A Review of Herbal Medicine in Iranian Traditional Manuscripts for Treatment of Participatory Gastric Headache.

BACKGROUND: Participatory gastric headache is a type of headache described in Iranian traditional medicine. It is defined as a headache not originated from the head and neck disorders; rather the pain in the head is caused by gastric dysfunction and its disorders. Treatment of this type of headache is completely reliant on the treatment of the gastric complaint. Reviewing Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) literature, a broad spectrum of herbal medicines that could be useful in the treatment of this type of headache is described. Accordingly, this review was performed to gather and discuss the therapeutic management of this disorder in ITM and evaluating related characteristics of each medicinal herb. METHODS: In this study, medicinal plants prescribed for gastric headache from different ancient Iranian literature is documented. The botanical name, family name, part used, temperaments, rout of administration and dosage forms are provided in this article. RESULTS: About 40 plants, mainly used orally, were prescribed for the treatment of participatory gastric headache. Most of them have the astringent effect, which is related to their dryness temperament. Therefore, they could strengthen the stomach and prevent ascending vapors into the brain that in turn helps to get relief from headache. In addition, they possess reinforcement effect on the brain. CONCLUSION: In general, herbal medicines with tonic characteristics could be effective in participatory gastric headache.

Effect of a traditional syrup from Citrus medica L. fruit juice on migraine headache: A randomized double blind placebo controlled clinical trial.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: In Persian ethnomedicine several herbal remedies and functional foods have been used to treat migraine headache which are mostly summarized in Qarabadin-e-kabir (Aghili-Shirazi MH, 1773). One of them is Citron syrup (Sharbat-e-Balang) containing edible Citrus medica L. fruit juice and sugar. The present study was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of Citron syrup on patients with migraine headache. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Citron syrup was prepared as described in Qarabadin-e-kabir. In this double blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial, ninety patients with migraine headache were allocated to three parallel groups (Citron syrup, propranolol or placebo). Patients received 15ml of Citron syrup, placebo syrup or 20mg of propranolol tablet three times daily after a meal for 4 weeks. Primary outcomes were obtained from three measures: the frequency (per month), mean duration (hour) and mean intensity (visual analogue scale "VAS" 0-10 score) of headache attacks evaluated prior to and following 4 weeks of the intervention. RESULTS: Citron syrup was superior to placebo in reduction of headache attacks intensity (P<0.01) and duration (p<0.0001) and as effective as propranolol in patients with migraine headache (P>0.05). However, unlike propranolol, Citron syrup could not significantly reduce the frequency of attacks compared to placebo. No indication of any serious side effects from Citron syrup was observed. CONCLUSION: According to obtained results, Citron syrup as a traditional Persian remedy can be suggested as an effective treatment for decreasing pain intensity and duration of attacks in migraine headache and the effectiveness is comparable to propranolol. However, the syrup did not show significant effect on frequency of attacks.

Effects of Malva sylvestris and Its Isolated Polysaccharide on Experimental Ulcerative Colitis in Rats.

Malva sylvestris is an edible plant that is consumed as a herbal supplement for its antiulcer and colon cleansing properties in traditional Persian medicine. This study was designed to evaluate its effects on ulcerative colitis, which is a chronic gastrointestinal inflammation. Colitis was induced by rectal instillation of acetic acid solution. Rats in different groups received aqueous, n-hexane, or ethanolic fractions of the plant before induction of colitis. Isolated polysaccharide of plant was also tested in 2 groups before and after induction of colitis. Macroscopic and microscopic evaluation of colitis showed that the aqueous fraction was very effective in preventing the inflammation and efficacy was lower for ethanolic and n-hexane fractions. Polysaccharide was effective in reducing signs of inflammation, especially as pretreatment. These beneficial effects provide evidences that this plant can be suggested for patients with this disease to improve their health condition or to reduce adverse effects of their medication.

Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Studies of 4-Imidazolyl- 1,4-dihydropyridines as Calcium Channel Blockers.

OBJECTIVE(S): The structure- activity relationship of a series of 36 molecules, showing L-type calcium channel blocking was studied using a QSAR (quantitative structure-activity relationship) method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Structures were optimized by the semi-empirical AM1 quantum-chemical method which was also used to find structure-calcium channel blocking activity trends. Several types of descriptors, including electrotopological, structural and thermodynamics were used to derive a quantitative relationship between L-type calcium channel blocking activity and structural properties. The developed QSAR model contributed to a mechanistic understanding of the investigated biological effects. RESULTS: Multiple linear regressions (MLR) was employed to model the relationships between molecular descriptors and biological activities of molecules using stepwise method and genetic algorithm as variable selection tools. The accuracy of the proposed MLR model was illustrated using cross-validation, and Y-randomisation -as the evaluation techniques. CONCLUSION: The predictive ability of the model was found to be satisfactory and could be used for designing a similar group of 1,4- dihydropyridines , based on a pyridine structure core which can block calcium channels.

Synthesis, evaluation of pharmacological activities and quantitative structure-activity relationship studies of a novel group of bis(4-nitroaryl-1,4-dihyropyridine).

Voltage-dependent calcium channels are crucial targets for a wide range of clinically active pharmacological agents. From these agents, 1,4-dihydropyridines constitute a group of small organic compounds are based on a core pyridine structure which can both block and enhance calcium currents. They are considered specific for L-Type calcium channels; however, other channel types, and in particular certain T-Type channels, may show sensitivity to dihydropyridine compounds. In this study, we synthesized a novel group of bis-1,4-dihydropyridines using the procedure reported by Dagnino that involved the condensation of n-alkyl diacetoacetate (n = 2-7) with methyl-3-aminocrotonate and nitrophenylaldehyde. The synthesis was run under two conditions: (i) reflux and (ii) microwave. Calcium channels antagonist activity were determined in vitro using guinea-pig ileum longitudinal smooth muscle assay. Synthesis of these compounds was confirmed with 1H-NMR, IR and mass spectrometry. Then IC(50) of them are calculated and compared with Nifedipine. Finally, the result of this pharmacological assay was used in quantitative structure-activity relationship studies utilizing multiple linear regression analysis. Most of these compounds are less active compared with Nifedipine. Decrease in activity is the result of increase in steric hindrance. The quantitative structure-activity relationship study indicates that the activity is related to the electrostatic and topological parameters and the distance between two C5-esteric groups of 1,4-dihydropyridine rings.