A review on most important herbal and synthetic antihelmintic drugs

Parasites and parasitic diseases are widely spread in the world. Their adverse effects on health and social-economic society cause tremendous public health problems. Parasitic infections in different ways (water, soil, food and vegetables) can affect humans and induce other complications such as gastrointestinal disorders, malnutrition, anemia and allergies and sometimes even life threatening. Medicinal plants are being widely used, either as a single drug or in combination with synthetic drugs. These medicinal plants are considered as a valuable source of unique natural products and drugs for development of medicines against various disorders and diseases. In this article the recently published papers about medicinal plants and parasites were reviewed, using scientific sites such as Medline, PubMed and Google Scholar. The used terms included: herbal medicine, medicinal plants, and antihelmintic drugs, antinematoda, anticestoda, antitrematoda. From the above collected literature it might be concluded that these plants are promising potential sources for preparation of new drugs or for pharmacological and therapeutic applications.

Identification of medicinal plants affecting on headaches and migraines in Lorestan Province, West of Iran

OBJECTIVE@#To identify medicinal plants witch are used for headaches and migraines treatment in Lorestan province of Iran.@*METHODS@#Traditional medical herbs information was acquired from indigenous people with the cooperation of health centers of Doroud, Borujerd, Khorramabad, Aleshtar Poldokhtar, Aligoodarz, Nourabad and Kouhdasht cities. The prepared questionnaires were given to trained health volunteers. They attended in the villages and recorded people beliefs in herbal therapy by the questionnaires.@*RESULTS@#The results of this study showed that people used 15 herbs traditionally to treat headaches. Because of the importance of the medicinal plants in the study area, it is neccessary to determine sociological studies the plenty of plant species.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Because of the widespread use of traditional medicinal plants and high tendency to herbal medicine and traditional medicine, more extensive researches should be designed in several areas of pharmacy and pharmacology of medicinal plants to prepare proper information for pharmaceutical industries.

Chemical composition, antioxidant activity and antibacterial effect of essential oil of the aerial parts of Salvia sclareoides

OBJECTIVE@#To determine the chemical composition, antioxidant activity and antibacterial properties of essential oils of the aerial parts of Salvia sclareoides (S. sclareoides).@*METHODS@#The essential oil of the areal parts of S. sclareoides was obtained by using hydrodistillation method and the composition of the volatile components analyzed by gas chromatography method coupled with mass spectrometry detector. The antimicrobial capacity of the essential oil of S. sclareoides was investigated by microdilution technique. The antioxidant activities were determined employing inhibition of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate radical method.@*RESULTS@#Mass spectra were searched against mass spectrometry databases and sixty components were recognized. Non-terpenoids (41.6%) and sesquiterpenes (39.7%) were determined as the main components of the essential oil. The main identified components were, linalool (27.6%), trans-caryophyllene (16.6%), beta.-trans-ocimene (11.831%), germacrene-D (10%), bicyclogermacrene (3.3%) and caryophyllene oxide (2.8%). Two monoterpens (13.2%) and three oxygenated sesquiterpenes (5.5%) were also obtained from the essential oil of the S. sclareoides@*CONCLUSIONS@#Results indicated that essential oil of S. sclareoides includes rather higher proportions of non-terpenoid and sesquiterpenes compounds with good antioxidant and antibacterial properties.

Chemical composition, antioxidant activity and antibacterial effect of essential oil of the aerial parts of Salvia sclareoides

Objective: To determine the chemical composition, antioxidant activity and antibacterial properties of essential oils of the aerial parts of Salvia sclareoides (S. sclareoides). Methods: The essential oil of the areal parts of S. sclareoides was obtained by using hydrodistillation method and the composition of the volatile components analyzed by gas chromatography method coupled with mass spectrometry detector. The antimicrobial capacity of the essential oil of S. sclareoides was investigated by microdilution technique. The antioxidant activities were determined employing inhibition of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate radical method. Results: Mass spectra were searched against mass spectrometry databases and sixty components were recognized. Non-terpenoids (41.6%) and sesquiterpenes (39.7%) were determined as the main components of the essential oil. The main identified components were, linalool (27.6%), trans-caryophyllene (16.6%), beta.-trans-ocimene (11.831%), germacrene-D (10%), bicyclogermacrene (3.3%) and caryophyllene oxide (2.8%). Two monoterpens (13.2%) and three oxygenated sesquiterpenes (5.5%) were also obtained from the essential oil of the S. sclareoides. Conclusions: Results indicated that essential oil of S. sclareoides includes rather higher proportions of non-terpenoid and sesquiterpenes compounds with good antioxidant and antibacterial properties.

