Comparative Study on Gender Selection: Persian Medicine and Modern Medicine

Gender selection has emerged as a controversial issue in different countries and in this respect, a wide range of studies and international symposiums have been dedicated to this subject. A comprehensive literature review was performed without restriction on publication date as well as credible Persian Medicine (PM) resources such as "Exir-e-Azam" (The Great Elixir), "Qarabadin-e-Kabir" (Great Pharmacopoeia), and "al-Qānūn fīl-tibb” (The Canon of Medicine) were completely studied. It was found that both nutritional factors such as glucose and electrolytes and non-nutritional factors including female tract, sperm, age, the timing of sexual intercourse, maternal body mass, stress, pH, estrogen, temperature, and testosterone can be used as important indicators in the gender selection. Most recommendations provided by PM for gender selection were found to be in good agreement with those reported by modern medicine

Biological Activities and Composition of Ferulago carduchorum Essential Oil

Background: Ferulago carduchorum Boiss and Hausskn belongs to the Apiaceae family. This plant grows in west part of Iran that local people added it to dairy and oil ghee to delay expiration date and give them a pleasant taste. The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, acetyl cholinesterase inhibition, cytotoxic, larvicidal activities and composition of essential oil of F. carduchorum. Methods: Acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory, larvicidal activities and chemical composition of essential oil of F. carduchorum were investigated. Besides, antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of essential oil were tested using DPPH, microdilution method and MTT assay, respectively. Results: The major components of essential oil were (z)-β-ocimene (43.3%), α-pinene (18.23%) and bornyl acetate (3.98%). Among 43 identified components, monoterpenes were the most compounds (84.63%). The essential oil had noticeable efficiency against Candida albicans (MIC= 2340 μg ml-1) and it was effective against Anopheles stephensi with LC50 and LC90 values of 12.78 and 47.43 ppm, respectively. The essential oil could inhibit AChE (IC50= 23.6 μl ml-1). The essential oil showed high cytotoxicity on T47D, HEP-G2 and HT-29 cell lines (IC50< 2 μg ml-1). Conclusion: The essential oil of F. carduchorum collected from west of Iran had anti-Candida, larvicidal and cytotoxicity effects and should be further investigated in others in vitro and in vivo experimental models

Cytotoxic activity of some marine brown algae against cancer cell lines

The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro cytotoxic activity of total extract of MeOH (70%) and partition fractions of hexan, chloroform (CHCL3), ethylacetate (EtOAc) and MeOH-H2O of brown algae species (Sargassum swartzii, Cystoseira myrica, Colpomenia sinuosa) found in the Persian Gulf against in different cell lines including HT-29, Caco-2, T47D, MDA-MB468 and NIH 3T3 cell lines by MTT and AnnexinV-PI assay. The hexan fraction of S. swartzii and C. myrica showed selective cytotoxicity against proliferation of Caco-2 cells (IC50<100 &#956;g/ml) T47D cell line (IC50<100 &#956;g/ml), respectively. S. swartzii and C. myrica were also observed for increasing apoptosis in Caco-2 and T47D cells. Total extract and fractions of C. sinuosa did not show any significant cytotoxicity against the studied cell lines. MDA-MB468 cells were more sensitive to C. myrica than was T47D (IC50 99.9±8.11 vs. 56.50‘± 0.88). This reflects an estrogen receptor independent mechanism for cytotoxicity of the extract. The IC50 of the hexan fraction of C. myrica on T47D parent cells was lower than it was on T47D-TR cells (IC50 99.9±8.11 vs. 143.15 ± 7.80). This finding suggests a role for the MDR-1 in the development of possible future tolerance to the extract

Remedies for Children Constipation in Medieval Persia

Constipation in children with bowel movement less than 3 times a week and lasting for more than 3 months is defined as pediatric chronic constipation. According to traditional Persian medicine resources, dryness of food, low nutrition, hotness or dryness of the gastrointestinal tract, intestine sensory loss, excessive urination, increase of evaporation, and sweating because of heavy exercise will together constitute the condition for constipation occurrence. Lifestyle changes considered as premier of medical intervention for constipation. Treatment of constipation in children vastly benefitted from traditional Persian medicine, including simple dietary measures, oil massages, and herbal medicines. This investigation was performed to somewhat help the anxious academics to achieve proper findings in the field of gastroenterology, in pursuit of the traditional Persian medicine advices