Effect of Epilobium angustifolium and Serenoa repens extracts on regulation of non-genomic signaling pathway of kinases

Objectives: Changes of kinase activity of non-genomic cellular signaling pathway may influence the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy in case of hormone-dependent tumors. Our study investigated a possible interaction at the molecular level between an aqueous herbal extract of Epilobium angustifolium as well as a lipid-sterolic fruit extract of Serenoa repens and synthetic drugs used in the treatment of hormone-dependent cancers. Material and methods: E. angustifolium and Serenoa repens extracts were orally administered to testosteroneinduced rats for 21 days. Changes of RafA/Mapk3/Mapk1 mRNA levels were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR using target specific primers. Results: The level of RafA mRNA slightly increased in rats receiving Epilobium angustifolium (p=0.076) and Serenoa repens (p=0.016) extracts. Administration of these extracts resulted in significantly elevated Mapk1 and Mapk3 transcripts in the investigated animals (

The influence of a standardized soybean extract (Glycine max) on the expression level of CYP3A enzymes and pregnane X receptor in in vivo model

Abstract Objective: Soybean phytoestrogens, such as genistein and daidzein, have become a popular alternative for women undergoing the treatment of menopause symptoms. These isoflavones are also commonly used in traditional medicine in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Despite the widespread use of soybean preparations as functional foods and dietary supplements, data regarding the safety as well as interactions between herbal medicines and synthetic drugs, especially with antineoplastic agents, remain scarce. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the influence of soybean extract on the expression levels of CYP3A and PXR genes using real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Materials and methods: Male Wistar rats were given a standardized soybean extract (100mg/kg p.o.) for 3 and 10 days. Total RNA isolated from the liver tissue was transcribed into cDNA. The level of CYP3A1/2 and PXR mRNAs expression was analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR using SYBR Green I dye. Results: Our findings showed that soybean extract containing 37% isoflavones resulted in a significant decrease of CYP3A1 expression level by almost 35% (

Attitude of future healthcare professionals towards food supplements

Introduction: The use of dietary supplements has been observed for many years. Unfortunately, the status of food supplements and main differences between these and drugs remain unknown to most consumers

A Step towards Understanding and Tackling Health Inequalities: The Use of Secondary Prevention Services and the Need for Health Promotion in a Rural Setting

Poland has recently intensified its health promotion in an effort to extend healthy life expectancy and reduce health inequalities. Our aim was to reach a deprived rural population, increase its health literacy, and explore its use of and barriers to cancer screening and public health care. A CBPR study was conducted in one of the poorest districts in Wielkopolska region, Poland, among 122 beneficiaries of health education workshops. A self-developed questionnaire was used. The reported barriers to participation in cancer screening included: lack of time, lack of need, or feeling healthy (32.8%); long waiting times (17.2%); fear of costs (9%). Physicians seldom recommended screening to their patients. Only 7.4% of respondents had ever received dermatoscopy. Among women, 18.2% did not perform any breast exams and 25% had never had smear tests. Diagnostics was often financed out of pocket (thyroid ultrasound = 58.1%; smear test = 48.5%; breast ultrasound = 36.8%). The health system needs mentioned by participants included better access to physicians (65.6%), promotion of free screening tests (54.9%), and access to public health programmes (22.1%). There is an urgent need to translate national strategies into action. Health promotion and better access to care must become priorities in deprived areas, while primary care providers should become key figures in delivering these services

Nurses’ Perspectives on Smoking Policies, Safety and Cessation Support in Psychiatric Wards: A Cross-Sectional Survey

A high prevalence of smoking and low rates of smoking cessation interventions can be observed in psychiatric wards. A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study was performed in five hospitals among 107 psychiatric ward nurses. The aim was to investigate nurses’ views on patients’ smoking practices and their influence on the safety of both the patients and medical personnel. In addition, we asked about the availability of smoking cessation support. Most of the respondents noticed the negative impacts of smoking on patients and medical personnel. Nearly a third of our respondents (29.0%) recalled smoking-related accidents in their facilities. In 45.2% of these accidents, a patient set someone else on fire. Around one fifth of nurses had rather permissive attitudes towards tobacco use in hospital wards. Significant associations were identified between respondents’ smoking status and their opinions on amending smoking policies and on unsupervised smoking. Regarding professional help available to smoking patients, 88.8% of participants reported that interventions to address smoking were available in their wards. Psychiatric hospitalisation can be an opportunity to offer tobacco treatment to patients with mental health conditions. To make use of this opportunity, smoke-free policies need to be put in place and hospital personnel, particularly nurses, should be trained and equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to assist in the smoking care of psychiatric ward patients

Higher-Order Language Dysfunctions in Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder

Patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) have difficulties with certain aspects of higher-order language functions (HOLF) but there is no data on a wide range of these functions in this group. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare different aspects of HOLF in patients with AUD and healthy controls (HC). A total of 31 patients with AUD and 44 HC took part in the study. We assessed HOLF with the Right Hemisphere Language Battery (RHLB) and measured control variables: depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) as well as the speed of processing and executive functions with the Color Trails Test (CTT). Patients with AUD had lower results on nine RHLB tests. Moreover, AUD patients had higher scores on PHQ and longer reaction times on CTT. The differences in most RHLB results remained significant after co-varying the control variables. Patients with AUD have difficulties with making inferences from the text, understanding the meaning of individual words, metaphorical content, and prosody, which may impede the comprehension and production of discourse in which linguistic elements must be integrated with non-verbal cues and contextual information. These disturbances may impact various spheres of everyday life and negatively influence social, private, and professional functioning

Oral Health Behaviours, Knowledge, and Literacy of Expectant Mothers: A Cross-Sectional Study among Maternity Ward Patients

