Recent Herbal Abstracts on Medline

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Biotechnol Lett. 2003 Sep;25(18):1549-53. An oligosaccharide

fraction from Korean mugwort herb suppresses death of the mouse

thymocytes in culture by down-regulating the Fas death receptor

gene. Chung HK, Bae EK, Ji HJ, Hwang JS, Park DW, Kim JE,

Jung HJ, Choi HJ, Lee DS, Youn HJ. Department of Microbiology

and School of Biotechnology & Biomedical Science, Inje

University, Gimhae 621-749, Korea. Korean mugwort herb is a

preparation of dried leaves from Artemisia species and has been

used as a traditional medicine in Asia. An oligosaccharide fraction,

AVF3, purified from the preparation promoted survival of the mouse

thymocytes in culture. A mouse gene array study suggests that

the AVF3 may modulate Fas/FasL dependent apoptotic cell death

and thus has influence on the survival of the thymocytes in culture.

RT-PCR analysis confirmed the down-regulation of the Fas gene by

the AVF3 treatment, supporting that the AVF3 modulated

thymocyte death by suppressing the Fas gene expression. PMID:

14571981 [PubMed - in process]

 

Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2003 Sep;23(9):695-8. [Effect

of Chinese herbal medicine for nourishing yin and purging fire on

mRNA expressions of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and its

receptor in precocious puberty model rats] [Article in Chinese] Tian

ZZ, Zhao H, Chen BY. Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese

and Western Medicine, Shanghai Medical Center, Fudan

University, Shanghai 200032. OBJECTIVE: To probe the

mechanism of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for nourishing Yin

and purging Fire on the expressions of gonadotropin-release

hormone (GnRH) and its mRNA expression in hypothalamus and

GnRH receptor mRNA in pituitary in danazol induced precocious

puberty model rats. METHODS: Rats were divided into the normal

group, the model group, the blank control group and the CHM

group. Rats, except that in the normal group, were subcutaneously

administered danazol 300 micrograms at 5 days of age individually

and CHM was fed to rats in the CHM group from 15 days of age, in

the meantime, normal saline was fed to rats in the blank control

group. Expression of GnRH in hypothalamus was observed by

immunohistochemical method and expressions of GnRH mRNA in

hypothalamus and GnRH receptor mRNA in pituitary were

determined by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Compared with rats in the

normal groups, the vaginal opening and the onset of first estrus

were ahead of time, the number of GnRH immunoreactive positive

cells decreased and the expressions of GnRH mRNA in

hypothalamus and GnRH receptor mRNA in pituitary up-regulated

in the model rats and blank control rats. Compared with the model

and the blank control groups, in CHM group, all the above-

mentioned abnormally changed parameters improved significantly

after treatment. CONCLUSION: CHM for nourishing Yin and purging

Fire may inhibit the abnormal hyperfunction of hypothalamus-

pituitary-ovary axis in precocious puberty rat induced by danazol

via reducing the synthesis and release of GnRH, and lowering the

responsibility of pituitary cells to GnRH. This may be the primary

mechanism of CHM in effectively treating the true precocious

puberty. PMID: 14571621 [PubMed - in process]

 

Dermatology. 2003;207(3):302-7. Complementary Medicine and

Psoriasis: Linking the Patient's Outlook with Evidence-Based

Medicine. Ben-Arye E, Ziv M, Frenkel M, Lavi I, Rosenman D.

Complementary and Traditional Medicine Unit, Department of

Family Medicine, Ha'emek Medical Center, Bruce Rappaport

Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology,

Haifa, Israel. BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence for the

extensive use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by

patients with psoriasis. Clinical research in the arena of CAM and

psoriasis treatment is evolving and includes some randomized

controlled trials. OBJECTIVE: To study CAM use among patients

with psoriasis attending a dermatology clinic in a major university

hospital in northern Israel. Prevalence, reasons for CAM use and

its relevance to doctor-patient communication were emphasized.

METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with

psoriasis patients in a dermatology clinic. Consent was obtained

for 78 patients. Post-visit questionnaires were given to 5

physicians. RESULTS: Seventy-eight patients with psoriasis were

interviewed and 77 were studied. Sixty-two percent used CAM.

Fifty-eight percent of users had seen a CAM practitioner. The study

found a trend of CAM use among patients with psoriasis from Arab

compared to Jewish descent (p = 0.087). CAM users reported on

average 2 different CAM modalities. Herbal medicine and nutritional

treatments ranked first, followed by homeopathy, traditional

Chinese medicine and nutritional supplements. The main reason for

CAM use was stated to be to do everything to heal the disease,

followed by a quest for improved quality of life. Others mentioned

an interest in a less toxic treatment, disappointment with

conventional treatment and stress reduction. Well over half of the

study participants and their dermatologists did not initiate a

discussion about CAM use. The dermatologists' ability to predict

CAM use in their patients was relatively low. CONCLUSION: There

is growing evidence of extensive CAM use among patients with

psoriasis. Most patients use CAM as a complementary treatment,

rather than an alternative to conventional treatment. Teaching CAM

should be integrated into the dermatology residency curriculum.

Dermatologists need to increase their awareness of CAM use by

their patients in order to improve therapeutic communication.

Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel PMID: 14571074 [PubMed - in

process]

 

Brain Res. 2003 Nov 14;990(1-2):141-7. Repair of amyloid beta(25-

35)-induced memory impairment and synaptic loss by a Kampo

formula, Zokumei-to. Tohda C, Tamura T, Komatsu K. Research

Center for Ethnomedicines, Institute of Natural Medicine, Toyama

Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2630 Sugitani, 930-0194,

Toyama, Japan Although Zokumei-to (ZMT), a Kampo formula, has

been used for postapopletic sequelae such as paralysis and

logopathy, only few studies of this drug have been carried out. We

hypothesized that ZMT may affect neuronal plasticity and

investigated whether or not this drug is capable of improving

learning impairment and synaptic loss observed in patients with

Alzheimer's disease (AD). Amyloid beta(25-35) [Abeta(25-35)] (4.7

nmol) was intracerebroventricularly injected into ddY mice (male, 6

weeks old). Fourteen days after the injection, mice were given ZMT

extract (500 mg/kg/day) per os for 15 days. In a memory

acquisition test, the Abeta(25-35)-injected mice required more time

to master this task than did mice in the saline- or reverse peptide

Abeta(35-25)-treated groups. ZMT-treated mice shortened escape

latencies during trial days 3-5, but not significantly. Three days

after the last drug treatment, a retention test was performed.

Following ZMT, the number of crossings over a platform was

significantly decreased in Abeta(25-35)-injected mice compared

with those in the control groups. However, ZMT-treated mice

showed complete recovery of this number. Although Abeta(25-35)

injection decreased synaptophysin expression in the cerebral

cortex and the hippocampus, ZMT treatment significantly increased

the level of expression of synaptophysin up to the control level.

Donepezil hydrochloride (DNP, 0.5 mg/kg/day, po) clinically used

for AD had no effect on memory retention and synaptophysin

levels. Abeta(25-35)-induced neuronal loss was not observed in any

region of the brain. The present results suggest that memory

impairment and synaptic loss in AD patients may be improved by

treatment with ZMT, even after such impairment has already

progressed. PMID: 14568338 [PubMed - in process]

 

Clin Chim Acta. 2003 Nov;337(1-2):77-84. Immune-enhancement

effect of the herbal combination Allergina. Jeong HJ, Chung HS, An

HJ, Kim JB, Lee EM, Park EJ, Jang CH, Hong SH, Kim HM.

Department of Pharmacology, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung

Hee University, 1 Hoegi-Dong, Dongdaemun-Gu, 130-701, Seoul,

South Korea BACKGROUND: The herbal formulation, Allergina,

has long been used for various diseases. It is known to have an

anti-microbial and anti-virus activity. However, it is still unclear how

Allergina has these effects in experimental models. We

investigated the effect of Allergina on the proliferation of T cell and

production of cytokines in human T-cell line, MOLT-4 cells, and

mouse peritoneal macrophages. METHODS: The MOLT-4 cells

were cultured for 24 h in the presence or absence of Allergina.

