The effect of simvastatin-Acalypha indica Linn. combination on the improvement of fatty pancreas in rats induced with a high fructose and cholesterol diet.

Objective: The study aimed to determine the effect of Acalypha indica Linn. (AI) root extract and a combination of simvastatin-AI on improving the fatty pancreas in Sprague-Dawley rats induced with a high fructose and cholesterol diet. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were induced with a high fructose and cholesterol diet for 4 weeks before being divided into four groups. Each group receiving treatments consisting of simvastatin only, A. indica extracts only, or simvastatin-A. indica extract combination. A histological examination was conducted to determine the effect of each treatment. Also, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc Bonferroni test were conducted to assess the comparison of groups from the histological examination. Results: Significant improvement was found in fatty pancreas between rats without therapy and rats treated with simvastatin therapy (p = 0.024, 95% CI: 0.038-0.696), and also between rats without treatment and rats treated with simvastatin-A. indica extract combination therapy (p = 0.000, 95% CI: 0.241-0.873) using one-way ANOVA and the post-hoc Bonferroni test. Conclusions: The results of the combination of simvastatin-A. indica Linn. root extracts treatment showed a synergistic effect on the improvement of fatty pancreas, but further research is needed to find potential adverse effects on the interaction of these two substrates to confirm the safe use of this treatment.

In-vitro antioxidant, in-vivo anti-inflammatory, and acute toxicity study of Indonesian propolis capsule from Tetragonula sapiens.

Propolis is widely used as traditional medicine since ancient times. It was necessary to conduct the pre-clinical study because of its relevant curative properties. This study aimed to investigate in-vitro antioxidant, standardize quality parameters, study acute toxicity, and determine in-vivo anti-inflammatory. Three spectrophotometric methods were used to determine antioxidant activity. The standardization includes physical, chemical, and microbiological evaluation. Furthermore, an acute toxicity test was conducted using 20 female Sprague Dawley (SD) strain rats divided into 4 groups with different dose of propolis. The in vivo anti-inflammatory test was carried out using the carrageenan induction method on rats' soles. A total of 36 female SD rats were classified into 6 groups as follows, Group normal, negative control, diclofenac sodium, and three propolis groups (72; 144; and 288 mg/kg BW). The results demonstrated the IC50 values of the DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity 9.694 ppm and 2.213 ppm, respectively. The FRAP reducing power was 189.05 mg AaE/g. The physical appearance of propolis capsule was vegicaps as white - white, size 0, with light brown granule. Moreover, the content weight was 418.88 mg with a disintegration time of 7 min 53 s, while the water, flavonoid, and polyphenol contents were 9.07%, 1.59%, and 98.0821 mg GAE/g respectively. The content of heavy metal and microbial contamination were not detected. The acute toxicity results showed LD50 ≥ 5 g/kg BW, no toxicity symptoms, and no abnormalities in all rats. The anti-inflammatory inhibition percentage for groups III, IV, V, and VI was 11.86%, 6.53%, 7.81%, and 6.63% respectively, while the anti-inflammatory drugs effectiveness percentage compared to positive controls were 55.00%, 65.83%, and 55.83% respectively. Based on these results, it can be concluded that propolis capsules fulfilled the standardization requirements, and it is likely to be non-toxic, and effective as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

The beneficial effect of Indonesian propolis wax from Tetragonula sp. as a therapy in limited vaginal candidiasis patients.

Vaginal candidiasis characterized by abnormal vaginal discharge and itching usually treated by azole's drug or nystatin; however, some results of treatment are unsatisfied and become recurrent. Propolis containing polyphenols and flavonoids is known to have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity. This study investigated the effect of Indonesian propolis wax from Tetragonula sp. as a therapy in limited vaginal candidiasis patients. The subjects were women who came to the Tasik Community Health Centre met the inclusion criteria such as clinical complaint and laboratory evaluation (positive hyphae/pseudohyphae and culture on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) medium) from a vaginal swab. Evaluation of anti-candida effect of propolis was determined by clinical remission and the absence of Candida's growth on SDA medium. Forty subjects were randomly assigned to those receiving treatment by ovule propolis (n = 20) and that treatment by nystatin (n = 20) as a control, once daily, for seven days, respectively. All methods have been approved by the Ethics Commission of the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia. Our results indicated no significant difference in the laboratory evaluation of patients who have treated ovule propolis compared to standard therapy. This study suggests that propolis wax has a beneficial effect to develop as an anti-candida agent for vaginal candidiasis therapy.

Anti-inflammatory activity of Tetragronula species from Indonesia.

Anti-inflammatory drugs inhibit inflammation, particularly those classified as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Several studies have reported that propolis has both anti-ulcerogenic and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the bioactive compound and in vivo anti-inflammatory properties of both smooth and rough propolis from Tetragronula sp. To further identify anti-inflammatory markers in propolis, LC-MS/MS was used, and results were analyzed by Mass Lynx 4.1. Rough and smooth propolis of Tetragonula sp. were microcapsulated with maltodextrin and arabic gum. Propolis microcapsules at dose 25-200 mg/kg were applied for carrageenan-induced rat's paw-inflammation model. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests. LC-MS/MS experiments identified seven anti-inflammatory compounds, including [6]-dehydrogingerdione, alpha-tocopherol succinate, adhyperforin, 6-epiangustifolin, deoxypodophyllotoxin, kurarinone, and xanthoxyletin. Our results indicated that smooth propolis at 50 mg/kg inhibited inflammation to the greatest extent, followed by rough propolis at a dose of 25 mg/kg. SPM and RPM with the dose of 25 mg/kg had inflammatory inhibition value of 62.24% and 58.12%, respectively, which is comparable with the value 70.26% of sodium diclofenac with the dose of 135 mg/kg. This study suggests that propolis has the potential candidate to develop as a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug.