Antacid effects of Chinese herbal prescriptions assessed by a modified artificial stomach model

PubMed Central

Wu, Tsung-Hsiu; Chen, I-Chin; Chen, Lih-Chi

2010-01-01

AIM: To assess the antacid effects of the tonic Chinese herbal prescriptions, Si-Jun-Zi-Tang (SJZT) and Shen-Ling-Bai-Zhu-San (SLBZS). METHODS: Decoctions of the tonic Chinese herbal prescriptions, SJZT and SLBZS, were prepared according to Chinese original documents. The pH of the prescription decoctions and their neutralizing effects on artificial gastric acids were determined and compared with water and the active controls, sodium bicarbonate and colloidal aluminum phosphate. A modified model of Vatier’s artificial stomach was used to determine the duration of consistent neutralization effect on artificial gastric acids. The neutralization capacity in vitro was determined with the titration method of Fordtran’s model. RESULTS: The results showed that both SJZT and SLBZS have antacid effects in vitro. Compared with the water group, SJZT and SLBZS were found to possess significant gastric acid neutralizing effects. The duration for consistent neutralization of SLBZS was significantly longer than that of water. Also, SLBZS and SJZT exhibited significant antacid capacities compared to water. CONCLUSION: SJZT and SLBZS were consistently active in the artificial stomach model and are suggested to have antacid effects similar to the active control drugs. PMID:20845514

Modulation of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors by synaptic and tonic zinc.

PubMed

Anderson, Charles T; Radford, Robert J; Zastrow, Melissa L; Zhang, Daniel Y; Apfel, Ulf-Peter; Lippard, Stephen J; Tzounopoulos, Thanos

2015-05-19

Many excitatory synapses contain high levels of mobile zinc within glutamatergic vesicles. Although synaptic zinc and glutamate are coreleased, it is controversial whether zinc diffuses away from the release site or whether it remains bound to presynaptic membranes or proteins after its release. To study zinc transmission and quantify zinc levels, we required a high-affinity rapid zinc chelator as well as an extracellular ratiometric fluorescent zinc sensor. We demonstrate that tricine, considered a preferred chelator for studying the role of synaptic zinc, is unable to efficiently prevent zinc from binding low-nanomolar zinc-binding sites, such as the high-affinity zinc-binding site found in NMDA receptors (NMDARs). Here, we used ZX1, which has a 1 nM zinc dissociation constant and second-order rate constant for binding zinc that is 200-fold higher than those for tricine and CaEDTA. We find that synaptic zinc is phasically released during action potentials. In response to short trains of presynaptic stimulation, synaptic zinc diffuses beyond the synaptic cleft where it inhibits extrasynaptic NMDARs. During higher rates of presynaptic stimulation, released glutamate activates additional extrasynaptic NMDARs that are not reached by synaptically released zinc, but which are inhibited by ambient, tonic levels of nonsynaptic zinc. By performing a ratiometric evaluation of extracellular zinc levels in the dorsal cochlear nucleus, we determined the tonic zinc levels to be low nanomolar. These results demonstrate a physiological role for endogenous synaptic as well as tonic zinc in inhibiting extrasynaptic NMDARs and thereby fine tuning neuronal excitability and signaling.

Modulation of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors by synaptic and tonic zinc

PubMed Central

Anderson, Charles T.; Radford, Robert J.; Zastrow, Melissa L.; Zhang, Daniel Y.; Apfel, Ulf-Peter; Lippard, Stephen J.; Tzounopoulos, Thanos

2015-01-01

Many excitatory synapses contain high levels of mobile zinc within glutamatergic vesicles. Although synaptic zinc and glutamate are coreleased, it is controversial whether zinc diffuses away from the release site or whether it remains bound to presynaptic membranes or proteins after its release. To study zinc transmission and quantify zinc levels, we required a high-affinity rapid zinc chelator as well as an extracellular ratiometric fluorescent zinc sensor. We demonstrate that tricine, considered a preferred chelator for studying the role of synaptic zinc, is unable to efficiently prevent zinc from binding low-nanomolar zinc-binding sites, such as the high-affinity zinc-binding site found in NMDA receptors (NMDARs). Here, we used ZX1, which has a 1 nM zinc dissociation constant and second-order rate constant for binding zinc that is 200-fold higher than those for tricine and CaEDTA. We find that synaptic zinc is phasically released during action potentials. In response to short trains of presynaptic stimulation, synaptic zinc diffuses beyond the synaptic cleft where it inhibits extrasynaptic NMDARs. During higher rates of presynaptic stimulation, released glutamate activates additional extrasynaptic NMDARs that are not reached by synaptically released zinc, but which are inhibited by ambient, tonic levels of nonsynaptic zinc. By performing a ratiometric evaluation of extracellular zinc levels in the dorsal cochlear nucleus, we determined the tonic zinc levels to be low nanomolar. These results demonstrate a physiological role for endogenous synaptic as well as tonic zinc in inhibiting extrasynaptic NMDARs and thereby fine tuning neuronal excitability and signaling. PMID:25947151

Evidence for the tonic inhibition of spinal pain by nicotinic cholinergic transmission through primary afferents

PubMed Central

Matsumoto, Misaki; Xie, Weijiao; Inoue, Makoto; Ueda, Hiroshi

2007-01-01

Background We have proposed that nerve injury-specific loss of spinal tonic cholinergic inhibition may play a role in the analgesic effects of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists on neuropathic pain. However, the tonic cholinergic inhibition of pain remains to be well characterized. Results Here, we show that choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) signals were localized not only in outer dorsal horn fibers (lamina I–III) and motor neurons in the spinal cord, but also in the vast majority of neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). When mice were treated with an antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AS-ODN) against ChAT, which decreased ChAT signals in the dorsal horn and DRG, but not in motor neurons, they showed a significant decrease in nociceptive thresholds in paw pressure and thermal paw withdrawal tests. Furthermore, in a novel electrical stimulation-induced paw withdrawal (EPW) test, the thresholds for stimulation through C-, Aδ- and Aβ-fibers were all decreased by AS-ODN-pretreatments. The administration of nicotine (10 nmol i.t.) induced a recovery of the nociceptive thresholds, decreased by the AS-ODN, in the mechanical, thermal and EPW tests. However, nicotine had no effects in control mice or treated with a mismatch scramble (MS)-ODN in all of these nociception tests. Conclusion These findings suggest that primary afferent cholinergic neurons produce tonic inhibition of spinal pain through nAChR activation, and that intrathecal administration of nicotine rescues the loss of tonic cholinergic inhibition. PMID:18088441

Ventral pallidum deep brain stimulation attenuates acute partial, generalized and tonic-clonic seizures in two rat models.

PubMed

Mahoney, Emily C; Zeng, Andrew; Yu, Wilson; Rowe, Mackenzie; Sahai, Siddhartha; Feustel, Paul J; Ramirez-Zamora, Adolfo; Pilitsis, Julie G; Shin, Damian S

2018-05-01

Approximately 30% of individuals with epilepsy are refractory to antiepileptic drugs and currently approved neuromodulatory approaches fall short of providing seizure freedom for many individuals with limited utility for generalized seizures. Here, we expand on previous findings and investigate whether ventral pallidum deep brain stimulation (VP-DBS) can be efficacious for various acute seizure phenotypes. For rats administered pilocarpine, we found that VP-DBS (50 Hz) decreased generalized stage 4/5 seizure median frequency from 9 to 6 and total duration from 1667 to 264 s even after generalized seizures emerged. The transition to brainstem seizures was prevented in almost all animals. VP-DBS immediately after rats exhibited their first partial forebrain stage 3 seizure did not affect the frequency of partial seizures but reduced median partial seizure duration from 271 to 54 s. Stimulation after partial seizures also reduced the occurrence and duration of secondarily generalized stage 4/5 seizures. VP-DBS prior to pilocarpine administration prevented the appearance of partial seizures in almost all animals. Lastly, VP-DBS delayed the onset of generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCSs) from 111 to 823 s in rats administered another chemoconvulsant, pentylenetetrazol (PTZ, 90 mg/kg). In this particular rat seizure model, stimulating electrodes placed more laterally in both VP hemispheres and more posterior in the left VP hemisphere provided greatest efficacy for GTCSs. In conclusion, our findings posit that VP-DBS can serve as an effective novel neuromodulatory approach for a variety of acute seizure phenotypes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Burst spinal cord stimulation evaluated in patients with failed back surgery syndrome and painful diabetic neuropathy.

PubMed

de Vos, Cecile C; Bom, Marjanne J; Vanneste, Sven; Lenders, Mathieu W P M; de Ridder, Dirk

2014-02-01

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is used for treating intractable neuropathic pain. Generally, it induces paresthesia in the area covered by SCS. Burst SCS was introduced as a new stimulation paradigm with good pain relief without causing paresthesia. Good results have been obtained in patients who were naive to SCS. In this study we assess the effectiveness of burst stimulation in three groups of chronic pain patients who are already familiar with SCS and the accompanying paresthesia. Forty-eight patients with at least six months of conventional, tonic stimulation tested burst stimulation for a period of two weeks. They were classified in three different groups: a cross-section of our population with painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN), a cross-section of our population with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS), and FBSS patients who over time had become poor responders (PR) to SCS. Visual analog scale scores for pain were assessed prior to implantation, with tonic stimulation, and after two weeks of burst stimulation. Burst stimulation reduced pain significantly for almost all patients. When compared with tonic stimulation, burst stimulation led to a significant additional pain reduction of on average 44% in patients with PDN (p < 0.001) and 28% in patients with FBSS (p < 0.01). Patients from the PR group benefitted less from burst stimulation on average. In addition, burst stimulation caused little or no paresthesia whereas tonic stimulation did induce paresthesia. Most patients preferred burst stimulation, but several preferred tonic stimulation because the paresthesia assured them that the SCS was working. About 60% of the patients with tonic SCS experienced further pain reduction upon application of burst stimulation. © 2013 International Neuromodulation Society.

Role of support afferentation in control of the tonic muscle activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozlovskaya, I. B.; Sayenko, I. V.; Sayenko, D. G.; Miller, T. F.; Khusnutdinova, D. R.; Melnik, K. A.

2007-02-01

The paper summarizes the results of experimental studies advocating for the leading role of support afferentation in control of the functional organization of the tonic muscle system. It is shown that transition to supportless conditions is followed by a significant decline of transverse stiffness and maximal voluntary force of postural (extensor) muscles limiting their participation in locomotion and increasing involvement of phasic muscles. Mechanical stimulation of the support zones of the soles under the supportless conditions eliminates all the above-mentioned effects, including changes in transverse stiffness and maximal voluntary forces of postural muscles, and consequent loss of influence of postural muscles in the locomotor activity. It is suggested that support afferentation, facilitating (support is present) or suppressing (support is absent) the tonic motor units (MUs) activities, defines the coordination patterns of postural synergies, and ensures the optimal strategy of corrective postural responses.

Herbal medicines for osteoarthritis.

PubMed

2012-01-01

Osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of pain and disability. In the UK, up to 8.5 million people are affected by joint pain that may be attributed to the condition. Non-surgical treatment options include lifestyle measures (e.g. exercise); local therapy involving heat or cold; manual therapy; transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS); topical capsaicin; simple analgesics; NSAIDs; opioids; and intra-articular corticosteroid injections. Studies have reported widespread use of complementary and alternative therapies such as herbal medicines by patients with arthritis. Here we review the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines for symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Context-Dependent Modulation of GABAAR-Mediated Tonic Currents

PubMed Central

Patel, Bijal; Bright, Damian P.; Mortensen, Martin; Frølund, Bente

2016-01-01

Tonic GABA currents mediated by high-affinity extrasynaptic GABAA receptors, are increasingly recognized as important regulators of cell and neuronal network excitability. Dysfunctional GABAA receptor signaling that results in modified tonic GABA currents is associated with a number of neurological disorders. Consequently, developing compounds to selectively modulate the activity of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors underlying tonic inhibition is likely to prove therapeutically useful. Here, we examine the GABAA receptor subtype selectivity of the weak partial agonist, 5-(4-piperidyl)isoxazol-3-ol (4-PIOL), as a potential mechanism for modulating extrasynaptic GABAA receptor-mediated tonic currents. By using recombinant GABAA receptors expressed in HEK293 cells, and native GABAA receptors of cerebellar granule cells, hippocampal neurons, and thalamic relay neurons, 4-PIOL evidently displayed differential agonist and antagonist-type profiles, depending on the extrasynaptic GABAA receptor isoforms targeted. For neurons, this resulted in differential modulation of GABA tonic currents, depending on the cell type studied, their respective GABAA receptor subunit compositions, and critically, on the ambient GABA levels. Unexpectedly, 4-PIOL revealed a significant population of relatively low-affinity γ2 subunit-containing GABAA receptors in the thalamus, which can contribute to tonic inhibition under specific conditions when GABA levels are raised. Together, these data indicate that partial agonists, such as 4-PIOL, may be useful for modulating GABAA receptor-mediated tonic currents, but the direction and extent of this modulation is strongly dependent on relative expression levels of different extrasynaptic GABAA receptor subtypes, and on the ambient GABA levels. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A background level of inhibition (tonic) is important in the brain for controlling neuronal excitability. Increased levels of tonic inhibition are associated with some neurological disorders

[Development of throat clearing herbal teas].

PubMed

Puodziūniene, Gene; Janulis, Valdimaras; Milasius, Arvydas; Budnikas, Milasius

2004-01-01

Medicinal herbs in tea for throat clearing are used from ancient times. Taking into consideration the bronchial mucus secretion stimulating and antispasmodic, antimicrobial, antiphlogistic and stimulating effect on the ciliated epithelium two new formulations of throat clearing herbal tea were originated. The first formulation consists of liquorice roots, sweet fennel and thyme, and the second one consists of pine gemmae, thyme and elder flowers. The methods for identification and assay of the active substances of the components were adapted. The purity of the mixtures was regulated by the limitation of the loss on drying, total ash, microbial contamination, contamination with radionuclides, heavy metals, pesticides and foreign matter. Expiry date of both throat clearing herbal teas was confirmed to be 2 years.

Effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on motor cortex excitability upon release of tonic muscle contraction.

PubMed

Sugawara, Kenichi; Tanabe, Shigeo; Suzuki, Tomotaka; Higashi, Toshio

The aim of the present study was to investigate the neurophysiological triggers underlying muscle relaxation from the contracted state, and to examine the mechanisms involved in this process and their subsequent modification by neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES). Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to produce motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) in 23 healthy participants, wherein motor cortex excitability was examined at the onset of voluntary muscle relaxation following a period of voluntary tonic muscle contraction. In addition, the effects of afferent input on motor cortex excitability, as produced by NMES during muscle contraction, were examined. In particular, two NMES intensities were used for analysis: 1.2 times the sensory threshold and 1.2 times the motor threshold (MT). Participants were directed to execute constant wrist extensions and to release muscle contraction in response to an auditory "GO" signal. MEPs were recorded from the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) and extensor carpi radialis (ECR) muscles, and TMS was applied at three different time intervals (30, 60, and 90 ms) after the "GO" signal. Motor cortex excitability was greater during voluntary ECR and FCR relaxation using high-intensity NMES, and relaxation time was decreased. Each parameter differed significantly between 30 and 60 ms. Moreover, in both muscles, SICI was larger in the presence than in the absence of NMES. Therefore, the present findings suggest that terminating a muscle contraction triggers transient neurophysiological mechanisms that facilitate the NMES-induced modulation of cortical motor excitability in the period prior to muscle relaxation. High-intensity NMES might facilitate motor cortical excitability as a function of increased inhibitory intracortical activity, and therefore serve as a transient trigger for the relaxation of prime mover muscles in a therapeutic context.

Herbal Energizers: Speed By Any Other Name.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenkins, Andrew P.

This guide focuses on over-the-counter (OTC) stimulants sold to high school aged athletes and dieters as "herbal energizers," food supplements, and fatigue reducers. While advertising often makes them appear healthful and harmless, all of these stimulants belong in the class "sympathomimetic amines," so called because they…

An integrative theory of the phasic and tonic modes of dopamine modulation in the prefrontal cortex.

PubMed

Dreher, Jean-Claude; Burnod, Yves

2002-01-01

This paper presents a model of both tonic and phasic dopamine (DA) effects on maintenance of working memory representations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The central hypothesis is that DA modulates the efficacy of inputs to prefrontal pyramidal neurons to prevent interferences for active maintenance. Phasic DA release, due to DA neurons discharges, acts at a short time-scale (a few seconds), while the tonic mode of DA release, independent of DA neurons firing, acts at a long time-scale (a few minutes). The overall effect of DA modulation is modeled as a threshold restricting incoming inputs arriving on PFC neurons. Phasic DA release temporary increases this threshold while tonic DA release progressively increases the basal level of this threshold. Thus, unlike the previous gating theory of phasic DA release, proposing that it facilitates incoming inputs at the time of their arrival, the effect of phasic DA release is supposed to restrict incoming inputs during a period of time after DA neuron discharges. The model links the cellular and behavioral levels during performance of a working memory task. It allows us to understand why a critical range of DA D1 receptors stimulation is required for optimal working memory performance and how D1 receptor agonists (respectively antagonists) increase perseverations (respectively distractability). Finally, the model leads to several testable predictions, including that the PFC regulates DA neurons firing rate to adapt to the delay of the task and that increase in tonic DA release may either improve or decrease performance, depending on the level of DA receptors stimulation at the beginning of the task.

Context-Dependent Modulation of GABAAR-Mediated Tonic Currents.

PubMed

Patel, Bijal; Bright, Damian P; Mortensen, Martin; Frølund, Bente; Smart, Trevor G

2016-01-13

Tonic GABA currents mediated by high-affinity extrasynaptic GABAA receptors, are increasingly recognized as important regulators of cell and neuronal network excitability. Dysfunctional GABAA receptor signaling that results in modified tonic GABA currents is associated with a number of neurological disorders. Consequently, developing compounds to selectively modulate the activity of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors underlying tonic inhibition is likely to prove therapeutically useful. Here, we examine the GABAA receptor subtype selectivity of the weak partial agonist, 5-(4-piperidyl)isoxazol-3-ol (4-PIOL), as a potential mechanism for modulating extrasynaptic GABAA receptor-mediated tonic currents. By using recombinant GABAA receptors expressed in HEK293 cells, and native GABAA receptors of cerebellar granule cells, hippocampal neurons, and thalamic relay neurons, 4-PIOL evidently displayed differential agonist and antagonist-type profiles, depending on the extrasynaptic GABAA receptor isoforms targeted. For neurons, this resulted in differential modulation of GABA tonic currents, depending on the cell type studied, their respective GABAA receptor subunit compositions, and critically, on the ambient GABA levels. Unexpectedly, 4-PIOL revealed a significant population of relatively low-affinity γ2 subunit-containing GABAA receptors in the thalamus, which can contribute to tonic inhibition under specific conditions when GABA levels are raised. Together, these data indicate that partial agonists, such as 4-PIOL, may be useful for modulating GABAA receptor-mediated tonic currents, but the direction and extent of this modulation is strongly dependent on relative expression levels of different extrasynaptic GABAA receptor subtypes, and on the ambient GABA levels. A background level of inhibition (tonic) is important in the brain for controlling neuronal excitability. Increased levels of tonic inhibition are associated with some neurological disorders but there are no

Tonic blood pressure modulates the relationship between baroreceptor cardiac reflex sensitivity and cognitive performance.

PubMed

Del Paso, Gustavo A Reyes; González, M Isabel; Hernández, José Antonio; Duschek, Stefan; Gutiérrez, Nicolás

2009-09-01

This study explored the effects of tonic blood pressure on the association between baroreceptor cardiac reflex sensitivity and cognitive performance. Sixty female participants completed a mental arithmetic task. Baroreceptor reflex sensitivity was assessed using sequence analysis. An interaction was found, indicating that the relationship between baroreceptor reflex sensitivity and cognitive performance is modulated by blood pressure levels. Reflex sensitivity was inversely associated to performance indices in the subgroup of participants with systolic blood pressure above the mean, whereas the association was positive in participants with systolic values below the mean. These results are in accordance with the findings in the field of pain perception and suggest that tonic blood pressure modulates the inhibitory effects of baroreceptor stimulation on high central nervous functions.

Changes of spontaneous oscillatory activity to tonic heat pain.

PubMed

Peng, Weiwei; Hu, Li; Zhang, Zhiguo; Hu, Yong

2014-01-01

Transient painful stimuli could induce suppression of alpha oscillatory activities and enhancement of gamma oscillatory activities that also could be greatly modulated by attention. Here, we attempted to characterize changes in cortical activities during tonic heat pain perception and investigated the influence of directed/distracted attention on these responses. We collected 5-minute long continuous Electroencephalography (EEG) data from 38 healthy volunteers during four conditions presented in a counterbalanced order: (A) resting condition; (B) innoxious-distracted condition; (C) noxious-distracted condition; (D) noxious-attended condition. The effects of tonic heat pain stimulation and selective attention on oscillatory activities were investigated by comparing the EEG power spectra among the four experimental conditions and assessing the relationship between spectral power difference and subjective pain intensity. The change of oscillatory activities in condition D was characterized by stable and persistent decrease of alpha oscillation power over contralateral-central electrodes and widespread increase of gamma oscillation power, which were even significantly correlated with subjective pain intensity. Since EEG responses in the alpha and gamma frequency band were affected by attention in different manners, they are likely related to different aspects of the multidimensional sensory experience of pain. The observed contralateral-central alpha suppression (conditions D vs. B and D vs. C) may reflect primarily a top-down cognitive process such as attention, while the widespread gamma enhancement (conditions D vs. A) may partly reflect tonic pain processing, representing the summary effects of bottom-up stimulus-related and top-down subject-driven cognitive processes.

Changes of Spontaneous Oscillatory Activity to Tonic Heat Pain

PubMed Central

Zhang, Zhiguo; Hu, Yong

2014-01-01

Transient painful stimuli could induce suppression of alpha oscillatory activities and enhancement of gamma oscillatory activities that also could be greatly modulated by attention. Here, we attempted to characterize changes in cortical activities during tonic heat pain perception and investigated the influence of directed/distracted attention on these responses. We collected 5-minute long continuous Electroencephalography (EEG) data from 38 healthy volunteers during four conditions presented in a counterbalanced order: (A) resting condition; (B) innoxious-distracted condition; (C) noxious-distracted condition; (D) noxious-attended condition. The effects of tonic heat pain stimulation and selective attention on oscillatory activities were investigated by comparing the EEG power spectra among the four experimental conditions and assessing the relationship between spectral power difference and subjective pain intensity. The change of oscillatory activities in condition D was characterized by stable and persistent decrease of alpha oscillation power over contralateral-central electrodes and widespread increase of gamma oscillation power, which were even significantly correlated with subjective pain intensity. Since EEG responses in the alpha and gamma frequency band were affected by attention in different manners, they are likely related to different aspects of the multidimensional sensory experience of pain. The observed contralateral-central alpha suppression (conditions D vs. B and D vs. C) may reflect primarily a top-down cognitive process such as attention, while the widespread gamma enhancement (conditions D vs. A) may partly reflect tonic pain processing, representing the summary effects of bottom-up stimulus-related and top-down subject-driven cognitive processes. PMID:24603703

Methods for recording and measuring tonic GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition

PubMed Central

Bright, Damian P.; Smart, Trevor G.

2013-01-01

Tonic inhibitory conductances mediated by GABAA receptors have now been identified and characterized in many different brain regions. Most experimental studies of tonic GABAergic inhibition have been carried out using acute brain slice preparations but tonic currents have been recorded under a variety of different conditions. This diversity of recording conditions is likely to impact upon many of the factors responsible for controlling tonic inhibition and can make comparison between different studies difficult. In this review, we will firstly consider how various experimental conditions, including age of animal, recording temperature and solution composition, are likely to influence tonic GABAA conductances. We will then consider some technical considerations related to how the tonic conductance is measured and subsequently analyzed, including how the use of current noise may provide a complementary and reliable method for quantifying changes in tonic current. PMID:24367296

Hair tonic poisoning

MedlinePlus

... health care provider tells you to. If the chemical is on the skin or in the eyes, flush with lots of water for at least 15 minutes. If the person swallowed the hair tonic, give them water or milk right away, ...

Tonic control of kisspeptin release in prepubertal monkeys: implications to the mechanism of puberty onset.

PubMed

Kurian, Joseph R; Keen, Kim L; Guerriero, Kathryn A; Terasawa, Ei

2012-07-01

Previously we have shown that a reduction in γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) inhibition is critical for the mechanism initiating puberty onset because chronic infusion of the GABA(A) receptor antagonist, bicuculline, significantly increased GnRH release and accelerated the timing of menarche and first ovulation in female rhesus monkeys. Because previous studies in our laboratory indicate that in prepubertal female monkeys, kisspeptin release in the medial basal hypothalamus is low, whereas kisspeptin-10 can stimulate GnRH release, we hypothesized that a low level of kisspeptin release prior to puberty onset is due to tonic GABA inhibition. To test this hypothesis we examined the effects of bicuculline infusion on kisspeptin release using a microdialysis method. We found that bicuculline at 1 μM dramatically stimulates kisspeptin release in the medial basal hypothalamus of prepubertal monkeys but had little effect on kisspeptin release in midpubertal monkeys. We further examined whether bicuculline-induced GnRH release is blocked by the presence of the kisspeptin antagonist, peptide 234. We found that inhibition of kisspeptin signaling blocked the bicuculline-induced stimulation of GnRH release, suggesting that kisspeptin neurons may relay inhibitory GABA signals to GnRH neurons. This implies that a reduction in tonic GABA inhibition of GnRH release is, at least in part, mediated through kisspeptin neurons.

GABA-independent GABAA Receptor Openings Maintain Tonic Currents

PubMed Central

Wlodarczyk, Agnieszka I.; Sylantyev, Sergiy; Herd, Murray B.; Kersanté, Flavie; Lambert, Jeremy J.; Rusakov, Dmitri A.; Linthorst, Astrid C.E.; Semyanov, Alexey; Belelli, Delia; Pavlov, Ivan; Walker, Matthew C.

2013-01-01

Activation of GABAA receptors (GABAARs) produces two forms of inhibition: ‘phasic’ inhibition generated by the rapid, transient activation of synaptic GABAARs by presynaptic GABA release, and tonic inhibition generated by the persistent activation of peri- or extrasynaptic GABAARs which can detect extracellular GABA. Such tonic GABAAR-mediated currents are particularly evident in dentate granule cells in which they play a major role in regulating cell excitability. Here we show that in rat dentate granule cells in ex-vivo hippocampal slices, tonic currents are predominantly generated by GABA-independent GABAA receptor openings. This tonic GABAAR conductance is resistant to the competitive GABAAR antagonist SR95531, which at high concentrations acts as a partial agonist, but can be blocked by an open channel blocker picrotoxin. When slices are perfused with 200 nM GABA, a concentration that is comparable to cerebrospinal fluid concentrations but is twice that measured by us in the hippocampus in vivo using zero-net-flux microdialysis, negligible GABA is detected by dentate granule cells. Spontaneously opening GABAARs, therefore, maintain dentate granule cell tonic currents in the face of low extracellular GABA concentrations. PMID:23447601

"Herbal seizures"--atypical symptoms after ibogaine intoxication: a case report.

PubMed

Breuer, Lorenz; Kasper, Burkhard S; Schwarze, Bernd; Gschossmann, Juergen M; Kornhuber, Johannes; Müller, Helge H

2015-10-31

Misuse of various new psychotropic substances such as ibogaine is increasing rapidly. Knowledge of their negative side effects is sparse. We present a case of intoxication with the herbal substance ibogaine in a 22-year-old white man. After taking a cumulative dose of 38 g (taken in two doses), he developed visual memories, nausea and vomiting. He developed a generalized tonic-clonic seizure with additional grand mal seizures. He was treated with midazolam and levetiracetam. Extended drug screenings and computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings were all negative. Knowledge of the side effects of ibogaine has mainly come from reports of cardiovascular complications; seizures are rarely mentioned and experimental findings are inconsistent. It seems that ibogaine acts like a proconvulsive drug at high doses.

Differences in corticospinal excitability to the biceps brachii between arm cycling and tonic contraction are not evident at the immediate onset of movement.

PubMed

Forman, Davis A; Philpott, Devin T G; Button, Duane C; Power, Kevin E

2016-08-01

This is the first study to examine changes in corticospinal excitability to the biceps brachii during the onset of arm cycling from a resting position to a point when steady-state arm cycling was obtained. Supraspinal and spinal excitability were assessed using motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited via transcranial magnetic stimulation and cervicomedullary evoked potentials (CMEPs) elicited via transmastoid electrical stimulation, respectively. Evoked responses were recorded from the biceps brachii during elbow flexion (6 o'clock relative to a clock face) for both arm cycling and an intensity-matched tonic contraction at three separate periods: (1) immediately at the onset of motor output and after completion of the (2) 4th revolution and (3) 9th revolution. There was no difference during initiation between tasks for MEP (P = 0.79) or CMEP amplitudes (P = 0.57). However, MEP amplitudes were significantly larger during arm cycling than an intensity-matched tonic contraction after the completion of the 4th (Cycling 76.48 ± 17.35 % of M max, Tonic 63.45 ± 18.45 % of M max, P < 0.05) and 9th revolutions (Cycling 72.37 ± 15.96 % of M max, Tonic 58.1 ± 24.23 % of M max, P < 0.05). There were no differences between conditions in CMEP amplitudes at the 4th (Cycling 49.6 ± 25.4 % of M max, Tonic 41.6 ± 11.2 % of M max, P = 0.31) or the 9th revolution (Cycling 47.2 ± 17.0 % of M max, Tonic 40.8 ± 13.6 % of M max, P = 0.29). These results demonstrate that corticospinal excitability is not different between arm cycling and a tonic contraction at motor output onset, but supraspinal excitability is enhanced during steady-state arm cycling. This suggests a similarity in the way the corticospinal tract initiates motor outputs in humans, regardless of the differences that present themselves in the later, steady-state stages.

Efficacy and safety of herbal medicines in treating gastric ulcer: A review

PubMed Central

Bi, Wei-Ping; Man, Hui-Bin; Man, Mao-Qiang

2014-01-01

Gastric ulcer is a common disorder of the digestive system. Current therapeutic regimens largely rely on Western medicine. However, numerous studies have demonstrated that herbal medicines can effectively treat gastric ulcer in humans and various animal models via divergent mechanisms. This review updates the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines in treating gastric ulcer, and the mechanisms of their action in humans and animal models. Studies have demonstrated that the efficacy of herbal medicines is comparable or superior to that of drugs such as omeprazole or cimetidine in humans and animal models, and herbal medicines display fewer adverse effects. The mechanisms by which herbal medicines benefit gastric ulcer include stimulation of mucous cell proliferation, anti-oxidation, and inhibition of gastric acid secretion and H(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity. Some herbal medicines also exhibit antimicrobial properties. Utilization of herbal medicines could be a valuable alternative to treat gastric ulcer in humans effectively, with few adverse effects. PMID:25493014

Efficacy and safety of herbal medicines in treating gastric ulcer: a review.

PubMed

Bi, Wei-Ping; Man, Hui-Bin; Man, Mao-Qiang

2014-12-07

Gastric ulcer is a common disorder of the digestive system. Current therapeutic regimens largely rely on Western medicine. However, numerous studies have demonstrated that herbal medicines can effectively treat gastric ulcer in humans and various animal models via divergent mechanisms. This review updates the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines in treating gastric ulcer, and the mechanisms of their action in humans and animal models. Studies have demonstrated that the efficacy of herbal medicines is comparable or superior to that of drugs such as omeprazole or cimetidine in humans and animal models, and herbal medicines display fewer adverse effects. The mechanisms by which herbal medicines benefit gastric ulcer include stimulation of mucous cell proliferation, anti-oxidation, and inhibition of gastric acid secretion and H(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity. Some herbal medicines also exhibit antimicrobial properties. Utilization of herbal medicines could be a valuable alternative to treat gastric ulcer in humans effectively, with few adverse effects.

Chinese herbal medicines for hyperthyroidism.

PubMed

Zen, X X; Yuan, Y; Liu, Y; Wu, T X; Han, S

2007-04-18

Hyperthyroidism is a disease in which excessive amounts of thyroid hormones circulate in the blood. Patients, among other things suffer from tachycardia, warm moist skin and raised body temperature. The treatment of hyperthyroidism includes symptom relief and therapy with antithyroid medications, radioiodine and thyroidectomy. Medicinal herbs are used alone or in combination with antithyroid agents to treat hyperthyroidism in China and some other countries. To assess the effects of Chinese herbal medicines for treating hyperthyroidism. Studies were obtained from computerised searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, the Chinese Biomedical Database. Randomised controlled trials comparing the effects of Chinese herbal medicines alone with Chinese herbal medicines combined with antithyroid drugs, radioiodine or both. Three authors interviewed authors of all potentially relevant studies by telephone to verify randomisation procedures. One author entered data into a data extraction form and another author verified the results of this procedure. Thirteen relevant trials with 1770 participants were included. All of them were of low quality. Fifty-two studies still need to be assessed because the original authors could not be interviewed. None of these trials analysed mortality, health related quality of life, economic outcomes or compliance. Compared to antithyroid drugs alone the results showed that Chinese herbal medicines combined with antithyroid drugs may offer benefits in lowering relapse rates, reducing the incidence of adverse effects, relieving symptoms, improving thyroid antibody status and thyroid function. Two trials investigated Chinese herbal medicine versus radioiodine and reported improvements in anxiety, tachycardia and heat intolerance. However, thyroid function - with the exception of restored thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) - was not significantly altered. The results suggest that traditional Chinese herbal medicines added to other routine

Analgesia induced by morphine microinjected into the nucleus raphe magnus: effects on tonic pain.

PubMed

Dualé, Christian; Sierralta, Fernando; Dallel, Radhouane

2007-07-01

One of the possible sites of action of the analgesic effect of morphine is the Nucleus Raphe Magnus, as morphine injected into this structure induces analgesia in transient pain models. In order to test if morphine in the Nucleus Raphe Magnus is also analgesic in a tonic pain model, 5 microg of morphine or saline (control) were microinjected into the Nucleus Raphe Magnus of the rat. Analgesic effects were assessed following nociceptive stimulation using transient heating of the tail (phasic pain) and subcutaneous orofacial injection of 1.5 % formalin (tonic pain). While morphine was strongly analgesic for the tail-flick response (p <0.0001 compared to control), analgesia on the response to formalin was also observed for both early (p = 0.007) and late responses (p = 0.02). However, the response to formalin was not completely blunted. These results suggest that the Nucleus Raphe Magnus is not the exclusive site of action of morphine-induced analgesia in clinical conditions.

Tonic and Rhythmic Spinal Activity Underlying Locomotion.

PubMed

Ivanenko, Yury P; Gurfinkel, Victor S; Selionov, Victor A; Solopova, Irina A; Sylos-Labini, Francesca; Guertin, Pierre A; Lacquaniti, Francesco

2017-05-12

In recent years, many researches put significant efforts into understanding and assessing the functional state of the spinal locomotor circuits in humans. Various techniques have been developed to stimulate the spinal cord circuitries, which may include both diffuse and quite specific tuning effects. Overall, the findings indicate that tonic and rhythmic spinal activity control are not separate phenomena but are closely integrated to properly initiate and sustain stepping. The spinal cord does not simply transmit information to and from the brain. Its physiologic state determines reflex, postural and locomotor control and, therefore, may affect the recovery of the locomotor function in individuals with spinal cord and brain injuries. This review summarizes studies that examine the rhythmogenesis capacity of cervical and lumbosacral neuronal circuitries in humans and its importance in developing central pattern generator-modulating therapies. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Changes in Corticospinal and Spinal Excitability to the Biceps Brachii with a Neutral vs. Pronated Handgrip Position Differ between Arm Cycling and Tonic Elbow Flexion

PubMed Central

Forman, Davis A.; Richards, Mark; Forman, Garrick N.; Holmes, Michael W. R.; Power, Kevin E.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of neutral and pronated handgrip positions on corticospinal excitability to the biceps brachii during arm cycling. Corticospinal and spinal excitability were assessed using motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and cervicomedullary-evoked potentials (CMEPs) elicited via transmastoid electrical stimulation (TMES), respectively. Participants were seated upright in front on arm cycle ergometer. Responses were recorded from the biceps brachii at two different crank positions (6 and 12 o’clock positions relative to a clock face) while arm cycling with neutral and pronated handgrip positions. Responses were also elicited during tonic elbow flexion to compare/contrast the results to a non-rhythmic motor output. MEP and CMEP amplitudes were significantly larger at the 6 o’clock position while arm cycling with a neutral handgrip position compared to pronated (45.6 and 29.9%, respectively). There were no differences in MEP and CMEP amplitudes at the 12 o’clock position for either handgrip position. For the tonic contractions, MEPs were significantly larger with a neutral vs. pronated handgrip position (32.6% greater) while there were no difference in CMEPs. Corticospinal excitability was higher with a neutral handgrip position for both arm cycling and tonic elbow flexion. While spinal excitability was also higher with a neutral handgrip position during arm cycling, no difference was observed during tonic elbow flexion. These findings suggest that not only is corticospinal excitability to the biceps brachii modulated at both the supraspinal and spinal level, but that it is influenced differently between rhythmic arm cycling and tonic elbow flexion. PMID:27826236

The control of tonic pain by active relief learning

PubMed Central

Mano, Hiroaki; Lee, Michael; Yoshida, Wako; Kawato, Mitsuo; Robbins, Trevor W

2018-01-01

Tonic pain after injury characterises a behavioural state that prioritises recovery. Although generally suppressing cognition and attention, tonic pain needs to allow effective relief learning to reduce the cause of the pain. Here, we describe a central learning circuit that supports learning of relief and concurrently suppresses the level of ongoing pain. We used computational modelling of behavioural, physiological and neuroimaging data in two experiments in which subjects learned to terminate tonic pain in static and dynamic escape-learning paradigms. In both studies, we show that active relief-seeking involves a reinforcement learning process manifest by error signals observed in the dorsal putamen. Critically, this system uses an uncertainty (‘associability’) signal detected in pregenual anterior cingulate cortex that both controls the relief learning rate, and endogenously and parametrically modulates the level of tonic pain. The results define a self-organising learning circuit that reduces ongoing pain when learning about potential relief. PMID:29482716

Regulation of Urea Transporters by Tonicity-responsive Enhancer Binding Protein

PubMed Central

Kwon, H. Moo; Kim, Jim

2007-01-01

Urea accumulation in the renal inner medulla plays a key role in the maintenance of maximal urinary concentrating ability. Urea transport in the kidney is mediated by transporter proteins that include renal urea transporter (UT-A) and erythrocyte urea transporter (UT-B). UT-A1 and UT-A2 are produced from the same gene. There is an active tonicity-responsive enhancer (TonE) in the promoter of UT-A1, and the UT-A1 promoter is stimulated by hypertonicity via tonicity-responsive enhancer binding protein (TonEBP). The downregulation of UT-A2 raises the possibility that TonEBP also regulates its promoter. There is some evidence that TonEBP regulates expression of UT-A in vivo; (1) during the renal development of the urinary concentrating ability, expression of TonEBP precedes that of UT-A1; (2) in transgenic mice expressing a dominant negative form of TonEBP, expression of UT-A1 and UT-A2 is severely impaired; (3) in treatment with cyclosporine A, TonEBP was significantly downregulated after 28 days. This downregulation involves mRNA levels of UT-A2; (4) in hypokalemic animals, downregulation of TonEBP contributed to the down regulation of UT-A in the inner medulla. These data support that TonEBP directly contributes to the urinary concentration and renal urea recycling by the regulation of urea transporters. PMID:24459497

Herbal medicine for sports: a review.

PubMed

Sellami, Maha; Slimeni, Olfa; Pokrywka, Andrzej; Kuvačić, Goran; D Hayes, Lawrence; Milic, Mirjana; Padulo, Johnny

2018-01-01

The use of herbal medicinal products and supplements has increased during last decades. At present, some herbs are used to enhance muscle strength and body mass. Emergent evidence suggests that the health benefits from plants are attributed to their bioactive compounds such as Polyphenols, Terpenoids, and Alkaloids which have several physiological effects on the human body. At times, manufacturers launch numerous products with banned ingredient inside with inappropriate amounts or fake supplement inducing harmful side effect. Unfortunately up to date, there is no guarantee that herbal supplements are safe for anyone to use and it has not helped to clear the confusion surrounding the herbal use in sport field especially. Hence, the purpose of this review is to provide guidance on the efficacy and side effect of most used plants in sport. We have identified plants according to the following categories: Ginseng, alkaloids, and other purported herbal ergogenics such as Tribulus Terrestris , Cordyceps Sinensis. We found that most herbal supplement effects are likely due to activation of the central nervous system via stimulation of catecholamines. Ginseng was used as an endurance performance enhancer, while alkaloids supplementation resulted in improvements in sprint and cycling intense exercises. Despite it is prohibited, small amount of ephedrine was usually used in combination with caffeine to enhance muscle strength in trained individuals. Some other alkaloids such as green tea extracts have been used to improve body mass and composition in athletes. Other herb (i.e. Rhodiola, Astragalus) help relieve muscle and joint pain, but results about their effects on exercise performance are missing.

In vitro cytokine expression by peripheral mononuclear cells in herbal drug-induced skin eruption.

PubMed

Norisugi, Osamu; Yoshihisa, Yoko; Shimizu, Kyoko; Shimizu, Tadamichi

2014-01-01

Herbal medicine is widely used worldwide and is associated with side-effects such as skin eruptions. Herbal drugs are often produced by combining multiple crude drugs, mostly of plant origin. Determining which medi-cinal plants are associated with the herbal drugs that induce skin eruptions can therefore be difficult. This study investigated mRNA expression of several cytokines in peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from two patients with herbal drug-induced skin eruptions; one reacted to keishi-bukuryo-gan (KBG), composed of 5 medicinal plants, and the other patient reacted to senna. PBMCs (1×106) from the 2 patients were cultured for 24 h with the supernatant from the medicinal plants from KBG or senna in various concentrations, and a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was performed. A high mRNA level of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 was detected in PBMCs stimulated by KBG and two of its components. Senna stimulated a high level of IL-4 and IL-5 mRNA levels in PBMCs from patient with senna-induced drug reaction.

Ventral tegmental ionotropic glutamate receptor stimulation of nucleus accumbens tonic dopamine efflux blunts hindbrain-evoked phasic neurotransmission: implications for dopamine dysregulation disorders.

PubMed

Tye, S J; Miller, A D; Blaha, C D

2013-11-12

Activation of glutamate receptors within the ventral tegmental area (VTA) stimulates extrasynaptic (basal) dopamine release in terminal regions, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Hindbrain inputs from the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus (LDT) are critical for elicitation of phasic VTA dopamine cell activity and consequent transient dopamine release. This study investigated the role of VTA ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGluR) stimulation on both basal and LDT electrical stimulation-evoked dopamine efflux in the NAc using in vivo chronoamperometry and fixed potential amperometry in combination with stearate-graphite paste and carbon fiber electrodes, respectively. Intra-VTA infusion of the iGluR agonists (±)-α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA; 1 μg/μl) or N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA; 2 μg/μl) enhanced basal NAc dopamine efflux. This iGluR-mediated potentiation of basal dopamine efflux was paralleled by an attenuation of LDT-evoked transient NAc dopamine efflux, suggesting that excitation of basal activity effectively inhibited the capacity of hindbrain afferents to elicit transient dopamine efflux. In line with this, post-NMDA infusion of the dopamine D2 autoreceptor (D2R) agonist quinpirole (1 μg/μl; intra-VTA) partially recovered NMDA-mediated attenuation of LDT-evoked NAc dopamine, while concurrently attenuating NMDA-mediated potentiation of basal dopamine efflux. Post-NMDA infusion of quinpirole (1 μg/μl) alone attenuated basal and LDT-evoked dopamine efflux. Taken together, these data reveal that hyperstimulation of basal dopamine transmission can stunt hindbrain burst-like stimulation-evoked dopamine efflux. Inhibitory autoreceptor mechanisms within the VTA help to partially recover the magnitude of phasic dopamine efflux, highlighting the importance of both iGluRs and D2 autoreceptors in maintaining the functional balance of tonic and phasic dopamine neurotransmission. Dysregulation of this balance may have important

Protein kinase C may regulate the tonic component of intestinal smooth muscle contraction in response to substance P.

PubMed

Holzer, P; Lippe, I T

1989-01-01

(1) The study investigated a possible involvement of protein kinase C (PKC) in the substance P-induced contraction of the longitudinal muscle of the guinea-pig isolated ileum. (2) The predominant effect of the PKC activator, phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDB), was to change the time course of the response to substance P. While the initial peak contraction was hardly influenced by PDB, the fading of the contraction was accelerated to an extent that any tonic contraction which normally followed the initial peak response was prevented. This inhibitory effect of PDB on the tonic contraction was immediate in onset and related to its concentration (20-200 nM); responses to half-maximally (2-7 nM) or maximally effective (0.74 microM) concentrations of substance P were affected in the same manner. Tetrodotoxin (0.6 microM) did not alter the effect of PDB. Phorbol-13-monoacetate (2 microM), a phorbol ester which does not stimulate PKC, failed to change the time course of the substance P-induced contraction. (3) The tonic component of half-maximal contractile responses to histamine (0.2-0.4 microM) was also depressed by PDB (0.2 microM) whereas the tonic component of maximal responses to histamine (9 microM) was enhanced. (4) PDB (0.2 microM) reduced desensitization to substance P as judged by the reduction of the peak response to substance P (2-7 nM) following a 10-min exposure to a high concentration of the peptide (0.74 microM). (5) The PKC inhibitor, polymyxin B (0.1-0.3 mM), reduced the peak contractile response to substance P, slowed the fading of the contraction, and antagonized the inhibitory effect of PDB on the tonic contraction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Review on community herbal monographs for traditional herbal medicinal products].

PubMed

Zou, Wenjun; Qu, Liping; Ye, Zuguang; Ji, Jianxin; Li, Bogang

2011-12-01

This article discusses the characteristics of cmmunity herbal monographs for traditional herbal medicinal products and its establishment procedure. It also reviews the new development of cmmunity traditional herbal monographs. The purpose is to clarify the relationship between cmmunity herbal monographs and simplified registration for traditional herbal medicinal product in European Union and provide reference to the registration of taditional Chinese mdicinal products in Europe.

Pain assessment by continuous EEG: association between subjective perception of tonic pain and peak frequency of alpha oscillations during stimulation and at rest.

PubMed

Nir, Rony-Reuven; Sinai, Alon; Raz, Einat; Sprecher, Elliot; Yarnitsky, David

2010-07-16

Recordings of neurophysiological brain responses to noxious stimuli have been traditionally based on short stimuli, in the order of milliseconds, which induce distinct event-related potentials (ERPs). However, using such stimuli in the experimental setting is disadvantageous as they are too brief to faithfully simulate clinical pain. We aimed at utilizing continuous EEG to investigate the properties of peak alpha frequency (PAF) as an objective cortical measure associated with subjective perception of tonic pain. Five minute long continuous EEG was recorded in 18 healthy volunteers under: (i) resting-state; (ii) innocuous temperature; and (iii) psychophysically-anchored noxious temperature. Numerical pain scores (NPSs) collected during the application of tonic noxious stimuli were tested for correlation with peak frequencies of alpha power-curves derived from central, temporal and frontal electrodes. NPSs and PAFs remained stable throughout the recording conditions (RM-ANOVAs; Ps>0.51). In the noxious condition, PAFs obtained at the bilateral temporal scalp were correlated with NPSs (Ps<0.001). Moreover, resting-state PAFs recorded at the bilateral temporal scalp were correlated with NPSs reported during the noxious condition (Ps<0.01). These psychophysical-neurophysiological relations attest to the properties of PAF as a novel cortical objective measure of subjective perception of tonic pain. Moreover, resting-state PAFs might hold inherent pain modulation attributes, possibly enabling the prediction of individual responsiveness to prolonged pain. The relevance of PAF to the neural processing of tonic pain may indicate its potential to advance pain research as well as clinical pain characterization. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tonic effects of the dopaminergic ventral midbrain on the auditory cortex of awake macaque monkeys.

PubMed

Huang, Ying; Mylius, Judith; Scheich, Henning; Brosch, Michael

2016-03-01

This study shows that ongoing electrical stimulation of the dopaminergic ventral midbrain can modify neuronal activity in the auditory cortex of awake primates for several seconds. This was reflected in a decrease of the spontaneous firing and in a bidirectional modification of the power of auditory evoked potentials. We consider that both effects are due to an increase in the dopamine tone in auditory cortex induced by the electrical stimulation. Thus, the dopaminergic ventral midbrain may contribute to the tonic activity in auditory cortex that has been proposed to be involved in associating events of auditory tasks (Brosch et al. Hear Res 271:66-73, 2011) and may modulate the signal-to-noise ratio of the responses to auditory stimuli.

Plant composition, pharmacological properties and mutagenic evaluation of a commercial Zulu herbal mixture: Imbiza ephuzwato.

PubMed

Ndhlala, A R; Finnie, J F; Van Staden, J

2011-01-27

Imbiza ephuzwato is a traditional herbal tonic made from a mixture of extracts of roots, bulbs, rhizomes and leaves of 21 medicinal plants and is used in traditional medicine as a multipurpose remedy. To compile and investigate the bioactivity and mutagenic effects of extracts of the 21 plant species used in the preparation of Imbiza ephuzwato herbal tonic. The 21 plant species used to make Imbiza ephuzwato herbal mixture were each investigated for their pharmacological properties. Petroleum ether (PE), dichloromethane (DCM), 80% ethanol (EtOH) and water extracts of the 21 plants were evaluated against two gram-positive, two gram-negative bacteria and a fungus Candida albicans. The extracts were also evaluated for their inhibitory effects against cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and -2) and acetylcholinesterase AChE enzymes. Mutagenic effects of the water extracts were evaluated using the Ames test. Gunnera perpensa and Rubia cordifolia were the only plant species used to manufacture Imbiza ephuzwato that had water extracts which showed good antibacterial activity. The extracts of G. perpensa (EtOH), Hypericum aethiopicum (DCM) and Urginea physodes (EtOH) showed the best antifungal activity. The water extracts of H. aethiopicum, G. perpensa, Drimia robusta, Vitellariopsis marginata, Scadoxus puniceus and Momordica balsamina showed percentage inhibition of COX-1 that was over 70%. For COX-2 enzyme, the water extracts of G. perpensa, Cyrtanthus obliquus, M. balsamina and Tetradenia riparia exhibited inhibitory activity above 70%. Water extracts of G. perpensa, C. obliquus, V. marginata, Asclepias fruticosa and Watsonia densiflora showed good AChE inhibitory activity (>80%). The Ames test results revealed that all the water extracts of the 21 plant species used to make Imbiza ephuzwato were non-mutagenic towards the Salmonella typhimurium TA98 strain for the assay with and without S9 metabolic activation. In contrast, Imbiza ephuzwato showed mutagenic effects after exposure to S

[Traditional and ayurvedic herbalism, homeopathy--the alternative therapeutic methods in dentistry. Review].

PubMed

Wyganowska-Swiatkowska, Marzena; Kurhańska-Flisykowska, Anna

2012-01-01

Herbalism is the oldest therapeutic system useful also ayurvedic medicine. Homepathy uses small doses of various substances to stimulate autoregulatory and self-healing processes. Medicines are prepared by serial dilution and shaking, which proponents claim imprints information into water. Ayurveda is a holistic form of therapy. In this meaning herbalism selects substances by matching a patient's symptoms with symptoms produced by these substances in healthy individuals. The some substances useful in dentistry were showed in this letter.

Ectopic Expression of α6 and δ GABAA Receptor Subunits in Hilar Somatostatin Neurons Increases Tonic Inhibition and Alters Network Activity in the Dentate Gyrus

PubMed Central

Tong, Xiaoping; Peng, Zechun; Zhang, Nianhui; Cetina, Yliana; Huang, Christine S.; Wallner, Martin; Otis, Thomas S.

2015-01-01

The role of GABAA receptor (GABAAR)-mediated tonic inhibition in interneurons remains unclear and may vary among subgroups. Somatostatin (SOM) interneurons in the hilus of the dentate gyrus show negligible expression of nonsynaptic GABAAR subunits and very low tonic inhibition. To determine the effects of ectopic expression of tonic GABAAR subtypes in these neurons, Cre-dependent viral vectors were used to express GFP-tagged GABAAR subunits (α6 and δ) selectively in hilar SOM neurons in SOM-Cre mice. In single-transfected animals, immunohistochemistry demonstrated strong expression of either the α6 or δ subunit; in cotransfected animals, both subunits were consistently expressed in the same neurons. Electrophysiology revealed a robust increase of tonic current, with progressively larger increases following transfection of δ, α6, and α6/δ subunits, respectively, indicating formation of functional receptors in all conditions and likely coassembly of the subunits in the same receptor following cotransfection. An in vitro model of repetitive bursting was used to determine the effects of increased tonic inhibition in hilar SOM interneurons on circuit activity in the dentate gyrus. Upon cotransfection, the frequency of GABAAR-mediated bursting in granule cells was reduced, consistent with a reduction in synchronous firing among hilar SOM interneurons. Moreover, in vivo studies of Fos expression demonstrated reduced activation of α6/δ-cotransfected neurons following acute seizure induction by pentylenetetrazole. The findings demonstrate that increasing tonic inhibition in hilar SOM interneurons can alter dentate gyrus circuit activity during strong stimulation and suggest that tonic inhibition of interneurons could play a role in regulating excessive synchrony within the network. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In contrast to many hippocampal interneurons, somatostatin (SOM) neurons in the hilus of the dentate gyrus have very low levels of nonsynaptic GABAARs and exhibit

Peritraumatic tonic immobility is associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms in undergraduate Brazilian students.

PubMed

Portugal, Liana Catarina L; Pereira, Mirtes Garcia; Alves, Rita de Cássia S; Tavares, Gisella; Lobo, Isabela; Rocha-Rego, Vanessa; Marques-Portella, Carla; Mendlowicz, Mauro V; Coutinho, Evandro S; Fiszman, Adriana; Volchan, Eliane; Figueira, Ivan; Oliveira, Letícia de

2012-03-01

Tonic immobility is a defensive reaction occurring under extreme life threats. Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reporting peritraumatic tonic immobility show the most severe symptoms and a poorer response to treatment. This study investigated the predictive value of tonic immobility for posttraumatic stress symptoms in a non-clinical sample. One hundred and ninety-eight college students exposed to various life threatening events were selected to participate. The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - Civilian Version (PCL-C) and tonic immobility questions were used. Linear regression models were fitted to investigate the association between peritraumatic tonic immobility and PCL-C scores. Peritraumatic dissociation, peritraumatic panic reactions, negative affect, gender, type of trauma, and time since trauma were considered as confounding variables. We found significant association between peritraumatic tonic immobility and PTSD symptoms in a non-clinical sample exposed to various traumas, even after regression controlled for confounding variables (β = 1.99, p = 0.017). This automatic reaction under extreme life threatening stress, although adaptive for defense, may have pathological consequences as implied by its association with PTSD symptoms.

Non-European traditional herbal medicines in Europe: a community herbal monograph perspective.

PubMed

Qu, Liping; Zou, Wenjun; Zhou, Zhenxiang; Zhang, Tingmo; Greef, JanVander; Wang, Mei

2014-10-28

The European Directive 2004/24/EC introducing a simplified registration procedure for traditional herbal medicinal products, plays an important role in harmonising the current legislation framework for all herbal medicinal products in the European Union (EU). Although substantial achievements have been made under the new scheme, only a limited number of herbal medicinal products from non-European traditions commonly used in Europe have been registered. Therefore, identification of the obstacles, and determination of appropriate means to overcome the major challenges in the registration of non-European traditional herbal medicinal products are of critical importance for the EU herbal medicinal product market. The primary aims of this study were to understand the key issues and obstacles to registration of non-European traditional herbal medicinal products within the EU. The findings may identify the need for more attention on the Community herbal monographs elaborated by the Herbal Medicinal Products Committee (HMPC), as well as further evidence based scientific research on non-European herbal substances/preparations by the scientific community. A systematic evaluation of the herbal substances and preparations included in Community herbal monographs and public statements has been carried out. The focus was herbal substances and preparations derived from non-European traditions. Of the 109 adopted Community herbal monographs, 10 are herbal substances used in Chinese traditional medicine. Where the HMPC issued a public statement because it was unable to elaborate a monograph more than half-involved herbal substances/preparations from non-European traditions. The main reasons herbal substances/preparations from non-European traditions were not accepted for inclusion in the Community herbal monographs have been identified as due to unfulfilled requirements of Directive 2004/24/EC. The most common reasons were the lack of evidence to demonstrate a 15-year minimum

The main source of ambient GABA responsible for tonic inhibition in the mouse hippocampus

PubMed Central

Glykys, Joseph; Mody, Istvan

2007-01-01

The extracellular space of the brain contains γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) that activates extrasynaptic GABAA receptors mediating tonic inhibition. The source of this GABA is uncertain: it could be overspill of vesicular release, non-vesicular leakage, reverse transport, dying cells or glia. Using a novel approach, we simultaneously measured phasic and tonic inhibitory currents and assessed their correlation. Enhancing or diminishing vesicular GABA release in hippocampal neurons caused highly correlated changes in the two inhibitions. During high-frequency phasic inhibitory bursts, tonic current was also enhanced as shown by simulating the summation of IPSCs and by recordings in knockout mice devoid of tonic inhibitory current. When vesicular release was reduced by blocking action potentials or the vesicular GABA transporter, phasic and tonic currents decreased in a correlated fashion. Our results are consistent with most of hippocampal tonic inhibitory current being mediated by GABA released from the very vesicles responsible for activating phasic inhibition. PMID:17525114

The main source of ambient GABA responsible for tonic inhibition in the mouse hippocampus.

PubMed

Glykys, Joseph; Mody, Istvan

2007-08-01

The extracellular space of the brain contains gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) that activates extrasynaptic GABA(A) receptors mediating tonic inhibition. The source of this GABA is uncertain: it could be overspill of vesicular release, non-vesicular leakage, reverse transport, dying cells or glia. Using a novel approach, we simultaneously measured phasic and tonic inhibitory currents and assessed their correlation. Enhancing or diminishing vesicular GABA release in hippocampal neurons caused highly correlated changes in the two inhibitions. During high-frequency phasic inhibitory bursts, tonic current was also enhanced as shown by simulating the summation of IPSCs and by recordings in knockout mice devoid of tonic inhibitory current. When vesicular release was reduced by blocking action potentials or the vesicular GABA transporter, phasic and tonic currents decreased in a correlated fashion. Our results are consistent with most of hippocampal tonic inhibitory current being mediated by GABA released from the very vesicles responsible for activating phasic inhibition.

Tonic signaling from O2 sensors sets neural circuit activity and behavioral state

PubMed Central

Busch, Karl Emanuel; Laurent, Patrick; Soltesz, Zoltan; Murphy, Robin Joseph; Faivre, Olivier; Hedwig, Berthold; Thomas, Martin; Smith, Heather L.; de Bono, Mario

2012-01-01

Tonic receptors convey stimulus duration and intensity and are implicated in homeostatic control. However, how tonic homeostatic signals are generated, and how they reconfigure neural circuits and modify animal behavior is poorly understood. Here we show that C. elegans O2-sensing neurons are tonic receptors that continuously signal ambient [O2] to set the animal’s behavioral state. Sustained signalling relies on a Ca2+ relay involving L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, the ryanodine and the IP3 receptors. Tonic activity evokes continuous neuropeptide release, which helps elicit the enduring behavioral state associated with high [O2]. Sustained O2 receptor signalling is propagated to downstream neural circuits, including the hub interneuron RMG. O2 receptors evoke similar locomotory states at particular [O2], regardless of previous d[O2]/dt. However, a phasic component of the URX receptors’ response to high d[O2]/dt, as well as tonic-to-phasic transformations in downstream interneurons, enable transient reorientation movements shaped by d[O2]/dt. Our results highlight how tonic homeostatic signals can generate both transient and enduring behavioral change. PMID:22388961

Glial GABA, synthesized by monoamine oxidase B, mediates tonic inhibition

PubMed Central

Yoon, Bo-Eun; Woo, Junsung; Chun, Ye-Eun; Chun, Heejung; Jo, Seonmi; Bae, Jin Young; An, Heeyoung; Min, Joo Ok; Oh, Soo-Jin; Han, Kyung-Seok; Kim, Hye Yun; Kim, Taekeun; Kim, Young Soo; Bae, Yong Chul; Lee, C Justin

2014-01-01

GABA is the major inhibitory transmitter in the brain and is released not only from a subset of neurons but also from glia. Although neuronal GABA is well known to be synthesized by glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), the source of glial GABA is unknown. After estimating the concentration of GABA in Bergmann glia to be around 5–10 mm by immunogold electron microscopy, we demonstrate that GABA production in glia requires MAOB, a key enzyme in the putrescine degradation pathway. In cultured cerebellar glia, both Ca2+-induced and tonic GABA release are significantly reduced by both gene silencing of MAOB and the MAOB inhibitor selegiline. In the cerebellum and striatum of adult mice, general gene silencing, knock out of MAOB or selegiline treatment resulted in elimination of tonic GABA currents recorded from granule neurons and medium spiny neurons. Glial-specific rescue of MAOB resulted in complete rescue of tonic GABA currents. Our results identify MAOB as a key synthesizing enzyme of glial GABA, which is released via bestrophin 1 (Best1) channel to mediate tonic inhibition in the brain. PMID:25239459

The impact of luminance on tonic and phasic pupillary responses to sustained cognitive load.

PubMed

Peysakhovich, Vsevolod; Vachon, François; Dehais, Frédéric

2017-02-01

Pupillary reactions independent of light conditions have been linked to cognition for a long time. However, the light conditions can impact the cognitive pupillary reaction. Previous studies underlined the impact of luminance on pupillary reaction, but it is still unclear how luminance modulates the sustained and transient components of pupillary reaction - tonic pupil diameter and phasic pupil response. In the present study, we investigated the impact of the luminance on these two components under sustained cognitive load. Fourteen participants performed a novel working memory task combining mathematical computations with a classic n-back task. We studied both tonic pupil diameter and phasic pupil response under low (1-back) and high (2-back) working memory load and two luminance levels (gray and white). We found that the impact of working memory load on the tonic pupil diameter was modulated by the level of luminance, the increase in tonic pupil diameter with the load being larger under lower luminance. In contrast, the smaller phasic pupil response found under high load remained unaffected by luminance. These results showed that luminance impacts the cognitive pupillary reaction - tonic pupil diameter (phasic pupil response) being modulated under sustained (respectively, transient) cognitive load. These findings also support the relationship between the locus-coeruleus system, presumably functioning in two firing modes - tonic and phasic - and the pupil diameter. We suggest that the tonic pupil diameter tracks the tonic activity of the locus-coeruleus while phasic pupil response reflects its phasic activity. Besides, the designed novel cognitive paradigm allows the simultaneous manipulation of sustained and transient components of the cognitive load and is useful for dissociating the effects on the tonic pupil diameter and phasic pupil response. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

GABA-A Receptors Mediate Tonic Inhibition and Neurosteroid Sensitivity in the Brain.

PubMed

Reddy, Doodipala Samba

2018-01-01

Neurosteroids like allopregnanolone (AP) are positive allosteric modulators of synaptic and extrasynaptic GABA-A receptors. AP and related neurosteroids exhibit a greater potency for δ-containing extrasynaptic receptors. The δGABA-A receptors, which are expressed extrasynaptically in the dentate gyrus and other regions, contribute to tonic inhibition, promoting network shunting as well as reducing seizure susceptibility. Levels of endogenous neurosteroids fluctuate with ovarian cycle. Natural and synthetic neurosteroids maximally potentiate tonic inhibition in the hippocampus and provide robust protection against a variety of limbic seizures and status epilepticus. Recently, a consensus neurosteroid pharmacophore model has been proposed at extrasynaptic δGABA-A receptors based on structure-activity relationship for functional activation of tonic currents and seizure protection. Aside from anticonvulsant actions, neurosteroids have been found to be powerful anxiolytic and anesthetic agents. Neurosteroids and Zn 2+ have preferential affinity for δ-containing receptors. Thus, Zn 2+ can prevent neurosteroid activation of extrasynaptic δGABA-A receptor-mediated tonic inhibition. Recently, we demonstrated that Zn 2+ selectively inhibits extrasynaptic δGABA-A receptors and thereby fully prevents AP activation of tonic inhibition and seizure protection. We confirmed that neurosteroids exhibit greater sensitivity at extrasynaptic δGABA-A receptors. Overall, extrasynaptic GABA-A receptors are primary mediators of tonic inhibition in the brain and play a key role in the pathophysiology of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Novel Herbal Medicine KIOM-MA Exerts an Anti-Inflammatory Effect in LPS-Stimulated RAW 264.7 Macrophage Cells.

PubMed

Oh, You-Chang; Cho, Won-Kyung; Jeong, Yun Hee; Im, Ga Young; Kim, Aeyung; Hwang, Youn-Hwan; Kim, Taesoo; Song, Kwang Hoon; Ma, Jin Yeul

2012-01-01

KIOM-MA was recently reported as a novel herbal medicine effective for atopic dermatitis and asthma. In this study, we have demonstrated the inhibitory effect of KIOM-MA on proinflammatory mediator produced in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. KIOM-MA significantly inhibited the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) as well as nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)). Consistent with the inhibitory effect on PGE(2), KIOM-MA suppresses the LPS-induced migration of macrophages and gelatinase activity and the expression of matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP-9) in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, KIOM-MA showed a strong suppressive effect on the inflammatory cytokines production such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). We also found that KIOM-MA inhibits the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and represses the activity of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38, and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Taken together, we elucidated the mechanism of anti-inflammatory effect of KIOM-MA using RAW 264.7 cells stimulated by LPS.

A Novel Herbal Medicine KIOM-MA Exerts an Anti-Inflammatory Effect in LPS-Stimulated RAW 264.7 Macrophage Cells

PubMed Central

Oh, You-Chang; Cho, Won-Kyung; Jeong, Yun Hee; Im, Ga Young; Kim, Aeyung; Hwang, Youn-Hwan; Kim, Taesoo; Song, Kwang Hoon; Ma, Jin Yeul

2012-01-01

KIOM-MA was recently reported as a novel herbal medicine effective for atopic dermatitis and asthma. In this study, we have demonstrated the inhibitory effect of KIOM-MA on proinflammatory mediator produced in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. KIOM-MA significantly inhibited the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) as well as nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Consistent with the inhibitory effect on PGE2, KIOM-MA suppresses the LPS-induced migration of macrophages and gelatinase activity and the expression of matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP-9) in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, KIOM-MA showed a strong suppressive effect on the inflammatory cytokines production such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). We also found that KIOM-MA inhibits the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and represses the activity of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38, and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Taken together, we elucidated the mechanism of anti-inflammatory effect of KIOM-MA using RAW 264.7 cells stimulated by LPS. PMID:23243447

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia is associated with tonic positive emotionality.

PubMed

Oveis, Christopher; Cohen, Adam B; Gruber, June; Shiota, Michelle N; Haidt, Jonathan; Keltner, Dacher

2009-04-01

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSAREST) indexes important aspects of individual differences in emotionality. In the present investigation, the authors address whether RSAREST is associated with tonic positive or negative emotionality, and whether RSAREST relates to phasic emotional responding to discrete positive emotion-eliciting stimuli. Across an 8-month, multiassessment study of first-year university students (n = 80), individual differences in RSAREST were associated with positive but not negative tonic emotionality, assessed at the level of personality traits, long-term moods, the disposition toward optimism, and baseline reports of current emotional states. RSAREST was not related to increased positive emotion, or stimulus-specific emotion, in response to compassion-, awe-, or pride-inducing stimuli. These findings suggest that resting RSA indexes aspects of a person's tonic positive emotionality. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Tonic B-cell receptor signaling in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

PubMed

Havranek, Ondrej; Xu, Jingda; Köhrer, Stefan; Wang, Zhiqiang; Becker, Lisa; Comer, Justin M; Henderson, Jared; Ma, Wencai; Man Chun Ma, John; Westin, Jason R; Ghosh, Dipanjan; Shinners, Nicholas; Sun, Luhong; Yi, Allen F; Karri, Anusha R; Burger, Jan A; Zal, Tomasz; Davis, R Eric

2017-08-24

We used clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9-mediated genomic modification to investigate B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling in cell lines of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Three manipulations that altered BCR genes without affecting surface BCR levels showed that BCR signaling differs between the germinal center B-cell (GCB) subtype, which is insensitive to Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibition by ibrutinib, and the activated B-cell (ABC) subtype. Replacing antigen-binding BCR regions had no effect on BCR signaling in GCB-DLBCL lines, reflecting this subtype's exclusive use of tonic BCR signaling. Conversely, Y188F mutation in the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif of CD79A inhibited tonic BCR signaling in GCB-DLBCL lines but did not affect their calcium flux after BCR cross-linking or the proliferation of otherwise-unmodified ABC-DLBCL lines. CD79A-GFP fusion showed BCR clustering or diffuse distribution, respectively, in lines of ABC and GCB subtypes. Tonic BCR signaling acts principally to activate AKT, and forced activation of AKT rescued GCB-DLBCL lines from knockout (KO) of the BCR or 2 mediators of tonic BCR signaling, SYK and CD19. The magnitude and importance of tonic BCR signaling to proliferation and size of GCB-DLBCL lines, shown by the effect of BCR KO, was highly variable; in contrast, pan-AKT KO was uniformly toxic. This discrepancy was explained by finding that BCR KO-induced changes in AKT activity (measured by gene expression, CXCR4 level, and a fluorescent reporter) correlated with changes in proliferation and with baseline BCR surface density. PTEN protein expression and BCR surface density may influence clinical response to therapeutic inhibition of tonic BCR signaling in DLBCL. © 2017 by The American Society of Hematology.