Allergina significantly increased the cell viability by 26.95.4%

(P<0.05) and interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4 and interferon (IFN)-gamma

production compared with media control (about 4-fold for IL-2, 2.5-

fold for IL-4 and 3.4-fold for IFN-gamma, P<0.05). Maximal effective

concentration of Allergina was 1 mg/ml for IL-2 and, 0.01 mg/ml for

IL-4 and IFN-gamma. Allergina alone or Allergina plus recombinant

IFN-gamma (rIFN-gamma) increased the production of tumor

necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, but Allergina decreased the production

of TNF-alpha on rIFN-gamma plus LPS-stimulated macrophages. In

addition, Allergina increased the production of IL-12 on mouse

peritoneal macrophages and peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

CONCLUSION: Allergina may have an immune-enhancement effect

through the cytokine production. PMID: 14568183 [PubMed - in

process]

 

Cancer Lett. 2003 Oct 28;200(2):115-21. Shikonin modulates cell

proliferation by inhibiting epidermal growth factor receptor signaling

in human epidermoid carcinoma cells. Singh F, Gao D, Lebwohl

MG, Wei H. Department of Dermatology, Mount Sinai School of

Medicine, New York, NY, USA Shikonin isolated from the roots of

the Chinese herb Lithospermum erythrorhizon has been associated

with anti-inflammatory properties. We evaluated shikonin's

chemotherapeutic potential and investigated its possible

mechanism of action in a human cutaneous neoplasm in tissue

culture. Shikonin preferentially inhibits the growth of human

epidermoid carcinoma cells concentration- and time-dependently

compared to SV-40 transfected keratinocytes, demonstrating its

anti-proliferative effects against this cancer cell line. Additionally,

shikonin decreased phosphorylated levels of EGFR, ERK1/2 and

protein tyrosine kinases, while increasing phosphorylated JNK1/2

levels. Overall, shikonin treatment was associated with increased

intracellular levels of phosphorylated apoptosis-related proteins,

and decreased levels of proteins associated with proliferation in

human epidermoid carcinoma cells. PMID: 14568164 [PubMed - in

process]

 

J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem. 2003 Aug;18(4):349-56. Presence of

fatty acid synthase inhibitors in the rhizome of Alpinia officinarum

hance. Li BH, Tian WX. Department of Biology, Graduate School of

Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 3908, Beijing 100039,

People's Republic of China. The galangal (the rhizome of Alpinia

officinarum, Hance) is popular in Asia as a traditional herbal

medicine. The present study reports that the galangal extract (GE)

can potently inhibit fatty-acid synthase (FAS, E.C.2.3.1.85). The

inhibition consists of both reversible inhibition with an IC50 value of

1.73 microg dried GE/ml, and biphasic slow-binding inactivation.

Subsequently the reversible inhibition and slow-binding inactivation

to FAS were further studied. The inhibition of FAS by galangin,

quercetin and kaempferol, which are the main flavonoids existing in

the galangal, showed that quercetin and kaempferol had potent

reversible inhibitory activity, but all three flavonoids had no obvious

slow-binding inactivation. Analysis of the kinetic results led to the

conclusion that the inhibitory mechanism of GE is totally different

from that of some other previously reported inhibitors of FAS, such

as cerulenin, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) and C75. PMID:

14567550 [PubMed - in process]

 

Prim Care. 2003 Jun;30(2):441-63. Herbal preparations for obesity:

are they useful? Heber D. UCLA Center for Human Nutrition,

University of California, 900 Veteran Avenue, Room 12-217, Los

Angeles, CA 90095-1742, USA. dheber The

opportunities for additional research in this area are plentiful.

