Atherosclerosis: Pathophysiology and promising herbal remedies in traditional Persian medicine

Atherosclerosis is a progressive inflammatory disease and is considered as main reason of death and morbidity in worldwide. The common drugs which are used for treatment of atherosclerosis reveal side effects, therefore it is necessary to identify the natural sources. This study overviews the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and effective medicinal plants present in Iran. In this study, 19 medical plants have been reported to be scientifically effective against atherosclerosis which are included Punica granatum L., Aloe vera, Amaranthus caudatus L., Artemisia sieberi Besser, Artemisia spp., Rhus coriaria, Nigella sativa L., Trifolium pratense L., Anethum graveolens, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Vaccinium myrtillus L, Gundelia tournefortii L, Hypericum perforatum, Curcuma longa, Crocus sativus L, Malus domestica, Silybum marianum, Berberis integerrima and Portulaca oleracea L. These plants have antioxidant and flavonoid compounds with unknown mechanisms serve to improve atherosclerosis. It seems that medicinal plants native to Iran, which have antioxidant and inhibit the oxidative stress, reduce inflammatory processes and ultimately improve atherosclerosis

O impacto dos distúrbios monetários na inflação e nos ciclos de negócios na economia iraniana

In this paper, we have investigated the effect of monetary disorders on inflation and business cycles in Iran’s economy during the period 1973 to 2012. Monetary disorders are defined by two indexes of monetary policy uncertainty and shock to liquidity growth. In the first step, the causal relationship of monetary policy uncertainty on real GDP fluctuations, employment fluctuations and inflation are estimated using Granger causality test. To this purpose, to follow Haghighat and Mohammad Gholipour Tapeh (2014), the conditional variance of liquidity growth extracted from models of GARCH family was applied as a substitute for monetary policy uncertainty. In the second stage, the reaction of economic growth, employment growth and inflation to the shock to liquidity growth are estimated using impulse response function technique derived from VAR model. The results indicate the existence of one-way Granger causality relation of monetary policy uncertainty in all three variables of real GDP fluctuations, employment fluctuations and inflation. Also, based on the results, impulse response function reduces the shock to liquidity growth as much as a standard deviation, real GDP growth and employment after a period and increases inflation. Accordingly, the hypothesis of the effect of monetary disorders on business cycles in Iran’s economy in the period of this research cannot be rejected.JEL classification: E23, E31, E32, E52En este documento, hemos investigado el efecto de los trastornos monetarios en la inflación y los ciclos económicos en la economía de Irán durante el período de 1973 a 2012. Los trastornos monetarios se definen por dos índices de incertidumbre de la política monetaria y el impacto del crecimiento de la liquidez. En el primer paso, la relación causal de la incertidumbre de la política monetaria sobre las fluctuaciones del PIB real, las fluctuaciones del empleo y la inflación se estiman mediante la prueba de causalidad de Granger. Para este propósito, siguiendo a Haghighat y Mohammad Gholipour Tapeh (2014), se aplicó la varianza condicional del crecimiento de la liquidez extraída de los modelos de la familia GARCH como sustituto de la incertidumbre de la política monetaria. En la segunda etapa, la reacción del crecimiento económico, el crecimiento del empleo y la inflación al impacto del crecimiento de la liquidez se estiman utilizando la técnica de función de respuesta al impulso derivada del modelo VAR. Los resultados indican la existencia de una relación de causalidad de Granger unidireccional de la incertidumbre de la política monetaria en las tres variables de fluctuaciones del PIB real, fluctuaciones del empleo e inflación. Además, en función de los resultados, la función de respuesta al impulso reduce el impacto del crecimiento de la liquidez tanto como una desviación estándar, el crecimiento del PIB real y el empleo después de un período y aumenta la inflación. En consecuencia, la hipótesis del efecto de los trastornos monetarios en los ciclos económicos de la economía de Irán en el período de esta investigación no puede ser rechazada.Clasificación JEL: E23, E31, E32, E52Neste artigo, investigamos o efeito dos distúrbios monetários sobre a inflação e os ciclos econômicos na economia do Irã durante o período de 1973 a 2012. Os distúrbios monetários são definidos por dois índices de incerteza da política monetária e por choque no crescimento da liquidez. No primeiro passo, a relação causal entre a incerteza da política monetária sobre as flutuações do PIB real, as flutuações do emprego e a inflação é estimada usando o teste de causalidade de Granger. Para este propósito, para seguir Haghighat e Mohammad Gholipour Tapeh (2014), a variância condicional do crescimento de liquidez extraída de modelos da família GARCH foi aplicada como um substituto para a incerteza da política monetária. No segundo estágio, a reação do crescimento econômico, crescimento do emprego e inflação ao choque para o crescimento da liquidez são estimados usando a técnica de função de resposta impulsiva derivada do modelo VAR. Os resultados indicam a existência de uma relação de causalidade de Granger unidirecional da incerteza da política monetária em todas as três variáveis de flutuações reais do PIB, flutuações do emprego e inflação. Além disso, com base nos resultados, a função de resposta ao impulso reduz o choque para o crescimento da liquidez, tanto quanto um desvio padrão, crescimento do PIB real e emprego após um período e aumenta a inflação. Consequentemente, a hipótese do efeito dos distúrbios monetários nos ciclos de negócios na economia do Irã no período desta pesquisa não pode ser rejeitada.Classificação JEL: E23, E31, E32, E5

