Good Digestion is a Key Element for Healthy Hearts: An Appealing Concept from Avicenna’s Viewpoint

Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) has a holistic approach towards the human body. Avicenna, an outstanding TPM scholar, has provided appealing concepts such as the association between the heart and gastrointestinal system. Thus, efficient functioning of the gastrointestinal tract (digestion) could influence the proper functioning of the heart and result in a healthy life. Within TPM principles, through proper processes of digestion healthy food produces a suitable amount of the humors. These are necessary for all organs, including the heart, and if this does not occur then an environment for cardiac diseases will develop. It seems wise to provide healthy food and promote good digestion via simple lifestyle considerations rooted in TPM principles to attain a healthy heart

An overview of amenorrhea and respective remedies in Traditional Persian Medicine

Amenorrhea is described as complete absence or cessation of menstruation. Besides conventional treatment approaches, traditional and complementary medical systems have suggested numerous natural medications for management of amenorrhea. Current study aimed to compile the pharmacological reports on amenorrhea from the standpoints of early Persian scholars. Medical and pharmaceutical manuscripts of Persian medicine from 9th to 18th centuries A.D. have been reviewed to extract the critical points and natural remedies. Based on Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM), impairment in uterus, brain and circulation are main causes of amenorrhea. Any obstruction, either anatomical or functional, in uterus and allied organs or tissues may lead the body to this disorder. Concerning herbal therapy of amenorrhea in TPM, 71 medicinal plants related to 35 families were found. The most prevalent families were Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Fabaceae, respectively. Usual routes of administration were oral, vaginal and topical. However, there was one report on a medicament, spoken to be effective nasally. Traditionally, emmenagogue medicines should possess diuretic activity to be effective for amenorrhea. All reported remedies were known as diuretic agents. However, this description is not corresponded with what is now accepted as diuretic. On the other hand, only Foeniculum vulgare showed therapeutic effects on amenorrhea in a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Despite lack of novel information on emmenagogue activity of these remedies, design and conducting evidence-based animal or human studies may be beneficial for new drug discovery from traditional knowledge. </p

Topical Licorice for Aphthous: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials

Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most common ulcerative disease that affects oral mucosa. The coating agents, topical analgesics, and topical steroids are usually used as treatment methods. Glycyrrhiza glabra has been used for RAS treatment based on its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory properties. In this study, a systemic review on the therapeutic effect of topical licorice on RAS management was performed. Methods: Science Direct, Scopus, Cochrane databases, PubMed Google Scholar, and ResearchGate were searched up to September 2021 to find all English randomized clinical trials studying the effect of G. glabra, or its compositions on RAS. Meta-analysis was not conducted because of data heterogeneity. Articles were reviewed qualitatively, and only those with a Jadad score ≥3 were included. Animal studies, in vitro, review papers, non-English papers, and case reports were excluded.Results: Six studies with 314 subjects were included after screening. The result showed licorice has significant effects on RAS pain reduction, ulcer size, and healing time. Its effectiveness is related to its dose-dependent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects through several mechanisms. It also has antibacterial effects against Streptococci mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis as another mechanism of action in RAS treatment. In addition, licorice can elevate the epidermal growth factor (EGF) level compared to the control group, which has an essential role in oral mucosal tissue integrity. Conclusion: Licorice extract has been used in different dosage forms, including paste, patch, and mouthwash with concentrations of 1% or 5%. The healing time after licorice therapy is expected to be within 4-8 days. Licorice did not show any adverse effect in the intervention groups, indicating its effectiveness and safety in RAS treatment

Induced third-degree burn in rat: healing by Melilotus officinalis extract as medicinal plant

Introduction: burn wounds are common happenings which cause many people have irreversible defects and to be death around the world every year.  In this study, we evaluated the effects of Melilotus officinalis and Alpha ointment in the healing of burn wounds and compare their findings with silver sulfadiazine (SSD).Methods: Seventy-five male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups, and similar burn ulcers were produced on the back of rats. The first group of rats received no treatment, base gel was used topically to group II, in groups III-V, Alpha, SSD and Melilotus officinalis preparations were applied, respectively. Wound healing, contraction and histopathological examination were evaluated at the end of 7, 14, and 21 days.Results: Alpha ointment was equally effective as Melilotus officinalis gel, while its efficacy was better compared to SSD for all parameters of wound healing on days 7, 14 and 21. Alpha and Melilotus officinalis preparations as less expensive medications which significantly improve the quality of wound healing and scar formation and also are more appropriate treatment choices than SSD.Conclusion: Alpha and Melilotus officinalis are recommended as alternative to SSD, especially in patients with low economical backgrounds or in those who show adverse reactions to SSD.</p

Monitoring of fisheries resources in artificial reefs in east of Kish Island waters

Artificial reefs are manmade materials deployed under water in order to improve environment and increase the exploitation of fishing area. Usage of artificial technic has developed due to increase of world population and need to supply of protein, aim to restoring of natural specially rehabilitation of demersal fishes. It has effected to increase the production in order sustainable exploitation. Coasts and Islands have destruction due to over harvesting from ecosystems and other activities by humans and natural, these caused many aquatic as demersal fishes has endangered in Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. The artificial reef is one way or method that can improve the environment and restore the aquatic. Iranian fisheries has established an artificial reefs area in west of Kish Island. This area has studied during one year, Data of assembled fishes and physical sampling were collected in seasonal during spring, summer, autumn and wintered. There were tow treatment for sampling as artificial reefs site and a control site. Collected data has analyzed and evaluated by SPSS and Exel. The results showed that there was significant difference between the sites and assembled fishes in artificial reefs were more than control site. Consequently the artificial reefs can be a tool and technic to improve the marine environment and increase the production of fishes, especially the demersal fishes