Identification of medicinal plants affecting on headaches and migraines in Lorestan Province, West of Iran

Objective: To identify medicinal plants witch are used for headaches and migraines treatment in Lorestan province of Iran. Methods: Traditional medical herbs information was acquired from indigenous people with the cooperation of health centers of Doroud, Borujerd, Khorramabad, Aleshtar Poldokhtar, Aligoodarz, Nourabad and Kouhdasht cities. The prepared questionnaires were given to trained health volunteers. They attended in the villages and recorded people beliefs in herbal therapy by the questionnaires. Results: The results of this study showed that people used 15 herbs traditionally to treat headaches. Because of the importance of the medicinal plants in the study area, it is neccessary to determine sociological studies the plenty of plant species. Conclusions: Because of the widespread use of traditional medicinal plants and high tendency to herbal medicine and traditional medicine, more extensive researches should be designed in several areas of pharmacy and pharmacology of medicinal plants to prepare proper information for pharmaceutical industries.

A review on most important herbal and synthetic antihelmintic drugs

Parasites and parasitic diseases are widely spread in the world. Their adverse effects on health and social-economic society cause tremendous public health problems. Parasitic infections in different ways (water, soil, food and vegetables) can affect humans and induce other complications such as gastrointestinal disorders, malnutrition, anemia and allergies and sometimes even life threatening. Medicinal plants are being widely used, either as a single drug or in combination with synthetic drugs. These medicinal plants are considered as a valuable source of unique natural products and drugs for development of medicines against various disorders and diseases. In this article the recently published papers about medicinal plants and parasites were reviewed, using scientific sites such as Medline, PubMed and Google Scholar. The used terms included: herbal medicine, medicinal plants, and antihelmintic drugs, antinematoda, anticestoda, antitrematoda. From the above collected literature it might be concluded that these plants are promising potential sources for preparation of new drugs or for pharmacological and therapeutic applications.

Scolicidal Effects of Olea europaea and Satureja khuzestanica Extracts on Protoscolices of Hydatid Cysts

Treatment of hydatid disease is mainly surgical, with medical treatment being reserved as a coadjuvant treatment. Use of effective scolicidal agents during surgery of cystic echinococcosis is essential to reduce the recurrence rate. The goal of this study was to evaluate the in vitro scolicidal effects of hydroalcoholic extracts of Satureja khuzestanica leaves and aqueous extracts of Olea europaea leaves on hydatid cyst protoscolices. Echinococcus granulosus protoscolices were collected from the liver of sheep infected with the hydatid cyst. Various concentrations of plant extracts were used in different exposure times for viability assay of protoscolices. Among the olive leaf extracts tested, 0.1% and 0.01% concentrations had strong scolicidal effects in 120 min. S. khuzestanica 0.1% had very strong scolicidal effects in 30, 60, and 120 min of exposure times and the mortality rate decreased with the lower concentration. The finding have shown that the scolicidal activity of S. khuzestanica against cystic echinococosis protoscolices were more effective, while the O. europaea extract showed less effects.

Ibuprofen versus fennel for the relief of postpartum pain: a randomized controlled trial

The present study aimed to compare the value of ibuprofen and fennel for postpartum pain relief in women with normal vaginal delivery. In this randomized clinical trial we studied 90 women referring to obstetrics ward for Normal Vaginal Delivery [NVD] in Assali hospital in Khoramabad. Women were randomly allocated to receive either oral ibuprofen or oral fennel by stratified random sampling technique. All women were asked to give pain score by visual analogue scale before and at 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours after treatment. Difference between fennel and ibuprofen groups was not significant considering severity of pain before [P=0.22]. Difference between two groups considering mean severity of pain one hour after treatment [P=0.57] was not significant. But comparing the mean of pain severity in two groups, showed significant difference after two [p<0.023], three [p<0.001] and four [p<0.001] hours after treatment. Ibuprofen and fennel were effective for relief of postpartum pain without any notable side effects, but in general ibuprofen was more effective than fennel. More studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of fennel in pain relief especially in postpartum women which must be compared to a no treatment control group

Effect of saffron on semen parameters of infertile men

We conducted this study to determine the effects of saffron [Crocus sativus] on the results of semen analysis in men with idiopathic infertility. In this clinical trial, 52 nonsmoker infertile men whose problem could not be solved surgically were enrolled. They were treated by saffron for 3 months. Saffron, 50 mg, was solved in drinking milk and administered 3 times a week during the study course. Semen analysis was done before and after the treatment and the results were compared. The mean percentage of sperm with normal morphology was 26.50 +/- 6.44% before the treatment which increased to 33.90 +/- 10.45%, thereafter [P < .001]. The mean percentage of sperm with Class A motility was 5.32 +/- 4.57% before and 11.77 +/- 6.07% after the treatment [P < .001]. Class B and C motilities were initially 10.09 +/- 4.20% and 19.79 +/- 9.11% which increased to 17.92 +/- 6.50% [P < .001] and 25.35 +/- 10.22% [P < .001], respectively. No significant increase was detected in sperm count; the mean sperm count was 43.45 +/- 31.29 x 10[6]/mL at baseline and 44.92 +/- 28.36x 10[6]/mL after the treatment period [P = .30]. Saffron, as an antioxidant, is positively effective on sperm morphology and motility in infertile men, while it does not increase sperm count. We believe further studies on larger sample sizes are needed to elucidate the potential role and mechanism of action of saffron and its ingredient in the treatment of male infertility