Fetal protective effect of Indonesian propolis from Apis mellifera against rifampicin-pyrazinamide induced impaired pregnancy in BALB/c mice.

OBJECTIVES: Anti-tuberculosis drugs rifampicin and pyrazinamide combination in pregnancy can cause morphological, visceral and skeletal damage. Several studies showed that propolis improves pregnancy outcomes. This study aims to determine the fetal protective effect of propolis in BALB/c mice given the anti-tuberculosis drug combination rifampicin and pyrazinamide. METHODS: A total of 21 pregnant mice were randomly divided into three groups: the normal group (N) was given distilled water as a vehicle, the positive control group (RP) were given rifampicin 15 mg/kg BW, pyrazinamide 35 mg/kg BW and the treatment group (IP) were given rifampicin 15 mg/kg BB, pyrazinamide 35 mg/kg BW and propolis 400 mg/kg BW. The treatment was given during the period of organogenesis, from day 6 to day 15. Laparotomy was performed on the 18th day of pregnancy. Maternal and fetal body weight, fetal length, number of fetuses, and skeletal defects of fetuses were used as parameters to identify the teratogenic effect. All data were analyzed using the ANOVA. RESULTS: All groups significantly differed between maternal and fetal body weights (p<0.05). The administration of rifampicin-pyrazinamide and propolis during pregnancy did not significantly affect the number of fetuses (p>0.05). The administration of propolis protects the fetus from skeletal abnormalities. While in the RP and IP groups, we can find resorption sites and haemorrhagic. CONCLUSIONS: This study may suggest the protective effects of propolis against rifampicin pyrazinamide-induced impaired pregnancy.

Blood pressure and blood sugar-lowering effects of purified gambir on diabetic hypertensive Wistar Kyoto rats.

OBJECTIVES: Antioxidants protect people from diabetes and its cardiovascular complication. Purified gambir (Uncaria gambir Roxb.) is a potential medicinal plant for treating this condition based on the antioxidant activity of its catechin compound. This study tries to reveal the potential activity of purified gambir as a blood pressure-lowering drug while lowering blood glucose in diabetic hypertensive rats induced by oral NaCl-Prednisone and Alloxan. METHODS: Rats were induced by oral NaCl 0.8% and Prednisone 5 mg/kg BW for 14 days to obtain hypertensive condition. Alloxan 125 mg/kg BW was given intra peritoneal injection on the 8th day to obtain diabetic hypertensive condition. The animal was divided into five groups, normal control group treated with vehicle, treatment groups were treated with purified gambir at dose of 2.5; 5 and 10 mg/kg BW respectively, while the positive control group were treated with a combination of captopril-glibenclamide at dose of 2.25 and 0.45 mg/kg BW. All animals were treated orally for 14 days. Fasting blood glucose and cardiovascular parameters (SBP, DBP, MAP, HR, BF and BV) were measured on days 1, 3, 7, and 14. NO level were measured on day 0 and day 14. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA followed by Duncan Multiple Range Test. RESULTS: The purified gambir has blood pressure and blood sugar-lowering activity (p<0.05). The NO levels of the treatment group also increased significantly (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that purified gambir could be an alternative medicine to manage blood glucose and blood pressure in the diabetic hypertensive model.

Wound-Healing Effect of Honey Gel and Film.

BACKGROUND: Honey has been formulated into gel and film dosage forms for burn wound as previously reported. AIMS: In this study, we evaluated the ability of honey gel and film to promote the healing of burns and incision wounds on the skin of Sprague-Dawley female white rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four female rats were divided into four groups, which were treatment groups (for honey gel or film), negative control, and positive control (treated with marketed product "B"), respectively. Burn and incision wound were created by the method previously reported with slight modification. Parameters such as the percentage of wound closure and the tensile strength of the incision wound were determined. RESULTS: The experimental results showed that honey film has a greater effectiveness to accelerate the healing for burns and incision wound in comparison to the negative control. CONCLUSIONS: Two-way analysis of variance indicates the type of treatment group, and time has a significant effect on the burn wound (P < 0.05). Honey film shows the significant difference (P < 0.05) with other group on the incision wound.