Anti-hypertensive Herbs and their Mechanisms of Action: Part I

The use of herbal therapies for treatment and management of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is increasing. Plants contain a bounty of phytochemicals that have proven to be protective by reducing the risk of various ailments and diseases. Indeed, accumulating literature provides the scientific evidence and hence reason d'etre for the application of herbal therapy in relation to CVDs. Slowly, but absolutely, herbal remedies are being entrenched into evidence-based medical practice. This is partly due to the supporting clinical trials and epidemiological studies. The rationale for this expanding interest and use of plant based treatments being that a significant proportion of hypertensive patients do not respond to Modern therapeutic medication. Other elements to this equation are the cost of medication, side-effects, accessibility, and availability of drugs. Therefore, we believe it is pertinent to review the literature on the beneficial effects of herbs and their isolated compounds as medication for treatment of hypertension, a prevalent risk factor for CVDs. Our search utilized the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases, and the criterion for inclusion was based on the following keywords and phrases: hypertension, high blood pressure, herbal medicine, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), nitric oxide, vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation, hydrogen sulfide, nuclear factor kappa-B, oxidative stress, and epigenetics/epigenomics. Each of the aforementioned keywords was co-joined with herb in question, and where possible with its constituent molecule(s). In this first of a two-part review, we provide a brief introduction of hypertension, followed by a discussion of the molecular and cellular mechanisms. We then present and discuss the plants that are most commonly used in the treatment and management of hypertension.NPRP# 4-571-3-171 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation)

EFFECTS OF LOCAL GAMETOCYTE AND LIVACOX VACCINES ON LIVE BODY WEIGHT GAIN AND LYMPHOID ORGANS IN CHICKENS

Organ to body weight ratio in chickens is considered to be an important parameter to study the immune status due to any infection or vaccination. The present paper reports the effects of local gametocyte and Livacox vaccines on live weight gains and lymphoid organs in chickens. The mean body weight gains in chickens with local gametocytes vaccine were significantly better (P<0.05) than in chickens with Livacox vaccine. Higher organ to body weight ratio was recorded in vaccinated chickens compared to control, although difference was non significant. Organ to body weight ratio of the lymphoid organs had higher values in chickens vaccinated with Livacox compared to local gametocyte vaccinated group, the difference was also found to be non significant. It was concluded that local gametocyte vaccine significantly increased the body weights of chickens compared to Livacox and control groups

Prevalence of depression, anxiety and Quality of life among North Indian Polycystic ovary syndrome Women: Evidence from a prospective observational study

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common heterogeneous gynaecological endocrine disorder characterized by clinical features including oligo-amenorrhea/ovulatory dysfunction, hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovarian morphology. PCOS increases the risk of depression and anxiety which leads to poor quality of life. Aim of the study were to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression among women suffering from PCOS and to determine the quality of life (QOL) in PCOS women.Methods: The study was prospective, observational, non-interventional and questionnaire-based. 192 women with PCOS voluntarily helped in filling the questionnaires consisting of questions using PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, SF-12 for general health and PCOSQ-50 for disease-specific domains. All data were recorded in pre-designed case record forms and analysis of data was done using different statistical methods.Results: Majority of PCOS women were either overweight or obese. Based on PHQ-9 20% of women was suffering with major depression and based on GAD-7, 25% with major anxiety. It is found that psychosocial and emotional domain and coping domain of PCOSQ-50 is significant in patients with major depression and major anxiety. Significant effects were seen on their general health as per SF-12 domain. Lack of physical exercise was found in 83% of women.Conclusions: PCOS is a complex disease which decreases the overall quality of life. Therefore, treatment of PCOS women should include psychological counselling along-with with medication, especially in obese PCOS women. Women should be educated with the benefits of lifestyle modification in PCOS

Salvia fruticosa Induces Vasorelaxation in Rat Isolated Thoracic Aorta: Role of the PI3K/Akt/eNOS/NO/cGMP Signaling Pathway

Salvia fruticosa (SF) Mill. is traditionally used for its antihypertensive actions. However, little is known about its pharmacologic and molecular mechanisms of action. Here we determined the effects of an ethanolic extract of SF leaves on rings of isolated thoracic aorta from Sprague-Dawley rats. Our results show that SF extract increased nitric oxide production and relaxed endothelium-intact rings in a dose-dependent (0.3 µg/ml–1 mg/ml) manner, and the maximum arterial relaxation (Rmax) was significantly reduced with endothelium denudation. Pretreatment of endothelium-intact rings with L-NAME (a non-selective inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, 100 µM), or ODQ (an inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase, 10 µM) significantly diminished SF-mediated vasorelaxation. Furthermore, SF induced Akt phosphorylation as well as increased cGMP levels in rings treated with increasing doses of SF. Prior exposure to PI3K inhibitors, wortmannin (0.1 µM) or LY294002 (10 µM), decreased cGMP accumulation and attenuated the SF-induced vasorelaxation by approximately 50% (Rmax). SF-evoked relaxation was not affected by indomethacin, verapamil, glibenclamide, tetraethylammonium, pyrilamine or atropine. Taken together, our results indicate that SF induces endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation through the PI3K/Akt/eNOS/NO/sGC/cGMP signaling pathway. Our data illustrate the health-orientated benefits of consuming SF which may act as an antihypertensive agent to reduce the burden of cardiovascular complications.Scopu

Immunological Evaluation of Two Local Isolates of Eimeria tenella Gametocytes against Coccidiosis in Poultry

Two local isolates of Eimeria tenella gametocytes against coccidiosis were immunologically evaluated in chickens. Cell mediated immune response was detected by modified splenic cell migration inhibition assay (MSCMIA) and data were expressed in terms of per cent migration index. No significant difference in per cent migration index was detected for the chickens immunized either with Vaccine-I (local isolate-I) or with Vaccine-II (local isolate-II); however per cent migration index was comparatively lower in chickens immunized with Vaccine-II as compared to Vaccine-I; indicating a somewhat higher cell mediated immune (CMI) response. Humoral immune response was monitored by ELISA in vaccinated and control chickens. Significantly elevated (P<0.05) antibody titer (IgG) in chickens immunized with Vaccine-II as compared to Vaccine-I was detected. Significantly higher protection (67%) in chickens immunized with Vaccine-II followed by vaccine-I (49%) was recorded. Further, oocyst count was significantly lower (P<0.05) in chickens immunized with Vaccine-II as compared to those immunized with Vaccine-I. It was concluded that vaccinal strain (Vaccine-II) contained additional protein of high molecular weight (49.23 kDa) in its gametocytes provided cross protection and can be used to prepare commercial vaccine against coccidiosis in poultry

Colorectal and Prostate Cancer Risk in Diabetes: Metformin, an Actor behind the Scene

Both diabetes and cancer are prevalent diseases whose incidence rates are increasing worldwide, especially in countries that are undergoing rapid industrialization changes. Apparently, lifestyle risk factors including diet, physical inactivity and obesity play pivotal, yet preventable, roles in the etiology of both diseases. Epidemiological studies provide strong evidence that subjects with diabetes are at significantly higher risk of developing many forms of cancer and especially solid tumors. In addition to pancreatic and breast cancer, the incidence of colorectal cancer and prostate cancer is increased in type 2 diabetes. While diabetes (type 2) and cancer share many risk factors, the biological links between the two diseases are poorly characterized. In this review, we highlight the mechanistic pathways that link diabetes to colorectal and prostate cancer and the use of Metformin, a diabetes drug, to prevent and/or treat colorectal and prostate cancer. We review the role of AMPK activation in autophagy, oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and cell cycle progression.This publication was made possible by grant #NPRP 5-409-3-112 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation)

The ameliorative effect of saline or / sodic water on maize (Zea mays L.)production

