Comparison of the Effect of Hydroalcholic Extract of Alhagi maurorum and Hydrochlorothiazide on Excretion of 4-10 mm Kidney and Ureteral Stones in Adults: A Randomized Prospective Study.

Objective: The prevalence of kidney stones and their complications is high. The review of the literature showed the therapeutic effects of Alhagi maurorum extract on urinary tract stones. This study reviewed the Alhagi plant's hydroalcholic extract's effect on eliminating kidney and ureteral stones compared to hydrochlorothiazide. Materials and Methods: In this randomized prospective study, from March 2019 to September 2021, 80 patients over 18 years of age with kidney stones in the upper ureter with a size of 4-10 mm were divided into two groups based on the block random allocation method. The first group received hydrochlorothiazide tablets (50 mg), and the second group received 1 gram/day of the hydroalcholic areal extract of Alhagi maurorum in a two-divided capsule. The mean size and number of stones, renal function tests, and side effects were checked and compared in both groups before and after the study. Results: Mean age, sex, serum urea level (P=0.351), serum creatinine (P=0.393), stone size (P=0178), and the number of stones (P=0.052) before intervention were similar. After intervention, the size and number of stones diminished, up to 70% in both groups. However, there was not a statistically significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion: The study showed that Alhagi maurorum is as effective as hydrochlorothiazide in treatment of kidney and ureteral stones with no significant complications and is promising.

Evaluation of the protective potential of hydroalcoholic extract of Thymus daenensis on acetaminophen-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

BACKGROUND: Acetaminophen (APAP) is an antinociceptive and antipyretic drug that can be useful in therapeutic doses, although it can cause serious damage to the kidney if used overdose. The current study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of Thymus daenensis (TD) extract on APAP-induced kidney damage in rats. METHODS: Thirty female Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: control, APAP (3 g/kg), TD (500 mg/kg), APAP + TD (500 mg/kg), and APAP + N- acetylcysteine (140 mg/kg). The APAP groups received APAP on the 6th day and the rats were sacrificed on the 7th day. Plasma levels of creatinine (Cr) and urea were measured. Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), nitric oxide (NO) metabolite, total thiol (T-SH), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and antioxidant enzymes activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT) were measured in kidney tissue. The gene expression of TNF-α was also measured by real-time PCR. The histological examination of kidney tissue was also performed. RESULTS: Results showed that urea, Cr and FRAP markers markedly elevated in the APAP rats compared with the control group. There was a significant decrease in T-SH levels in the APAP animals in comparison with the control group. CAT activity also augmented in the APAP group compared to the control group. Urea and Cr levels were significantly decreased in the APAP + TD group in comparison with the APAP group. The administration of TD extract significantly increased the SOD enzyme activity. Histological findings were improved in the group treated with TD extract. CONCLUSION: In general, the results indicate that TD extract can protect against APAP-induced nephrotoxicity by improving biochemical, histological and antioxidant effects. However, more studies are required to determine the mechanism of this extract.

Facile preparation of a novel biogenic silver-loaded Nanofilm with intrinsic anti-bacterial and oxidant scavenging activities for wound healing.

To eliminate the microbial infection from an injury site, various modalities have been developed such as dressings and human skin substitutes. However, the high amount of reactive oxygen species, microbial infection, and damaging extracellular matrix remain as the main challenges for the wound healing process. In this study, for the first time, green synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Teucrium polium extract were embedded in poly lactic acid/poly ethylene glycol (PLA/PEG) film to provide absorbable wound dressing, with antioxidant and antibacterial features. The physicochemical analysis demonstrated, production of AgNPs with size approximately 32.2 nm and confirmed the presence of phytoconstituents on their surface. The antibacterial assessments exhibited a concentration-dependent sensitivity of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa toward biosynthesized AgNPs, which showed a suitable safety profile in human macrophage cells. Furthermore, oxidant scavenging assays demonstrated exploitation of plant extract as a reducing agent, endows antioxidant activity to biogenic AgNPs. The formation of PLA/PEG nanofilm and entrapment of AgNPs into their matrix were clearly confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. More importantly, antibacterial examination demonstrated that the introduction of biogenic AgNPs into PLA/PEG nanofibers led to complete growth inhibition of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. In summary, the simultaneous antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity of the novel biogenic AgNPs/PLA/PEG nanofilm showed its potential for application as wound dressing.

Antioxidant and protective effect of Stachys pilifera Benth against nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin in rats.

