Effects of Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. in gingivitis: a review of clinical trials

Background and objectives: Gingivitis is the inflammation of gingiva which, unless treated, will lead to periodontitis in susceptible patients. Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. (aloe) from the family Asphodelaceae (Liliaceae) is a perennial plant which originates from South Africa. Potentially active compounds of the leaves include vitamins, simple/complex polysaccharides, minerals, organic acids, and phenolic compounds. The aim of this study was to review the literature regarding the efficacy and safety of aloe in patients with gingivitis. Methods: Using the search formula "Gingivitis [title/abstract] AND Aloe vera/ Aloe [all fields]", electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Science direct and Cochrane library were searched for clinical trials on treatments containing aloe for gingivitis and relevant articles with English full-text from 2000 until 2017 were finally included.  Results: Total of 8 clinical trials were finally included in this paper. Various preparations of aloe such as mouth rinse and dentifrice have been investigated in patients with gingivitis. Each study has measured the periodontal health via a specific index including plaque index, gingivitis index, and bleeding index, as well as the microbial count and composition of the oral cavity and biomarkers of inflammation in crevicular fluid and aloe could significantly improve the above mentioned parameters. Conclusion: It was concluded that aloe could improve periodontal health either alone or as an adjunct to scaling and root planning treatments. Some studies also proved its efficacy to be equal to other commercially available products such as chlorhexidine without having their side effects

Nastal čas prodloužit dobu expirace kryoprezervovaných alograftů srdečních chlopní

V současné době existuje velké množství umělých komerčních náhrad chlopní. Přesto jsou stále žádané a úspěšně transplantované kryoprezervované semilunární alografty srdečních chlopní (C-AHV). U těchto náhrad zatím není přesně definována doba expirace.Většina tkáňových bank používá pět let. Z fyziologického, funkčního a operačního pohledu představuje morfologie a mechanické vlastnosti aortálních a pulmonárních kořenů hlavní limitaci doby expirace C-AHV. Cílem této práce je podat přehled metod strukturní a mechanické analýzy tkání AHV, které jsou vhodné pro stanovení doby expirace. alograftů. Pro stanovení mikrostruktury je vhodná kvantitativní morfologie za použití stereologické testovací mřížky. Touto metodou lze snadno, efektivně a opakovatelně stanovit možství buněk a mezibuněčných komponent. Pro stanovení mechanických parametrů, jako Youngův modul pružnosti, mezní napětí a deformace, lze využít tahovou zkoušku. C-AHV jsou v různých tkáňových laboratořích připravovány podle různých protokolů. Je tedy nutné, aby každá laboratoř stanovila dobu expirace samostatně.Despite the wide choice of commercial heart valve prostheses, cryopreserved semilunar allograft heart valves (C-AHV) are required, and successfully transplanted in selected groups of patients. The expiration limit (EL) criteria have not been defined yet. Most Tissue Establishments (TE) use the EL of 5 years. From physiological, functional, and surgical point of view, the morphology and mechanical properties of aortic and pulmonary roots represent basic features limiting the EL of C-AHV. The aim of this work was to review methods of AHV tissue structural analysis and mechanical testing from the perspective of suitability for EL validation studies. Microscopic structure analysis of great arterial wall and semilunar leaflets tissue should clearly demonstrate cells as well as the extracellular matrix components by highly reproducible and specific histological staining procedures. Quantitative morphometry using stereological grids has proved to be effective, as the exact statistics was feasible. From mechanical testing methods, tensile test was the most suitable. Young’s moduli of elasticity, ultimate stress and strain were shown to represent most important AHV tissue mechanical characteristics, suitable for exact statistical analysis. C-AHV are prepared by many different protocols, so as each TE has to work out own EL for C-AHV