Neurosteroids Reverse Tonic Inhibition Deficits in Fragile X Syndrome

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-15-1-0190 TITLE: Neurosteroids Reverse Tonic Inhibition Deficits in Fragile X Syndrome PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr...14 July 2017 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Neurosteroids Reverse Tonic Inhibition Deficits in Fragile X Syndrome 5b. GRANT NUMBER...18 9. Appendices……………………………………………………………18 2 1. Introduction Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited

Neurosteroids Reverse Tonic Inhibition Deficits in Fragile X Syndrome

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-01

AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-15-1-0190 TITLE: Neurosteroids Reverse Tonic Inhibition Deficits in Fragile X Syndrome PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Paul...AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Neurosteroids Reverse Tonic Inhibition Deficits in Fragile X Syndrome 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT...Appendices……………………………………………………………11 2 1. Introduction Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability. In addition

Analgesic Effects of Toad Cake and Toad-cake-containing Herbal Drugs

PubMed Central

Inoue, Eiji; Shimizu, Yasuharu; Masui, Ryo; Usui, Tomomi; Sudoh, Keiichi

2014-01-01

Objectives: This study was conducted to clarify the analgesic effect of toad cake and toad-cake-containing herbal drugs. Methods: We counted the writhing response of mice after the intraperitoneal administration of acetic acid as a nociceptive pain model and the withdrawal response after the plantar surface stimulation of the hind paw induced by partial sciatic nerve ligation of the mice as a neuropathic pain model to investigate the analgesic effect of toad cake and toad-cake-containing herbal drugs. A co-treatment study with serotonin biosynthesis inhibitory drug 4-chloro- DL-phenylalanine methyl ester hydrochloride (PCPA), the catecholamine biosynthesis inhibitory drug α-methyl- DL-tyrosine methyl ester hydrochloride (AMPT) or the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone hydrochloride was also conducted. Results: Analgesic effects in a mouse model of nociceptive pain and neuropathic pain were shown by oral administration of toad cake and toad-cake-containing herbal drugs. The effects of toad cake and toad-cake-containing herbal drugs disappeared upon co-treatment with PCPA, but not with AMPT or naloxone in the nociceptive pain model; the analgesic effect of toad-cake-containing herbal drugs also disappeared upon co-treatment with PCPA in the neuropathic pain model. Conclusion: Toad cake and toad-cake-containing herbal drugs have potential for the treatments of nociceptive pain and of neuropathic pain, such as post-herpetic neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, diabetic neuralgia, and postoperative or posttraumatic pain, by activation of the central serotonin nervous system. PMID:25780693

Potentiation of tonic GABAergic inhibition by activation of postsynaptic kainate receptors.

PubMed

Jiang, L; Kang, D; Kang, J

2015-07-09

Presynaptic kainate-type glutamate ionotropic receptors (KARs) that mediate either the depression or the facilitation of GABA release have been intensively studied. Little attention has been given to the modulation of GABAA receptors (GABAARs) by postsynaptic KARs. Recent studies suggest that two GABAAR populations, synaptic (sGABAAR) and extrasynaptic (eGABAAR) GABAARs, mediate phasic and tonic forms of inhibition, respectively. Tonic inhibition plays an important role in the excitability of neuronal circuits and the occurrence of epileptic seizures. For this study, we are the first to report that the activation of postsynaptic KARs by the KAR agonist, Kainic acid (KA, 5 μM), enhanced tonic inhibition by potentiating eGABAARs. KA enhanced THIP-induced eGABAAR currents and prolonged the rise and decay time of muscimol-induced sGABAAR/eGABAAR currents, but also depressed the amplitude of evoked inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs), unitary IPSCs (uIPSCs), and muscimol-induced sGABAAR/eGABAAR currents. The PKC inhibitor, staurosporine (1 μM), in the patch pipette solution fully blocked the KA-induced potentiation of tonic inhibition, suggesting the involvement of an intracellular PKC pathway. Our study suggests that the activation of postsynaptic KARs potentiates eGABAARs but depresses sGABAARs. By activating postsynaptic KARs, synaptically released glutamate depresses phasic inhibition to facilitate neuronal plasticity, but potentiates tonic inhibition to protect neurons from over-excitation. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A tonic heat test stimulus yields a larger and more reliable conditioned pain modulation effect compared to a phasic heat test stimulus

PubMed Central

Lie, Marie Udnesseter; Matre, Dagfinn; Hansson, Per; Stubhaug, Audun; Zwart, John-Anker; Nilsen, Kristian Bernhard

2017-01-01

Abstract Introduction: The interest in conditioned pain modulation (CPM) as a clinical tool for measuring endogenously induced analgesia is increasing. There is, however, large variation in the CPM methodology, hindering comparison of results across studies. Research comparing different CPM protocols is needed in order to obtain a standardized test paradigm. Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess whether a protocol with phasic heat stimuli as test-stimulus is preferable to a protocol with tonic heat stimulus as test-stimulus. Methods: In this experimental crossover study, we compared 2 CPM protocols with different test-stimulus; one with tonic test-stimulus (constant heat stimulus of 120-second duration) and one with phasic test-stimuli (3 heat stimulations of 5 seconds duration separated by 10 seconds). Conditioning stimulus was a 7°C water bath in parallel with the test-stimulus. Twenty-four healthy volunteers were assessed on 2 occasions with minimum 1 week apart. Differences in the magnitude and test–retest reliability of the CPM effect in the 2 protocols were investigated with repeated-measures analysis of variance and by relative and absolute reliability indices. Results: The protocol with tonic test-stimulus induced a significantly larger CPM effect compared to the protocol with phasic test-stimuli (P < 0.001). Fair and good relative reliability was found with the phasic and tonic test-stimuli, respectively. Absolute reliability indices showed large intraindividual variability from session to session in both protocols. Conclusion: The present study shows that a CPM protocol with a tonic test-stimulus is preferable to a protocol with phasic test-stimuli. However, we emphasize that one should be cautious to use the CPM effect as biomarker or in clinical decision making on an individual level due to large intraindividual variability. PMID:29392240

Probable Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada's syndrome associated with tonic pupils.

PubMed

Narang, S; Sood, S; Malik, A

2010-01-01

Pupillary abnormalities with complete or incomplete form of VKH have rarely been reported. We report a case of "probable" Vogt- Koyanagi-Haradas (VKH) disease associated with tonic pupils. A young healthy male presented with 15 days' history of bilateral decrease in vision. The patient had bilateral panuveitis with exudative retinal detachment associated with tonic pupils. There were no other systemic associations. The ultrasonography and fluorescein angiography findings were consistent with VKH disease. Pupillary reaction abnormalities though uncommon could be seen in association with "probable" VKH disease. © Nepal Ophthalmic Society.

[A complexity analysis of Chinese herbal property theory: the multiple expressions of herbal property].

PubMed

Jin, Rui; Zhang, Bing

2012-12-01

Chinese herbal property is the highly summarized concept of herbal nature and pharmaceutical effect, which reflect the characteristics of herbal actions on human body. These herbal actions, also interpreted as presenting the information about pharmaceutical effect contained in herbal property on the biological carrier, are defined as herbal property expressions. However, the biological expression of herbal property is believed to possess complex features for the involved complexity of Chinese medicine and organism. Firstly, there are multiple factors which could influence the expression results of herbal property such as the growth environment, harvest season and preparing methods of medicinal herbs, and physique and syndrome of body. Secondly, there are multiple biological approaches and biochemical indicators for the expression of the same property. This paper elaborated these complexities for further understanding of herbal property. The individuality of herbs and expression factors should be well analyzed in the related studies.

Herbal Medicine

MedlinePlus

... used for its scent, flavor, or therapeutic properties. Herbal medicines are one type of dietary supplement. They are ... extracts, and fresh or dried plants. People use herbal medicines to try to maintain or improve their health. ...

Anti-dandruff Hair Tonic Containing Lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) Oil.

PubMed

Chaisripipat, Wannee; Lourith, Nattaya; Kanlayavattanakul, Mayuree

2015-01-01

Natural remedies for treating dandruff are becoming popular. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, split-head efficacy evaluation was conducted 30 Thai volunteers aged 20-60 years experiencing dandruff measured at level 3 on D-Squame® scale. An easy to use hair tonic containing essential oil of lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) active against lipophilic yeasts was developed and then evaluated for efficacy and preference. The base formulation with the significantly highest preference (p < 0.05) was stowed with the oil at 5, 10 or 15%. Subjects applied the formulation twice a day, and an efficacy assessment with D-Squame® scale was conducted on days 7 and 14 of application. The application of lemongrass oil hair tonics with 5, 10, or 15% reduced dandruff significant (p < 0.005) at day 7 (33, 75, and 51%) and increased the effect even more (p < 0.005) at day 14 (52, 81, and 74%). The hair tonic formulation with 10% of lemongrass oil seems to be the most effective preparation. © 2015 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

Herbal Medicine

MedlinePlus

... Recipes Nutrition Information Prevention Guidelines Home > Health Library Herbal Medicine See related health topics and resources Diseases and ... to treat a specific condition, such as depression. Herbal supplements, unlike medicines, are not required to be standardized to ensure ...

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and nocturnal epilepsy with tonic seizures.

PubMed

Bialasiewicz, Piotr; Nowak, Dariusz

2009-12-01

Some ambiguous symptoms may delay or lead to an erroneous diagnosis. We present a case of pure sleep, generalized tonic seizures in a patient with concomitant sleep apnea syndrome. The prolonged apneic periods with tonic muscle contracture lasting minutes and occurring exclusively at night with ensuing confusional state posed diagnostic difficulties because of the negative EEG at the beginning of the workup and the absence of other epilepsy symptoms (i.e. clonic phase, tongue biting, enuresis, seizures while awake). Numerous apneas on polysomnography led to the diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome. No effect of continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) treatment on frequency of the nocturnal tonic epileptic fits and the repetitive character of the clinical presentation combined with the typical pathologic changes on subsequent EEGs permitted to suggest the epileptic nature of the paroxysmal events. Episodes stopped following administration of clonazepam. However, spontaneous, coincidental remission of seizures cannot be excluded since the patient remained seizure free even after discontinuation of the drug.

Personalized Herbal Medicine? A Roadmap for Convergence of Herbal and Precision Medicine Biomarker Innovations.

PubMed

Thomford, Nicholas Ekow; Dzobo, Kevin; Chimusa, Emile; Andrae-Marobela, Kerstin; Chirikure, Shadreck; Wonkam, Ambroise; Dandara, Collet

2018-06-01

While drugs remain the cornerstone of medicine, herbal medicine is an important comedication worldwide. Thus, precision medicine ought to face this clinical reality and develop "companion diagnostics" for drugs as well as herbal medicines. Yet, many are in denial with respect to the extent of use of traditional/herbal medicines, overlooking that a considerable number of contemporary therapeutic drugs trace their discovery from herbal medicines. This expert review underscores that absent such appropriate attention on both classical drug therapy and herbal medicines, precision medicine biomarkers will likely not stand the full test of clinical practice while patients continue to use both drugs and herbal medicines and, yet the biomarker research and applications focus only (or mostly) on drug therapy. This asymmetry in biomarker innovation strategy needs urgent attention from a wide range of innovation actors worldwide, including governments, research funders, scientists, community leaders, civil society organizations, herbal, pharmaceutical, and insurance industries, policymakers, and social/political scientists. We discuss the various dimensions of a future convergence map between herbal and conventional medicine, and conclude with a set of concrete strategies on how best to integrate biomarker research in a realm of both herbal and drug treatment. Africa, by virtue of its vast experience and exposure in herbal medicine and a "pregnant" life sciences innovation ecosystem, could play a game-changing role for the "birth" of biomarker-informed personalized herbal medicine in the near future. At this critical juncture when precision medicine initiatives are being rolled out worldwide, precision/personalized herbal medicine is both timely and essential for modern therapeutics, not to mention biomarker innovations that stand the test of real-life practices and implementation in the clinic and society.

A Review of In Vitro and In Vivo Studies on the Efficacy of Herbal Medicines for Primary Dysmenorrhea

PubMed Central

Park, Kyoung-Sun; Lee, Jin-Moo; Jang, Jun-Bock; Lee, Chang-Hoon

2014-01-01

Purpose. Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is a common gynecological complaint among adolescent girls and women of reproductive age. This study aims to review the findings of published articles on the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of herbal medicines for PD. Methods. In vitro and in vivo studies of herbal compounds, individual herbal extracts, or herbal formula decoctions published from their inception to April 2014 were included in this review. Results. A total of 18 studies involving herbal medicines exhibited their inhibitory effect on PD. The majority of in vitro studies investigated the inhibition of uterine contractions. In vivo studies suggest that herbal medicines exert a peripheral analgesic effect and a possible anti-inflammatory activity via the inhibition of prostaglandin (PG) synthesis. The mechanisms of herbal medicines for PD are associated with PG level reduction, suppression of cyclooxygenase-2 expression, superoxide dismutase activation and malondialdehyde reduction, nitric oxide, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and nuclear factor-kappa B reduction, stimulation of somatostatin receptor, intracellular Ca2+ reduction, and recovery of phospholipid metabolism. Conclusions. Herbal medicines are thought to be promising sources for the development of effective therapeutic agents for PD. Further investigations on the appropriate herbal formula and their constituents are recommended. PMID:25431607

Hepatotoxicity of herbal and dietary supplements: an update.

PubMed

Stickel, Felix; Shouval, Daniel

2015-06-01

Herbal and dietary supplements (HDS) have been used for health-related purposes since more than 5000 years, and their application is firmly anchored in all societies worldwide. Over last decades, a remarkable renaissance in the use of HDS can be noticed in affluent societies for manifold reasons. HDS are forms of complementary and alternative medicines commonly used to prevent or treat diseases, or simply as a health tonic. Another growing indication for HDS is their alleged benefit for weight loss or to increase physical fitness. Access is easy via internet and mail-order pharmacies, and their turnover reaches billions of dollars in the USA and Europe alone. However, HDS are generally not categorized as drugs and thus less strictly regulated in most countries. As a result, scientific evidence proving their beneficial effects is mostly lacking, although some HDS may have purported benefits. However, the majority lacks such proof of value, and their use is predominantly based on belief and hope. In addition to missing scientific evidence supporting their use, HDS are typically prone to batch-to-batch variability in composition and concentration, contamination, and purposeful adulteration. Moreover, numerous examples of preparations emerged which have been linked to significant liver injury. These include single ingredients, such as kava, germander, and several Chinese herbals. Other HDS products associated with liver toxicity consist of multiple, often ill-defined ingredients, such as Hydroxycut and Herbalife. Affirmative diagnostic tests are not available, and the assessment of liver injury ascribed to HDS depends on a thorough and proactive medical history, careful exclusion of other causes, and a search for available reports on similar events linked to the intake of the suspected preparation or ingredients contained therein.

Tonic and phasic co-variation of peripheral arousal indices in infants

PubMed Central

Wass, S.V.; de Barbaro, K.; Clackson, K.

2015-01-01

Tonic and phasic differences in peripheral autonomic nervous system (ANS) indicators strongly predict differences in attention and emotion regulation in developmental populations. However, virtually all previous research has been based on individual ANS measures, which poses a variety of conceptual and methodlogical challenges to comparing results across studies. Here we recorded heart rate, electrodermal activity (EDA), pupil size, head movement velocity and peripheral accelerometry concurrently while a cohort of 37 typical 12-month-old infants completed a mixed assessment battery lasting approximately 20 min per participant. We analysed covariation of these autonomic indices in three ways: first, tonic (baseline) arousal; second, co-variation in spontaneous (phasic) changes during testing; third, phasic co-variation relative to an external stimulus event. We found that heart rate, head velocity and peripheral accelerometry showed strong positive co-variation across all three analyses. EDA showed no co-variation in tonic activity levels but did show phasic positive co-variation with other measures, that appeared limited to sections of high but not low general arousal. Tonic pupil size showed significant positive covariation, but phasic pupil changes were inconsistent. We conclude that: (i) there is high covariation between autonomic indices in infants, but that EDA may only be sensitive at extreme arousal levels, (ii) that tonic pupil size covaries with other indices, but does not show predicted patterns of phasic change and (iii) that motor activity appears to be a good proxy measure of ANS activity. The strongest patterns of covariation were observed using epoch durations of 40 s per epoch, although significant covariation between indices was also observed using shorter epochs (1 and 5 s). PMID:26316360

Insulin Regulates GABAA Receptor-Mediated Tonic Currents in the Prefrontal Cortex.

PubMed

Trujeque-Ramos, Saraí; Castillo-Rolón, Diego; Galarraga, Elvira; Tapia, Dagoberto; Arenas-López, Gabina; Mihailescu, Stefan; Hernández-López, Salvador

2018-01-01

Recent studies, have shown that insulin increases extrasynaptic GABA A receptor-mediated currents in the hippocampus, causing alterations of neuronal excitability. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is another brain area which is involved in cognition functions and expresses insulin receptors. Here, we used electrophysiological, molecular, and immunocytochemical techniques to examine the effect of insulin on the extrasynaptic GABA A receptor-mediated tonic currents in brain slices. We found that insulin (20-500 nM) increases GABA A -mediated tonic currents. Our results suggest that insulin promotes the trafficking of extrasynaptic GABA A receptors from the cytoplasm to the cell membrane. Western blot analysis and immunocytochemistry showed that PFC extrasynaptic GABA A receptors contain α-5 and δ subunits. Insulin effect on tonic currents decreased the firing rate and neuronal excitability in layer 5-6 PFC cells. These effects of insulin were dependent on the activation of the PI3K enzyme, a key mediator of the insulin response within the brain. Taken together, these results suggest that insulin modulation of the GABA A -mediated tonic currents can modify the activity of neural circuits within the PFC. These actions could help to explain the alterations of cognitive processes associated with changes in insulin signaling.

Indigenous Knowledge of Herbal Medicines among Adolescents in Amassoma, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

PubMed Central

Alade, Gideon O.; Okpako, Ese; Ajibesin, Kola’ K.; Omobuwajo, Olanrewaju R.

2016-01-01

Background: The use of herbal medicines in Nigeria is on the increase. Documented Population based data on the use of herbal medicinal products and indigenous knowledge among the younger generations are lacking in Nigeria and Africa at large. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the extent of use and general knowledge of herbal medicines among adolescents in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Methods: The study covered a total of Two hundred and twenty-eight adolescents randomly selected in Senior Secondary Schools (SSS 1-3) in Amassoma using a semi structured questionnaire/Interview and informal conversation on the respondents. Findings: Nearly all (97%) the respondents have had contact with herbs. Less than 1% had contact with herbs through formal education (teachers/literatures). Stimulation of interest was majorly through parents (53%). Grandparents were the highest (46%) of custodian of indigenous knowledge. Parents were the next (39.7%). Only 39% of the respondents would prefer the use of herbal medicine to modern medicine. Fever was the main ailment mentioned followed by eye ailment and stomach ache. Vernonia amygdalina was the main plant for the treatment of fever. Conclusion: The study revealed that parents are the major custodians of knowledge being transferred to the younger generation and little or none is learnt from Schools. There is therefore the need to include the study of herbal medicines in School’s curricula especially at SS 2 and SS 3 since they are matured enough to appreciate the importance of Herbal medicine so as to prepare them for the promotion of herbal medicine in future and to preserve our indigenous knowledge. PMID:26234964

Timing of cortical excitability changes during the reaction time of movements superimposed on tonic motor activity.

PubMed

Schneider, Cyril; Lavoie, Brigitte A; Barbeau, Hugues; Capaday, Charles

2004-12-01

Seated subjects were instructed to react to an auditory cue by simultaneously contracting the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of each ankle isometrically. Focal transcranial magnetic stimulation of the leg area of the motor cortex (MCx) was used to determine the time course of changes in motor-evoked potential amplitude (MEP) during the reaction time (RT). In one condition the voluntary contraction was superimposed on tonic EMG activity maintained at 10% of maximal voluntary contraction. In the other condition the voluntary contraction was made starting from rest. MEPs in the TA contralateral to the stimulation coil were evoked at various times during the RT in each condition. These were compared to the control MEPs evoked during tonic voluntary activity or with the subject at rest. The RT was measured trial by trial from the EMG activity of the TA ipsilateral to the magnetic stimulus, taking into account the nearly constant time difference between the two sides. The MEPs became far greater than control MEPs during the RT (mean = 332%, SD = 44 %, of control MEPs, P < 0.001) without any measurable change in the background level of EMG activity. The onset of this facilitation occurred on average 12.80 ms (SD = 7.55 ms) before the RT. There was no difference in the onset of facilitation between the two conditions. Because MEPs were facilitated without a change in the background EMG activity, it is concluded that this facilitation is specifically due to an increase of MCx excitability just before voluntary muscle activation. This conclusion is further reinforced by the observation that MEPs evoked by near-threshold anodal stimuli to the MCx were not facilitated during the RT, in contrast to those evoked by near-threshold transcranial magnetic stimulation. However, several observations in the present and previous studies indicate that MEP amplitude may be more sensitive to alpha-motoneuron activity than to motor cortical neuron activity, an idea that has important

Nephrotoxicity and Chinese Herbal Medicine.

PubMed

Yang, Bo; Xie, Yun; Guo, Maojuan; Rosner, Mitchell H; Yang, Hongtao; Ronco, Claudio

2018-04-03

Chinese herbal medicine has been practiced for the prevention, treatment, and cure of diseases for thousands of years. Herbal medicine involves the use of natural compounds, which have relatively complex active ingredients with varying degrees of side effects. Some of these herbal medicines are known to cause nephrotoxicity, which can be overlooked by physicians and patients due to the belief that herbal medications are innocuous. Some of the nephrotoxic components from herbs are aristolochic acids and other plant alkaloids. In addition, anthraquinones, flavonoids, and glycosides from herbs also are known to cause kidney toxicity. The kidney manifestations of nephrotoxicity associated with herbal medicine include acute kidney injury, CKD, nephrolithiasis, rhabdomyolysis, Fanconi syndrome, and urothelial carcinoma. Several factors contribute to the nephrotoxicity of herbal medicines, including the intrinsic toxicity of herbs, incorrect processing or storage, adulteration, contamination by heavy metals, incorrect dosing, and interactions between herbal medicines and medications. The exact incidence of kidney injury due to nephrotoxic herbal medicine is not known. However, clinicians should consider herbal medicine use in patients with unexplained AKI or progressive CKD. In addition, exposure to herbal medicine containing aristolochic acid may increase risk for future uroepithelial cancers, and patients require appropriate postexposure screening. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Tonic vibration reflex in spasticity, Parkinson's disease, and normal subjects

PubMed Central

Burke, David; Andrews, Colin J.; Lance, James W.

1972-01-01

The tonic vibration reflex (TVR) has been studied in the quadriceps and triceps surae muscles of 34 spastic, 15 Parkinsonism, and 10 normal subjects. The TVR of spasticity develops rapidly, reaching a plateau level within 2-4 sec of the onset of vibration. The tonic contraction was often preceded by a phasic spike which appeared to be a vibration-induced equivalent of the tendon jerk. The initial phasic spike was usually followed by a silent period, and induced clonus in some patients. No correlation was found between the shape of the TVR and the site of the lesion in the central nervous system. The TVR of normal subjects and patients with Parkinsonism developed slowly, starting some seconds after the onset of vibration, and reaching a plateau level in 20-60 sec. A phasic spike was recorded occasionally in these subjects, but the subsequent tonic contraction followed the usual time course. Muscle stretch increased the quadriceps TVR of all subjects, including those with spasticity in whom the quadriceps stretch reflex decreased with increasing stretch. It is suggested that this difference between the tonic vibration reflex and the tonic stretch reflex arises from the selective activation of spindle primary endings by vibration, while both the primary and the secondary endings are responsive to muscle stretch. The TVR could be potentiated by reinforcement in some subjects. Potentiation outlasted the reinforcing manoeuvre, and was most apparent at short muscle lengths. As muscle stretch increased, thus producing a larger TVR, the degree of potentiation decreased. It is therefore suggested that the effects of reinforcement result at least partially from the activation of the fusimotor system. Since reinforcement potentiated the TVR of patients with spinal spasticity in whom a prominent clasp-knife phenomenon could be demonstrated, it is suggested that the effects of reinforcement are mediated by a descending pathway that traverses the anterior quadrant of the spinal

NLP-12 engages different UNC-13 proteins to potentiate tonic and evoked release.

PubMed

Hu, Zhitao; Vashlishan-Murray, Amy B; Kaplan, Joshua M

2015-01-21

A neuropeptide (NLP-12) and its receptor (CKR-2) potentiate tonic and evoked ACh release at Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junctions. Increased evoked release is mediated by a presynaptic pathway (egl-30 Gαq and egl-8 PLCβ) that produces DAG, and by DAG binding to short and long UNC-13 proteins. Potentiation of tonic ACh release persists in mutants deficient for egl-30 Gαq and egl-8 PLCβ and requires DAG binding to UNC-13L (but not UNC-13S). Thus, NLP-12 adjusts tonic and evoked release by distinct mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/351038-05$15.00/0.

A rapid and low-cost approach to evaluate the allergenicity of herbal injection using HPLC analysis

PubMed Central

Yu, Li; Peng, Guoping; Li, Cunyu; Jiang, Baoping; Xu, Haokun; Ding, Ning; Zheng, Yunfeng; Leng, John Q.

2013-01-01

Herbal medicines have ever been thought harmless, but it is obviously not true. Many adverse reports emerged with the development of their popular application in the world. Allergic reactions, especially serious immediate hypersensitivity, frequently occurred when herbal injections were used in clinic and made this ever prevailing agent nearly disappear in China. The aim of this study is to establish a rapid and economical method for the prediction of the allergenicity of herbal injections. Ovalbumin (OVA) and four other herbal injections, in which two of them were well known for their allergenicity, were selected to sensitize and stimulate the animals. Serotonin in the animal serum was detected with HPLC to reflect the anaphylactic response and compared with the other cytokines which could mediate the anaphylaxis, including histamine, IgE and β-hexosaminidase. The results suggest that serotonin can be detected quickly and has good correlation with the other allergy-related cytokines. It is a promising way for predicting the allergenicity of the herbal injections and those complicated natural products. PMID:23587872

Slow-tonic muscle fibers and their potential innervation in the turtle, Pseudemys (Trachemys) scripta elegans.

PubMed

Callister, Robert J; Pierce, Patricia A; McDonagh, Jennifer C; Stuart, Douglas G

2005-04-01

A description is provided of the ratio of slow-tonic vs. slow- and fast-twitch fibers for five muscles in the adult turtle, Pseudemys (Trachemys) scripta elegans. The cross-sectional area of each fiber type and an estimation of the relative (weighted) cross-sectional area occupied by the different fiber types are also provided. Two hindlimb muscles (flexor digitorum longus, FDL; external gastrocnemius, EG) were selected on the basis of their suitability for future motor-unit studies. Three neck muscles (the fourth head of testo-cervicis, TeC4; the fourth head of retrahens capitus collique, RCCQ4; transversalis cervicis, TrC) were chosen for their progressively decreasing oxidative capacity. Serial sections were stained for myosin adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), NADH-diaphorase, and alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (alpha-GPDH). Conventional fiber-type classification was then performed using indirect markers for contraction speed and oxidative (aerobic) vs. glycolytic (anaerobic) metabolism: i.e., slow oxidative (SO, including slow-twitch and possibly slow-tonic fibers), fast-twitch, oxidative-glycolytic (FOG), and fast-twitch glycolytic (Fg) fibers. Slow-tonic fibers in the SO class were then revealed by directing the monoclonal antibody, ALD-58 (raised against the slow-tonic fiber myosin heavy chain of chicken anterior latissimus dorsi), to additional muscle cross sections. All five of the tested muscles contained the four fiber types, with the ATPase-stained fibers including both slow-tonic and slow-twitch fibers. The extreme distributions of SO fibers were in the predominately glycolytic TrC vs. the predominately oxidative TeC4 muscle (TrC-SO, 9%; FOG, 20%; Fg, 71% vs. TeC4-SO, 58%: FOG, 16%; Fg, 25%). Across the five muscles, the relative prevalence of slow-tonic fibers (4-47%) paralleled that of the SO fibers (9-58%). TeC4 had the highest prevalence of slow-tonic fibers (47%). The test muscles exhibited varying degrees of regional concentration of each

[THE INFLUENCE OF LEU-ENKEPHALIN AND MEDICAL PLANTS ON MOTOR ACTIVITY OF STOMACH IN DOGS].

PubMed

Vymjatnina, Z K; Prosekina, E Y; Tomova, T A

2015-01-01

The aim of the real research was a study influence of leu-enkephalin and extracts from the leaves of goose-grass large, of burdock of felted and root of chicory on the motor function of stomach for dogs. The study was carried out on 6 outbred dogs-males, by mass 14-17 kg, with the fistula of stomach by Basov. A leu-enkephalin ("Vector", Russia) was entered intravenously in a dose 7 mcg/kg. The corresponding plant-based preparations entered perorally during 10-14 days to beginning of experiments, on an empty stomach, in a volume a no more than 20 ml. Experiments put in a morning clock, in 16-18 hours after eating, after the careful washing of stomach. For 30 mines to the record of motive activity of stomach an animal was enter a peptide or gave a corresponding extract as water or spirit infusion. At the choice of doses of vegetable preparations came from the before obtained data about the antiulcerous action of the used plants. The conduct of peptide rendered considerable stimulant influence on motor activity of stomach, that was expressed in the increase of period of work and increase of force of reductions especially tonic. All used plants preparations rendered modulating influence on motive activity of stomach. Changes consisted in strengthening of tonic and oppressing of phase component. The most considerable decline of amount of phase reductions caused application of extract of goose-grass. Not only an amount but also force of phase reductions diminished thus. An extract from the root of chicory less considerably reduced the arnount of Phase reJuctions, but here substantially increased their force. All used herbal medicines stimulated tonic activity. Thus, peptide and all studied herbal medicines stimulated motion activity of the stomach that could cause acceleration of evacuation of food to duodenum. Such effect should be considered while choosing the medicine for correction of stomach functional activity.

An Asian traditional herbal complex containing Houttuynia cordata Thunb, Perilla frutescens Var. acuta and green tea stimulates hair growth in mice.

PubMed

Chung, Mun Su; Bae, Woong Jin; Choi, Sae Woong; Lee, Kyu Won; Jeong, Hyun Cheoul; Bashraheel, Fahad; Jeon, Seung Hwan; Jung, Jin Woo; Yoon, Byung Il; Kwon, Eun Bi; Oh, Hyun A; Hwang, Sung Yeoun; Kim, Sae Woong

2017-12-02

Houttuynia cordata Thunb (HC) is a traditional herbal medicine widely used in Asia for the treatment of patients with alopecia, usually in combination with other two herbal medicines (Perilla frutescens var. acuta (PFVA) and green tea (GT)). However, the effect of this herbal complex has not been clearly demonstrated. We sought to determine the hair growth-promoting effect of this herbal complex (HC, PFVA, and GT) in the animal model. Six-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups (negative control, finasteride (1 mg/kg) as a positive control, and two (200 and 400 mg/kg) concentrations of the herbal complex as experimental groups) and were fed its corresponding medications orally for 25 days. Hair growth was evaluated visually and microscopically. Western blot analysis for insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 was performed. The herbal complex exhibited hair growth-promoting activity in C57BL/6 mice. Grossly, the area of hair regrowth was 55.1 (±3.8) %, 70.2 (±6.3) % and 83.5 (±5.7) % in negative control, herbal complex 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg group, respectively. In histologic examination, the hair follicle count in deep subcutis was 2.6 (±0.7), 5.8 (±0.7) and 8.6 (±1.2) and the diameter of hair follicles was 11.9 (±5.0) μm, 17.4 (±3.9) μm and 22.8 (±5.2) μm in negative control, herbal complex 200 and 400 mg/kg group, respectively. The expression of IGF-1 was 0.14 (±0.01), 0.23 (±0.02) and 0.24 (±0.01) and the expression of TGF-β1 was 0.26 (±0.01), 0.19 (±0.02) and 0.15 (±0.01) in negative control, the 200 and 400 mg/kg group, respectively. This data provides adequate preliminary experimental evidence to support the hair regeneration effect of this herbal complex.

Herbal remedies and clinical biochemistry.

PubMed

Corns, Cathryn M

2003-09-01

The use of herbal products in the UK is increasing, and over-the-counter herbal supplements are perceived by the public as 'safe' and 'harmless'. Although the majority of them are safe, some herbal medicines carry risks. Heavy metal contamination, adulteration with Western pharmaceuticals and inclusion of prohibited animal and plant ingredients are regularly reported in ethnic medicines. Other herbs are hepato- or nephrotoxic and some interact with prescription medicines. Doctors should be made aware of the need to take a herbal as well as a drug history, and the clinical laboratory has a role in helping understanding of how herbal products may affect laboratory tests and in suggesting relevant lines of investigation in patients whose symptoms may be linked to the use of herbal products.

Reduced tonic inhibition after stroke promotes motor performance and epileptic seizures

PubMed Central

Jaenisch, Nadine; Liebmann, Lutz; Guenther, Madlen; Hübner, Christian A.; Frahm, Christiane; Witte, Otto W.

2016-01-01

Stroke survivors often recover from motor deficits, either spontaneously or with the support of rehabilitative training. Since tonic GABAergic inhibition controls network excitability, it may be involved in recovery. Middle cerebral artery occlusion in rodents reduces tonic GABAergic inhibition in the structurally intact motor cortex (M1). Transcript and protein abundance of the extrasynaptic GABAA-receptor complex α4β3δ are concurrently reduced (δ-GABAARs). In vivo and in vitro analyses show that stroke-induced glutamate release activates NMDA receptors, thereby reducing KCC2 transporters and down-regulates δ-GABAARs. Functionally, this is associated with improved motor performance on the RotaRod, a test in which mice are forced to move in a similar manner to rehabilitative training sessions. As an adverse side effect, decreased tonic inhibition facilitates post-stroke epileptic seizures. Our data imply that early and sometimes surprisingly fast recovery following stroke is supported by homeostatic, endogenous plasticity of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors. PMID:27188341

Legal requirements for the quality of herbal substances and herbal preparations for the manufacturing of herbal medicinal products in the European union.

PubMed

Vlietinck, Arnold; Pieters, Luc; Apers, Sandra

2009-06-01

In the European Union (EU) herbal medicinal products have become increasingly important. This is, for instance, underlined by the recent introduction of a simplified procedure in the Member States of the EU allowing the registration of herbal medicinal products which fulfill the criteria of a traditional herbal medicinal product, i.e., sufficient evidence of its medicinal use throughout a period of at least 30 years for products in the EU and at least 15 years within the EU and 15 years elsewhere for products outside the EU. With regard to the manufacturing of these products and their quality, applications of traditional herbal medicinal products have to fulfil the same requirements as applications for a marketing authorization. The quality of herbal substances as well as herbal preparations will be determined by the availability of modern science-based public monographs in the European Pharmacopoeia and their equivalents developed by the pharmaceutical industry. The standards put forward in these monographs must allow us not only to define the quality of these products, but also to eliminate dangerous counterfeit, substandard, adulterated and contaminated (traditional) herbal medicinal products. The usefulness of these monographs to implement the criteria on quality and specifications put forward for these products in the different guidelines of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) is discussed.

Recipes and general herbal formulae in books: causes of herbal poisoning.

PubMed

Chong, Y K; Ching, C K; Ng, S W; Tse, M L; Mak, Tony W L

2014-08-01

Traditional Chinese medicine is commonly used locally, not only for disease treatment but also for improving health. Many people prepare soups containing herbs or herbal decoctions according to recipes and general herbal formulae commonly available in books, magazines, and newspapers without consulting Chinese medicine practitioners. However, such practice can be dangerous. We report five cases of poisoning from 2007 to 2012 occurring as a result of inappropriate use of herbs in recipes or general herbal formulae acquired from books. Aconite poisoning due to overdose or inadequate processing accounted for three cases. The other two cases involved the use of herbs containing Strychnos alkaloids and Sophora alkaloids. These cases demonstrated that inappropriate use of Chinese medicine can result in major morbidity, and herbal formulae and recipes containing herbs available in general publications are not always safe.

Herbal hepatotoxicity and WHO global introspection method.

PubMed

Teschke, Rolf; Eickhoff, Axel; Wolff, Albrecht; Frenzel, Christian; Schulze, Johannes

2013-01-01

Herbal hepatotoxicity is a rare but highly disputed disease because numerous confounding variables may complicate accurate causality assessment. Case evaluation is even more difficult when the WHO global introspection method (WHO method) is applied as diagnostic algorithm. This method lacks liver specificity, hepatotoxicity validation, and quantitative items, basic qualifications required for a sound evaluation of hepatotoxicity cases. Consequently, there are no data available for reliability, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value. Its scope is also limited by the fact that it cannot discriminate between a positive and a negative causality attribution, thereby stimulating case overdiagnosing and overreporting. The WHO method ignores uncertainties regarding daily dose, temporal association, start, duration, and end of herbal use, time to onset of the adverse reaction, and course of liver values after herb discontinuation. Insufficiently considered or ignored are comedications, preexisting liver diseases, alternative explanations upon clinical assessment, and exclusion of infections by hepatitis A-C, cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), and varicella zoster virus (VZV). We clearly prefer as alternative the scale of CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences) which is structured, quantitative, liver specific, and validated for hepatotoxicity. In conclusion, causality of herbal hepatotoxicity is best assessed by the liver specific CIOMS scale validated for hepatotoxicity rather than the obsolete WHO method that is liver unspecific and not validated for hepatotoxicity. CIOMS based assessments will ensure the correct diagnosis and exclude alternative diagnosis that may require other specific therapies.

Marketing herbal medicines.

PubMed

Lazarus, M

1999-01-01

HIV-positive support groups, together with hospital pharmacists in Thailand are fighting the high cost and lack of access to pharmaceuticals by producing and distributing herbal medicines. In Theung district, Chiang Rai province, members of the local support group for people with HIV produce their own, low-cost, herbal medicines. Although the herbal medicines they produce do not provide a cure for HIV/AIDS, they do offer relief for some of the symptoms of opportunistic infections. The herbs are prepared by the group members under the supervision of the pharmacy department at the district hospital. Local people judge their effectiveness by hearing testimonials from people who have witnessed improvement in symptoms. In response to the popularity and effectiveness of herbal medicines, the Ministry of Public Health has approved plans to sell products derived from local herbs in the pharmacies of government hospitals.

Decoding brain state transitions in the pedunculopontine nucleus: cooperative phasic and tonic mechanisms

PubMed Central

Petzold, Anne; Valencia, Miguel; Pál, Balázs; Mena-Segovia, Juan

2015-01-01

Cholinergic neurons of the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) are most active during the waking state. Their activation is deemed to cause a switch in the global brain activity from sleep to wakefulness, while their sustained discharge may contribute to upholding the waking state and enhancing arousal. Similarly, non-cholinergic PPN neurons are responsive to brain state transitions and their activation may influence some of the same targets of cholinergic neurons, suggesting that they operate in coordination. Yet, it is not clear how the discharge of distinct classes of PPN neurons organize during brain states. Here, we monitored the in vivo network activity of PPN neurons in the anesthetized rat across two distinct levels of cortical dynamics and their transitions. We identified a highly structured configuration in PPN network activity during slow-wave activity that was replaced by decorrelated activity during the activated state (AS). During the transition, neurons were predominantly excited (phasically or tonically), but some were inhibited. Identified cholinergic neurons displayed phasic and short latency responses to sensory stimulation, whereas the majority of non-cholinergic showed tonic responses and remained at high discharge rates beyond the state transition. In vitro recordings demonstrate that cholinergic neurons exhibit fast adaptation that prevents them from discharging at high rates over prolonged time periods. Our data shows that PPN neurons have distinct but complementary roles during brain state transitions, where cholinergic neurons provide a fast and transient response to sensory events that drive state transitions, whereas non-cholinergic neurons maintain an elevated firing rate during global activation. PMID:26582977

A guide to herbal remedies

MedlinePlus

... can help you choose and use herbals safely. Herbals are not Medicines You have to be careful when using an ... A.M. Editorial team. Related MedlinePlus Health Topics Herbal Medicine Browse the Encyclopedia A.D.A.M., Inc. ...

Differential effects of phasic and tonic alerting on the efficiency of executive attention.

PubMed

Asanowicz, Dariusz; Marzecová, Anna

2017-05-01

The study examined how alerting and executive attention interact in a task involving conflict resolution. We proposed a tentative scenario in which an initial exogenous phasic alerting phase is followed by an endogenous tonic alerting phase, and hypothesized that these two processes may have distinct effects on conflict resolution. Phasic alerting was expected to increase the conflict, whereas tonic alerting was expected to decrease the conflict. Three experiments were conducted using different variants of the flanker task with visual alerting cues and varied cue-target intervals (SOA), to differentiate between effects of phasic alerting (short SOA) and tonic alerting (long SOA). The results showed that phasic alerting consistently decreased the efficiency of conflict resolution indexed by response time and accuracy, whereas tonic alerting increased the accuracy of conflict resolution, but at a cost in the speed of processing the conflict. The third experiment additionally showed that the effects of phasic alerting may be modulated by the psychophysical strength of alerting cues. Discussed are possible mechanisms that could account for the observed interactions between alerting and conflict resolution, as well as some discrepancies between the current and previous studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Properties of macerated herbal oil

PubMed Central

Kantawong, Fahsai; Singhatong, Supawatchara; Srilamay, Aomjai; Boonyuen, Kantarose; Mooti, Niroot; Wanachantararak, Phenphichar; Kuboki, Thasaneeya

2017-01-01

Introduction: The addition of herbs into hot sesame oil could increase the oil-pulling efficiency of sesame oil. The aim of present study was to modify the proportion of herbs and sesame oil with the addition of other ingredients including menthol, camphor, and borneol and improve the medicinal properties and the scent of the oil. Methods: Macerated herbal oil was prepared by heat extraction of five species of herbs (Zingiber cassumunar, Zingiber zerumbet, Plantago major Linn, Citrus hystrix, and Amomum biflorum) with hot sesame oil. The study was performed to evaluate the anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial properties of this macerated herbal oil. Results: Macerated herbal oil was evaluated for antioxidant activity using DPPH and ABTS assays. It was shown that at dilution 1:2 in DMSO, the macerated herbal oil had DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities equal to 63% and 22%, respectively. Macerated herbal oil dilution 1:8 in DMSO demonstrated ferric reducing capacity equivalent to ascorbic acid (0.208 µM) and had reducing power equivalent to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) 7.41 µg/mL. MTT assay was performed using immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells (HMSCs) as a cell culture model. The result indicated that the cytotoxic concentration of the macerated herbal oil was ≥ 2.5 µL/mL in complete DMEM. Anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated using the nitrite assay and RT-PCR. It was found that the macerated herbal oil could inhibit nitrite accumulation in culture media. Change in the expression of COX-2, Nrf2, and NF-kB in RT-PCR confirmed the anti-inflammatory activity of the macerated herbal oil. Conclusion: It could be concluded that the macerated herbal oil could inhibit nitrite accumulation in culture media, which might be the inhibitory effect of the macerated herbal oil on COX-2 or Nrf2, the downstream modulator of the COX-2 pathway. Further intensive studies are needed for the optimization before bringing this macerated herbal oil

Tonic dopamine induces persistent changes in the transient potassium current through translational regulation

PubMed Central

Rodgers, EW; Krenz, W-D; Baro, DJ

2012-01-01

Neuromodulatory effects can vary with their mode of transmission. Phasic release produces local and transient increases in dopamine (DA) up to micromolar concentrations. Additionally, since DA is released from open synapses and reuptake mechanisms are not nearby, tonic nanomolar DA exists in the extracellular space. Do phasic and tonic transmissions similarly regulate voltage dependent ionic conductances in a given neuron? It was previously shown that DA could immediately alter the transient potassium current (IA) of identified neurons in the stomatogastric ganglion (STG) of the spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus. Here we show that DA can also persistently alter IA, and that DA’s immediate and persistent effects oppose one another. The lateral pyloric neuron (LP) exclusively expresses type 1 DA receptors (D1Rs). Micromolar DA produces immediate depolarizing shifts in the voltage dependence of LP IA, whereas tonic nanomolar DA produces a persistent increase in LP IA maximal conductance (Gmax) through a translation dependent mechanism involving target of rapamycin (TOR). The pyloric dilator neuron (PD) exclusively expresses type 2 DA receptors (D2Rs). Micromolar DA produces an immediate hyperpolarizing shift in PD IA voltage dependence of activation, whereas tonic DA persistently decreases PD IA Gmax through a translation dependent mechanism not involving TOR. The persistent effects on IA Gmax do not depend on LP or PD activity. These data suggest a role for tonic modulators in the regulation of voltage gated ion channel number; and furthermore, that dopaminergic systems may be organized to limit the amount of change they can impose on a circuit. PMID:21917788

Tonic immobility during sexual assault - a common reaction predicting post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression.

PubMed

Möller, Anna; Söndergaard, Hans Peter; Helström, Lotti

2017-08-01

Active resistance is considered to be the 'normal' reaction during rape. However, studies have indicated that similar to animals, humans exposed to extreme threat may react with a state of involuntary, temporary motor inhibition known as tonic immobility. The aim of the present study was to assess the occurrence of tonic immobility during rape and subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression. Tonic immobility at the time of the assault was assessed using the Tonic Immobility Scale in 298 women who had visited the Emergency clinic for raped women within 1 month of a sexual assault. Information about the assault and the victim characteristics were taken from the structured clinical data files. After 6 months, 189 women were assessed regarding the development of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Of the 298 women, 70% reported significant tonic immobility and 48% reported extreme tonic immobility during the assault. Tonic immobility was associated with the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (OR 2.75; 95% CI 1.50-5.03, p = 0.001) and severe depression (OR 3.42; 95% CI 1.51-7.72, p = 0.003) at 6 months. Further, previous trauma history (OR 2.36; 95% CI 1.48-3.77, p < 0.001) and psychiatric treatment history (OR 2.00; 95% CI 1.26-3.19, p = 0.003) were associated with the tonic immobility response. Tonic immobility during rape is a common reaction associated with subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression. Knowledge of this reaction in sexual assault victims is important in legal matters and for healthcare follow up. © 2017 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Surface roughness of composite resin veneer after application of herbal and non-herbal toothpaste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nuraini, S.; Herda, E.; Irawan, B.

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to find out the surface roughness of composite resin veneer after brushing. In this study, 24 specimens of composite resin veneer are divided into three subgroups: brushed without toothpaste, brushed with non-herbal toothpaste, and brushed with herbal toothpaste. Brushing was performed for one set of 5,000 strokes and continued for a second set of 5,000 strokes. Roughness of composite resin veneer was determined using a Surface Roughness Tester. The results were statistically analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test and Post Hoc Mann-Whitney. The results indicate that the highest difference among the Ra values occurred within the subgroup that was brushed with the herbal toothpaste. In conclusion, the herbal toothpaste produced a rougher surface on composite resin veneer compared to non-herbal toothpaste.

Evaluation of herbal dietary supplements marketed on the internet for recreational use.

PubMed

Dennehy, Cathi E; Tsourounis, Candy; Miller, Amy E

2005-10-01

The Internet is a popular tool for marketing and purchasing herbal dietary supplements (DS). Various Web sites sell these products purely for recreational use. To describe the content of Web sites that advertise and market herbal DS for recreational use (ie, for the purpose of altering mood/behavior/or perception, "getting high," or as a substitute for a drug of abuse). Four major search engines and the search terms "buy herbal high" and "buy legal high" were used to identify Web sites selling herbal DS for recreational use. Web sites were evaluated for their country of origin and for compliance with the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). Products were evaluated for their ingredient lists, effect claims, comparisons with illicit drugs, adverse effects, drug interactions, and contraindications. Twenty-eight unique Web sites with 119 products were evaluated. Most sites were in the US (54%) and were in compliance with DSHEA. Forty-seven percent of the products were likened to illicit drugs, typically marijuana (48%) or 3-,4-methylene dioxyamphetamine (Ecstasy; 23%). The most common product ingredients were ephedra alkaloids (27%), Salvia divinorum (17%), kava (10%), guarana (10%), Acorus calamus (10%), and damiana (10%). Effect claims frequently involved the products' use as a hallucinogen (51%) or stimulant (39%). Sixty-four percent of the sites mentioned adverse effects, and 54% mentioned drug interactions. This study demonstrates that herbal DS are being marketed for use as legal alternatives to illicit drugs of abuse. Healthcare professionals need to be aware of this trend and the products that are involved.

Tonic and Phasic Receptor Neurons in the Vertebrate Olfactory Epithelium

PubMed Central

Madrid, Rodolfo; Sanhueza, Magdalena; Alvarez, Osvaldo; Bacigalupo, Juan

2003-01-01

Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) respond to odorants with characteristic patterns of action potentials that are relevant for odor coding. Prolonged odorant exposures revealed three populations of dissociated toad ORNs, which were mimicked by depolarizing currents: tonic (TN, displaying sustained firing, 49% of 102 cells), phasic (PN, exhibiting brief action potential trains, 36%) and intermediate neurons (IN, generating trains longer than PN, 15%). We studied the biophysical properties underlying the differences between TNs and PNs, the most extreme cases among ORNs. TNs and PNs possessed similar membrane capacitances (∼4 pF), but they differed in resting potential (−82 versus −64 mV), input resistance (4.2 versus 2.9 GΩ) and unspecific current, Iu (TNs: 0 < Iu ≤ 1 pA/pF; and PNs: Iu > 1 pA/pF). Firing behavior did not correlate with differences in voltage-gated conductances. We developed a mathematical model that accurately simulates tonic and phasic patterns. Whole cell recordings from rat ORNs in fragments (∼4 mm2) of olfactory epithelium showed that such a tissue normally contains tonic and phasic receptor neurons, suggesting that this feature is common across a wide range of vertebrates. Our findings show that the individual passive electrical properties can govern the firing patterns of ORNs. PMID:12770919

Reducing excessive GABAergic tonic inhibition promotes post-stroke functional recovery

PubMed Central

Clarkson, Andrew N.; Huang, Ben S.; MacIsaac, Sarah E.; Mody, Istvan; Carmichael, S. Thomas

2010-01-01

Stroke is a leading cause of disability; but no pharmacological therapy is currently available for promoting recovery. The brain region adjacent to stroke damage, the peri-infarct zone, is critical for rehabilitation, as it exhibits heightened neuroplasticity, allowing sensorimotor functions to re-map from damaged areas1–3. Thus, understanding the neuronal properties constraining this plasticity is important to developing new treatments. Here we show that after a stroke in mice, tonic neuronal inhibition is increased in the peri-infarct zone. This increased tonic inhibition is mediated by extrasynaptic GABAA receptors (GABAARs) and is caused by an impairment in GABA transporter (GAT-3/4) function. To counteract the heightened inhibition, we administered in vivo a benzodiazepine inverse agonist specific for the α5-subunit-containing extrasynaptic GABAARs at a delay after stroke. This treatment produced an early and sustained recovery of motor function. Genetically lowering the number of α5 or δ-subunit-containing GABAARs responsible for tonic inhibition also proved beneficial for post-stroke recovery, consistent with the therapeutic potential of diminishing extrasynaptic GABAAR function. Together, our results identify new pharmacological targets and provide the rationale for a novel strategy to promote recovery after stroke and possibly other brain injuries. PMID:21048709

Safety issues with herbal products.

PubMed

Marrone, C M

1999-12-01

To review safety issues associated with the use of herbal products. Literature accessed through MEDLINE and other Internet search engines. Key search terms included herbs, dietary supplements, and safety. A misconception exists among consumers that herbal remedies are safe because they are natural. In an effort to provide healthcare practitioners with information necessary for a patient discussion, a review of safety concerns with herbal products was conducted. Several safety concerns exist with herbal products including lack of safety data, absence of quality-control requirements for potency and purity, and lenient labeling standards.

Herbals and botanicals in geriatric psychiatry.

PubMed

Desai, Abhilash K; Grossberg, George T

2003-01-01

There is high prevalence of herbal medicine use among elderly people. Most patients do not reveal their herbal use to their physicians and pharmacists. The authors describe some commonly used herbal remedies in terms of their potential benefits and known adverse effects. The review also highlights the potentially serious risk of herb-drug interactions and discusses communication issues and regulatory concerns associated with use of herbal medicines. Health practitioners should remember to include herbal use history in their routine drug histories and remain informed of the beneficial and harmful effects of these treatments.

Functional Characterization of the Cingulo-Opercular Network in the Maintenance of Tonic Alertness

PubMed Central

Sadaghiani, Sepideh; D'Esposito, Mark

2015-01-01

The complex processing architecture underlying attentional control requires delineation of the functional role of different control-related brain networks. A key component is the cingulo-opercular (CO) network composed of anterior insula/operculum, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and thalamus. Its function has been particularly difficult to characterize due to the network's pervasive activity and frequent co-activation with other control-related networks. We previously suggested this network to underlie intrinsically maintained tonic alertness. Here, we tested this hypothesis by separately manipulating the demand for selective attention and for tonic alertness in a two-factorial, continuous pitch discrimination paradigm. The 2 factors had independent behavioral effects. Functional imaging revealed that activity as well as functional connectivity in the CO network increased when the task required more tonic alertness. Conversely, heightened selective attention to pitch increased activity in the dorsal attention (DAT) network but not in the CO network. Across participants, performance accuracy showed dissociable correlation patterns with activity in the CO, DAT, and fronto-parietal (FP) control networks. These results support tonic alertness as a fundamental function of the CO network. They further the characterization of this function as the effortful process of maintaining cognitive faculties available for current processing requirements. PMID:24770711

[A complexity analysis of Chinese herbal property theory: the multiple formations of herbal property].

PubMed

Jin, Rui; Zhang, Bing

2012-11-01

Chinese herbal property theory (CHPT) is the fundamental characteristic of Chinese materia medica different from modern medicines. It reflects the herbal properties associated with efficacy and formed the early framework of four properties and five flavors in Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica. After the supplement and improvement of CHPT in the past thousands of years, it has developed a theory system including four properties, five flavors, meridian entry, direction of medicinal actions (ascending, descending, floating and sinking) and toxicity. However, because of the influence of philosophy about yin-yang theory and five-phase theory and the difference of cognitive approach and historical background at different times, CHPT became complex. One of the complexity features was the multiple methods for determining herbal property, which might include the inference from herbal efficacy, the thought of Chinese Taoist School and witchcraft, the classification thinking according to manifestations, etc. Another complexity feature was the multiselection associations between herbal property and efficacy, which indicated that the same property could be inferred from different kinds of efficacy. This paper analyzed these complexity features and provided the importance of cognitive approaches and efficacy attributes corresponding to certain herbal property in the study of CHPT.

Structural Analysis and Immuno-Stimulating Activity of an Acidic Polysaccharide from the Stems of Dendrobium nobile Lindl.

PubMed

Wang, Jun-Hui; Zuo, Shu-Rong; Luo, Jian-Ping

2017-04-10

Dendrobium nobile Lindl., an epiphytic herb distributed in the Southeast Asia, is used as a tonic and antipyretic herbal medicine in China. In this study, a water-soluble acidic heteropolysaccharide, DNP-W4, containing mannose, glucose, galactose, xylose, rhamnose, and galacturonic acid, in the molar ratios of 1.0:4.9:2.5:0.5:1.0:0.9, was obtained from the stems of Dendrobium nobile Lindl. Using methylation analysis, partial acid hydrolysis, pectolyase treatment, NMR, and ESI-MS, the structure of DNP-W4 was elucidated. The obtained data indicated that DNP-W4 was a complex heteropolysaccharide and possessed a backbone composed of (1→4)-linked β-d-Glcp, (1→6)-linked β-d-Glcp, and (1→6)-linked β-d-Galp, with substitutes at O-4/6 of Glcp residues and O-3 of Galp. The branches of DNP-W4 were composed of terminal Manp, (1→6)-linked β-d-Manp, (1→3)-linked β-d-Glcp, β-d-Glcp, β-d-Galp, (1→4)-linked α-d-GalAp, (1→2)-linked α-L-Rhap, and Xylp. DNP-W4 had little immunological activities, but its derivatives had immuno-stimulating activities to some extent.

Estrogenic effects of herbal medicines from Costa Rica used for the management of menopausal symptoms.

PubMed

Doyle, Brian J; Frasor, Jonna; Bellows, Lauren E; Locklear, Tracie D; Perez, Alice; Gomez-Laurito, Jorge; Mahady, Gail B

2009-01-01

Outcomes from the Women's Health Initiative have demonstrated adverse effects associated with hormone therapy and have prioritized the need to develop new alternative treatments for the management of menopause and osteoporosis. To this end, we have been investigating natural herbal medicines used by Costa Rican women to manage menopausal symptoms. Seventeen plant species were collected and extracted in Costa Rica. To establish possible mechanisms of action and to determine their potential future use for menopause or osteoporosis, we investigated the estrogenic activities of the herbal extracts in an estrogen-reporter gene estrogen receptor (ER) beta-Chemically Activated Luciferase Expression assay in U2-OS cells and in reporter and endogenous gene assays in MCF-7 cells. Six of the plant extracts bound to the ERs. Four of the six extracts stimulated reporter gene expression in the ER-beta-Chemically Activated Luciferase Expression assay. All six extracts modulated expression of endogenous genes in MCF-7 cells, with four extracts acting as estrogen agonists and two extracts, Pimenta dioica and Smilax domingensis, acting as partial agonist/antagonists by enhancing estradiol-stimulated pS2 mRNA expression but reducing estradiol-stimulated PR and PTGES mRNA expression. Both P. dioica and S. domingensis induced a 2ERE-luciferase reporter gene in transient transfected MCF-7 cells, which was inhibited by the ER antagonist ICI 182,780. This work presents a plausible mechanism of action for many of the herbal medicines used by Costa Rican women to treat menopausal symptoms. However, it further suggests that studies of safety and efficacy are needed before these herbs should be used as alternative therapies to hormone therapy.

An evaluation of selected herbal reference texts and comparison to published reports of adverse herbal events.

PubMed

Haller, Christine A; Anderson, Ilene B; Kim, Susan Y; Blanc, Paul D

2002-01-01

There has been a recent proliferation of medical reference texts intended to guide practitioners whose patients use herbal therapies. We systematically assessed six herbal reference texts to evaluate the information they contain on herbal toxicity. We selected six major herbal references published from 1996 to 2000 to evaluate the adequacy of their toxicological information in light of published adverse events. To identify herbs most relevant to toxicology, we reviewed herbal-related calls to our regional California Poison Control System, San Francisco division (CPCS-SF) in 1998 and identified the 12 herbs (defined as botanical dietary supplements) most frequently involved in these CPCS-SF referrals. We searched Medline (1966 to 2000) to identify published reports of adverse effects potentially related to these same 12 herbs. We scored each herbal reference text on the basis of information inclusiveness for the target 12 herbs, with a maximal overall score of 3. The herbs, identified on the basis of CPCS-SF call frequency were: St John's wort, ma huang, echinacea, guarana, ginkgo, ginseng, valerian, tea tree oil, goldenseal, arnica, yohimbe and kava kava. The overall herbal reference scores ranged from 2.2 to 0.4 (median 1.1). The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database received the highest overall score and was the most complete and useful reference source. All of the references, however, lacked sufficient information on management of herbal medicine overdose, and several had incorrect overdose management guidelines that could negatively impact patient care. Current herbal reference texts do not contain sufficient information for the assessment and management of adverse health effects of botanical therapies.

[Key points of poverty alleviation of Chinese herbal medicine industry and classification of recommended Chinese herbal medicines].

PubMed

Huang, Lu-Qi; Su, Gang-Qiang; Zhang, Xiao-Bo; Sun, Xiao-Ming; Wu, Xiao-Jun; Guo, Lan-Ping; Li, Meng; Wang, Hui; Jing, Zhi-Xian

2017-11-01

To build a well-off society in an all-round way, eliminate poverty, improve people's livelihood and improve the level of social and economic development in poverty-stricken areas is the frontier issues of the government and science and technology workers at all levels. Chinese herbal medicine is the strategic resource of the people's livelihood, Chinese herbal medicine cultivation is an important part of China's rural poor population income. As most of the production of Chinese herbal medicine by the biological characteristics of their own and the interaction of natural ecological environment factors, showing a strong regional character.the Ministry of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the State Council Poverty Alleviation Office and other five departments jointly issued the "China Herbal Industry Poverty Alleviation Action Plan (2017-2020)", according to local conditions of guidance and planning of Chinese herbal medicine production practice, promote Chinese herbal medicine industry poverty alleviation related work In this paper, based on the relevant data of poverty-stricken areas, this paper divides the areas with priority to the poverty alleviation conditions of Chinese herbal medicine industry, and analyzes and catalogs the list of Chinese herbal medicines grown in poverty-stricken areas at the macro level. The results show that there are at least 10% of the poor counties in the counties where the poverty-stricken counties and the concentrated areas are concentrated in the poverty-stricken areas. There is already a good base of Chinese herbal medicine industry, which is the key priority area for poverty alleviation of Chinese herbal medicine industry. Poverty-stricken counties, with a certain degree of development of Chinese medicine industry poverty alleviation conditions, the need to strengthen the relevant work to expand the foundation and capacity of Chinese herbal medicine industry poverty alleviation; 37% of poor counties to develop Chinese medicine

Herbal Medicine - Multiple Languages

MedlinePlus

... Are Here: Home → Multiple Languages → All Health Topics → Herbal Medicine URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/languages/ ... V W XYZ List of All Topics All Herbal Medicine - Multiple Languages To use the sharing features on ...

Anticonvulsant effects of mefloquine on generalized tonic-clonic seizures induced by two acute models in rats.

PubMed

Franco-Pérez, Javier; Ballesteros-Zebadúa, Paola; Manjarrez-Marmolejo, Joaquín

2015-03-01

Mefloquine can cross the blood-brain barrier and block the gap junction intercellular communication in the brain. Enhanced electrical coupling mediated by gap junctions is an underlying mechanism involved in the generation and maintenance of seizures. For this reason, the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of the systemic administration of mefloquine on tonic-clonic seizures induced by two acute models such as pentylenetetrazole and maximal electroshock. All the control rats presented generalized tonic-clonic seizures after the administration of pentylenetetrazole. However, the incidence of seizures induced by pentylenetetrazole significantly decreased in the groups administered systematically with 40 and 80 mg/kg of mefloquine. In the control group, none of the rats survived after the generalized tonic-clonic seizures induced by pentylenetetrazole, but survival was improved by mefloquine. Besides, mefloquine significantly modified the total spectral power as well as the duration, amplitude and frequency of the epileptiform activity induced by pentylenetetrazole. For the maximal electroshock model, mefloquine did not change the occurrence of tonic hindlimb extension. However, this gap junction blocker significantly decreased the duration of the tonic hindlimb extension induced by the acute electroshock. These data suggest that mefloquine at low doses might be eliciting some anticonvulsant effects when is systemically administered to rats.

Analgesic Effects of Toad Cake and Toad-cake-containing Herbal Drugs: Analgesic effects of toad cake.

PubMed

Inoue, Eiji; Shimizu, Yasuharu; Masui, Ryo; Usui, Tomomi; Sudoh, Keiichi

2014-03-01

This study was conducted to clarify the analgesic effect of toad cake and toad-cake-containing herbal drugs. We counted the writhing response of mice after the intraperitoneal administration of acetic acid as a nociceptive pain model and the withdrawal response after the plantar surface stimulation of the hind paw induced by partial sciatic nerve ligation of the mice as a neuropathic pain model to investigate the analgesic effect of toad cake and toad-cake-containing herbal drugs. A co-treatment study with serotonin biosynthesis inhibitory drug 4-chloro- DL-phenylalanine methyl ester hydrochloride (PCPA), the catecholamine biosynthesis inhibitory drug α-methyl- DL-tyrosine methyl ester hydrochloride (AMPT) or the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone hydrochloride was also conducted. Analgesic effects in a mouse model of nociceptive pain and neuropathic pain were shown by oral administration of toad cake and toad-cake-containing herbal drugs. The effects of toad cake and toad-cake-containing herbal drugs disappeared upon co-treatment with PCPA, but not with AMPT or naloxone in the nociceptive pain model; the analgesic effect of toad-cake-containing herbal drugs also disappeared upon co-treatment with PCPA in the neuropathic pain model. Toad cake and toad-cake-containing herbal drugs have potential for the treatments of nociceptive pain and of neuropathic pain, such as post-herpetic neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, diabetic neuralgia, and postoperative or posttraumatic pain, by activation of the central serotonin nervous system.

Quality of herbal medicines: challenges and solutions.

PubMed

Zhang, Junhua; Wider, Barbara; Shang, Hongcai; Li, Xuemei; Ernst, Edzard

2012-01-01

The popularity of herbal medicines has risen worldwide. This increase in usage renders safety issues important. Many adverse events of herbal medicines can be attributed to the poor quality of the raw materials or the finished products. Different types of herbal medicines are associated with different problems. Quality issues of herbal medicines can be classified into two categories: external and internal. In this review, external issues including contamination (e.g. toxic metals, pesticides residues and microbes), adulteration and misidentification are detailed. Complexity and non-uniformity of the ingredients in herbal medicines are the internal issues affecting the quality of herbal medicines. Solutions to the raised problems are discussed. The rigorous implementation of Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) would undoubtedly reduce the risk of external issues. Through the use of modern analytical methods and pharmaceutical techniques, previously unsolved internal issues have become solvable. Standard herbal products can be manufactured from the standard herbal extracts. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

p21-activated kinase 1 restricts tonic endocannabinoid signaling in the hippocampus

PubMed Central

Xia, Shuting; Zhou, Zikai; Leung, Celeste; Zhu, Yuehua; Pan, Xingxiu; Qi, Junxia; Morena, Maria; Hill, Matthew N; Xie, Wei; Jia, Zhengping

2016-01-01

PAK1 inhibitors are known to markedly improve social and cognitive function in several animal models of brain disorders, including autism, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We show here that disruption of PAK1 in mice suppresses inhibitory neurotransmission through an increase in tonic, but not phasic, secretion of endocannabinoids (eCB). Consistently, we found elevated levels of anandamide (AEA), but not 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) following PAK1 disruption. This increased tonic AEA signaling is mediated by reduced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and COX-2 inhibitors recapitulate the effect of PAK1 deletion on GABAergic transmission in a CB1 receptor-dependent manner. These results establish a novel signaling process whereby PAK1 upregulates COX-2, reduces AEA and restricts tonic eCB-mediated processes. Because PAK1 and eCB are both critically involved in many other organ systems in addition to the brain, our findings may provide a unified mechanism by which PAK1 regulates these systems and their dysfunctions including cancers, inflammations and allergies. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.14653.001 PMID:27296803

[Suggestions to strengthen quality management of herbal decoction pieces--based on production chain of herbal decoction pieces].

PubMed

Liu, Yan; Nie, Qing; Chen, Jing

2015-08-01

With the development of society and the improvement of people's living standards, the effect of Chinese medicine in treatment and health care is more and more prominent. The herbal decoction pieces are the important part of Chinese medicine,it can be applied directly to clinical treatment and it's also the raw material of Chinese patent medicine. Therefore, the quality of herbal decoction pieces is quite important. The parts of the production of herbal decoction pieces are numerous, and there are possibilities of adverse effects on the quality of the herbal decoction pieces in every part. In this paper, we based on the production chain of herbal decoction pieces, analyzed the main problem that affect the quality of herbal decoction pieces in the part of selection of Chinese herbal medicines, planting, purchasing, processing, packaging, storage and transport, such as the poor quality of seed and seedlings of plant-based Chinese medicines, some plants left their place of origin and have been introduced in the place that is not suitable for this kind of plant, the insufficient growth time and the excessive harmful substances. The purchasers and the accepters lack of professional knowledge and professional ethics. The mechanism of processing is not clear, the standards can not be uniformed, and lack of qualified person in processing, etc. So we suggest: intensify the basic research of key scientific issues. Improve the quality of persons who work in herbal decoction pieces; Establish an "integration" mode of operation in herbal decoction pieces enterprise; Breeding high quality plant resources, establish the large-scale planting basement; Make the packing of herbal decoction pieces standard; Establish the modernization traditional Chinese medicine logistics enterprise.

The effects of herbal medicine on epilepsy

PubMed Central

Pan, Zhenxiang; Leng, Yashu; Lv, Jiayin; Li, Bingjin

2017-01-01

Traditional herbal medicine plays a significant role in the treatment of epilepsy. Though herbal medicine is widely used in antiepileptic treatment, there is a lack of robust evidence for efficacy and toxicity of most herbs. Besides, the herbal medicine should be subject to evidence-based scrutiny. In this context, we present a review to introduce the effects of herbal medicine on epilepsy. However, hundreds of herbal medicines have been investigated in the available studies. Some commonly used herbal medicines for epilepsy have been listed in our study. The overwhelming majority of these data are based on animal experiments. The lack of clinical data places constraints on the clinical recommendation of herbal medicine. Our study may conduct further studies and provide some insight on the development of anti-epileptic drugs. PMID:28423368

The effects of herbal medicine on epilepsy.

