ABSTRACT
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The prevalence of different types of chronic wounds, due to the ageing population and increase incidence of diseases, is becoming a worldwide problem. Various medicinal plants used in folk medicine have demonstrated wound healing and antimicrobial properties, and some of these species are currently used in commercial preparations. Despite the well-documented and rich tradition of the use of local herbs for the treatment of skin injuries in Samoan folk medicine, their wound healing potential has not yet been systematically studied. AIM OF THE STUDY: Investigation into the in vitro antibacterial activity of ethanol extracts from 14 medicinal plants used in Samoan traditional medicine for the healing of wounds, burns and sores, and their effects on the proliferation and migration of human fibroblasts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The antibacterial activity of these extracts was tested against pathogens associated with infected skin injuries, using the broth microdilution method. The effect on migration, proliferation and viability of human dermal fibroblasts was evaluated using wound healing scratch assay, cell proliferation assay, and thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide cytotoxicity test. RESULTS: The extracts from Cerbera manghas, Commelina diffusa, Kleinhovia hospita, Mikania micrantha, Omalanthus nutans, Peperomia pellucida, Phymatosorus scolopendria, Piper graeffei, Psychotria insularum, and Schizostachyum glaucifolium inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus at the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ≥4 µg/mL, whereas C. manghas and P. pellucida produced the same MIC against both Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Among the antibacterially active species, C. diffusa, K. hospita, P. scolopendria, P. insularum, and S. glaucifolium did not produce toxicity towards the standard line of normal adult human dermal fibroblasts (IC80 > 128 µg/mL). In addition, extracts from Barringtonia asiatica, C. manghas, M. micrantha, O. nutans, P. insularum, and Piper graeffei stimulated significant migration of dermal fibroblasts, while M. micrantha, O. nutans, and P. insularum did not affect cell proliferation at a concentration of 32 µg/mL. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the above-mentioned species of Samoan medicinal plants can be used for the development of new wound healing agents. However, further phytochemical and pharmacological research is needed regarding the isolation and identification of their active constituents.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Cell Movement/drug effects , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Fibroblasts/drug effects , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Plants, Medicinal , Anti-Bacterial Agents/isolation & purification , Cell Movement/physiology , Cell Proliferation/physiology , Fibroblasts/physiology , Humans , Microbial Sensitivity Tests/methods , Plant Components, Aerial , Plant Extracts/isolation & purification , Samoa/ethnologyABSTRACT
This study was designed to elucidate physiological changes of skeletal muscle mitochondria from broiler chickens (Gallus gallus) during chronic heat exposure. Chickens (19-day-old) were exposed to either constant heat stress (34 degrees C) or kept at control temperature (24 degrees C) for 14days. Mitochondrial ROS production for control group showed little changes during the experimental periods, whereas that for the heat-stressed group was increased after 3, 5 and 9days of heat exposure and returned to original levels at day 14. Mitochondrial membrane potential in state 4 for heat-stressed birds was higher than those of control birds after 3 and 5days, but was not at day 14. Mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate in state 3 was increased after 3 and 5days, and also returned to original levels by day 14. These results suggest that chronic heat stress induces increased ROS production in skeletal muscle mitochondria, probably via elevation of the membrane potential in state 4, resulting from enhanced oxygen consumption in the initial stage of heat exposure. These physiological changes were no longer observed at day 14, possibly because the animals had acclimatized to environmental heat stress.
Subject(s)
Heat-Shock Response/physiology , Mitochondria, Muscle/metabolism , Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism , Animals , Chickens , Male , Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial , Oxygen ConsumptionABSTRACT
The authors report a case with two mycotic aneurysms in the cavernous portion of the internal carotid artery, presumably secondary to a transient bacteremia from pneumonia. The strikingly rapid development of the aneurysms was demonstrated by angiography. Painful total ophthalmoplegia and extophthalmos were the main clinical features.
