Medea and Argonautics: Medicine, pharmacy, toxicology

According to mythical heritage, Medea, a daughter of the king of Colchis (Western Georgia, 13th century BC), famous for her beauty, was very wise and closely associated with plant lore, concoction of medicines, and medical activities. She knew various forms of remedies for internal and external use, respiratory, and so forth. In her therapeutic arsenal, there were medical remedies for a variety of uses: for treatment of various diseases, soporifics, poisons, ointments, miraculous and magical substances as well. Medea prepared the poisons by using special processing of medical remedies – extraction, infusion/tincture, thermal, mechanical, or chemical exposure, or concentration. The principle, according to which the modern medicine is developing, is contraria contrariis curantur (CCC), or contraries are cured, or allopathic medicine. At present, the priority still belongs to CCC. This is the direction that modern medicine and pharmacy throughout the world are following today. The way of effective realization of this principle is a strong chemical source. The stronger the source, the more effective the result. This thesis is based on two major ways of realization of the CCC principle – suppressing and compensating therapy where achieving an effect without a potent substance would not be possible. Toxicology and pharmacy were formed in the Roman Empire at the beginning of our era and are associated with the King of Pontus, a descendant of Colchis – Mithridates VI Eupator. Such a notion as the medicine/drug appeared in the Roman period. The authors do not describe the plant, animal or mineral resources but the product – the characteristics of the drug. Thus, Medea is not only considered a pioneer of cosmetics, hematology, surgery, toxicology, and other areas but also the founder of the way for effective implementation of the main principle of modern medicine and the donor of word root medicine. Afterwards, the term acquired a broader generalization and consequently become a synonym of medical art

New Information about the Plants from Medea’s Garden and their Use for Medical Purposes in Traditional and Modern Medicine

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Ethical Dimensions of Population Genetic Research in the Caucasus

The emergence and establishment of anthropological genetics as an interdisciplinary science is primarily, associated with the development of new genomic technologies. Precision genetic testing on the one hand, and the rapidly increasing number of genetic investigations on the other, have created a set of bioethical dilemmas for genetic and epidemiology research. Such research deals with persons who have the right to the protection of their personal information and confidentiality, and also concerns collective (village, region, ethnic group, state) consciousness, ethnic identity, and traditional culture, i.e., so called “ethnic pride”. In this regard, taking into consideration the results of ongoing field research, we make some recommendations for better management of relationships with individuals and communities and the preparation of questionnaires and informed consent forms that will facilitate similar research projects, especially in such an ethnically, linguistically and culturally diverse region such as the Caucasus

Efficacy of Kan Jang^® in Patients with Mild COVID-19: A Randomized, Quadruple-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Background and aim. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of the treatment of Kan Jang®, a fixed combination of Andrographis paniculata (Burm. F.) Wall. ex. Nees and Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim extracts in patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19. Methods. One hundred and forty patients received six capsules of Kan Jang® (n = 68, daily dose of andrographolides—90 mg) or placebo (n = 72) and supportive treatment (paracetamol) for 14 consecutive days in a randomized, quadruple-blinded, placebo-controlled, two-parallel-group design. The efficacy outcomes were the rate of cases turning to severe, the detection rate of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 over the time of treatment, the duration, and the severity of symptoms (sore throat, runny nose, cough, headache, fatigue, loss of smell, taste, pain in muscles) in the acute phase of the disease. Other efficacy measures included improving cognitive and physical performance, quality of life, and the levels of inflammatory blood markers—interleukin 6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein, and D-dimer. Results. Kan Jang® significantly (p p = 0.0176) both in the 112 patients in the included-per-protocol (IPP) analysis and in the 140 patients in the intended-to-treat (ITT) analysis (p = 0.0236); the absolute risk reduction in cases thanks to the Kan Jang treatment was 12.5%, and the number we needed to treat with Kan Jang was 8. The patient’s recovery time (number of sick days at the home/clinic) was shorter in the Kan Jang group compared with the placebo group. The rate of attenuation of inflammatory symptoms in the Kan Jang® group was significantly higher, decreasing the severity of cough, sore throat/pain, runny nose, and muscle soreness compared with the placebo group. Kan Jang® significantly decreased the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptoms scores compared to the placebo in the sample size of 140 patients. However, the relief of fatigue and headache and the decrease in IL-6 in the blood were observed only in a subset of 86 patients infected during the second three waves of the pandemic. Kan Jang® significantly increased physical activity and workout; however, it did not affect cognitive functions (attention and memory), quality of life score, inflammatory marker D-dimer, and C-reactive protein compared with the placebo group. Conclusions. Overall, the results of this study suggest that Kan Jang® is effective in treating mild and moderate COVID-19 irrespective of the SARS-CoV-2 variant of infection

Efficacy of Kan Jang® in Patients with Mild COVID-19: Interim Analysis of a Randomized, Quadruple-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Kan Jang®, the fixed combination of Andrographis paniculata (Burm. F.) Wall. ex. Nees and Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim extracts, is a herbal medicinal product for relieving symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of Kan Jang®/Nergecov® on duration and the relief of inflammatory symptoms in adults with mild COVID-19. 86 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and mild symptoms for one to three days received supportive treatment (paracetamol) and six Kan Jang® (daily dose of andrographolides—90 mg) or placebo capsules a day for 14 consecutive days in this randomized, quadruple-blinded, placebo-controlled, two-parallel-group study. The primary efficacy outcomes were the decrease in the acute-phase duration and the severity of symptoms score (sore throat, runny nose, cough, headache, fatigue, loss of smell, taste, pain in muscles), an increase in cognitive functions, physical performance, quality of life, and decrease in IL-6, c-reactive protein, and D-dimer in blood. Kan Jang®/Nergecov® was effective in reducing the risk of progression to severe COVID-19, decreasing the disease progression rate by almost 2.5-fold compared to placebo. Absolute risk reduction by Kan Jang treatment is 14%, the relative risk reduction is 243.9%, and the number Needed to Treat is 7.14. Kan Jang®/Nergecov® reduces the duration of disease, virus clearance, and days of hospitalization and accelerates recovery of patients, relief of sore throat, muscle pain, runny nose, and normalization of body temperature. Kan Jang®/Nergecov® significantly relieves the severity of inflammatory symptoms such as sore throat, runny nose, and muscle pain, decreases pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 level in the blood, and increases patients’ physical performance (workout) compared to placebo. In this study, for the first time we demonstrate that Kan Jang®/Nergecov® is effective in treating mild COVID-19