PubMed

Liu, Wei; Ge, Tongtong; Pan, Zhenxiang; Leng, Yashu; Lv, Jiayin; Li, Bingjin

2017-07-18

Traditional herbal medicine plays a significant role in the treatment of epilepsy. Though herbal medicine is widely used in antiepileptic treatment, there is a lack of robust evidence for efficacy and toxicity of most herbs. Besides, the herbal medicine should be subject to evidence-based scrutiny. In this context, we present a review to introduce the effects of herbal medicine on epilepsy. However, hundreds of herbal medicines have been investigated in the available studies. Some commonly used herbal medicines for epilepsy have been listed in our study. The overwhelming majority of these data are based on animal experiments. The lack of clinical data places constraints on the clinical recommendation of herbal medicine. Our study may conduct further studies and provide some insight on the development of anti-epileptic drugs.

Remission of Unresectable Lung Metastases from Rectal Cancer After Herbal Medicine Treatment: A Case Report.

PubMed

Kim, Kyungsuk; Lee, Sanghun

2016-01-01

Lung metastasis is frequent in rectal cancer patients and has a poor prognosis, with an expected three-year survival rate of about 10%. Though western medicine has made great strides in the curative resection of liver metastases, resection of lung metastases has lagged far behind. Many preclinical studies have suggested that herbal treatments block metastasis, but few clinical studies have addressed this topic. We present the case of a 57-year-old Asian male with lung metastases from rectal cancer. He first underwent resection of the primary lesion (stage IIA, T3N0M0) and six cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. Unfortunately, lung metastases were confirmed about one year later. Palliative chemotherapy was begun, but his disease continued to progress after three cycles and chemotherapy was halted. The patient was exclusively treated with herbal medicine-standardized allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua stokes extract combined with Dokhwaljihwang-tang (Sasang constitutional medicine in Korea). After seven weeks of herbal medicine treatment, the lung metastases were markedly improved. Regression of lung metastases has continued; also, the patient's rectal cancer has not returned. He has been receiving herbal medicine for over two years and very few side effects have been observed. We suggest that the herbal regimen used in our patient is a promising candidate for the treatment of lung metastases secondary to rectal cancer, and we hope that this case stimulates further investigation into the efficacy of herbal treatments for metastatic colorectal cancer patients. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Recent advances in herbal medicines treating Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Li, Xu-Zhao; Zhang, Shuai-Nan; Liu, Shu-Min; Lu, Fang

2013-01-01

Herbal medicines have attracted considerable attention in recent years, which are used to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) in China based on traditional Chinese medicine or modern pharmacological theories. We summarized and analyzed the anti-Parkinsonian activities of herbal medicines and herbal formulations investigated in PD models and provide future references for basic and clinical investigations. All the herbal medicines and herbal formulations were tested on PD models in vitro and in vivo. The relevant compounds and herbal extracts with anti-Parkinsonian activities were included and analyzed according to their genera or pharmacological activities. A total of 38 herbal medicines and 11 herbal formulations were analyzed. The relevant compounds, herbal extracts and formulations were reported to be effective on PD models by modulating multiple key events or signaling pathways implicated in the pathogenesis of PD. The plant species of these herbal medicines belong to 24 genera and 18 families, such as Acanthopanax, Alpinia and Astragalus, etc. These herbal medicines can be an alternative and valuable source for anti-Parkinsonian drug discovery. The plant species in these genera and families may be the most promising candidates for further investigation and deserve further consideration in clinical trials. Active components in some of the herbal extracts and the compatibility law of herbal formulations remain to be further investigated. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Herbal hepatotoxicity: a critical review

PubMed Central

Teschke, Rolf; Frenzel, Christian; Glass, Xaver; Schulze, Johannes; Eickhoff, Axel

2013-01-01

This review deals with herbal hepatotoxicity, identical to herb induced liver injury (HILI), and critically summarizes the pitfalls associated with the evaluation of assumed HILI cases. Analysis of the relevant publications reveals that several dozens of different herbs and herbal products have been implicated to cause toxic liver disease, but major quality issues limit the validity of causality attribution. In most of these reports, discussions around quality specifications regarding herbal products, case data presentations and causality assessment methods prevail. Though the production of herbal drugs is under regulatory surveillance and quality aspects are normally not a matter of concern, low quality of the less regulated herbal supplements may be a critical issue considering product batch variability, impurities, adulterants and herb misidentifications. Regarding case data presentation, essential diagnostic information is often lacking, as is the use of valid and liver specific causality assessment methods that also consider alternative diseases. At present, causality is best assessed by using the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences scale ( CIOMS) in its original or updated form, which should primarily be applied prospectively by the treating physician when evaluating a patient rather than retrospectively by regulatory agencies. To cope with these problems, a common quality approach by manufacturers, physicians and regulatory agencies should strive for the best quality. We propose steps for improvements with impact on future cases of liver injury by herbs, herbal drugs and herbal supplements. PMID:22831551

Herbal medicines for advanced colorectal cancer.

PubMed

Guo, Zhongning; Jia, Xiaoqiang; Liu, Jian Ping; Liao, Juan; Yang, Yufei

2012-05-16

Herbal medicine has been widely used in patients with advanced colorectal cancer in China, but its efficacy has not been confirmed. To evaluate the beneficial effect and safety on Chinese herbal medicine therapy for advanced stage colorectal cancer, and it's influence on the patients' quality of life. The following electronic databases were searched: BIOSIS Previews, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Medline EMBASE, Biological Abstracts, until Aug. 2011. Manual searching was performed on 16 types of Chinese journals which started from their respective first publication dates, as well as unpublished conference proceedings. No language restriction was applied. Randomized or quasi-randomised controlled trials on the treatment of advanced stage colorectal cancer by herbal medicines or herbal medicines combined with chemotherapy, regardless of blinding. The data were extracted independently by two reviewers. Methodological quality of the included in trials was assessed according to the following parameters: randomisation, allocation concealment, double blinding, and drop-out rates. A total of 20 randomised controlled trials with 1304 participants were identified. All the 20 trials compared the use of herbal medicines with chemotherapy and chemotherapy alone in the treatment of advanced stage colorectal cancers.Compared with chemotherapy alone, the use of Quxie capsule combined with chemotherapy could decrease mortality rate (RR 0.17, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.97); the use of Jianpi Jiedu formula, Xiaozheng formula and Yiqi Huoxue herbal medicine combined with chemotherapy respectively could improve 1-year survival rate significantly; the use of Xiaozheng Formula in conjunction with chemotherapy could improve 3-year survival rate. There were 10 herbal medicines showing benefit in improving quality of life. Herbal medicines did not show additional benefit in response rate or stability rate. No trials reported serious adverse effect from herbal medicine. Some herbal medicines

A systems-pharmacology analysis of herbal medicines used in health improvement treatment: predicting potential new drugs and targets.

PubMed

Liu, Jianling; Pei, Mengjie; Zheng, Chunli; Li, Yan; Wang, Yonghua; Lu, Aiping; Yang, Ling

2013-01-01

For thousands of years, tonic herbs have been successfully used all around the world to improve health, energy, and vitality. However, their underlying mechanisms of action in molecular/systems levels are still a mystery. In this work, two sets of tonic herbs, so called Qi-enriching herbs (QEH) and Blood-tonifying herbs (BTH) in TCM, were selected to elucidate why they can restore proper balance and harmony inside body, organ and energy system. Firstly, a pattern recognition model based on artificial neural network and discriminant analysis for assessing the molecular difference between QEH and BTH was developed. It is indicated that QEH compounds have high lipophilicity while BTH compounds possess high chemical reactivity. Secondly, a systematic investigation integrating ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) prediction, target fishing and network analysis was performed and validated on these herbs to obtain the compound-target associations for reconstructing the biologically-meaningful networks. The results suggest QEH enhance physical strength, immune system and normal well-being, acting as adjuvant therapy for chronic disorders while BTH stimulate hematopoiesis function in body. As an emerging approach, the systems pharmacology model might facilitate to understand the mechanisms of action of the tonic herbs, which brings about new development for complementary and alternative medicine.

Agreement between clinical and laboratory methods assessing tonic and cross-link components of accommodation and vergence.

PubMed

Neveu, Pascaline; Priot, Anne-Emmanuelle; Philippe, Matthieu; Fuchs, Philippe; Roumes, Corinne

2015-09-01

Several tests are available to optometrists for investigating accommodation and vergence. This study sought to investigate the agreement between clinical and laboratory methods and to clarify which components are actually measured when tonic and cross-link of accommodation and vergence are assessed. Tonic vergence, tonic accommodation, accommodative vergence (AC/A) and vergence accommodation (CA/C) were measured using several tests. Clinical tests were compared to the laboratory assessment, the latter being regarded as an absolute reference. The repeatability of each test and the degree of agreement between the tests were quantified using Bland-Altman analysis. The values obtained for each test were found to be stable across repetitions; however, in most cases, significant differences were observed between tests supposed to measure the same oculomotor component. Tonic and cross-link components cannot be easily assessed because proximal and instrumental responses interfere with the assessment. Other components interfere with oculomotor assessment. Specifically, accommodative divergence interferes with tonic vergence estimation and the type of accommodation considered in the AC/A ratio affects its magnitude. Results on clinical tonic accommodation and clinical CA/C show that further investigation is needed to clarify the limitations associated with the use of difference of Gaussian as visual targets to open the accommodative loop. Although different optometric tests of accommodation and vergence rely on the same basic principles, the results of this study indicate that clinical and laboratory methods actually involve distinct components. These differences, which are induced by methodological choices, must be taken into account, when comparing studies or when selecting a test to investigate a particular oculomotor component. © 2015 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Optometry © 2015 Optometry Australia.

Herbal medicine-related hepatotoxicity

PubMed Central

Stournaras, Evangelos; Tziomalos, Konstantinos

2015-01-01

Herbal medicine products represent a common therapeutic approach in the East and are gaining increasing popularity in Western countries. They are unjustifiably considered to be side-effect free; on the contrary, severe toxicity, including catastrophic hepatic injury has been reported in association with their use. Vigilance is required from both physicians and the general public. Physicians should always suspect herbal medicines when evaluating a patient with unexplained liver injury. Regulation standards for herbal products need to be reconsidered, so that the efficacy and safety of these products have been clearly demonstrated before they enter the markets. PMID:26380043

Combination of herbal extracts and platelet-rich plasma induced dermal papilla cell proliferation: involvement of ERK and Akt pathways.

PubMed

Rastegar, Hosein; Ahmadi Ashtiani, Hamidreza; Aghaei, Mahmoud; Ehsani, Amirohushang; Barikbin, Behrooz

2013-06-01

Recently, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has attracted attention in various medical fields, including plastic surgery, treatment for problematic wounds, and dermatology. Specifically, PRP has been tested during hair transplantation to reduce swelling and pain and to increase hair density. We examined the effects of PRP and herbal extracts combination in order to identify potential stimulants of hair growth. PRP was prepared using the double-spin method and applied to dermal papilla cells (DPCs). MTT viability test and BrdU cell proliferation assay were used to study the effect of herbal extracts and PRP on proliferation of DPCs. To understand the mechanisms of herbal extracts and PRP involved in the regulation of hair growth, we evaluated signaling pathways and measured the expressions of ERK and Akt, by Western blot. Combination of herbal extracts and PRP was found to induce significant proliferation of human DPCs at concentrations ranging from 1.5% to 4.5%. The present study shows that herbal extracts and PRP affect the expressions of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and Akt in DPCs. In this study, we have shown that combination of herbal extracts and PRP plays an active role in promoting the proliferation of human dermal papilla (DP) cells via the regulation of ERK and Akt proteins, and this may be applicable to the future development of herbal extracts and PRP combination therapeutics to enhance hair growth. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Herbal hepatotoxicity: a tabular compilation of reported cases.

PubMed

Teschke, Rolf; Wolff, Albrecht; Frenzel, Christian; Schulze, Johannes; Eickhoff, Axel

2012-11-01

Herbal hepatotoxicity is a field that has rapidly grown over the last few years along with increased use of herbal products worldwide. To summarize the various facets of this disease, we undertook a literature search for herbs, herbal drugs and herbal supplements with reported cases of herbal hepatotoxicity. A selective literature search was performed to identify published case reports, spontaneous case reports, case series and review articles regarding herbal hepatotoxicity. A total of 185 publications were identified and the results compiled. They show 60 different herbs, herbal drugs and herbal supplements with reported potential hepatotoxicity, additional information including synonyms of individual herbs, botanical names and cross references are provided. If known, details are presented for specific ingredients and chemicals in herbal products, and for references with authors that can be matched to each herbal product and to its effect on the liver. Based on stringent causality assessment methods and/or positive re-exposure tests, causality was highly probable or probable for Ayurvedic herbs, Chaparral, Chinese herbal mixture, Germander, Greater Celandine, green tea, few Herbalife products, Jin Bu Huan, Kava, Ma Huang, Mistletoe, Senna, Syo Saiko To and Venencapsan(®). In many other publications, however, causality was not properly evaluated by a liver-specific and for hepatotoxicity-validated causality assessment method such as the scale of CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences). This compilation presents details of herbal hepatotoxicity, assisting thereby clinical assessment of involved physicians in the future. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Autonomic responses to tonic pain are more closely related to stimulus intensity than to pain intensity.

PubMed

Nickel, Moritz M; May, Elisabeth S; Tiemann, Laura; Postorino, Martina; Ta Dinh, Son; Ploner, Markus

2017-11-01

Pain serves the protection of the body by translating noxious stimulus information into a subjective percept and protective responses. Such protective responses rely on autonomic responses that allocate energy resources to protective functions. However, the precise relationship between objective stimulus intensity, subjective pain intensity, autonomic responses, and brain activity is not fully clear yet. Here, we addressed this question by continuously recording pain ratings, skin conductance, heart rate, and electroencephalography during tonic noxious heat stimulation of the hand in 39 healthy human subjects. The results confirmed that pain intensity dissociates from stimulus intensity during 10 minutes of noxious stimulation. Furthermore, skin conductance measures were significantly related to stimulus intensity but not to pain intensity. Correspondingly, skin conductance measures were significantly related to alpha and beta oscillations in contralateral sensorimotor cortex, which have been shown to encode stimulus intensity rather than pain intensity. No significant relationships were found between heart rate and stimulus intensity or pain intensity. The findings were consistent for stimulation of the left and the right hands. These results suggest that sympathetic autonomic responses to noxious stimuli in part directly result from nociceptive rather than from perceptual processes. Beyond, these observations support concepts of pain and emotions in which sensory, motor, and autonomic components are partially independent processes that together shape emotional and painful experiences.

Herbal remedies and supplements for weight loss

MedlinePlus

Weight loss - herbal remedies and supplements; Obesity - herbal remedies; Overweight - herbal remedies ... A, Gutiérrez-Salmeán G. New dietary supplements for obesity: what we currently know. Curr Obes Rep . 2016; ...

Intensity Modulation: A Novel Approach to Percept Control in Spinal Cord Stimulation.

PubMed

Tan, Daniel; Tyler, Dustin; Sweet, Jennifer; Miller, Jonathan

2016-04-01

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) can be effective for neuropathic pain, but clinical benefit is sometimes inadequate or is offset by stimulation-induced side-effects, and response can be inconsistent among patients. Intensity-modulated stimulation (IMS) is an alternative to tonic stimulation (TS) that involves continuous variation of stimulation intensity in a sinusoidal pattern between two different values, sequentially activating distinct axonal populations to produce an effect that resembles natural physiological signals. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of IMS on the clinical effect of SCS. Seven patients undergoing a percutaneous SCS trial for postlaminectomy syndrome were enrolled. Thresholds for perception, pain relief, and discomfort were measured and used to create patient-specific models of axonal activation and charge delivery for both TS and IMS. All participants underwent three two-min periods of blinded stimulation using TS, IMS, and placebo, and were asked to describe the effect on quality of the sensory percept and pain relief. All participants perceived IMS differently from placebo, and five noted significant differences from TS that resulted in a more comfortable sensation. TS was described as electric and tingling, whereas IMS was described as producing a focal area of deep pressure with a sense of motion away from that focus. The anatomic location of coverage was similar between the two forms of stimulation, although one participant reported better lower back coverage with IMS. Computer modeling revealed that, compared with TS, IMS involved 36.4% less charge delivery and produced 78.7% less suprathreshold axonal activation. IMS for SCS is feasible, produces a more comfortable percept than conventional TS, and appears to provide a similar degree of pain relief with significantly lower energy requirements. Further studies are necessary to determine whether this represents an effective alternative to tonic SCS for treatment of

Current status of herbal product: Regulatory overview

PubMed Central

Sharma, Sanjay

2015-01-01

A review of the regulatory status of herbal drugs/products was done for few countries forming part of Asia, Africa, America, Europe, and Australia, to understand various categories under which the trade of herbal products is permitted and their premarketing requirements. A critical assessment was done, to know the hindrances in the process of harmonization of herbal products. It has been found that there is a lack of harmonization in the regulatory requirements of herbal products internationally, besides the issues of availability of herbs and their conservation. These are hindering the international trade and growth of the herbal products segment. PMID:26681886

Current status of herbal product: Regulatory overview.

PubMed

Sharma, Sanjay

2015-01-01

A review of the regulatory status of herbal drugs/products was done for few countries forming part of Asia, Africa, America, Europe, and Australia, to understand various categories under which the trade of herbal products is permitted and their premarketing requirements. A critical assessment was done, to know the hindrances in the process of harmonization of herbal products. It has been found that there is a lack of harmonization in the regulatory requirements of herbal products internationally, besides the issues of availability of herbs and their conservation. These are hindering the international trade and growth of the herbal products segment.

Herbal products in Canada. How safe are they?

PubMed Central

Kozyrskyj, A.

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To examine existing evidence and inform family physicians about issues concerning herbal product use in Canada. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: The Canadian Food and Drug Act and findings of an Expert Advisory Committee on Herbs and Botanical Preparations were consulted to provide an overview of the issues regarding herbal product regulation in Canada. Case reports of herbal toxicity were identified to illustrate some of the hazards of herbal products, and references provided to guide health professional in searching the literature for clinical trials that evaluate these drugs' efficacy. MAIN FINDINGS: Herbal products not registered as drugs in Canada are sold as foods and are exempt from the drug review process that evaluates product efficacy and safety. This places the public at risk of unwanted effects from the use of herbal products that are adulterated with other substances and of forgoing effective conventional therapy. Moreover, consumers are exposed to a plethora of information portraying herbal products as harmless. Some progress has been made to address these concerns by facilitating the registration of herbal products as drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Most herbal products that were evaluated were unsafe or ineffective, or no information was available to evaluate their efficacy. Despite the perception that herbal products are innocuous, family physicians need to be aware that herbal therapy can be harmful in order to help their patients make informed choices. Images p699-a PMID:9111986

Continuous myocloni and tonic spasms in a 2-month-old infant with enterovirus 71 brain stem encephalitis.

PubMed

Lee, Kyung Yeon; Yeh, Hye-Ryun

2015-02-01

Brain stem encephalitis is a cardinal presentation of central nervous system involvement in enterovirus 71 infection, and manifests as myoclonus, ataxia, tremor, and autonomic dysfunction. A 2-month-old infant with enterovirus 71 brain stem encephalitis demonstrated continuous myocloni and tonic spasms. On admission, the patient's myoclonus, which mainly involved the shoulders and the arms, was considerably worse during wakefulness and occurred once or twice a minute. Several hours after admission, the myoclonic jerks steadily worsened, appeared ceaselessly every 1 to 2 seconds, and were intermixed with tonic spasms of all four extremities accompanied by crying. Video electroencephalography revealed a normal background without epileptiform discharges and no ictal electroencephalographic changes during the myoclonic jerks and tonic spasms. Complete remission was achieved without complications after completion of a 3-day immunoglobulin therapy. This case suggests that the brain stem may be a major origin site for not only myoclonus but also tonic spasm. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Age- and sex-related characteristics of tonic GABA currents in the rat substantia nigra pars reticulata.

PubMed

Chudomel, O; Hasson, H; Bojar, M; Moshé, S L; Galanopoulou, A S

2015-04-01

Previous studies have shown that the pharmacologic effects of GABAergic drugs and the postsynaptic phasic GABAAergic inhibitory responses in the anterior part of the rat substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNRA) are age- and sex-specific. Here, we investigate whether there are age- and sex-related differences in the expression of the δ GABAA receptor (GABAAR) subunit and GABAAR mediated tonic currents. We have used δ-specific immunochemistry and whole cell patch clamp to study GABAAR mediated tonic currents in the SNRA of male and female postnatal day (PN) PN5-9, PN11-16, and PN25-32 rats. We observed age-related decline, but no sex-specific changes, in bicuculline (BIM) sensitive GABAAR tonic current density, which correlated with the decline in δ subunit in the SNRA between PN15 and 30. Furthermore, we show that the GABAAR tonic currents can be modified by muscimol (GABAAR agonist; partial GABACR agonist), THIP (4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo (5,4-c)pyridin-3-ol: α4β3δ GABAARs agonist and GABACR antagonist), and zolpidem (α1-subunit selective GABAAR agonist) in age- and sex-dependent manner specific for each drug. We propose that the emergence of the GABAAR-sensitive anticonvulsant effects of the rat SNRA during development may depend upon the developmental decline in tonic GABAergic inhibition of the activity of rat SNRA neurons, although other sex-specific factors are also involved.

Review article: herbal and dietary supplement hepatotoxicity.

PubMed

Bunchorntavakul, C; Reddy, K R

2013-01-01

Herbal and dietary supplements are commonly used throughout the World. There is a tendency for underreporting their ingestion by patients and the magnitude of their use is underrecognised by Physicians. Herbal hepatotoxicity is not uncommonly encountered, but the precise incidence and manifestations have not been well characterised. To review the epidemiology, presentation and diagnosis of herbal hepatotoxicity. This review will mainly discuss single ingredients and complex mixtures of herbs marketed under a single label. A Medline search was undertaken to identify relevant literature using search terms including 'herbal', 'herbs', 'dietary supplement', 'liver injury', 'hepatitis' and 'hepatotoxicity'. Furthermore, we scanned the reference lists of the primary and review articles to identify publications not retrieved by electronic searches. The incidence rates of herbal hepatotoxicity are largely unknown. The clinical presentation and severity can be highly variable, ranging from mild hepatitis to acute hepatic failure requiring transplantation. Scoring systems for the causality assessment of drug-induced liver injury may be helpful, but have not been validated for herbal hepatotoxicity. Hepatotoxicity features of commonly used herbal products, such as Ayurvedic and Chinese herbs, black cohosh, chaparral, germander, greater celandine, green tea, Herbalife, Hydroxycut, kava, pennyroyal, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, skullcap, and usnic acid, have been individually reviewed. Furthermore, clinically significant herb-drug interactions are also discussed. A number of herbal medicinal products are associated with a spectrum of hepatotoxicity events. Advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis and the risks involved are needed to improve herbal medicine safety. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Bioavailability enhancers of herbal origin: An overview

PubMed Central

Kesarwani, Kritika; Gupta, Rajiv

2013-01-01

Recently, the use of herbal medicines has been increased all over the world due to their therapeutic effects and fewer adverse effects as compared to the modern medicines. However, many herbal drugs and herbal extracts despite of their impressive in-vitro findings demonstrates less or negligible in-vivo activity due to their poor lipid solubility or improper molecular size, resulting in poor absorption and hence poor bioavailability. Nowadays with the advancement in the technology, novel drug delivery systems open the door towards the development of enhancing bioavailability of herbal drug delivery systems. For last one decade many novel carriers such as liposomes, microspheres, nanoparticles, transferosomes, ethosomes, lipid based systems etc. have been reported for successful modified delivery of various herbal drugs. Many herbal compounds including quercetin, genistein, naringin, sinomenine, piperine, glycyrrhizin and nitrile glycoside have demonstrated capability to enhance the bioavailability. The objective of this review is to summarize various available novel drug delivery technologies which have been developed for delivery of drugs (herbal), and to achieve better therapeutic response. An attempt has also been made to compile a profile on bioavailability enhancers of herbal origin with the mechanism of action (wherever reported) and studies on improvement in drug bioavailability, exhibited particularly by natural compounds. PMID:23620848

Emerging Trends of Herbal Care in Dentistry

PubMed Central

Kumar, Gunjan; Jalaluddin, Md.; Rout, Purnendu; Mohanty, Rajat; Dileep, C.L.

2013-01-01

Herbs are staging a comeback and herbal ‘renaissance’ is happening all over the globe. The herbal products, today, symbolize safety, in contrast to the synthetics that are regarded as unsafe to humans and the environment. A herb, botanically speaking, is any plant that lacks the woody tissue which is characteristic of shrubs or trees. More specifically, herbs are plants which are used medicinally or for their flavour or scent. Herbs with medicinal properties are a useful and an effective source of treatment for various disease processes. Herbal extracts have been successfully used in dentistry as tooth cleaning and antimicrobial plaque agents. The use of herbal medicines continues to expand rapidly across the world. Many people take herbal medicines or herbal products now for their health care in different national healthcare settings. Herbal extracts have been used in dentistry for reducing inflammation, as antimicrobial plaque agents, for preventing release of histamine and as antiseptics, antioxidants, antimicrobials, antifungals, antibacterials, antivirals and analgesics. They also aid in healing and are effective in controlling microbial plaque in gingivitis and periodontitis, thereby improving immunity. PMID:24086929

The Roles of Phasic and Tonic Dopamine in Tic Learning and Expression.

PubMed

Maia, Tiago V; Conceição, Vasco A

2017-09-15

Tourette syndrome (TS) prominently involves dopaminergic disturbances, but the precise nature of those disturbances has remained elusive. A substantial body of empirical work and recent computational models have characterized the specific roles of phasic and tonic dopamine (DA) in action learning and selection, respectively. Using insights from this work and models, we suggest that TS involves increases in both phasic and tonic DA, which produce increased propensities for tic learning and expression, respectively. We review the evidence from reinforcement-learning and habit-learning studies in TS, which supports the idea that TS involves increased phasic DA responses; we also review the evidence that tics engage the habit-learning circuitry. On the basis of these findings, we suggest that tics are exaggerated, maladaptive, and persistent motor habits reinforced by aberrant, increased phasic DA responses. Increased tonic DA amplifies the tendency to execute learned tics and also provides a fertile ground of motor hyperactivity for tic learning. We review evidence suggesting that antipsychotics may counter both the increased propensity for tic expression, by increasing excitability in the indirect pathway, and the increased propensity for tic learning, by shifting plasticity in the indirect pathway toward long-term potentiation (and possibly also through more complex mechanisms). Finally, we review evidence suggesting that low doses of DA agonists that effectively treat TS decrease both phasic and tonic DA, thereby also reducing the propensity for both tic learning and tic expression, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhanced GABAA-Mediated Tonic Inhibition in Auditory Thalamus of Rats with Behavioral Evidence of Tinnitus.

PubMed

Sametsky, Evgeny A; Turner, Jeremy G; Larsen, Deb; Ling, Lynne; Caspary, Donald M

2015-06-24

Accumulating evidence suggests a role for inhibitory neurotransmitter dysfunction in the pathology of tinnitus. Opposing hypotheses proposed either a pathologic decrease or increase of GABAergic inhibition in medial geniculate body (MGB). In thalamus, GABA mediates fast synaptic inhibition via synaptic GABAA receptors (GABAARs) and persistent tonic inhibition via high-affinity extrasynaptic GABAARs. Given that extrasynaptic GABAARs control the firing mode of thalamocortical neurons, we examined tonic GABAAR currents in MGB neurons in vitro, using the following three groups of adult rats: unexposed control (Ctrl); sound exposed with behavioral evidence of tinnitus (Tin); and sound exposed with no behavioral evidence of tinnitus (Non-T). Tonic GABAAR currents were evoked using the selective agonist gaboxadol. Months after a tinnitus-inducing sound exposure, gaboxadol-evoked tonic GABAAR currents showed significant tinnitus-related increases contralateral to the sound exposure. In situ hybridization studies found increased mRNA levels for GABAAR δ-subunits contralateral to the sound exposure. Tin rats showed significant increases in the number of spikes per burst evoked using suprathreshold-injected current steps. In summary, we found little evidence of tinnitus-related decreases in GABAergic neurotransmission. Tinnitus and chronic pain may reflect thalamocortical dysrhythmia, which results from abnormal theta-range resonant interactions between thalamus and cortex, due to neuronal hyperpolarization and the initiation of low-threshold calcium spike bursts (Walton and Llinás, 2010). In agreement with this hypothesis, we found tinnitus-related increases in tonic extrasynaptic GABAAR currents, in action potentials/evoked bursts, and in GABAAR δ-subunit gene expression. These tinnitus-related changes in GABAergic function may be markers for tinnitus pathology in the MGB. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/359369-12$15.00/0.

Intraduodenal and intrajejunal administration of the herbal medicine, dai-kenchu-tou, stimulates small intestinal motility via cholinergic receptors in conscious dogs.

PubMed

Jin, X L; Shibata, C; Naito, H; Ueno, T; Funayama, Y; Fukushima, K; Matsuno, S; Sasaki, I

2001-06-01

The aim of the present study was to study the effect and mechanism of action of intraduodenal and intrajejunal dai-kenchu-to, an herbal medicine clinically effective for uncomplicated postoperative adhesive intestinal obstruction, on upper gastrointestinal motility. Five mongrel dogs were equipped with four strain-gauge force transducers on the antrum, duodenum, and proximal and distal jejunum to measure contractile activity. Dai-kenchu-to (0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 g) was administered into the duodenal or proximal jejunal lumen. The effect of atropine, hexamethonium, phentolamine, propranolol, and ondansetron on intraduodenal and intrajejunal dai-kenchu-to-induced contractions was studied. Plasma motilin was measured by specific radioimmunoassay. Intraduodenal and intrajejunal dai-kenchu-to induced phasic contractions in the duodenum and proximal jejunum, respectively, and those contractions migrated distally. Phasic contractions induced by intraduodenal and intrajejunal dai-kenchu-to were inhibited by atropine and hexamethonium at all sites. Plasma motilin was not affected by dai-kenchu-to. Intraduodenal and intrajejunal dai-kenchu-to stimulates upper gastrointestinal motility at and distal to the administration sites through cholinergic receptors.

Concurrent Use of Herbal and Orthodox Medicines among Residents of Tamale, Northern Ghana, Who Patronize Hospitals and Herbal Clinics

PubMed Central

Ibrahim, Mohammed; Ibrahim, Halimatu-Sadia; Habib, Rabiatu Hamisu; Gbedema, Stephen Yao

2018-01-01

Despite the development of more researched and formulated orthodox medicines, herbal medicines continue to be well patronized for persons across the world with some patrons concurrently using both forms, oblivious of the unwanted effects that may occur. Using a multistage sampling procedure, a semistructured questionnaire was used to collect data in April 2016 from 240 informants from three selected hospitals and three herbal clinics in Tamale, a city in northern Ghana. Using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, binary logistic regression was used to determine sociodemographic predictors of concurrent use of herbal and orthodox medicines. Orthodox medicines were the drug of choice for 54.2% and 49.2% of patrons of hospitals and herbal clinics, respectively. Also, 67.5% of herbal clinic patrons used orthodox medicines, while 25.0% of hospital attendees used herbal medications prior to their visit to the health facilities. Up to 17.9% of respondents concurrently used herbal and orthodox medicines for their prevailing ailment with age, less than 30 years being the only predictor of this habit (p = 0.015; 95% CI, 1.183–4.793; cOR = 2.4). All health professionals including those in herbal clinics should therefore be interested in the drug history of their clients. PMID:29743917

Herbal medicine use among urban residents in Lagos, Nigeria

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Over three-quarter of the world's population is using herbal medicines with an increasing trend globally. Herbal medicines may be beneficial but are not completely harmless. This study aimed to assess the extent of use and the general knowledge of the benefits and safety of herbal medicines among urban residents in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods The study involved 388 participants recruited by cluster and random sampling techniques. Participants were interviewed with a structured open- and close-ended questionnaire. The information obtained comprises the demography and types of herbal medicines used by the respondents; indications for their use; the sources, benefits and adverse effects of the herbal medicines they used. Results A total of 12 herbal medicines (crude or refined) were used by the respondents, either alone or in combination with other herbal medicines. Herbal medicines were reportedly used by 259 (66.8%) respondents. 'Agbo jedi-jedi' (35%) was the most frequently used herbal medicine preparation, followed by 'agbo-iba' (27.5%) and Oroki herbal mixture® (9%). Family and friends had a marked influence on 78.4% of the respondents who used herbal medicine preparations. Herbal medicines were considered safe by half of the respondents despite 20.8% of those who experienced mild to moderate adverse effects. Conclusions Herbal medicine is popular among the respondents but they appear to be ignorant of its potential toxicities. It may be necessary to evaluate the safety, efficacy and quality of herbal medicines and their products through randomised clinical trial studies. Public enlightenment programme about safe use of herbal medicines may be necessary as a means of minimizing the potential adverse effects. PMID:22117933

HPTLC in Herbal Drug Quantification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shinde, Devanand B.; Chavan, Machindra J.; Wakte, Pravin S.

For the past few decades, compounds from natural sources have been gaining importance because of the vast chemical diversity they offer. This has led to phenomenal increase in the demand for herbal medicines in the last two decades and need has been felt for ensuring the quality, safety, and efficacy of herbal drugs. Phytochemical evaluation is one of the tools for the quality assessment, which include preliminary phytochemical screening, chemoprofiling, and marker compound analysis using modern analytical techniques. High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) has been emerged as an important tool for the qualitative, semiquantitative, and quantitative phytochemical analysis of the herbal drugs and formulations. This includes developing TLC fingerprinting profiles and estimation of biomarkers. This review has an attempt to focus on the theoretical considerations of HPTLC and some examples of herbal drugs and formulations analyzed by HPTLC.

[Functional targets of Chinese herbal medicine].

PubMed

Xiao, Bin; Wang, Yun

2010-12-01

In order to elucidate the mechanisms of Chinese herbal medicine, much work has been done based on chemical constituent-target in the molecular system. It cannot comply with the holistic efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine. Thus, the authors of this paper proposed to study the functional target adopted from Western medicine. The data of Chinese herbal function were collected from 2005 edition of The People's Republic of China Pharmacopoeia. A total of 135 functional targets were found, and a network about functional target and mode of action was built. The authors also explored the applications of functional target and the network combined with Sijunzi Decoction and Mahuang Decoction. The results, reflecting the feature of Chinese herbal medicine, will not only be helpful to elucidate the holistic mechanisms of Chinese herbal medicine, but also beneficial to studying the theory of Chinese formulas and developing new formulas.

C2 subcutaneous stimulation for failed back surgery syndrome: a case report.

PubMed

De Ridder, Dirk; Plazier, Mark; Menovsky, Tomas; Kamerling, Niels; Vanneste, Sven

2013-01-01

Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is a term embracing a constellation of conditions that describes persistent or recurring low back pain, with or without sciatica following one or more spine surgeries. It has been shown in animals that electrical stimulation of the high cervical C2 area can suppress pain stimuli derived from the L5-S1 dermatome. It is unknown whether C2 electrical stimulation in humans can be used to treat pain derived from the L5-S1 area, and a case is reported in which subcutaneous C2 is applied to treat FBSS. A patient presents to the neuromodulation clinic because of FBSS (after three lumbar diskectomies) and noninvasive neuromodulation is performed consisting of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) at C2. The C2 TENS stimulation is successful in improving pain. It induces paresthesias in the C2 dermatome above a certain amplitude threshold, but does not generate paresthesias in the pain area. However, the patient becomes allergic to the skin-applied TENS electrodes and therefore a new treatment strategy is discussed with the patient. A subcutaneous C2 electrode is inserted under local anesthesia, and attached to an external pulse generator. Three stimulation designs are tested: a classical tonic stimulation, consisting of 40 Hz stimulation, a placebo, and a burst stimulation, consisting of 40 Hz burst mode, with five spikes delivered at 500 Hz at 1000 μsec pulse width and 1000 μsec interspike interval. The patient's stimulation results demonstrate that burst mode is superior to placebo and tonic mode, and she receives a fully implanted C2 electrode connected to an internal pulse generator via an extension wire. The burst design is capable of both suppressing the least and worst pain effectively, and she has remained almost pain-free for over three years. © 2012 International Neuromodulation Society.

SNT-1 functions as the Ca2+ sensor for tonic and evoked neurotransmitter release in C. elegans.

PubMed

Li, Lei; Liu, Haowen; Wang, Wei; Chandra, Mintu; Collins, Brett M; Hu, Zhitao

2018-05-14

Synaptotagmin-1 (Syt1) binds Ca 2+ through its tandem C2 domains (C2A and C2B) and triggers Ca 2+ -dependent neurotransmitter release. Here we show that snt-1 , the homolog of mammalian Syt1, functions as the Ca 2+ sensor for both tonic and evoked neurotransmitter release at the C. elegans neuromuscular junction. Mutations that disrupt Ca 2+ binding in double C2 domains of SNT-1 significantly impaired tonic release, whereas disrupting Ca 2+ binding in a single C2 domain had no effect, indicating that the Ca 2+ binding of the two C2 domains is functionally redundant for tonic release. Stimulus-evoked release was significantly reduced in snt-1 mutants, with prolonged release latency as well as faster rise and decay kinetics. Unlike tonic release, evoked release was triggered by Ca 2+ binding solely to the C2B domain. Moreover, we showed that SNT-1 plays an essential role in the priming process in different subpopulations of synaptic vesicles with tight or loose coupling to Ca 2+ entry. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We showed that SNT-1 in C. elegans regulates evoked neurotransmitter release through Ca 2+ binding to its C2B domain, a similar way to Syt1 in the mouse CNS and the fly NMJ. However, the largely decreased tonic release in snt-1 mutants argues SNT-1 has a clamping function. Indeed, Ca 2+ -binding mutations in the C2 domains in SNT-1 significantly reduced the frequency of the miniature excitatory postsynaptic current (mEPSC), indicating that SNT-1 also acts as a Ca 2+ sensor for tonic release. Therefore, revealing the differential mechanisms between invertebrates and vertebrates will provide significant insights into our understanding how synaptic vesicle fusion is regulated. Copyright © 2018 the authors.

The potential of three different PCR-related approaches for the authentication of mixtures of herbal substances and finished herbal medicinal products.

PubMed

Doganay-Knapp, Kirsten; Orland, Annika; König, Gabriele M; Knöss, Werner

2018-04-01

Herbal substances and preparations thereof play an important role in healthcare systems worldwide. Due to the variety of these products regarding origin, composition and processing procedures, appropriate methodologies for quality assessment need to be considered. A majority of herbal substances is administered as multicomponent mixtures, especially in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine and ayurvedic medicine, but also in finished medicinal products. Quality assessment of complex mixtures of herbal substances with conventional methods is challenging. Thus, emphasis of the present work was directed on the development of complementary methods to elucidate the composition of mixtures of herbal substances and finished herbal medicinal products. An indispensable prerequisite for the safe and effective use of herbal medicines is the unequivocal authentication of the medicinal plants used therein. In this context, we investigated the potential of three different PCR-related methods in the characterization and authentication of herbal substances. A multiplex PCR assay and a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay were established to analyze defined mixtures of the herbal substances Quercus cortex, Juglandis folium, Aristolochiae herba, Matricariae flos and Salviae miltiorrhizae radix et rhizoma and a finished herbal medicinal product. Furthermore, a standard cloning approach using universal primers targeting the ITS region was established in order to allow the investigation of herbal mixtures with unknown content. The cloning approach had some limitations regarding the detection/recovery of the components in defined mixtures of herbal substances, but the complementary use of two sets of universal primer pairs increased the detection of components out of the mixture. While the multiplex PCR did not retrace all components in the defined mixtures of herbal substances, the established qPCR resulted in simultaneous and specific detection of the five target sequences in all defined

Phasic and tonic neuron ensemble codes for stimulus-environment conjunctions in the lateral entorhinal cortex.

PubMed

Pilkiw, Maryna; Insel, Nathan; Cui, Younghua; Finney, Caitlin; Morrissey, Mark D; Takehara-Nishiuchi, Kaori

2017-07-06

The lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) is thought to bind sensory events with the environment where they took place. To compare the relative influence of transient events and temporally stable environmental stimuli on the firing of LEC cells, we recorded neuron spiking patterns in the region during blocks of a trace eyeblink conditioning paradigm performed in two environments and with different conditioning stimuli. Firing rates of some neurons were phasically selective for conditioned stimuli in a way that depended on which room the rat was in; nearly all neurons were tonically selective for environments in a way that depended on which stimuli had been presented in those environments. As rats moved from one environment to another, tonic neuron ensemble activity exhibited prospective information about the conditioned stimulus associated with the environment. Thus, the LEC formed phasic and tonic codes for event-environment associations, thereby accurately differentiating multiple experiences with overlapping features.

Analysis of wavelet-filtered tonic-clonic electroencephalogram recordings.

PubMed

Rosso, O A; Figliola, A; Creso, J; Serrano, E

2004-07-01

EEG signals obtained during tonic-clonic epileptic seizures can be severely contaminated by muscle and physiological noise. Heavily contaminated EEG signals are hard to analyse quantitatively and also are usually rejected for visual inspection by physicians, resulting in a considerable loss of collected information. The aim of this work was to develop a computer-based method of time series analysis for such EEGs. A method is presented for filtering those frequencies associated with muscle activity using a wavelet transform. One of the advantages of this method over traditional filtering is that wavelet filtering of some frequency bands does not modify the pattern of the remaining ones. In consequence, the dynamics associated with them do not change. After generation of a 'noise free' signal by removal of the muscle artifacts using wavelets, a dynamic analysis was performed using non-linear dynamics metric tools. The characteristic parameters evaluated (correlation dimension D2 and largest Lyapunov exponent lambda1) were compatible with those obtained in previous works. The average values obtained were: D2=4.25 and lambda1=3.27 for the pre-ictal stage; D2=4.03 and lambda1=2.68 for the tonic seizure stage; D2=4.11 and lambda1=2.46 for the clonic seizure stage.

Recent Advances in Antiepileptic Herbal Medicine.

PubMed

Manchishi, Stephen M

2018-01-01

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders worldwide, with about 80 percent of cases thought to be in developing nations where it is mostly linked to superstition. The limited supply, high cost as well as low efficacy and adverse side effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) is a matter of major concern. Herbal medicine has always been traditionally part of treatment of epilepsy. Herbal medicines are generally well tolerated, with fewer side effects. To highlight some herbal extracts that have been studied for their anticonvulsant activity in animal models, literature search from PubMed and Science Direct, was performed. The keywords for the search consisted of combinations of the following terms: Herbal antiepileptic and/or anticonvulsant, botanicals + epilepsy. Literature published in the last five years was considered. Eighteen (18) anticonvulsant herbal agents are reported and discussed. Experiments mostly consisted of phenotypic screens in rodents, with little diversity in screening methods. In most experiments, the tested extracts prolonged the time to onset of seizures and decreased their duration. Most experimenters implicate potentiation of GABAergic activity as the mode of action of the extracts, even though some experimenters did not fully characterise the bioactive chemical composition of their extracts. Potential herbal remedies have shown positive results in animal models. It remains unclear how many make it into clinical trials and eventually making part of the AED list. More rigorous research, applying strict research methodology with uniform herbal combinations, as well as clinical studies are urgently needed. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Herbal medicine use among patients with chronic diseases.

PubMed

Tulunay, Munevver; Aypak, Cenk; Yikilkan, Hulya; Gorpelioglu, Suleyman

2015-01-01

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is commonly used all over the world, and herbal medicines are the most preferred ways of CAM. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of herbal medicine use among patients with chronic diseases. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from April 2014 to December 2014 among patients who had been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HT), and hyperlipidemia (HL) in Family Medicine Department of Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital, in Ankara. A questionnaire about herbal drug use was applied by face to face interview to the participants. A total of 217 patients were included in this study. The mean age of the participants was 56.6 ± 9.7 years (55 male and 162 female). The rate of herbal medicine use was 29%. Herbal medicine use among female gender was significantly higher (P = 0.040). Conventional medication use was found to be lower among herbal medicine consumers. There was no relationship between herbal medicine use and type of chronic disease, living area, and occupation or education level. Most frequently used herbs were lemon (39.6%) and garlic (11.1%) for HT, cinnamon (12.7%) for DM, and walnut (6.3%) for HL. In this study, herbal medicine use was found to be higher among patients who had been diagnosed with chronic diseases. Therefore, physicians should be aware of herbal medicine usage of their patients and inform them about the effectivity and side effects of herbal medicines.

Inhibitory effects of herbal constituents on P-glycoprotein in vitro and in vivo: Herb–drug interactions mediated via P-gp

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Xue, E-mail: lixue@imm.ac.cn; Hu, Jinping, E-mail: hujp@imm.ac.cn; Wang, Baolian, E-mail: wangbaolian@imm.ac.cn

Modulation of drug transporters via herbal medicines which have been widely used in combination with conventional prescription drugs may result in herb–drug interactions in clinical practice. The present study was designed to investigate the inhibitory effects of 50 major herbal constituents on P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in vitro and in vivo as well as related inhibitory mechanisms. Among these herbal medicines, four constituents, including emodin, 18β-glycyrrhetic acid (18β-GA), dehydroandrographolide (DAG), and 20(S)-ginsenoside F{sub 1} [20(S)-GF{sub 1}] exhibited significant inhibition (> 50%) on P-gp in MDR1-MDCKII and Caco-2 cells. Emodin was the strongest inhibitor of P-gp (IC{sub 50} = 9.42 μM), followed bymore » 18β-GA (IC{sub 50} = 21.78 μM), 20(S)-GF{sub 1} (IC{sub 50} = 76.08 μM) and DAG (IC{sub 50} = 77.80 μM). P-gp ATPase activity, which was used to evaluate the affinity of substrates to P-gp, was stimulated by emodin and DAG with K{sub m} and V{sub max} values of 48.61, 29.09 μM and 71.29, 38.45 nmol/min/mg protein, respectively. However, 18β-GA and 20(S)-GF{sub 1} exhibited significant inhibition on both basal and verapamil-stimulated P-gp ATPase activities at high concentration. Molecular docking analysis (CDOCKER) further elucidated the mechanism for structure–inhibition relationships of herbal constituents with P-gp. When digoxin was co-administered to male SD rats with emodin or 18β-GA, the AUC{sub 0−t} and Cmax of digoxin were increased by approximately 51% and 58%, respectively. Furthermore, 18β-GA, DAG, 20(S)-GF{sub 1} and Rh{sub 1} at 10 μM significantly inhibited CYP3A4/5 activity, while emodin activated the metabolism of midazolam in human liver microsomes. In conclusion, four herbal constituents demonstrated inhibition of P-gp to specific extents in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our findings provided the basis for the reliable assessment of the potential risks of herb–drug interactions in humans. - Highlights: �

[Research and development strategies in classical herbal formulae].

PubMed

Chen, Chang; Cheng, Jin-Tang; Liu, An

2017-05-01

As an outstanding representative of traditional Chinese medicine prescription, classical herbal formulae are the essence of traditional Chinese medicine great treasure. To support the development of classical herbal formulae, the state and relevant administrative departments have successively promulgated the relevant encouraged policies.But some key issues of classic herbal formulae in the development process have not reached a unified consensus and standard, and these problems were discussed in depth here.The authors discussed the registration requirements of classical herbal formulae, proposed the screening specific indicators of classical herbal formulae, determination basis of prescription and dosage,screening method of production process, and the basic principle of clinical localization, in order to bring out valuable opinions and provide a reference for classical herbal formulae development and policy formulation. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Multiple Forms of Endocannabinoid and Endovanilloid Signaling Regulate the Tonic Control of GABA Release

PubMed Central

Lee, Sang-Hun; Ledri, Marco; Tóth, Blanka; Marchionni, Ivan; Henstridge, Christopher M.; Dudok, Barna; Kenesei, Kata; Barna, László; Szabó, Szilárd I.; Renkecz, Tibor; Oberoi, Michelle; Watanabe, Masahiko; Limoli, Charles L.; Horvai, George; Soltesz, Ivan

2015-01-01

Persistent CB1 cannabinoid receptor activity limits neurotransmitter release at various synapses throughout the brain. However, it is not fully understood how constitutively active CB1 receptors, tonic endocannabinoid signaling, and its regulation by multiple serine hydrolases contribute to the synapse-specific calibration of neurotransmitter release probability. To address this question at perisomatic and dendritic GABAergic synapses in the mouse hippocampus, we used a combination of paired whole-cell patch-clamp recording, liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry, stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy super-resolution imaging, and immunogold electron microscopy. Unexpectedly, application of the CB1 antagonist and inverse agonist AM251 [N-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-5-(4-iodophenyl)-4-methyl-N-1-piperidinyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide], but not the neutral antagonist NESS0327 [8-chloro-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-piperidin-1-yl-5,6-dihydro-4H-benzo[2,3]cyclohepta[2,4-b]pyrazole-3-carboxamine], significantly increased synaptic transmission between CB1-positive perisomatic interneurons and CA1 pyramidal neurons. JZL184 (4-nitrophenyl 4-[bis(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)(hydroxy)methyl]piperidine-1-carboxylate), a selective inhibitor of monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), the presynaptic degrading enzyme of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), elicited a robust increase in 2-AG levels and concomitantly decreased GABAergic transmission. In contrast, inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) by PF3845 (N-pyridin-3-yl-4-[[3-[5-(trifluoromethyl)pyridin-2-yl]oxyphenyl]methyl]piperidine-1-carboxamide) elevated endocannabinoid/endovanilloid anandamide levels but did not change GABAergic synaptic activity. However, FAAH inhibitors attenuated tonic 2-AG increase and also decreased its synaptic effects. This antagonistic interaction required the activation of the transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor TRPV1, which was concentrated on postsynaptic

Herbal Medicine for Anxiety, Depression and Insomnia

PubMed Central

Liu, Lei; Liu, Changhong; Wang, Yicun; Wang, Pu; Li, Yuxin; Li, Bingjin

2015-01-01

The prevalence and comorbidity of psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and insomnia are very common. These well-known forms of psychiatric disorders have been affecting many people from all around the world. Herb alone, as well as herbal formula, is commonly prescribed for the therapies of mental illnesses. Since various adverse events of western medication exist, the number of people who use herbs to benefit their health is increasing. Over the past decades, the exploration in the area of herbal psychopharmacology has received much attention. Literatures showed a variety of herbal mechanisms of action used for the therapy of depression, anxiety and insomnia, involving re-uptake of monoamines, affecting neuroreceptor binding and channel transporter activity, modulating neuronal communication or hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis (HPA) etc. Nonetheless, a systematic review on herbal pharmacology in depression, anxiety and insomnia is still lacking. This review has been performed to further identify modes of action of different herbal medicine, and thus provides useful information for the application of herbal medicine. PMID:26412068

Adulteration of herbal sexual enhancers and slimmers: The wish for better sexual well-being and perfect body can be risky.

PubMed

Skalicka-Woźniak, Krystyna; Georgiev, Milen I; Orhan, Ilkay Erdogan

2017-10-01

The popularity of herbal medicines and dietary supplements is increasing all over the world due to the many side-effects assigned to synthetic drugs. Herbal remedies should be considered as safe, with no side-effects, but unfortunately, even if they are labelled as natural, large numbers of adulterants, not only with toxic heavy metals but also with undeclared synthetic substances, have been detected up to date. In this review, the most frequent instances of adulteration of herbal medicines and dietary supplements acting as sexual enhancers and slimming products are thoroughly discussed. The great success of synthetic phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitory drugs like sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil, used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction has made them, as well as their unapproved analogues, popular as adulterants in herbal dietary supplements. The second group among blockbuster products are herbal preparations for slimming purpose, as obesity and gaining weight are major problems worldwide. Here, sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate, an anti-obesity drug which inhibits serotonergic and noradrenergic reuptake, seems to be the most common adulterant. Together with large numbers of its analogues, thyroid hormones, anorexigens, diuretics, stimulants, and laxative agents are also detected in most of tested diet supplements. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tyrosine Phosphorylation of GABAA Receptor γ2-Subunit Regulates Tonic and Phasic Inhibition in the Thalamus

PubMed Central

Nani, Francesca; Bright, Damian P.; Revilla-Sanchez, Raquel; Tretter, Verena; Moss, Stephen J.

2013-01-01

GABA-mediated tonic and phasic inhibition of thalamic relay neurons of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) was studied after ablating tyrosine (Y) phosphorylation of receptor γ2-subunits. As phosphorylation of γ2 Y365 and Y367 reduces receptor internalization, to understand their importance for inhibition we created a knock-in mouse in which these residues are replaced by phenylalanines. On comparing wild-type (WT) and γ2Y365/367F+/− (HT) animals (homozygotes are not viable in utero), the expression levels of GABAA receptor α4-subunits were increased in the thalamus of female, but not male mice. Raised δ-subunit expression levels were also observed in female γ2Y365/367F +/− thalamus. Electrophysiological analyses revealed no difference in the level of inhibition in male WT and HT dLGN, while both the spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic activity and the tonic current were significantly augmented in female HT relay cells. The sensitivity of tonic currents to the δ-subunit superagonist THIP, and the blocker Zn2+, were higher in female HT relay cells. This is consistent with upregulation of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors containing α4- and δ-subunits to enhance tonic inhibition. In contrast, the sensitivity of GABAA receptors mediating inhibition in the female γ2Y356/367F +/− to neurosteroids was markedly reduced compared with WT. We conclude that disrupting tyrosine phosphorylation of the γ2-subunit activates a sex-specific increase in tonic inhibition, and this most likely reflects a genomic-based compensation mechanism for the reduced neurosteroid sensitivity of inhibition measured in female HT relay neurons. PMID:23904608

Phasic and tonic neuron ensemble codes for stimulus-environment conjunctions in the lateral entorhinal cortex

PubMed Central

Pilkiw, Maryna; Insel, Nathan; Cui, Younghua; Finney, Caitlin; Morrissey, Mark D; Takehara-Nishiuchi, Kaori

2017-01-01

The lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) is thought to bind sensory events with the environment where they took place. To compare the relative influence of transient events and temporally stable environmental stimuli on the firing of LEC cells, we recorded neuron spiking patterns in the region during blocks of a trace eyeblink conditioning paradigm performed in two environments and with different conditioning stimuli. Firing rates of some neurons were phasically selective for conditioned stimuli in a way that depended on which room the rat was in; nearly all neurons were tonically selective for environments in a way that depended on which stimuli had been presented in those environments. As rats moved from one environment to another, tonic neuron ensemble activity exhibited prospective information about the conditioned stimulus associated with the environment. Thus, the LEC formed phasic and tonic codes for event-environment associations, thereby accurately differentiating multiple experiences with overlapping features. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.28611.001 PMID:28682237

Peptidergic CGRPα primary sensory neurons encode heat and itch and tonically suppress sensitivity to cold

PubMed Central

McCoy, Eric S.; Taylor-Blake, Bonnie; Street, Sarah E.; Pribisko, Alaine L.; Zheng, Jihong; Zylka, Mark J.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a classic molecular marker of peptidergic primary somatosensory neurons. Despite years of research, it is unknown if these neurons are required to sense pain or other sensory stimuli. Here, we found that genetic ablation of CGRPα-expressing sensory neurons reduced sensitivity to noxious heat, capsaicin and itch (histamine and chloroquine) and impaired thermoregulation but did not impair mechanosensation or β-alanine itch—stimuli associated with nonpeptidergic sensory neurons. Unexpectedly, ablation enhanced behavioral responses to cold stimuli and cold mimetics without altering peripheral nerve responses to cooling. Mechanistically, ablation reduced tonic and evoked activity in postsynaptic spinal neurons associated with TRPV1/heat, while profoundly increasing tonic and evoked activity in spinal neurons associated with TRPM8/cold. Our data reveal that CGRPα sensory neurons encode heat and itch and tonically cross-inhibit cold-responsive spinal neurons. Disruption of this crosstalk unmasks cold hypersensitivity, with mechanistic implications for neuropathic pain and temperature perception. PMID:23523592

Herbal supplements and skin testing: the lack of effect of commonly used herbal supplements on histamine skin prick testing.

PubMed

More, D R; Napoli, D C; Hagan, L L

2003-06-01

The use of herbal supplements is common, yet little is known about their pharmacologic properties. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of 23 commonly used herbal supplements on histamine skin prick testing (SPT). Fifteen healthy volunteers participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dose, crossover study. Wheal and flare responses to SPT with histamine phosphate (1 mg/ml) were measured before and 4 h after administration of each of the 23 popular herbal supplements, fexofenadine (60 mg) and placebo. Wheal and flare areas were recorded with tracings performed 10 min after the prick test and measured with a PC-digitizer using stereometric software. Fexofenadine significantly suppressed the wheal (P < 0.001) and flare (P = 0.02) areas compared with placebo. None of the herbal supplements caused significant suppression of the wheal and flare areas compared with placebo (P > 0.10). When taken in single-doses, the popular herbal supplements tested did not significantly affect the histamine skin response. Therefore, it seems unnecessary for clinicians to ask patients to discontinue these herbal supplements prior to allergy skin testing.

Processing of musical syntax tonic versus subdominant: an event-related potential study.

PubMed

Poulin-Charronnat, Bénédicte; Bigand, Emmanuel; Koelsch, Stefan

2006-09-01

The present study investigates the effect of a change in syntactic-like musical function on event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Eight-chord piano sequences were presented to musically expert and novice listeners. Instructed to watch a movie and to ignore the musical sequences, the participants had to react when a chord was played with a different instrument than the piano. Participants were not informed that the relevant manipulation was the musical function of the last chord (target) of the sequences. The target chord acted either as a syntactically stable tonic chord (i.e., a C major chord in the key of C major) or as a less syntactically stable subdominant chord (i.e., a C major chord in the key of G major). The critical aspect of the results related to the impact such a manipulation had on the ERPs. An N5-like frontal negative component was found to be larger for subdominant than for tonic chords and attained significance only in musically expert listeners. These findings suggest that the subdominant chord is more difficult to integrate with the previous context than the tonic chord (as indexing by the observed N5) and that the processing of a small change in musical function occurs in an automatic way in musically expert listeners. The present results are discussed in relation to previous studies investigating harmonic violations with ERPs.

[Herbal textual research on Chinese medicine "Huangjing" (Polygonati Rhizoma)and some enlightenments].

PubMed

Liu, Jing-Jing; Si, Jin-Ping

2018-02-01

To clarify the change and development of the original plants， medicinal organs， traditional functions， resource distribution of "Huangjing"(Polygonati Rhizome)， a traditional Chinese medicine， we investigated Polygonatum species on the ancient Chinese herbal texts. The name of "Nüwei" was first carried out in the book of Sheng Nong's Herbal Classic. Its effects included two aspects： one was similar to "Weirui"(Polygonati Odorati Rhizome， "Yuzhu")， that was tonifying， nourishing one's vitality， removing wind and dampness， settling five organs， making body lightness， keeping longevity and not being hungry; the second was alike to "Huangjing" recorded in the book of Ming Yi Bie Lu(Appendant Records of Famous Physicians). Specifically， "Weirui" possesses the therapeutic effect of "Nüwei"， while "Huangjing" possesses the tonic effect of " Nüwei". Thereafter， the following ancient Chinese herbal texts kept those two names and function records. Accordingly， we hold the point of view that "Huangjing" was first carried out in the book of Sheng Nong's Herbal Classic in the synonym of "Nüwei". "Yuzhu" included the "Huangjing" in ancient herbal text before Qing Dynasty， that was further confirmed by the research on change and development of the original plants. The identification between "Yuzhu" and "Huangjing" was based on the shape of rhizome and size before early Tang Dynasty. The shape was a key character and used up to now， but size was not reasonable. The opposite phyllotaxy was an important character of authentic "Huangjing" from Tang to Qing Dynasty. The seedling of Polygonatum sibiricum and P. kingianum， the adult plant of P. cyrtonema with alternate leaves were misused as "Yuzhu"("Nüwei" and "Weirui") at that time. Therefore， both "Yuzhu" and "Huangjing" should be used as key words during the search of ancient prescriptions and development of new drugs and health foods. The leaves， flowers， fruits and seedlings could

Critical Thinking as Miracle Tonic: Selling Snake Oil in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hyslop-Margison, Emery J.

This paper proposes that the current interest in critical thinking is based on important conceptual, epistemological, and procedural confusions. It suggests that the attempt to identify a successful critical thinking construct mirrors the search for miracle tonics often peddled by snake oil salesmen as a medicinal cure-all. It goes to suggest that…

Folk Medicine

MedlinePlus

... lead’s effects on health. How to tell if herbal medicines or folk medicines contain lead You only can ... as high as 90%. Ghasard, an Indian folk medicine, has also been found to contain lead. It is a brown powder used as a tonic. Ba-baw-san is a Chinese herbal remedy that contains lead. It is used to ...

Disposition pathways and pharmacokinetics of herbal medicines in humans.

PubMed

He, S-M; Li, C G; Liu, J-P; Chan, E; Duan, W; Zhou, S-F

2010-01-01

Pharmacokinetic studies have become an integral part of modern drug development, but these studies are not regulatory needs for herbal remedies. This paper updates our current knowledge on the disposition pathways and pharmacokinetic properties of commonly used herbal medicines in humans. To retrieve relevant data, the authors have searched through computer-based literatures by full text search in Medline (via Pubmed), ScienceDirect, Current Contents Connect (ISI), Cochrance Library, CINAHL (EBSCO), CrossRef Search and Embase (all from inception to May 2010). Many herbal compounds undergo Phase I and/or Phase II metabolism in vivo, with cytochrome P450s (CYPs) and uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) playing a major role. Some herbal ingredients are substrates of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) which is highly expressed in the intestine, liver, brain and kidney. As such, the activities of these drug metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters are determining factors for the in vivo bioavailability, disposition and distribution of herbal remedies. There are increasing pharmacokinetic studies of herbal remedies, but these studies are mainly focused on a small number of herbal remedies including St John's wort, milk thistle, sculcap, curcumin, echinacea, ginseng, ginkgo, and ginger. The pharmacokinetic data of a small number of purified herbal ingredients, including anthocyanins, berberine, catechins, curcumin, lutein and quercetin, are available. For the majority of herbal remedies used in folk medicines, data on their disposition and biological fate in humans are lacking or in paucity. For a herbal medicine, the pharmacological effect is achieved when the bioactive agents or the metabolites reach and sustain proper levels at their sites of action. Both the dose levels and fates of active components in the body govern their target-site concentrations after administration of an herbal remedy. In this regard, a safe and optimal use of herbal medicines requires a

Inhibitory effects of herbal constituents on P-glycoprotein in vitro and in vivo: herb-drug interactions mediated via P-gp.

PubMed

Li, Xue; Hu, Jinping; Wang, Baolian; Sheng, Li; Liu, Zhihao; Yang, Shuang; Li, Yan

2014-03-01

Modulation of drug transporters via herbal medicines which have been widely used in combination with conventional prescription drugs may result in herb-drug interactions in clinical practice. The present study was designed to investigate the inhibitory effects of 50 major herbal constituents on P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in vitro and in vivo as well as related inhibitory mechanisms. Among these herbal medicines, four constituents, including emodin, 18β-glycyrrhetic acid (18β-GA), dehydroandrographolide (DAG), and 20(S)-ginsenoside F₁ [20(S)-GF₁] exhibited significant inhibition (>50%) on P-gp in MDR1-MDCKII and Caco-2 cells. Emodin was the strongest inhibitor of P-gp (IC₅₀=9.42 μM), followed by 18β-GA (IC₅₀=21.78 μM), 20(S)-GF₁ (IC₅₀=76.08 μM) and DAG (IC₅₀=77.80 μM). P-gp ATPase activity, which was used to evaluate the affinity of substrates to P-gp, was stimulated by emodin and DAG with Km and Vmax values of 48.61, 29.09 μM and 71.29, 38.45 nmol/min/mg protein, respectively. However, 18β-GA and 20(S)-GF₁ exhibited significant inhibition on both basal and verapamil-stimulated P-gp ATPase activities at high concentration. Molecular docking analysis (CDOCKER) further elucidated the mechanism for structure-inhibition relationships of herbal constituents with P-gp. When digoxin was co-administered to male SD rats with emodin or 18β-GA, the AUC(₀₋t) and Cmax of digoxin were increased by approximately 51% and 58%, respectively. Furthermore, 18β-GA, DAG, 20(S)-GF₁ and Rh₁ at 10 μM significantly inhibited CYP3A4/5 activity, while emodin activated the metabolism of midazolam in human liver microsomes. In conclusion, four herbal constituents demonstrated inhibition of P-gp to specific extents in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our findings provided the basis for the reliable assessment of the potential risks of herb-drug interactions in humans. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Blockade of T-type calcium channels prevents tonic-clonic seizures in a maximal electroshock seizure model.

PubMed

Sakkaki, Sophie; Gangarossa, Giuseppe; Lerat, Benoit; Françon, Dominique; Forichon, Luc; Chemin, Jean; Valjent, Emmanuel; Lerner-Natoli, Mireille; Lory, Philippe

2016-02-01

T-type (Cav3) calcium channels play important roles in neuronal excitability, both in normal and pathological activities of the brain. In particular, they contribute to hyper-excitability disorders such as epilepsy. Here we have characterized the anticonvulsant properties of TTA-A2, a selective T-type channel blocker, in mouse. Using the maximal electroshock seizure (MES) as a model of tonic-clonic generalized seizures, we report that mice treated with TTA-A2 (0.3 mg/kg and higher doses) were significantly protected against tonic seizures. Although no major change in Local Field Potential (LFP) pattern was observed during the MES seizure, analysis of the late post-ictal period revealed a significant increase in the delta frequency power in animals treated with TTA-A2. Similar results were obtained for Cav3.1-/- mice, which were less prone to develop tonic seizures in the MES test, but not for Cav3.2-/- mice. Analysis of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK) phosphorylation and c-Fos expression revealed a rapid and elevated neuronal activation in the hippocampus following MES clonic seizures, which was unchanged in TTA-A2 treated animals. Overall, our data indicate that TTA-A2 is a potent anticonvulsant and that the Cav3.1 isoform plays a prominent role in mediating TTA-A2 tonic seizure protection. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Tonic ubiquitylation controls T-cell receptor:CD3 complex expression during T-cell development.

PubMed

Wang, Haopeng; Holst, Jeff; Woo, Seng-Ryong; Guy, Cliff; Bettini, Matt; Wang, Yao; Shafer, Aaron; Naramura, Mayumi; Mingueneau, Michaël; Dragone, Leonard L; Hayes, Sandra M; Malissen, Bernard; Band, Hamid; Vignali, Dario A A

2010-04-07

Expression of the T-cell receptor (TCR):CD3 complex is tightly regulated during T-cell development. The mechanism and physiological role of this regulation are unclear. Here, we show that the TCR:CD3 complex is constitutively ubiquitylated in immature double positive (DP) thymocytes, but not mature single positive (SP) thymocytes or splenic T cells. This steady state, tonic CD3 monoubiquitylation is mediated by the CD3varepsilon proline-rich sequence, Lck, c-Cbl, and SLAP, which collectively trigger the dynamin-dependent downmodulation, lysosomal sequestration and degradation of surface TCR:CD3 complexes. Blocking this tonic ubiquitylation by mutating all the lysines in the CD3 cytoplasmic tails significantly upregulates TCR levels on DP thymocytes. Mimicking monoubiquitylation by expression of a CD3zeta-monoubiquitin (monoUb) fusion molecule significantly reduces TCR levels on immature thymocytes. Moreover, modulating CD3 ubiquitylation alters immunological synapse (IS) formation and Erk phosphorylation, thereby shifting the signalling threshold for positive and negative selection, and regulatory T-cell development. Thus, tonic TCR:CD3 ubiquitylation results in precise regulation of TCR expression on immature T cells, which is required to maintain the fidelity of T-cell development.

Tonic ubiquitylation controls T-cell receptor:CD3 complex expression during T-cell development

PubMed Central

Wang, Haopeng; Holst, Jeff; Woo, Seng-Ryong; Guy, Cliff; Bettini, Matt; Wang, Yao; Shafer, Aaron; Naramura, Mayumi; Mingueneau, Michaël; Dragone, Leonard L; Hayes, Sandra M; Malissen, Bernard; Band, Hamid; Vignali, Dario A A

2010-01-01

Expression of the T-cell receptor (TCR):CD3 complex is tightly regulated during T-cell development. The mechanism and physiological role of this regulation are unclear. Here, we show that the TCR:CD3 complex is constitutively ubiquitylated in immature double positive (DP) thymocytes, but not mature single positive (SP) thymocytes or splenic T cells. This steady state, tonic CD3 monoubiquitylation is mediated by the CD3ɛ proline-rich sequence, Lck, c-Cbl, and SLAP, which collectively trigger the dynamin-dependent downmodulation, lysosomal sequestration and degradation of surface TCR:CD3 complexes. Blocking this tonic ubiquitylation by mutating all the lysines in the CD3 cytoplasmic tails significantly upregulates TCR levels on DP thymocytes. Mimicking monoubiquitylation by expression of a CD3ζ-monoubiquitin (monoUb) fusion molecule significantly reduces TCR levels on immature thymocytes. Moreover, modulating CD3 ubiquitylation alters immunological synapse (IS) formation and Erk phosphorylation, thereby shifting the signalling threshold for positive and negative selection, and regulatory T-cell development. Thus, tonic TCR:CD3 ubiquitylation results in precise regulation of TCR expression on immature T cells, which is required to maintain the fidelity of T-cell development. PMID:20150895

Risks associated with consumption of herbal teas.

