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

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

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

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

A review of the most important medicinal plants effective on wound healing on ethnobotany evidence of Iran

Wound is referred to the disruption of joined structure of the body caused by physical, chemical, and biological agents. Wound healing is a reconstructive process which takes place after damage to skin and soft tissues. After damage, inflammatory response is developed and subdermal cells begin to increase the production of collagen and then epithelial tissue is gradually reconstructed. In Iran traditional medicine, natural substances and medicinal plants are used to heal wounds. This study was conducted to review the most important medicinal plants used for wound healing in different provinces of Iran. The key words including wound healing and skin healing combined with the words medicinal plants, ethnobotany, and traditional medicine in Iran were used to search for in the databases Information Sciences Institute, PubMed, Scopus, Islamic World Science Citation Center, and Magiran. The findings of this study on 15 different regions of Iran indicated use of 67 medicinal plants for wound healing. In some regions Scrophulariastriata, Althaea officinalis, Nerium oleander L. andPlantago major L. were jointly used for wound healing. The medicinal plants reported in this study with their wound-healing property are some alternatives that could be used to develop herbal medicines effective on wound healing if complementary studies confirm their properties

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

The effect of dietary virgin olive oil on brain lipid levels and brain edema in rat stroke models

Background and Objective: Stroke is the third most common cause of death in industrialized countries after cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Despite numerous defenses, the brain is vulnerable to oxidative stress resulting from ischemia and reperfusion. Due to the relationship between olive oil consumption and low cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, this study was accomplished to investigate the relationship between dietary virgin olive oil (VOO) on brain lipids and formation of brain edema in rat stroke models. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study 60 Wistar rats were divided into five groups. First and second groups (control and sham) received distilled water, while all three treatment groups received oral VOO for 30 days (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 ml/kg/day respectively). Two hours after the last dose, each main group was subdivided into two additional groups of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for the assessment of neuropathology (brain edema) and intact group for brain lipid analysis. Data were analyzed using one way Anova LSD tests and Pearson correlation. Results: Pretreatment by VOO increased the brain cholesterol ester and cholesterol levels in doses of 0.5 and 0.75 ml/kg/day. VOO in all three doses increased the brain triglyceride levels (p<0.05). Oral administration of VOO in doses of 0.5 and 0.75 reduced brain edema in mice. Conclusion: Results suggest that VOO may be taken as a valuable alternative for the pretreatment of ischemia via inducing some changes in lipid profile and decreasing brain edema

Phytochemical analysis of some plants from Lamiaceae family frequently used in folk medicine in Aligudarz region of Lorestan Province Lorestan ilinin Aligudarz bölgesinde halk ilaci olarak sikça kullanilan Lamiaceae familyasindan bazi bitkilerin fitokimyasal analizi

Many of the plants from the Lamiaceae family have been traditionally used as medicine all over the world. Also, some of the secondary metabolites isolated from this family have shown interesting biological function. In this study we have analyzed phytochemicals of some plants from Lamiaceae family frequently used in folk medicine in Aligudarz region of Lorestan province. In this regard, the plant species were collected and systematically identified during 2014-2015. The traditional and local uses of collected plants were questioned through informed consent semi-structured interviews with local informants. Phytochemical analysis was conducted to test the presence of compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, anthraquinone and glycosides. 25 plant species belonging to 13 genes were collected and identified. The most uses of the plants were in treating cold, gastrointestinal disorders and as flavoring agents. From 25 plant species, a number of 23 species had tannin, 22 species exhibited positive reactions to flavonoids, 4 species showed positive reactions to alkaloids and 1 species exhibited positive reactions to saponins. This research has provided insights on the use of secondary metabolites in folk medicine for promotion of appropriate human health. The studied plants in this article can be seen as a potential source for discovering new drugs