Maternal knowledge, literacy, and behaviours in the area of oral health may greatly influence the risk of caries and the oral health status of children from the youngest age. Thus, the aim of the study was to investigate paediatric oral health knowledge and literacy as well as maternal oral health behaviours and outcomes among expectant mothers. A cross-sectional study was undertaken among 400 pregnant inpatients aged 17–48 years (mean age 29.5 ± 5.3 years) in 31 public maternity wards in the Wielkopolska region, Poland. An anonymous, self-designed questionnaire was prepared on the basis of current oral health recommendations. Pregnancy complications were reported by 195 (48.8%), and permanent tooth extractions by 158 (39.5%) women. Knowledge and literacy scores were associated with, among other things, maternal education, selected oral hygiene practices, and reported extractions of permanent teeth. Although participants had some correct information regarding oral health, they had insufficient awareness of caries as an infectious disease and of the appropriate timing for the child’s first dental visit. Their self-assessment of oral health status and belief that they were under dental care tended to be overly optimistic, given their self-reported outcomes. These aspects should be considered in future health education efforts among expectant women

Expression of genes modulated by epigallocatechin-3-gallate in breast cancer cells

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common malignant cancer among women. Both drug resistance and metastasis are major problems in the treatment of breast cancer. Therefore, adjuvant therapy may improve patients’ survival and affect their quality of life. It is suggested that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which is well known for its chemopreventive activity and acts on numerous molecular targets may inhibit the growth and metastasis of some cancers. Hence, discovering the metastatic molecular mechanisms for breast cancer may be useful for therapy

Impact of Panax ginseng and Ginkgo biloba extracts on expression level of transcriptional factors and xenobiotic-metabolizing cytochrome P450 enzymes

Wstęp: Mimo powszechnego stosowania Panax ginseng i Ginkgo biloba dane dotyczące bezpieczeństwa, a także interakcji pomiędzy preparatami roślinnymi a lekami syntetycznymi są bardzo ograniczone. W niniejszych badaniach założono, iż żeń-szeń oraz miłorząb mogą modulować aktywność i zawartość izoenzymów cytochromu P450 biorących udział w biotransformacji różnych substancji ksenobiotycznych. Cel: Określenie wpływu preparatów roślinnych na poziom ekspresji enzymów CYP i ich czynników transkrypcyjnych. Metody: Szczurom rasy Wistar podawano standaryzowany Panax ginseng (30 mg/kg) oraz Ginkgo biloba (200 mg/kg) przez 3 do 10 dni. Ekspresję w tkance wątrobowej analizowano za pomocą metody PCR w czasie rzeczywistym. Wyniki: Uzyskane wyniki wykazały spadek poziomu mRNA CYP3A1 (homolog ludzkiego enzymu CYP3A4) po podaniu ekstraktu z żeń-szenia. Ekspresja genu CYP2C6 (homolog ludzkiego enzymu CYP2C9) również uległa obniżeniu. Dodatkowo, obserwowaliśmy wzrost ekspresji CYP1A1 (homolog ludzkiego enzymu CYP1A1) i CYP1A2 (homolog ludzkiego enzymu CYP1A2) po 10 dniach stosowania P. ginseng. Ponadto, ekstrakt z G. biloba spowodował również wzrost poziomu mRNA CYP1A1, CYP2C6, CYP3A1 i CYP3A2 w modelu in vivo. Wnioski: Badania sugerują, że wyciągi roślinne mogą modulować ekspresję czynników transkrypcyjnych i enzymów CYP uczestniczących w metabolizmie ksenobiotyków i chemicznej karcynogenezie

Wpływ standaryzowanego ekstraktu sojowego (Glycine max) na poziom ekspresji cytochromu P450 in vivo

Abstract Objective: Soybean isoflavones are phytoestrogens that reduce menopausal symptoms and decrease the risk of certain chronic diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Despite the widespread use of soybean isoflavones as functional food and dietary supplements, data regarding the safety, as well as herb-drug interactions, remain scarce. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of soybean extract on the expression levels of cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes using real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Materials and methods: Male Wistar rats were fed a standardized soybean extract containing 37% isoflavones (100mg/kg) for 3 and 10 days. cDNA was synthesized from total RNA isolated from the liver using reverse transcription. The level of CYP genes expression was analyzed using RT-PCR method. Results: Soybean extract administration resulted in a significant increase of CYP1A1 expression level compared with the control group (1.5-fold; pCel pracy: Izoflawony sojowe są fitoestrogenami, które redukują objawy menopauzy i zmniejszają ryzyko wystąpienia wielu chorób chronicznych, takich jak nowotworowych czy sercowo-naczyniowych. Pomimo powszechnego stosowania izoflawonów sojowych jako żywności funkcjonalnej i suplementów diety, dane dotyczące bezpieczeństwa jak również występowania interakcji pomiędzy preparatem roślinnym a lekiem syntetycznym są bardzo ograniczone. Celem pracy było zbadanie wpływu ekstraktu sojowego na poziom ekspresji genów cytochromu P450 (CYP) wykorzystując technikę real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Materiały i metody: Szczury rasy Wistar traktowano standaryzowanym ekstraktem (100mg/kg) zawierającym 37% izoflawonów przez 3 i 10 dni. cDNA syntetyzowano z całkowitego RNA izolowanego z szczurzej wątroby stosując odwrotną transkrypcję. Poziom ekspresji genów CYP analizowano wykorzystując technikę RT-PCR. Wyniki: Wykazaliśmy, że ekstrakt sojowy powodował znaczny wzrost poziomu ekspresji CYP1A1 w porównaniu do grupy kontrolnej (1,5-krotnie;