Hematopoietic medicinal plants based on ethnobotanical documents of Iran: A strategy to develop nature-based drugs effective on anemia

Anemia is a very common public health problem which has recently been spread in both developed and developing countries. Anemia causes wanness, tachycardia, tinnitus, headache, irritability, weakness, and a number of nonspecific complaints. Many of the plants can be used as hematopoietic. This article is to report the medicinal plants that are used as hematopoietic according to the main references of the Iranian traditional medicine. For this purpose, the related articles were retrieved from the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Islamic World Science Citation Center, and Magiran by the search terms consisting of anemia, hematopoietic, ethnobotany, medicinal plants, Iran, and traditional medicine. According to the findings of this study, Raphanus sativus, Oriyganum vulgare, Thymus vulgaris, Rosmarinus officinalis, Petroselinum crispum, Allium sativum, Foeniculum vulgare, Spinacia oleracea L., Phaseolus vulgaris, Prunus armeniaca, Matricaria chamomilla, Cucumis melo var.inodorus, Rheum officinale, Cucumis melo, Ficus carica, Citrus latifolia, Solanum tuberosum L., Ananas comosus, Solanum lycopersicum, Brassica rapa, Daucus carota, Urtica dioica, and Centaurea cyanus were found to be hematopoietic plants. These plants contain bioactive and antioxidant components that either have iron or affect the body's mechanisms and cause hematopoiesis

An overview of the most important medicinal plants affecting cardiac arrhythmia in Iran

Oxidative stress occur in several diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, aging and Alzheimer's disease. Cardiac arrhythmia is today a common clinical problem presenting with decrease, increase or mismatch in normal heart rhythm that cause reduction in cardiac output. Given the importance of heart diseases and noting that in many countries, cardiovascular diseases are among the top causes of death and the leading cause of disability and the fact that application of medicinal plants and herbal medicines is common in the treatment of hypertension, ischemic heart disease, congestive heart disease, arrhythmias and angina pectoralis, therefore, this review aimed to identify the anti-arrhythmic medicinal plants indigenous in Iran. Due to the proven anti-arrhythmic effects of medicinal herbs including grape, sour orange, olive, pokeweeds and nettle and regarding the obvious phytochemical agents in them, so hesperidin, naringin, deosepyn, apigenin, aloroporin and hydroxytyrosol, phytolactosin, catechins, betacianin, tannins and free phenolic acids can be used as anti-arrhythmic ingredients used for the production of bioactive agents

Traditional uses of medicinal plants to prevent and treat diabetes; an updated review of ethnobotanical studies in Iran

Background: Obesity and physical inactivity are currently on the rise due to industrialization of the communities, which has recently led to increased incidence of different diseases such as diabetes. Epidemiological studies and figures have demonstrated the growing incidence of diabetes. Relevantly, the side effects of chemical drugs have led patients to use medicinal plants and traditional approaches despite advances in development of chemical drugs. The aim of this review article is to report the medicinal plants and their traditional uses to prevent and treat diabetes according to the findings of ethnobotanical studies conducted in different regions of Iran. Evidence Acquisitions: The search terms including ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, ethnopharmacology, phytopharmacology, phytomedicine, Iran, and traditional medicine in combination with diabetes, blood sugar and hyperglycemic were searched from scientific databases. Results: The results of this article can be a comprehensive guideline, based on ethnobotany of different regions of Iran, to prevent and treat diabetes. According to this review article, certain plant species such as Urtica dioica L., popularly called nettle, in eight regions, Teucrium polium L., popularly called poleigamander, in five regions, and Trigonella foenum-graecum L., Citrullus colocynthis (L.), Schrad., and Juglans regia L. in four regions, were reported to be frequently used to prevent and treat diabetes Conclusions: The introduced medicinal plants in this review can be investigated in further research and produce new drugs with limited side effects

A mini-review on the most important effective medicinal plants to treat hypertension in ethnobotanical evidence of Iran.

Nowadays, cardiovascular diseases are highly prevalent in human communities. Hypertension is a multifactorial disease which causes a mortality twice higher than general population. Given the fact that medicinal plants have long been used to treat hypertension and are currently being administered for this disease, we sought to report the mostly effective and important medicinal plants on hypertension therapy in ethno-botanical evidence of Iran. In this study, hypertension, Iran, ethno-botany, medicinal plants, and traditional medicine were used as key words to search in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO and EMBASE to select relevant articles. The findings of this study indicated that in Iran 40 plants in various provinces are used to treat hypertension. Because medicinal plants in this study contain effective compounds and have long been used to treat and reduce hypertension, they could provide suitable research arrangements for controlling hypertension, while effective natural drugs could be developed to control hypertension if their properties are confirmed in pharmacological studies

The effect of feeding with soybean on serum levels of TSH, T3 and T4 in male mice

