Phytochemistry, pharmacology, and therapeutic uses of black seed (Nigella sativa)

Black seed (Nigella sativa) is an annual flowering plant from Ranunculaceae family, native to southwest Asia. This plant has many food and medicinal uses. The use of its seeds and oil is common for treatment of many diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, inflammatory diseases, diabetes and digestive diseases. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive review on the scientific reports that have been published about N. sativa. The facts and statistics presented in this review article were gathered from the journals accessible in creditable databases such as Science Direct, Medline, PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, EMBASE, SID and IranMedex. The keywords searched in Persian and English books on medicinal plants and traditional medicine, as well as the above reputable databases were “Black seed”, ”Nigella sativa“, “therapeutic effect”, and “medicinal plant”. The results showed that N. sativa has many biological effects such as anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-microbial, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, and wound healing activities. It also has effects on reproductive, digestive, immune and central nervous systems, such as anticonvulsant and analgesic activities. In summary, it can be used as a valuable plant for production of new drugs for treatment of many diseases

The effects of celery leave extract on male hormones in rats

Introduction: Celery (Apium graveolens) belongs to the Umbelliferae family, and has a plenty of nutritional and pharmaceutical applications. The presence of phytoestrogenic compounds has been reported in this plant. These compounds may affect the pituitary-gonad axis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of hydro-alcoholic extracts of celery leaves on serum levels of testosterone, LH and FSH in male rats. Methods: In this experimental study, 32 male Wistar rats were divided into four groups, eight rats included in each. The control group did not receive any treatment. The placebo group received distilled water and the case groups received 200 and 300 mg/kg/B.W of hydro-alcoholic celery leaf extract for 20 consecutive days by oral administration. After completion of the treatment, the rats were anesthetized and blood sampling from their heart was carried out. Then, serum levels of testosterone, LH and FSH were measured using immunoassay methods. The obtained data were analyzed by the SPSS using the statistical ANOVA test. Results: The level of LH in the case group receiving 200 mg/kg B.W of celery extract showed a significant decrease compared with the control and placebo groups (P&lt;0.05). The level of FSH and testosterone in case groups did not show any significant difference in comparison with the control group (P&gt;0.05). Conclusion: The result of the present study shows that in the administered dose, celery extract does not have any considerable side effect on the secretion of hormones in male rats.</p

The effect of celery (Apium graveolens L.) on reproductive parameters in male wistar rat

Dear editor In recent years, the number of scientific research papers of Iranian scientists has substantially grown in national and international journals that indicates particular attitude of Iranian scientific community to the development of knowledge in different fields. Moreover, improvement of quality of scientific papers is necessary. For this purpose, criticism of published studies is a way to increase the quality of articles and make them clear. In Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine, volume (5), issue (2), year 2015, an article entitled “Effects of aqueous extract of celery (Apium graveolens L.) leaves on spermatogenesis in healthy male rats” was published and the papers like this should be appreciated. However, the paper has some drawbacks which if not resolve, could be misleading for researchers who tend to use it or do research in its direction. So, with all due respect to the research team, we decided to evaluate the paper ambiguities in order to improve the quality of future articles

Therapeutic and pharmacological potential of Foeniculum vulgare Mill: a review

Introduction: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill) is one of the oldest spice plants which, due to its economic importance and significant pharmaceutical industry applications, is considered as one of the world’s most important medicinal plants. The purpose of this study is to investigate and collect scientific reports such as morphological characteristics, phytochemical compounds and evaluation of the therapeutic properties of this valuable medicinal plant that have been published. Methods: In order to gather the information the keywords Fennel and Foeniculum vulgare mill, therapeutic, and pharmacology have been searched until January 1, 2015 from journals accessible in databases such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, EBSCO, Medline, PubMed, Embase, SID and Iran Medex. Results: The results showed that this plant has various pharmacological properties including antioxidant, anti-cancer activity, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, anti-bacterial and estrogenic effects which are probably due to the presence of aromatic compounds such as anethole, estragole and fenshon. Conclusion: Fennel possesses various pharmacological properties and the fennel bioactive molecules play an important role in human health, hence, it might be used for different drug productions

The effects of celery leave extract on male hormones in rats

Introduction: Celery (Apium graveolens) belongs to the Umbelliferae family, and has a plenty of nutritional and pharmaceutical applications. The presence of phytoestrogenic compounds has been reported in this plant. These compounds may affect the pituitary-gonad axis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of hydro-alcoholic extracts of celery leaves on serum levels of testosterone, LH and FSH in male rats. Methods: In this experimental study, 32 male Wistar rats were divided into four groups, eight rats included in each. The control group did not receive any treatment. The placebo group received distilled water and the case groups received 200 and 300 mg/kg/B.W of hydro-alcoholic celery leaf extract for 20 consecutive days by oral administration. After completion of the treatment, the rats were anesthetized and blood sampling from their heart was carried out. Then, serum levels of testosterone, LH and FSH were measured using immunoassay methods. The obtained data were analyzed by the SPSS using the statistical ANOVA test. Results: The level of LH in the case group receiving 200 mg/kg B.W of celery extract showed a significant decrease compared with the control and placebo groups (P0.05). Conclusion: The result of the present study shows that in the administered dose, celery extract does not have any considerable side effect on the secretion of hormones in male rats