Anorexia: Highlights in Traditional Persian medicine and conventional medicine

Objective: Anorexia and impaired appetite (Dysorexia) are common symptoms with varying causes, and often need no serious medical intervention. Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a chronic psychiatric disease with a high mortality rate. In Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM), anorexia is a condition in which anorexic patients lose appetite due to dystemperament. This review aims to discuss the common points of traditional and conventional approaches rather than introducing Persian medical recommendations suitable for nowadays use. Materialsand Methods: For this purpose, Avicenna's Canon of Medicine, main TPM resources and important databases were reviewed using the related keywords. Results: Despite complex hormonal explanation, etiology of AN in conventional approach is not completely understood. In TPM approach, the etiology and recommended interventions are thoroughly defined based on humoral pathophysiology. In TPM approach, disease states are regarded as the result of imbalances in organs’ temperament and humors. In anorexia with simple dystemperament, the physician should attempt to balance the temperament using foods and medicaments which have opposite quality of temperament. Lifestyle, spiritual diseases (neuro – psychological) and gastrointestinal worms are the other causes for reducing appetite. Also, medicines and foods with warm temperaments (such as Pea soup and Mustard) are useful for these patients (cold temperament). Conclusion: Although the pathophysiology of AN in TPM is different in comparison with conventional views, TPM criteria for treatment this disorder is similar to those of current medicine. Recommending to have spiritual support and a healthy lifestyle are common in both views. Simple safe interventions recommended by TPM may be considered as alternative medical modalities after being confirmed by well-designed clinical trials

Traditional Persian Medicine and management of metabolic dysfunction in polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Its cause is unknown and it remains the most enigmatic of reproductive disorders. The extant written documents of Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) – with holistic approaches towards human health – contain remedies used for centuries. Before further experimental research on any of these treatments, it is appropriate to study current related scientific evidence on their possible pharmacological actions. This work aims to study PCOS and its treatments in TPM. To collect data from medieval medicinal texts, six of the most famous manuscripts of Persian medicine were studied. Medicinal treatments for a problem similar to PCOS were searched for in these books. The plants were listed and their authentications were confirmed in accordance with botanical books. PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were searched for related mechanisms of action or pharmacological activities of the medicinal plants reported. From numerous articles, the current work tried to cite the latest publications with regard to each reported plant and PCOS-related mechanisms of action. We studied herbal treatments recommended by ancient Persians to treat a condition called Habs-e-tams, which had the same symptoms of PCOS. It could be concluded that ancient physicians not only wanted to treat the irregular menstrual cycle—which is the most obvious symptom of PCOS—but also their treatment options were aimed at ameliorating the related underlying metabolic dysfunctions. The recommended herbs, which have the most scientific proof for their related actions, can be studied further in experimental analyses

Solubility of Cyproterone Derivatives in the Presence of Hydroxypropyl-ß- Cyclodextrin: Experimental and Molecular Modeling Studies: Effect of hydroxypropyl--cyclodextrin on solubility of cyproterone derivatives

This study presents the influence of hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) on the aqueous solubility of acyl esters of cyproterone. First, a number of esters of cyproterone were synthesized. Then the phase solubility analysis of the compounds in the presence of HPBCD was investigated in phosphate buffer solution at a pH of 7.4. To gain a better understanding of the complexation mechanism, the synthesizedcompounds were docked inside the HPBCD cavity using the Autodock program. The results show that the interaction between the synthesized compounds and HPBCD is of type AL and all of the compounds exhibited higher solubility as a result of complexation with HPBCD. The extent of increase in solubility was consistently greater as the ester chain length ascends by 4 carbon atoms. This increase in solubility is in agreement with the results obtained by calculating docking scores

Ethnopharmacological review of plants traditionally used in Darab (south of Iran)

Ethnopharmacological and ethnobotanical information have been known as effective tools for drug discovery. Iran is a location with long medical history. Darab is one of the cities in Iran which can be important in regard of ethnopharmacological aspects. Current paper documented the folk medical information by Darab inhabitants. Therefore, field studies on this area were conducted from March to July 2012 and May to July 2013 under supervision of one local person. A questionnaire was utilized in this study and was filled by local inhabitants. In total, 58 species belonging to 27 plant families were documented in management of 53 ailments. The most cited plant family was Asteraceae which was followed by Apiaceae, Lamiaceae and Papilionaceae. Herbs were applied for gynecologic and genitourinary, respiratory, central nervous system, infectious and cardiovascular ailments as well as musculoskeletal and skin disorders, respectively. This study can indicate the folk knowledge of a region in south of Iran. Moreover, the effectiveness of unexamined plants can be evaluated according to informants’ claims. Therefore, such investigations may be indeed, a useful way to search for drug discovery as well as keeping ethnopharmacological information alive