A pot experiment was conducted in green house to evaluate the performance of two maize genotypes using saline or / sodic water with and with out amendments. There were eight treatments T1 (control with EC 1.07 dS m-1, SAR 1.63, and RSC 0 me L-1), T2 (EC 2.4 dS m-1, SAR 16 (mmol L-1)1/2, and RSC 2.25 meL-1 ), T3 (EC 3.6 dS m-1, SAR 24 (mmol L-1)1/2, and RSC 4.5 meL-1), T4 (T2+ Gypsum on irrigation water basis), T5 (T3+ Gypsum on irrigation water basis),T6 (T1+ FYM @ 20 Mg ha-1),T7 (T2+FYM @ 20 Mg ha-1),T8 (T3+ FYM @ 20 Mg ha-1) . Saline or/ sodic water were prepared with the help of quadratic equation and recommended doses of NPK fertilizers were used. Chlorophyll content was recorded after 40 days of sowing and fully expanded younger leaf were collected and stored in separate polypropylene tubes for sap extraction. The experimental results showed that chlorophyll content, Leaf area plant-1, plant height, fresh weight of plant, dry weight of plant of all genotypes decreased significantly with increasing levels of saline or /sodic water but this decrease was minimum when gypsum and FYM was applied. Na+ concentration of all genotypes increased significantly and decreased with gypsum and FYM application. Potassium and K+: Na+ ratio of all genotypes decreased significantly with increasing levels of saline or / sodic water but increased when gypsum and FYM was applied. ECe, SAR and pHs in soils after harvesting of crop increased also significantly. The application of FYM and gypsum proved to much helpful in improving soil quality and crop productivity

Study of the role of dysprosium substitution in tuning structural, optical, electrical, dielectric, ferroelectric, and magnetic properties of bismuth ferrite multiferroic

Magnetoelectric multiferroics, which combine ferroelectric and magnetic characteristics, have potential use in a variety of electronic devices. In this work, Dy3+ substituted bismuth ferrites with the chemical formula Bi1−xDyxFeO3 (x = 0.0, 0.15, 0.30, 0.45, and 0.60) were synthesized using the sol-gel auto combustion process. The effect of Dysprosium substitution in BiFeO3 (BFO), on its structural, surface morphology, optical, electrical, dielectric, ferroelectric, and magnetic properties were studied. The rhombohedral perovskite structure of the space group (R3c) was confirmed via X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Moreover, the crystallite size had a maximum value of 59.57 nm for x = 0.30. XRD and FTIR confirmed the substitution of Dy3+ into BFO ferrite. Further, the structural change and absorption bands confirmed the substitution of Dy3+ ions into the lattice. For x = 0.30, the energy bandgap of 2.81 eV was found. The resistivity and activation energy were minimum and drift mobility was maximum at x = 0.30 as compared to Dy3+ doped BFO samples. At low frequency, the dielectric loss was reduced, while at high frequency, the dielectric loss increased with increasing frequency. The saturated polarization (PS), electric polarization (EC), and remnant polarization (Pr) have values of 6.95 µC/cm2, 3.49 µC/cm2, and 1.53 kV/cm for x = 0.30, respectively. The maximum saturation magnetization and microwave frequencies were 10.89 emu/g and 2.41 GHz, respectively at Dy3+ concentration x = 0.30. These materials are suitable for electronic and microwave devices

Effects of dietary amines on the gut and its vasculature

Trace amines, including tyramine and β-phenylethylamine (β-PEA), are constituents of many foods including chocolate, cheeses and wines and are generated by so-called ‘friendly’ bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus and Enterococcus species, which are found in probiotics. We therefore examined whether these dietary amines could exert pharmacological effects on the gut and its vasculature. In the present study we examined the effects of tyramine and β-PEA on the contractile activity of guinea-pig and rat ileum and upon the isolated mesenteric vasculature and other blood vessels. Traditionally, these amines are regarded as sympathomimetic amines, exerting effects through the release of noradrenaline from sympathetic nerve endings, which should relax the gut. A secondary aim was therefore to confirm this mechanism of action. However, contractile effects were observed in the gut and these were independent of noradrenaline, acetylcholine, histamine and serotonin receptors. They were therefore probably due to the recently described trace amine-associated receptors. These amines relaxed the mesenteric vasculature. In contrast, the aorta and coronary arteries were constricted, a response that was also independent of a sympathomimetic action. From these results, we propose that after ingestion, trace amines could stimulate the gut and improve intestinal blood flow. Restriction of blood flow elsewhere diverts blood to the gut to aid digestion. Thus, trace amines in the diet may promote the digestive process through stimulation of the gut and improved gastrointestinal circulation