The aim of current study was to assess the antioxidant and renoprotective effects of Stachys pilifera Benth (S.P.B.) hydroalcoholic extract on nephrotoxicity induced with cisplatin (CP). Adult rats with bodyweight of 180-220 g were divided into five groups (n = 7) treated as follows: group 1, control; group 2, CP; group 3, pretreatment with S.P.B. before CP; group 4, posttreatment with S.P.B. after CP; and, group 5, S.P.B. extract. A single dose of CP (7 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected on the fifth day and hydroalcoholic extract of S.P.B. (500 mg kg-1  day-1 ) was orally administered. The levels of oxidative stress markers, biochemical tests, and histopathological staining were assayed in serum and renal tissue. Also, the chemical composition of S.P.B. extract was determined by GC-MS analysis. The main compositions of S.P.B. extract identified by GC-MS analysis, were hexadeca-2,6,10,14-tetraen-1-ol, 3,7,11,16-tetramethyl (24.77%), thymol (14.1%), and linolenic acid (13.4%). In groups treated and pretreated with S.P.B., blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, malondialdehyde, and nitric oxide metabolite in serum as well as malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl content of kidney tissues were significantly decreased in comparison to CP group; in contrast, total thiol group showed a significant increase in treated group as compared to CP group. Furthermore, histological investigation indicated that treatment with S.P.B. improved renal damages induced by CP. The current study showed that S.P.B. hydroalcoholic extract improved the biochemical parameters and kidney function as well as restored antioxidant activity in CP-induced nephrotoxicity. However, it needs more investigations to define the mechanism of S.P.B. action. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: In different regions of Iran, Stachys is demonstrated by 34 species, out of which 13 are endemic, one of these endemic species is Stachys pilifera Benth (S.P.B.). The oil of S.P.B. is mainly consisted of cis-chrysanthenyl acetate, cis-chrysanthenol, spathulenol, ß-caryophyllene, linalool, and terpinen-4-ol. Moreover, phytochemical studies have shown the presence of compounds such as diterpenes, phenylethanoid glycosides, saponins, terpenoides, and flavonoids in Stachys species. The aerial parts of S.P.B. are consumed as herbal tea to treat several disorders, for example, infections, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis in Iranian folk medicine. The aim of current study was to evaluate the antioxidant and protective effects of S.P.B. hydroalcoholic extract on nephrotoxicity induced with cisplatin (CP). The current study showed that S.P.B. hydroalcoholic extract improved the biochemical parameters and kidney function as well as restored antioxidant activity in CP-induced nephrotoxicity. However, it needs more researches to define the mechanism of S.P.B. action.

Ultrasound combined with manganese-oxide nanoparticles loaded on activated carbon for extraction and pre-concentration of thymol and carvacrol in methanolic extracts of Thymus daenensis, Salvia officinalis, Stachys pilifera, Satureja khuzistanica, and mentha, and water samples.

A dispersive micro solid-phase extraction (DMSPE) technique was developed using manganese-oxide nanoparticles loaded on activated carbon (Mn3O4-NPs-AC) as an effective sorbent combined with ultrasound for the extraction and determination of a trace amount of thymol and carvacrol in methanolic extracts of Thymus daenensis, Salvia officinalis, Stachys pilifera, Satureja khuzistanica and mentha, and water samples. Thymol and carvacrol phenolic compounds were extracted from real samples using acetonitrile (ACN) as the desorption solvent. Using central composite design (CCD), the effects of pH, ionic strength (NaCl), nano-sorbent mass, contact time, and desorption volume were investigated. Additionally, based on five-level variables, response surface methodology was used to determine the individual and interactive effects between factors on the process. The optimized extraction conditions included 12 mg of Mn3O4-NPs-AC as the sorbent, 300 µL of ACN as the desorption solvent, pH 3.0, 0.5 w/v% of NaCl, and 4.5 min sonication time. Under the optimized conditions, for all the samples, the limits of detection were 0.054-0.104 ng mL-1 and the limits of quantification were 0.178-0.345 ng mL-1. The correlation coefficients of the calibration curves were >0.985, i.e. in the range of 0.4-6000 ng mL-1. To validate the effects of the matrix, the recovery, reproducibility, repeatability, and overall uncertainty were calculated for the five methanolic extracts, at 50, 100, and 500 ng mL-1. The recovery ranged between 94.5% and 109.0% with a relative standard deviation of <8.0% for the repeatability and reproducibility precision, which strongly supports the favorable repeatability and reproducibility of the method. The presented method also has the excellent sorbent features of NPs for the sorption of the analyte, which is due to the use of ultrasound for dispersion of the material in the sample matrix.