PubMed

Manteiga, R; Park, D L; Ali, S S

1997-01-01

Plants have been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Health-oriented individuals are turning to herbal teas as alternatives to caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, and cocoa and for low-caloric supplements. The popularity of herbal tea consumption has increased significantly during the past two decades in the U.S. Hundreds of different teas made up of varied mixtures of roots, leaves, seeds, barks, or other parts of shrubs, vines, or trees are sold in health food stores. Although chemists have been characterizing toxic plant constituents for over 100 years, toxicological studies of herbal teas have been limited and, therefore, the safety of many of these products is unknown. Plants synthesize secondary metabolites that are not essential in the production of energy and whose role may be in the defense mechanisms as plant toxins to their interactions with other plants, herbivores, and parasites. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) were among the first naturally occurring carcinogens identified in plant products, and their presence in herbal teas is a matter of public health significance. Some herbal tea mixtures and single-ingredient herbal teas have been analyzed for toxic/mutagenic potential by bioassay and chromatographic techniques. Numerous human and animal intoxications have been associated with naturally occurring components, including pyrrolizidine alkaloids, tannins, and safrole. Thus, the prevention of human exposure to carcinogens or mutagens present in herbal tea mixture extracts is crucial. Preparation of infusion drinks prepared from plants appears to concentrate biologically active compounds and is a major source of PA poisoning. The quantity and consumption over a long period of time is of major concern. It is recommended that widespread consumption of herbal infusions should be minimized until data on the levels and varieties of carcinogens, mutagens, and toxicants are made available.

Preclinical and Clinical Studies Demonstrate That the Proprietary Herbal Extract DA-5512 Effectively Stimulates Hair Growth and Promotes Hair Health.

PubMed

Yu, Jae Young; Gupta, Biki; Park, Hyoung Geun; Son, Miwon; Jun, Joon-Ho; Yong, Chul Soon; Kim, Jeong Ah; Kim, Jong Oh

2017-01-01

The proprietary DA-5512 formulation comprises six herbal extracts from traditional oriental plants historically associated with therapeutic and other applications related to hair. Here, we investigated the effects of DA-5512 on the proliferation of human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs) in vitro and on hair growth in C57BL/6 mice and conducted a clinical study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DA-5512. DA-5512 significantly enhanced the viability of hDPCs in a dose-dependent manner ( p < 0.05), and 100 ppm of DA-5512 and 1  μ M minoxidil (MXD) significantly increased the number of Ki-67-positive cells, compared with the control group ( p < 0.05). MXD (3%) and DA-5512 (1%, 5%) significantly stimulated hair growth and increased the number and length of hair follicles (HFs) versus the controls (each p < 0.05). The groups treated with DA-5512 exhibited hair growth comparable to that induced by MXD. In clinical study, we detected a statistically significant increase in the efficacy of DA-5512 after 16 weeks compared with the groups treated with placebo or 3% MXD ( p < 0.05). In conclusion, DA-5512 might promote hair growth and enhance hair health and can therefore be considered an effective option for treating hair loss.

Herbal medicine use in pregnancy: results of a multinational study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) is growing in the general population. Herbal medicines are used in all countries of the world and are included in the top CAM therapies used. Methods A multinational study on how women treat disease and pregnancy-related health ailments was conducted between October 2011 and February 2012 in Europe, North and South America and Australia. In this study, the primary aim was to determine the prevalence of herbal medicine use in pregnancy and factors related to such use across participating countries and regions. The secondary aim was to investigate who recommended the use of herbal medication in pregnancy. Results There were 9,459 women from 23 countries participating in the study. Of these, 28.9% reported the use of herbal medicines in pregnancy. Most herbal medicines were used for pregnancy-related health ailments such as cold and nausea. Ginger, cranberry, valerian and raspberry were the most commonly used herbs in pregnancy. The highest reported rate of herbal use medicines was in Russia (69%). Women from Eastern Europe (51.8%) and Australia (43.8%) were twice as likely to use an herbal medicine versus other regions. Women using herbal medicines were characteristically having their first child, non-smokers, using folic acid and consuming some alcohol in pregnancy. Also, women who were currently students and women with an education other than a high school degree were more likely to use herbal medicines than other women. Although 1 out of 5 women stated that a physician had recommended the herbal use, most women used herbal medicine in pregnancy on their own initiative. Conclusions In this multinational study herbal medicine use in pregnancy was high although there were distinct differences in the herbs and users of herbal medicines across regions. Most commonly the women self-medicated with herbal medicine to treat pregnancy-related health ailments. More knowledge regarding the efficacy and safety

Herbal Medicines: Malaysian Women's Knowledge and Practice

PubMed Central

Kim Sooi, Law

2013-01-01

This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study among Malay women admitted in the antenatal and postnatal ward to determine the prevalence and use of herbal medicines during pregnancy and elemental analysis in the most popular herbs. A total of 460 women were surveyed. Herbal medicine use during pregnancy was 34.3%, while 73% utilized herbal medicines during labor, because of a belief that it may shorten and ease labor. The most commonly used herbal medicines in pregnancy were Anastatica hierochuntica L. (60.1%) followed by coconut oil (35.4%). The majority of women (89.2%) used only one type of herbal medicines and took one capsule/glass (38%) per day. Herbal medicines use by pregnant women is largely unsupervised (81%), with most women getting information from their parents (60.7%) and buying the products directly from traditional midwives (32.2%) and 77% agreed upon its efficacy and safety. From the 460 respondents, 89.8% women were in the low end of the herbs knowledge. There was a significant difference found between knowledge score and income (P < 0.05). Microdiffraction analysis revealed significant presence of carbon, oxygen, silica, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, potassium, zinc, and iron that were found in Anastatica hierochuntica L. and proved to have good benefits for pregnancy. PMID:24093047

Effect of sympathetic nervous system activation on the tonic vibration reflex in rabbit jaw closing muscles.

PubMed

Grassi, C; Deriu, F; Passatore, M

1993-09-01

1. In precollicular decerebrate rabbits we investigated the effect of sympathetic stimulation, at frequencies within the physiological range, on the tonic vibration reflex (TVR) elicited in jaw closing muscles by small amplitude vibrations applied to the mandible (15-50 microns, 150-180 Hz). The EMG activity was recorded bilaterally from masseter muscle and the force developed by the reflex was measured through an isometric transducer connected with the mandibular symphysis. 2. Unilateral stimulation of the peripheral stump of the cervical sympathetic by the TVR, and a marked decrease or disappearance of the ipsilateral EMG activity. No significant changes were detected in the EMG contralateral to the stimulated nerve. Bilateral CSN stimulation reduced by 60-90% the force reflexly produced by the jaw closing muscles and strongly decreased or suppressed EMG activity on both sides. This effect was often preceded by a transient TVR enhancement, very variable in amplitude and duration, which was concomitant with the modest increase in pulmonary ventilation induced by the sympathetic stimulation. 3. During bilateral CSN stimulation, an increase in the vibration amplitude by a factor of 1.5-2.5 was sufficient to restore the TVR reduced by sympathetic stimulation. 4. The depressant action exerted by sympathetic activation on the TVR is mediated by alpha-adrenergic receptors, since it was almost completely abolished by the I.V. administration of either phentolamine or prazosin, this last drug being a selective antagonist of alpha 1-adrenoceptors. The sympathetically induced decrease in the TVR was not mimicked by manoeuvres producing a large and sudden reduction or abolition of the blood flow to jaw muscles, such as unilateral or bilateral occlusion of the common carotid artery. 5. The effect of sympathetic stimulation was not significantly modified after denervation of the inferior dental arch and/or anaesthesia of the temporomandibular joint, i.e. after having reduced

Herbal remedies: issues in licensing and economic evaluation.

PubMed

Ashcroft, D M; Po, A L

1999-10-01

In recent years, the use of alternative therapies has become widespread. In particular, there has been a resurgence in the public's demand for herbal remedies, despite a lack of high-quality evidence to support the use of many of them. Given the increasing pressures to control healthcare spending in most countries, it is not surprising that attention is being focused on the cost effectiveness of herbal remedies. We address the question of whether there is sufficient information to enable the assessment of the cost effectiveness of herbal remedies. In so doing, we discuss the current state of play with several of the more high-profile alternative herbal remedies [Chinese medicinal herbs for atopic eczema, evening primrose oil, ginkgo biloba, hypericum (St John's wort)] and some which have made the transition from being alternative to being orthodox remedies. We use historical context to discuss, on the one hand, the increasing commodification of herbal remedies and on the other, the trend towards greater regulatory control and licensing of alternative herbal remedies. We argue that unless great care is exercised, these changes are not necessarily in the best interests of patients. In order to identify cost-effective care, we need reliable information about the costs as well as the efficacy and safety of the treatments being assessed. For most alternative therapies, such data are not available. We believe that studies to gather such data are long overdue. Whilst we argue strongly in favour of control of some herbal remedies, we urge caution with the trend towards licensing of all herbal remedies. We argue that the licensing of those herbal remedies with equivocal benefits and few risks, as evidenced by a long history of safe use, increases barriers to entry and increases societal healthcare costs.

Editorial for Special Issue on Herbal Medicines and Natural Products.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhi-Wei; Zhou, Shu-Feng

2015-11-16

Herbal medicines and natural products have been the most productive source of drug development and there is a large line of evidence on the applications of herbal medicines and natural products for the management of body function and the treatment of aliments. The multiple bioactive components in herbal medicines and natural products can explain the multiple targets effect in their medical applications. The increasing usage of state-of-art computational, molecular biological, and analytical chemistry techniques will promote the exploration of the pharmacological effect of previously inaccessible sources of herbal medicines and natural products. Notably, with the increasing reports on the safety issues regarding the medical use of herbal medicines and natural products, the awareness of pharmacovigilance in herbal medicines and natural products needs to be strengthened. To prevent the adverse drug reactions related to herbal medicines and natural products, physicians need to be aware of potential risks and alert patients in the use of herbal medicines and natural products.

Herbal drug patenting in India: IP potential.

PubMed

Sahoo, Niharika; Manchikanti, Padmavati; Dey, Satya Hari

2011-09-01

Herbal drugs are gaining worldwide prominence due to their distinct advantages. Developing countries have started exploring the ethnopharmacological approach of drug discovery and have begun to file patents on herbal drugs. The expansion of R&D in Indian herbal research organizations and presence of manufacturing units at non-Indian sites is an indication of the capability to develop new products and processes. The present study attempts to identify innovations in the Indian herbal drug sector by analyzing the patenting trends in India, US and EU. Based on key word and IPC based search at the IPO, USPTO, Esp@cenet and WIPO databases, patent applications and grant in herbal drugs by Indian applicants/assignees was collected for the last ten years (from 1st January 2001 to 31st October 2010). From this collection patents related to human therapeutic use only were selected. Analysis was performed to identify filing trends, major applicants/assignees, disease area and major plant species used for various treatments. There is a gradual increase in patent filing through the years. In India, individual inventors have maximum applications and grants. CSIR, among research organizations and Hindustan Unilever, Avesthagen, Piramal Life Science, Sahajanand Biotech and Indus Biotech among the companies have the maximum granted patents in India, US and EU respectively. Diabetes, cancer and inflammatory disorders are the major areas for patenting in India and abroad. Recent patents are on new herbal formulations for treatment of AIDS, hepatitis, skin disorders and gastrointestinal disorders. A majority of the herbal patents applications and grants in India are with individual inventors. Claim analysis indicates that these patents include novel multi-herb compositions with synergistic action. Indian research organizations are more active than companies in filing for patents. CSIR has maximum numbers of applications not only in India but also in the US and EU. Patents by research

Purinoceptor modulation of noradrenaline release in rat tail artery: tonic modulation mediated by inhibitory P2Y- and facilitatory A2A-purinoceptors.

PubMed Central

Gonçalves, J.; Queiroz, G.

1996-01-01

1. The effects of analogues of adenosine and ATP on noradrenaline release elicited by electrical stimulation (5 Hz, 2700 pulses) were studied in superfused preparations of rat tail artery. The effects of purinoceptor antagonists, of adenosine deaminase and of adenosine uptake blockade were also examined. Noradrenaline was measured by h.p.l.c. electrochemical detection. 2. The A1-adenosine receptor agonist, N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA; 0.1-100 nM) reduced, whereas the A2A-receptor agonist 2-p-(2-carboxyethyl)phenethylamino-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (CGS 21680; 3-30 nM) increased evoked noradrenaline overflow. These effects were antagonized by the A1-adenosine receptor antagonist, 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX; 20 nM) and the A2-adenosine receptor antagonist, 3,7-dimethyl-1-propargylxanthine (DMPX; 100 nM), respectively. The P2Y-purinoceptor agonist, 2-methylthio-ATP (1-100 microM) reduced noradrenaline overflow, an effect prevented by the P2-purinoceptor antagonist, cibacron blue 3GA (100 microM) and suramin (100 microM). 3. Adenosine deaminase (2 u ml-1), DMPX (100 nM) and inhibition of adenosine uptake with S-(p-nitrobenzyl)-6-thioinosine (NBTI; 50 nM) decreased evoked noradrenaline overflow. DPCPX alone did not change noradrenaline overflow but prevented the inhibition caused by NBTI. The P2Y-purinoceptor antagonist, cibacron blue 3GA (100 microM) increased evoked noradrenaline overflow as did suramin, a non-selective P2-antagonist. 4. It is concluded that, in rat tail artery, inhibitory (A1 and P2Y) and facilitatory (A2A) purinoceptors are present and modulate noradrenaline release evoked by electrical stimulation. Endogenous purines tonically modulate noradrenaline release through activation of inhibitory P2Y and facilitatory A2A purinoceptors, whereas a tonic activation of inhibitory A1 purinoceptors seems to be prevented by adenosine uptake. PMID:8825357

Use of herbal product among pregnant women in Turkey.

PubMed

Kıssal, Aygül; Çevik Güner, Ümran; Batkın Ertürk, Döndü

2017-02-01

This study was conducted to determine the herbal product use of pregnants as there is not adequate information relating to the rate of herbal product use during pregnancy in Turkey and what is thought about effects and side effects thereof. It is a descriptive study consisted of 366 pregnants admitted to hospital for childbirth in gynaecology and obstetrics clinics of a public hospital or a university hospital. Data were collected with individual information form and question form of herbal product use in pregnancy. We conducted number, percentage, chi-square analyses. It was determined that 47.3% of the women had used at least one herbal product during pregnancy; the relationship between education level, working status, family structure, and status of herbal product use is statistically significant (p<0.05). Linden, peppermint-lemon, ginger are the first three herbs used due to common cold-influenza frequently in pregnancy during 1st and 2nd trimesters. More than half of the pregnants stated that they had started herbal product use without any suggestions from anyone, and profoundly low healthcare professional suggestion was detected. Our study has showed that almost half of women use at least one herbal product during pregnancy. So few healthcare professionals give information to pregnants thereabout. Thus, providing information in general health education to pregnant women about benefits and damages of herbal product use, planning researchers on effectiveness of herbal products, assessment of healthcare professionals relating to the matter and provision of available guidelines and in-service education relating to herbal products that can be used during pregnancy may be suggested. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Formation of trihalomethanes as disinfection byproducts in herbal spa pools.

PubMed

Fakour, Hoda; Lo, Shang-Lien

2018-04-09

Herbal spa treatments are favorite recreational activities throughout the world. The water in spas is often disinfected to control pathogenic microorganisms and guarantee hygiene. However, chlorinated water may cause the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Although there have been many studies on DBP formation in swimming pools, the role of organic matter derived from herbal medicines applied in herbal spa water has been largely neglected. Accordingly, the present study investigated the effect of herbal medicines on the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) in simulated herbal spa water. Water samples were collected from a spa pool, and then, disinfection and herbal addition experiments were performed in a laboratory. The results showed that the organic molecules introduced by the herbal medicines are significant precursors to the formation of THMs in spa pool water. Since at least 50% of THMs were produced within the first six hours of the reaction time, the presence of herbal medicines in spa water could present a parallel route for THM exposure. Therefore, despite the undeniable benefits of herbal spas, the effect of applied herbs on DBP formation in chlorinated water should be considered to improve the water quality and health benefits of spa facilities.

[Research and development on efficacy of Chinese herbal compound].

PubMed

Liu, Jian-Xun; Ren, Jian-Xun; Lin, Cheng-Ren

2016-03-01

The efficacy not only is summarized by clinical effect of Chinese herbal compound on theory of traditional Chinese medicine, but also is manifested to clinical effect by interaction of many intricate chemical substances. The efficacy of Chinese herbal compound is current research focus in field of traditional Chinese medicine. By currently knowing in different aspects which included the progression in efficacy of Chinese herbal compound, symptomatic efficacy of Chinese herbal compound, the relationship between the efficacy and pharmacologic effect of Chinese herbal compound, the efficacy related pharmacodynamic substance and the evaluation of efficacy, it had been summarized mainly problems and methods in research and development process of the efficacy of Chinese herbal compound in this paper. Paper also elucidated problems that need to pay attention in research of efficacy in order to provide references for clinical and experimental studies of efficacy in Chinese herbal compound, boost research and development level of new traditional Chinese drug and facilitate modernization of traditional Chinese medicines. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Turmeric tonic as a treatment in scalp psoriasis: A randomized placebo-control clinical trial.

PubMed

Bahraini, Parichehr; Rajabi, Mehdi; Mansouri, Parvin; Sarafian, Golnaz; Chalangari, Reza; Azizian, Zahra

2018-06-01

Psoriasis is an autoimmune and recurrent chronic inflammatory skin disorder with a strong genetic basis. The characteristic features are hyperproliferation of keratinocytes, leading to redness, thickening, and scaling of the epidermis followed by itching and the appearance of lesions, which in most cases can affect the patients both medically and psychologically. The scalp is one of the most common sites for psoriasis. This condition is predominantly managed with steroids, which are associated with various side effects. Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), a spice commonly used throughout the world, has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antineoplastic properties. It has been reported to exhibit inhibitory activity on potassium channels in T cells and plays a key role in psoriasis. We were prompted to investigate the turmeric tonic as an immune modulation and anti-inflammatory therapy on scalp psoriasis. Forty patients with mild-to-moderate scalp psoriasis who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated into two groups. The case group received turmeric tonic twice a day for 9 weeks, whereas the other group received a placebo applied in the same manner. Patients were evaluated at the following points: baseline, weeks 3, 6, and 9. The dermatology life quality index (DLQI) questionnaire and PASI (psoriasis area & severity index) scores, as well as medical photos before, during and after treatment were also evaluated. The probable adverse effects were also recorded and reported. Compared to the placebo, turmeric tonic significantly reduced the erythema, scaling and induration of lesions (PASI score), and also improved the patients' quality of life (P value < .05). The clinical effects of turmeric tonic on scalp psoriasis were satisfactory overall. This formulation could be considered as a treatment for scalp psoriasis. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Integrated approach for confidence-enhanced quantitative analysis of herbal medicines, Cistanche salsa as a case.

PubMed

Liu, Wenjing; Song, Qingqing; Yan, Yu; Liu, Yao; Li, Peng; Wang, Yitao; Tu, Pengfei; Song, Yuelin; Li, Jun

2018-08-03

Although far away from perfect, it is practical to assess the quality of a given herbal medicine (HM) through simultaneous determination of a panel of components. However, the confidences of the quantitative outcomes from LC-MS/MS platform risk several technical barriers, such as chemical degradation, polarity range, concentration span, and identity misrecognition. Herein, we made an attempt to circumvent these obstacles by integrating several fit-for-purpose techniques, including online extraction (OLE), serially coupled reversed phase LC-hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (RPLC-HILIC), tailored multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), and relative response vs. collision energy curve (RRCEC) matching. Confidence-enhanced quantitative analysis of Cistanche salsa (Csa), a well-known psammophytic species and tonic herbal medicine, was conducted as a proof-of-concept. OLE module was deployed to prohibit chemical degradation, in particular E/Z-configuration transformation for phenylethanoid glycosides. Satisfactory retention took place for each analyte regardless of polarity because of successive passing through RPLC and HILIC columns. Optimum parameters for the minor components, at the meanwhile of inferior ones for the abundant ingredients, ensured the locations of all contents in the linear ranges. The unequivocal assignment of the captured signals was achieved by matching retention times, ion transitions, and more importantly, RRCECs between authentic compounds and suspect peaks. Diverse validation assays demonstrated the newly developed method to be reliable. Particularly, the distribution of mannitol rather than galactitol was disclosed although these isomers showed identical retention time and ion transitions. The contents of 21 compounds-of-interest were definitively determined in Csa as well as two analogous species, and the quantitative patterns exerted great variations among not only different species but different Csa samples. Together, the

Therapeutic Applications of Herbal Medicines for Cancer Patients

PubMed Central

Yin, Shu-Yi; Wei, Wen-Chi; Jian, Feng-Yin; Yang, Ning-Sun

2013-01-01

Medicinal herbs and their derivative phytocompounds are being increasingly recognized as useful complementary treatments for cancer. A large volume of clinical studies have reported the beneficial effects of herbal medicines on the survival, immune modulation, and quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients, when these herbal medicines are used in combination with conventional therapeutics. Here, we briefly review some examples of clinical studies that investigated the use of herbal medicines for various cancers and the development of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in this emerging research area. In addition, we also report recent studies on the biochemical and cellular mechanisms of herbal medicines in specific tumor microenvironments and the potential application of specific phytochemicals in cell-based cancer vaccine systems. This review should provide useful technological support for evidence-based application of herbal medicines in cancer therapy. PMID:23956768

Clinical course of untreated tonic-clonic seizures in childhood: prospective, hospital based study.

PubMed Central

van Donselaar, C. A.; Brouwer, O. F.; Geerts, A. T.; Arts, W. F.; Stroink, H.; Peters, A. C.

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To assess decleration and acceleration in the disease process in the initial phase of epilepsy in children with new onset tonic-clonic seizures. STUDY DESIGN: Hospital based follow up study. SETTING: Two university hospitals, a general hospital, and a children's hospital in the Netherlands. PATIENTS: 204 children aged 1 month to 16 years with idiopathic or remote symptomatic, newly diagnosed, tonic-clonic seizures, of whom 123 were enrolled at time of their first ever seizure; all children were followed until the start of drug treatment (78 children), the occurrence of the fourth untreated seizure (41 children), or the end of the follow up period of two years (85 untreated children). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Analysis of disease pattern from first ever seizure. The pattern was categorised as decelerating if the child became free of seizures despite treatment being withheld. In cases with four seizures, the pattern was categorised as decelerating if successive intervals increased or as accelerating if intervals decreased. Patterns in the remaining children were classified as uncertain. RESULTS: A decelerating pattern was found in 83 of 85 children who became free of seizures without treatment. Three of the 41 children with four or more untreated seizures showed a decelerating pattern and eight an accelerating pattern. In 110 children the disease process could not be classified, mostly because drug treatment was started after the first, second, or third seizure. The proportion of children with a decelerating pattern (42%, 95% confidence interval 35% to 49%) may be a minimum estimate because of the large number of patients with an uncertain disease pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Though untreated epilepsy is commonly considered to be a progressive disorder with decreasing intervals between seizures, a large proportion of children with newly diagnosed, unprovoked tonic-clonic seizures have a decelerating disease process. The fear that tonic-clonic seizures commonly

Herbal contraceptives: exploring indigenous methods of family planning.

PubMed

Quijano Nv

1986-01-01

The study, "Herbal Contraceptives: An Alternative Strategy in Family Planning", was conducted by the Research Institute for Mindanao Culture, Xavier University, for the Population Center Foundation. The study has 2 phases: 1) phase 1 gathered information from the regional population offices on the areas where herbs are grown, and 2) phase 2 sought to obtain data on the preparation and perceived effectiveness of herbal contraceptives. Results indicate that, in most of the Philippine regions, herbal contraceptives had long been used by women in the rural areas, specifically those in the indigenous groups. The 1984 study found that many rural women in the research area preferred the Kamias drink and other herbal concoctions to the pill and other modern contraceptive methods. Among college-educated women, it was found that acceptance of contraceptives was influenced more by their religion rather than by their education. Most of the respondents said they used herbal contraceptives because they were easily obtained and were inexpensive. Generally, they considered herbal contraceptives much safer than other contraceptives methods. Some women who had been using modern family planning methods are now using herbs in delaying pregnancy; this shift is mainly due to the side effects of the modern methods. There is room for a compromise between folk practices and modern science, as in the case of herbal contraceptives.

Herbal Medicine in Ischemic Stroke: Challenges and Prospective.

PubMed

Gaire, Bhakta Prasad

2018-04-01

Herbal medicines, mainly of plant source, are invaluable source for the discovery of new therapeutic agents for all sorts of human ailments. The complex pathogenesis of stroke and multifactorial effect of herbal medicine and their active constituents may suggest the promising future of natural medicine for stroke treatment. Anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, neuroprotective and vascular protective effect of herbal medicines are believed to be efficacious in stroke treatment. Herbs typically have fewer reported side effects than allopathic medicine, and may be safer to use over longer period of time. Herbal medicines are believed to be more effective for the longstanding health complaints, such as stroke. Several medicinal plants and their active constituents show the promising results in laboratory research. However failure in transformation of laboratory animal research to the clinical trials has created huge challenge for the use of herbal medicine in stroke. Until and unless scientifically comprehensive evidence of the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine in ischemic stroke patients is available, efforts should be made to continue implementing treatment strategies of proven effectiveness. More consideration should be paid to natural compounds that can have extensive therapeutic time windows, perfect pharmacological targets with few side effects. Herbal medicine has excellent prospective for the treatment of ischemic stroke, but a lot of effort should be invested to transform the success of animal research to human use.

Herbal Medicine in the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis

PubMed Central

Ke, Fei; Yadav, Praveen Kumar; Ju, Liu Zhan

2012-01-01

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a refractory, chronic, and nonspecific disease occurred usually in the rectum and the entire colon. The etiopathology is probably related to dysregulation of the mucosal immune response toward the resident bacterial flora together with genetic and environmental factors. Several types of medications are used to control the inflammation or reduce symptoms. Herbal medicine includes a wide range of practices and therapies outside the realms of conventional Western medicine. However, there are limited controlled evidences indicating the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicines, such as aloe vera gel, wheat grass juice, Boswellia serrata, and bovine colostrum enemas in the treatment of UC. Although herbal medicines are not devoid of risk, they could still be safer than synthetic drugs. The potential benefits of herbal medicine could lie in their high acceptance by patients, efficacy, relative safety, and relatively low cost. Patients worldwide seem to have adopted herbal medicine in a major way, and the efficacy of herbal medicine has been tested in hundreds of clinical trials in the management of UC. The evidences on herbal medicine are incomplete, complex, and confusing, and certainly associated with both risks and benefits. There is a need for further controlled clinical trials of the potential efficacy of herbal medicine approaches in the treatment of UC, together with enhanced legislation to maximize their quality and safety. PMID:22249085

Chromatographic fingerprinting through chemometric techniques for herbal slimming pills: A way of adulterant identification.

PubMed

Shekari, Nafiseh; Vosough, Maryam; Tabar Heidar, Kourosh

2018-05-01

In the current study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) fingerprinting of herbal slimming pills assisted by chemometric methods has been presented. Deconvolution of two-way chromatographic signals of nine herbal slimming pills into pure chromatographic and spectral patterns was performed. The peak clusters were resolved using multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) by employing appropriate constraints. It was revealed that more useful chemical information about the composition of the slimming pills can be obtained by employing sophisticated GC-MS method coupled with proper chemometric tools yielding the extended number of identified constituents. The thorough fingerprinting of the complex mixtures proved the presence of some toxic or carcinogen components, such as toluene, furfural, furfuryl alcohol, styrene, itaconic anhydride, citraconic anhydride, trimethyl phosphate, phenol, pyrocatechol, p-propenylanisole and pyrogallol. In addition, some samples were shown to be adulterated with undeclared ingredients, including stimulants, anorexiant and laxatives such as phenolphthalein, amfepramone, caffeine and sibutramine. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antinociceptive and pronociceptive effect of levetiracetam in tonic pain model.

PubMed

Cortes-Altamirano, José Luis; Reyes-Long, Samuel; Olmos-Hernández, Adriana; Bonilla-Jaime, Herlinda; Carrillo-Mora, Paul; Bandala, Cindy; Alfaro-Rodriguez, Alfonso

2018-04-01

Levetiracetam (LEV) is a novel anticonvulsant with proven antinociceptive properties. However, the antinociceptive and pronociceptive effect of this drug has not yet been fully elucidated in a tonic pain model. Thirty-six male rats (Wistar) were randomized into six groups and underwent the formalin test as follows: rats in the control group were administered 50μL of 1% formalin in the paw; sham-group rats were administered 50μL of saline in the paw to mimick the application of formalin; the four experimental groups were administered LEV intragastrically (ig) (50, 100, 200 and 300mg/kg), and 40min later 50μL of 1% formalin was injected in the paw. LEV exhibited antinociceptive effect in the 300mg/kg LEV group (p<0.05) and a pronociceptive effect in the 100mg/kg LEV group (p<0.05) and in the 50mg/kg LEV group (p<0.001). The antinociceptive and pronociceptive effect of LEV in a tonic pain model is dose-dependent. Copyright © 2017 Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Role of rho-kinase (ROCK) in tonic but not phasic contraction in the frog stomach smooth muscle.

PubMed

Sahin, Leyla; Cevik, Ozge Selin; Koyuncu, Dilan Deniz; Buyukafsar, Kansu

2018-04-01

Rho/Rho-kinase (ROCK) signaling has extensively been shown to take part in mammalian smooth muscle contractions in response to diverse agents yet its role in the contraction of amphibian smooth muscle has not been investigated. Therefore, we aimed to explore any role of this pathway in the contractions of frog stomach smooth. The strips were prepared and suspended in organ baths filled with Ringer solution. Changes in the circular strips of the frog stomach muscle length were recorded isotonically with a force transducer in organ baths. Carbachol (CCh) exerted both phasic and tonic contractions. In contrast, atropin abolished all types of contractions by CCh. The phasic contractions were suppressed by a Ca 2+ channel blocker, nifedipine but not by the ROCK inhibitor, Y-27632. However, the tonic contractions were markedly attenuated by Y-27632. Selective M 1 receptor blocker, pirenzepin, selective M 3 receptor blocker and DAMP had no effects on CCh-elicited contractions. On the other hand, selective M 2 receptor blocker, AF-DX suppressed all types of contractile activity by CCh. These data suggest that M 2 receptor activation could mainly mediate CCh-induced phasic and tonic contractions, and ROCK seems to be involved in the CCh-induced tonic but not phasic contractions of the frog stomach smooth muscle. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dissociable effect of acute varenicline on tonic versus cue-provoked craving in non-treatment-motivated heavy smokers.

PubMed

Hitsman, Brian; Hogarth, Lee; Tseng, Li-Jung; Teige, Jordan C; Shadel, William G; DiBenedetti, Dana Britt; Danto, Spencer; Lee, Theodore C; Price, Lawrence H; Niaura, Raymond

2013-06-01

The effectiveness of varenicline for smoking cessation has been established, but little is known about the psychological processes that mediate this clinical outcome. This study evaluated the effect of a single dose of varenicline on tonic and cue-provoked changes in craving, withdrawal, and affect using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design. Following overnight abstinence, 38 non-treatment-motivated smokers received either varenicline 2mg or matched placebo, then tonic measures of craving, withdrawal, and positive and negative affect were obtained at 30-min intervals. At 4-h post-administration, a cue exposure session obtained the same subjective measures at three time-points following the physical handling of a lit cigarette versus the sharpening and handling of a pencil. At 4-h post-administration, varenicline reduced tonic craving as well as craving across the smoking and neutral cue conditions, relative to placebo. By contrast, the capacity of the smoking cue to enhance craving relative to the neutral cue was unaffected by varenicline. Measures of withdrawal and positive and negative affect produced mixed results. Acute varenicline selectively attenuates tonic but not cue-provoked craving. This dissociation provides insight into the specific psychological processes that might mediate the effectiveness of varenicline, and highlights cue-provoked craving as a discrete target for advancing smoking cessation pharmacotherapy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tonic and phasic phenomena underlying eye movements during sleep in the cat

PubMed Central

Márquez-Ruiz, Javier; Escudero, Miguel

2008-01-01

Mammalian sleep is not a homogenous state, and different variables have traditionally been used to distinguish different periods during sleep. Of these variables, eye movement is one of the most paradigmatic, and has been used to differentiate between the so-called rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep periods. Despite this, eye movements during sleep are poorly understood, and the behaviour of the oculomotor system remains almost unknown. In the present work, we recorded binocular eye movements during the sleep–wake cycle of adult cats by the scleral search-coil technique. During alertness, eye movements consisted of conjugated saccades and eye fixations. During NREM sleep, eye movements were slow and mostly unconjugated. The two eyes moved upwardly and in the abducting direction, producing a tonic divergence and elevation of the visual axis. During the transition period between NREM and REM sleep, rapid monocular eye movements of low amplitude in the abducting direction occurred in coincidence with ponto-geniculo-occipital waves. Along REM sleep, the eyes tended to maintain a tonic convergence and depression, broken by high-frequency bursts of complex rapid eye movements. In the horizontal plane, each eye movement in the burst comprised two consecutive movements in opposite directions, which were more evident in the eye that performed the abducting movements. In the vertical plane, rapid eye movements were always upward. Comparisons of the characteristics of eye movements during the sleep–wake cycle reveal the uniqueness of eye movements during sleep, and the noteworthy existence of tonic and phasic phenomena in the oculomotor system, not observed until now. PMID:18499729

Tonic and phasic phenomena underlying eye movements during sleep in the cat.

PubMed

Márquez-Ruiz, Javier; Escudero, Miguel

2008-07-15

Mammalian sleep is not a homogenous state, and different variables have traditionally been used to distinguish different periods during sleep. Of these variables, eye movement is one of the most paradigmatic, and has been used to differentiate between the so-called rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep periods. Despite this, eye movements during sleep are poorly understood, and the behaviour of the oculomotor system remains almost unknown. In the present work, we recorded binocular eye movements during the sleep-wake cycle of adult cats by the scleral search-coil technique. During alertness, eye movements consisted of conjugated saccades and eye fixations. During NREM sleep, eye movements were slow and mostly unconjugated. The two eyes moved upwardly and in the abducting direction, producing a tonic divergence and elevation of the visual axis. During the transition period between NREM and REM sleep, rapid monocular eye movements of low amplitude in the abducting direction occurred in coincidence with ponto-geniculo-occipital waves. Along REM sleep, the eyes tended to maintain a tonic convergence and depression, broken by high-frequency bursts of complex rapid eye movements. In the horizontal plane, each eye movement in the burst comprised two consecutive movements in opposite directions, which were more evident in the eye that performed the abducting movements. In the vertical plane, rapid eye movements were always upward. Comparisons of the characteristics of eye movements during the sleep-wake cycle reveal the uniqueness of eye movements during sleep, and the noteworthy existence of tonic and phasic phenomena in the oculomotor system, not observed until now.

Herbal diuretics in medieval Persian and Arabic medicine.

PubMed

Shoja, Mohammadali M; Tubbs, R Shane; Bosmia, Anand N; Fakhree, Mohammad A A; Jouyban, Abolghasem; Balch, Margaret Wood; Loukas, Marios; Khodadoust, Kazem; Khalili, Majid; Eknoyan, Garabed

2015-06-01

In accord with the notions of humoralism that prevailed in medieval medicine, therapeutic interventions, including diuretics, were used to restore the disturbed balance among the four humors of the human body: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Most diuretics were derived from plants. The primary textual reference on herbal diuretics was Dioscorides's De Materia Medica, which was written during the first century CE. The authors reviewed the medieval medical texts written in Persian and Arabic and compiled a list of 135 herbal diuretics used by the medieval medical authorities for treating various ailments. Between the 8th and 11th centuries CE, Middle Eastern physicians systematically reviewed extant books on medicine and pharmacotherapy and compiled new and expanded lists of herbal medicines, diuretics in particular. Furthermore, they introduced new chemical methods of extraction, distillation, and compounding in the use of herbal medicines. Several herbal remedies now are considered as potentially safe and affordable alternatives to chemical pharmaceuticals. Thus, research on medieval herbal therapies may prove to be relevant to the practice of current cardiovascular and renal pharmacotherapy. The authors propose that modern research methods can be employed to determine which of these agents actually are effective as diuretics.

Herbal Treatment for Anxiety: Is It Effective?

MedlinePlus

... use, but can cause nausea and abdominal pain. Herbal supplements aren't monitored by the FDA the same ... mean safe. If you're considering taking any herbal supplement as a treatment for anxiety, talk to your ...

Monitoring In Vivo Changes in Tonic Extracellular Dopamine Level by Charge-Balancing Multiple Waveform Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry.

PubMed

Oh, Yoonbae; Park, Cheonho; Kim, Do Hyoung; Shin, Hojin; Kang, Yu Min; DeWaele, Mark; Lee, Jeyeon; Min, Hoon-Ki; Blaha, Charles D; Bennet, Kevin E; Kim, In Young; Lee, Kendall H; Jang, Dong Pyo

2016-11-15

Dopamine (DA) modulates central neuronal activity through both phasic (second to second) and tonic (minutes to hours) terminal release. Conventional fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV), in combination with carbon fiber microelectrodes, has been used to measure phasic DA release in vivo by adopting a background subtraction procedure to remove background capacitive currents. However, measuring tonic changes in DA concentrations using conventional FSCV has been difficult because background capacitive currents are inherently unstable over long recording periods. To measure tonic changes in DA concentrations over several hours, we applied a novel charge-balancing multiple waveform FSCV (CBM-FSCV), combined with a dual background subtraction technique, to minimize temporal variations in background capacitive currents. Using this method, in vitro, charge variations from a reference time point were nearly zero for 48 h, whereas with conventional background subtraction, charge variations progressively increased. CBM-FSCV also demonstrated a high selectivity against 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and ascorbic acid, two major chemical interferents in the brain, yielding a sensitivity of 85.40 ± 14.30 nA/μM and limit of detection of 5.8 ± 0.9 nM for DA while maintaining selectivity. Recorded in vivo by CBM-FSCV, pharmacological inhibition of DA reuptake (nomifensine) resulted in a 235 ± 60 nM increase in tonic extracellular DA concentrations, while inhibition of DA synthesis (α-methyl-dl-tyrosine) resulted in a 72.5 ± 4.8 nM decrease in DA concentrations over a 2 h period. This study showed that CBM-FSCV may serve as a unique voltammetric technique to monitor relatively slow changes in tonic extracellular DA concentrations in vivo over a prolonged time period.

Gene expression profiling as an initial approach for mechanistic studies of toxicity and tumorigenicity of herbal plants and herbal dietary supplements.

PubMed

Guo, Lei; Mei, Nan; Xia, Qingsu; Chen, Tao; Chan, Po-Chuen; Fu, Peter P

2010-01-01

Dietary supplements are consumed by more than 300 million people worldwide, and herbal dietary supplements represent the most rapidly growing portion of this industry. Even though adverse health effects of many herbal dietary supplements have been reported, safety assurances are not being addressed adequately. Toxicological data on the identification of genotoxic and tumorigenic ingredients in many raw herbs are also lacking. Currently, more than 30 herbal dietary supplements and active ingredients have been selected by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) for toxicity and tumorigenicity studies. Due to the complexity of the chemical components present in plant extracts, there are no established methodologies for determining the mechanisms of toxicity (particularly tumorigenicity) induced by herbs, such as Gingko biloba leaf extract (GBE) and other herbal plant extracts. Consequently, the understanding of toxicity of herbal dietary supplements remains limited. We have proposed that application of DNA microarrays could be a highly practical initial approach for revealing biological pathways and networks associated with toxicity induced by herbal dietary supplements and the generation of hypotheses to address likely mechanisms. The changes in expression of subsets of genes of interest, such as the modulation of drug metabolizing genes, can be analyzed after treatment with an herbal dietary supplement. Although levels of gene expression do not represent fully the levels of protein activities, we propose that subsequent biochemical and genomic experiments based on these initial observations will enable elucidation of the mechanisms leading to toxicity, including tumorigenicity. This review summarizes the current practices of microarray analysis of gene expressions in animals treated with herbal dietary supplements and discusses perspectives for the proposed strategy.

Decreased serotonin level during pregnancy alters morphological and functional characteristics of tonic nociceptive system in juvenile offspring of the rat.

PubMed

Butkevich, Irina P; Khozhai, Ludmila I; Mikhailenko, Victor A; Otellin, Vladimir A

2003-11-13

Serotonin (5-HT) contributes to the prenatal development of the central nervous system, acting as a morphogen in the young embryo and later as a neurotransmitter. This biologically active agent influences both morphological and biochemical differentiation of raphe neurons, which give rise to the descending serotonergic paths that regulate the processing of acutely evoked nociceptive inputs. The involvement of 5-HT in the prenatal development of tonic nociceptive system has not been studied. In the present study we evaluated the effects of a single injection (400 mg/kg, 2 ml, i.p.) of the 5-HT synthesis inhibitor, para-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA), given to pregnant rats during the critical period fetal serotonin development. The functional integrity of the tonic nociceptive response was investigated in 25 day old rats using the classic formalin test. Morphological analysis of brain structures involved in formalin-induced pain and 5-HT levels in the heads of 12-day embryos were also evaluated. Embryonic levels of 5-HT were significantly lowered by the treatment. The juvenile rats from pCPA-treated females showed altered brain morphology and cell differentiation in the developing cortex, hippocampus, raphe nuclei, and substantia nigra. In the formalin test, there were significant decreases in the intensity and duration of the second phase of the formalin-induced response, characterizing persistent, tonic pain. The extent of impairments in the brain structures correlated positively with the level of decrease in the behavioral responses. The data demonstrate the involvement of 5-HT in the prenatal development of the tonic nociceptive system. The decreased tonic component of the behavioral response can be explained by lower activity of the descending excitatory serotonergic system originating in the raphe nuclei, resulting in decreased tonic pain processing organized at the level of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.

HIM-herbal ingredients in-vivo metabolism database.

PubMed

Kang, Hong; Tang, Kailin; Liu, Qi; Sun, Yi; Huang, Qi; Zhu, Ruixin; Gao, Jun; Zhang, Duanfeng; Huang, Chenggang; Cao, Zhiwei

2013-05-31

Herbal medicine has long been viewed as a valuable asset for potential new drug discovery and herbal ingredients' metabolites, especially the in vivo metabolites were often found to gain better pharmacological, pharmacokinetic and even better safety profiles compared to their parent compounds. However, these herbal metabolite information is still scattered and waiting to be collected. HIM database manually collected so far the most comprehensive available in-vivo metabolism information for herbal active ingredients, as well as their corresponding bioactivity, organs and/or tissues distribution, toxicity, ADME and the clinical research profile. Currently HIM contains 361 ingredients and 1104 corresponding in-vivo metabolites from 673 reputable herbs. Tools of structural similarity, substructure search and Lipinski's Rule of Five are also provided. Various links were made to PubChem, PubMed, TCM-ID (Traditional Chinese Medicine Information database) and HIT (Herbal ingredients' targets databases). A curated database HIM is set up for the in vivo metabolites information of the active ingredients for Chinese herbs, together with their corresponding bioactivity, toxicity and ADME profile. HIM is freely accessible to academic researchers at http://www.bioinformatics.org.cn/.

Herbal hepatotoxicity: suspected cases assessed for alternative causes.

PubMed

Teschke, Rolf; Schulze, Johannes; Schwarzenboeck, Alexander; Eickhoff, Axel; Frenzel, Christian

2013-09-01

Alternative explanations are common in suspected drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and account for up to 47.1% of analyzed cases. This raised the question of whether a similar frequency may prevail in cases of assumed herb-induced liver injury (HILI). We searched the Medline database for the following terms: herbs, herbal drugs, herbal dietary supplements, hepatotoxic herbs, herbal hepatotoxicity, and herb-induced liver injury. Additional terms specifically addressed single herbs and herbal products: black cohosh, Greater Celandine, green tea, Herbalife products, Hydroxycut, kava, and Pelargonium sidoides. We retrieved 23 published case series and regulatory assessments related to hepatotoxicity by herbs and herbal dietary supplements with alternative causes. The 23 publications comprised 573 cases of initially suspected HILI; alternative causes were evident in 278/573 cases (48.5%). Among them were hepatitis by various viruses (9.7%), autoimmune diseases (10.4%), nonalcoholic and alcoholic liver diseases (5.4%), liver injury by comedication (DILI and other HILI) (43.9%), and liver involvement in infectious diseases (4.7%). Biliary and pancreatic diseases were frequent alternative diagnoses (11.5%), raising therapeutic problems if specific treatment is withheld; pre-existing liver diseases including cirrhosis (9.7%) were additional confounding variables. Other diagnoses were rare, but possibly relevant for the individual patient. In 573 cases of initially assumed HILI, 48.5% showed alternative causes unrelated to the initially incriminated herb, herbal drug, or herbal dietary supplement, calling for thorough clinical evaluations and appropriate causality assessments in future cases of suspected HILI.

Online sources of herbal product information.

PubMed

Owens, Christopher; Baergen, Ralph; Puckett, Derek

2014-02-01

Herbal products are commonly used to treat clinical conditions and are often purchased online without the supervision of a healthcare provider. The use of herbals remains controversial because of widespread exaggerated claims of clinical efficacy and safety. We conducted an online search of 13 common herbals (including black cohosh, echinacea, garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, green tea, kava, saw palmetto, and St John's wort) and reviewed the top 50 Web sites for each using a Google search. We analyzed clinical claims, warnings, and other safety information. A total of 1179 Web sites were examined. Less than 8% of retail sites provided information regarding potential adverse effects, drug interactions, and other safety information; only 10.5% recommended consultation with a healthcare professional. Less than 3% cited scientific literature to accompany their claims. Key safety information is still lacking from many online sources of herbal information. Certain nonretail site types may be more reliable, but physicians and other healthcare professionals should be aware of the variable quality of these sites to help patients make more informed decisions. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Crossed reciprocal inhibition evoked by electrical stimulation of the lamprey spinal cord.

PubMed

Fagerstedt, P; Zelenin, P V; Deliagina, T G; Orlovsky, G N; Grillner, S

2000-09-01

Activation of a motoneuron pool is often accompanied by inhibition of the antagonistic pool through a system of reciprocal inhibition between the two parts of the neuronal network controlling the antagonistic pools. In the present study, we describe the activity of such a system in the isolated spinal cord of the lamprey, when a tonic motor output is evoked by extracellular stimulation (0.5-1 s train of pulses, 20 Hz) of either end of the spinal cord. With two electrodes symmetrically positioned in relation to the midline, stimulation with either of them separately elicited prolonged (1-5 s) ipsilateral ventral root activity. Activity could be abolished by stronger, simultaneously applied, stimulation of the contralateral side of the cord, suggesting that reciprocal inhibition between hemisegments operates when a tonic motor output is generated. Simultaneous stimulation of both sides of the spinal cord with a single electrode with a large tip (300-400 microm in diameter), positioned over the anatomical midline, elicited inconsistent right-side, leftside, or bilateral ventral root responses. A minor displacement (10-20 microm) to the left or right from the midline resulted in activation of ipsilateral motoneurons, whereas the contralateral motoneurons were silent. These findings indicate that a small asymmetry in the excitatory drive to the left and right spinal hemisegments can be further amplified by reciprocal inhibition between the hemisegments. Longitudinal splitting of the spinal cord along the midline resulted in reduced reciprocal inhibition between the hemisegments separated by the lesion. The reduction was proportional to the extent of the split. The inhibition was abolished when the split reached nine segments in length. From these experiments, the longitudinal distribution of the commissural axons responsible for inhibition of contralateral motor output could be estimated.

Use of herbal medicinal products among children and adolescents in Germany

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Germany is a country with a high use of herbal medicinal products. Population-based data on the use of herbal medicinal products among children are lacking. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence, patterns and determinants of herbal medicine use among children and adolescents in Germany. Methods As data base served the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS), a representative population based survey conducted 2003–2006 by the Robert Koch Institute. 17,450 boys and girls aged 0–17 years provided information on drug use in the preceding seven days. Herbal medicinal products were defined according to the European and German drug laws. SPSS Complex Sample method was used to estimate prevalence rates and factors associated with herbal medicine use. Results The prevalence rate of herbal medicinal product use amounts to 5.8% (95% confidence interval 5.3-6.3%). Use of herbal medicine declines along with increasing age and shows no difference between boys and girls in younger age groups. Teenage girls are more likely to use herbal medicines than teenage boys. Two thirds of herbal medicines are used for the treatment of coughs and colds; nearly half of herbal medicines are prescribed by medical doctors. Determinants of herbal medicinal product use are younger age, residing in South Germany, having a poor health status, having no immigration background and coming from a higher social class family. Children’s and parents-related health behavior is not found to be associated with herbal medicine use after adjusting for social class. Conclusions Use of herbal medicinal products among children and adolescents between the ages of 0 and 17 years in Germany is widely spread and shows relatively higher rates compared to international data. This study provides a reference on the use of herbal medicinal products for policy-makers, health professionals and parents. Further studies are needed to investigate the

Similarity analyses of chromatographic herbal fingerprints: a review.

PubMed

Goodarzi, Mohammad; Russell, Paul J; Vander Heyden, Yvan

2013-12-04

Herbal medicines are becoming again more popular in the developed countries because being "natural" and people thus often assume that they are inherently safe. Herbs have also been used worldwide for many centuries in the traditional medicines. The concern of their safety and efficacy has grown since increasing western interest. Herbal materials and their extracts are very complex, often including hundreds of compounds. A thorough understanding of their chemical composition is essential for conducting a safety risk assessment. However, herbal material can show considerable variability. The chemical constituents and their amounts in a herb can be different, due to growing conditions, such as climate and soil, the drying process, the harvest season, etc. Among the analytical methods, chromatographic fingerprinting has been recommended as a potential and reliable methodology for the identification and quality control of herbal medicines. Identification is needed to avoid fraud and adulteration. Currently, analyzing chromatographic herbal fingerprint data sets has become one of the most applied tools in quality assessment of herbal materials. Mostly, the entire chromatographic profiles are used to identify or to evaluate the quality of the herbs investigated. Occasionally only a limited number of compounds are considered. One approach to the safety risk assessment is to determine whether the herbal material is substantially equivalent to that which is either readily consumed in the diet, has a history of application or has earlier been commercialized i.e. to what is considered as reference material. In order to help determining substantial equivalence using fingerprint approaches, a quantitative measurement of similarity is required. In this paper, different (dis)similarity approaches, such as (dis)similarity metrics or exploratory analysis approaches applied on herbal medicinal fingerprints, are discussed and illustrated with several case studies. Copyright © 2013

Precipitating factors and therapeutic outcome in epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures.

PubMed

Bauer, J; Saher, M S; Burr, W; Elger, C E

2000-10-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of precipitating factors and therapy on the outcome of epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Retrospective analysis of data from 34 patients (mean age at seizure onset 19 years; mean duration of follow-up 9.2 years) suffering from epilepsy of either cryptogenic or remote symptomatic (n = 19), or idiopathic (n = 15) etiology. The total number of seizures in all patients was 146. Without treatment 97 seizures manifested during 90.5 years without treatment (1.07 seizures/year), during treatment with carbamazepine or valproate 49 seizures occurred within 224 years (0.2 seizures/year). The frequency of seizures was significantly lower during treatment. Precipitating factors were found in relation to 31% of seizures in patients with remote symptomatic or cryptogenic epilepsy, and for 51% of seizures in patients with idiopathic epilepsy. There was a low frequency of seizures in patients with generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Precipitating factors are common. Antiepileptic drug treatment is effective.

Myosin Light Chain Kinase Is Necessary for Tonic Airway Smooth Muscle Contraction*

PubMed Central

Zhang, Wen-Cheng; Peng, Ya-Jing; Zhang, Gen-Sheng; He, Wei-Qi; Qiao, Yan-Ning; Dong, Ying-Ying; Gao, Yun-Qian; Chen, Chen; Zhang, Cheng-Hai; Li, Wen; Shen, Hua-Hao; Ning, Wen; Kamm, Kristine E.; Stull, James T.; Gao, Xiang; Zhu, Min-Sheng

2010-01-01

Different interacting signaling modules involving Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent myosin light chain kinase, Ca2+-independent regulatory light chain phosphorylation, myosin phosphatase inhibition, and actin filament-based proteins are proposed as specific cellular mechanisms involved in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction. However, the relative importance of specific modules is not well defined. By using tamoxifen-activated and smooth muscle-specific knock-out of myosin light chain kinase in mice, we analyzed its role in tonic airway smooth muscle contraction. Knock-out of the kinase in both tracheal and bronchial smooth muscle significantly reduced contraction and myosin phosphorylation responses to K+-depolarization and acetylcholine. Kinase-deficient mice lacked bronchial constrictions in normal and asthmatic airways, whereas the asthmatic inflammation response was not affected. These results indicate that myosin light chain kinase acts as a central participant in the contractile signaling module of tonic smooth muscle. Importantly, contractile airway smooth muscles are necessary for physiological and asthmatic airway resistance. PMID:20018858

[Current research situation of nephrotoxicity of Chinese herbal medicine].

PubMed

Feng, Xue; Fang, Sai-Nan; Gao, Yu-Xin; Liu, Jian-Ping; Chen, Wei

2018-02-01

To provide the basis for the future research on the nephrotoxicity of Chinese herbal medicine through systematic and comprehensive summary of all the Chinese herbal medicines which may lead to nephrotoxicity. Foreign resources included PubMed and Cochrane library， and domestic research resources was China Food and Drug Administration(CDFA) Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Center database. The databases were searched from establishment to January 1， 2017. There was no limitation on research type. 28 English studies were found， including 97 Chinese herbs or prescriptions with the risk of nephrotoxicity. The following six Chinese herbal medicines with the risk of nephrotoxicity had a large number of studies： aristolochic acid(5 studies)， Tripterygium wilfordii(4 studies)， Erycibe obtusifolia(2 studies)， Rheum palmatum(2 studies)， Ephedra sinica(2 studies)， and Atractylodes lances(2 studies). The remaining 91 Chinese medicines were reported with risk of nephrotoxicity in only 1 study respectively. CDFA reported 16 Chinese herbal medicines with the risk of nephrotoxicity， including Ganmaoqing Pian(capsule)， Zhenju Jiangya Pian， T. wilfordii preparation， Vc-Yinqiao Pian， Chuanhuning injection， Shuanghuanglian injection， Qingkailing injection， Lianbizhi injection， herbal decoction containing Aristolochiae Radix， Guanxin Suhe Wan， Shugan Liqi Wan， Ershiwuwei Songshi Wan， herbal decoction containing Aristolochia Fangchi， herbal granules containing root of Kaempfer Dutchmanspipe， Ganmaotong(tablets)， and Longdan Xiegan Wan. Currently， in addition to aristolochic acids， the most reported Chinese herbal medicine with the risk of nephrotoxicity is T. wilfordii preparation. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Tonic accommodation predicts closed-loop accommodation responses.

PubMed

Liu, Chunming; Drew, Stefanie A; Borsting, Eric; Escobar, Amy; Stark, Lawrence; Chase, Christopher

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the potential relationship between tonic accommodation (TA), near work induced TA-adaptation and the steady state closed-loop accommodation response (AR). Forty-two graduate students participated in the study. Various aspects of their accommodation system were objectively measured using an open-field infrared auto-refractor (Grand Seiko WAM-5500). Tonic accommodation was assessed in a completely dark environment. The association between TA and closed-loop AR was assessed using linear regression correlations and t-test comparisons. Initial mean baseline TA was 1.84diopter (D) (SD±1.29D) with a wide distribution range (-0.43D to 5.14D). For monocular visual tasks, baseline TA was significantly correlated with the closed-loop AR. The slope of the best fit line indicated that closed-loop AR varied by approximately 0.3D for every 1D change in TA. This ratio was consistent across a variety of viewing distances and different near work tasks, including both static targets and continuous reading. Binocular reading conditions weakened the correlation between baseline TA and AR, although results remained statistically significant. The 10min near reading task with a 3D demand did not reveal significant near work induced TA-adaptation for either monocular or binocular conditions. Consistently, the TA-adaptation did not show any correlation with AR during reading. This study found a strong association between open-loop TA and closed-loop AR across a variety of viewing distances and different near work tasks. Difference between the correlations under monocular and binocular reading condition suggests a potential role for vergence compensation during binocular closed-loop AR. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Neurocomputational model of tonic and phasic dopamine in action selection: A comparison with cognitive deficits in Parkinson’s disease

PubMed Central

Guthrie, M.; Myers, C.E.; Gluck, M.A.

2015-01-01

The striatal dopamine signal has multiple facets; tonic level, phasic rise and fall, and variation of the phasic rise/fall depending on the expectation of reward/punishment. We have developed a network model of the striatal direct pathway using an ionic current level model of the medium spiny neuron that incorporates currents sensitive to changes in the tonic level of dopamine. The model neurons in the network learn action selection based on a novel set of mathematical rules that incorporate the phasic change in the dopamine signal. This network model is capable of learning to perform a sequence learning task that in humans is thought to be dependent on the basal ganglia. When both tonic and phasic levels of dopamine are decreased, as would be expected in unmedicated Parkinson’s disease (PD), the model reproduces the deficits seen in a human PD group off medication. When the tonic level is increased to normal, but with reduced phasic increases and decreases in response to reward and punishment respectively, as would be expected in PD medicated with L-Dopa, the model again reproduces the human data. These findings support the view that the cognitive dysfunctions seen in Parkinson’s disease are not solely due to either the decreased tonic level of dopamine or to the decreased responsiveness of the phasic dopamine signal to reward and punishment, but to a combination of the two factors that varies dependent on disease stage and medication status. PMID:19162084

Biomarker-guided screening of Juzen-taiho-to, an Oriental herbal formulation for immmunostimulation

PubMed Central

Takaoka, Anna; Iacovidou, Maria; Hasson, Tal H.; Montenegro, Diego; Li, Xiangming; Tsuji, Moriya; Kawamura, Akira

2014-01-01

Juzen-taiho-to (JTT) is an immunostimulatory herbal formulation that is clinically used in East Asia for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. The formulation stimulates various leukocytes, including T, B, and NK cells and macrophages (MΦ). Although JTT is known to contain numerous compounds with various pharmacological activities, it is not clear which compounds are responsible for the stimulation of individual cell types. Here, we conducted what we call, “biomarker-guided screening,” to purify compounds responsible for the MΦ stimulatory activity. To this end, gene expression was analyzed by a DNA array for MΦ treated with JTT and DMSO (vehicle control), which identified intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) as a biomarker of MΦ-stimulation by JTT. A qRT-PCR assay of ICAM-1 was then used to guide the purification of active compounds. The screening resulted in the purification of a glycolipid mixture, containing β-glucosylceramides. The glycolipid mixture potently stimulated ICAM-1 expression in primary dendritic cells (DC) as well as in primary CD14+ (MΦ) cells. Identification of this glycolipid mixture opens an opportunity for further studies to understand how plant-derived glycolipids stimulate MΦ and DC in a safe and effective manner as demonstrated by JTT. PMID:24549928

Herbal remedies and children: do they work? Are they harmful?

PubMed

Woolf, Alan D

2003-07-01

More parents are considering the use of herbal remedies to maintain their children's good health and to treat their illnesses. They look to pediatricians and other primary care clinicians for advice concerning the safety and efficacy of herbal products for children. This article reviews principles for the clinician to keep in mind while investigating the literature on herbal medicine and addressing the use of herbal medicines with parents.

DNA barcoding detects contamination and substitution in North American herbal products

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Herbal products available to consumers in the marketplace may be contaminated or substituted with alternative plant species and fillers that are not listed on the labels. According to the World Health Organization, the adulteration of herbal products is a threat to consumer safety. Our research aimed to investigate herbal product integrity and authenticity with the goal of protecting consumers from health risks associated with product substitution and contamination. Methods We used DNA barcoding to conduct a blind test of the authenticity for (i) 44 herbal products representing 12 companies and 30 different species of herbs, and (ii) 50 leaf samples collected from 42 herbal species. Our laboratory also assembled the first standard reference material (SRM) herbal barcode library from 100 herbal species of known provenance that were used to identify the unknown herbal products and leaf samples. Results We recovered DNA barcodes from most herbal products (91%) and all leaf samples (100%), with 95% species resolution using a tiered approach (rbcL + ITS2). Most (59%) of the products tested contained DNA barcodes from plant species not listed on the labels. Although we were able to authenticate almost half (48%) of the products, one-third of these also contained contaminants and or fillers not listed on the label. Product substitution occurred in 30/44 of the products tested and only 2/12 companies had products without any substitution, contamination or fillers. Some of the contaminants we found pose serious health risks to consumers. Conclusions Most of the herbal products tested were of poor quality, including considerable product substitution, contamination and use of fillers. These activities dilute the effectiveness of otherwise useful remedies, lowering the perceived value of all related products because of a lack of consumer confidence in them. We suggest that the herbal industry should embrace DNA barcoding for authenticating herbal products through

JAPANESE HERBAL MEDICINE IN FUNCTIONAL GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS

PubMed Central

Suzuki, Hidekazu; Inadomi, John M.; Hibi, Toshifumi

2009-01-01

Background Management of functional gastrointestinal disorders is hindered by both poor efficacy and adverse effects of traditional pharmacological therapy. Herbal medicine may be an attractive alternative based on the perception of its “natural” approach and low risk of side effects; however, the lack of standardization of drug components has limited the ability to perform rigorous clinical studies in Western countries. Japanese herbal medicine (JHM) is a standardized form of herbal medicine with regards to the quality and quantities of ingredients. While extensively studied and widely used in Asia, there is a paucity of data upon which physicians in other parts of the world may draw conclusions regarding the effectiveness of herbal medicine for gastrointestinal disorders. Aim To summarize the most recent developments in JHM for treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders. Methods Animal and human studies were systematically reviewed to identify published data of JHM used for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. The herbal components of JHM were examined. Results describing the physiological and clinical effects of JHM were abstracted, with an emphasis on functional gastrointestinal disorders. Results JHM are associated with a variety of beneficial physiological on the gastrointestinal system. Patient-based clinical outcomes are improved in several conditions. Rikkunnshi-to reduces symptoms and reverses physiological abnormalities associated with functional dyspepsia, while Dai-Kenchu-to improves symptoms of post-operative ileus and constipation in children. Conclusions This updated summary of JHM in the field of gastrointestinal disorders illustrates the potential for herbal medication to serve a valuable role in the management of patients with functional disorders. PMID:19563404

Facilitators and barriers of herbal medicine use in Accra, Ghana: an inductive exploratory study.

PubMed

Aziato, Lydia; Antwi, Hannah Ohemeng

2016-05-26

The use of complementary and alternative medicine including herbal medicine is increasing in many countries including Ghana. However, there is paucity of research on the perspectives of patrons of herbal medicine regarding the facilitators and barriers of herbal medicine use. This study sought to investigate the facilitators and barriers of herbal medicine among Ghanaian adults who use one form of herbal medicine or the other. The study employed an inductive exploratory qualitative approach. It was conducted at a private herbal clinic in Accra. Purposive sampling was employed to recruit 16 participants. Data collection was through individual face-to-face interviews and these were transcribed and analysed using content analysis procedures. It was realized that the factors that enhanced the use of herbal medicine included use of convincing information to enhance the initiation of herbal medicine use, effectiveness of herbal medicine, personal preference for herbal medicine, perceived ineffectiveness of western medicine and integration of spirituality in herbal medicine. The factors that hindered herbal medicine use included negative perceptions and attitudes about herbal medicine, poor vending environment, poor knowledge of vendors, high cost of herbal products at credible herbal clinics and inconsistent effectiveness of some herbal products. Participants desired that the national health insurance scheme will cover the cost of herbal medicine to alleviate the financial burden associated with herbal medicine use. Although some Ghanaians patronize herbal medicine, the negative perceptions about herbal medicine resulting from deceitful producers and vendors call for enhanced education and monitoring to ensure that effective herbal products are used.

Herbal medicine development: a plea for a rigorous scientific foundation.

PubMed

Lietman, Paul S

2012-09-01

Science, including rigorous basic scientific research and rigorous clinical research, must underlie both the development and the clinical use of herbal medicines. Yet almost none of the hundreds or thousands of articles that are published each year on some aspect of herbal medicines, adheres to 3 simple but profound scientific principles must underlie all of herbal drug development or clinical use. Three fundamental principles that should underlie everyone's thinking about the development and/or clinical use of any herbal medicine. (1) There must be standardization and regulation (rigorously enforced) of the product being studied or being used clinically. (2) There must be scientific proof of a beneficial clinical effect for something of value to the patient and established by rigorous clinical research. (3) There must be scientific proof of safety (acceptable toxicity) for the patient and established by rigorous clinical research. These fundamental principles of science have ramifications for both the scientist and the clinician. It is critically important that both the investigator and the prescriber know exactly what is in the studied or recommended product and how effective and toxic it is. We will find new and useful drugs from natural sources. However, we will have to learn how to study herbal medicines rigorously, and we will have to try to convince the believers in herbal medicines of the wisdom and even the necessity of a rigorous scientific approach to herbal medicine development. Both biomedical science and practicing physicians must enthusiastically accept the responsibility for searching for truth in the discovery and development of new herbal medicines, in the truthful teaching about herbal medicines from a scientific perspective, and in the scientifically proven clinical use of herbal medicines.

Role of opioidergic and GABAergic neurotransmission of the nucleus raphe magnus in the modulation of tonic immobility in guinea pigs.

PubMed

da Silva, Luis Felipe Souza; Menescal-de-Oliveira, Leda

2007-04-02

Tonic immobility (TI) is an inborn defensive behavior characterized by a temporary state of profound and reversible motor inhibition elicited by some forms of physical restraint. Previous results from our laboratory have demonstrated that nucleus raphe magnus (NRM) is also a structure involved in the modulation of TI behavior, as chemical stimulation through carbachol decreases the duration of TI in guinea pigs. In view of the fact that GABAergic and opioidergic circuits participate in the regulation of neuronal activity in the NRM and since these neurotransmitters are also involved in the modulation of TI, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the role of these circuits of the NRM in the modulation of the behavioral TI response. Microinjection of morphine (4.4 nmol/0.2 microl) or bicuculline (0.4 nmol/0.2 microl) into the NRM increased the duration of TI episodes while muscimol (0.5 nmol/0.2 microl) decreased it. The effect of morphine injection into the NRM was blocked by previous microinjection of naloxone (2.7 nmol/0.2 microl). Muscimol at 0.25 nmol did not produce any change in TI duration; however, it blocked the increased response induced by morphine. Our results indicate a facilitatory role of opioidergic neurotransmission in the modulation of the TI response within the NRM, whereas GABAergic activity plays an inhibitory role. In addition, in the present study the modulation of TI in the NRM possibly occurred via an interaction between opioidergic and GABAergic systems, where the opioidergic effect might be due to inhibition of tonically active GABAergic interneurons.

Neuro-muscular transmission in blood vessels: phasic and tonic components. An in-vitro study of mesenteric arteries of the rat.

PubMed

Sjöblom-Widfeldt, N

1990-01-01

For many years noradrenaline was considered to be the exclusive transmitter released from sympathetic nerves. However, during recent years both ATP and NPY have been suggested to be co-transmitters to noradrenaline in these nerves. The present study aimed to investigate the functional relationship between these suggested transmitters during nerve stimulation with different frequencies and in different extracellular calcium concentrations. Also the importance of the pattern of nerve stimulation and the potentiation of the neurogenic response after a period of high-frequency nerve stimulation were investigated. Contractions caused by nerve stimulation and applied agonists were investigated in segments of small mesenteric arteries from rat. The biophysical, electrophysiological, and pharmacological properties of these vessels are well characterized in previous studies. The rapid contraction caused by a single nerve stimulus, the "single twitch", and the initial, phasic contraction caused by high-frequency nerve stimulation were only slightly affected by alpha-adrenoceptor blockade with prazosin, whereas the tonic response to high-frequency stimulation was markedly reduced. The phasic responses and those to low-frequency nerve stimulation thus appear to be due mainly to a non-adrenergic transmitter. After inhibiting the response to exogenous ATP by alpha beta-methylene ATP, the response to single impulses and to low-frequency nerve stimulation were markedly reduced, while those to high-frequency stimulation were unaffected. This suggests that ATP acts as a true transmitter in sympathetic nerves, being responsible mainly for rapid responses to low-frequency stimulation, and for the initial part of responses to high-frequency stimulation. When alpha beta-methylene ATP and prazosin were given in combination, no contraction was obtained during nerve stimulation at any frequency. However, if in this situation a contraction was induced by e.g. exogenous vasopressin, field

Species Adulteration in the Herbal Trade: Causes, Consequences and Mitigation.

