperproliferation by enhancing Cer metabolism with increased levels of Cer1/2, GlcCer-A/B, and SM1 species, and of GCase proteins.

Safflower oil: an integrated assessment of phytochemistry, antiulcerogenic activity, and rodent and environmental toxicity

Gastric ulcers are a significant medical problem and the development of complications lead to significant mortality rates worldwide. In Brazil, Carthamus tinctorius L., Asteraceae, seeds essential oil, the safflower oil, is currently used as a thermogenic compound and as treatment for problems related to the cardiovascular system. In this study, by Raman spectroscopy, it was shown that oleic and linoleic acids are the compounds present in higher concentrations in the safflower oil. We demonstrated that safflower oil (750 mg/kg, p.o.) decrease the ulcerogenic lesions in mice after the administration of hydrochloric acid-ethanol. The gastric ulcers induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in mice treated with cholinomimetics were treated with four different doses of safflower oil, of which, the dose of 187.5 mg/kg (p.o.) showed significant antiulcerogenic properties (**p < 0.01). Moreover, the safflower oil at doses of 187.5 mg/kg (i.d.) increased the pH levels, gastric volume (**p < 0.01) and gastric mucus production (***p < 0.001), and decreased the total gastric acid secretion (***p < 0.001). The acute toxicity tests showed that safflower oil (5.000 mg/kg, p.o.) had no effect on mortality or any other physiological parameter. Ecotoxicological tests performed using Daphnia similis showed an EC50 at 223.17 mg/l, and therefore safflower oil can be considered “non-toxic” based on the directive 93/67/EEC on risk assessment for new notified substances by European legislation. These results indicate that the antiulcer activity of Safflower oil may be due to cytoprotective effects, which serve as support for new scientific studies related to this pathology.

Effects of safflower oil on adipose-associated gene expression in mice / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Seventy C57BL/6 mice were divided into control group,lard group,lard transferred into safflower oil group,and safflower oil group.After 20 weeks,the white adipose tissues were taken to analyse the gene differentiational expression prolife.The results showed that body weight,blood glucose and lipids,and insulin levels in lard group were higher than those in control group( all P＜0.05 ),which were decreased after lard was transferred into safflower oil for 10 weeks( all P＜0.05 ).Safflower oil regulated some of the orexigenic genes,anorectic genes,and the genes involved in energy expenditure in adipose tissues such as opioid receptor,glucagon,and PPARα.

Arctii Fructus is a Prominent Dietary Source of Linoleic Acid for Reversing Epidermal Hyperproliferation of Guinea Pigs

Linoleic acid [LA; 18: 2 (n-6)] is the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acid in human skin. The exclusion of LA from diet induces epidermal hyperproliferation, which is reversible by the inclusion of LA in diet, and hence, LA is heralded as an essential fatty acid (EFA). Since safflower oil (SO) has been widely recognized as the major dietary source of LA and Arctii Fructus (Arctium lappa L.) is recently reported to contain high level of LA, we compared the antiproliferative effects of SO and Arctii Fructus in this study. Epidermal hyperproliferation was induced in guinea pigs by hydrogenated coconut oil (HCO) diet for 8 wk. During following 2 wk, EFA deficient guinea pigs were fed diets of safflower oil (group HS), water extract of Arctii Fructus (group AW) or organic extract of Arctii Fructus (group AO). Normal control group was fed SO containing diet (group SO) and EFA deficient group was fed HCO containing diet (group HCO) for 10 wk. Epidermal hyperproliferation was reversed in groups AO (55.9% of group HCO) and HS(74.1% of group HCO). However, the thymidine incorporation into epidermal DNA of group HS was greater than of normal control group SO. Epidermal hyperproliferation was not reversed in group AW. The accumulations of LA into phospholipids and ceramides, and of 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE), the potent antiproliferative metabolite of LA in the epidermis of group AO were greater than of group HS. In contrast, the de novo synthesis of ceramides, the major lipids maintaining epidermal barrier, did not differ between all of groups. Together, our data demonstrate that organic extract of Arctii Fructus is more prominent than safflower oil in reversing epidermal hyperproliferation by inducing the higher accumulations of LA and 13-HODE in the epidermis of guinea pigs.

THE BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF EVENING PRIMROSE OIL ON ZINC DEFICIENT RATS / 营养学报

Zinc deficient rats were injected subcutaneously each day for 3 weeks with 250 ?l evening primrose oil (EPO, containing 10% Y-linolenic acid and 73% linoleic acid) or safflower oil (SFO, containing 77% linoleic acid only) and compared with zinc supplemented group (ZnS) and zinc deficient group (ZnD) without injections. At the end of the experiment, rats were killed under anaesthesia, organ weights, zinc content of kidneys, blood cholesterol and fatty acid compositions were determined. The results showed animals in EPO group had the best recoveries both in deficient symptoms and in body weights,the zinc content of kidneys was the highest, the serum cholesterol level was significantly lower than those of SFO and ZnD groups, but no difference from ZnS group. The total percentage of 22-C and above(?-6)polyunsatured fatty acids was the highest among those four groups. These results indicated that?-linolenic acid was beneficial to zinc deficient rats in growth, zinc utilization and the metabolism of essential fatty acids.