Wound healing effects of Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) green husk on the incision wound model in rats.

Walnut green husk (WGH) has been mentioned as a wound-healing agent in traditional Iranian medicine. Although previous studies indicated that WGH is a good source of pharmaceutical ingredients, they did not assess its wound healing activity; so the present study set out the scientific validation of the wound healing potential of the Persian walnut. Total phenolic content, reducing power, DPPH, and nitric oxide scavenging activity of aqueous ethanol extract of WGH was evaluated. Forty-eight male Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups of 12 each. An incision wound was created on the dorsal region of each rat. WGH extract (20% w/w), WGH burnt residues (20% w/w), Eucerin, and Phenytoin ointments were used in each group. Wound length, contraction percentage, and histopathological evaluations were recorded on days 3, 7, 10, and 14. Total phenolic content and EC50 values of reducing power, DPPH and nitric oxide scavenging activity of the WGH extract were 61.34 ± 0.64 mg/g dry extract, 0.95 ± 0.02 mg/mL, 0.35 ± 0.01 mg/mL, and 0.28 ± 0.01 mg/mL, respectively. Treated animals with WGH extract showed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) better results for physical and pathological parameters compared to the control group; overall, WGH extract showed better results than WGH burnt residues. The present study indicated that the WGH aqueous ethanol extract has a promising potential for wound healing in the animal model and could be a valuable resource for developing new wound-healing medicines for humans.

Analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of hydroalcoholic extracts of Malva sylvestris, Carum carvi or Medicago sativa, and their combination in a rat model.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of the hydroalcoholic extracts of Malva sylvestris flowers or Carum carvi and Medicago sativa seeds, alone and in combination, which have been used in traditional Iranian medicine. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were divided into 6 treatment groups: distilled water, sodium salicylate (SS), M. sylvestris extract (600 mg/kg), C. carvi extract (600 mg/kg), M. sativa extract (300 mg/kg) and combined extract (including 300 mg/kg M. sylvestris and C. carvi extracts, and 150 mg/kg M. sativa extract). The formalin pain model was used to evaluate the antinociceptive effects of the treatments. For anti-inflammatory effect, acute (one hour after injection) and chronic (during a week after injection) paw inflammation was measured after subcutaneous injection of 2.5% formalin in the hindpaw. Finally, tissue samples from all groups were prepared for histopathological studies. RESULTS: The combined extract significantly inhibited the nociception in the acute phase of the formalin test (P < 0.001). In the chronic phase, all the extracts and SS had significant analgesic effect (P < 0.001). Analgesic activity of the combined extract was significantly stronger than SS (P < 0.01). In the acute inflammation model, M. sylvestris, C. carvi and the combined drug had significant inhibitory effects against paw edema (P < 0.05). All extracts, individually and in combination, significantly alleviated chronic paw inflammation (P < 0.01). The combined extract had much more anti-inflammatory activity than SS (P < 0.05). Histopathological results indicated improvement and reduction of inflammatory factors in the treatment groups. CONCLUSION: M. sylvestris, C. carvi and M. sativa have analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Potentially, each of these extracts or a mixture of them might be a valuable alternative drug to control pain and inflammation.

Therapeutic effects of hydro-alcoholic extract of Achillea wilhelmsii C. Koch on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in rats: a proteomic and metabolomic approach.

BACKGROUND: Gastric ulcer is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide. In Iranian folk medicine, Achillea wilhelmsii (AW) is used as a treatment for gastric ulcer. Previous reports also mentioned Antiulcerogenic properties for this herbal plant. This study investigated the therapeutic effects of Achillea wilhelmsii C. Koch extract on indomethacin-induced gastric lesion in rats, from both proteomic and metabolomic perspectives. METHODS: The rats were divided into 4 groups. Gastric ulceration was induced by a single dose of indomethacin (45 mg/kg) by oral gavage. An amount of 800 mg/kg of AW extract was administered orally. Serum and tissue samples were collected for further investigations. The metabolomic study was performed by 1H-NMR CPMG spectrometry. Proteomic analysis was also executed by using two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) followed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS/MS). Real time PCR was used to confirm some of the genes. RESULTS: The macroscopic and microscopic investigations confirmed the effectiveness of the AW extract. There was a panel of metabolites which showed alteration during gastric lesion development. The levels of some of these metabolite reversed nearly to their control values after the administration of AW extract. There were also changes in the levels of some proteins including Alb, Fabp5, Hspb1, Tagln, Lgals7, Csta and Myl9 which were reversed after AW administration. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that Achillea wilhelmsii C. Koch extract could be a potential therapy to be used for indomethacin-induced gastric lesion treatment in the future. However, further investigations are needed to confirm the results.