PubMed

Srirama, Ramanujam; Santhosh Kumar, J U; Seethapathy, G S; Newmaster, Steven G; Ragupathy, S; Ganeshaiah, K N; Uma Shaanker, R; Ravikanth, Gudasalamani

2017-08-01

The global economy of the international trade of herbal products has been increasing by 15% annually, with the raw material for most herbal products being sourced from South and Southeast Asian countries. In India, of the 8000 species of medicinal plants harvested from the wild, approximately 960 are in the active trade. With increasing international trade in herbal medicinal products, there is also increasing concern about the widespread adulteration and species admixtures in the raw herbal trade. The adverse consequences of such species adulteration on the health and safety of consumers have only recently begun to be recognised and documented. We provide a comprehensive review of the nature and magnitude of species adulteration in the raw herbal trade, and identify the underlying drivers that might lead to such adulteration. We also discuss the possible biological and chemical equivalence of species that are used as adulterants and substitutes, and the consequences thereof to consumer health and safety, and propose a framework for the development of a herbal trade authentication service that can help regulate the herbal trade market.

Pharmacokinetic interactions of herbal medicines for the treatment of chronic hepatitis.

PubMed

Hsueh, Tun-Pin; Lin, Wan-Ling; Tsai, Tung-Hu

2017-04-01

Chronic liver disease is a serious global health problem, and an increasing number of patients are seeking alternative medicines or complementary treatment. Herbal medicines account for 16.8% of patients with chronic liver disease who use complementary and alternative therapies. A survey of the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan reported that Long-Dan-Xie-Gan-Tang, Jia-Wei-Xia-Yao-San, and Xiao-Chai-Hu-Tang (Sho-saiko-to) were the most frequent formula prescriptions for chronic hepatitis used by traditional Chinese medicine physicians. Bioanalytical methods of herbal medicines for the treatment of chronic hepatitis were developed to investigate pharmacokinetics properties, but multicomponent herbal formulas have been seldom discussed. The pharmacokinetics of herbal formulas is closely related to efficacy, efficiency, and patient safety of traditional herbal medicines. Potential herbal formula-drug interactions are another essential issue during herbal formula administration in chronic hepatitis patients. In a survey with the PubMed database, this review article evaluates the existing evidence-based data associated with the documented pharmacokinetics profiles and potential herbal-drug interactions of herbal formulas for the treatment of chronic hepatitis. In addition, the existing pharmacokinetic profiles were further linked with clinical practice to provide insight for the safety and specific use of traditional herbal medicines. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Chinese herbal medicine for diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

PubMed

Chen, Wei; Zhang, Yin; Liu, Jian Ping

2011-06-15

Chinese herbal medicine is frequently used for treating diabetic peripheral neuropathy in China. Many controlled trials have been undertaken to investigate its efficacy. To assess the beneficial effects and harms of Chinese herbal medicine for people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. We searched the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register (15 June 2010), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (Issue 2, 2010 in The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE (January 1966 to June 2010), EMBASE (January 1980 to June 2010), AMED (January 1985 to June 2010), Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) (1979 to June 2010), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI) (1979 to June 2010), and VIP Chinese Science and Technique Journals Database (1989 to June 2010). We searched for unpublished literature in the Chinese Conference Papers Database and Chinese Dissertation Database (from inception to March 2010). No language or publication restrictions were used. We included randomized controlled trials of Chinese herbal medicine (with a minimum of four weeks treatment duration) for people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy compared with placebo, no intervention, or conventional interventions. Trials of herbal medicine plus a conventional drug versus the drug alone were also included. Two authors independently extracted data and evaluated trial quality. We contacted study authors for additional information. The data analyses were carried out using Review Manager 5.1 (Cochrane software). Thirty-nine randomized trials involving 2890 participants were included. All trials were conducted and published in China. Thirty different herbal medicines were tested in these trials, including four single herbs (extracts from a single herb), eight traditional Chinese patent medicines, and 18 self-concocted Chinese herbal compound prescriptions. The trials reported on global symptom improvement (including improvement in numbness or pain) and changes in nerve

The erosive effect of herbal tea on dental enamel.

PubMed

Brunton, P A; Hussain, A

2001-11-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether conventional black tea and a herbal tea were capable of eroding dental enamel. A further aim was to investigate whether herbal tea of the type tested eroded dental hard tissues to a greater or lesser extent than conventional black tea. Three groups of 21 teeth were exposed to a conventional black tea Typhoo (Group A), a herbal tea Twinings Blackcurrant, Ginsing and Vanilla (Group B) and water, which acted as a control (Group C). Sequential profilometric tracings of the specimens were taken, superimposed and the degree of enamel loss calculated as the area of disparity between the tracings before and after exposure. Conventional black tea and herbal tea, of the type tested, both resulted in tooth surface loss. Tooth surface loss, which resulted from exposure to herbal tea (mean 0.05mm(2), s.d. 0.02), however, was significantly greater (P=0.00) than that which resulted from exposure to conventional black tea (mean 0.01mm(2), s.d. 0.00) and water (mean 0.00mm(2), s.d. 0.00). It was concluded that herbal tea and conventional black tea of the type tested result in erosion of dental enamel. The erosive effect of the herbal tea of the type tested was five times more severe than that of the conventional black tea tested. The cumulative effects of regular consumption of herbal tea of the type tested are likely, therefore, to be of clinical significance.

Chinese herbal medicines for unexplained recurrent miscarriage.

PubMed

Li, Lu; Dou, Lixia; Leung, Ping Chung; Chung, Tony Kwok Hung; Wang, Chi Chiu

2016-01-14

Recurrent miscarriage affects 1% to 3% of women of reproductive age and mostly occurs before the 10th week of gestation (and around the same gestational week in subsequent miscarriages). Although most pregnant women may not recognise a miscarriage until uterine bleeding and cramping occur, a repeat miscarriage after one or more pregnancy loss and the chance of having a successful pregnancy varies. To date, there is no universally accepted treatment for unexplained recurrent miscarriage. Chinese herbal medicines have been widely used in Asian societies for millennia and have become a popular alternative to Western medicines in recent years. Many clinical studies have reported that Chinese herbal medicines can improve pregnancy outcomes for pregnant women who had previously suffered recurrent miscarriage. This systematic review evaluated the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicines for recurrent miscarriage. To assess the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicines for the treatment of unexplained recurrent miscarriage. We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (01 June 2015), Embase (1980 to 01 June 2015); Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (1982 to 01 June 2015); Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) (1978 to 01 June 2015); China Journal Net (CJN) (1915 to 01 June 2015); China Journals Full-text Database (1915 to 01 June 2015); and WanFang Database (Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology) (1980 to 01 June 2015). We also searched reference lists of relevant trials and reviews. We identified and contacted organisations, individual experts working in the field, and medicinal herb manufacturers. Randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials, including cluster-randomised trials, with or without full text, comparing Chinese herbal medicines (alone or combined with other intervention or other pharmaceuticals) with placebo, no treatment, other intervention (including bed rest and psychological support

Self-therapy practices among university students in Palestine: focus on herbal remedies.

PubMed

Sawalha, Ansam F; Sweileh, Waleed M; Zyoud, Sa'ed H; Jabi, Samah W

2008-12-01

Herbal self-therapy is a common practice among Palestinians. However, no published data are available on herbal self-therapy in the Middle East in general, and in Palestine in particular. This study was conducted to (1) determine the extent of herbal self-therapy among university students, (2) investigate the different types of herbal remedies used and (3) investigate the correlates and reasons associated with such practices. This cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out using a structured questionnaire that contained five sections: (1) demographics; (2) medication knowledge and self-care orientation; (3) types of herbal remedies used; (4) clinical conditions treated; and finally, (5) the reasons reported by students for herbal self-therapy practice. Pearson chi(2), multiple logistic regression and one-way ANOVA were performed using SPSS 13 program. 33.9% of the respondents reported using herbal remedies in self-therapy. Female gender, students at medical colleges and those with high self-care orientation were significant predictive model for herbal use. Sage (Salvia fruticosa L.), chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile L.), anise (Pimpinella anisum L.), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) were the most commonly utilized herbal remedies. The types of herbal remedies selected were significantly influenced by gender, but not by the level of medication knowledge or self-care orientation. Herbal remedies were used primarily for the treatment of headache, flu, menstrual pain and sore throat. The main motivating factor for using herbal remedies reported for using herbal remedies was simplicity of symptoms. Herbal self-therapy was a common practice among university students. Health care providers need to be aware of the students' self-therapy practices and need to have sufficient knowledge regarding herbs not simply because of the widespread use, but also because of significant reported side effects. Academics need to consider offering courses about herbal remedies to

Prevalence and Predictors of Herbal Medicine Use Among Adults in the United States

PubMed Central

Schommer, Jon C; Brown, Lawrence M

2017-01-01

Objective: To describe the prevalence of herbal medicine use among US adults and to assess factors associated with and predictors of herbal use. Design: The data for herbal products use were collected from the 2015 National Consumer Survey on the Medication Experience and Pharmacists’ Roles. Chi-square test was used to analyz factors associated with herbal use, and predictors of herbal use were assessed with logistic regression analysis. Results: Factors associated with herbal supplement use include age older than 70, having a higher than high school education, using prescription medications or over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and using a mail-order pharmacy.” All Disease state associated significantly with herbal use. Approximately thirty-eight percent of those who used herbals used prescription medications and 42% of those who used herbals also used an OTC medication. The most frequent conditions associated with herbal supplement use were a stroke (48.7%), cancer (43.1%), and arthritis (43.0%). Among herbal product users, factors that predicted use included having higher than school education, using OTC medications, using mail-order pharmacy, stroke, obesity, arthritis, and breathing problems. Conclusions: More than one-third of respondents reported using herbal supplements. Older age and higher education were associated with a higher use of herbal supplements. People with chronic diseases are more likely to use herbal medicines than others. OTC drug users and patients with stroke are more likely to use herbal medicines than others. PMID:28959715

Prevalence and Predictors of Herbal Medicine Use Among Adults in the United States.

PubMed

Rashrash, Mohamed; Schommer, Jon C; Brown, Lawrence M

2017-09-01

To describe the prevalence of herbal medicine use among US adults and to assess factors associated with and predictors of herbal use. The data for herbal products use were collected from the 2015 National Consumer Survey on the Medication Experience and Pharmacists' Roles. Chi-square test was used to analyz factors associated with herbal use, and predictors of herbal use were assessed with logistic regression analysis. Factors associated with herbal supplement use include age older than 70, having a higher than high school education, using prescription medications or over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and using a mail-order pharmacy." All Disease state associated significantly with herbal use. Approximately thirty-eight percent of those who used herbals used prescription medications and 42% of those who used herbals also used an OTC medication. The most frequent conditions associated with herbal supplement use were a stroke (48.7%), cancer (43.1%), and arthritis (43.0%). Among herbal product users, factors that predicted use included having higher than school education, using OTC medications, using mail-order pharmacy, stroke, obesity, arthritis, and breathing problems. More than one-third of respondents reported using herbal supplements. Older age and higher education were associated with a higher use of herbal supplements. People with chronic diseases are more likely to use herbal medicines than others. OTC drug users and patients with stroke are more likely to use herbal medicines than others.

Safety of herbal medicine in treatment of weight loss

PubMed Central

Najafian, Jamshid; Abdar-Esfahani, Morteza; Arab-Momeni, Morteza; Akhavan-Tabib, Afshan

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND Obesity is a common health problem in both developed and developing countries. There are many unconventional therapies, including herbal medicine, to treat this condition. Some people believe that herbal medicines are safe. This case and review is about adverse complication of treating obesity with some herbal medicine. CASE REPORT A 19 year old male with sever obesity (120 kg) used green tea (15 cups of green tea per day) and an intensive dietary regimen to lose weight. He lost 30 kg after 2 months. At that time, one day after usual exercise he suddenly lost consciousness due to left ventricular fibrillation. CONCLUSION Use of herbal medicine for weight reduction is not always safe. Moreover, for some herbal medicine the risk is sufficient to shift the risk-benefit balance against the use that medicine. PMID:24963315

Cytochrome P450 enzyme mediated herbal drug interactions (Part 1)

PubMed Central

Wanwimolruk, Sompon; Prachayasittikul, Virapong

2014-01-01

It is well recognized that herbal supplements or herbal medicines are now commonly used. As many patients taking prescription medications are concomitantly using herbal supplements, there is considerable risk for adverse herbal drug interactions. Such interactions can enhance the risk for an individual patient, especially with regard to drugs with a narrow therapeutic index such as warfarin, cyclosporine A and digoxin. Herbal drug interactions can alter pharmacokinetic or/and pharmacodynamic properties of administered drugs. The most common pharmacokinetic interactions usually involve either the inhibition or induction of the metabolism of drugs catalyzed by the important enzymes, cytochrome P450 (CYP). The aim of the present article is to provide an updated review of clinically relevant metabolic CYP-mediated drug interactions between selected herbal supplements and prescription drugs. The commonly used herbal supplements selected include Echinacea, Ginkgo biloba, garlic, St. John's wort, goldenseal, and milk thistle. To date, several significant herbal drug interactions have their origins in the alteration of CYP enzyme activity by various phytochemicals. Numerous herbal drug interactions have been reported. Although the significance of many interactions is uncertain but several interactions, especially those with St. John’s wort, may have critical clinical consequences. St. John’s wort is a source of hyperforin, an active ingredient that has a strong affinity for the pregnane xenobiotic receptor (PXR). As a PXR ligand, hyperforin promotes expression of CYP3A4 enzymes in the small intestine and liver. This in turn causes induction of CYP3A4 and can reduce the oral bioavailability of many drugs making them less effective. The available evidence indicates that, at commonly recommended doses, other selected herbs including Echinacea, Ginkgo biloba, garlic, goldenseal and milk thistle do not act as potent or moderate inhibitors or inducers of CYP enzymes. A good

Nurse Practitioners Experience With Herbal Therapy

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-05-01

and massage therapy, but herbal remedies and aromatherapy and all those things that are coming out: the magnets, the magnetic braces and the copper...potential adverse effects of herbal therapy have been well documented in the literature, but provider response to this phenomenon has not been well...identified nine theme categories related to knowledge, safety, validity and effectiveness , responsibility, time, cost, complementary vs. Western medicine

Herbal Supplements: Considerations for the Athletic Trainer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winterstein, Andrew P.; Storrs, Cordial M.

2001-01-01

Examines common herbal supplements, exploring potential risks associated with herbal use and providing recommendations to athletic trainers regarding patient care issues. Data from searches of the MEDLINE, SPORT Discus, CINAHL, and Academic Search Elite databases indicate that athletes must understand that natural does not equal safe, and most…

The use of community herbal monographs to facilitate registrations and authorisations of herbal medicinal products in the European Union 2004-2012.

PubMed

Peschel, Wieland

2014-12-02

The provisions for the simplified registration of traditional herbal medicinal products in the European Union were introduced by Directive 2004/24/EC amending Directive 2001/83/EC (Chapter 2a) in 2004. Since implementation in the European member states until December 2012 a total of 1015 registrations (traditional use) and 514 authorisations (well-established use) have been granted for products containing substances/ preparations from about 200 different herbal drugs. The overall number of received applications with more than one third still under assessment suggests a further increase for the next years. This review summarises the main features of registered and authorised herbal medicinal products in the EU and evaluates available data against provisions of Directive 2004/24/EC and European standards established by the Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products at the European Medicines Agency. The supportive function of Community herbal monographs is described as regards availability and their use in national procedures, which is complemented by an analysis of specific future challenges from experiences made with the implementation of Directive 2004/24/EC so far. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Missionaries and Tonic Sol-fa Music Pedagogy in 19th-Century China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Southcott, Jane E.; Lee, Angela Hao-Chun

2008-01-01

In the 19th century, Christian missionaries in China, as elsewhere, used the Tonic Sol-fa method of music instruction to aid their evangelizing. This system was designed to improve congregational singing in churches, Sunday schools and missions. The London Missionary Society and other evangelical groups employed the method. These missionaries took…

Chinese herbal medicines for hypercholesterolemia

PubMed Central

Liu, Zhao Lan; Liu, Jian Ping; Zhang, Anthony Lin; Wu, Qiong; Ruan, Yao; Lewith, George; Visconte, Denise

2011-01-01

Background Hypercholesterolemia is an important key contributory factor for ischemic heart disease and is associated with age, high blood pressure, a family history of hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes. Chinese herbal medicines have been used for a long time as lipid-lowering agents. Objectives To assess the effects of Chinese herbal medicines on hypercholesterolemia. Search strategy We searched the following databases: The Cochrane Library (issue 8, 2010), MEDLINE (until July 2010), EMBASE (until July 2010), Chinese BioMedical Database (until July 2010), Traditional Chinese Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (until July 2010), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (until July 2010), Chinese VIP Information (until July 2010), Chinese Academic Conference Papers Database and Chinese Dissertation Database (until July 2010), and Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (until July 2010). Selection criteria We considered randomized controlled clinical trials in hypercholesterolemic participants comparing Chinese herbal medicines with placebo, no treatment, and pharmacological or non-pharmacological interventions. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. We resolved any disagreements with this assessment through discussion and a decision was achieved based by consensus. We assessed trials for the risk of bias against key criteria: random sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding of participants, incomplete outcome data, selective outcome reporting and other sources of bias. Main results We included 22 randomized trials (2130 participants). The mean treatment duration was 2.3 ± 1.3 months (ranging from one to six months). Twenty trials were conducted in China and 18 trials were published in Chinese. Overall, the risk of bias of included trials was high or unclear. Five different herbal medicines were evaluated in the included trials, which compared herbs with conventional

Phasic and tonic alerting in mild cognitive impairment: A preliminary study.

PubMed

Martella, Diana; Manzanares, Salvadora; Campoy, Guillermo; Roca, Javier; Antúnez, Carmen; Fuentes, Luis J

2014-01-01

In this preliminary study we assessed the functioning of the different attentional networks in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, taking as theoretical framework the Posner's cognitive neuroscience approach. Two groups of participants were tested in a single short experiment: 20 MCI patients (6 amnestic, 6 non-amnestic and 8 multiple-domain) and 18 healthy matched controls (HC). For attentional assessment we used a version of the Attention Network Test (the ANTI-V) that provided not only a score of the orienting, the executive, and the alerting networks and their interactions, but also an independent measure of vigilance (tonic alerting). The results showed that all subtypes of MCI patients exhibited a selective impairment in the tonic component of alerting, as indexed by a decrease in the d' sensitivity index, and their performance in executive network increased up to the HC group level when phasic alerting was provided by a warning tone. Our findings suggest that a core attentional deficit, especially the endogenous component of alerting, may significantly contribute to the behavioral and cognitive deficits associated with MCI. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

To Take Risk is to Face Loss: A Tonic Pupillometry Study

PubMed Central

Yechiam, Eldad; Telpaz, Ariel

2011-01-01

The construct of risk taking is studied through the prism of the relation between tonic arousal and risk taking behavior. Several theories have proposed that high aroused individuals tend to exhibit risk aversion. We posit that this arousal–behavior association is activated much more strongly in risks with losses, as losses increase arousal and trigger relevant traits associated with the sensitivity to risk. In three studies we examined risk taking in experience-based decision tasks, with either token losses or relative-losses (in the gain domain). In Study 1 we found a negative correlation between pre-task pupil diameter and risk taking in the loss domain but not in the gain domain. In Study 2 we re-analyzed a previous pupillometry dataset involving symmetric mixed gains and losses. We found that the negative correlation in this mixed condition emerged even while the participants did not show loss aversion. This finding was replicated in Study 3. Thus, the effect of losses on arousal provides sufficient conditions for the moderation of the tonic arousal–behavior association. The findings suggest an important role for losses in the psychological and physiological experience of risk. PMID:22125546

Current Status of Herbal Drug Standards in the Indian Pharmacopoeia.

PubMed

Prakash, Jai; Srivastava, Sushma; Ray, R S; Singh, Neha; Rajpali, Roshni; Singh, Gyanendra Nath

2017-12-01

The benefits of herbal drugs were well understood way back. They have been used for the promotion of health and medical purposes - in disease conditions. It is a conventional belief that herbal drugs have no side effects, are cheaper and locally available. Among Indian systems of medicines, herbs/herbal formulations are used to a larger extent. The quality control of the marketed herbs/herbal formulations is important for acquiring optimum therapeutic benefit as well as for expanding global outreach. Therefore, herbal drug standards are important. Reference standards, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Reference Substances especially the botanical reference substances and the phytochemical reference substances are required for comparison of quality of herbal drugs. The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission has initiated the process of providing Indian Pharmacopoeia Reference Substances to the stakeholders. Therefore, this article provides an overview of the history and the status of herbal drug standards in the current and forthcoming issues of Indian Pharmacopoeia. In Indian Pharmacopeia, efforts have been made for the harmonization of standards with international counterparts wherever possible. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Context Effects in Western Herbal Medicine: Fundamental to Effectiveness?

PubMed

Snow, James

2016-01-01

Western herbal medicine (WHM) is a complex healthcare system that uses traditional plant-based medicines in patient care. Typical preparations are individualized polyherbal formulae that, unlike herbal pills, retain the odor and taste of whole herbs. Qualitative studies in WHM show patient-practitioner relationships to be collaborative. Health narratives are co-constructed, leading to assessments, and treatments with personal significance for participants. It is hypothesized that the distinct characteristics of traditional herbal preparations and patient-herbalist interactions, in conjunction with the WHM physical healthcare environment, evoke context (placebo) effects that are fundamental to the overall effectiveness of herbal treatment. These context effects may need to be minimized to demonstrate pharmacological efficacy of herbal formulae in randomized, placebo-controlled trials, optimized to demonstrate effectiveness of WHM in pragmatic trials, and consciously harnessed to enhance outcomes in clinical practice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Green Medicine: Traditional Mexican-American Herbal Remedies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torres, Eliseo

Traditional Mexican American herbal potions and remedies and their history are explained in an introductory book for the general reader. The importance of curanderismo, or green medicine, in Mexican and Mexican American cultures is explored. A brief history traces the herbal aspects of curanderismo through Mayan and Aztec cultures, the Spanish…

[Quality control in herbal supplements].

PubMed

Oelker, Luisa

2005-01-01

Quality and safety of food and herbal supplements are the result of a whole of different elements as good manufacturing practice and process control. The process control must be active and able to individuate and correct all possible hazards. The main and most utilized instrument is the hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) system the correct application of which can guarantee the safety of the product. Herbal supplements need, in addition to standard quality control, a set of checks to assure the harmlessness and safety of the plants used.

Chinese herbal medicine for diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

PubMed

Chen, Wei; Zhang, Yin; Li, Xinxue; Yang, Guoyan; Liu, Jian Ping

2013-10-06

Chinese herbal medicine is frequently used for treating diabetic peripheral neuropathy in China. Many controlled trials have been undertaken to investigate its efficacy.This is an update of a Cochrane review that was first published in the year 2011. To assess the beneficial effects and harms of Chinese herbal medicine for people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. On 14 May 2012, we searched the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register CENTRAL (2012, Issue 4 in The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE (January 1966 to May 2012), EMBASE (January 1980 to May 2012), AMED (January 1985 to May 2012) and in October 2012, the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) (1979 to October 2012), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI) (1979 to October 2012), and VIP Chinese Science and Technique Journals Database (1989 to October 2012). We searched for unpublished literature in the Chinese Conference Papers Database, and Chinese Dissertation Database (from inception to October 2012). There were no language or publication restrictions. We included randomised controlled trials of Chinese herbal medicine (with a minimum of four weeks treatment duration) for people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy compared with placebo, no intervention, or conventional interventions. Trials of herbal medicine plus a conventional drug versus the drug alone were also included. Two authors independently extracted data and evaluated trial quality. We contacted study authors for additional information. Forty-nine randomised trials involving 3639 participants were included. All trials were conducted and published in China. Thirty-eight different herbal medicines were tested in these trials, including four single herbs (extracts from a single herb), eight traditional Chinese patent medicines, and 26 self concocted Chinese herbal compound prescriptions. The trials reported on global symptom improvement (including improvement in numbness or pain) and changes in nerve conduction

Cytochrome P450 enzyme mediated herbal drug interactions (Part 2)

PubMed Central

Wanwimolruk, Sompon; Phopin, Kamonrat; Prachayasittikul, Virapong

2014-01-01

To date, a number of significant herbal drug interactions have their origins in the alteration of cytochrome P450 (CYP) activity by various phytochemicals. Among the most noteworthy are those involving St. John's wort and drugs metabolized by human CYP3A4 enzyme. This review article is the continued work from our previous article (Part 1) published in this journal (Wanwimolruk and Prachayasittikul, 2014[ref:133]). This article extends the scope of the review to six more herbs and updates information on herbal drug interactions. These include black cohosh, ginseng, grape seed extract, green tea, kava, saw palmetto and some important Chinese medicines are also presented. Even though there have been many studies to determine the effects of herbs and herbal medicines on the activity of CYP, most of them were in vitro and in animal studies. Therefore, the studies are limited in predicting the clinical relevance of herbal drug interactions. It appeared that the majority of the herbal medicines have no clear effects on most of the CYPs examined. For example, the existing clinical trial data imply that black cohosh, ginseng and saw palmetto are unlikely to affect the pharmacokinetics of conventional drugs metabolized by human CYPs. For grape seed extract and green tea, adverse herbal drug interactions are unlikely when they are concomitantly taken with prescription drugs that are CYP substrates. Although there were few clinical studies on potential CYP-mediated interactions produced by kava, present data suggest that kava supplements have the ability to inhibit CYP1A2 and CYP2E1 significantly. Therefore, caution should be taken when patients take kava with CYP1A2 or CYP2E1 substrate drugs as it may enhance their therapeutic and adverse effects. Despite the long use of traditional Chinese herbal medicines, little is known about the potential drug interactions with these herbs. Many popularly used Chinese medicines have been shown in vitro to significantly change the

[Mathematical exploration of essence of herbal properties based on "Three-Elements" theory].

PubMed

Jin, Rui; Zhao, Qian; Zhang, Bing

2014-10-01

Herbal property theory of traditional Chinese medicines is the theoretical guidance on authentication of medicinal plants, herborization, preparation of herbal medicines for decoction and clinical application, with important theoretical value and prac- tical significance. Our research team proposed the "three-element" theory for herbal properties for the first time, conducted a study by using combined methods of philology, chemistry, pharmacology and mathematics, and then drew the research conclusion that herbal properties are defined as the chemical compositions-based comprehensive expression with complex and multi-level (positive/negative) biological effects in specific organism state. In this paper, researchers made a systematic mathematical analysis in four aspects--the correlation between herbal properties and chemical component factors, the correlation between herbal properties and organism state fac- tor, the correlation between herbal properties and biological effect factor and the integration study of the three elements, proposed future outlook, and provided reference to mathematical studies and mathematical analysis of herbal properties.

Herbal medicine research and global health: an ethical analysis.

PubMed

Tilburt, Jon C; Kaptchuk, Ted J

2008-08-01

Governments, international agencies and corporations are increasingly investing in traditional herbal medicine research. Yet little literature addresses ethical challenges in this research. In this paper, we apply concepts in a comprehensive ethical framework for clinical research to international traditional herbal medicine research. We examine in detail three key, underappreciated dimensions of the ethical framework in which particularly difficult questions arise for international herbal medicine research: social value, scientific validity and favourable risk-benefit ratio. Significant challenges exist in determining shared concepts of social value, scientific validity and favourable risk-benefit ratio across international research collaborations. However, we argue that collaborative partnership, including democratic deliberation, offers the context and process by which many of the ethical challenges in international herbal medicine research can, and should be, resolved. By "cross-training" investigators, and investing in safety-monitoring infrastructure, the issues identified by this comprehensive framework can promote ethically sound international herbal medicine research that contributes to global health.

Herbal medicine use in adults who experience anxiety: A qualitative exploration

PubMed Central

McIntyre, Erica; Saliba, Anthony J.; Moran, Carmen C.

2015-01-01

Herbal medicine use is widespread and has been reported to be as high as 21% in people with anxiety disorders. Critical thematic analysis was used to explore beliefs and attitudes towards herbal medicines in adults experiencing anxiety. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight adults who experienced anxiety and used herbal medicines. Three major themes were found: Herbal medicines being different from pharmaceuticals, evidence and effectiveness, and barriers to herbal medicine use. Within these themes people held beliefs about the safety of natural treatments, valued anecdotes from friends and family as a form of evidence for self-prescribing, and described confusion about herbal medicines and their cost as barriers to using them as a treatment option. The findings will inform future research and provide guidance for health practitioners. PMID:26680418

Herbal medicine use in adults who experience anxiety: A qualitative exploration.

PubMed

McIntyre, Erica; Saliba, Anthony J; Moran, Carmen C

2015-01-01

Herbal medicine use is widespread and has been reported to be as high as 21% in people with anxiety disorders. Critical thematic analysis was used to explore beliefs and attitudes towards herbal medicines in adults experiencing anxiety. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight adults who experienced anxiety and used herbal medicines. Three major themes were found: Herbal medicines being different from pharmaceuticals, evidence and effectiveness, and barriers to herbal medicine use. Within these themes people held beliefs about the safety of natural treatments, valued anecdotes from friends and family as a form of evidence for self-prescribing, and described confusion about herbal medicines and their cost as barriers to using them as a treatment option. The findings will inform future research and provide guidance for health practitioners.

[The use of prokinetics for the correction of motor and tonic digestive disorders].

PubMed

Maev, I V; Samsonov, A A; Karmanova, E A; Ivanchenko, E A

2009-01-01

Abnormal tonic-motor activity is a key component in pathogenesis of many digestive disorders. Secondary disturbance of tonic-motor activity of digestive organs and the accompanying symptoms are known to develop in conjunction with diseases of other organs and systems, diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, myotonic muscular dystrophy, amyloidosis, hyper- and hypothyroidism, hypoparathyroidism, etc. Disturbed motor activity in the gastro-duodenal region most frequently underlies functional dyspepsia, i.e. a group of symptoms unrelated to organic, systemic and metabolic diseases. Prokinetics are an important class of medicinal products for the treatment of all clinical forms of dyspepsia. One of the new ones is itopride hdrochloride having combined mechanism of action. Clinical studies of this drug revealed its high efficiency in patients with functional dyspepsia, chronic gastritis, and diabetic gastroparesis. It is well tolerated by the patients and produces no serious side effects. Inclusion of this drug in therapy improves the outcome of the treatment of disturbed motor activity of the gastrointestinal tract.

Herbal Medicine Research in Taiwan*

PubMed Central

Kaphle, Krishna; Wu, Leang-Shin; Yang, Nai-Yen Jack; Lin, Jen-Hsou

2006-01-01

Of all the countries in the world, why did you choose Taiwan to pursue your study? It is a question that I (comments of the first author) have answered a thousand times. My first visit to a laboratory at National Taiwan University opened my eyes to the possibilities of herbal medicine research, especially in the area of veterinary medicine. It became my ambition to link the knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda from the Indian subcontinent and their integration with other systems of medicine, including Western medicine (WM), to achieve the concept of Sustainable Medicine, firstly for animals and then for humans. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has implemented a technology development program to quickly establish the key technologies, and this is a moment of opportunity for Taiwan's traditional herbal medicine industry to upgrade and transform itself. This paper, initially intended to be a student's narration, has evolved into a multi-author treatise on the present state and likely future scenario of herbal medicine research in Taiwan. PMID:16550238

The effects of analgesics on central processing of tonic pain: A cross-over placebo controlled study.

PubMed

Lelic, Dina; Hansen, Tine M; Mark, Esben B; Olesen, Anne E; Drewes, Asbjørn M

2017-09-01

Opioids and antidepressants that inhibit serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake (SNRI) are recognized as analgesics to treat moderate to severe pain, but the central mechanisms underlying their analgesia remain unclear. This study investigated how brain activity at rest and exposed to tonic pain is modified by oxycodone (opioid) and venlafaxine (SNRI). Twenty healthy males were included in this randomized, cross-over, double-blinded study. 61-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded before and after five days of treatment with placebo, oxycodone (10 mg extended release b.i.d) or venlafaxine (37.5 mg extended release b.i.d) at rest and during tonic pain (hand immersed in 2 °C water for 80 s). Subjective pain and unpleasantness scores of tonic pain were recorded. Spectral analysis and sLORETA source localization were done in delta (1-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), beta1 (12-18 Hz) and beta2 (18-32 Hz) frequency bands. Oxycodone decreased pain and unpleasantness scores (P < 0.05), whereas venlafaxine decreased the pain scores (P < 0.05). None of the treatments changed the spectral indices or brain sources underlying resting EEG. Venlafaxine decreased spectral indices in alpha band of the EEG to tonic pain, whereas oxycodone decreased the spectral indices and brain source activity in delta and theta frequency bands (all P < 0.05). The brain source activity predominantly decreased in the insula and inferior frontal gyrus. The decrease of activity within insula and inferior frontal gyrus is likely involved in pain inhibition due to oxycodone treatment, whereas the decrease in alpha activity is likely involved in pain inhibition due to venlafaxine treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Herbal medicine for insomnia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Leach, Matthew J; Page, Amy T

2015-12-01

Insomnia is a prevalent sleep disorder that can profoundly impact a person's health and wellbeing. Herbal medicine represents one of the most frequently used complementary and alternative treatments of insomnia. However, the safety and efficacy of herbal medicine for the treatment of this disorder is currently uncertain. In order to ascertain the evidence base for herbal medicine for insomnia, we systematically searched seventeen electronic databases and the reference lists of included studies for relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Fourteen RCTs, involving a total of 1602 participants with insomnia, met the inclusion criteria. Four distinct orally administered herbal monopreparations were identified (i.e., valerian, chamomile, kava and wuling). There was no statistically significant difference between any herbal medicine and placebo, or any herbal medicine and active control, for any of the thirteen measures of clinical efficacy. As for safety, a similar or smaller number of adverse events per person were reported with kava, chamomile and wuling when compared with placebo. By contrast, a greater number of events per person were reported with valerian. While there is insufficient evidence to support the use of herbal medicine for insomnia, there is a clear need for further research in this area. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Therapeutic effect of Chinese herbal medicines for post stroke recovery

PubMed Central

Han, Shi-You; Hong, Zhi-You; Xie, Yu-Hua; Zhao, Yong; Xu, Xiao

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Stroke is a condition with high morbidity and mortality, and 75% of stroke survivors lose their ability to work. Stroke is a burden to the family and society. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Chinese herbal patent medicines in the treatment of patients after the acute phase of a stroke. Methods: We searched the following databases through August 2016: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database (CNKI), China Science Periodical Database (CSPD), and China Biology Medicine disc (CBMdisc) for studies that evaluated Chinese herbal patent medicines for post stroke recovery. A random-effect model was used to pool therapeutic effects of Chinese herbal patent medicines on stroke recovery. Network meta-analysis was used to rank the treatment for each Chinese herbal patent medicine. Results: In our meta-analysis, we evaluated 28 trials that included 2780 patients. Chinese herbal patent medicines were effective in promoting recovery after stroke (OR, 3.03; 95% CI: 2.53–3.64; P < .001). Chinese herbal patent medicines significantly improved neurological function defect scores when compared with the controls (standard mean difference [SMD], −0.89; 95% CI, −1.44 to −0.35; P = .001). Chinese herbal patent medicines significantly improved the Barthel index (SMD, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.53–0.94; P < .001) and the Fugl–Meyer assessment scores (SMD, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.34–0.86; P < .001). In the network analysis, MLC601, Shuxuetong, and BuchangNaoxintong were most likely to improve stroke recovery in patients without acupuncture. Additionally, Mailuoning, Xuesaitong, BuchangNaoxintong were the patented Chinese herbal medicines most likely to improve stroke recovery when combined with acupuncture. Conclusions: Our research suggests that the Chinese herbal patent medicines were effective for stroke recovery. The most effective treatments for stroke recovery were MLC601, Shuxuetong

Research Advances on Hepatotoxicity of Herbal Medicines in China.

PubMed

Liu, Changxiao; Fan, Huirong; Li, Yazhuo; Xiao, Xiaohe

2016-01-01

In general, herbal medicines have been considered as safe by the general public, since they are naturally occurring and have been applied in treatment for over thousands of years. As the use of herbal medicine is rapidly increasing globally, the potential toxicity of herbal drugs, in particular drug-induced liver injury (DILI), has now become a serious medical issue. According to the literature, the authors analyzed and discussed the hepatotoxicity problem of Chinese herbal medicines (CHM), including global overview on herbal-induced liver injury (HILI), current research progress on toxic CHM, diagnosis and treatment of HILI, and modern approaches and technologies of study of hepatotoxicity. As to promote the recognition of HILI and tackle the issue, a guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of HILI has recently been drafted by Chinese scientists. As suggested by the guideline, the hepatotoxicity issue of CHM, as a matter of fact, is overestimated. Up to date, the investigation of hepatotoxicity of CHM is now booming with worldwide application of CHM. This review therefore provides useful information for investigating hepatotoxicity of herbal medicine and characterizing DILI caused by CHM. In addition, authors describe in which way further efforts should be made to study the rationale of CHM and liver injury.

Research Advances on Hepatotoxicity of Herbal Medicines in China

PubMed Central

Fan, Huirong; Li, Yazhuo; Xiao, Xiaohe

2016-01-01

In general, herbal medicines have been considered as safe by the general public, since they are naturally occurring and have been applied in treatment for over thousands of years. As the use of herbal medicine is rapidly increasing globally, the potential toxicity of herbal drugs, in particular drug-induced liver injury (DILI), has now become a serious medical issue. According to the literature, the authors analyzed and discussed the hepatotoxicity problem of Chinese herbal medicines (CHM), including global overview on herbal-induced liver injury (HILI), current research progress on toxic CHM, diagnosis and treatment of HILI, and modern approaches and technologies of study of hepatotoxicity. As to promote the recognition of HILI and tackle the issue, a guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of HILI has recently been drafted by Chinese scientists. As suggested by the guideline, the hepatotoxicity issue of CHM, as a matter of fact, is overestimated. Up to date, the investigation of hepatotoxicity of CHM is now booming with worldwide application of CHM. This review therefore provides useful information for investigating hepatotoxicity of herbal medicine and characterizing DILI caused by CHM. In addition, authors describe in which way further efforts should be made to study the rationale of CHM and liver injury. PMID:28078299

Biomarker-guided screening of Juzen-taiho-to, an oriental herbal formulation for immunostimulation.

PubMed

Takaoka, Anna; Iacovidou, Maria; Hasson, Tal H; Montenegro, Diego; Li, Xiangming; Tsuji, Moriya; Kawamura, Akira

2014-03-01

Juzen-taiho-to is an immunostimulatory herbal formulation that is clinically used in East Asia for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. The formulation stimulates various leukocytes, including T, B, and NK cells and macrophages. Although Juzen-taiho-to is known to contain numerous compounds with various pharmacological activities, it is not clear which compounds are responsible for the stimulation of individual cell types. Here, we conducted what we call "biomarker-guided screening" to purify compounds responsible for the macrophages stimulatory activity. To this end, gene expression was analyzed by a DNA array for macrophages treated with Juzen-taiho-to and DMSO (vehicle control), which identified intercellular adhesion molecule 1 as a biomarker of macrophage stimulation by Juzen-taiho-to. A quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 was then used to guide the purification of active compounds. The screening resulted in the purification of a glycolipid mixture, containing β-glucosylceramides. The glycolipid mixture potently stimulated intercellular adhesion molecule 1 expression in primary dendritic cells as well as in primary CD14+ (macrophages) cells. The identification of this glycolipid mixture opens up an opportunity for further studies to understand how plant-derived glycolipids stimulate macrophages and dendritic cells in a safe and effective manner as demonstrated by Juzen-taiho-to. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

The tonic response to the infant knee jerk as an early sign of cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Hamer, Elisa G; La Bastide-Van Gemert, Sacha; Boxum, Anke G; Dijkstra, Linze J; Hielkema, Tjitske; Jeroen Vermeulen, R; Hadders-Algra, Mijna

2018-04-01

Early identification of infants at risk of cerebral palsy (CP) is desirable in order to provide early intervention. We previously demonstrated differences in knee jerk responses between 3-month-old high risk and typically developing infants. To improve early identification by investigating whether the presence of tonic responses (continuous muscle activity occurring after the typical phasic response), clonus or contralateral responses to the knee jerk during infancy is associated with CP. Longitudinal EMG-study. We included 34 high-risk infants (median gestational age 31.9 weeks) who participated in the LEARN2MOVE 0-2 years trial. Video-recorded knee jerk EMG-assessments were performed during infancy (1-4 times). Developmental outcome was assessed at 21 months corrected age (CA). Binomial generalized estimating equations models with repeated measurements were fitted using predictor variables. Infants who later were diagnosed with CP (n = 18) showed more often than infants who were not diagnosed with CP i) tonic responses - from 4 months CA onwards, ii) clonus - from 13 months CA onwards, and iii) contralateral responses - from 15 months CA onwards. The main limitation is the relatively small sample size. The assessment of tonic responses to the knee jerk using EMG may be a valuable add-on tool to appraise a high risk of CP. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Perceived health promotion practice by older women: use of herbal products.

PubMed

Yoon, Saunjoo Lee; Horne, Claydell H

2004-07-01

Women age 65 and older appear to use herbal products as well as multiple prescribed and non-prescribed drugs as part of their health-promoting practice. The purpose of this study was to identify changes in herbal-product use in a sample of older women during an 18-month period and to explore differences in locus of control and perceived health competence between herbal-product users and non-users. A longitudinal and descriptive study design was used. Instruments used to guide the two sets of structured interviews included the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC), the Perceived Health Competence Scale (PHCS), and a questionnaire about herbal-product use. The prevalence of herbal-product usage and the number of products used remained consistent between the initial and follow-up interviews, with 43% of the participants using an average of 2.6 herbal products. Neither MHLC nor PHCS scores differed between herbal-product users and non-users. Mean scores of women in the study indicated higher internal than external locus of control.

Non-scientific classification of Chinese herbal medicine as dietary supplement.

PubMed

Bao, Kexin

2017-03-01

This article focuses the category status of Chinese herbal medicine in the United States where it has been mistakenly classifified as a dietary supplement. According to Yellow Emperor Canon of Internal Medicine (Huang Di Nei Jing), clinical treatment in broad sense is to apply certain poisonous medicines to fight against pathogeneses, by which all medicines have certain toxicity and side effect. From ancient times to modern society, all, or at least most, practitioners have used herbal medicine to treat patients' medical conditions. The educational curriculums in Chinese medicine (CM) comprise the courses of herbal medicine (herbology) and herbal formulae. The objective of these courses is to teach students to use herbal medicine or formulae to treat disease as materia medica. In contrast, dietary supplements are preparations intended to provide nutrients that are missing or are not consumed in suffificient quantity in a person's diet. In contrast, Chinese herbs can be toxic, which have been proven through laboratory research. Both clinical practice and research have demonstrated that Chinese herbal medicine is a special type of natural materia medica, not a dietary supplement.

'Omic' genetic technologies for herbal medicines in psychiatry.

PubMed

Sarris, Jerome; Ng, Chee Hong; Schweitzer, Isaac

2012-04-01

The field of genetics, which includes the use of 'omic' technologies, is an evolving area of science that has emerging application in phytotherapy. Omic studies include pharmacogenomics, proteomics and metabolomics. Herbal medicines, as monotherapies, or complex formulations such as traditional Chinese herbal prescriptions, may benefit from omic studies, and this new field may be termed 'herbomics'. Applying herbomics in the field of psychiatry may provide answers about which herbal interventions may be effective for individuals, which genetic processes are triggered, and the subsequent neurochemical pathways of activity. The use of proteomic technology can explore the differing epigenetic effects on neurochemical gene expression between individual herbs, isolated constituents and complex formulae. The possibilities of side effects or insufficient response to the herb can also be assessed via pharmacogenomic analysis of polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 liver enzymes or P-glycoprotein. While another novel application of omic technology is for the validation of the concept of synergy in individual herbal extracts and prescriptive formulations. Chronic administration of psychotropic herbal medicines may discover important effects on chromatin remodelling via modification of histone and DNA methylation. This paper focuses on the emerging field of herbomics, and is to our knowledge the first publication to explore this in the area of psychiatry. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Nurse Practitioners’ Experience With Herbal Therapy

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-05-01

supplements has also grown. Patient use, benefits, and potential adverse effects of herbal therapy have been well documented in the literature, but...established and a core variable emerged. Results identified nine theme categories related to knowledge, safety, validity and effectiveness , responsibility...decade. Advertisement and access to these supplements has also grown. Patient use, benefits, and potential adverse effects of herbal therapy have been

[Pain management with herbal antirheumatic drugs].

PubMed

Chrubasik, Sigrun; Pollak, S

2002-01-01

Herbal antirheumatics are indicated in painful inflammatory and degenerative rheumatic diseases. Their mechanism of action is broader than that of synthetic antirheumatics. Particular preparations from Devils's Claw with 50 to 100 mg of harpagoside in the daily dosage as well as a particular willow bark extract with 120 to 240 mg salicin in the daily dosage proved efficacy in a number of clinical studies including confirmatory ones. Exploratory studies indicate that these herbal antirheumatics were not inferior to the selective COX-2 inhibitor rofecoxib when treating acute exacerbations of chronic low back pain. For the proprietary nettle root extract IDS23 promising in vitro/in vivo results indicate an anti-inflammatory effect, however there are only 2 open uncontrolled clinical studies available and the proof of efficacy is still missing. Safety data in order to recommend use during pregnancy and lactation are only available for the herbal combination product Phytodolor prepared from aspen, ash and goldenrod. In principle, blackcurrent leaf with not less than 1.5% flavonoids may be an appropriate antirheumatic. Likewise, the seed oils of blackcurrent, evening primrose and borage offering at least 1 to 3 g gammalinolenic acid/day are recommendable. In case superiority versus placebo has been established, proprietary herbal antirheumatics should be administered before the conventional analgesics due to the lower incidence of adverse events.

Chinese herbal medicine, sibship, and blood lead in children.

PubMed

Cheng, T J; Wong, R H; Lin, Y P; Hwang, Y H; Horng, J J; Wang, J D

1998-08-01

Risk factors for increased blood lead concentration (BPb) has been investigated. However, the effect of sibship and Chinese herbal medicine on BPb has not been systematically studied. In this study BPb data from voluntary testing was used to determine if Chinese herbal medicine and sibship were associated with BPb. 319 children aged 1-7 were tested for BPb. Meanwhile, parents were interviewed to obtain information including consumption of Chinese herbal medicine, living environment, lifestyle, and sibship of the children tested. The mean (SD) BPb of 319 preschool children was 4.4 (2.4) micrograms/dl. The consumption of Ba-baw-san (a Chinese herbal medicine) was significantly associated with increased BPb in children (p = 0.038). Further multivariate regression analysis of BPb in 50 pairs of siblings showed the factors of being brothers explained 75% of variation for BPb, and being sisters and brother-sister explained 51% and 41% of variation respectively. Chinese herbal medicine and children's play patterns within the family expressed in different types of sibship are the main determinants of low concentrations of BPb in preschool children of Taiwan.

Review article: Herbal hepatotoxicity--an update on traditional Chinese medicine preparations.

PubMed

Teschke, R; Wolff, A; Frenzel, C; Schulze, J

2014-07-01

Although evidence for their therapeutic efficacy is limited, herbal traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations increasingly gain popularity. In contrast to other herbal products, adverse effects by herbal TCM including liver toxicity were rarely reported. In recent years, more cases were published, providing new clinical challenges. To summarise comprehensively the literature on herbal TCM hepatotoxicity since 2011. PubMed was searched using key words related to TCM, the results were restricted to full English-language publications and abstracts published since 2011. In addition, the database of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and LiverTox was accessed under the topic 'Drug record: Chinese and other Asian herbal medicines'. Since 2011, new case reports and case series provided evidence for herbal hepatotoxicity by TCM, focusing on nine TCM herbal mixtures and four individual TCM herbs with potential health hazards. These were the TCM products Ban Tu Wan, Chai Hu, Du Huo, Huang Qin, Jia Wei Xia Yao San, Jiguja, Kamishoyosan, Long Dan Xie Gan Tang, Lu Cha, Polygonum multiflorum products, Shan Chi, 'White flood' containing the herbal TCM Wu Zhu Yu and Qian Ceng Ta, and Xiao Chai Hu Tang. Other developments include the establishment of a new and early diagnostic serum marker for hepatotoxicity caused by pyrrolizidine alkaloids, assessed using ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, and new regulatory details to improve herbal TCM product quality and safety. Stringent evaluation of the risk/benefit ratio is essential to protect traditional Chinese medicines users from health hazards including liver injury. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The effectiveness of Hering's nerve stimulation in controlling penicillin-induced seizures in the rat is dependent on the amygdala.

PubMed

Tubbs, R Shane; Wellons, John C; Patwardhan, Ravish V; Oakes, W Jerry; Wyss, J Michael

2002-11-01

This study tests the hypothesis that the ability of Hering's nerve stimulation (HNS) to blunt seizure activity is dependent on the availability of dopamine in the amygdala. In 10 rats, Hering's nerve (HN) on the right side was isolated and placed on an electrode and penicillin was locally placed on each rat's left frontoparietal region to induce seizures. After the initiation of seizures, HN was stimulated. After the recurrence of seizure activity, the left basolateral amygdala was injected with 1.0 microl of normal saline, dopamine, haloperidol or 1% lidocaine in sequential tests. HN was stimulated after each injection and the latency and amplitude of the seizure activity were assessed. Focal cortical penicillin induced seizures that resulted in tonic-clonic movement of the limbs and face that lasted 35-45 min. Tonic-clonic movements of the limbs and face of similar latency and amplitude were induced by repeated reapplication of penicillin in untreated rats. HNS decreased seizure activity, but infusion of haloperidol or lidocaine into the basolateral amygdala blocked this antiseizure effect of HNS. In contrast, infusion of saline or dopamine had no effect on the ability of HNS to blunt seizure activity. None of the amygdala injections altered the latency or amplitude of seizure activity. These results demonstrate that the ability of HNS to blunt seizure activity in the rat is dependent on an intact dopamine system in the basolateral amygdala. These data will hopefully be useful in furthering our understanding of the circuitry that allows peripheral nerve stimulation to alter seizure activity. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

Clinical study on constitutional herbal tea for treating chronic fatigue.

PubMed

Park, Soo-Jung; Bae, Young-Chun; Choi, Na-Rae; Ryu, Seung-Yeob; Kwon, Young-Mi; Joo, Jong-Cheon

2014-12-01

This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of constitutional herbal tea for treating chronic fatigue with no diagnosed cause, which is called Mibyeong in Korea. Males and females with ages between 40 and 59 years who had complained of fatigue for 1 month consistently or for 6 months intermittently without a definite cause were recruited. At the same time, a Chalder fatigue scale (CFS) score of 19 was essential for participation in this study. Sixty five subjects completed the entire process, including blood tests and tests with medical devices. Five assessments of health status were accomplished over 8 weeks by using the CFS and the visual analogue scale (VAS). To ensure that the constitutional herbal tea was being safely used, we conducted and analyzed renal function and liver function tests. For the diagnosis of the Sasang constitution, the Sasang Constitutional Analysis Tool (SCAT) was used, and a specialist in Sasang constitutional medicine made the final diagnosis based on the SCAT result. Constitutional herbal tea was served four weeks after the first visit. The subjects took the constitutional herbal tea twice a day for one month. The results are as follows: The CFS and the VAS scores were significantly improved for the subjects in the constitutional herbal tea. No abnormalities were found on the blood tests to evaluate safety after taking the constitutional herbal tea. The improvements in the CFS and the VAS scores due to the constitutional herbal tea had no significant differences according to the Sasang constitution. Constitutional herbal tea may be used to reduce fatigue and improve health and has no adverse effect on either the kidney or the liver.

Alternative Medicine and Herbal Use among University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Susan K.; Blanchard, Anita

2006-01-01

In this study, the authors investigated the predictors of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and herbal supplement use among university students. They investigated demographic factors, trait affectivity, symptom reports, and individuals' worries about modernity as potential contributors to use of CAM and herbals. The authors surveyed 506…

The Content of Mercury in Herbal Dietary Supplements.

PubMed

Brodziak-Dopierała, Barbara; Fischer, Agnieszka; Szczelina, Wioletta; Stojko, Jerzy

2018-01-17

The dietary supplement market in Poland has been growing rapidly, and the number of registered products and their consumption increases steadily. Among the most popular and the easiest to get are herbal supplements, available in any supermarket. The aim of this paper was to investigate the mercury content in the herbal supplements. The dietary supplements that have been examined (24) are available on the Polish market and contain one or more herbal ingredients. Supplements were pulverized in porcelain mortar and identified by AMA 254 atomic absorption spectrometer. The range of variations for all tested supplements was within 0.02-4293.07 μg/kg. The arithmetic mean of the total result was 193.77 μg/kg. A higher mercury content then this mean was found in preparations-bamboo shoots and alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa. The studies have shown that mercury is present in every examined herbal supplement, and its content exceeds in two preparations (with bamboo and alga) the permissible limit of 0.10 mg/kg. There were statistically significant differences in the occurrence of mercury depending on the herbal ingredient in the supplement. The lowest content was found in the preparation with Tanacetum parthenium and the highest with bamboo shoots. The mercury content in the tested herbal supplements was statistically significant in the form of a supplement-a tablet and a capsule. Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly consumption of mercury with examined supplements was calculated-the results did not exceed the PTWI-provisional tolerable weekly intake of mercury. To increase consumer safety, it is imperative to conduct further research on dietary supplements and implement a stricter quality control of the dietary supplements.

Herbal medications and plastic surgery: a hidden danger.

PubMed

Mohan, Arvind; Lahiri, Anindya

2014-04-01

Herbal medicine is a multibillion-pound industry, and surveys suggest that ~10% of the UK population uses herbal supplements concurrently with prescription medications. Patients and health care practitioners are often unaware of the adverse side effects of herbal medicines. In addition, because many of these herbal supplements are available over the counter, many patients do not disclose these when listing medications to health care providers. A 39-year-old nurse underwent an abdominoplasty with rectus sheath plication after weight loss surgery. Postoperatively, she experienced persistent drain output, and after discharge, a seroma developed requiring repeated drainage in the clinic. After scar revision 10 months later, the woman bled postoperatively, requiring suturing. Again, a seroma developed, requiring repeated drainage. It was discovered that the patient had been taking a herbal menopause supplement containing ingredients known to have anticoagulant effects. Complementary medicine is rarely taught in UK medical schools and generally not practiced in UK hospitals. Many supplements are known to have anticoagulant, cardiovascular, and sedative effects. Worryingly, questions about herbal medicines are not routinely asked in clinics, and patients do not often volunteer such information. With the number and awareness of complementary medications increasing, their usage among the population is likely to increase. The authors recommend specific questioning about the use of complementary medications and consideration of ceasing such medications before surgery. Level of Evidence V This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Herbal Medicines Induced Anticholinergic Poisoning in Hong Kong

PubMed Central

Chan, Thomas Y. K.

2016-01-01

In the present review, the main objective was to report the incidence and causes of herbal medicines induced anticholinergic poisoning in Hong Kong during 1989–2012 and to emphasize the importance of pharmacovigilance, investigations and preventive measures. Relevant papers, official figures and unpublished data were obtained from Medline search, the Department of Health and the Drug and Poisons Information Bureau. In the New Territories East (where ~20% of the Hong Kong population lived), the incidence of herbal medicines induced anticholinergic poisoning during 1989–1993 was 0.09 per 100,000 population. There were no confirmed cases during 1994–1996. In the whole of Hong Kong, the incidence during 2000–June 2005 was 0.03 per 100,000 population. Contamination of Rhizoma Atractylodis (50%) and erroneous substitution (42%) were the main causes. The incidence during 2008–2012 was 0.06 per 100,000 population. Contamination of non-toxic herbs (50%) and erroneous substitution (41%) were the main causes. In Hong Kong, contamination of non-toxic herbs by tropane alkaloids and substitution of Flos Campsis by toxic Flos Daturae Metelis were the predominant causes of herbal medicines induced anticholinergic poisoning. Systematic studies along the supply chain are necessary to identify the likely sources of contamination. If erroneous substitution of Flos Campsis by Flos Daturae Metelis could be prevented, 40% of herbal medicines induced anticholinergic poisoning would not have occurred. Regular inspection of the retailer, continuing education for the staff in the herbal trade and repeated publicity measures will also be required. Pharmacovigilance of herbal medicines should help determine the incidence and causes of adverse reactions and monitor the effectiveness of preventive measures. PMID:26999208

A herbal formula consisting of Rosae Multiflorae Fructus and Lonicerae Japonicae Flos inhibits inflammatory mediators in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages.

PubMed

Cheng, Brian Chi-Yan; Ma, Xiao-Qing; Kwan, Hiu-Yee; Tse, Kai-Wing; Cao, Hui-Hui; Su, Tao; Shu, Xin; Wu, Zheng-zhi; Yu, Zhi-ling

2014-05-14

A herbal formula (RL) consisting of Rosae Multiflorae Fructus (Yingshi) and Lonicerae Japonicae Flos (Jinyinhua) has been traditionally used to treat inflammatory disorders. This study aims to investigate the anti-inflammatory mode and mechanism of action of the ethanol extract of RL so as to provide a pharmacological basis for the use of RL in treating inflammatory diseases. RL consisting of Yingshi and Jinyinhua (in 5:3 ratio) was extracted using absolute ethanol. We investigated its effects on nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and nuclear factor κB (NFκB) in mouse RAW 264.7 macrophages activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). RL could decrease the secretion of NO, IL-6 and TNF-α into the culture medium and the cellular protein levels of iNOS and COX-2, which were associated with the reduction of the phosphorylation/activation of JNK and p38, and the inhibition of the transcriptional activity of NF-κB. The present study demonstrated an inhibitory effect of RL on the inflammatory mediators regulated by the NF-κB and MAPK signalling pathways in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, providing a pharmacological basis for RL in the control of inflammatory disorders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Liver immunology and herbal treatment

PubMed Central

Balaban, Yasemin H; Aka, Ceylan; Koca-Caliskan, Ufuk

2017-01-01

Beyond the metabolic functions, the liver recently has been defined as an organ of immune system (IS), which have central regulatory role for innate and adaptive immunity. The liver keeps a delicate balance between hepatic screening of pathogenic antigens and immune tolerance to self-antigens. Herbal treatments with immunological effects have potential to alter this hepatic immune balance towards either therapeutic side or diseases side by inducing liver injury via hepatotoxicity or initiation of autoimmune diseases. Most commonly known herbal treatments, which have therapeutic effect on liver and IS, have proven via in vitro, in vivo, and/or clinical studies were summarized in this review. PMID:28660010

Herbal medicines supplied by community pharmacies in Lagos, Nigeria: pharmacists’ knowledge

PubMed Central

Oshikoya, Kazeem Adeola; Oreagba, Ibrahim A.; Ogunleye, Olayinka O.; Oluwa, Rashidat; Senbanjo, Idowu O.; Olayemi, Sunday O.

Background The use of herbal medicines is on the increase globally and they are usually supplied in pharmacies as non-prescription medicines. Pharmacists are, therefore, responsible for educating and informing the consumers about rational use of herbal medicines. Objective To evaluate the knowledge of pharmacists in Lagos, Nigeria with regards to the herbal medicines they supplied by their pharmacies. Methods Pharmacists in charge of randomly selected 140 community pharmacies from 20 Local Government Areas in Lagos were required to fill out a self-administered questionnaire. We gathered information on their knowledge of the indications, adverse effects, potential drug-herb interactions and contraindications of the herbal medicines they supply in their pharmacies. Results Of the 140 questionnaires distributed, 103 (72.9%) participants completed the questionnaire appropriately. The majority (74; 71.8%) of the participants were males and 36-50 years (56; 54.4%). The pharmacies supplied mostly Yoyo cleanser bitters® (101; 98.5%), ginseng (97; 98.5%), Jobelyn® (91; 88.3%), Ciklavit® (68; 66.6%), gingko (66; 64.1%), herbal tea (66; 64.1%), and Aloe vera (57; 55.3%). The pharmacists self-rated their knowledge of herbal medicines mostly as fair (39%) and good (42%), but they exhibited poor knowledge with regards to the indications, contraindications and safety profiles. Seventy participants consulted reference materials such as leaflet insert in the herbal medicines (56%) and internet (20%) before supplying herbal medicines. The information most frequently sought was herb-drug interactions (85%), contraindications (75%) and adverse effects (70%). Conclusions Community pharmacists need to be informed about the indications and safety profiles of herbal medicines. PMID:24367462

[Exploration of influencing factors of price of herbal based on VAR model].

PubMed

Wang, Nuo; Liu, Shu-Zhen; Yang, Guang

2014-10-01

Based on vector auto-regression (VAR) model, this paper takes advantage of Granger causality test, variance decomposition and impulse response analysis techniques to carry out a comprehensive study of the factors influencing the price of Chinese herbal, including herbal cultivation costs, acreage, natural disasters, the residents' needs and inflation. The study found that there is Granger causality relationship between inflation and herbal prices, cultivation costs and herbal prices. And in the total variance analysis of Chinese herbal and medicine price index, the largest contribution to it is from its own fluctuations, followed by the cultivation costs and inflation.

Differential activation of motor units in the wrist extensor muscles during the tonic vibration reflex in man.

PubMed Central

Romaiguère, P; Vedel, J P; Azulay, J P; Pagni, S

1991-01-01

' to overlap. 7. Superficial cutaneous stimulation of the dorsal side of the forearm during tendon vibration noticeably decreased the P1 peaks in both types of motor units. In the P2 peaks it could result in either a decrease or an increase but the average effect was a slight increase. 8. When applied 10 s before tendon vibration, cutaneous stimulation considerably suppressed the tonic vibration reflex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS) PMID:1822565

Herbal Highs: Review on Psychoactive Effects and Neuropharmacology

PubMed Central

Graziano, Silvia; Orsolini, Laura; Rotolo, Maria Concetta; Tittarelli, Roberta; Schifano, Fabrizio; Pichini, Simona

2017-01-01

Background: A new trend among users of new psychoactive substances’ the consumption of “herbal highs”: plant parts containing psychoactive substances. Most of the substances extracted from herbs, in old centuries were at the centre of religious ceremonies of ancient civilizations. Currently, these herbal products are mainly sold by internet web sites and easily obtained since some of them have no legal restriction. Objective: We reviewed psychoactive effects and neuropharmacology of the most used “herbal highs” with characterized active principles, with studies reporting mechanisms of action, pharmacological and subjective effects, eventual secondary effects including intoxications and/or fatalities Method: The PubMed database was searched using the following key.words: herbal highs, Argyreia nervosa, Ipomoea violacea and Rivea corymbosa; Catha edulis; Datura stramonium; Piper methysticum; Mitragyna speciosa. Results: Psychoactive plants here reviewed have been known and used from ancient times, even if for some of them limited information still exist regarding subjective and neuropharmacological effects and consequent eventual toxicity when plants are used alone or in combination with “classical” drugs of abuse. Conclusion: Some “herbal highs” should be classified as harmful drugs since chronic administration has been linked with addiction and cognitive impairment; for some others taking into consideration only the recent trends of abuse, studies investigating these aspects are lacking. PMID:27799032

A Bio-Inspired Herbal Tea Flavour Assessment Technique

PubMed Central

Zakaria, Nur Zawatil Isqi; Masnan, Maz Jamilah; Zakaria, Ammar; Shakaff, Ali Yeon Md

2014-01-01

Herbal-based products are becoming a widespread production trend among manufacturers for the domestic and international markets. As the production increases to meet the market demand, it is very crucial for the manufacturer to ensure that their products have met specific criteria and fulfil the intended quality determined by the quality controller. One famous herbal-based product is herbal tea. This paper investigates bio-inspired flavour assessments in a data fusion framework involving an e-nose and e-tongue. The objectives are to attain good classification of different types and brands of herbal tea, classification of different flavour masking effects and finally classification of different concentrations of herbal tea. Two data fusion levels were employed in this research, low level data fusion and intermediate level data fusion. Four classification approaches; LDA, SVM, KNN and PNN were examined in search of the best classifier to achieve the research objectives. In order to evaluate the classifiers' performance, an error estimator based on k-fold cross validation and leave-one-out were applied. Classification based on GC-MS TIC data was also included as a comparison to the classification performance using fusion approaches. Generally, KNN outperformed the other classification techniques for the three flavour assessments in the low level data fusion and intermediate level data fusion. However, the classification results based on GC-MS TIC data are varied. PMID:25010697

Herbal Highs: Review on Psychoactive Effects and Neuropharmacology.

PubMed

Graziano, Silvia; Orsolini, Laura; Rotolo, Maria Concetta; Tittarelli, Roberta; Schifano, Fabrizio; Pichini, Simona

2017-01-01

A new trend among users of new psychoactive substances' the consumption of "herbal highs": plant parts containing psychoactive substances. Most of the substances extracted from herbs, in old centuries were at the centre of religious ceremonies of ancient civilizations. Currently, these herbal products are mainly sold by internet web sites and easily obtained since some of them have no legal restriction. We reviewed psychoactive effects and neuropharmacology of the most used "herbal highs" with characterized active principles, with studies reporting mechanisms of action, pharmacological and subjective effects, eventual secondary effects including intoxications and/or fatalities Method: The PubMed database was searched using the following key.words: herbal highs, Argyreia nervosa, Ipomoea violacea and Rivea corymbosa; Catha edulis; Datura stramonium; Piper methysticum; Mitragyna speciosa. Psychoactive plants here reviewed have been known and used from ancient times, even if for some of them limited information still exist regarding subjective and neuropharmacological effects and consequent eventual toxicity when plants are used alone or in combination with "classical" drugs of abuse. Some "herbal highs" should be classified as harmful drugs since chronic administration has been linked with addiction and cognitive impairment; for some others taking into consideration only the recent trends of abuse, studies investigating these aspects are lacking. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Guarana Provides Additional Stimulation over Caffeine Alone in the Planarian Model

PubMed Central

Moustakas, Dimitrios; Mezzio, Michael; Rodriguez, Branden R.; Constable, Mic Andre; Mulligan, Margaret E.; Voura, Evelyn B.

2015-01-01

The stimulant effect of energy drinks is primarily attributed to the caffeine they contain. Many energy drinks also contain other ingredients that might enhance the tonic effects of these caffeinated beverages. One of these additives is guarana. Guarana is a climbing plant native to the Amazon whose seeds contain approximately four times the amount of caffeine found in coffee beans. The mix of other natural chemicals contained in guarana seeds is thought to heighten the stimulant effects of guarana over caffeine alone. Yet, despite the growing use of guarana as an additive in energy drinks, and a burgeoning market for it as a nutritional supplement, the science examining guarana and how it affects other dietary ingredients is lacking. To appreciate the stimulant effects of guarana and other natural products, a straightforward model to investigate their physiological properties is needed. The planarian provides such a system. The locomotor activity and convulsive response of planarians with substance exposure has been shown to provide an excellent system to measure the effects of drug stimulation, addiction and withdrawal. To gauge the stimulant effects of guarana we studied how it altered the locomotor activity of the planarian species Dugesia tigrina. We report evidence that guarana seeds provide additional stimulation over caffeine alone, and document the changes to this stimulation in the context of both caffeine and glucose. PMID:25880065

Muscimol increases acetylcholine release by directly stimulating adult striatal cholinergic interneurons.

PubMed

Login, I S; Pal, S N; Adams, D T; Gold, P E

1998-01-01

Because GabaA ligands increase acetylcholine (ACh) release from adult striatal slices, we hypothesized that activation of GabaA receptors on striatal cholinergic interneurons directly stimulates ACh secretion. Fractional [3H]ACh release was recorded during perifusion of acutely dissociated, [3H]choline-labeled, adult male rat striata. The GabaA agonist, muscimol, immediately stimulated release maximally approximately 300% with EC50 = approximately 1 microM. This action was enhanced by the allosteric GabaA receptor modulators, diazepam and secobarbital, and inhibited by the GabaA antagonist, bicuculline, by ligands for D2 or muscarinic cholinergic receptors or by low calcium buffer, tetrodotoxin or vesamicol. Membrane depolarization inversely regulated muscimol-stimulated secretion. Release of endogenous and newly synthesized ACh was stimulated in parallel by muscimol without changing choline release. Muscimol pretreatment inhibited release evoked by K+ depolarization or by receptor-mediated stimulation with glutamate. Thus, GabaA receptors on adult striatal cholinergic interneurons directly stimulate voltage- and calcium-dependent exocytosis of ACh stored in vesamicol-sensitive synaptic vesicles. The action depends on the state of membrane polarization and apparently depolarizes the membrane in turn. This functional assay demonstrates that excitatory GabaA actions are not limited to neonatal tissues. GabaA-stimulated ACh release may be prevented in situ by normal tonic dopaminergic and muscarinic input to cholinergic neurons.

[Effects of kidney-tonifying Chinese herbal drugs on human osteoblast Ca2+ intake and mineralization in vitro].

