new natural gel of Fagonia indica Burm f. extract for the treatment of burn on rats

Fagonia indica Burm f. [Mushikka or white spine] is a plant distributed in the deserts of Asia and Africa and reported to be medicinal in the scientific literature as well as in the folk medicine. Earlier investigations, the authors isolated a number of bioactive constituents from the plant including flavonoids, sterols and tritepenoids; In addition its flavonoidal content was found remarkably high reaching 3% [calculated as flavonol on dry weight]. The present study is an attempt to formulate, characterize and evaluate a natural wound-healing gel preparation containing the crude plant extract. Three formulae [F1-F3] were prepared. The gel properties such as viscosity, swelling ratio, bio-adhesion, in vitro release, stability, microbiological studies, in vivo burn healing test on rats and histopathological features were assessed. The results of the in vitro evaluation and stability studies showed that F3 [0.5% [w/w] of plant extract in 4% [w/w] chitosan] was significantly [p<0.05] the superior compared to other formulations. Besides, from the in vivo burn healing and histological results, F3 enhanced the skin wound re-epithelialization and speed up the healing process compared to the conventional commercial product. Thus, the Fagonia extract loaded chitosan topical gel would be used successfully in burn wound care.

Anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective activities of the aqueous extract of micromeria fruticosa [L.] druce ssp serpyllifolia in mice

Micromeria fruticosa is used widely in many Mediterranean regions for various inflammatory conditions. The aim of this work was to assess the anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective activities of the aqueous extract of Micromeria fruticosa. The aqueous extract of Micromeria fruticosa was tested orally in mice at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg in carrageenan-induced paw edema, vascular permeability, myeloperoxidase activity [MPO] and indomethacin-induced gastric ulceration. In the paw edema model, the extract at dose of 200 mg/ kg, exhibited a significant anti-inflammatory effect, while the extract at 100 and 200 mg/kg reduced significantly the vascular permeability and MPO activity in a dose dependant manner. Oral pretreatment of the aqueous extract reduced significantly the development of gastric lesions induced by indomethacin at dose of 200 mg/kg only. Results suggest that the aqueous extract of Micromeria fruticosa has both anti-inflammatory as well as, gastroprotective activities. Thus it could be used as an alternative or supplementary herbal remedy for the treatment of inflammatory diseases especially when combined with strong anti-inflammatory medications that have ulcerogenic side effects such as NSAIDs

Constituents and biological activity of the essential oil and the aqueous extract of Micromeria fruticosa [L.] Druce subsp. Serpyllifolia

Micromeria fruticosa L Druce subsp. serpyllifolia is a medicinal herb that is widely used as folk medicine in the treatment of abdominal pains, diarrhea, eye infections, heart disorders, elevated blood pressure, colds and wounds. This study aims to investigation the constituents and biological activity of the essential oil and aqueous extract of the plant that had been collected from Nablus. The oil was prepared by hydro-distillation method and analyzed by GC/MS. The oxygenated constituents were prevalent [87.4%] with the pulegone [58.5%] was the major constituents. Antitumor and analgesic activities of the isolated oil and the aqueous extract of M. fruticosa were investigated. Both the oil and the aqueous extract exhibited marked antitumor activities against Human Colon Tumor cells [HCT] and Mammary Carcinoma F7 [MCF7]. The oil showed less IC50s against both cell lines [10, 12.7 microg/ml respectively]. Also the extract significantly inhibited acetic acid-induced writhing response [p<0.05] and increased hot-plate pain threshold of mice at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg while the oil did not show any analgesic activity on both models. Therefore, we concluded that the aqueous extract of M. fruticosa has a remarkable inhibitory activity in non-inflammatory reactions as well as inflammatory pain