Unfortunately, there has been relatively limited funding for research

on herbal supplements compared with the amount of funding that is

available for research on pharmaceuticals. Botanical dietary

supplements often contain complex mixtures of phytochemicals

that have additive or synergistic interactions. For example, the tea

catechins include a group of related compounds with effects that

are demonstrable beyond those that are seen with epigallocatechin

gallate, the most potent catechin. The metabolism of families of

related compounds may be different than the metabolism of purified

crystallized compounds. In some cases, herbal medicines may

simply be less purified forms of single active ingredients, but in

other cases they represent unique formulations of multiple, related

compounds that may have superior safety and efficacy compared

with single ingredients. Obesity is a global epidemic, and

traditional herbal medicines may have more acceptance than

prescription drugs in many cultures with emerging epidemics of

obesity. Several ethnobotanical studies found herbal treatments for

diabetes, and similar surveys, termed bioprospecting, for obesity

treatments may be productive. Beyond increasing thermogenesis,

there are other biological rationales for the actions of several

different alternative medical and herbal approaches to weight loss.

For example, several supplements and herbs claim to result in

nutrient partitioning so that ingested calories will be directed to

muscle, rather than fat. These include an herb (Garcinia

cambogia), and a lipid which is the product of bacterial metabolism

(conjugated linoleic acid). Moreover, a series of approaches

attempt to physically affect gastric satiety by filling the stomach.

Fiber swells after ingestion and has was found to result in

increased satiety. A binding resin (Chitosan) has the ability to

precipitate fat in the laboratory and is touted for its ability to bind

fat in the intestines so that it is not absorbed. In double-blind

studies, however, this approach was found to be ineffective. There

are two key attractions of alternative treatments to obese patients.

First, they are viewed as being natural and are assumed by

patients to be safer than prescription drugs. Second, there is no

perceived need for professional assistance with these approaches.

For obese individuals who cannot afford to see a physician, these

approaches often represent a more accessible solution. Finally, for

many others, these approaches represent alternatives to failed

attempts at weight loss with the use of more conventional

approaches. These consumers are often discouraged by previous

failures, and are likely to combine approaches or use these

supplements at doses higher than are recommended. It is vital that

the primary care physician is aware of the herbal preparations that

are being used by patients so that any potential interaction with

prescription drugs or underlying medical conditions can be

anticipated. Unfortunately, there have been several instances where

unscrupulous profiteers have plundered the resources of the obese

public. Although Americans spend $30 billion per year on weight

loss aids, our regulatory and monitoring capability as a society are

woefully inadequate. Without adequate resources, the FDA

resorted to " guilt by association " adverse events reporting, which

often results in the loss of potentially helpful therapies without

adequate investigation of the real causes of the adverse events that

are reported. Scientific investigations of herbal and alternative

therapies represent a potentially important source for new

discoveries in obesity treatment and prevention. Cooperative

interactions in research between the Office of Dietary

Supplements, the National Center for Complementary and

Alternative Medicine, and the FDA could lead to major advances in

research on the efficacy and safety of the most promising of these

alternative approaches. PMID: 14567158 [PubMed - in process]

 

J Reprod Med. 2003 Sep;48(9):707-12. Effects of antioxidant

treatment in oligozoospermic and asthenozoospermic men. Suzuki

M, Kurabayashi T, Yamamoto Y, Fujita K, Tanaka K. Department

of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Niigata University School of

Medicine, Niigata, Japan. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of

sairei-to, an herbal medicine, as an antioxidant in oligozoospermia

and asthenozoospermia (nonnormozoospermia). STUDY DESIGN:

Forty-seven nonnormozoospermic and 16 normozoospermic men

were the subjects of this prospective clinical study. After sairei-to

(9g/d) was administered daily to the 2 groups for 3 months, sperm

parameters, serum hormones and superoxide dismutase (SOD)

activity in the serum and the seminal plasma was analyzed. The

testicular artery was also assessed. RESULTS: After therapy,

serum hormones and SOD activity did not change significantly in

either group. Although men with normozoospermia did not undergo

a significant change in sperm conditions or testicular artery flow,

total sperm concentration (17.1 20.0 versus 28.7 35.5 x 10(6)/mL,

P = .02) and sperm motility (30.1% 21.6 versus 45.8% 24.4, P <

..0001) were significantly increased, and the pulsatility index of the

testicular artery (2.03 0.84 versus 1.64 0.48, P = .04) was

significantly decreased in nonnormozoospermia. CONCLUSION:

Treatment with the herbal antioxidant sairei-to improves sperm

condition and testicular artery flow in nonnormozoospermia. PMID:

14562636 [PubMed - in process]

 

 

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