PubMed

Li, Juan; Wu, Wei-kang; Sun, Wei; Yu, Ke-qiang

2004-12-01

To study the effects of kidney-tonifying Chinese herbal drugs on Ca2+ intake and mineralization of human osteoblasts in vitro. Human osteoblasts were isolated from the iliac trabecular bone followed by purification and culture at 37 degrees Celsius with 5% CO2. The cells were identified by cell morphology, calcium nodule formation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay. The third passage of the cultured osteoblasts were treated with 10% scrum from rat fed with the decoction of the kidney-tonifying Chinese herbal drugs of different concentrations for 30 min, 3 d and 28 d, respectively. The cells treated with 10% rat serum without the drugs served as the control. Flow cytometry was used to observe the changes in cell proliferation and intracellular Ca2+ concentration, and von Kossa staining employed for quantification of the mineral nodules. The osteoblasts obtained were positive for ALP staining and could form calcium nodules in vitro. Flow cytometry showed that the drugs at different concentrations all increased Ca2+ influx, as compared with the control cells. The drugs also increased the relative proliferation index of the osteoblasts, and high concentration of the drugs resulted in greater number of the mineral nodules in the osteoblasts (P<0.05). The kidney-tonifying Chinese herbal drugs may increase Ca2+ influx and stimulate proliferation and differentiation of adult osteoblasts in vitro.

Herbal Products and Supplements

MedlinePlus

... called a botanical product) is a type of dietary supplement that contains one or more herbs. Herbal health ... effective by the FDA. But the FDA defines dietary supplements as a category of food, not as drugs. ...

[Significance of re-evaluation and development of Chinese herbal drugs].

PubMed

Gao, Yue; Ma, Zengchun; Zhang, Boli

2012-01-01

The research of new herbal drugs involves in new herbal drugs development and renew the old drugs. It is necessary to research new herbal drugs based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The current development of famous TCM focuses on the manufacture process, quality control standards, material basis and clinical research. But system management of security evaluation is deficient, the relevant system for the safety assessment TCM has not been established. The causes of security problems, security risks, target organ of toxicity, weak link of safety evaluation, and ideas of safety evaluation are discussed in this paper. The toxicology research of chinese herbal drugs is necessary based on standard of good laboratory practices (GLP), the characteristic of Chinese herbal drugs is necessary to be fully integrated into safety evaluation. The safety of new drug research is necessary to be integrated throughout the entire process. Famous Chinese medicine safety research must be paid more attention in the future.

Herbal medicine for adults with asthma: A systematic review.

PubMed

Shergis, Johannah L; Wu, Lei; Zhang, Anthony L; Guo, Xinfeng; Lu, Chuanjian; Xue, Charlie C

2016-08-01

Many people with asthma use herbal medicines to help reduce symptoms and improve asthma control. To update the systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of herbal medicine for adult asthma. Nine English and Chinese databases were searched (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, CENTRAL, AMED, CBM, CNKI, CQVIP, Wanfang). Herbal medicines combined with routine pharmacotherapies compared with the same pharmacotherapies alone or placebo. Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and GRADE Summary of Findings tables were used to evaluate methodological quality. Twenty-nine (29) studies involving 3,001 participants were included. Herbal interventions used multi-ingredients such as licorice root, crow-dipper, astragali, and angelica. Compared with routine pharmacotherapies alone, herbal medicines as add-on therapy improved lung function (FEV1: MD 7.81%, 95% CI 5.79, 9.83, I(2) = 63%; PEFR: MD 65.14 L/min, 95% CI 58.87, 71.41, I(2) = 21%); asthma control (MD 2.47 points, 95% CI 1.64, 3.29, I(2) = 55%); reduced salbutamol usage (MD -1.14 puffs/day, 95% CI -2.20, -0.09, I(2) = 92%); and reduced acute asthma exacerbations over one year (MD -1.20, 95% CI -1.82, -0.58, one study). Compared with placebo plus pharmacotherapies herbal medicines as add-on therapy improved lung function (FEV1: MD 15.83%, 95% CI 13.54, 18.12 and PEFR: MD 55.20 L/min, 95% CI 33.41, 76.99). Other outcomes were not reported in these placebo studies. Included studies were low to moderate quality. Adverse events were rare. Herbal medicines combined with routine pharmacotherapies improved asthma outcomes greater than pharmacotherapies alone. Included studies did not blind participants therefore more studies that address such weaknesses are warranted.

Clinical Study on Constitutional Herbal Tea for Treating Chronic Fatigue

PubMed Central

Park, Soo-Jung; Bae, Young-Chun; Choi, Na-Rae; Ryu, Seung-Yeob; Kwon, Young-Mi; Joo, Jong-Cheon

2014-01-01

Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of constitutional herbal tea for treating chronic fatigue with no diagnosed cause, which is called Mibyeong in Korea. Methods: Males and females with ages between 40 and 59 years who had complained of fatigue for 1 month consistently or for 6 months intermittently without a definite cause were recruited. At the same time, a Chalder fatigue scale (CFS) score of 19 was essential for participation in this study. Sixty five subjects completed the entire process, including blood tests and tests with medical devices. Five assessments of health status were accomplished over 8 weeks by using the CFS and the visual analogue scale (VAS). To ensure that the constitutional herbal tea was being safely used, we conducted and analyzed renal function and liver function tests. For the diagnosis of the Sasang constitution, the Sasang Constitutional Analysis Tool (SCAT) was used, and a specialist in Sasang constitutional medicine made the final diagnosis based on the SCAT result. Constitutional herbal tea was served four weeks after the first visit. The subjects took the constitutional herbal tea twice a day for one month. Results: The results are as follows: The CFS and the VAS scores were significantly improved for the subjects in the constitutional herbal tea. No abnormalities were found on the blood tests to evaluate safety after taking the constitutional herbal tea. The improvements in the CFS and the VAS scores due to the constitutional herbal tea had no significant differences according to the Sasang constitution. Conclusion: Constitutional herbal tea may be used to reduce fatigue and improve health and has no adverse effect on either the kidney or the liver. PMID:25780720

Herbal product use in non-HIV and HIV-positive Hispanic patients.

PubMed Central

Rivera, José O.; González-Stuart, Armando; Ortiz, Melchor; Rodríguez, José C.; Anaya, Jaime P.; Meza, Armando

2005-01-01

PURPOSE: The primary endpoint of this study was to determine the prevalence of herbal product use by a sample of Mexican-American patients in the El Paso, TX region. Even though medicinal plants are popularly assumed to be a safe and natural alternative to conventional medications, some herbal products may pose a potential health risk to the consumer. Currently, there are few studies related to herbal use by Mexican Americans and none in HIV patients living on the U.S./México border. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted in hospitals and clinics throughout the El Paso region area. A semistructured interview was conducted by trained bilingual interviewers. A 45-item bilingual questionnaire was used to collect the information. RESULTS: A total of 439 non-HIV patients as well as 35 patients afflicted with HIV participated in the study. Seventy-nine percent (347/439) of non-HIV and 71% (25/35) of HIV patients reported using herbal products. The percentages of herbal use among the two groups did not show any statistically significant differences (p=0.29), and both groups reflected that herbal products are commonly used. CONCLUSIONS: The use of herbal products was very common among non-HIV (79%) and HIV-positive (71%) Mexican-Americans patients in the El Paso region. PMID:16396061

Secretory Structure, Histochemistry and Phytochemistry Analyses of Stimulant Plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umah, C.; Dorly; Sulistyaningsih, Y. C.

2017-03-01

Plants that are used as stimulant supposed to contains various metabolit compounds that are produced or secreted by secretory structures. This study aimed to identify the secretory structure of plant used as stimulant and chemical compounds accumulated in it. The secretory structure and its histochemistry were observed on plant material that are used as herbal ingredient. Phytochemical content was analyzed by using a qualitative test. The result showed that the idioblast cells and secretory cavities were found in the leaves of Decaspermum fruticosum, and Polyalthia rumphii. Most idioblast cells contained lipophilic substances and terpenoids or alkaloids, while secretory cavity contained alkaloid. Phytochemical analysis for D. fruticosum, and P. rumphii contain terpenoids, phenols, steroids, and flavonoids

[Research progress on current pharmacokinetic evaluation of Chinese herbal medicines].

PubMed

Li, Guofu; Zhao, Haoru; Yang, Jin

2011-03-01

In order to prove safety and efficacy, herbal medicines must undergo the rigorous scientific researches such as pharmacokinetic and bioavailability, before they are put on the market in the foreign countries. Botanical Drug Products promulgated by the US FDA could guide industry sponsors to develop herbal drugs, which was also an important reference for investigating Chinese herbal medicines. This paper reviews and discusses novel approaches for how to assess systemic exposure and pharmacokinetic of Chinese herbal medicines, which were in line with FDA guidance. This mainly focus on identifying pharmacokinetic markers of botanical products, integral pharmacokinetic study of multiple components, Biopharmaceutics drug disposition classification system, and population pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic study in herb-drug interaction.

Herbal medicine IMOD suppresses LPS-induced production of proinflammatory cytokines in human dendritic cells

PubMed Central

Mirzaee, Saeedeh; Drewniak, Agata; Sarrami-Forooshani, Ramin; Kaptein, Tanja M.; Gharibdoost, Farhad; Geijtenbeek, Teunis B. H.

2015-01-01

Traditional medicines that stimulate or modulate the immune system can be used as innovative approaches to treat immunological diseases. The herbal medicine IMOD has been shown to strongly modulate immune responses in several animal studies as well as in clinical trials. However, little is known about the mechanisms of IMOD to modulate immunity. Here we have investigated whether IMOD modulates the immunological function of human dendritic cells (DCs). IMOD alone did not induce DC maturation nor production of cytokines. Notably, IMOD decreased the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-12 p70, and TNFα by LPS-activated DCs at both mRNA and protein levels in a dose dependent manner. In contrast, treatment with IMOD did not affect LPS induced-production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Furthermore, IMOD inhibited T cell activation/proliferation by LPS-treated DCs and skewed T-cells responses toward the T helper type 2 polarization. These data strongly indicate that IMOD has a potent immunomodulatory ability that affects TLR signaling and thereby modulates DC function. Insight into the immunomodulatory effect of herbal medicine IMOD may provide innovative strategies to affect the immune system and to help combat various diseases. PMID:25870561

Acute liver injury induced by weight-loss herbal supplements.

PubMed

Chen, Gary C; Ramanathan, Vivek S; Law, David; Funchain, Pauline; Chen, George C; French, Samuel; Shlopov, Boris; Eysselein, Viktor; Chung, David; Reicher, Sonya; Pham, Binh V

2010-11-27

We report three cases of patients with acute liver injury induced by weight-loss herbal supplements. One patient took Hydroxycut while the other two took Herbalife supplements. Liver biopsies for all patients demonstrated findings consistent with drug-induced acute liver injury. To our knowledge, we are the first institute to report acute liver injury from both of these two types of weight-loss herbal supplements together as a case series. The series emphasizes the importance of taking a cautious approach when consuming herbal supplements for the purpose of weight loss.

Acute liver injury induced by weight-loss herbal supplements

PubMed Central

Chen, Gary C; Ramanathan, Vivek S; Law, David; Funchain, Pauline; Chen, George C; French, Samuel; Shlopov, Boris; Eysselein, Viktor; Chung, David; Reicher, Sonya; Pham, Binh V

2010-01-01

We report three cases of patients with acute liver injury induced by weight-loss herbal supplements. One patient took Hydroxycut while the other two took Herbalife supplements. Liver biopsies for all patients demonstrated findings consistent with drug-induced acute liver injury. To our knowledge, we are the first institute to report acute liver injury from both of these two types of weight-loss herbal supplements together as a case series. The series emphasizes the importance of taking a cautious approach when consuming herbal supplements for the purpose of weight loss. PMID:21173910

[Standardization of the terms for Chinese herbal functions based on functional targeting].

PubMed

Xiao, Bin; Tao, Ou; Gu, Hao; Wang, Yun; Qiao, Yan-Jiang

2011-03-01

Functional analysis concisely summarizes and concentrates on the therapeutic characteristics and features of Chinese herbal medicine. Standardization of the terms for Chinese herbal functions not only plays a key role in modern research and development of Chinese herbal medicine, but also has far-reaching clinical applications. In this paper, a new method for standardizing the terms for Chinese herbal function was proposed. Firstly, functional targets were collected. Secondly, the pathological conditions and the mode of action of every functional target were determined by analyzing the references. Thirdly, the relationships between the pathological condition and the mode of action were determined based on Chinese medicine theory and data. This three-step approach allows for standardization of the terms for Chinese herbal functions. Promoting the standardization of Chinese medicine terms will benefit the overall clinical application of Chinese herbal medicine.

Determination the active compounds of herbal preparation by UHPLC-MS/MS and its application on the preclinical pharmacokinetics of pure ephedrine, single herbal extract of Ephedra, and a multiple herbal preparation in rats.

PubMed

Wang, Ju-Wen; Chiang, Meng-Hsuan; Lu, Chia-Ming; Tsai, Tung-Hu

2016-07-15

The herbal preparation Ma-Xing-Gan-Shi-Tang (MXGST) is a popular traditional Chinese formulation that has been used for the treatment of coughs and fevers. The potential active components of MXGST are ephedrine, amygdalin, and glycyrrhizic acid. The aim of this study was to develop a validated analytical method to measure these analytes in the herbal preparation MXGST using ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was used to monitor m/z 166.1→148.1 for ephedrine ([M+H](+)), 475.2→163.0 for amygdalin ([M+NH4](+)), and 840.6→453.3 ([M+NH4](+)) for glycyrrhizic acid. The analytes were separated by a reverse phase C18 column (100×2.1mm, 2.6μm). The mobile phase consisted of 5mM ammonium acetate (0.1% formic acid) and 100% methanol (0.1% formic acid) with a linear gradient elution. Five brands of commercial pharmaceutical herbal products and a laboratory extract of MXGST were analyzed. Moreover, the modified UHPLC-MS/MS method was applied to the comparative pharmacokinetics of ephedrine in rats from the following three sources: (1) pure ephedrine, (2) an herbal extract of Ephedra, and (3) an herbal preparation of MXGST. Plasma samples from rats were prepared by protein precipitation, evaporation and reconstitution. The pharmacokinetic data showed that pure ephedrine was absorbed significantly faster than ephedrine of the Ephedra extract or the MXGST herbal preparation. However, the elimination half-life of ephedrine administered as the pure compound was 93.9±8.07min, but for ephedrine from the Ephedra extract and the MXGST, the half-lives were 133±17 and 247±57.6min, respectively. The area under the concentration curves (AUC) did not show significant differences among the three groups. These data suggest that the rest of the herbal ingredients in the Ephedra extract and the MXGST may provide a compensation effect that reduces the peak concentration of ephedrine and prolongs the

Zolpidem modulation of phasic and tonic GABA currents in the rat dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus

PubMed Central

Gao, Hong; Smith, Bret N.

2010-01-01

Zolpidem is a widely prescribed sleep aid with relative selectivity for GABAA receptors containing α1–3 subunits. We examined the effects of zolpidem on the inhibitory currents mediated by GABAA receptors using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from DMV neurons in transverse brainstem slices from rat. Zolpidem prolonged the decay time of mIPSCs and of muscimol-evoked whole-cell GABAergic currents, and it occasionally enhanced the amplitude of mIPSCs. The effects were blocked by flumazenil, a benzodiazepine antagonist. Zolpidem also hyperpolarized the resting membrane potential, with a concomitant decrease in input resistance and action potential firing activity in a subset of cells. Zolpidem did not clearly alter the GABAA receptor-mediated tonic current (Itonic) under baseline conditions, but after elevating extracellular GABA concentration with nipecotic acid, a non-selective GABA transporter blocker, zolpidem consistently and significantly increased the tonic GABA current. This increase was suppressed by flumazenil and gabazine. These results suggest that α1–3 subunits are expressed in synaptic GABAA receptors on DMV neurons. The baseline tonic GABA current is likely not mediated by these same low affinity, zolpidem-sensitive GABAA receptors. However, when the extracellular GABA concentration is increased, zolpidem-sensitive extrasynaptic GABAA receptors containing α1–3 subunits contribute to the Itonic. PMID:20226798

Herbal traditional Chinese medicine and its evidence base in gastrointestinal disorders

PubMed Central

Teschke, Rolf; Wolff, Albrecht; Frenzel, Christian; Eickhoff, Axel; Schulze, Johannes

2015-01-01

Herbal traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is used to treat several ailments, but its efficiency is poorly documented and hence debated, as opposed to modern medicine commonly providing effective therapies. The aim of this review article is to present a practical reference guide on the role of herbal TCM in managing gastrointestinal disorders, supported by systematic reviews and evidence based trials. A literature search using herbal TCM combined with terms for gastrointestinal disorders in PubMed and the Cochrane database identified publications of herbal TCM trials. Results were analyzed for study type, inclusion criteria, and outcome parameters. Quality of placebo controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical trials was poor, mostly neglecting stringent evidence based diagnostic and therapeutic criteria. Accordingly, appropriate Cochrane reviews and meta-analyses were limited and failed to support valid, clinically relevant evidence based efficiency of herbal TCM in gastrointestinal diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastric or duodenal ulcer, dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease. In conclusion, the use of herbal TCM to treat various diseases has an interesting philosophical background with a long history, but it received increasing skepticism due to the lack of evidence based efficiency as shown by high quality trials; this has now been summarized for gastrointestinal disorders, with TCM not recommended for most gastrointestinal diseases. Future studies should focus on placebo controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical trials, herbal product quality and standard criteria for diagnosis, treatment, outcome, and assessment of adverse herb reactions. This approach will provide figures of risk/benefit profiles that hopefully are positive for at least some treatment modalities of herbal TCM. Proponents of modern herbal TCM best face these promising challenges of pragmatic modern medicine by bridging the

Herbal traditional Chinese medicine and its evidence base in gastrointestinal disorders.

PubMed

Teschke, Rolf; Wolff, Albrecht; Frenzel, Christian; Eickhoff, Axel; Schulze, Johannes

2015-04-21

Herbal traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is used to treat several ailments, but its efficiency is poorly documented and hence debated, as opposed to modern medicine commonly providing effective therapies. The aim of this review article is to present a practical reference guide on the role of herbal TCM in managing gastrointestinal disorders, supported by systematic reviews and evidence based trials. A literature search using herbal TCM combined with terms for gastrointestinal disorders in PubMed and the Cochrane database identified publications of herbal TCM trials. Results were analyzed for study type, inclusion criteria, and outcome parameters. Quality of placebo controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical trials was poor, mostly neglecting stringent evidence based diagnostic and therapeutic criteria. Accordingly, appropriate Cochrane reviews and meta-analyses were limited and failed to support valid, clinically relevant evidence based efficiency of herbal TCM in gastrointestinal diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastric or duodenal ulcer, dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease. In conclusion, the use of herbal TCM to treat various diseases has an interesting philosophical background with a long history, but it received increasing skepticism due to the lack of evidence based efficiency as shown by high quality trials; this has now been summarized for gastrointestinal disorders, with TCM not recommended for most gastrointestinal diseases. Future studies should focus on placebo controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical trials, herbal product quality and standard criteria for diagnosis, treatment, outcome, and assessment of adverse herb reactions. This approach will provide figures of risk/benefit profiles that hopefully are positive for at least some treatment modalities of herbal TCM. Proponents of modern herbal TCM best face these promising challenges of pragmatic modern medicine by bridging the gap

Herbal remedies use by breast cancer patients in the West Bank of Palestine.

PubMed

Jaradat, Nidal Amin; Shawahna, Ramzi; Eid, Ahmad Mustafa; Al-Ramahi, Rowa; Asma, Maes Kasem; Zaid, Abdel Naser

2016-02-03

Recent ethnopharmacological surveys showed that herbal remedies are the most preferred modality of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). In Palestine as in many other countries, herbal remedies are widely used in the treatment of many diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of herbal remedies by women living with breast cancer in the West Bank of Palestine. This study was a questionnaire based cross-sectional descriptive study on the use of herbal remedies by breast cancer patients in the West Bank. A questionnaire was distributed to 115 patients at outpatient cancer clinics in face to face interviews. The study had a response rate of 89.6%. Of all respondents, 68% were herbal remedies users. Women with breast cancer used 46 plant species belonging to 32 families. Of these, Brassicaceae and Lamiaceae were the most prevalent. Ephedra alata was the most commonly used plant species in the treatment of breast cancer. Leaves and seeds were the most commonly used parts and decoction was the most commonly used method of preparation. Herbal remedies users were more likely to use herbal remedies instead of chemotherapy. The most commonly stated reason for using herbal remedies was the belief in boosting the patient's immune system to fight cancer. The use of herbal remedies is prevalent in breast cancer patients in Palestine. The use of herbal remedies was associated with educational level, time since diagnosis, type of surgery use, and use of endocrine therapy. It was apparent that the majority of users were satisfied with herbal remedies use. Clinical trials and pharmacological tests are required to be established for the presence of side effects, toxicity and efficacy for these herbal remedies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

CAM and Hepatitis C: A Focus on Herbal Supplements

MedlinePlus

... health/clinicaltrials/ Key References Dhiman RK, Chawla YK. Herbal medicines for liver diseases . Digestive Diseases and Sciences . 2005; ... double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Annals of Internal Medicine ... TM, Szabo G, et al. Herbal product use by persons enrolled in the Hepatitis ...

Herbal Hepatotoxicity: Clinical Characteristics and Listing Compilation

PubMed Central

Frenzel, Christian; Teschke, Rolf

2016-01-01

Herb induced liver injury (HILI) and drug induced liver injury (DILI) share the common characteristic of chemical compounds as their causative agents, which were either produced by the plant or synthetic processes. Both, natural and synthetic chemicals are foreign products to the body and need metabolic degradation to be eliminated. During this process, hepatotoxic metabolites may be generated causing liver injury in susceptible patients. There is uncertainty, whether risk factors such as high lipophilicity or high daily and cumulative doses play a pathogenetic role for HILI, as these are under discussion for DILI. It is also often unclear, whether a HILI case has an idiosyncratic or an intrinsic background. Treatment with herbs of Western medicine or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) rarely causes elevated liver tests (LT). However, HILI can develop to acute liver failure requiring liver transplantation in single cases. HILI is a diagnosis of exclusion, because clinical features of HILI are not specific as they are also found in many other liver diseases unrelated to herbal use. In strikingly increased liver tests signifying severe liver injury, herbal use has to be stopped. To establish HILI as the cause of liver damage, RUCAM (Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method) is a useful tool. Diagnostic problems may emerge when alternative causes were not carefully excluded and the correct therapy is withheld. Future strategies should focus on RUCAM based causality assessment in suspected HILI cases and more regulatory efforts to provide all herbal medicines and herbal dietary supplements used as medicine with strict regulatory surveillance, considering them as herbal drugs and ascertaining an appropriate risk benefit balance. PMID:27128912

An Herbal Nasal Drop Enhanced Frontal and Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activity

PubMed Central

Chan, Agnes S.; Cheung, Mei-chun; Sze, Sophia L.; Leung, Winnie W.; Shi, Dejian

2011-01-01

The present study examined the neuro-electrophysiological activity of the brain associated with the application of a herbal remedy developed by a Shaolin monk based upon the Chan healing principle of clearing the orifices (i.e., the nasal cavities). A repeated-measures design was used. Fourteen normal adults were administered herbal remedy and saline solution intranasally on separate sessions. Two intervals of eyes-closed resting EEG data were obtained individually before and after each administration. Results showed that only the herbal remedy but not the saline solution induced elevation in cordance, an index correlated with cerebral perfusion, in the anterior brain region. In addition, the activity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), as examined by the LORETA analysis, was also increased after the application of the herbal remedy but not saline solution. The present study provided some preliminary evidence suggesting that the herbal nasal drop enhanced the activity of the frontal lobe and ACC. Implications for the potential clinical application of the herbal remedy to treat patients with frontal lobe disorders were discussed. PMID:19996154

A survey on herbal management of hepatocellular carcinoma

PubMed Central

Abdel-Hamid, Nabil Mohie; Nazmy, Maiiada Hasan; Mahmoud, Ahmed Wahid; Fawzy, Michael Atef; Youssof, Marco

2011-01-01

In this review we outline the different mechanisms mediating hepatocarcinogenesis. We also discuss possible targets of bioactive herbal agents at different stages of hepatocarcinogenesis and highlight their role at each individual stage. We gathered information on the most common herbal prescriptions and extracts thought to be useful in prevention or sensitization for chemotherapy in management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The value of this topic may seem questionable compared to the promise offered for HCC management by chemotherapy and radiation. However, we would recommend the use of herbal preparations not as alternatives to common chemo /and or radiotherapy, but rather for prevention among at-risk individuals, given that drug/herb interactions are still in need of extensive clarification. The bioactive constituents of various herbs seem to be promising targets for isolation, cancer activity screening and clinical evaluation. Finally, herbal preparations may offer a cost effective protective alternative to individuals known to have a high risk for HCC and possibly other cancers, through maintaining cell integrity, reversing oxidative stress and modulating different molecular pathways in preventing carcinogenesis. PMID:21866249

Focal BOLD-fMRI changes in bicuculline-induced tonic-clonic seizures in the rat

PubMed Central

DeSalvo, Matthew N.; Schridde, Ulrich; Mishra, Asht M.; Motelow, Joshua E.; Purcaro, Michael J.; Danielson, Nathan; Bai, Xiaoxiao; Hyder, Fahmeed; Blumenfeld, Hal

2010-01-01

Generalized tonic-clonic seizures cause widespread physiological changes throughout the cerebral cortex and subcortical structures in the brain. Using combined blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 9.4 T and electroencephalography (EEG) these changes can be characterized with high spatiotemporal resolution. We studied BOLD changes in anesthetized Wistar rats during bicuculline-induced tonic-clonic seizures. Bicuculline, a GABAA receptor antagonist, was injected systemically and seizure activity was observed on EEG as high amplitude, high-frequency polyspike discharges followed by clonic paroxysmal activity of lower frequency, with mean electrographic seizure duration of 349 s. Our aim was to characterize the spatial localization, direction, and timing of BOLD signal changes during the pre-ictal, ictal and post-ictal periods. Group analysis was performed across seizures using paired t-maps of BOLD signal superimposed on high resolution anatomical images. Regional analysis was then performed using volumes of interest to quantify BOLD timecourses. In the pre-ictal period we found focal BOLD increases in specific areas of somatosensory cortex (S1, S2) and thalamus several seconds before seizure onset. During seizures we observed BOLD increases in cortex, brainstem and thalamus and BOLD decreases in the hippocampus. The largest ictal BOLD increases remained in the focal regions of somatosensory cortex showing pre-ictal increases. During the post-ictal period we observed widespread BOLD decreases. These findings support a model in which “generalized” tonic-clonic seizures begin with focal changes before electrographic seizure onset, which progress to non-uniform changes during seizures, possibly shedding light on the etiology and pathophysiology of similar seizures in humans. PMID:20079442

Menthol enhances phasic and tonic GABAA receptor-mediated currents in midbrain periaqueductal grey neurons

PubMed Central

Lau, Benjamin K; Karim, Shafinaz; Goodchild, Ann K; Vaughan, Christopher W; Drew, Geoffrey M

2014-01-01

Background and Purpose Menthol, a naturally occurring compound in the essential oil of mint leaves, is used for its medicinal, sensory and fragrant properties. Menthol acts via transient receptor potential (TRPM8 and TRPA1) channels and as a positive allosteric modulator of recombinant GABAA receptors. Here, we examined the actions of menthol on GABAA receptor-mediated currents in intact midbrain slices. Experimental Approach Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings were made from periaqueductal grey (PAG) neurons in midbrain slices from rats to determine the effects of menthol on GABAA receptor-mediated phasic IPSCs and tonic currents. Key Results Menthol (150–750 μM) produced a concentration-dependent prolongation of spontaneous GABAA receptor-mediated IPSCs, but not non-NMDA receptor-mediated EPSCs throughout the PAG. Menthol actions were unaffected by TRPM8 and TRPA1 antagonists, tetrodotoxin and the benzodiazepine antagonist, flumazenil. Menthol also enhanced a tonic current, which was sensitive to the GABAA receptor antagonists, picrotoxin (100 μM), bicuculline (30 μM) and Zn2+ (100 μM), but unaffected by gabazine (10 μM) and a GABAC receptor antagonist, 1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)methylphosphinic acid hydrate (TPMPA; 50 μM). In addition, menthol potentiated currents induced by the extrasynaptic GABAA receptor agonist THIP/gaboxadol (10 μM). Conclusions and Implications These results suggest that menthol positively modulates both synaptic and extrasynaptic populations of GABAA receptors in native PAG neurons. The development of agents that potentiate GABAA-mediated tonic currents and phasic IPSCs in a manner similar to menthol could provide a basis for novel GABAA-related pharmacotherapies. PMID:24460753

Prevalence of Herbal Therapy Use in Active Duty Air Force Women

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-04-24

Effects and Drug Interactions............................ 22 xi Health Perception and Herbal Use..................................................... 25...required of conventional drugs , and they are not subject to the approval process of the FDA (Cupp, 1999). Also, unlike conventional drugs , herbal...batch-to-batch variability can cause adverse effects and drug interactions. 3 Controlled studies of herbal medicines are not profitable, so there is

The role of laryngeal electromyography in vagus nerve stimulation-related vocal fold dysmotility.

PubMed

Saibene, Alberto M; Zambrelli, Elena; Pipolo, Carlotta; Maccari, Alberto; Felisati, Giovanni; Felisati, Elena; Furia, Francesca; Vignoli, Aglaia; Canevini, Maria Paola; Alfonsi, Enrico

2017-03-01

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a useful tool for drug-resistant epilepsy, but it induces known laryngeal side effects, with a significant role on patients' quality of life. VNS patients may show persistent left vocal fold (LVF) palsy at rest and/or recurrent LVF adduction during stimulation. This study aims at electromyographically evaluating laryngeal muscles abnormalities in VNS patients. We compared endoscopic laryngeal evaluation data in six VNS patients with laryngeal muscle electromyography (LMEMG) carried out on the thyroarytenoid, cricothyroid, posterior cricoarytenoid, and cricopharyngeal muscles. Endoscopy showed LVF palsy at rest in 3/6 patients in whom LMEMG documented a tonic spastic activity with reduced phasic modulation. In four out of six patients with recurrent LVF adduction during VNS activation, LMEMG showed a compound muscle action potential persisting for the whole stimulation. This is the first LMEMG report of VNS-induced motor unit activation via recurrent laryngeal nerve and upper laryngeal nerve stimulation. LMEMG data were could, therefore, be considered consistent with the endoscopic laryngeal examination in all patient.

How natural are 'natural herbal remedies'? A Saudi perspective.

PubMed

Bogusz, Maciej J; al Tufail, Mohammed; Hassan, Huda

2002-01-01

There is a rapidly growing trend in the consumption of herbal remedies in industrialised and developing countries. Users of herbal remedies are at risk of toxicity and adverse interactions of herbal preparations due to their frequent contamination with metals and adulteration with synthetic drugs. The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of herbal remedies present on the market in Saudi Arabia in recent years. 247 herbal remedies and related preparations were examined from 2000-2001 at the Toxicology Laboratory, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Herbal powder samples were the most common sample type examined (n = 80), followed by complete, packed preparations (n = 59), single undescribed capsules or pills (n = 46), loose plant leaves or seeds (n = 28), creams (n = 18) and liquid or jelly samples (n = 16). All samples were subjected to toxicological screening for organic substances using gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis, screening for heavy metals (arsenic, mercury, and lead) using inductive coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and microbiological examination. The preparations analysed were used to treat the following indications: leukaemia and other forms of cancer (n = 22); obesity (n = 18); diabetes mellitus (n = 14); rheumatic disorders (n = 14); skin pigmentation problems (n = 11); or to enhance male sexual activity (n = 9). In 123 cases, the indication of use was not known. 39 samples contained high concentrations of heavy metals. This was particularly striking in remedies used to treat leukaemia (arsenic content of 522-161,600 ppm) and in creams for whitening skin (mercury content of 5,700-126,000 ppm). Eight preparations contained synthetic drugs (e.g. benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants in sedative preparations, cyproheptadine in a remedy to gain bodyweight, ibuprofen and dipyrone in herbal capsules used to treat rheumatism). 18 samples were contaminated with micro-organisms. 14

Authentication of Botanical Origin in Herbal Teas by Plastid Noncoding DNA Length Polymorphisms.

PubMed

Uncu, Ali Tevfik; Uncu, Ayse Ozgur; Frary, Anne; Doganlar, Sami

2015-07-01

The aim of this study was to develop a DNA barcode assay to authenticate the botanical origin of herbal teas. To reach this aim, we tested the efficiency of a PCR-capillary electrophoresis (PCR-CE) approach on commercial herbal tea samples using two noncoding plastid barcodes, the trnL intron and the intergenic spacer between trnL and trnF. Barcode DNA length polymorphisms proved successful in authenticating the species origin of herbal teas. We verified the validity of our approach by sequencing species-specific barcode amplicons from herbal tea samples. Moreover, we displayed the utility of PCR-CE assays coupled with sequencing to identify the origin of undeclared plant material in herbal tea samples. The PCR-CE assays proposed in this work can be applied as routine tests for the verification of botanical origin in herbal teas and can be extended to authenticate all types of herbal foodstuffs.

Herbal therapy: A review of emerging pharmacological tools in the management of diabetes mellitus in Africa

PubMed Central

Kibiti, Cromwell Mwiti; Afolayan, Anthony Jide

2015-01-01

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic physiological glucose metabolic disorder. It has affected millions of people all over the world thereby having a significant impact on quality of life. The management of diabetes includes both nonpharmacological and conventional interventions. Drawbacks in conventional therapy have led to seeking alternative therapy in herbal medicine. Therefore, the need to review, elucidate and classify their mode of action in therapy for diabetes disease arises. Materials and Methods: Comprehensive literature reports were used to review all conventional agents and herbal therapy used in the management of diabetes. An online database search was conducted for medicinal plants of African origin that have been investigated for their antidiabetic therapeutic potentials. Results: The results showed that of the documented sixty five plants used, fourteen inhibit intestinal absorption of glucose, three exhibit insulin-mimetic properties, seventeen stimulate insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells, twelve enhance peripheral glucose uptake, one promotes regeneration of beta-cell of islets of Langerhans, thirteen ameliorate oxidative stress and twenty induces hypoglycemic effect (mode of action is still obscure). Thirteen of these plants have a duplicate mode of actions while one of them has three modes of actions. These agents have a similar mechanism of action as the conventional drugs. Conclusion: In conclusion, antidiabetic activities of these plants are well established; however, the molecular modulation remains unknown. It is envisaged that the use of herbal therapy will promote good health and improve the status of diabetic patients. PMID:26664014

Herbal Medicine in Mexico: A Cause of Hepatotoxicity. A Critical Review

PubMed Central

Valdivia-Correa, Bárbara; Gómez-Gutiérrez, Cristina; Uribe, Misael; Méndez-Sánchez, Nahum

2016-01-01

In Mexico, herbal products are commonly used as therapeutic tools. The analysis of several publications reveals that there are dozens of different herbs and herbal products used for different reasons, some of which have been implicated in causing toxic liver disease. However, methodological aspects limit the attribution of causality, and the precise incidence and clinical manifestations of herb-induced liver injury have not been well characterized. This review outlines the history of traditional herbal medicine in Mexico, critically summarizes the mechanisms and adverse effects of commonly used herbal plants, and examines the regulatory issues regarding the legal use of these products. PMID:26891292

Herbal Medicine in Mexico: A Cause of Hepatotoxicity. A Critical Review.

PubMed

Valdivia-Correa, Bárbara; Gómez-Gutiérrez, Cristina; Uribe, Misael; Méndez-Sánchez, Nahum

2016-02-15

In Mexico, herbal products are commonly used as therapeutic tools. The analysis of several publications reveals that there are dozens of different herbs and herbal products used for different reasons, some of which have been implicated in causing toxic liver disease. However, methodological aspects limit the attribution of causality, and the precise incidence and clinical manifestations of herb-induced liver injury have not been well characterized. This review outlines the history of traditional herbal medicine in Mexico, critically summarizes the mechanisms and adverse effects of commonly used herbal plants, and examines the regulatory issues regarding the legal use of these products.

The new European legislation on traditional herbal medicines: main features and perspectives.

PubMed

Silano, Marco; De Vincenzi, Massimo; De Vincenzi, Alessandro; Silano, Vittorio

2004-03-01

Under the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (July 2003-December 2003) an agreement has been reached by the European Parliament and the Council on the approval of the proposal of Directive of the European Parliament and the Council amending the Directive 2001/83/EC as regards traditional herbal medicinal products. Once implemented in the E.U. Member States, this new Directive will remove the constraints that have made it difficult granting marketing authorisations of herbal substances and preparations as traditional medicinal products under the pre-existing Community legislation. The main features (i.e. traditional herbal medicine definition, simplified registration procedure, provisions for Community herbal monographs and Community list of herbal substances and preparations and establishment of the Committee for Herbal Medicinal Products) of this new Community legislation are analysed and discussed in the present paper together with some expected positive public health impacts.

[Development and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine processing discipline and Chinese herbal pieces industry].

PubMed

Xiao, Yong-Qing; Li, Li; Liu, Ying; Ma, Yin-Lian; Yu, Ding-Rong

2016-01-01

To elucidate the key issues in the development and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine processing discipline and Chinese herbal pieces industry Chinese herbal pieces industry. According to the author's accumulated experience over years and demand of the development of the Chinese herbal pieces industry, the key issues in the development and innovation on the Chinese herbal pieces industry were summarized. According to the author, the traditional Chinese medicine processing discipline shall focus on a application basis research. The development of this discipline should be closely related to the development of Chinese herbal pieces. The traditional Chinese medicine processing discipline can be improved and its results can be transformed only if this discipline were correlated with the Chinese herbal pieces industry, matched with the development of the Chinese herbal pieces industry, and solved the problems in the development on the Chinese herbal pieces industry. The development of traditional Chinese medicine processing discipline and the Chinese herbal pieces industry also requires scientific researchers to make constant innovations, realize the specialty of the researches, and innovate based on inheritance. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

[Clinical observation of post-herpetic neuralgia treated with TCM herbal cupping therapy].

PubMed

Wu, Xi; Hu, Hui; Guo, Liang; Wang, Hui

2013-02-01

To compare the difference in the efficacy on post-herpetic neuralgia among TCM herbal cupping therapy, Chinese medicine thermal compressing therapy and mecobalamine. Fifty-seven cases were randomized into a TCM herbal cupping group, a thermal compressing group and a western medicine group, 19 cases in each one. The oral administration of ibuprofen was applied in every group. In the herbal cupping group, the bamboo cups soaked in the boiled Chinese herbal decoction were sucked on the most significant painful area. In the thermal compressing group, the towel soaked in the boiled Chinese herbal decoction was compressed on the most significant painful area. In the medication group, the muscular injection of mecobalamine was adopted. The treatment was given once a day, for 2 weeks totally in each group. SF-MPQ score and clinical efficacy before and after treatment were observed in each group. The remarkable effective rates were 78.9% (15/19), 36.8% (7/19) and 5.3% (1/19) in the TCM herbal cupping group, thermal compressing group and western medicine group separately. The efficacy in the TCM herbal cupping group was significantly superior to the thermal compressing group and western medicine group (all P < 0.05), and that in the thermal compressing group was superior to the western medicine group (P < 0.05). After treatment, SF-MPQ score was reduced significantly in each group (P < 0.001, P < 0.01). The score in the herbal cupping group was reduced more significantly as compared with the thermal compressing group and western medicine group (all P < 0.01). The improvement in pain in the thermal compressing group was superior to the western medicine group (P < 0.01). TCM herbal cupping therapy achieves the superior efficacy for post-herpetic neuralgia and relieves pain effectively of the patients, which is more advantageous than CM herbal thermal compressing therapy and Mecobalamine.

The adjustment of γ-aminobutyric acidA tonic subunits in Huntington's disease: from transcription to translation to synaptic levels into the neostriatum.

PubMed

Rosas-Arellano, Abraham; Estrada-Mondragón, Argel; Mantellero, Carola A; Tejeda-Guzmán, Carlos; Castro, Maite A

2018-04-01

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), plays a key role in all stages of life, also is considered the main inhibitory neurotransmitter. GABA activates two kind of membrane receptors known as GABA A and GABA B , the first one is responsible to render tonic inhibition by pentameric receptors containing α4-6, β3, δ, or ρ1-3 subunits, they are located at perisynaptic and/or in extrasynaptic regions. The biophysical properties of GABA A tonic inhibition have been related with cellular protection against excitotoxic injury and cell death in presence of excessive excitation. On this basis, GABA A tonic inhibition has been proposed as a potential target for therapeutic intervention of Huntington's disease. Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a genetic mutation of the huntingtin protein. For experimental studies of Huntington's disease mouse models have been developed, such as R6/1, R6/2, HdhQ92, HdhQ150, as well as YAC128. In all of them, some key experimental reports are focused on neostriatum. The neostriatum is considered as the most important connection between cerebral cortex and basal ganglia structures, its cytology display two pathways called direct and indirect constituted by medium sized spiny neurons expressing dopamine D1 and D2 receptors respectively, they display strong expression of many types of GABA A receptors, including tonic subunits. The studies about of GABA A tonic subunits and Huntington's disease into the neostriatum are rising in recent years, suggesting interesting changes in their expression and localization which can be used as a strategy to delay the cellular damage caused by the imbalance between excitation and inhibition, a hallmark of Huntington's disease.

The adjustment of γ-aminobutyric acidA tonic subunits in Huntington's disease: from transcription to translation to synaptic levels into the neostriatum

PubMed Central

Rosas-Arellano, Abraham; Estrada-Mondragón, Argel; Mantellero, Carola A.; Tejeda-Guzmán, Carlos; Castro, Maite A.

2018-01-01

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), plays a key role in all stages of life, also is considered the main inhibitory neurotransmitter. GABA activates two kind of membrane receptors known as GABAA and GABAB, the first one is responsible to render tonic inhibition by pentameric receptors containing α4−6, β3, δ, or ρ1−3 subunits, they are located at perisynaptic and/or in extrasynaptic regions. The biophysical properties of GABAA tonic inhibition have been related with cellular protection against excitotoxic injury and cell death in presence of excessive excitation. On this basis, GABAA tonic inhibition has been proposed as a potential target for therapeutic intervention of Huntington's disease. Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a genetic mutation of the huntingtin protein. For experimental studies of Huntington's disease mouse models have been developed, such as R6/1, R6/2, HdhQ92, HdhQ150, as well as YAC128. In all of them, some key experimental reports are focused on neostriatum. The neostriatum is considered as the most important connection between cerebral cortex and basal ganglia structures, its cytology display two pathways called direct and indirect constituted by medium sized spiny neurons expressing dopamine D1 and D2 receptors respectively, they display strong expression of many types of GABAA receptors, including tonic subunits. The studies about of GABAA tonic subunits and Huntington's disease into the neostriatum are rising in recent years, suggesting interesting changes in their expression and localization which can be used as a strategy to delay the cellular damage caused by the imbalance between excitation and inhibition, a hallmark of Huntington's disease. PMID:29722299

Herbal Medicine Treatment for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Lu, Hsu Yuan

2017-01-01

Objective To summarize and evaluate the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines used for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. Methods Thirteen electronic databases were searched from their inception to November 2016. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the efficacy of herbal medicines alone or in combination with other Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments for ASD in children were included. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used and other data analyses were performed using RevMan (Version 5.3). Results Ten RCTs involving 567 patients with ASD were included for qualitative synthesis. In conjunction with conventional therapy, herbal medicines significantly improved the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) score, but the results of effects on total effective rate (TER) were different between the included studies. The use of herbal medicines with integrative therapy improved the CARS score and TER. In the studies that documented adverse events, no serious events were associated with herbal medicines. Conclusions The efficacy of herbal medicines for the treatment of ASD appears to be encouraging but was inconclusive owing to low methodological quality, herbal medicine diversity, and small sample size of the examined studies. PMID:28592982

Literature Review: Herbal Medicine Treatment after Large-Scale Disasters.

PubMed

Takayama, Shin; Kaneko, Soichiro; Numata, Takehiro; Kamiya, Tetsuharu; Arita, Ryutaro; Saito, Natsumi; Kikuchi, Akiko; Ohsawa, Minoru; Kohayagawa, Yoshitaka; Ishii, Tadashi

2017-01-01

Large-scale natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and typhoons, occur worldwide. After the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, our medical support operation's experiences suggested that traditional medicine might be useful for treating the various symptoms of the survivors. However, little information is available regarding herbal medicine treatment in such situations. Considering that further disasters will occur, we performed a literature review and summarized the traditional medicine approaches for treatment after large-scale disasters. We searched PubMed and Cochrane Library for articles written in English, and Ichushi for those written in Japanese. Articles published before 31 March 2016 were included. Keywords "disaster" and "herbal medicine" were used in our search. Among studies involving herbal medicine after a disaster, we found two randomized controlled trials investigating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), three retrospective investigations of trauma or common diseases, and seven case series or case reports of dizziness, pain, and psychosomatic symptoms. In conclusion, herbal medicine has been used to treat trauma, PTSD, and other symptoms after disasters. However, few articles have been published, likely due to the difficulty in designing high quality studies in such situations. Further study will be needed to clarify the usefulness of herbal medicine after disasters.

Activation of autoimmunity following use of immunostimulatory herbal supplements.

PubMed

Lee, Alice N; Werth, Victoria P

2004-06-01

Evidence for the scientific basis of purported therapeutic effects and adverse effects of herbal supplements continues to grow. Many herbal supplements are touted for their immunostimulatory properties, and both in vitro and in vivo experiments have supported this claim. Although this explains their beneficial effects in preventing or curtailing disease, to our knowledge, no immunostimulatory herbal supplements have been reported to exacerbate disorders of immune system overactivity. We describe 3 patients whose autoimmune disease onset and/or flares correlated with ingestion of herbal supplements with proven immunostimulatory effects. Echinacea and the alga Spirulina platensis are implicated in 2 patients' flares of pemphigus vulgaris, and a supplement containing the algae Spirulina platensis and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae was ingested by a third patient days before both onset and a severe flare of dermatomyositis. The third patient showed heterozygosity for a tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) promoter polymorphism (-308A), leading to increased production of TNF-alpha, which may have predisposed her to developing dermatomyositis. Immunostimulatory herbal supplements may exacerbate preexisting autoimmune disease or precipitate autoimmune disease in persons genetically predisposed to such disorders. Increased production of TNF-alpha may play a role, although more research is needed to clarify the mechanisms of such phenomena.

Regulation of medicinal plants for public health--European community monographs on herbal substances.

PubMed

Knöss, Werner; Chinou, Ioanna

2012-08-01

The European legislation on medicinal products also addresses the medicinal use of products originating from plants. The objective of the legislation is to ensure the future existence of such products and to consider particular characteristics when assessing quality, efficacy, and safety. Two categories are defined: i) herbal medicinal products can be granted a marketing authorisation; and ii) traditional herbal medicinal products can be granted a registration based on their longstanding use if they are complying with a set of provisions ensuring their safe use. The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC) was established at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to provide monographs and list entries on herbal substances and preparations thereof. Meanwhile, approx. 100 monographs have been published, which define a current scientific and regulatory standard for efficacy and safety of herbal substances and herbal preparations used in medicinal products. This harmonised European standard will facilitate the availability and adequate use of traditional herbal medicinal products and herbal medicinal products within the European Union. Consequent labelling shall also enable patients and health care professionals to differentiate medicinal products from other product categories like cosmetics, food supplements, and medical devices. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Treatment of glioblastoma with herbal medicines.

PubMed

Trogrlić, Ivo; Trogrlić, Dragan; Trogrlić, Darko; Trogrlić, Amina Kadrić

2018-02-13

In the latest years, a lot of research studies regarding the usage of active agents from plants in the treatment of tumors have been published, but there is no data about successful usage of herbal remedies in the treatment of glioblastoma in humans. The phytotherapy involved five types of herbal medicine which the subjects took in the form of tea, each type once a day at regular intervals. Three patients took herbal medicine along with standard oncological treatment, while two patients applied for phytotherapy after completing medical treatment. The composition of herbal medicine was modified when necessary, which depended on the results of the control scans using the nuclear magnetic resonance technique and/or computed tomography. Forty-eight months after the introduction of phytotherapy, there were no clinical or radiological signs of the disease, in three patients; in one patient, the tumor was reduced and his condition was stable, and one patient lived for 48 months in spite of a large primary tumor and a massive recurrence, which developed after the treatment had been completed. The results achieved in patients in whom tumor regression occurred exclusively through the use of phytotherapy deserve special attention. In order to treat glioblastoma more effectively, it is necessary to develop innovative therapeutic strategies and medicines that should not be limited only to the field of conventional medicine. The results presented in this research paper are encouraging and serve as a good basis for further research on the possibilities of phytotherapy in the treatment of glioblastoma.

The politics of herbal drugs in Korea.

PubMed

Cho, B H

2000-08-01

Hanbang, the Korean medical practice with origins in classical Chinese texts, is a prominent part of the Korean health care system. Hanbang physicians, called hanuisas, are looked down on by biomedical doctors, but their practice has enjoyed increasing popularity for several decades. As the market for herbal preparations has become more lucrative, biomedical pharmacists have begun to participate in it. The Pharmaceutical Act in 1993 explicitly allowed pharmacists to prescribe and dispense herbal drugs. This provoked a bitter public conflict between hanuisas and pharmacists, involving street demonstrations and strikes. The hanuisas asserted that the pharmacists were unqualified to assume their traditional practice. They also agitated for recognition in the state-sponsored system of health care and for the state's support for developing Hanbang medicine. This paper attributes the conflicts concerning Hanbang to the expanding market for herbal preparations, Korean nationalism, and to the oversupply of biomedical pharmacists.

Tonic 5nM DA Stabilizes Neuronal Output by Enabling Bidirectional Activity-Dependent Regulation of the Hyperpolarization Activated Current via PKA and Calcineurin

PubMed Central

Krenz, Wulf-Dieter C.; Rodgers, Edmund W.; Baro, Deborah J.

2015-01-01

Volume transmission results in phasic and tonic modulatory signals. The actions of tonic dopamine (DA) at type 1 DA receptors (D1Rs) are largely undefined. Here we show that tonic 5nM DA acts at D1Rs to stabilize neuronal output over minutes by enabling activity-dependent regulation of the hyperpolarization activated current (I h). In the presence but not absence of 5nM DA, I h maximal conductance (G max) was adjusted according to changes in slow wave activity in order to maintain spike timing. Our study on the lateral pyloric neuron (LP), which undergoes rhythmic oscillations in membrane potential with depolarized plateaus, demonstrated that incremental, bi-directional changes in plateau duration produced corresponding alterations in LP I hG max when preparations were superfused with saline containing 5nM DA. However, when preparations were superfused with saline alone there was no linear correlation between LP I hGmax and duty cycle. Thus, tonic nM DA modulated the capacity for activity to modulate LP I h G max; this exemplifies metamodulation (modulation of modulation). Pretreatment with the Ca2+-chelator, BAPTA, or the specific PKA inhibitor, PKI, prevented all changes in LP I h in 5nM DA. Calcineurin inhibitors blocked activity-dependent changes enabled by DA and revealed a PKA-mediated, activity-independent enhancement of LP I hG max. These data suggested that tonic 5nM DA produced two simultaneous, PKA-dependent effects: a direct increase in LP I h G max and a priming event that permitted calcineurin regulation of LP I h. The latter produced graded reductions in LP I hG max with increasing duty cycles. We also demonstrated that this metamodulation preserved the timing of LP’s first spike when network output was perturbed with bath-applied 4AP. In sum, 5nM DA permits slow wave activity to provide feedback that maintains spike timing, suggesting that one function of low-level, tonic modulation is to stabilize specific features of a dynamic output. PMID

Tonic 5nM DA stabilizes neuronal output by enabling bidirectional activity-dependent regulation of the hyperpolarization activated current via PKA and calcineurin.

PubMed

Krenz, Wulf-Dieter C; Rodgers, Edmund W; Baro, Deborah J

2015-01-01

Volume transmission results in phasic and tonic modulatory signals. The actions of tonic dopamine (DA) at type 1 DA receptors (D1Rs) are largely undefined. Here we show that tonic 5nM DA acts at D1Rs to stabilize neuronal output over minutes by enabling activity-dependent regulation of the hyperpolarization activated current (I h). In the presence but not absence of 5nM DA, I h maximal conductance (G max) was adjusted according to changes in slow wave activity in order to maintain spike timing. Our study on the lateral pyloric neuron (LP), which undergoes rhythmic oscillations in membrane potential with depolarized plateaus, demonstrated that incremental, bi-directional changes in plateau duration produced corresponding alterations in LP I hG max when preparations were superfused with saline containing 5nM DA. However, when preparations were superfused with saline alone there was no linear correlation between LP I hGmax and duty cycle. Thus, tonic nM DA modulated the capacity for activity to modulate LP I h G max; this exemplifies metamodulation (modulation of modulation). Pretreatment with the Ca2+-chelator, BAPTA, or the specific PKA inhibitor, PKI, prevented all changes in LP I h in 5nM DA. Calcineurin inhibitors blocked activity-dependent changes enabled by DA and revealed a PKA-mediated, activity-independent enhancement of LP I hG max. These data suggested that tonic 5nM DA produced two simultaneous, PKA-dependent effects: a direct increase in LP I h G max and a priming event that permitted calcineurin regulation of LP I h. The latter produced graded reductions in LP I hG max with increasing duty cycles. We also demonstrated that this metamodulation preserved the timing of LP's first spike when network output was perturbed with bath-applied 4AP. In sum, 5nM DA permits slow wave activity to provide feedback that maintains spike timing, suggesting that one function of low-level, tonic modulation is to stabilize specific features of a dynamic output.

Herbal medicine use behaviour in Australian adults who experience anxiety: a descriptive study.

PubMed

McIntyre, Erica; Saliba, Anthony J; Wiener, Karl K; Sarris, Jerome

2016-02-11

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health condition in Australia. In addition, there are many people who experience problematic anxiety symptoms who do not receive an anxiety disorder diagnosis but require treatment. As herbal medicine use is popular in Australia, and little is known about how adults experiencing anxiety are using these medicines, this study aimed to identify how Australian adults who experience anxiety are using herbal medicines. An online cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using purposive convenience sampling to recruit Australian adults who have experienced anxiety symptoms and have used herbal medicines (N = 400). Descriptive statistics, chi-square test of contingency, analysis of variance, and simple logistic regression was used to analyse the data. Eighty two percent of participants experienced anxiety symptoms in the previous 12 months, with 47% reporting having previously been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. In addition, 72.8% had used herbal medicines specifically for anxiety symptoms in their lifetime, while 55.3% had used prescribed pharmaceuticals, with 27.5% having used herbal medicines concurrently with prescribed pharmaceuticals. The Internet and family and friends were the most frequently used sources of information about herbal medicines. Forty eight percent of participants did not disclose their herbal medicine use to their doctor. Herbal medicines are being used by adults with anxiety and are commonly self-prescribed for anxiety symptoms. Health practitioners who are experts in herbal medicine prescribing are consulted infrequently. In addition, herbal medicine use is often not disclosed to health practitioners. These behaviours are concerning as people may not be receiving the most suitable treatments, and their use of herbal medicines may even be dangerous. It is critical we develop a better understanding of why people are using these medicines, and how we can develop improved health literacy

The Potential Power of Bar-HRM Technology in Herbal Medicine Identification

PubMed Central

Sun, Wei; Li, Jing-jian; Xiong, Chao; Zhao, Bo; Chen, Shi-lin

2016-01-01

The substitution of low-cost or adulterated herbal products for high-priced herbs makes it important to be able to identify and trace herbal plant species and their processed products in the drug supply chain. PCR-based methods play an increasing role in monitoring the safety of herbal medicines by detecting adulteration. Recent studies have shown the potential of DNA barcoding combined with high resolution melting (Bar-HRM) analysis in herbal medicine identification. This method involves precisely monitoring the change in fluorescence caused by the release of an intercalating DNA dye from a DNA duplex as it is denatured by a gradual increase in temperature. Since the melting profile depends on the GC content, length, and strand complementarity of the amplification product, Bar-HRM analysis opens up the possibility of detecting single-base variants or species-specific differences in a short region of DNA. This review summarizes key factors affecting Bar-HRM analysis and describes how Bar-HRM is performed. We then discuss advances in Bar-HRM analysis of medicinal plant ingredients (herbal materia medica) as a contribution toward safe and effective herbal medicines. PMID:27066026

The Potential Power of Bar-HRM Technology in Herbal Medicine Identification.

PubMed

Sun, Wei; Li, Jing-Jian; Xiong, Chao; Zhao, Bo; Chen, Shi-Lin

2016-01-01

The substitution of low-cost or adulterated herbal products for high-priced herbs makes it important to be able to identify and trace herbal plant species and their processed products in the drug supply chain. PCR-based methods play an increasing role in monitoring the safety of herbal medicines by detecting adulteration. Recent studies have shown the potential of DNA barcoding combined with high resolution melting (Bar-HRM) analysis in herbal medicine identification. This method involves precisely monitoring the change in fluorescence caused by the release of an intercalating DNA dye from a DNA duplex as it is denatured by a gradual increase in temperature. Since the melting profile depends on the GC content, length, and strand complementarity of the amplification product, Bar-HRM analysis opens up the possibility of detecting single-base variants or species-specific differences in a short region of DNA. This review summarizes key factors affecting Bar-HRM analysis and describes how Bar-HRM is performed. We then discuss advances in Bar-HRM analysis of medicinal plant ingredients (herbal materia medica) as a contribution toward safe and effective herbal medicines.

Prescription Drugs, Over-the-Counter Drugs, Supplements and Herbal Products

MedlinePlus

... at risk? Zika virus and pregnancy Folic acid Medicine safety and pregnancy Birth defects prevention Learn how ... the-counter drugs, supplements and herbal products Prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, supplements and herbal products ...

A Brief Mindfulness Meditation Training Increases Pain Threshold and Accelerates Modulation of Response to Tonic Pain in an Experimental Study.

PubMed

Reiner, Keren; Granot, Michal; Soffer, Eliran; Lipsitz, Joshua Dan

2016-04-01

Research shows that mindfulness meditation (MM) affects pain perception; however, studies have yet to measure patterns of change over time. We examined effects of MM on perception of experimental heat pain using multiple psychophysical indices, including pattern of change in response to tonic painful stimuli. We also tested the potential moderating role of baseline mindfulness. Forty participants were randomly assigned to a brief MM training or control group. We assessed: a) heat pain threshold (HPT), b) temperature which induces pain at a fixed, target intensity level, and c) response pattern over time to tonic heat pain. Compared to control group, the MM group showed increased HPT and more rapid attenuation of pain intensity for tonic pain stimuli. Moderation analyses indicated that baseline mindfulness moderated effects of MM on HPT. A brief MM intervention appears to affect perception of experimental pain both by increasing pain threshold and accelerating modulation of response. Findings may help elucidate mechanisms of MM for chronic pain. © 2015 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Tonic LAT-HDAC7 Signals Sustain Nur77 and Irf4 Expression to Tune Naive CD4 T Cells.

PubMed

Myers, Darienne R; Lau, Tannia; Markegard, Evan; Lim, Hyung W; Kasler, Herbert; Zhu, Minghua; Barczak, Andrea; Huizar, John P; Zikherman, Julie; Erle, David J; Zhang, Weiguo; Verdin, Eric; Roose, Jeroen P

2017-05-23

CD4 + T cells differentiate into T helper cell subsets in feedforward manners with synergistic signals from the T cell receptor (TCR), cytokines, and lineage-specific transcription factors. Naive CD4 + T cells avoid spontaneous engagement of feedforward mechanisms but retain a prepared state. T cells lacking the adaptor molecule LAT demonstrate impaired TCR-induced signals yet cause a spontaneous lymphoproliferative T helper 2 (T H 2) cell syndrome in mice. Thus, LAT constitutes an unexplained maintenance cue. Here, we demonstrate that tonic signals through LAT constitutively export the repressor HDAC7 from the nucleus of CD4 + T cells. Without such tonic signals, HDAC7 target genes Nur77 and Irf4 are repressed. We reveal that Nur77 suppresses CD4 + T cell proliferation and uncover a suppressive role for Irf4 in T H 2 polarization; halving Irf4 gene-dosage leads to increases in GATA3 + and IL-4 + cells. Our studies reveal that naive CD4 + T cells are dynamically tuned by tonic LAT-HDAC7 signals. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Altered Neuromodulatory Drive May Contribute to Exaggerated Tonic Vibration Reflexes in Chronic Hemiparetic Stroke

PubMed Central

McPherson, Jacob G.; McPherson, Laura M.; Thompson, Christopher K.; Ellis, Michael D.; Heckman, Charles J.; Dewald, Julius P. A.

2018-01-01

Exaggerated stretch-sensitive reflexes are a common finding in elbow flexors of the contralesional arm in chronic hemiparetic stroke, particularly when muscles are not voluntarily activated prior to stretch. Previous investigations have suggested that this exaggeration could arise either from an abnormal tonic ionotropic drive to motoneuron pools innervating the paretic limbs, which could bring additional motor units near firing threshold, or from an increased influence of descending monoaminergic neuromodulatory pathways, which could depolarize motoneurons and amplify their responses to synaptic inputs. However, previous investigations have been unable to differentiate between these explanations, leaving the source(s) of this excitability increase unclear. Here, we used tonic vibration reflexes (TVRs) during voluntary muscle contractions of increasing magnitude to infer the sources of spinal motor excitability in individuals with chronic hemiparetic stroke. We show that when the paretic and non-paretic elbow flexors are preactivated to the same percentage of maximum prior to vibration, TVRs remain significantly elevated in the paretic arm. We also show that the rate of vibration-induced torque development increases as a function of increasing preactivation in the paretic limb, even though the amplitude of vibration-induced torque remains conspicuously unchanged as preactivation increases. It is highly unlikely that these findings could be explained by a source that is either purely ionotropic or purely neuromodulatory, because matching preactivation should control for the effects of a potential ionotropic drive (and lead to comparable tonic vibration reflex responses between limbs), while a purely monoaminergic mechanism would increase reflex magnitude as a function of preactivation. Thus, our results suggest that increased excitability of motor pools innervating the paretic limb post-stroke is likely to arise from both ionotropic and neuromodulatory mechanisms

Study on beta-galactosidase enzymatic activity of herbal yogurt.

PubMed

Chowdhury, Banani Ray; Chakraborty, Runu; Raychaudhuri, Utpal

2008-03-01

Different types of herbal yogurts were developed by mixing standardized milk with pretreated herbs, namely tulsi leaf (Ocimum sanctum), pudina leaf (Mentha arvensis) and coriander leaf (Coriandrum sativum), with leaves separately and a 1:1 (v/v) mixture of the strains of lactic starter cultures---Lactobacillus acidophilus (NCIM 2903) and Lactobacillus plantarum (NCIM 2083)-followed by incubation at 40 degrees C for 6 h. The beta-galactosidase enzymatic activity of the abovementioned herbal yogurts was determined and interestingly noted to exhibit higher enzymatic activity compared with the control yogurt (without any herbs). Among all herbal yogurts, tulsi yogurt had the maximum beta-galactosidase activity.

Adverse interactions between herbal and dietary substances and prescription medications: a clinical survey.

PubMed

Bush, Thomas M; Rayburn, Keith S; Holloway, Sandra W; Sanchez-Yamamoto, Deanna S; Allen, Blaine L; Lam, Tiffany; So, Brian K; Tran, De H; Greyber, Elizabeth R; Kantor, Sophia; Roth, Larry W

2007-01-01

Patients often combine prescription medications with herbal and dietary substances (herein referred to as herbal medicines). A variety of potential adverse herb-drug interactions exist based on the pharmacological properties of herbal and prescription medications. To determine the incidence of potential and observed adverse herb-drug interactions in patients using herbal medicines with prescription medications. Consecutive patients were questioned about their use of herbal medicines in 6 outpatient clinics. Patients reporting use of these products provided a list of their prescription medications, which were reviewed for any potential adverse herb-drug interactions using a comprehensive natural medicine database. Any potential adverse herb-drug interactions prompted a review of the patient's chart for evidence of an observed adverse herb-drug interaction. The rate of potential and observed adverse herb-drug interactions. Eight hundred four patients were surveyed, and 122 (15%) used herbal medicines. Eighty-five potential adverse herb-drug interactions were found in 49 patients (40% of herbal medicine users). Twelve possible adverse herb-drug interactions in 8 patients (7% of herbal medicine users) were observed. In all 12 cases, the severity scores were rated as mild, including 8 cases of hypoglycemia in diabetics taking nopal (prickly pear cactus). A substantial number of potential adverse herb-drug interactions were detected and a small number of adverse herb-drug interactions observed, particularly in diabetics taking nopal. Screening for herbal medicine usage in 804 patients did not uncover any serious adverse interactions with prescription medications.

Intersection of inflammation and herbal medicine in the treatment of osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Mobasheri, Ali

2012-12-01

Herbal remedies and dietary supplements have become an important area of research and clinical practice in orthopaedics and rheumatology. Understanding the risks and benefits of using herbal medicines in the treatment of arthritis, rheumatic diseases, and musculoskeletal complaints is a key priority of physicians and their patients. This review discusses the latest advances in the use of herbal medicines for treating osteoarthritis (OA) by focusing on the most significant trends and developments. This paper sets the scene by providing a brief introduction to ethnopharmacology, Ayurvedic medicine, and nutrigenomics before discussing the scientific and mechanistic rationale for targeting inflammatory signalling pathways in OA by use of herbal medicines. Special attention is drawn to the conceptual and practical difficulties associated with translating data from in-vitro experiments to in-vivo studies. Issues relating to the low bioavailability of active ingredients in herbal medicines are discussed, as also is the need for large-scale, randomized clinical trials.

Orienting, emotion, and memory: phasic and tonic variation in heart rate predicts memory for emotional pictures in men.

PubMed

Abercrombie, Heather C; Chambers, Andrea S; Greischar, Lawrence; Monticelli, Roxanne M

2008-11-01

Arousal-related processes associated with heightened heart rate (HR) predict memory enhancement, especially for emotionally arousing stimuli. In addition, phasic HR deceleration reflects "orienting" and sensory receptivity during perception of stimuli. We hypothesized that both tonic elevations in HR as well as phasic HR deceleration during viewing of pictures would be associated with deeper encoding and better subsequent memory for stimuli. Emotional pictures are more memorable and cause greater HR deceleration than neutral pictures. Thus, we predicted that the relations between cardiac activity and memory enhancement would be most pronounced for emotionally-laden compared to neutral pictures. We measured HR in 53 males during viewing of unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant pictures, and tested memory for the pictures two days later. Phasic HR deceleration during viewing of individual pictures was greater for subsequently remembered than forgotten pictures across all three emotion categories. Elevated mean HR across the entire encoding epoch also predicted better memory performance, but only for emotionally arousing pictures. Elevated mean HR and phasic HR deceleration were associated, such that individuals with greater tonic HR also showed greater HR decelerations during picture viewing, but only for emotionally arousing pictures. Results suggest that tonic elevations in HR are associated both with greater orienting and heightened memory for emotionally arousing stimuli.

Orienting, emotion, and memory: Phasic and tonic variation in heart rate predicts memory for emotional pictures in men

PubMed Central

Abercrombie, Heather C.; Chambers, Andrea S.; Greischar, Lawrence; Monticelli, Roxanne M.

2008-01-01

Arousal-related processes associated with heightened heart rate (HR) predict memory enhancement, especially for emotionally arousing stimuli. In addition, phasic HR deceleration reflects “orienting” and sensory receptivity during perception of stimuli. We hypothesized that both tonic elevations in HR as well as phasic HR deceleration during viewing of pictures would be associated with deeper encoding and better subsequent memory for stimuli. Emotional pictures are more memorable and cause greater HR deceleration than neutral pictures. Thus, we predicted that the relations between cardiac activity and memory enhancement would be most pronounced for emotionally-laden compared to neutral pictures. We measured HR in 53 males during viewing of unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant pictures, and tested memory for the pictures two days later. Phasic HR deceleration during viewing of individual pictures was greater for subsequently remembered than forgotten pictures across all three emotion categories. Elevated mean HR across the entire encoding epoch also predicted better memory performance, but only for emotionally arousing pictures. Elevated mean HR and phasic HR deceleration were associated, such that individuals with greater tonic HR also showed greater HR decelerations during picture viewing, but only for emotionally arousing pictures. Results suggest that tonic elevations in HR are associated both with greater orienting and heightened memory for emotionally arousing stimuli. PMID:18755284

HPTLC Fingerprint Analysis: A Quality Control for Authentication of Herbal Phytochemicals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ram, Mauji; Abdin, M. Z.; Khan, M. A.; Jha, Prabhakar

Authentication and consistent quality are the basic requirement for Indian traditional medicine (TIM), Chinese traditional herbal medicine (TCHM), and their commercial products, regardless of the kind of research conducted to modernize the TIM and TCHM. The complexities of TIM and TCHM challenge the current official quality control mode, for which only a few biochemical markers were selected for identification and quantitative assay. Referring too many unknown factors existed in TIM and TCHM, it is impossible and unnecessary to pinpoint qualitatively and quantitatively every single component contained in the herbal drug. Chromatographic fingerprint is a rational option to meet the need for more effective and powerful quality assessment to TIM and TCHM. The optimized chromatographic fingerprint is not only an alternative analytical tool for authentication, but also an approach to express the various pattern of chemical ingredients distribution in the herbal drugs and preserve such "database" for further multifaced sustainable studies. Analytical separation techniques, for example, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS) were among the most popular methods of choice used for quality control of raw material and finished herbal product. Fingerprint analysis approach using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) has become the most potent tool for quality control of herbal medicines because of its simplicity and reliability. It can serve as a tool for identification, authentication, and quality control of herbal drugs. In this chapter, attempts are being made to expand the use of HPTLC and at the same time create interest among prospective researcher in herbal analysis. The developed method can be used as a quality control tool for rapid authentication from a wide variety of herbal samples. Some examples demonstrated the role of fingerprinting in quality control and assessment.

