Ethnopharmacological Survey of Plants Used in the Traditional Treatment of Gastrointestinal Pain, Inflammation and Diarrhea in Africa: Future Perspectives for Integration into Modern Medicine

There is a growing need to find the most appropriate and effective treatment options for a variety of painful syndromes, including conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract, for treating both veterinary and human patients. The most successful regimen may come through integrated therapies including combining current and novel western drugs with acupuncture and botanical therapies or their derivatives. There is an extensive history and use of plants in African traditional medicine. In this review, we have highlighted botanical remedies used for treatment of pain, diarrheas and inflammation in traditional veterinary and human health care in Africa. These preparations are promising sources of new compounds comprised of flavonoids, bioflavanones, xanthones, terpenoids, sterols and glycosides as well as compound formulas and supplements for future use in multimodal treatment approaches to chronic pain, gastrointestinal disorders and inflammation. The advancement of plant therapies and their derivative compounds will require the identification and validation of compounds having specific anti-nociceptive neuromodulatory and/or anti-inflammatory effects. In particular, there is need for the identification of the presence of compounds that affect purinergic, GABA, glutamate, TRP, opioid and cannabinoid receptors, serotonergic and chloride channel systems through bioactivity-guided, high-throughput screening and biotesting. This will create new frontiers for obtaining novel compounds and herbal supplements to relieve pain and gastrointestinal disorders, and suppress inflammation

Associations Between Screen Time and Glycemic Control in Adults with and without Type 2 Diabetes

The purpose of this study was to assess the associations between screen time and glycemic control, as measured by glycated hemoglobin levels, in middle-aged to older adults with and without type 2 diabetes. Adults participated in the study where screen time was subjectively measured through an 18-item screen-time questionnaire. Total sedentary time was subjectively measured using the Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire. A finger stick blood draw was completed to measure HbA1c. Participants then completed a food frequency questionnaire online using the NIH Diet History Questionnaire III. Pearson correlation analyses were used to assess the simple and partial associations among the variables while controlling for age, sex, and dietary carbohydrates. The majority of participants were non-Hispanic white, non-smokers and had family history of Type 2 diabetes. On average, participants spent 53% of the waking day in sedentary behavior. Significant positive correlations were found between HbA1c and total sedentary behavior, screen time and background screen time. Our participants spent large amounts of their day engaged in sedentary behavior, which is consistent with national data. Moreover, of this time spent in sedentary behavior, the majority was spent looking at a screen. Our preliminarily findings suggest that increased screen time is associated with higher HbA1c and risk of type 2 diabetes

The Pathology of Respiratory Viral Co-Infections in a Murine Model

The pathology of single respiratory viral infections is well known but the effects of co-infection by two viruses, which commonly occurs in humans, remains unclear. By determining if rhinovirus (RV) enhances or reduces disease severity during infection of mice by PR8, an influenza virus, we will better understand how co-infection affects pathology and disease severity. We infected BALB/c mice with either a mock or RV and two days later, with either a mock or high or low dose of PR8. The mice were monitored for morbidity and mortality. Tissues from the upper and lower respiratory tracts were collected, processed, stained, and imaged with optical microscopy. Using ImageJ, the densities of neutrophils, macrophages and lymphocytes in image sections were measured. These data will be used to compare the pathology and determine whether RV helped the host recover more quickly, or whether it exacerbated the severity of PR8 infection. These findings will provide insight into the interactions between unrelated respiratory viruses during co-infection that regulate pathology and disease severity

Morphological and physiological evidence for interstitial cell of Cajal-like cells in the guinea pig gallbladder

Gallbladder smooth muscle (GBSM) exhibits spontaneous rhythmic electrical activity, but the origin and propagation of this activity are not understood. We used morphological and physiological approaches to determine whether interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are present in the guinea pig extrahepatic biliary tree. Light microscopic studies involving Kit tyrosine kinase immunohistochemistry and laser confocal imaging of Ca2+ transients revealed ICC-like cells in the gallbladder. One type of ICC-like cell had elongated cell bodies with one or two primary processes and was observed mainly along GBSM bundles and nerve fibres. The other type comprised multipolar cells that were located at the origin and intersection of muscle bundles. Electron microscopy revealed ICC-like cells that were rich in mitochondria, caveolae and smooth endoplasmic reticulum and formed close appositions between themselves and with GBSM cells. Rhythmic Ca2+ flashes, which represent Ca2+ influx during action potentials, were synchronized in any given GBSM bundle and associated ICC-like cells. Gap junction uncouplers (1-octanol, carbenoxolone, 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid and connexin mimetic peptide) eliminated or greatly reduced Ca2+ flashes in GBSM, but they persisted in ICC-like cells, whereas the Kit tyrosine kinase inhibitor, imanitib mesylate, eliminated or reduced action potentials and Ca2+ flashes in both cell types, as well as associated tissue contractions. This study provides morphological and physiological evidence for the existence of ICC-like cells in the gallbladder and presents data supporting electrical coupling between ICC-like and GBSM cells. The results support a role for ICC-like cells in the generation and propagation of spontaneous rhythmicity, and hence, the excitability of gallbladder