Introduction: Soybean possesses isoflavones and might, therefore, cause problem in thyroid hormone synthesis. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of soybean on serum levels of Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), Triiodothyronine (T3), and Thyroxine (T4) in male mice. Methods: In this experimental study, 24 Balb/C male mice were randomly assigned to three groups of eight including control or base diet-fed group and treatment groups 1 and 2 receiving respectively 30 and 50 soybean-containing diet. After nine weeks, the blood sample was taken from the animals&rsquo; heart and serum levels of TSH, T3, and T4 were measured. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using one-way ANOVA and Duncan&rsquo;s test. Results: In 50 soybean group, a significant decrease was observed in T4 serum level compared to the control group (p&lt;0.05). On the other hand, this hormone level non-significantly decreased in the group fed by 30 soybean compared to the control group (p&lt;0.05). TSH serum level increased significantly in 30 soybean group compared to the control group (p&lt;0.05). But, serum level of T3 was not significantly different between 30 or 50 soybean groups and control group (p&gt;0.05). Conclusion: In view of the findings, it is estimated that the effect of addition of soybean into meal on thyroid function is dose-dependent, so that the diet containing 30 and 50 soybean might cause increased TSH release in thyrotrope cells and hence variation in pituitary-thyroid axis function.</p

Oxidative stress and age-related changes in T cells: Is thalassemia a model of accelerated immune system aging?

Iron overload in β-thalassemia major occurs mainly due to blood transfusion, an essential treatment for β-thalassemia major patients, which results in oxidative stress. It has been thought that oxidative stress causes elevation of immune system senescent cells. Under this condition, cells normally enhance in aging, which is referred to as premature immunosenescence. Because there is no animal model for immunosenescence, most knowledge on the immunosenescence pattern is based on induction of immunosenescence. In this review, we describe iron overload and oxidative stress in β-thalassemia major patients and how they make these patients a suitable human model for immunosenescence. We also consider oxidative stress in some kinds of chronic virus infections, which induce changes in the immune system similar to β-thalassemia major. In conclusion, a therapeutic approach used to improve the immune system in such chronic virus diseases, may change the immunosenescence state and make life conditions better for β-thalassemia major patients. © 2016 Termedia Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved

Anti-angiogenesis effect of <em>crocous sativus </em>L. extract on matrix metalloproteinase gene activities in human breast carcinoma cells

Introduction: There is an interest in Crocous sativus L. (Saffron) mainly because of its biological properties. Biomedical research has focused on saffron as a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor, but its mechanism has not yet been thoroughly clarified. In this study, the effects of saffron aqua extract on matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) gene expression were investigated. Methods: In this experimental study, the saffron was extracted using water as solvent. MCF-7 cells in RPMI1640 medium were supplemented with 10 FBS and incubated at 37 ˚C with 5 CO2. After 24 h, the cells were treated by saffron extract at concentrations of 100, 200, 400 and 800 &mu;g/ml. 48 h after treatment, total RNA was extracted and cDNA was synthesized using specific primer. Synthesized products were analyzed by Real Time PCR to determine expression level of MMP. Results: Data analysis showed inhibitory effect of saffron at concentrations of 100 to 800 &mu;g/ml on MMP gene expression in comparison with control group. Reduction for 100, 200, 400 and 800 &mu;g/ml were 5, 18, 15, 11, respectively. According to data analysis treating MCF-7 cells with saffron at concentration of 200 &mu;g/ml caused the highest decrease, with 18 reduction in gene expression (P&lt;0.001). Conclusion: Results indicate decrease in the expression of MMP compared with controls revealing induction of inhibitory effects of saffron on angiogenesis which might be also considered as a promising chemotherapeutic agent in breast cancer treatment.</p

Magnetic field effects on seed germination and activities of some enzymes in cumin

Failure of germination among Apiaceae family seeds, e. g. cumin (Cuminum cyminum), has been reported by many investigators. Until now few works have been done on seed germination and seedling growth of cumin. In this research the effects of the exposure of cumin seeds to magnetic fields on seed germination, early growth, and enzyme activity have been studied under laboratory conditions. Seeds were magnetically exposed to one of three magnetic field strengths, 25, 50 and 75 mT for different periods of time (15, 30, and 60 min). The germination test was performed according to the guidelines issued by the International Seed Testing Association. Enzymes related to the germination process in magnetically exposed and unexposed germinating cumin seeds were assayed after 24 hours of imbibitions in distilled water. Exposure of cumin seeds to different intensities of magnetic fields prior to germination significantly increased germination-related characters. The increase in germination, speed of germination, shoot length, root length, total seedling length, seedling fresh weight, and seedling dry weight was, respectively, 14-17%, 14-57%, 8-27%, 25-62%, 16-39%, 10-29%, and 17-49% compared to untreated control seeds. The calculated vigor indices I and II also increased by 33-73% and 38-72%, respectively. In germinating seeds, enzyme activities of alpha-amylase, dehydrogenase, and protease were significantly higher in treated seeds in contrast to controls and the maximum value was 50 mT for 60 min exposures. The higher enzyme activity in magnetic-field-treated cumin seeds could trigger fast germination and early vigor of seedlings