Antioxidative and antimutagenic activities of healthy herbal drinks from Chinese medicinal herbs.

PubMed

Chen, Wenlung; Weng, Yih-Ming; Tseng, Chin-Yin

2003-01-01

Twenty-nine Chinese medicinal herbs and three healthy herbal drinks made of those herbs in a food processing pilot plant were tested for their antioxidative, free radical scavenging, mutagenic and antimutagenic activities. Water extracts of herbs (with few exceptions) and herbal drinks showed free radical scavenging activity. All water extracts of herbs and herbal drinks showed no mutagenicity toward Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98 and TA100 used in the Ames mutagenic tests. In the antimutagenic tests, the mutagenic activity of 4-nitroquinoline N-oxide (NQNO) toward S. typhimurium TA98 was markedly inhibited by water extracts of herbs and herbal drinks. Based on the results, it is suggested that the herbal drinks manufactured in pilot-plant scale are safe and can be served as health-promoting drinks for the public.

Risks and benefits of commonly used herbal medicines in Mexico.

PubMed

Rodriguez-Fragoso, Lourdes; Reyes-Esparza, Jorge; Burchiel, Scott W; Herrera-Ruiz, Dea; Torres, Eliseo

2008-02-15

In Mexico, local empirical knowledge about medicinal properties of plants is the basis for their use as home remedies. It is generally accepted by many people in Mexico and elsewhere in the world that beneficial medicinal effects can be obtained by ingesting plant products. In this review, we focus on the potential pharmacologic bases for herbal plant efficacy, but we also raise concerns about the safety of these agents, which have not been fully assessed. Although numerous randomized clinical trials of herbal medicines have been published and systematic reviews and meta-analyses of these studies are available, generalizations about the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines are clearly not possible. Recent publications have also highlighted the unintended consequences of herbal product use, including morbidity and mortality. It has been found that many phytochemicals have pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interactions with drugs. The present review is limited to some herbal medicines that are native or cultivated in Mexico and that have significant use. We discuss the cultural uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological, and toxicological properties of the following plant species: nopal (Opuntia ficus), peppermint (Mentha piperita), chaparral (Larrea divaricata), dandlion (Taraxacum officinale), mullein (Verbascum densiflorum), chamomile (Matricaria recutita), nettle or stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), linden flower (Tilia europea), and aloe (Aloe vera). We conclude that our knowledge of the therapeutic benefits and risks of some herbal medicines used in Mexico is still limited and efforts to elucidate them should be intensified.

Risks and benefits of commonly used herbal medicines in Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodriguez-Fragoso, Lourdes; Reyes-Esparza, Jorge; Burchiel, Scott W.

In Mexico, local empirical knowledge about medicinal properties of plants is the basis for their use as home remedies. It is generally accepted by many people in Mexico and elsewhere in the world that beneficial medicinal effects can be obtained by ingesting plant products. In this review, we focus on the potential pharmacologic bases for herbal plant efficacy, but we also raise concerns about the safety of these agents, which have not been fully assessed. Although numerous randomized clinical trials of herbal medicines have been published and systematic reviews and meta-analyses of these studies are available, generalizations about the efficacymore » and safety of herbal medicines are clearly not possible. Recent publications have also highlighted the unintended consequences of herbal product use, including morbidity and mortality. It has been found that many phytochemicals have pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interactions with drugs. The present review is limited to some herbal medicines that are native or cultivated in Mexico and that have significant use. We discuss the cultural uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological, and toxicological properties of the following plant species: nopal (Opuntia ficus), peppermint (Mentha piperita), chaparral (Larrea divaricata), dandlion (Taraxacum officinale), mullein (Verbascum densiflorum), chamomile (Matricaria recutita), nettle or stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), linden flower (Tilia europea), and aloe (Aloe vera). We conclude that our knowledge of the therapeutic benefits and risks of some herbal medicines used in Mexico is still limited and efforts to elucidate them should be intensified.« less

Unmonitored use of herbal medicine by patients with breast cancer: reframing expectations.

PubMed

Samuels, Noah; Ben-Arye, Eran; Maimon, Yair; Berger, Raanan

2017-11-01

To identify the unmonitored use of herbal medicine by female patients with breast cancer, examining the impact of an integrative physician (IP) consultation on this practice. The files of 269 female patients with breast cancer following an IP consultation were surveyed retrospectively for use of herbal medicine for cancer-related goals. Expectations from the IP consultation and adherence to the IP-guided treatments were examined as well. Among the cohort, 111 (41.3%) reported using herbal medicine for cancer-related goals, unmonitored by their oncology healthcare professional. Factors predicting herbal medicine use were the adoption of dietary changes (odds ratio = 13.6, p < 0.001, CI 7.16-26.0) and the expectation that the IP consultation and treatments would address cancer-related goals (odds ratio = 3.29, p = 0.001, CI 1.64-6.6). Patients with metastatic disease were more likely to be using herbal medicine than non-users (34.5 vs. 22.8%; p = 0.088), as were those who had consulted with a complementary/alternative medicine practitioner (54.9 vs. 20.8%; p = 0.005). The IP advised 17 patients (15.3%) to stop taking specific herbal products due to safety-related concerns; and 10 patients to take dietary supplements for relief of specific symptoms. Herbal medicine users were less likely than non-users to adhere to the IP-recommended treatment program (34.7 vs. 48.3%; p = 0.037). Unmonitored use of herbal medicine by patients with breast cancer is more frequent among those adopting dietary changes for cancer-related goals. Integrative physicians provide evidence-based guidance on the safe and effective use of herbal products, and reframe patient expectations from cancer-related goals to reducing symptoms and improving quality of life.

Relaxation - Induced by Vibroacoustic Stimulation via a Body Monochord and via Relaxation Music - Is Associated with a Decrease in Tonic Electrodermal Activity and an Increase of the Salivary Cortisol Level in Patients with Psychosomatic Disorders.

PubMed

Sandler, Hubertus; Fendel, Uta; Buße, Petra; Rose, Matthias; Bösel, Rainer; Klapp, Burghard F

2017-01-01

Vibroacoustic stimulation by a Body Monochord can induce relaxation states of various emotional valence. The skin conductance level (SCL) of the tonic electrodermal activity is an indicator of sympathetic arousal of the autonomic nervous system and thus an indicator of the relaxation response. Salivary cortisol is considered to be a stress indicator of the HPA-axis. The effects of the treatment with a Body Monochord and listening to relaxation music (randomized chronological presentation) on SCL and salivary cortisol in relation to the emotional valence of the experience were examined in patients with psychosomatic disorders (N = 42). Salivary cortisol samples were collected immediately before and after the expositions. Subjective experience was measured via self-rating scales. Overall, both the exposure to the Body Monochord as well as the exposure to the relaxation music induced an improvement of patients' mood and caused a highly significant reduction of SCL. A more emotionally positive experience of relaxation correlated with a slightly stronger reduction of the SCL. Both treatment conditions caused a slight increase in salivary cortisol, which was significant after exposure to the first treatment. The increase of salivary cortisol during a relaxation state is contrary to previous findings. It is possible that the relaxation state was experienced as an emotional challenge, due to inner images and uncommon sensations that might have occurred.

Consumption of herbal remedies and dietary supplements amongst patients hospitalized in medical wards

PubMed Central

Goldstein, Lee H; Elias, Mazen; Ron-Avraham, Gilat; Biniaurishvili, Ben Zion; Madjar, Magali; Kamargash, Irena; Braunstein, Rony; Berkovitch, Matitiahu; Golik, Ahuva

2007-01-01

What is already known about this subject In general, use of herbal remedies and supplements is constantly rising in the western population and this may be potentially dangerous due to adverse effects and drug–herb interactions. All information up to now has been derived from the general population or outpatients. There are no publications on the rate of consumption of herbals in inpatients, or the awareness of the medical team of this fact. What this study adds Approximately 25% of patients hospitalized in internal medicine wards consume some kind of herbal or dietary supplement.Consumption is associated with higher income, nonsmoking and benign prostatic hypertrophy.The medical team was aware of the consumption in only 23% of the cases, and all drug–herbal interactions which we discovered were missed by the medical team. Aims Herbal remedies may have adverse effects and potentially serious interactions with some commonly prescribed conventional medications. Little is known about consumption of herbal remedies and dietary supplements by hospitalized patients. The aim was to evaluate the rate of consumption and characterize the patients hospitalized in internal medicine departments who consume herbal remedies and dietary supplements. Also, to assess the medical teams' awareness and assess the percentage of patients with possible drug–herb interactions. Methods Patients hospitalized in the medical wards of two hospitals in Israel were interviewed about their use of herbal remedies or dietary supplements. The medical records were searched for evidence that the medical team had knowledge of the use of herbal remedies or dietary supplements. Results Two hundred and ninety-nine hospitalized medical patients were interviewed. Of the participants, 26.8% were herbal or dietary supplement consumers (HC). On multivariate analysis the only variates associated with herbal or dietary supplement consumption were the hospital [odds ratio (OR) 2.97, 95% confidence interval

Why people use herbal medicine: insights from a focus-group study in Germany.

PubMed

Welz, Alexandra N; Emberger-Klein, Agnes; Menrad, Klaus

2018-03-15

The use of herbal medicine, as one element of complementary and alternative medicine, is increasing worldwide. Little is known about the reasons for and factors associated with its use. This study derives insights for the use of herbal medicine in Germany regarding the usage aims, role played by the type of illness, reasons for preferred usage and sources of information. Using a qualitative methodological approach, six focus groups (n = 46) were conducted. Two groups with young, middle-aged and elderly participants, respectively. After audiotaping and verbatim transcription, the data were analysed with a qualitative content analysis. We found that treating illnesses was the most frequently discussed aim for using herbal medicine over all age groups. Preventing illnesses and promoting health were less frequently mentioned overall, but were important for elderly people. Discussions on herbal medicine were associated with either mild/moderate diseases or using herbal medicine as a starting treatment before applying conventional medicine. In this context, participants emphasized the limits of herbal medicine for severe illnesses. Dissatisfaction with conventional treatment, past good experiences, positive aspects associated with herbal medicine, as well as family traditions were the most commonly-mentioned reasons why herbal medicine was preferred as treatment. Concerning information sources, independent reading and family traditions were found to be equally or even more important than consulting medicinal experts. Although herbal medicine is used mostly for treating mild to moderate illnesses and participants were aware of its limits, the combination of self-medication, non-expert consultation and missing risk awareness of herbal medicine is potentially harmful. This is particularly relevant for elderly users as, even though they appeared to be more aware of health-related issues, they generally use more medicine compared to younger ones. In light of our finding

Estrous Cycle Regulation of Extrasynaptic δ-Containing GABAA Receptor-Mediated Tonic Inhibition and Limbic Epileptogenesis

PubMed Central

Wu, Xin; Gangisetty, Omkaram; Carver, Chase Matthew

2013-01-01

The ovarian cycle affects susceptibility to behavioral and neurologic conditions. The molecular mechanisms underlying these changes are poorly understood. Deficits in cyclical fluctuations in steroid hormones and receptor plasticity play a central role in physiologic and pathophysiologic menstrual conditions. It has been suggested that synaptic GABAA receptors mediate phasic inhibition in the hippocampus and extrasynaptic receptors mediate tonic inhibition in the dentate gyrus. Here we report a novel role of extrasynaptic δ-containing GABAA receptors as crucial mediators of the estrous cycle–related changes in neuronal excitability in mice, with hippocampus subfield specificity. In molecular and immunofluorescence studies, a significant increase occurred in δ-subunit, but not α4- and γ2-subunits, in the dentate gyrus during diestrus. However, δ-subunit upregulation was not evident in the CA1 region. The δ-subunit expression was undiminished by age and ovariectomy and in mice lacking progesterone receptors, but it was significantly reduced by finasteride, a neurosteroid synthesis inhibitor. Electrophysiologic studies confirmed greater potentiation of GABA currents by progesterone-derived neurosteroid allopregnanolone in dissociated dentate gyrus granule cells in diestrus than in CA1 pyramidal cells. The baseline conductance and allopregnanolone potentiation of tonic currents in dentate granule cells from hippocampal slices were higher than in CA1 pyramidal cells. In behavioral studies, susceptibility to hippocampus kindling epileptogenesis was lower in mice during diestrus. These results demonstrate the estrous cycle–related plasticity of neurosteroid-sensitive, δ-containing GABAA receptors that mediate tonic inhibition and seizure susceptibility. These findings may provide novel insight on molecular cascades of menstrual disorders like catamenial epilepsy, premenstrual syndrome, and migraine. PMID:23667248

[Food matching based on herbal properties of formulas in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases"].

PubMed

Yan, Su-rong; Zheng, Hu-zhan; Miao, Su-fen; Wang, Yun

2015-09-01

Based on databases for herbal properties of formulas and foods recorded in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases", a case study was conducted for the food matching method according to herbal properties of formulas in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases". The result show that the method was technically feasible once the herbal properties of foods were determined. Moreover, according to herbal properties of target formulas, the compositions of foods were effectively defined. In this study, researchers determined the similarity between the food matching scheme and the target formulas in function and efficacy, provided a quantitative method for food formulation and promote the development of application technology of the herbal property theory and the compatibility theory.

Community pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes and practices towards herbal remedies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Alkharfy, K M

2010-09-01

There is an increasing trend towards consumption of complementary and alternative herbal products in many parts of the world. A cross-sectional sample of 115 community pharmacists in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was visited and information on knowledge, attitudes and practices towards herbal remedies was collected using a structured questionnaire. All pharmacists acknowledged dispensing herbal products through their pharmacies. Ginseng was the most widely used product (47%), followed by ginkgo (23%), valerian (17%) and S.t John's wort (3.5%). In general, pharmacists had poor awareness about potential herb-drug interactions. While 56% of participating pharmacists expressed concerns about the safety of herbal remedies, 30% considered them to be harmless. Community pharmacists need to be better informed about herbal products.

Clinical Effects of Thai Herbal Compress: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Dhippayom, Teerapon; Kongkaew, Chuenjid; Chaiyakunapruk, Nathorn; Dilokthornsakul, Piyameth; Sruamsiri, Rosarin; Saokaew, Surasak; Chuthaputti, Anchalee

2015-01-01

Objective. To determine the clinical effects of Thai herbal compress. Methods. International and Thai databases were searched from inception through September 2014. Comparative clinical studies investigating herbal compress for any indications were included. Outcomes of interest included level of pain, difficulties in performing activities, and time from delivery to milk secretion. Mean changes of the outcomes from baseline were compared between herbal compress and comparators by calculating mean difference. Results. A total of 13 studies which involved 778 patients were selected from 369 articles identified. The overall effects of Thai herbal compress on reducing osteoarthritis (OA) and muscle pain were not different from those of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, knee exercise, and hot compress. However, the reduction of OA pain in the herbal compress group tended to be higher than that of any comparators (weighted mean difference 0.419; 95% CI −0.004, 0.842) with moderate heterogeneity (I 2 = 58.3%, P = 0.048). When compared with usual care, herbal compress provided significantly less time from delivery to milk secretion in postpartum mothers (mean difference −394.425 minutes; 95% CI −620.084, −168.766). Conclusion. Thai herbal compress may be considered as an alternative for osteoarthritis and muscle pain and could also be used as a treatment of choice to induce lactation. PMID:25861373

Anti-foot-and-mouth disease virus effects of Chinese herbal kombucha in vivo.

PubMed

Fu, Naifang; Wu, Juncai; Lv, Lv; He, Jijun; Jiang, Shengjun

2015-01-01

The foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) is sensitive to acids and can be inactivated by exposure to low pH conditions. Spraying animals at risk of infection with suspensions of acid-forming microorganisms has been identified as a potential strategy for preventing FMD. Kombucha is one of the most strongly acid-forming symbiotic probiotics and could thus be an effective agent with which to implement this strategy. Moreover, certain Chinese herbal extracts are known to have broad-spectrum antiviral effects. Chinese herbal kombucha can be prepared by fermenting Chinese herbal extracts with a kombucha culture. Previous studies demonstrated that Chinese herbal kombucha prepared in this way efficiently inhibits FMDV replication in vitro. To assess the inhibitory effects of Chinese herbal kombucha against FMDV in vitro, swine challenged by intramuscular injection with 1000 SID50 of swine FMDV serotype O strain O/China/99 after treatment with Chinese herbal kombucha were partially protected against infection, as demonstrated by a lack of clinical symptoms and qRT-PCR analysis. In a large scale field trial, spraying cattle in an FMD outbreak zone with kombucha protected against infection. Chinese herbal kombucha may be a useful probiotic agent for managing FMD outbreaks.

Selectivity of ROCK inhibitors in the spontaneously tonic smooth muscle.

PubMed

Rattan, Satish; Patel, Chirag A

2008-03-01

The selectivity of different Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitors in the spontaneously tonic smooth muscle has not been investigated. We examined this issue using Y-27632 [(R)-(+)-trans-N-(4-pyridyl)-4-(1-aminoethyl)-cyclohexanecarbox anecarboxamide, 2HCl], H-1152 [(S)-(+)-(2-methyl-5-isoquinolinyl) sulfonylhomopiperazine, 2HCl], HA-1077 [(5 isoquinolinesulfonyl) homopiperazine, 2HCl], and ROCK inhibitor II [N-(4-pyridyl)-N'-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)urea]. We compared these inhibitors in the spontaneously tonic smooth muscle of the internal anal sphincter (IAS). ROCK, protein kinase C (PKC), and myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) activities were determined in the IAS, before and after different ROCK inhibitors. Y-27632 and H-1152 were approximately 30-fold more potent in the IAS (IC(50): 4.4 x 10(-7) and 7.9 x 10(-8) M, respectively) vs. the phasic rectal smooth muscle (RSM) (IC(50): 1.3 x 10(-5) and 2.5 x 10(-6) M, respectively). HA-1077 and ROCK inhibitor II were equipotent in the IAS vs. RSM. In the IAS, H-1152 was the most potent whereas ROCK inhibitor II is the least. Y-27632 and H-1152 caused concentration-dependent decrease in the IAS tone that correlates directly with the decreases in ROCK activity, without significant effect in the PKC and MLCK activities. This specifically selective correlation between ROCK activity and decrease in the IAS tone was absent in the case of HA-1077 and ROCK inhibitor II, which also inhibited PKC and MLCK. We conclude that the IAS tone is critically dependent on ROCK activity, and H-1152 and Y-27632 are the most selective and potent ROCK inhibitors in the IAS.

Herbal hepatotoxicity in traditional and modern medicine: actual key issues and new encouraging steps.

PubMed

Teschke, Rolf; Eickhoff, Axel

2015-01-01

Plants are natural producers of chemical substances, providing potential treatment of human ailments since ancient times. Some herbal chemicals in medicinal plants of traditional and modern medicine carry the risk of herb induced liver injury (HILI) with a severe or potentially lethal clinical course, and the requirement of a liver transplant. Discontinuation of herbal use is mandatory in time when HILI is first suspected as diagnosis. Although, herbal hepatotoxicity is of utmost clinical and regulatory importance, lack of a stringent causality assessment remains a major issue for patients with suspected HILI, while this problem is best overcome by the use of the hepatotoxicity specific CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences) scale and the evaluation of unintentional reexposure test results. Sixty five different commonly used herbs, herbal drugs, and herbal supplements and 111 different herbs or herbal mixtures of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are reported causative for liver disease, with levels of causality proof that appear rarely conclusive. Encouraging steps in the field of herbal hepatotoxicity focus on introducing analytical methods that identify cases of intrinsic hepatotoxicity caused by pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and on omics technologies, including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and assessing circulating micro-RNA in the serum of some patients with intrinsic hepatotoxicity. It remains to be established whether these new technologies can identify idiosyncratic HILI cases. To enhance its globalization, herbal medicine should universally be marketed as herbal drugs under strict regulatory surveillance in analogy to regulatory approved chemical drugs, proving a positive risk/benefit profile by enforcing evidence based clinical trials and excellent herbal drug quality.

Herbal hepatotoxicity in traditional and modern medicine: actual key issues and new encouraging steps

PubMed Central

Teschke, Rolf; Eickhoff, Axel

2015-01-01

Plants are natural producers of chemical substances, providing potential treatment of human ailments since ancient times. Some herbal chemicals in medicinal plants of traditional and modern medicine carry the risk of herb induced liver injury (HILI) with a severe or potentially lethal clinical course, and the requirement of a liver transplant. Discontinuation of herbal use is mandatory in time when HILI is first suspected as diagnosis. Although, herbal hepatotoxicity is of utmost clinical and regulatory importance, lack of a stringent causality assessment remains a major issue for patients with suspected HILI, while this problem is best overcome by the use of the hepatotoxicity specific CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences) scale and the evaluation of unintentional reexposure test results. Sixty five different commonly used herbs, herbal drugs, and herbal supplements and 111 different herbs or herbal mixtures of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are reported causative for liver disease, with levels of causality proof that appear rarely conclusive. Encouraging steps in the field of herbal hepatotoxicity focus on introducing analytical methods that identify cases of intrinsic hepatotoxicity caused by pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and on omics technologies, including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and assessing circulating micro-RNA in the serum of some patients with intrinsic hepatotoxicity. It remains to be established whether these new technologies can identify idiosyncratic HILI cases. To enhance its globalization, herbal medicine should universally be marketed as herbal drugs under strict regulatory surveillance in analogy to regulatory approved chemical drugs, proving a positive risk/benefit profile by enforcing evidence based clinical trials and excellent herbal drug quality. PMID:25954198

The Endocannabinoid System Tonically Regulates Inhibitory Transmission and Depresses the Effect of Ethanol in Central Amygdala

PubMed Central

Roberto, Marisa; Cruz, Maureen; Bajo, Michal; Siggins, George R; Parsons, Loren H; Schweitzer, Paul

2010-01-01

The central amygdala (CeA) has a major role in alcohol dependence and reinforcement, and behavioral and neurochemical evidence suggests a role for the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in ethanol binging and dependence. We used a slice preparation to investigate the physiological role of cannabinoids and their interaction with ethanol on inhibitory synaptic transmission in CeA. Superfusion of the cannabinoid receptor (CB1) agonist WIN55212-2 (WIN2) onto CeA neurons decreased evoked GABAA receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in a concentration-dependent manner, an effect prevented by the CB1 antagonists Rimonabant (SR141716, SR1) and AM251. SR1 or AM251 applied alone augmented IPSPs, revealing a tonic eCB activity that decreased inhibitory transmission in CeA. Paired-pulse analysis suggested a presynaptic CB1 mechanism. Intracellular BAPTA abolished the ability of AM251 to augment IPSPs, demonstrating the eCB-driven nature and postsynaptic origin of the tonic CB1-dependent control of GABA release. Superfusion of ethanol increased IPSPs and addition of WIN2 reversed the ethanol effect. Similarly, previous superfusion of WIN2 prevented subsequent ethanol effects on GABAergic transmission. The ethanol-induced augmentation of IPSPs was additive to CB1 blockade, ruling out a participation of CB1 in the action of acute ethanol. Our study points to an important role of CB1 in CeA in which the eCBs tonically regulate neuronal activity, and suggests a potent mechanism for modulating CeA tone during challenge with ethanol. PMID:20463657

Focal clonus elicited by electrical stimulation of the motor cortex in humans.

PubMed

Hamer, Hajo M; Lüders, Hans O; Rosenow, Felix; Najm, Imad

2002-09-01

Focal clonic seizures are a frequent epileptic phenomenon. However, there are little data about their pathomechanism. In four patients with focal epilepsy and subdural electrodes, focal clonus was elicited by electrical stimulation of the motor cortex. Three additional patients underwent intraoperative stimulation of the spinal cord. Rhythmic clonic muscle responses were elicited by cortical stimulation with 20-50 Hz. The clonus consisted of simultaneous trains of compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) in agonistic and antagonistic muscles alternating with periods of muscular silence despite continuous stimulation. Clonus frequency decreased from 4.0-8.0 Hz at 50 Hz stimulation to 3.0-3.5 Hz at 20 Hz paralleled by a prolongation of the trains of CMAP. The stimulation frequency correlated with the number of stimuli blocked during relaxation. During the stable stimulation periods, the clonus frequency decreased over time. The number of stimuli which formed a train of CMAP and which were blocked during relaxation increased towards the end of the stimulation periods. Increasing intensity of stimulation at the same frequency converted a clonic to a tonic response. There was always an 1:1 relationship between stimulus and CMAP during spinal cord stimulation. We hypothesize that during cortical stimulation, clonus is elicited by synchronous activation of pyramidal tract (PT) neurons which results in excitation of intracortical GABA(B)ergic interneurons by recurrent axon-collaterals. This leads to stepwise hyperpolarization of PT neurons intermittently suppressing the output of PT neurons despite continuous stimulation. This mechanism can explain our finding that temporal and spatial summation of the stimuli were needed for clonus generation. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.

Frequency and Perceptions of Herbal Medicine use Among Hmong Americans: a Cross Sectional Survey.

PubMed

Lor, Kajua B; Moua, Sakura; Ip, Eric J

2016-04-01

To determine the frequency and perceptions of herbal medicine use among Hmong Americans. Cross-sectional telephone survey. Sacramento, California Hmong community. Out of 118 subjects reached, 77 (65.3 %) reported lifetime use of herbal medicines. A majority of respondents agreed that herbal medicines were able to treat the body as a whole. Respondents felt that a leaflet of information indicating uses/side effects would be important to include for herbal medicines. Herbal medicine use was commonly reported among Hmong Americans. Thus, health care providers should be encouraged to discuss these alternative medicines with their Hmong American patients.

[The herbals and floristic albums of Eliza Orzeszkowa].

PubMed

Kuźnicka, Barbara

2006-01-01

In many of her literary works, the writer and columnist Eliza Orzeszkowa (1841-1910), who was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature (1905, 1909), depicted the life of the Polish society in the eastern lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the second half of the 19th century. A great lover of nature, Orzeszkowa appreciated the botanical knowledge of the local rural population in the vicinities of Grodno. She combined attempts to master that knowledge with her other great passion, that of investigating folk culture, and was always ready to listen to what women who were village herbalists had to tell her about medicinal plants, and about the customs and legends connected with the medical practices based on herbal remedies. She then passed on the information to botanists for scientific verification. Orzeszkowa's naturalist and ethnographic fascinations led her to write a cycle of articles on "The people and flowers on the Niemen river", published in 1888-1891 in the ethnographic-tourist magazine "Wisła". This collection of articles has been analysed not only by historians of literature, but also, since 1985, by historians of science. The first analysis was conducted at the Section for the History of Pharmacy of the Institute of the History of Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences. This yielded Ewa Kamińska's study: Ziołoznawstwo i ziołolecznictwo w publikacjach etnograficznych Elizy Orzeszkowej [The knowledge of herbs and medicine based on herbal remedies in the ethnographic publications of Eliza Orzeszkowa] published as part of the Institute's Historia leków naturalnych [History of natural medicines], ed. Barbara Kuźnicka, vol. I: Zródła do dziejów etnofarmacji polskiej [Sources for the history of Polish ethnopharmacy], Warszawa 1996, pp.25-88. The subject-matter of the publication aroused much interest among historians of pharmacy from Poznań. The first sign of that interest could be seen in the article by Jan Majewski and S�

Future development of global regulations of Chinese herbal products.

PubMed

Fan, Tai-Ping; Deal, Greer; Koo, Hoi-Lun; Rees, Daryl; Sun, He; Chen, Shaw; Dou, Jin-Hui; Makarov, Valery G; Pozharitskaya, Olga N; Shikov, Alexander N; Kim, Yeong Shik; Huang, Yi-Tsau; Chang, Yuan Shiun; Jia, William; Dias, Alberto; Wong, Vivian Chi-Woon; Chan, Kelvin

2012-04-10

GP-TCM is the first EU-funded Coordination Action consortium dedicated to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) research. One of the key deliverables of the Work Package 7 in GP-TCM was to investigate information of the existing requirements for registration of TCM products listed by global regulatory bodies. The paper aims to collate data and draw comparison of these regulations. Case studies are also presented to illustrate the problems involved in registering TCM products in different regions worldwide. A collaborative network task force was established during the early stage of the GP-TCM project and operated through exchanges, teleconferences and focused discussions at annual meetings. The task force involved coordinators, academics who are actively involved with R&D of Chinese herbal medicines, experts on monographic standards of Chinese materia medica, representatives from regulatory agencies, experts from industries in marketing Chinese medicines/herbal medicines and natural products. The co-ordinators took turns to chair teleconferences, led discussions on specific issues at AGM discussion sessions, at joint workshops with other work-packages such as WP1 (quality issues), WP3 (toxicology issues) and WP6 (clinical trial issues). Collectively the authors were responsible for collating discussion outcomes and updating written information. A global overview of regulations on herbal registration has been compiled during the three years of the consortium. The regulatory requirements for registration of herbal products in the EU and China were compared, and this is extended to other regions/countries: Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. A wide variation of the regulations for the categories of herbal products exists: food (functional food, novel foods, dietary food for special medical purpose, foods for particular nutritional use, food supplement); cosmetic, traditional herbal medicine products; herbal

Herbal products and the liver: a review of adverse effects and mechanisms.

PubMed

Seeff, Leonard B; Bonkovsky, Herbert L; Navarro, Victor J; Wang, Guqi

2015-03-01

Herbal products have been used for centuries among indigenous people to treat symptoms and illnesses. Recently, their use in Western countries has grown significantly, rivaling that of prescription medications. Currently, herbal products are used mainly for weight loss and bodybuilding purposes but also to improve well-being and symptoms of chronic diseases. Many people believe that because they are natural, they must be effective and safe; however, these beliefs are erroneous. Few herbal products have been studied in well-designed controlled trials of patients with liver or other diseases, despite testimony to the contrary. Moreover, current highly effective antiviral drugs make efforts to treat hepatitis C with herbal products redundant. Herbal products are no safer than conventional drugs and have caused liver injury severe enough to require transplantation or cause death. Furthermore, their efficacy, safety, and claims are not assessed by regulatory agencies, and there is uncertainty about their reported and unreported contents. We review the history of commonly used herbal products, as well as their purported efficacies and mechanisms and their adverse effects. Copyright © 2015 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of Herbal Complexes Containing Licorice on Potassium Levels: A Retrospective Study

PubMed Central

Jung, WooSang; Kwon, SeungWon; Im, JinWook; Park, SeongUk; Moon, SangKwan; Park, JungMi; Ko, ChangNam; Cho, KiHo

2014-01-01

To observe the influence of these complexes on potassium levels in a clinical setting, we investigated the influence of herbal complexes containing licorice on potassium levels. We retrospectively examined the medical records of patients treated with herbal complexes containing licorice from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2010. We recorded the changes in the levels of potassium, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen and examined the differences between before and after herbal complexes intake using a paired t-test. In addition, we investigated the prevalence of hypokalemia among these patients and reviewed such patients. We identified 360 patients who did not show significant changes in the levels of potassium and creatinine (P = 0.815, 0.289). We observed hypokalemia in 6 patients. However, in 5 patients, the hypokalemia did not appear to be related to the licorice. Thus, we could suggest that herbal complexes containing licorice do not significantly influence the potassium levels in routine clinical herbal therapies. However, we propose that follow-up examination for potassium levels is required to prevent any unpredictable side effects of administration of licorice in routine herbal medicine care. PMID:25045393

The legal framework governing the quality of (traditional) herbal medicinal products in the European Union.

PubMed

Kroes, Burt H

2014-12-02

In the European Union a complex regulatory framework is in place for the regulation of (traditional) herbal medicinal products. It is based on the principle that a marketing authorisation granted by the competent authorities is required for placing medicinal products on the market. The requirements and procedures for acquiring such a marketing authorisation are laid down in regulations, directives and scientific guidelines. This paper gives an overview of the quality requirements for (traditional) herbal medicinal products that are contained in European pharmaceutical legislation. Pharmaceutical quality of medicinal product is the basis for ensuring safe and effective medicines. The basic principles governing the assurance of the quality of medicinal products in the European Union are primarily defined in the amended Directive 2001/83/EC and Directive 2003/63/EC. Quality requirements of herbal medicinal products are also laid down in scientific guidelines. Scientific guidelines provide a basis for practical harmonisation of how the competent authorities of EU Member States interpret and apply the detailed requirements for the demonstration of quality laid down in regulations and directives. Detailed quality requirements for herbal medicinal products on the European market are contained in European Union (EU) pharmaceutical legislation. They include a system of manufacturing authorisations which ensures that all herbal medicinal products on the European market are manufactured/imported only by authorised manufacturers, whose activities are regularly inspected by the competent authorities. Additionally, as starting materials only active substances are allowed which have been manufactured in accordance with the GMP for starting materials as adopted by the Community. The European regulatory framework encompasses specific requirements for herbal medicinal products. These requirements are independent from the legal status. Thus, the same quality standards equally apply

Herbal medicine for hospitalized patients with severe depressive episode: a retrospective controlled study.

PubMed

Liu, Lan-Ying; Feng, Bin; Chen, Jiong; Tan, Qing-Rong; Chen, Zheng-Xin; Chen, Wen-Song; Wang, Pei-Rong; Zhang, Zhang-Jin

2015-01-01

Herbal medicine is increasingly used in depressed patients. The purpose of this retrospective controlled study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine treatment of severe depressive episode. A total of 146 severely depressed subjects were selected from patients who were admitted to the Department of Psychosomatics of Tongde Hospital at Hangzhou, China between 1st September 2009 and 30th November 2013. While all were medicated with psychotropic drugs, 78 received additional individualized herbal medicine. The severity of depressive symptoms was measured using 24-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-24) at admission and thereafter once weekly during hospital stay. The proportion of patients achieving clinical response and remission and incidence of adverse events were compared. The two groups had similar average length of hospital stay for approximately 28 days and were not different in the use of psychotropic medications. Survival analysis revealed that patients with herbal medicine had significantly higher chance of achieving clinical response [relative risk (RR)=2.179, P<0.001] and remission (RR=5.866, P<0.001) compared to those without herbal medicine. Patients with herbal medicine experienced remarkably fewer incidences of physical tiredness, headache, palpitation, dry mouth and constipation, but had a significantly higher incidence of digestive discomfort compared to patients without herbal medicine. These results indicate that additional treatment with individualized herbal medicine enhances antidepressant response and reduces certain side effects associated with psychotropic medications. Herbal medicine is an effective and relatively safe therapy for severe depressive episode (Trial Registration: ChiCTR-OCH-13003864). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ethnobotanical survey of herbal tea plants from the traditional markets in Chaoshan, China.

PubMed

Li, Dong-Lin; Zheng, Xi-Long; Duan, Lei; Deng, Shuang-Wen; Ye, Wen; Wang, Ai-Hua; Xing, Fu-Wu

2017-06-09

Herbal tea, which refers to "cooling tea", "cool beverage", or "liáng chá" in China, includes a range of drinks with heat-clearing and detoxification qualities. Herbal tea plants are great contributive to the health and prosperity of Chaoshan people. The aim of the study was to document herbal tea plant species used and commercialized as "liáng chá" in Chaoshan area, to facilitate the use and development of herbal tea enterprises, and to promote the further development of national herbal tea. Information and data were obtained from all 83 stall holders in 12 traditional markets, semi-structured informant interviews were carried out individually with the stall holders, 10 questions were asked. In this study, 186 species of herbal tea plants belonging to 65 families and 156 genera were indicated by 83 stall holders, with Asteraceae being the most prevalent family with 22 species. Herbs are main sources of herbal tea plants in Chaoshan area, with whole plants (97 species) being the most used parts. Herbal drinks are mostly consumed for heat-clearing and detoxification, and a large number of plant species were reported to treat coughs, colds, dysentery, dampness and sore throats. The most cited species were Hedyotis corymbosa (L.) Lam. (47 times mentioned), Hedyotis diffusa Willd. (46), Plantago asiatica L. (43), Houttuynia cordata Thunb (42), Centella asiatica (L.) Urban (36), Desmodium styracifolium (Osbeck) Merr. (35) and Morus alba L. (31), and 5 protected species were recorded in the list of the nationally protected species of China: Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo, Dendrobium nobile Lindl., Anoectochilus formosanus Hayata, Bulbophyllum odoratissimum (J. E. Smith) Lindl. and Pholidota chinensis Lindl. The selling price of most fresh herbal tea plants in the market varied from￥10-16/kg, with the profit margin of sales ranging from 12.5% to 20%. The consumption of herbal tea for one family costs about ￥3-5/day. Chaoshan herbal teas, prepared by diverse

The low-dose combination preparation Vertigoheel activates cyclic nucleotide pathways and stimulates vasorelaxation.

PubMed

Heinle, H; Tober, C; Zhang, D; Jäggi, R; Kuebler, W M

2010-01-01

Vertigo of various and often unknown aetiologies has been associated with and attributed to impaired microvascular perfusion in the inner ear or the vertebrobasilar system. Vertigoheel is a low-dose combination preparation of proven value in the symptomatic treatment of vertigo. In the present study we tested the hypothesis that Vertigoheel's anti-vertiginous properties may in part be due to a vasodilatory effect exerted via stimulation of the adenylate and/or guanylate cyclase pathways. Thus, the influence of Vertigoheel or its single constituents on synthesis and degradation of cyclic nucleotides was measured. Furthermore, vessel myography was used to observe the effect of Vertigoheel on the vasoreactivity of rat carotid arteries. Vertigoheel and one of its constituents, Anamirta cocculus, stimulated adenylate cyclase activity, while another constituent, Conium maculatum, inhibited phosphodiesterase 5, suggesting that the individual constituents of Vertigoheel contribute differentially to a synergistic stimulation of cyclic nucleotide signalling pathways. In rat carotid artery rings, Vertigoheel counteracted phenylephrine-induced tonic vasoconstriction. The present data demonstrate a vasorelaxant effect of Vertigoheel that goes along with a synergistic stimulation of cyclic nucleotide pathways and may provide a mechanistic basis for the documented anti-vertiginous effects of this combination preparation.

Safety concerns of herbal products and traditional Chinese herbal medicines: Dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids and aristolochic acid

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In many countries, including the United States, herbal supplements, tisanes and vegetable products, including traditional Chinese medicines, are largely unregulated and their content is not registered, monitored or verified. Consequently, potent plant toxins including dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids ...

Peripheral chemoreceptors tune inspiratory drive via tonic expiratory neuron hubs in the medullary ventral respiratory column network.

PubMed

Segers, L S; Nuding, S C; Ott, M M; Dean, J B; Bolser, D C; O'Connor, R; Morris, K F; Lindsey, B G

2015-01-01

Models of brain stem ventral respiratory column (VRC) circuits typically emphasize populations of neurons, each active during a particular phase of the respiratory cycle. We have proposed that "tonic" pericolumnar expiratory (t-E) neurons tune breathing during baroreceptor-evoked reductions and central chemoreceptor-evoked enhancements of inspiratory (I) drive. The aims of this study were to further characterize the coordinated activity of t-E neurons and test the hypothesis that peripheral chemoreceptors also modulate drive via inhibition of t-E neurons and disinhibition of their inspiratory neuron targets. Spike trains of 828 VRC neurons were acquired by multielectrode arrays along with phrenic nerve signals from 22 decerebrate, vagotomized, neuromuscularly blocked, artificially ventilated adult cats. Forty-eight of 191 t-E neurons fired synchronously with another t-E neuron as indicated by cross-correlogram central peaks; 32 of the 39 synchronous pairs were elements of groups with mutual pairwise correlations. Gravitational clustering identified fluctuations in t-E neuron synchrony. A network model supported the prediction that inhibitory populations with spike synchrony reduce target neuron firing probabilities, resulting in offset or central correlogram troughs. In five animals, stimulation of carotid chemoreceptors evoked changes in the firing rates of 179 of 240 neurons. Thirty-two neuron pairs had correlogram troughs consistent with convergent and divergent t-E inhibition of I cells and disinhibitory enhancement of drive. Four of 10 t-E neurons that responded to sequential stimulation of peripheral and central chemoreceptors triggered 25 cross-correlograms with offset features. The results support the hypothesis that multiple afferent systems dynamically tune inspiratory drive in part via coordinated t-E neurons. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Prescription patterns of Chinese herbal products for post-surgery colon cancer patients in Taiwan.

PubMed

Chao, Te-Hsin; Fu, Pin-Kuei; Chang, Chiung-Hung; Chang, Shih-Ni; Chiahung Mao, Frank; Lin, Ching-Heng

2014-08-08

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is commonly provided to cancer patients, however, the patterns of prescriptions for this type of medicine in Taiwan are unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the use of traditional Chinese medicine products in colon cancer patients post-surgery in Taiwan and to research patterns of TCM. This was a cross-sectional study of newly diagnosed colon cancer patients who received surgery between 2004 and 2008 identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. The prescription patterns and reasons for the use of TCM for colon cancer were analyzed. The results showed that "symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions" (23.3%) and diseases of the digestive system (16.9%) were the most common reasons for using Chinese herbal medicine. Xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang (7.1%), Bu-zhong-yi-qi-tang (4.3%), Jia-wei-xiao-yao-san (4.1%), Shen-Ling-Bai-Zhu-San (3.7%), Ban-Xia-Xie-Xin-Tang (3.4%), Gui-pi-tang (2.4%), Ping-Wei-San (2.4%), Gan-Lu-Yin (2.0%), Bao-He-Wan (1.9%), and Zhen-Ren-Huo-Ming-Yin (1.8%) were the most commonly prescribed single Chinese herbal formulae (CHF) for colon cancer patients post-surgery. Hedyotis diffusa Willd (Bai Hua She She Cao) (5.1%) and Scutellaria barbata (Ban Zhi Lian )(4.8%) were the most commonly prescribed single Chinese herbs. This study identified patterns of TCM use in colon cancer patients post-surgery in Taiwan. The herbal ingredients were most commonly used for stimulate ghrelin secretion to increase food intake and had potential anti-tumor effect. However, further research is required to evaluate any beneficial effects which could identify leads for the development of new treatment strategies using TCM. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Context-dependent modulation of alphabetagamma and alphabetadelta GABA A receptors by penicillin: implications for phasic and tonic inhibition.

PubMed

Feng, Hua-Jun; Botzolakis, Emmanuel J; Macdonald, Robert L

2009-01-01

Penicillin, an open-channel blocker of GABA(A) receptors, was recently reported to inhibit phasic, but not tonic, currents in hippocampal neurons. To distinguish between isoform-specific and context-dependent modulation as possible explanations for this selectivity, the effects of penicillin were evaluated on recombinant GABA(A) receptors expressed in HEK293T cells. When co-applied with saturating GABA, penicillin decreased peak amplitude, induced rebound, and prolonged deactivation of currents evoked from both synaptic and extrasynaptic receptor isoforms. However, penicillin had isoform-specific effects on the extent of desensitization, reflecting its ability to differentially modulate peak (non-equilibrium) and residual (near-equilibrium) currents. This suggested that the context of activation could determine the apparent sensitivity of a given receptor isoform to penicillin. To test this hypothesis, we explored the ability of penicillin to modulate synaptic and extrasynaptic isoform currents that were activated under more physiologically relevant conditions. Interestingly, while currents evoked from synaptic isoforms under phasic conditions (transient activation by a saturating concentration of GABA) were substantially inhibited by penicillin, currents evoked from extrasynaptic isoforms under tonic conditions (prolonged application by a sub-saturating concentration of GABA) were minimally affected. We therefore concluded that the reported inability of penicillin to modulate tonic currents could not simply be attributed to insensitivity of extrasynaptic receptors, but rather, reflected an inability to modulate these receptors in their native context of activation.

Consumption of Chinese herbal medicines during pregnancy and postpartum: A prospective cohort study in China.

PubMed

Tang, Li; Lee, Andy H; Binns, Colin W; Hui, Yer Van; Yau, Kelvin K W

2016-03-01

to investigate usage patterns and factors associated with maternal consumption of Chinese herbal medicines in China. prospective cohort study. Information on the use of Chinese herbal medicines was collected from mothers by personal interview at hospital discharge and followed up by telephone at one, three and six months postpartum. seven hospitals in Jiangyou, Sichuan Province of China. 695 mothers who gave birth to a singleton infant. prevalence, type, frequency and duration of herbal medicine usage. Logistic mixed regression analyses were performed to determine factors affecting the use. a total of 43.5% and 45.0% of mothers consumed Chinese herbal medicines during pregnancy and postpartum, respectively. Angelica sinsensis was the most popular herbal medicine among the participants (pregnancy 28.8%, postpartum 26.8%). Although herbal medicines were taken more regularly by postpartum users, the median usage duration varied from two to three months during pregnancy but 1-1.6 months postpartum. The majority of users (pregnancy 42.9%, postpartum 55.1%) were advised by their mother or mother-in-law to take Chinese herbal medicines. Antenatal alcohol drinking (adjusted odds ratio 2.75, 95% confidence interval 1.01-7.53) was associated with a marginally higher prevalence of herbal consumption during pregnancy, whereas mothers with a lower family income (adjusted odds ratio 1.52, 95% confidence interval 1.12-2.04) were more likely to consume Chinese herbal medicines in the postpartum period. consumption of Chinese herbal medicines appears to be prevalent among Chinese mothers, especially those drinking alcohol whilst pregnant and women from a lower income household. Maternity health professionals need to be aware of the lack of evidence to support the use of Chinese herbal medicines during pregnancy and postpartum, and to provide their clients with scientifically based advice regarding herbal medicine use. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adverse events of herbal food supplements for body weight reduction: systematic review.

PubMed

Pittler, M H; Schmidt, K; Ernst, E

2005-05-01

Herbal weight-loss supplements are marketed with claims of effectiveness. Our earlier systematic review identified data from double-blind, randomized controlled trials for a number of herbal supplements. The aim of this systematic review was to assess all clinical evidence of adverse events of herbal food supplements for body weight reduction for which effectiveness data from rigorous clinical trials exist. We assessed Ephedra sinica, Garcinia cambogia, Paullinia cupana, guar gum, Plantago psyllium, Ilex paraguariensis and Pausinystalia yohimbe. Literature searches were conducted on Medline, Embase, Amed and The Cochrane Library. Data were also requested from the spontaneous reporting scheme of the World Health Organization. We hand-searched relevant medical journals and our own files. There were no restrictions regarding the language of publication. The results show that adverse events including hepatic injury and death have been reported with the use of some herbal food supplements. For herbal ephedra and ephedrine-containing food supplements an increased risk of psychiatric, autonomic or gastrointestinal adverse events and heart palpitations has been reported. In conclusion, adverse events are reported for a number of herbal food supplements, which are used for reducing body weight. Although the quality of the data does not justify definitive attribution of causality in most cases, the reported risks are sufficient to shift the risk-benefit balance against the use of most of the reviewed herbal weight-loss supplements. Exceptions are Garcinia cambogia and yerba mate, which merit further investigation.

BOKP: A DNA Barcode Reference Library for Monitoring Herbal Drugs in the Korean Pharmacopeia

PubMed Central

Liu, Jinxin; Shi, Linchun; Song, Jingyuan; Sun, Wei; Han, Jianping; Liu, Xia; Hou, Dianyun; Yao, Hui; Li, Mingyue; Chen, Shilin

2017-01-01

Herbal drug authentication is an important task in traditional medicine; however, it is challenged by the limitations of traditional authentication methods and the lack of trained experts. DNA barcoding is conspicuous in almost all areas of the biological sciences and has already been added to the British pharmacopeia and Chinese pharmacopeia for routine herbal drug authentication. However, DNA barcoding for the Korean pharmacopeia still requires significant improvements. Here, we present a DNA barcode reference library for herbal drugs in the Korean pharmacopeia and developed a species identification engine named KP-IDE to facilitate the adoption of this DNA reference library for the herbal drug authentication. Using taxonomy records, specimen records, sequence records, and reference records, KP-IDE can identify an unknown specimen. Currently, there are 6,777 taxonomy records, 1,054 specimen records, 30,744 sequence records (ITS2 and psbA-trnH) and 285 reference records. Moreover, 27 herbal drug materials were collected from the Seoul Yangnyeongsi herbal medicine market to give an example for real herbal drugs authentications. Our study demonstrates the prospects of the DNA barcode reference library for the Korean pharmacopeia and provides future directions for the use of DNA barcoding for authenticating herbal drugs listed in other modern pharmacopeias. PMID:29326593

Safety concerns of herbal products and traditional Chinese herbal medicines: Dehydopyrrolizidine alkaloids and aristolochic acid

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In many countries, including the United States, herbal supplements, tisanes and vegetable products including traditional Chinese medicines are largely unregulated and their content is not registered, monitored or verified. Consequently potent plant toxins including dehydopyrrolizidine alkaloids and...

[Application of traditional Chinese medicine reference standards in quality control of Chinese herbal pieces].

PubMed

Lu, Tu-Lin; Li, Jin-Ci; Yu, Jiang-Yong; Cai, Bao-Chang; Mao, Chun-Qin; Yin, Fang-Zhou

2014-01-01

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) reference standards plays an important role in the quality control of Chinese herbal pieces. This paper overviewed the development of TCM reference standards. By analyzing the 2010 edition of Chinese pharmacopoeia, the application of TCM reference standards in the quality control of Chinese herbal pieces was summarized, and the problems exiting in the system were put forward. In the process of improving the quality control level of Chinese herbal pieces, various kinds of advanced methods and technology should be used to research the characteristic reference standards of Chinese herbal pieces, more and more reasonable reference standards should be introduced in the quality control system of Chinese herbal pieces. This article discussed the solutions in the aspect of TCM reference standards, and future development of quality control on Chinese herbal pieces is prospected.

Anti-foot-and-mouth disease virus effects of Chinese herbal kombucha in vivo

PubMed Central

Fu, Naifang; Wu, Juncai; Lv, Lv; He, Jijun; Jiang, Shengjun

2015-01-01

Abstract The foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) is sensitive to acids and can be inactivated by exposure to low pH conditions. Spraying animals at risk of infection with suspensions of acid-forming microorganisms has been identified as a potential strategy for preventing FMD. Kombucha is one of the most strongly acid-forming symbiotic probiotics and could thus be an effective agent with which to implement this strategy. Moreover, certain Chinese herbal extracts are known to have broad-spectrum antiviral effects. Chinese herbal kombucha can be prepared by fermenting Chinese herbal extracts with a kombucha culture. Previous studies demonstrated that Chinese herbal kombucha prepared in this way efficiently inhibits FMDV replication in vitro. To assess the inhibitory effects of Chinese herbal kombucha against FMDV in vitro, swine challenged by intramuscular injection with 1000 SID50 of swine FMDV serotype O strain O/China/99 after treatment with Chinese herbal kombucha were partially protected against infection, as demonstrated by a lack of clinical symptoms and qRT-PCR analysis. In a large scale field trial, spraying cattle in an FMD outbreak zone with kombucha protected against infection. Chinese herbal kombucha may be a useful probiotic agent for managing FMD outbreaks. PMID:26691487

Near Infrared Spectroscopy Detection and Quantification of Herbal Medicines Adulterated with Sibutramine.

PubMed

da Silva, Neirivaldo Cavalcante; Honorato, Ricardo Saldanha; Pimentel, Maria Fernanda; Garrigues, Salvador; Cervera, Maria Luisa; de la Guardia, Miguel

2015-09-01

There is an increasing demand for herbal medicines in weight loss treatment. Some synthetic chemicals, such as sibutramine (SB), have been detected as adulterants in herbal formulations. In this study, two strategies using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy have been developed to evaluate potential adulteration of herbal medicines with SB: a qualitative screening approach and a quantitative methodology based on multivariate calibration. Samples were composed by products commercialized as herbal medicines, as well as by laboratory adulterated samples. Spectra were obtained in the range of 14,000-4000 per cm. Using PLS-DA, a correct classification of 100% was achieved for the external validation set. In the quantitative approach, the root mean squares error of prediction (RMSEP), for both PLS and MLR models, was 0.2% w/w. The results prove the potential of NIR spectroscopy and multivariate calibration in quantifying sibutramine in adulterated herbal medicines samples. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Herbal medicine for low back pain.

PubMed

Gagnier, J J; van Tulder, M; Berman, B; Bombardier, C

2006-04-19

Low-back pain is a common condition and a substantial economic burden in industrialized societies. A large proportion of patients with chronic low-back pain use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), visit CAM practitioners, or both. Several herbal medicines have been purported for use in low-back pain. To determine the effectiveness of herbal medicine for non-specific low-back pain. We searched the following electronic databases: Cochrane Complementary Medicine Field Trials Register (Issue 3, 2005), MEDLINE (1966 to July 2005), EMBASE (1980 to July 2005); checked reference lists in review articles, guidelines and retrieved trials; and personally contacted individuals with expertise in this very specialized area. We included randomized controlled trials, examining adults (over 18 years of age) suffering from acute, sub-acute or chronic non-specific low-back pain. The interventions were herbal medicines, defined as plants that are used for medicinal purposes in any form. Primary outcome measures were pain and function. Two authors (JJG & MVT) conducted the database searches. One author contacted content experts and acquired relevant citations. Full references and abstracts of the identified studies were downloaded. A hard copy was retrieved for final inclusion decisions. Methodological quality and clinical relevance were assessed separately by two individuals. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. Ten trials were included in this review. Two high quality trials examining the effects of Harpagophytum Procumbens (Devil's Claw) found strong evidence that daily doses standardized to 50 mg or 100 mg harpagoside were better than placebo for short-term improvements in pain and rescue medication. Another high quality trial demonstrated relative equivalence to 12.5 mg per day of rofecoxib (Vioxx). Two trials examining the effects of Salix Alba (White Willow Bark) found moderate evidence that daily doses standardized to 120 mg or 240 mg salicin were better than

Quantification of synthetic cannabinoids in herbal smoking blends using NMR.

PubMed

Dunne, Simon J; Rosengren-Holmberg, Jenny P

2017-05-01

Herbal smoking blends containing synthetic cannabinoids have become popular alternatives to marijuana. These products were previously sold in pre-packaged foil bags, but nowadays seizures usually contain synthetic cannabinoid powders together with unprepared plant materials. A question often raised by the Swedish police is how much smoking blend can be prepared from certain amounts of banned substance, in order to establish the severity of the crime. To address this question, information about the synthetic cannabinoid content in both the powder and the prepared herbal blends is necessary. In this work, an extraction procedure compatible with direct NMR quantification of synthetic cannabinoids in herbal smoking blends was developed. Extraction media, time and efficiency were tested for different carrier materials containing representative synthetic cannabinoids. The developed protocol utilizes a 30 min extraction step in d 4 -methanol in presence of internal standard allowing direct quantitation of the extract using NMR. The accuracy of the developed method was tested using in-house prepared herbal smoking blends. The results showed deviations less than 0.2% from the actual content, proving that the method is sufficiently accurate for these quantifications. Using this method, ten synthetic cannabinoids present in sixty-three different herbal blends seized by the Swedish police between October 2012 and April 2015 were quantified. Obtained results showed a variation in cannabinoid contents from 1.5% (w/w) for mixtures containing MDMB-CHMICA to over 5% (w/w) for mixtures containing 5F-AKB-48. This is important information for forensic experts when making theoretical calculations of production quantities in legal cases regarding "home-made" herbal smoking blends. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The use of Chinese herbal drugs in Islamic medicine.

PubMed

Heyadri, Mojtaba; Hashempur, Mohammad Hashem; Ayati, Mohammad Hosein; Quintern, Detlev; Nimrouzi, Majid; Heyadri, Mojtaba

2015-11-01

This paper investigates some of the ways that Chinese medicine has been transferred to the Western world and to Islamic territories. During the Golden Age of Islam (8th to 13th century CE), the herbal drug trade promoted significant commercial and scientific exchange between China and the Muslim world. Chinese herbal drugs have been described by medieval Muslim medical scholars such as Tabari (870 CE), Rhazes (925 CE), Haly Abbas (982 CE), Avicenna (1037 CE) and Jurjani (1137 CE). The term al-sin (the Arabic word for China) is used 46 times in Avicenna's Canon of Medicine in reference to herbal drugs imported from China. Cinnamon (dar sini; "Chinese herb"), wild ginger (asaron), rhubarb (rivand-e sini), nutmeg (basbasa), incense tree wood (ood), cubeb (kababe) and sandalwood (sandal) were the most frequently mentioned Chinese herbs in Islamic medical books. There are also multiple similarities between the clinical uses of these herbs in both medical systems. It appears that Chinese herbal drugs were a major component of the exchange of goods and knowledge between China and the Islamic and later to the Western world amid this era.

Role of herbal bioactives as a potential bioavailability enhancer for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients.

PubMed

Ajazuddin; Alexander, Amit; Qureshi, Azra; Kumari, Leena; Vaishnav, Pramudita; Sharma, Mukesh; Saraf, Swarnlata; Saraf, Shailendra

2014-09-01

The current review emphasizes on the herbal bioenhancers which themselves do not possess inherent pharmacological activity of their own but when co-administered with Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), enhances their bioavailability and efficacy. Herbal bioenhancers play a crucial role in enhancing the bioavailability and bioefficacy of different classes of drugs, such as antihypertensives, anticancer, antiviral, antitubercular and antifungal drugs at low doses. This paper highlights various natural compounds that can be utilized as an efficient bioenhancer. Several herbal compounds including piperine, quercetin, genistein, naringin, sinomenine, curcumin, and glycyrrhizin have demonstrated capability to improve the pharmacokinetic parameters of several potent API. This article also focuses on various United States patents on herbal bioenhancers, which has proved to be beneficial in improving oral absorption of nutraceuticals like vitamins, minerals, amino acids and certain herbal compounds. The present paper also describes proposed mechanism of action, which mainly includes absorption process, drug metabolism, and action on drug target. The herbal bioenhancers are easily available, safe, free from side effects, minimizes drug toxicity, shortens the duration of treatment, lowers the drug resistance problems and minimizes the cost of treatment. Inspite of the fact that herbal bioenhancers provide an innovative concept for enhancing the bioavailability of several potent drugs, there are numerous bioenhancers of herbal origin that are yet to be explored in several vital areas. These bioenhancers must also be implied to enhance the bioavailability and bioefficacy through routes other than the oral route of drug delivery. There is a vast array of unexploited plants which can be investigated for their drug bioenhancing potency. The toxicity profiles of these herbal bioenhancers must not be overlooked. Researches must be carried out to solve these issues and to

Safety classification of herbal medicines used among pregnant women in Asian countries: a systematic review.

PubMed

Ahmed, Mansoor; Hwang, Jung Hye; Choi, Soojeung; Han, Dongwoon

2017-11-14

High prevalence of herbal medicines used in pregnancy and the lack of information on their safety is a public concern. Despite this, no significant research has been done regarding potential adverse effects of using herbal medicines during pregnancy, especially among developing Asian countries. Cross-sectional studies were searched up to year 2016 on PubMed/Medline and EMBASE, the data were extracted and quality of studies was assessed using the quality appraisal tool. The findings are reported in accordance to the PRISMA checklist (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). Classification on safety of identified herbal medicines was done based on current scientific literature. This study included eight cross-sectional studies (2729 participants) from seven different Asian countries, of which 1283 (47.01%) women used one or more herbal medicines during pregnancy. Peppermint (22.8%), aniseed (14.7%), olibanum (12.9%), flixweed seed (12.2%) and ginger (11.5%) were the most frequently used herbal medicines. Out of the 33 identified herbal medicines, 13 were classified as safe to use, five as use with caution, eight were potentially harmful to use in pregnancy and information on seven herbal medicines was not available in the current literature. Several herbal medicines identified in this review were classified to be potentially harmful or the information regarding safety in pregnancy was missing. It is recommended that contraindicated herbal medicines should be avoided and other herbals should be taken under supervision of a qualified health care practitioner. The classification regarding safety of herbal medicines in pregnancy can be utilized to create awareness on prevention of adverse effects.

Knowledge and characteristics of herbal supplement usage among community pharmacy customers in a Malaysian population.

PubMed

Yeong, S W; Choong, Y C

2017-12-01

We investigated the knowledge and characteristics of herbal supplement usage of the customers of community pharmacies in a Malaysian population. Self-administered questionnaires (in English, Malay, or Chinese) were provided to customers at three community pharmacies in Malaysia (Ipoh, Perak). Questionnaire validation and translation validation were performed. A pilot study was conducted before actual questionnaire distribution. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Total number of participants was 270 (99 males and 171 females) with majority from the 31-50 age group (41.5%). Among the participants, 45.6% were herbal users. The most commonly used herbal supplements were evening primrose oil (17.9%), ginkgo biloba (13.0%), and milk thistle (8.5%). The participants seemed to have sufficient knowledge regarding herbal supplements including safety, quality, and indication of use from medical literature. Participants obtained information about herbal supplements from pharmacists (26.9%), package inserts (25.2%), friends (20.5%), and the Internet (13.3%) more often than from their doctors (9.8%). Most herbal users did not inform their doctors about their usage of herbal supplements (68.3%) or the side effects (61.5%). Herbal supplement users also tended to be women, >50-year-old, and those with higher monthly household incomes. Community pharmacists have a vital role in educating their customers about the safe use of herbal supplements. The participants had sufficient knowledge about herbal supplement usage; therefore, customers of these community pharmacies may have benefitted from the advice of the pharmacists. Further studies could be carried out in future on the knowledge, skills and roles of community pharmacists in the safe use of herbal supplements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[A cold/heat property classification strategy based on bio-effects of herbal medicines].

PubMed

Jiang, Miao; Lv, Ai-Ping

2014-06-01

The property theory of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is regarded as the core and basic of Chinese medical theory, however, the underlying mechanism of the properties in CHMs remains unclear, which impedes a barrier for the modernization of Chinese herbal medicine. The properties of CHM are often categorized into cold and heat according to the theory of Chinese medicine, which are essential to guide the clinical application of CHMs. There is an urgent demand to build a cold/heat property classification model to facilitate the property theory of Chinese herbal medicine, as well as to clarify the controversial properties of some herbs. Based on previous studies on the cold/heat properties of CHM, in this paper, we described a novel strategy on building a cold/heat property classification model based on herbal bio-effect. The interdisciplinary cooperation of systems biology, pharmacological network, and pattern recognition technique might lighten the study on cold/heat property theory, provide a scientific model for determination the cold/heat property of herbal medicines, and a new strategy for expanding the Chinese herbal medicine resources as well.

Preparation and Evaluation of Herbal Shampoo Powder

PubMed Central

Dubey, Sachin; Nema, Neelesh; Nayak, S.

2004-01-01

Two preparations of herbal shampoo powder were formulated using some common traditional drugs used by folk and traditional people of Bundelkhand region (M.P) India, for hair care. The preparations were formulated using bahera, amla, neem tulsi, shikakai henna & brahmi evaluated for organoleptic, powder charecterestics, foam test and physical evaluation. As the selected drugs being used since long time as single drug or in combination, present investigations will further help to establish a standard formulation and evaluation parameters, which will certainly help in the standardization for quality and purity of such type of herbal powder shampoos. PMID:22557149

Development of taste sensor system for differentiation of Indonesian herbal medicines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaltsum, U.; Triyana, K.; Siswanta, D.

2014-09-01

In Indonesia, herbal medicines are usually produced by small and medium enterprises which are relatively low in quality control. The purpose of this paper is to report that we have developed a taste sensor system with global selectivity, i.e., electronic tongue (e-tongue) for differentiation of Indonesian herbal medicines. The e-tongue was composed of five kinds of ion selective electrodes as working electrodes, data acquisition system, and pattern recognition system. Each ion selective electrode (ISE) was built by attaching lipid/polymer membrane. For this purpose, the five kinds of membranes were built by mixing lipid, plasticizer (nitrophenyl octyl ether/NPOE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and tetrahydrofuran (THF). In this study, we employed five kinds of lipid, namely oleic acid (OA), dioctyl phosphate (DOP), decyl alcohol (DA), dodecylamine (DDC), and trioctyl methyl ammonium chloride (TOMA). In this case, the membranes transform information of taste substances into electric signal. The five kinds of Indonesian herbal medicine were purchased from local supermarket in Yogyakarta, i.e., kunyit asam (made from turmeric and tamarind), beras kencur (made from rice and kencur), jahe wangi (made from ginger and fragrance), sirih wangi (made from betel leaf), and temulawak (made from Javanese ginger). Prior to detecting the taste from the Indonesian herbal medicine samples, each ion selective electrode was tested with five basic taste samples, i.e., for saltiness, sweetness, umami, bitterness, and sourness. All ISEs showed global selectivity to all samples. Furthermore, the array of ISEs showed specific response pattern to each Indonesian herbal medicine. For pattern recognition system, we employed principle component analysis (PCA). As a result, the e-tongue was able to differentiate five kinds of Indonesian herbal medicines, proven by the total variance of first and second principle components is about 93%. For the future, the e-tongue may be developed for quality

Preclinical efficacy and safety of herbal formulation for management of wounds.

PubMed

Ogwang, P E; Nyafuono, J; Agwaya, Moses; Omujal, F; Tumusiime, H R; Kyakulaga, A H

2011-09-01

Medicinal plants in Uganda and other developing countries have been scientifically demonstrated to have medicinal benefits but few or none have been translated to products for clinical use. Most herbal products developed by local herbalists and sold to the public are not standardized and lack efficacy and safety data to support use. To formulate from two Ugandan medicinal plants a herbal product for wound management and test its preclinical safety and efficacy using rat models. Thirty (30) Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into three groups and wounds were surgically created on the mid-dorsal region. The wounds were treated topically with distilled water (group I), Jena(®) (group II)and Neomycin sulfate cream (group III). The effects of the treatments on rate of wound closure, epithelialisation time and histological organization of tissue were assessed. The herbal formulation (Jena) had a significantly higher rate of wound closure than neomycin (p<0.05) which itself was better than distilled water. Epithelialisation time was also significantly shorter for the herbal product (p<0.01). Histological picture revealed more collagen fibers, less inflammation and better tissue remodeling for rats treated with herbal product. The herbal formulation Jena(®) systematically designed and formulated based on two Ugandan medicinal plants is according to this study better than neomycin and probably other imported products for wound management in Uganda. We recommend its trial in a clinical setting as an alternative in wound management.

Risks and Benefits of Commonly used Herbal Medicines in México

PubMed Central

Rodriguez-Fragoso, Lourdes; Reyes-Esparza, Jorge; Burchiel, Scott; Herrera-Ruiz, Dea; Torres, Eliseo

2008-01-01

In Mexico, local empirical knowledge about medicinal properties of plants is the basis for their use as home remedies. It is generally accepted by many people in Mexico and elsewhere in the world that beneficial medicinal effects can be obtained by ingesting plant products. In this review, we focus on the potential pharmacologic bases for herbal plant efficacy, but we also raise concerns about the safety of these agents, which have not been fully assessed. Although numerous randomized clinical trials of herbal medicines have been published and systematic reviews and meta-analyses of these studies are available, generalizations about the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines are clearly not possible. Recent publications have also highlighted the unintended consequences of herbal product use, including morbidity and mortality. It has been found that many phytochemicals have pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interactions with drugs. The present review is limited to some herbal medicine that are native or cultivated in Mexico and that have significant use. We discuss the cultural uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological and toxicological properties of the following following plant species: Nopal (Opuntia ficus), Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Chaparral (Larrea divaricata), Dandlion (Taraxacum officinale), Mullein (Verbascum densiflorum), Chamomile (Matricaria recutita), Nettle or Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica), Passionflower (Passiflora incarmata), Linden Flower (Tilia europea), and Aloa (Aloa vera). We conclude that our knowledge of the therapeutic benefits and risks of some herbal medicines used in Mexico is still limited and efforts to elucidate them should be intensified. PMID:18037151

A billion cups: The diversity, traditional uses, safety issues and potential of Chinese herbal teas.

PubMed

Fu, Yao; Yang, Jin-Chao; Cunningham, Anthony B; Towns, Alexandra Maria; Zhang, Yu; Yang, Hua-Ying; Li, Jian-Wen; Yang, Xue-Fei

2018-08-10

Herbal teas have long been consumed by Chinese people for preventive and/or therapeutic healthcare. Although herbal teas are widely consumed by many cultural groups in different regions of China, no thorough review has been undertaken to assess the diversity of the country's herbal tea usage. This literature review, complemented by a quantitative survey in an important tea market in Kunming, begins to fill this knowledge gap. The study aims to summarize the current knowledge of plant species used as herbal teas by different cultural groups in different regions of China, with a focus on the teas' perceived traditional healthcare functions, related phytochemical/pharmaceutical research, and safety issues. The study involved a comprehensive literature review and a market survey. The literature review was based on published ethnobotanical studies of herbal teas in China. We searched the Web of Science™, ELSEVIER, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and the China Science and Technology Journal Database to locate relevant studies (including journal articles, Masters/PhD dissertations and books) that were published before March 2017. A species list was compiled based on the review and supplemented with information retrieved from the Scifinder database (https://scifinder.cas.org) and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010). A Use Value Index was employed for ranking the most cited species. Based on the 29 most cited species, we discussed the current research status in relation to healthcare benefits and safety concerns of herbal teas in China. To better understand the current status of the herbal tea market in China, we also surveyed 136 tea vendors at the Xiongda Tea Market in Kunming. Information gathered from the survey included the species sold, the sale prices and the form of the herbal tea product. The literature identified 759 plant species used as herbal tea in China and the market survey identified an additional 23 species. Most of the species used were

Chinese Herbal Medicine on Cardiovascular Diseases and the Mechanisms of Action.

PubMed

Liu, Cuiqing; Huang, Yu

2016-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases are the principal cause of death worldwide. The potentially serious adverse effects of therapeutic drugs lead to growing awareness of the role of Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Chinese herbal medicine has been widely used in many countries especially in China from antiquity; however, the mechanisms by which herbal medicine acts in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases are far from clear. In this review, we briefly describe the characteristics of Chinese herbal medicine by comparing with western medicine. Then we summarize the formulae and herbs/natural products applied in the clinic and animal studies being sorted according to the specific cardiovascular diseases. Most importantly, we elaborate the existing investigations into mechanisms by which herbal compounds act at the cellular levels, including vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes and immune cells. Future research should focus on well-designed clinic trial, in-depth mechanic study, investigations on side effects of herbs and drug interactions. Studies on developing new agents with effectiveness and safety from traditional Chinese medicine is a promising way for prevention and treatment of patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Evaluation of the quality of herbal teas by DART/TOF-MS.

PubMed

Prchalová, J; Kovařík, F; Rajchl, A

2017-02-01

The paper focuses on the optimization, settings and validation of direct analysis in real time coupled with time-of-flight detector when used for the evaluation of the quality of selected herbal teas (fennel, chamomile, nettle, linden, peppermint, thyme, lemon balm, marigold, sage, rose hip and St. John's wort). The ionization mode, the optimal ionization temperature and the type of solvent for sample extraction were optimized. The characteristic compounds of the analysed herbal teas (glycosides, flavonoids and phenolic and terpenic substances, such as chamazulene, anethole, menthol, thymol, salviol and hypericin) were detected. The obtained mass spectra were evaluated by multidimensional chemometric methods, such as cluster analysis, linear discriminate analysis and principal component analysis. The chemometric methods showed that the single variety herbal teas were grouped according to their taxonomic affiliation. The developed method is suitable for quick identification of herbs and can be potentially used for assessing the quality and authenticity of herbal teas. Direct analysis in real time/time-of-flight-MS is also suitable for the evaluation of selected substances contained in the mentioned herbs and herbal products. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Chinese Herbal Medicine on Cardiovascular Diseases and the Mechanisms of Action

PubMed Central

Liu, Cuiqing; Huang, Yu

2016-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases are the principal cause of death worldwide. The potentially serious adverse effects of therapeutic drugs lead to growing awareness of the role of Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Chinese herbal medicine has been widely used in many countries especially in China from antiquity; however, the mechanisms by which herbal medicine acts in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases are far from clear. In this review, we briefly describe the characteristics of Chinese herbal medicine by comparing with western medicine. Then we summarize the formulae and herbs/natural products applied in the clinic and animal studies being sorted according to the specific cardiovascular diseases. Most importantly, we elaborate the existing investigations into mechanisms by which herbal compounds act at the cellular levels, including vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes and immune cells. Future research should focus on well-designed clinic trial, in-depth mechanic study, investigations on side effects of herbs and drug interactions. Studies on developing new agents with effectiveness and safety from traditional Chinese medicine is a promising way for prevention and treatment of patients with cardiovascular diseases. PMID:27990122

The incidence of vitamin, mineral, herbal, and other supplement use in facial cosmetic patients.

PubMed

Zwiebel, Samantha J; Lee, Michelle; Alleyne, Brendan; Guyuron, Bahman

2013-07-01

Dietary supplement use is common in the United States. Some herbal supplements may cause coagulopathy, hypertension, or dry eyes. The goal of this study is to reveal the incidence of herbal supplement use in the cosmetic surgery population. A retrospective chart review of 200 patients undergoing facial cosmetic surgery performed by a single surgeon was performed. Variables studied included patient age, sex, surgical procedure, herbal medication use, and intraoperative variables. Exclusion criteria were age younger than 15 years, noncosmetic procedures such as trauma, and incomplete preoperative medication form. Patients were subdivided into the supplement user group (herbal) and the supplement nonuser group (nonherbal). Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, t test, and chi-square analysis. The incidence of supplement use was 49 percent in the 200 patients; 24.5 percent of patients used only vitamins or minerals, 2.5 percent of patients used only animal- and plant-based (nonvitamin/mineral) supplements, and 22 percent of patients used both types of supplements. In the herbal group, patients used an average of 2.8 supplements. The herbal and nonherbal groups differed significantly in sex (herbal, 89.8 percent female; nonherbal, 77.5 percent; p < 0.04) and age (herbal, 51.4 years; nonherbal, 38.5 years; p < 0.001). Herbal supplement use is prevalent in the facial cosmetic surgery population, especially in the older female population. Considering the potential ill effects of these products on surgery and recovery, awareness and careful documentation and prohibiting the patients from the consumption of these products will increase the safety and reduce the recovery following cosmetic procedures.

Identification of a Herbal Powder by Deoxyribonucleic Acid Barcoding and Structural Analyses.

PubMed

Sheth, Bhavisha P; Thaker, Vrinda S

2015-10-01

Authentic identification of plants is essential for exploiting their medicinal properties as well as to stop the adulteration and malpractices with the trade of the same. To identify a herbal powder obtained from a herbalist in the local vicinity of Rajkot, Gujarat, using deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) barcoding and molecular tools. The DNA was extracted from a herbal powder and selected Cassia species, followed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of the rbcL barcode locus. Thereafter the sequences were subjected to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) analysis, followed by the protein three-dimension structure determination of the rbcL protein from the herbal powder and Cassia species namely Cassia fistula, Cassia tora and Cassia javanica (sequences obtained in the present study), Cassia Roxburghii, and Cassia abbreviata (sequences retrieved from Genbank). Further, the multiple and pairwise structural alignment were carried out in order to identify the herbal powder. The nucleotide sequences obtained from the selected species of Cassia were submitted to Genbank (Accession No. JX141397, JX141405, JX141420). The NCBI BLAST analysis of the rbcL protein from the herbal powder showed an equal sequence similarity (with reference to different parameters like E value, maximum identity, total score, query coverage) to C. javanica and C. roxburghii. In order to solve the ambiguities of the BLAST result, a protein structural approach was implemented. The protein homology models obtained in the present study were submitted to the protein model database (PM0079748-PM0079753). The pairwise structural alignment of the herbal powder (as template) and C. javanica and C. roxburghii (as targets individually) revealed a close similarity of the herbal powder with C. javanica. A strategy as used here, incorporating the integrated use of DNA barcoding and protein structural analyses could be adopted, as a novel

[Patented technology status quo and development trend for Chinese herbal medicines].

PubMed

Li, Chang; Huang, Luqi

2009-06-01

Patent technology is regarded as technological trends under the market economy condition. The case showed the information form patent literature can be widely used in technology or economy. In this study, we analyzed the patent technology status quo and development trend for Chinese herbal medicines based on China patent database. The patent technology status quo is divided from the technology of biotechnology, quality control, cultivation and herb processing on Chinese herbal medicines. Furthermore, some recommendations of technology development and advices on patent protection for Chinese herbal medicines were suggested.

Internet marketing of herbal products.

PubMed

Morris, Charles A; Avorn, Jerry

2003-09-17

Passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994 restricted the Food and Drug Administration's control over dietary supplements, leading to enormous growth in their promotion. The Internet is often used by consumers as a source of information on such therapies. To assess the information presented and indications claimed on the Internet for the 8 best-selling herbal products. We searched the Internet using the 5 most commonly used search engines. For each, we entered the names of the 8 most widely used herbal supplements (ginkgo biloba, St John's wort, echinacea, ginseng, garlic, saw palmetto, kava kava, and valerian root). We analyzed the health content of all Web sites listed on the first page of the search results. We analyzed all accessible, English-language Web sites that pertained to oral herbal supplements. A total of 522 Web sites were identified; of these, 443 sites met inclusion criteria for the analysis. The nature of the Web site (retail or nonretail), whether it was a sponsored link, and all references, indications, claims, and disclaimers were recorded. Two reviewers independently categorized medical claims as disease or nondisease according to Food and Drug Administration criteria. Among 443 Web sites, 338 (76%) were retail sites either selling product or directly linked to a vendor. A total of 273 (81%) of the 338 retail Web sites made 1 or more health claims; of these, 149 (55%) claimed to treat, prevent, diagnose, or cure specific diseases. More than half (153/292; 52%) of sites with a health claim omitted the standard federal disclaimer. Nonretail sites were more likely than retail sites to include literature references, although only 52 (12%) of the 443 Web sites provided referenced information without a link to a distributor or vendor. Consumers may be misled by vendors' claims that herbal products can treat, prevent, diagnose, or cure specific diseases, despite regulations prohibiting such statements. Physicians should be

Ethnobotanical survey of cooling herbal drinks from southern China.

PubMed

Liu, Yujing; Ahmed, Selena; Long, Chunlin

2013-12-19

Liáng chá ("cooling tea", "herbal tea" or "cool tisane" in Chinese) are herbal drinks widely produced in southern China and consumed by billions of people worldwide to prevent and treat internal heat as well as a range of associated health conditions. Globalization and renewed interest in botanical remedies has attracted growing attention in cooling herbal drinks by industry, scientists and consumers. However, there is a knowledge gap on the plant species used and commercialized for cooling herbal drinks in southern China and their associated ethnobotanical use, habitat and conservation status. This is the first study to document plant species used and commercialized as liáng chá in southern China's Lingnan region and associated ethnomedical function, preparation methods, habitat and conservation status. Three hundred market surveys were conducted between 2010-2012 in the largest herbal drink producing region of China to record plants used for liáng chá and to document knowledge on their medicinal function, habitat and conservation status. Product samples and voucher specimens were collected for taxonomic identification. All informants harvest and cultivate plants for preparing herbal drinks for their medicinal, cultural and economic values. A total of 222 ethnotaxa corresponded to 238 botanical taxa (species, varieties or subspecies) belonging to 86 families and 209 genera were recorded as liáng chá to treat health conditions in the study area. Recorded remedies consisted of one or several plant species to treat conditions classified into 27 major health conditions with clearing internal heat being the most common medicinal function. The habitat types of plants documented for use as liáng chá include 112 wild harvested species, 51 species that are either wild harvested or cultivated, 57 cultivated species, and 2 naturalized species. According to China's Red List and CITES on conservation status, one of these species is endangered, one species is

Traditional Herbal Medicine Use Associated with Liver Fibrosis in Rural Rakai, Uganda

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-11-27

Traditional Herbal Medicine Use Associated with Liver Fibrosis in Rural Rakai, Uganda Brandon J. Auerbach1,2*, Steven J. Reynolds3,4, Mohammed...Background: Traditional herbal medicines are commonly used in sub-Saharan Africa and some herbs are known to be hepatotoxic. However little is known...about the effect of herbal medicines on liver disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: 500 HIV-infected participants in a rural HIV care program in Rakai

Characteristics of Herbal Medicine Users and Adverse Events Experienced in South Korea: A Survey Study.

PubMed

Jang, Soobin; Kim, Kyeong Han; Sun, Seung-Ho; Go, Ho-Yeon; Lee, Eun-Kyung; Jang, Bo-Hyoung; Shin, Yong-Cheol; Ko, Seong-Gyu

2017-01-01

Background. This survey aimed to investigate the characteristics of users and nonusers of herbal medicine and the adverse events experienced due to herbal medicines in South Korea. Methods. The questionnaire consisted of safety, using experience, using type, usage and nonusage reason, purchase location, and adverse events of herbal medicine. The survey was administered by online. Results. Of the total 1,134 respondents, 726 (64.0%) considered herbal medicine safe, and 693 (61.1%) answered that they have taken herbal medicines within the past year. Most common place to purchase them was "TKM hospital or clinic" (63.6%), and most participants (72.2%) took a decoction from a TKM institution. The biggest reason for taking them was for "health improvement" (57.3%), and the reasons for not using them was "medication not necessary" (63.7%). Among those who took herbal medicines, 46 experienced adverse events, and the most frequently reported symptoms were digestive disorders (52.2%). Of the 46 participants who experienced adverse events, 20 (43.5%) were treated by TKM doctors. Conclusions. This study suggests that regulation of herbal medicines is needed in order to resolve problems related to the safety of herbal medicines.

Characteristics of Herbal Medicine Users and Adverse Events Experienced in South Korea: A Survey Study

PubMed Central

Kim, Kyeong Han; Lee, Eun-Kyung; Shin, Yong-Cheol

2017-01-01

Background. This survey aimed to investigate the characteristics of users and nonusers of herbal medicine and the adverse events experienced due to herbal medicines in South Korea. Methods. The questionnaire consisted of safety, using experience, using type, usage and nonusage reason, purchase location, and adverse events of herbal medicine. The survey was administered by online. Results. Of the total 1,134 respondents, 726 (64.0%) considered herbal medicine safe, and 693 (61.1%) answered that they have taken herbal medicines within the past year. Most common place to purchase them was “TKM hospital or clinic” (63.6%), and most participants (72.2%) took a decoction from a TKM institution. The biggest reason for taking them was for “health improvement” (57.3%), and the reasons for not using them was “medication not necessary” (63.7%). Among those who took herbal medicines, 46 experienced adverse events, and the most frequently reported symptoms were digestive disorders (52.2%). Of the 46 participants who experienced adverse events, 20 (43.5%) were treated by TKM doctors. Conclusions. This study suggests that regulation of herbal medicines is needed in order to resolve problems related to the safety of herbal medicines. PMID:28491107

[Complex stimulation of the locomotor and psycholingual develop- ment of children with perinatal lesions of the central nervous system].

PubMed

Skvortsov, I A; Khavkhun, L A; Ustinova, E V; I'lin, L B

1989-01-01

In 121 children with perinatal CNS damage a combined therapy was performed including, besides routine drug treatment, imitation stimulation of age-matched posture-++-tonic attitudes and motor skills, metameric reflexotherapy aimed at the CNS region lesioned, magnetotherapy, electric laser puncture targeted at correction of dysfunctioning brain structures. Treatment efficiency was controlled by the brain "development profile" derived from formalized neurological and neuropsychological investigations, and electroneuromyography. The efficiency of the therapy was considerably decreased by the 3rd semester of life.

α5GABAA Receptors Mediate Tonic Inhibition in the Spinal Cord Dorsal Horn and Contribute to the Resolution Of Hyperalgesia.

PubMed

Perez-Sanchez, Jimena; Lorenzo, Louis-Etienne; Lecker, Irene; Zurek, Agnieszka A; Labrakakis, Charalampos; Bridgwater, Erica M; Orser, Beverley A; De Koninck, Yves; Bonin, Robert P

2017-06-01

Neuronal inhibition mediated by GABA A receptors constrains nociceptive processing in the spinal cord, and loss of GABAergic inhibition can produce allodynia and hyperalgesia. Extrasynaptic α5 subunit-containing GABA A receptors (α5GABA A Rs) generate a tonic conductance that inhibits neuronal activity and constrains learning and memory; however, it is unclear whether α5GABA A Rs similarly generate a tonic conductance in the spinal cord dorsal horn to constrain nociception. We assessed the distribution of α5GABA A Rs in the spinal cord dorsal horn by immunohistochemical analysis, and the activity and function of α5GABA A Rs in neurons of the superficial dorsal horn using electrophysiological and behavioral approaches in male, null-mutant mice lacking the GABA A R α5 subunit (Gabra5-/-) and wild-type mice (WT). The expression of α5GABA A Rs in the superficial dorsal horn followed a laminar pattern of distribution, with a higher expression in lamina II than lamina I. Similarly, the tonic GABA A current in lamina II neurons had a larger contribution from α5GABA A Rs than in lamina I, with no significant contribution of these receptors to synaptic GABA A current. In behavioural tests, WT and Gabra5-/- mice exhibited similar acute thermal and mechanical nociception, and similar mechanical sensitization immediately following intraplantar capsaicin or Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA). However, Gabra5-/- mice showed prolonged recovery from sensitization in these models, and increased responses in the late phase of the formalin test. Overall, our data suggest that tonically-active α5GABA A Rs in the spinal cord dorsal horn accelerate the resolution of hyperalgesia and may therefore serve as a novel therapeutic target to promote recovery from pathological pain. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An RCT of Nurse Coaching vs. Herbal CAM for Soldier Weight Reduction

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-08

Coaching vs. Herbal CAM for Soldier Weight Reduction 5b. GRANT NUMBER HT9404-12-1-TS03 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER N/A 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d...coaching intervention and an herbal supplement for Service Member (SM) weight reduction over a 12-week period to evaluate their effectiveness...Title of Research Study or Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Project An RCT of Nurse Coaching vs. Herbal CAM for Soldier Weight Reduction Period of Award

Pharmacogenomics Implications of Using Herbal Medicinal Plants on African Populations in Health Transition

PubMed Central

Thomford, Nicholas E.; Dzobo, Kevin; Chopera, Denis; Wonkam, Ambroise; Skelton, Michelle; Blackhurst, Dee; Chirikure, Shadreck; Dandara, Collet

2015-01-01

The most accessible points of call for most African populations with respect to primary health care are traditional health systems that include spiritual, religious, and herbal medicine. This review focusses only on the use of herbal medicines. Most African people accept herbal medicines as generally safe with no serious adverse effects. However, the overlap between conventional medicine and herbal medicine is a reality among countries in health systems transition. Patients often simultaneously seek treatment from both conventional and traditional health systems for the same condition. Commonly encountered conditions/diseases include malaria, HIV/AIDS, hypertension, tuberculosis, and bleeding disorders. It is therefore imperative to understand the modes of interaction between different drugs from conventional and traditional health care systems when used in treatment combinations. Both conventional and traditional drug entities are metabolized by the same enzyme systems in the human body, resulting in both pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics interactions, whose properties remain unknown/unquantified. Thus, it is important that profiles of interaction between different herbal and conventional medicines be evaluated. This review evaluates herbal and conventional drugs in a few African countries and their potential interaction at the pharmacogenomics level. PMID:26402689

[Discussion on present situation of study on pesticide residues in Chinese herbal medicines].

PubMed

Kang, Chuan-Zhi; Guo, Lan-Ping; Zhou, Tao; Zhao, Dan; Kang, Li-Ping; He, Ya-Li; Wang, Sheng; Zhou, Liang-Yun

2016-01-01

Pesticide residues in traditional Chinese medicine has attracted widespread attention at home and abroad. This paper analyzed the pollution present situation and existing problems of pesticide residue for Chinese herbal medicines, explicited the analytical methods of pesticide residues in Chinese herbal medicines. Meanwhile, the commonly used pesticide residue degradation and application in Chinese herbal medicines were discussed. Moreover, on the basis of analysis of pesticide residue standards, this paper proposed the necessity and urgency of the limit standard of pesticide residues in Chinese herbal medicines, and provided a scientific references for deepening research and developing safe, green medicines. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Herbal Medicine for Low Back Pain: A Cochrane Review.

PubMed

Gagnier, Joel J; Oltean, Hanna; van Tulder, Maurits W; Berman, Brian M; Bombardier, Claire; Robbins, Christopher B

2016-01-01

Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). To determine the effectiveness of herbal medicine for nonspecific low back pain (LBP). Many people with chronic LBP use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), visit CAM practitioners, or both. Several herbal medicines have been purported for use in treating people with LBP. This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2006. We searched numerous electronic databases up to September 2014; checked reference lists in review articles, guidelines and retrieved trials; and personally contacted individuals with expertise in this area. We included RCTs examining adults (over 18 years of age) suffering from acute, sub-acute, or chronic nonspecific LBP. The interventions were herbal medicines that we defined as plants used for medicinal purposes in any form. Primary outcome measures were pain and function. Two review authors assessed risk of bias, GRADE criteria (GRADE 2004), and CONSORT compliance and a random subset were compared with assessments by a third individual. Two review authors assessed clinical relevance and resolved any disagreements by consensus. Fourteen RCTs (2050 participants) were included. Capsicum frutescens (cayenne) reduces pain more than placebo. Although Harpagophytum procumbens (devil's claw), Salix alba (white willow bark), Symphytum officinale L. (comfrey), Solidago chilensis (Brazilian arnica), and lavender essential oil also seem to reduce pain more than placebo, evidence for these substances was of moderate quality at best. No significant adverse events were noted within the included trials. Additional well-designed large trials are needed to test these herbal medicines against standard treatments. In general, the completeness of reporting in these trials was poor. Trialists should refer to the CONSORT statement extension for reporting trials of herbal medicine interventions. N/A.

Herbal medicines in the treatment of psychiatric disorders: 10-year updated review.

PubMed

Sarris, Jerome

2018-03-25

This paper provides a 10-year update of the 2007 systematic review of herbal medicines studied in a broad range of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, seasonal affective, bipolar, psychotic, phobic, somatoform, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders. Ovid Medline, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library were searched for herbal medicines with both pharmacological and clinical evidence of psychotropic activity. This updated review now covers clinical trial evidence for 24 herbal medicines in 11 psychiatric disorders. High-quality evidence was found to exist for the use of Piper methysticum (Kava), Passiflora spp. (passionflower) and Galphimia glauca (galphimia) for anxiety disorders; and Hypericum perforatum (St John's wort) and Crocus sativus (saffron) for major depressive disorder. Other encouraging herbal medicines with preliminary evidence include Curcuma longa (turmeric) in depression, Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) in affective disorders, and Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo) as an adjunctive treatment in Schizophrenia. Although depression and anxiety are commonly researched, many other mental disorders still require further prospective investigation. Although the previous review suggested increasing the adjunctive study of select herbal medicines with pharmaceuticals, this was still only found to sparingly occur in research designs. Aside from this, future focus should involve the incorporation of more biomarker analysis, in particular pharmacogenomics, to determine genetic factors moderating response to herbal medicines. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Chinese Herbal Medicine for the Treatment of Drug Addiction.

PubMed

Zhu, Weili; Zhang, Yinan; Huang, Yingjie; Lu, Lin

2017-01-01

This chapter summarizes recent developments in preclinical and clinical research on Chinese herbal medicines and their neurochemical mechanism of action for the treatment of drug addiction. We searched Chinese and English scientific literature and selected several kinds of Chinese herbal medicines that have beneficial effects on drug addiction. Ginseng (Renshen) may be clinically useful for the prevention of opioid abuse and dependence. Rhizoma Corydalis (Yanhusuo) may be used to prevent relapse to chronic drug dependence. Alkaloids of Uncaria rhynchophylla (Gouteng) appear to have positive effects on methamphetamine and ketamine addiction. Both Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen) and Radix Pueraiae (Gegen) have beneficial inhibitory effects on alcohol intake. Sinomenine has been shown to have preventive and curative effects on opioid dependence. l-Stepholidine, an alkaloid extract of the Chinese herb Stephania intermedia (Rulan), attenuated the acquisition, maintenance, and reacquisition of morphine-induced conditioned place preference and antagonized the heroin-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking. Traditional Chinese herbal medicines may be used to complement current treatments for drug addiction, including withdrawal and relapse. As the molecular mechanisms of action of traditional Chinese herbal medicines are elucidated, further advances in their use for the treatment of drug addiction are promising. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Herbal and plant therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

PubMed Central

Triantafyllidi, Aikaterini; Xanthos, Theodoros; Papalois, Apostolos; Triantafillidis, John K.

2015-01-01

The use of herbal therapy in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing worldwide. The aim of this study was to review the literature on the efficacy of herbal therapy in IBD patients. Studies on herbal therapy for IBD published in Medline and Embase were reviewed, and response to treatment and remission rates were recorded. Although the number of the relevant clinical studies is relatively small, it can be assumed that the efficacy of herbal therapies in IBD is promising. The most important clinical trials conducted so far refer to the use of mastic gum, tormentil extracts, wormwood herb, aloe vera, triticum aestivum, germinated barley foodstuff, and boswellia serrata. In ulcerative colitis, aloe vera gel, triticum aestivum, andrographis paniculata extract and topical Xilei-san were superior to placebo in inducing remission or clinical response, and curcumin was superior to placebo in maintaining remission; boswellia serrata gum resin and plantago ovata seeds were as effective as mesalazine, whereas oenothera biennis had similar relapse rates as ω-3 fatty acids in the treatment of ulcerative colitis. In Crohn’s disease, mastic gum, Artemisia absinthium, and Tripterygium wilfordii were superior to placebo in inducing remission and preventing clinical postoperative recurrence, respectively. Herbal therapies exert their therapeutic benefit by different mechanisms including immune regulation, antioxidant activity, inhibition of leukotriene B4 and nuclear factor-kappa B, and antiplatelet activity. Large, double-blind clinical studies assessing the most commonly used natural substances should urgently be conducted. PMID:25830661

What risks do herbal products pose to the Australian community?

PubMed

Byard, Roger W; Musgrave, Ian; Maker, Garth; Bunce, Michael

2017-02-06

Traditional herbal products are widely used in Australia to treat a broad range of conditions and diseases. It is popularly believed that these products are safer than prescribed drugs. While many may be safe, it is worrying that the specific effects and harmful interactions of a number of their components with prescription medications is not well understood. Some traditional herbal preparations contain heavy metals and toxic chemicals, as well as naturally occurring organic toxins. The effects of these substances can be dire, including acute hepatic and renal failure, exacerbation of pre-existing conditions and diseases, and even death. The content and quality of herbal preparations are not tightly controlled, with some ingredients either not listed or their concentrations recorded inaccurately on websites or labels. Herbal products may also include illegal ingredients, such as ephedra, Asarum europaeum (European wild ginger) and endangered animal species (eg, snow leopard). An additional problem is augmentation with prescription medications to enhance the apparent effectiveness of a preparation. Toxic substances may also be deliberately or inadvertently added: less expensive, more harmful plants may be substituted for more expensive ingredients, and processing may not be adequate. The lack of regulation and monitoring of traditional herbal preparations in Australia and other Western countries means that their contribution to illness and death is unknown. We need to raise awareness of these problems with health care practitioners and with the general public.

Global herbal medicine: a critique.

PubMed

Jagtenberg, Tom; Evans, Sue

2003-04-01

Herbal medicine finds itself at a crossroads. If it continues to become mainstreamed in a commodity-driven health industry, its focus will change from craft-based tradition to globalized industry. On the other hand, if the fundamental importance of tradition to indigenous and nonindigenous medicine is respected, ecologic and cultural issues arise. Central here are the issues associated with control of both land and culture. Many indigenous cultures and their local ecologies are currently threatened by globalization. Historically, successful large corporations have neither respected the environment nor easily acknowledged indigenous claims to land and intellectual property, so no easy resolution of these conflicts seems likely. Our case study of Mapuche medicine allows us to explore the social and cultural conflicts that many practising herbalists experience. We argue that because of the basic contradictions involved, the protection of cultures and ecologies that underpin the discipline must be made a clear priority. We argue that local cultural traditions are clearly at odds with a globalizing herbal industry.

Deciphering the role of a coleopteran steering muscle via free flight stimulation.

PubMed

Sato, Hirotaka; Vo Doan, Tat Thang; Kolev, Svetoslav; Huynh, Ngoc Anh; Zhang, Chao; Massey, Travis L; van Kleef, Joshua; Ikeda, Kazuo; Abbeel, Pieter; Maharbiz, Michel M

2015-03-16

Testing hypotheses of neuromuscular function during locomotion ideally requires the ability to record cellular responses and to stimulate the cells being investigated to observe downstream behaviors [1]. The inability to stimulate in free flight has been a long-standing hurdle for insect flight studies. The miniaturization of computation and communication technologies has delivered ultra-small, radio-enabled neuromuscular recorders and stimulators for untethered insects [2-8]. Published stimulation targets include the areas in brain potentially responsible for pattern generation in locomotion [5], the nerve chord for abdominal flexion [9], antennal muscles [2, 10], and the flight muscles (or their excitatory junctions) [7, 11-13]. However, neither fine nor graded control of turning has been demonstrated in free flight, and responses to the stimulation vary widely [2, 5, 7, 9]. Technological limitations have precluded hypotheses of function validation requiring exogenous stimulation during flight. We investigated the role of a muscle involved in wing articulation during flight in a coleopteran. We set out to identify muscles whose stimulation produced a graded turning in free flight, a feat that would enable fine steering control not previously demonstrated. We anticipated that gradation might arise either as a function of the phase of muscle firing relative to the wing stroke (as in the classic fly b1 muscle [14, 15] or the dorsal longitudinal and ventral muscles of moth [16]), or due to regulated tonic control, in which phase-independent summation of twitch responses produces varying amounts of force delivered to the wing linkages [15, 17, 18]. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Amelioration of intractable epilepsy by adjunct vagus nerve stimulation therapy in a girl with a CDKL5 mutation.

PubMed

Baba, Shimpei; Sugawara, Yuji; Moriyama, Kengo; Inaji, Motoki; Maehara, Taketoshi; Yamamoto, Toshiyuki; Morio, Tomohiro

2017-04-01

We report the case of on an 8-year-old girl with a cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 mutation and who underwent vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy for 2years. She had developed epilepsy at the age of 6months and had severe developmental delays. Initially, she had tonic and tonic-clonic seizures; however, around the age of 5years, she also developed epileptic spasms. These seizures were never completely controlled by conventional medical treatments. At the age of 7, after VNS initiation, her seizure frequency markedly reduced, and abnormal electrical activities on her electroencephalography tests strikingly decreased. Moreover, using questionnaires, we confirmed an improvement in her quality of life in the fields of alertness and activity. Although the efficacy of VNS therapy for patients with intractable epilepsy associated with a genetic anomaly has not been fully established, adjunctive VNS therapy may widen the scope of treatment choices available to these patients. Copyright © 2016 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Principal component analysis of synthetic adulterants in herbal supplements advertised as weight loss drugs.

PubMed

Dastjerdi, Akram Ghasemi; Akhgari, Maryam; Kamali, Artin; Mousavi, Zahra

2018-05-01

Obesity is one of the major problems in many countries. Herbal drugs are widely used to treat obesity. Unfortunately the majority of herbal weight loss drugs are adulterated with active pharmaceutical ingredients. The purpose of the present study was to analyse herbal weight loss drugs for the general search for pharmaceuticals. sixty one herbal weight loss drugs that were collected from herb shops and internet in Kermanshah, Iran were analysed qualitatively using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Of the 61 weight loss products sampled, 72% were found to be adulterated with tramadol, caffeine, fluoxetine, rizatriptan, venlafaxine and methadone. Herbal weight loss products were adulterated with controlled and legitimate drugs. Patients should be aware of the danger of using adulterated supplements. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adverse Event Reporting for Herbal Medicines: A Result of Market Forces

PubMed Central

Walji, Rishma; Boon, Heather; Barnes, Joanne; Austin, Zubin; Baker, G. Ross; Welsh, Sandy

2009-01-01

Herbal products are readily available over the counter in health food stores and are often perceived to be without risk. The current Canadian adverse event reporting system suffers from severe underreporting, resulting in a scarcity of safety data on herbal products. Twelve health food store personnel in the Greater Toronto Area were interviewed about their responses to herbal product–related adverse reactions. They generally fostered customer loyalty by offering generous return policies, which included collecting contact information to be sent to the manufacturers with the returned product. Thus, despite the public's lack of knowledge about the formal reporting system, adverse reaction information was directed to manufacturers whenever it resulted in a product return. The relationship between health food stores, industry and Health Canada provides a new opportunity to facilitate adverse event reporting. Additional information could be collected during the return process, and educational initiatives could be implemented to augment current post-market surveillance procedures for herbal products. PMID:20436811

Assessing safety of herbal products for menopausal complaints: an international perspective.

PubMed

Dog, Tieraona Low; Marles, Robin; Mahady, Gail; Gardiner, Paula; Ko, Richard; Barnes, Jo; Chavez, Mary L; Griffiths, James; Giancaspro, Gabriel; Sarma, Nandakumara D

2010-08-01

Future research of herbal products for menopausal women should include long-term safety assessments because women may use these products for prolonged periods of time. Growing numbers of women take prescription medications and concurrently use herbal products for alleviation of menopausal symptoms. Because of possible herb-drug interactions, both drug and supplement manufacturers should provide basic pharmacokinetic data to reduce the risk of adverse interactions. In addition, herbal products produced to high quality standards are essential for ensuring consumer safety. Regulatory frameworks must be in place to ensure that herbal ingredients' identities have been verified, that they have been properly quantified per unit dose, that the product is within tolerance limits for contaminants, that the product's safety and effectiveness under the recommended conditions of use have been assessed before sale to the public, and that a system is in place to detect and deal with adverse reactions when they arise. This article explores these and related concerns. Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Pregnancy and herbal medicines: An unnecessary risk for women's health-A narrative review.

PubMed

Bruno, Luciana O; Simoes, Ricardo Santos; de Jesus Simoes, Manuel; Girão, Manoel João Batista Castello; Grundmann, Oliver

2018-05-01

The indiscriminate use of herbal medicines to prevent or to heal diseases or even the use for questionable purposes such as weight loss has received both interest and scrutiny from the scientific community and general public alike. An increasing number of women put their own and the unborn child's health at risk due to a lack of knowledge about the phytochemical properties and adequate use of herbal medicine (phytomedicines or herbal supplements) and lack of communication with their healthcare provider. The purpose of this narrative review was to summarize the use of herbal medicines during pregnancy and their potential toxic effects to highlight the importance of caution when prescribing herbal medicines or supplements for women, because, in addition to suffering interactions and a great amount of information obtained in preclinical predictive studies, assessment of nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, genotoxicity, and teratogenicity of traditional medicinal herbs still remains scarce in the clinical setting. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Patterns Exploration on Patterns of Empirical Herbal Formula of Chinese Medicine by Association Rules

PubMed Central

Huang, Li; Yuan, Jiamin; Yang, Zhimin; Xu, Fuping; Huang, Chunhua

2015-01-01

Background. In this study, we use association rules to explore the latent rules and patterns of prescribing and adjusting the ingredients of herbal decoctions based on empirical herbal formula of Chinese Medicine (CM). Materials and Methods. The consideration and development of CM prescriptions based on the knowledge of CM doctors are analyzed. The study contained three stages. The first stage is to identify the chief symptoms to a specific empirical herbal formula, which can serve as the key indication for herb addition and cancellation. The second stage is to conduct a case study on the empirical CM herbal formula for insomnia. Doctors will add extra ingredients or cancel some of them by CM syndrome diagnosis. The last stage of the study is to divide the observed cases into the effective group and ineffective group based on the assessed clinical effect by doctors. The patterns during the diagnosis and treatment are selected by the applied algorithm and the relations between clinical symptoms or indications and herb choosing principles will be selected by the association rules algorithm. Results. Totally 40 patients were observed in this study: 28 patients were considered effective after treatment and the remaining 12 were ineffective. 206 patterns related to clinical indications of Chinese Medicine were checked and screened with each observed case. In the analysis of the effective group, we used the algorithm of association rules to select combinations between 28 herbal adjustment strategies of the empirical herbal formula and the 190 patterns of individual clinical manifestations. During this stage, 11 common patterns were eliminated and 5 major symptoms for insomnia remained. 12 association rules were identified which included 5 herbal adjustment strategies. Conclusion. The association rules method is an effective algorithm to explore the latent relations between clinical indications and herbal adjustment strategies for the study on empirical herbal formulas

Development of taste sensor system for differentiation of Indonesian herbal medicines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaltsum, U., E-mail: um-mik@yahoo.co.id; Triyana, K., E-mail: triyana@ugm.ac.id; Siswanta, D., E-mail: triyana@ugm.ac.id

In Indonesia, herbal medicines are usually produced by small and medium enterprises which are relatively low in quality control. The purpose of this paper is to report that we have developed a taste sensor system with global selectivity, i.e., electronic tongue (e-tongue) for differentiation of Indonesian herbal medicines. The e-tongue was composed of five kinds of ion selective electrodes as working electrodes, data acquisition system, and pattern recognition system. Each ion selective electrode (ISE) was built by attaching lipid/polymer membrane. For this purpose, the five kinds of membranes were built by mixing lipid, plasticizer (nitrophenyl octyl ether/NPOE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC),more » and tetrahydrofuran (THF). In this study, we employed five kinds of lipid, namely oleic acid (OA), dioctyl phosphate (DOP), decyl alcohol (DA), dodecylamine (DDC), and trioctyl methyl ammonium chloride (TOMA). In this case, the membranes transform information of taste substances into electric signal. The five kinds of Indonesian herbal medicine were purchased from local supermarket in Yogyakarta, i.e., kunyit asam (made from turmeric and tamarind), beras kencur (made from rice and kencur), jahe wangi (made from ginger and fragrance), sirih wangi (made from betel leaf), and temulawak (made from Javanese ginger). Prior to detecting the taste from the Indonesian herbal medicine samples, each ion selective electrode was tested with five basic taste samples, i.e., for saltiness, sweetness, umami, bitterness, and sourness. All ISEs showed global selectivity to all samples. Furthermore, the array of ISEs showed specific response pattern to each Indonesian herbal medicine. For pattern recognition system, we employed principle component analysis (PCA). As a result, the e-tongue was able to differentiate five kinds of Indonesian herbal medicines, proven by the total variance of first and second principle components is about 93%. For the future, the e-tongue may be developed for

Women's attitude and sociodemographic characteristics influencing usage of herbal medicines during pregnancy in Tumpat District, Kelantan.

PubMed

Rahman, Azriani Ab; Sulaiman, Siti Amrah; Ahmad, Zulkifli; Salleh, Halim; Daud, Wan Nudri Wan; Hamid, Abdul Manaf

2009-03-01

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine whether the use of herbal medicines during pregnancy is associated with women's attitudes towards herbal medicines and their sociodemographic features, such as age, education level, and income. Two-hundred ten women (110 "users," 100 "non-users") were studied. The probability of using herbal medicines among women who had negative attitudes towards the use of herbal medicines was 50.0% less compared to those who had positive attitudes (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.29 - 0.92). Women who had a positive attitude towards the safety of herbal medicines were less likely to use herbal medicines during pregnancy. There were no significant associations between usage and sociodemographic features, such as age, income, race, and education.

Intragastric Dai-Kenchu-To, a Japanese herbal medicine, stimulates colonic motility via transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 in dogs.

PubMed

Kikuchi, Daisuke; Shibata, Chikashi; Imoto, Hirofumi; Naitoh, Takeshi; Miura, Koh; Unno, Michiaki

2013-08-01

Japanese herbal medicine, also known as Kampo, is used for various diseases in Japan. One of those medicines, Dai-Kenchu-To (DKT), is considered clinically effective for adhesive bowel obstruction and chronic constipation. Although scientific evidence of DKT to improve adhesive bowel obstruction was shown in several previous reports, mechanism of DKT to improve constipation remains unknown. Our aim was to study the effect of intragastric DKT on colonic motility and defecation, and the involvement of various receptors in DKT-induced colonic contractions. Five beagle dogs were instructed with serosal strain-gauge force transducers to measure circular muscle activity at the proximal, middle, and distal colon. Dogs are suitable for a present study to administer the drugs repeatedly to the same individual and look at its effect on colonic motility. We studied the effects of DKT (2.5 or 5 g) administered into the stomach on colonic motility. Muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine, nicotinic receptor antagonist hexamthonium, or 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 receptor antagonist ondansetron was injected intravenously 10 min before DKT administration. Capsazepine, an antagonist to transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), was administered into the stomach 5 min before DKT administration. Intragastric DKT (2.5 or 5 g) induced colonic contractions within 10 min after administration but did not induce defecation. Pretreatment with atropine, hexamthonium, ondansetron, or capsazepine inhibited DKT-induced colonic contractions. These results indicate that orally administered DKT stimulates colonic motility via TRPV1, muscarinic, nicotinic, and 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 receptors, thereby providing scientific support for the efficacy of oral DKT in chronic constipation.

Muscarinic Long-Term Enhancement of Tonic and Phasic GABAA Inhibition in Rat CA1 Pyramidal Neurons

PubMed Central

Domínguez, Soledad; Fernández de Sevilla, David; Buño, Washington

2016-01-01

Acetylcholine (ACh) regulates network operation in the hippocampus by controlling excitation and inhibition in rat CA1 pyramidal neurons (PCs), the latter through gamma-aminobutyric acid type-A receptors (GABAARs). Although, the enhancing effects of ACh on GABAARs have been reported (Dominguez et al., 2014, 2015), its role in regulating tonic GABAA inhibition has not been explored in depth. Therefore, we aimed at determining the effects of the activation of ACh receptors on responses mediated by synaptic and extrasynaptic GABAARs. Here, we show that under blockade of ionotropic glutamate receptors ACh, acting through muscarinic type 1 receptors, paired with post-synaptic depolarization induced a long-term enhancement of tonic GABAA currents (tGABAA) and puff-evoked GABAA currents (pGABAA). ACh combined with depolarization also potentiated IPSCs (i.e., phasic inhibition) in the same PCs, without signs of interactions of synaptic responses with pGABAA and tGABAA, suggesting the contribution of two different GABAA receptor pools. The long-term enhancement of GABAA currents and IPSCs reduced the excitability of PCs, possibly regulating plasticity and learning in behaving animals. PMID:27833531

Effect of a Herbal-Leucine mix on the IL-1β-induced cartilage degradation and inflammatory gene expression in human chondrocytes

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Conventional treatments for the articular diseases are often effective for symptom relief, but can also cause significant side effects and do not slow the progression of the disease. Several natural substances have been shown to be effective at relieving the symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA), and preliminary evidence suggests that some of these compounds may exert a favorable influence on the course of the disease. The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory/chondroprotective potential of a Herbal and amino acid mixture containing extract of the Uncaria tomentosa, Boswellia spp., Lepidium meyenii and L-Leucine on the IL-1β-induced production of nitric oxide (NO), glycosaminoglycan (GAG), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), aggrecan (ACAN) and type II collagen (COL2A1) in human OA chondrocytes and OA cartilage explants. Methods Primary OA chondrocytes or OA cartilage explants were pretreated with Herbal-Leucine mixture (HLM, 1-10 μg/ml) and then stimulated with IL-1β (5 ng/ml). Effect of HLM on IL-1β-induced gene expression of iNOS, MMP-9, MMP-13, ACAN and COL2A1 was verified by real time-PCR. Estimation of NO and GAG release in culture supernatant was done using commercially available kits. Results HLM tested in these in vitro studies was found to be an effective anti-inflammatory agent, as evidenced by strong inhibition of iNOS, MMP-9 and MMP-13 expression and NO production in IL-1β-stimulated OA chondrocytes (p < 0.05). Supporting these gene expression results, IL-1β-induced cartilage matrix breakdown, as evidenced by GAG release from cartilage explants, was also significantly blocked (p < 0.05). Moreover, in the presence of herbal-Leucine mixture (HLM) up-regulation of ACAN and COL2A1 expression in IL-1β-stimulated OA chondrocytes was also noted (p < 0.05). The inhibitory effects of HLM were mediated by inhibiting the activation of nuclear factor (NF)-kB in human OA chondrocytes in presence of IL-1β. Conclusion Our data

Chinese herbal medicine for cancer-related fatigue: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.

PubMed

Su, Chun-Xiang; Wang, Li-Qiong; Grant, Suzanne J; Liu, Jian-Ping

2014-06-01

To assess the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of cancer-related fatigue. We systematically searched seven electronic databases and two trial registries for randomized clinical trials of Chinese herbal medicine for cancer-related fatigue. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of the included trials using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Data were synthesized using RevMan 5.2 software. A total of 10 trials involving 751 participants with cancer-related fatigue were identified and the methodological quality of the included trials was generally poor. Chinese herbal medicine used alone or in combination with chemotherapy or supportive care showed significant relief in cancer-related fatigue compared to placebo, chemotherapy or supportive care based on single trials. Chinese herbal medicine plus chemotherapy or supportive care was superior to chemotherapy or supportive care in improving quality of life. Data from one trial demonstrated Chinese herbal medicine exerted a greater beneficial effect on relieving anxiety but no difference in alleviating depression. Seven trials reported adverse events and no severe adverse effects were found in Chinese herbal medicine groups. The findings from limited number of trials suggest that Chinese herbal medicine seems to be effective and safe in the treatment of cancer-related fatigue. However, the current evidence is insufficient to draw a confirmative conclusion due to the poor methodological quality of included trials. Thus, conducting rigorously designed trials on potential Chinese herbal medicine is warranted. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pediculicidal effect of herbal shampoo against Pediculus humanus capitis in vitro.

PubMed

Watcharawit, R; Soonwera, M

2013-06-01

Human head lice infestation is an important public health problem in Thailand. Lice resistance is increasing, chemical pediculicides have lost their efficacy and thus alternative products such as herbal shampoos have been proposed to treat lice infestation. The present study investigated the efficacy of twenty nine herbal shampoos based on zinbiberaceae plants, piperaceae plants and native plants against human head lice and compared them with malathion shampoo (A-lices shampoo®: 1% w/v malathion) and commercial shampoo (BabiMild Natural'N Mild®) in order to assess their in vitro efficacy. All herbal shampoo were more effective than commercial shampoo with 100% mortality at 60 seconds and LT50 values ranged from 11.30 to 31.97 seconds, meanwhile, commercial shampoo caused 14.0-15.0% mortality and LT50 values ranged from 83.96 to 87.43 seconds. The nine herbal shampoos from Zingiber cassumunar, Piper betle, Piper ribesioides, Averrhoa bilimbi, Clitoria ternatea, Plectranthus amboincus, Myristica fragrans, Tacca chantrieri and Zanthoxylum limonella were more effective pediculicide than malathion shampoo with 100% mortality at 30 seconds and LT50 values ranged from 11.30-13.58 seconds, on the other hand malathion shampoo showed LT50 values ranging from 12.39 to 13.67 seconds. LT50 values indicated the order of pediculicidal activity in the herbal shampoos as Z. cassumunar shampoo > P. betle shampoo > Za. limonella shampoo > Av. bilimbi shampoo > P. ribesioides shampoo > My. fragrans shampoo > T. chantrieri shampoo > Pl. amboincus shampoo. Our data showed that eight of the twenty nine herbal shampoos in this study were of high potential pediculicide to human head lice treatments for Thai children.

Recreational stimulants, herbal, and spice cannabis: The core psychobiological processes that underlie their damaging effects.

PubMed

Parrott, Andrew C; Hayley, Amie C; Downey, Luke A

2017-05-01

Recreational drugs are taken for their positive mood effects, yet their regular usage damages well-being. The psychobiological mechanisms underlying these damaging effects will be debated. The empirical literature on recreational cannabinoids and stimulant drugs is reviewed. A theoretical explanation for how they cause similar types of damage is outlined. All psychoactive drugs cause moods and psychological states to fluctuate. The acute mood gains underlie their recreational usage, while the mood deficits on withdrawal explain their addictiveness. Cyclical mood changes are found with every central nervous system stimulant and also occur with cannabis. These mood state changes provide a surface index for more profound psychobiological fluctuations. Homeostatic balance is altered, with repetitive disturbances of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and disrupted cortisol-neurohormonal secretions. Hence, these drugs cause increased stress, disturbed sleep, neurocognitive impairments, altered brain activity, and psychiatric vulnerability. Equivalent deficits occur with novel psychoactive stimulants such as mephedrone and artificial "spice" cannabinoids. These psychobiological fluctuations underlie drug dependency and make cessation difficult. Psychobiological stability and homeostatic balance are optimally restored by quitting psychoactive drugs. Recreational stimulants such as cocaine or MDMA (3.4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and sedative drugs such as cannabis damage human homeostasis and well-being through similar core psychobiological mechanisms. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introducing Experimental Design by Evaluating Efficacy of Herbal Remedies (Do Herbal Remedies Really Work?)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Robert A.; Pontiggia, Laura; Waterman, Carrie; Lichtenwalner, Meghan

2010-01-01

This paper is based upon experiments developed as part of a Directed Research course designed to provide undergraduate biology students experience in the principles and processes of the scientific method used in biological research. The project involved the evaluation of herbal remedies used in many parts of the world in the treatment of diseases…

Herbal panacea: The need for today in dentistry

PubMed Central

Seal, Mukut; Rishi, Rahul; Satish, G.; Divya, K. T.; Talukdar, Pratim; Maniyar, Radhika

2016-01-01

Among ancient civilizations, India has been known to be a rich repository of medicinal plants. Herbal extracts have been used in traditional medicine for several thousand years. Some plants contain phytochemicals that have effects on the body. The use of phytotherapy is staging a comeback and an era of herbal renaissance is being revolutionized all over the globe. Herbs are a class of plants that are devoid of the woody tissue characteristic of shrubs or trees and have been known for their aromatic, flavoring, and medicinal values over the past centuries. Since the birth of contemporary practices, many have turned away from herbal therapies in favor of synthetic drugs. But these synthetic medicines can alter microbiota and have several side effects. However, the blind dependence on synthetics is over and people are returning to the naturals with the hope of safety and security. Hence, the search for alternative natural products continue. This review includes a few herbs, which can be used in dentistry as alternatives to allopathic medicines. PMID:27114947

[Study of changes in Chinese herbal medicine distribution channel].

PubMed

Lv, Hua; Yang, Guang; Huang, Lu-Qi

2014-07-01

Distribution channel of Chinese herbal medicines has been changing. From Han to Ming Dynasty, Chinese herbal medicine were mainly trafficked to urban by dealers or farmers; From the Ming Dynasty to the foundation of new China, distribution channels are primarily intermediated with township "bazaar" and national distribution center with fixed place and regularly trading hours. In the planned economy period, the state-owned herbal medicine company was the sole medium with monopoly nature. From the mid1980s to the end of last century, planned economy and market economy have been co-existing. Stepping into 21st century, producing area highlighted in the distribution channels. Presence or absence and rise or fall of different types of distribution market went throughout the changing process of distribution channels, which became an important clue. Changes were motivated by economical consideration of channel subject, which originated from commodity characteristic and social environment changes.

DNA barcode authentication of saw palmetto herbal dietary supplements.

PubMed

Little, Damon P; Jeanson, Marc L

2013-12-17

Herbal dietary supplements made from saw palmetto (Serenoa repens; Arecaceae) fruit are commonly consumed to ameliorate benign prostate hyperplasia. A novel DNA mini-barcode assay to accurately identify [specificity = 1.00 (95% confidence interval = 0.74-1.00); sensitivity = 1.00 (95% confidence interval = 0.66-1.00); n = 31] saw palmetto dietary supplements was designed from a DNA barcode reference library created for this purpose. The mini-barcodes were used to estimate the frequency of mislabeled saw palmetto herbal dietary supplements on the market in the United States of America. Of the 37 supplements examined, amplifiable DNA could be extracted from 34 (92%). Mini-barcode analysis of these supplements demonstrated that 29 (85%) contain saw palmetto and that 2 (6%) supplements contain related species that cannot be legally sold as herbal dietary supplements in the United States of America. The identity of 3 (9%) supplements could not be conclusively determined.

Herbal Medicines for the Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Bahrami, Hamid Reza; Hamedi, Shokouhsadat; Salari, Roshanak; Noras, Mohammadreza

2016-08-01

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic digestive disorder, which is characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation periods. The etiology is unknown. Based on the different mechanisms in the etiology, treatment focuses on controlling symptoms. Due to the longtime of syndrome, inadequacy of current treatments, financial burden for patients and pharmacologic effects, several patients have turned to the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Complementary and alternative treatments for IBS include hypnosis, acupuncture, cognitive behavior therapy, yoga, and herbal medicine. Herbal medicines can have therapeutic effects and adverse events in IBS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of herbal medicines in the control of IBS, and their possible mechanisms of action were reviewed. Herbal medicines are an important part of the health care system in many developing countries It is important for physicians to understand some of the more common forms of CAM, because some herbs have side effects and some have interactions with conventional drugs. However herbal medicines may have therapeutic effects in IBS, and further clinical research is needed to assess its effectiveness and safety.

Rescue of deficient amygdala tonic γ-aminobutyric acidergic currents in the Fmr-/y mouse model of fragile X syndrome by a novel γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor-positive allosteric modulator.

PubMed

Martin, Brandon S; Martinez-Botella, Gabriel; Loya, Carlos M; Salituro, Francesco G; Robichaud, Albert J; Huntsman, Molly M; Ackley, Mike A; Doherty, James J; Corbin, Joshua G

2016-06-01

Alterations in the ratio of excitatory to inhibitory transmission are emerging as a common component of many nervous system disorders, including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Tonic γ-aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) transmission provided by peri- and extrasynaptic GABA type A (GABAA ) receptors powerfully controls neuronal excitability and plasticity and, therefore, provides a rational therapeutic target for normalizing hyperexcitable networks across a variety of disorders, including ASDs. Our previous studies revealed tonic GABAergic deficits in principal excitatory neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in the Fmr1(-/y) knockout (KO) mouse model fragile X syndrome. To correct amygdala deficits in tonic GABAergic neurotransmission in Fmr1(-/y) KO mice, we developed a novel positive allosteric modulator of GABAA receptors, SGE-872, based on endogenously active neurosteroids. This study shows that SGE-872 is nearly as potent and twice as efficacious for positively modulating GABAA receptors as its parent molecule, allopregnanolone. Furthermore, at submicromolar concentrations (≤1 μM), SGE-872 is selective for tonic, extrasynaptic α4β3δ-containing GABAA receptors over typical synaptic α1β2γ2 receptors. We further find that SGE-872 strikingly rescues the tonic GABAergic transmission deficit in principal excitatory neurons in the Fmr1(-/y) KO BLA, a structure heavily implicated in the neuropathology of ASDs. Therefore, the potent and selective action of SGE-872 on tonic GABAA receptors containing α4 subunits may represent a novel and highly useful therapeutic avenue for ASDs and related disorders involving hyperexcitability of neuronal networks. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Quality transitivity and traceability system of herbal medicine products based on quality markers.

PubMed

Liu, Changxiao; Guo, De-An; Liu, Liang

2018-05-15

Due to a variety of factors to affect the herb quality, the existing quality management model is unable to evaluate the process control. The development of the concept of "quality marker" (Q-marker) lays basis for establishing an independent process quality control system for herbal products. To ensure the highest degree of safety, effectiveness and quality process control of herbal products, it is aimed to establish a quality transitivity and traceability system of quality and process control from raw materials to finished herbal products. Based on the key issues and challenges of quality assessment, the current status of quality and process controls from raw materials to herbal medicinal products listed in Pharmacopoeia were analyzed and the research models including discovery and identification of Q-markers, analysis and quality management of risk evaluation were designed. Authors introduced a few new technologies and methodologies, such as DNA barcoding, chromatographic technologies, fingerprint analysis, chemical markers, bio-responses, risk management and solution for quality process control. The quality and process control models for herbal medicinal products were proposed and the transitivity and traceability system from raw materials to the finished products was constructed to improve the herbal quality from the entire supply and production chain. The transitivity and traceability system has been established based on quality markers, especially on how to control the production process under Good Engineering Practices, as well as to implement the risk management for quality and process control in herbal medicine production. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Clearance of free silica in rat lungs by spraying with chinese herbal kombucha.

PubMed

Fu, Nai-Fang; Luo, Chang-Hui; Wu, Jun-Cai; Zheng, Yan-Yan; Gan, Yong-Jin; Ling, Jian-An; Liang, Heng-Qiu; Liang, Dan-Yu; Xie, Jing; Chen, Xiao-Qin; Li, Xian-Jun; Pan, Rui-Hui; Chen, Zuo-Xing; Jiang, Sheng-Jun

2013-01-01

The effects of spraying with kombucha and Chinese herbal kombucha were compared with treatments with tetrandrine in a rat silicosis model. Silica dust (50 mg) was injected into the lungs of rats, which were then treated with one of the experimental treatments for a month. The rats were then killed and the effects of the treatments were evaluated by examining the extent and severity of the histopathological lesions in the animals' lungs, measuring their organ coefficients and lung collagen contents, determining the dry and wet weights of their lungs, and measuring the free silica content of the dried lungs. In addition, lavage was performed on whole lungs taken from selected rats, and the numbers and types of cells in the lavage fluid were counted. The most effective treatment in terms of the ability to reduce lung collagen content and minimize the formation of pulmonary histopathological lesions was tetrandrine treatment, followed by Chinese herbal kombucha and non-Chinese herbal kombucha. However, the lavage fluid cell counts indicated that tetrandrine treatment had severe adverse effects on macrophage viability. This effect was much less pronounced for the kombucha and Chinese herbal kombucha treatments. Moreover, the free silica levels in the lungs of animals treated with Chinese herbal kombucha were significantly lower than those for any other silica-exposed group. These preliminary results indicate that spraying with Chinese herbal kombucha preparations can effectively promote the discharge of silica dust from lung tissues. Chinese herbal kombucha inhalation may thus be a useful new treatment for silicosis and other pneumoconiosis diseases.

Clearance of Free Silica in Rat Lungs by Spraying with Chinese Herbal Kombucha

PubMed Central

Fu, Nai-fang; Luo, Chang-hui; Wu, Jun-cai; Zheng, Yan-yan; Gan, Yong-jin; Ling, Jian-an; Liang, Heng-qiu; Liang, Dan-yu; Xie, Jing; Chen, Xiao-qin; Li, Xian-jun; Pan, Rui-hui; Chen, Zuo-Xing; Jiang, Sheng-jun

2013-01-01

The effects of spraying with kombucha and Chinese herbal kombucha were compared with treatments with tetrandrine in a rat silicosis model. Silica dust (50 mg) was injected into the lungs of rats, which were then treated with one of the experimental treatments for a month. The rats were then killed and the effects of the treatments were evaluated by examining the extent and severity of the histopathological lesions in the animals' lungs, measuring their organ coefficients and lung collagen contents, determining the dry and wet weights of their lungs, and measuring the free silica content of the dried lungs. In addition, lavage was performed on whole lungs taken from selected rats, and the numbers and types of cells in the lavage fluid were counted. The most effective treatment in terms of the ability to reduce lung collagen content and minimize the formation of pulmonary histopathological lesions was tetrandrine treatment, followed by Chinese herbal kombucha and non-Chinese herbal kombucha. However, the lavage fluid cell counts indicated that tetrandrine treatment had severe adverse effects on macrophage viability. This effect was much less pronounced for the kombucha and Chinese herbal kombucha treatments. Moreover, the free silica levels in the lungs of animals treated with Chinese herbal kombucha were significantly lower than those for any other silica-exposed group. These preliminary results indicate that spraying with Chinese herbal kombucha preparations can effectively promote the discharge of silica dust from lung tissues. Chinese herbal kombucha inhalation may thus be a useful new treatment for silicosis and other pneumoconiosis diseases. PMID:24023583

Clinical Strategy for Optimal Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Herbal Dose Selection in Disease Therapeutics: Expert Consensus on Classic TCM Herbal Formula Dose Conversion.

PubMed

Zha, Lin-Hua; He, Li-Sha; Lian, Feng-Mei; Zhen, Zhong; Ji, Hang-Yu; Xu, Li-Peng; Tong, Xiao-Lin

2015-01-01

The clinical therapeutics of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitutes a complicated process which involves theory, diagnosis, and formula prescription with specific herbal dosage. Zhang Zhong-Jing's classic work, Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases, has been influencing TCM practice for almost 2000 years. However, during this extended period of time in Chinese history, the Chinese weight measurement system experienced noticeable changes. This change in the weight measurement system inevitably, and perhaps even negatively, affected TCM herbal dosage determination and treatment outcome. Thus, in modern society, a full understanding of the accuracy of herbal dose selection has a critical importance in the TCM daily practice of delivering the best treatment to the patients suffering from different illnesses. In the 973 Project of the Chinese National Basic Research Program, expert consensus on classic TCM formula dose conversion has been reached based on extensive literature review and discussion on the dose-effect relationship of classic TCM formulas. One "liang" in classic TCM formulas is equivalent to 13.8 g. However, based on many TCM basic and clinical studies of variable herbal formula prescriptions and herbal drug preparations, the rule of one liang equals 13.8 g should be adjusted according to different disease conditions. Recommended by the committee on TCM formula dose-effect relationship of the China Association of Chinese Medicine and the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, the following expert consensus has been reached: (i) One liang converts to 6-9 g for the severely and critically ill patients. (ii) One liang converts to 3-6 g for the patients suffering from chronic diseases. (iii) One liang converts to 1-3 g in preventive medicine. The above conversions should be used as a future TCM practice guideline. Using this recommended guideline should enhance the effectiveness of daily TCM practice.

Tonic Inhibitory Control of Dentate Gyrus Granule Cells by α5-Containing GABAA Receptors Reduces Memory Interference.

PubMed

Engin, Elif; Zarnowska, Ewa D; Benke, Dietmar; Tsvetkov, Evgeny; Sigal, Maksim; Keist, Ruth; Bolshakov, Vadim Y; Pearce, Robert A; Rudolph, Uwe

2015-10-07

Interference between similar or overlapping memories formed at different times poses an important challenge on the hippocampal declarative memory system. Difficulties in managing interference are at the core of disabling cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders. Computational models have suggested that, in the normal brain, the sparse activation of the dentate gyrus granule cells maintained by tonic inhibitory control enables pattern separation, an orthogonalization process that allows distinct representations of memories despite interference. To test this mechanistic hypothesis, we generated mice with significantly reduced expression of the α5-containing GABAA (α5-GABAARs) receptors selectively in the granule cells of the dentate gyrus (α5DGKO mice). α5DGKO mice had reduced tonic inhibition of the granule cells without any change in fast phasic inhibition and showed increased activation in the dentate gyrus when presented with novel stimuli. α5DGKO mice showed impairments in cognitive tasks characterized by high interference, without any deficiencies in low-interference tasks, suggesting specific impairment of pattern separation. Reduction of fast phasic inhibition in the dentate gyrus through granule cell-selective knock-out of α2-GABAARs or the knock-out of the α5-GABAARs in the downstream CA3 area did not detract from pattern separation abilities, which confirms the anatomical and molecular specificity of the findings. In addition to lending empirical support to computational hypotheses, our findings have implications for the treatment of interference-related cognitive symptoms in neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly considering the availability of pharmacological agents selectively targeting α5-GABAARs. Interference between similar memories poses a significant limitation on the hippocampal declarative memory system, and impaired interference management is a cognitive symptom in many disorders. Thus, understanding mechanisms of successful

Traditional herbal medicine in Far-west Nepal: a pharmacological appraisal

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Plant species have long been used as principal ingredients of traditional medicine in far-west Nepal. The medicinal plants with ethnomedicinal values are currently being screened for their therapeutic potential but their data and information are inadequately compared and analyzed with the Ayurveda and the phytochemical findings. Methods The present study evaluated ethnomedicinal plants and their uses following literature review, comparison, field observations, and analysis. Comparison was made against earlier standard literature of medicinal plants and ethnomedicine of the same area, the common uses of the Ayurveda and the latest common phytochemical findings. The field study for primary data collection was carried out from 2006-2008. Results The herbal medicine in far-west Nepal is the basis of treatment of most illness through traditional knowledge. The medicine is made available via ancient, natural health care practices such as tribal lore, home herbal remedy, and the Baidhya, Ayurveda and Amchi systems. The traditional herbal medicine has not only survived but also thrived in the trans-cultural environment with its intermixture of ethnic traditions and beliefs. The present assessment showed that traditional herbal medicine has flourished in rural areas where modern medicine is parsimoniously accessed because of the high cost and long travel time to health center. Of the 48 Nepalese medicinal plants assessed in the present communication, about half of the species showed affinity with the common uses of the Ayurveda, earlier studies and the latest phytochemical findings. The folk uses of Acacia catechu for cold and cough, Aconitum spicatum as an analgesic, Aesculus indica for joint pain, Andrographis paniculata for fever, Anisomeles indica for urinary affections, Azadirachta indica for fever, Euphorbia hirta for asthma, Taxus wallichiana for tumor control, and Tinospora sinensis for diabetes are consistent with the latest pharmacological findings

Safety of Traditional Arab Herbal Medicine

PubMed Central

Saad, Bashar; Azaizeh, Hassan; Abu-Hijleh, Ghassan; Said, Omar

2006-01-01

Herbal remedies are widely used for the treatment and prevention of various diseases and often contain highly active pharmacological compounds. Many medicinal herbs and pharmaceutical drugs are therapeutic at one dose and toxic at another. Toxicity related to traditional medicines is becoming more widely recognized as these remedies become popular in the Mediterranean region as well as worldwide. Most reports concerning the toxic effects of herbal medicines are associated with hepatotoxicity although reports of other toxic effects including kidney, nervous system, blood, cardiovascular and dermatologic effects, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity have also been published in the medical literature. This article presents a systematic review on safety of traditional Arab medicine and the contribution of Arab scholars to toxicology. Use of modern cell biological, biochemical, in vitro and in vivo techniques for the evaluation of medicinal plants safety is also discussed. PMID:17173106

A Manual of Cherokee Herbal Remedies: History, Information, Identification, Medicinal Healing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schafer, Patricia D.

This thesis reports on the research of 25 plants, used as herbal remedies since the 1800s by the author's Native American ancestors (the Day family) and the Cherokee tribe. The plants were identified in four state parks in southwestern Indiana. Information sources included the research literature, articles on Cherokee herbal remedies, and…

Direct and simultaneous detection of organic and inorganic ingredients in herbal powder preparations by Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopic imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jian-bo; Sun, Su-qin; Tang, Xu-dong; Zhang, Jing-zhao; Zhou, Qun

2016-08-01

Herbal powder preparation is a kind of widely-used herbal product in the form of powder mixture of herbal ingredients. Identification of herbal ingredients is the first and foremost step in assuring the quality, safety and efficacy of herbal powder preparations. In this research, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopic identification method is proposed for the direct and simultaneous recognition of multiple organic and inorganic ingredients in herbal powder preparations. First, the reference spectrum of characteristic particles of each herbal ingredient is assigned according to FT-IR results and other available information. Next, a statistical correlation threshold is determined as the lower limit of correlation coefficients between the reference spectrum and a larger number of calibration characteristic particles. After validation, the reference spectrum and correlation threshold can be used to identify herbal ingredient in mixture preparations. A herbal ingredient is supposed to be present if correlation coefficients between the reference spectrum and some sample particles are above the threshold. Using this method, all kinds of herbal materials in powder preparation Kouqiang Kuiyang San are identified successfully. This research shows the potential of FT-IR microspectroscopic identification method for the accurate and quick identification of ingredients in herbal powder preparations.

Cardiovascular and Metabolic Responses to the Ingestion of Caffeinated Herbal Tea: Drink It Hot or Cold?

PubMed

Maufrais, Claire; Sarafian, Delphine; Dulloo, Abdul; Montani, Jean-Pierre

2018-01-01

Aim: Tea is usually consumed at two temperatures (as hot tea or as iced tea). However, the importance of drink temperature on the cardiovascular system and on metabolism has not been thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to compare the cardiovascular, metabolic and cutaneous responses to the ingestion of caffeinated herbal tea (Yerba Mate) at cold or hot temperature in healthy young subjects. We hypothesized that ingestion of cold tea induces a higher increase in energy expenditure than hot tea without eliciting any negative effects on the cardiovascular system. Methods: Cardiovascular, metabolic and cutaneous responses were analyzed in 23 healthy subjects (12 men and 11 women) sitting comfortably during a 30-min baseline and 90 min following the ingestion of 500 mL of an unsweetened Yerba Mate tea ingested over 5 min either at cold (~3°C) or hot (~55°C) temperature, according to a randomized cross-over design. Results: Averaged over the 90 min post-drink ingestion and compared to hot tea, cold tea induced (1) a decrease in heart rate (cold tea: -5 ± 1 beats.min -1 ; hot tea: -1 ± 1 beats.min -1 , p < 0.05), double product, skin blood flow and hand temperature and (2) an increase in baroreflex sensitivity, fat oxidation and energy expenditure (cold tea: +8.3%; hot tea: +3.7%, p < 0.05). Averaged over the 90 min post-drink ingestion, we observed no differences of tea temperature on cardiac output work and mean blood pressure responses. Conclusion: Ingestion of an unsweetened caffeinated herbal tea at cold temperature induced a greater stimulation of thermogenesis and fat oxidation than hot tea while decreasing cardiac load as suggested by the decrease in the double product. Further experiments are needed to evaluate the clinical impact of unsweetened caffeinated herbal tea at a cold temperature for weight control.

The use of herbal medicine in cancer-related anorexia/ cachexia treatment around the world.

PubMed

Cheng, Kai-Chun; Li, Ying-Xiao; Cheng, Juei-Tang

2012-01-01

Cancer-related cachexia, a condition in which the body is consumed by deranged carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism that is induced by inflammatory cytokines. Cachexia is associated with poor treatment outcome, fatigue and poor quality of life. Pharmacological intervention in the treatment and/or prevention of cachexia has been mainly aimed at the use of appetite enhancers to increase oral nutritional intake so far. Herbal remedies are part of traditional and folk healing methods with long histories of use. In this report, we have assessed which herbal approaches have had associated cancer cachexia case reports. Commonly used herbal medicines in western countries include essiac, iscador, pau d'arco tea, cannabinoids and so on. Some Kampo herbs and formulations are commonly used by cancer patients reduce the side effects and complications during the antitumor therapy. The relevant herbal medicines include ginseng, C. rhizome and radix astragali, and the related herbal remedies, such as TJ-48, TJ-41, PHY906 and Rikkunshito. However, there still have some adverse effects caused or amplified by herb and drug interactions that are difficult to separate. However, randomized effectiveness of herbal medicines shall be further identified in controlled clinical trials involving cancer patients with cachexia.