Current Issue : July - September Volume : 2013 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 6 Articles
Background: In Ethiopia, Calpurnia aurea is used for the treatment of syphilis, malaria, rabies, diabetes,\r\nhypertension, diarrhoea, leishmaniasis, trachoma, elephantiasis, fungal diseases and different swellings. However,\r\ndespite its traditional usage as an antidiarrhoeal and antimicrobial agent, there is limited or no information\r\nregarding its effectiveness and mode of action in diarrhoea which may be caused by Shigella flexneri,\r\nStaphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi. Hence, we evaluated the 80% methanol (MeOH) extract\r\nof dried and powdered leaves of C. aurea for its antidiarrhoeal and antimicrobial activities.\r\nMethods: Swiss albino mice of either sex were divided into five groups (five/group): Group I served as control and\r\nreceived vehicle (1% Tween 80) at a dose of 10 ml/kg orally; Group II served as standard and received loperamide\r\nat the dose of 3 mg/kg orally; Groups III, IV and V served as test groups and received the 80% MeOH leaf extract of\r\nC. aurea at doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg orally, respectively. Diarrhoea was induced by oral administration of\r\n0.5 ml castor oil to each mouse, 1 h after the above treatments. During an observation period of 4 h, time of onset\r\nof diarrhea, total number of faecal output (frequency of defecation) and weight of faeces excreted by the animals\r\nwere recorded. Data were analyzed using one way analysis of variance followed by Tukey post test. Antimicrobial\r\nactivity test was conducted using agar well diffusion assay. Clinical isolates tested were Salmonella typhi, Salmonella\r\nparatyphi, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia\r\ncoli.\r\nResults: In castor oil induced diarrhea model, the 80% methanol leaf extract of C. aurea at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg\r\nand the standard drug loperamide (3 mg/kg) significantly reduced the time of onset of diarrhea, the frequency of\r\ndefecation (total number of faecal output) and weight of faeces. C. aurea leaf extract also showed good\r\nantimicrobial activity against all tested organisms.\r\nConclusions: C. aurea possesses good antidiarrhoeal and antimicrobial activity which support the traditional use of\r\nthe plant in the treatment of diarrhea in Ethiopia...
Background: Naturopaths are an increasingly significant part of the healthcare sector in Australia, yet despite their\r\nsignificant role there has been little research on this practitioner group. Currently the naturopathic profession in\r\nAustralia is undergoing a period of rapid professional growth and change. However, to date most research\r\nexploring the perceptions of naturopaths has been descriptive in nature and has focused on those in leadership\r\npositions rather than grassroots practitioners. This article explores the perceptions and experiences of practising\r\nnaturopaths on the challenges and future directions of their profession.\r\nMethods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 naturopaths practising in the Darling Downs region\r\nof South-east Queensland, Australia to explore current perceived challenges in the naturopathic profession in\r\nAustralia.\r\nResults: Participants perceived a number of internal and external challenges relating to the profession of\r\nnaturopathic medicine. These included a public misconception of the role of naturopathic medicine; the co-option\r\nof naturopathic medicine by untrained or unqualified practitioners; the devaluation of naturopathic philosophy as a\r\ncore component of naturopathic practice; a pressure to move towards an evidence-based medicine model focused\r\non product prescription; the increasing commercial interest infiltrating complementary medicine, and; division and\r\nfragmentation within the naturopathic profession. Naturopaths generally perceived government regulation as a\r\nsolution for many of these challenges, though this may be representative of deeper frustrations and disconnections\r\nbetween the views of grassroots naturopaths and those in professional leadership positions.\r\nConclusions: Grassroots naturopaths identify a number of challenges that may have significant impacts on the\r\nquality, effectiveness and safety of naturopathic care. Given the significant role naturopaths play in healthcare in\r\nAustralia the practice and policy implications of these challenges require further research attention....
Background: Regardless of the availability of therapeutic options, the overall 5-year survival for patients diagnosed\r\nwith pancreatic cancer remains less than 5%. Gum resins from Boswellia species, also known as frankincense, have\r\nbeen used as a major ingredient in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine to treat a variety of health-related conditions.\r\nBoth frankincense chemical extracts and essential oil prepared from Boswellia species gum resins exhibit\r\nanti-neoplastic activity, and have been investigated as potential anti-cancer agents. The goals of this study are to\r\nidentify optimal condition for preparing frankincense essential oil that possesses potent anti-tumor activity, and to\r\nevaluate the activity in both cultured human pancreatic cancer cells and a xenograft mouse cancer model.\r\nMethods: Boswellia sacra gum resins were hydrodistilled at 78Ã?°C; and essential oil distillate fractions were collected\r\nat different durations (Fraction I at 0ââ?¬â??2 h, Fraction II at 8ââ?¬â??10 h, and Fraction III at 11ââ?¬â??12 h). Hydrodistillation of the\r\nsecond half of gum resins was performed at 100Ã?°C; and distillate was collected at 11ââ?¬â??12 h (Fraction IV). Chemical\r\ncompositions were identified by gas chromatographyââ?¬â??mass spectrometry (GC-MS); and total boswellic acids\r\ncontents were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Frankincense essential oil-modulated\r\npancreatic tumor cell viability and cytotoxicity were determined by colorimetric assays. Levels of apoptotic markers,\r\nsignaling molecules, and cell cycle regulators expression were characterized by Western blot analysis. A heterotopic\r\n(subcutaneous) human pancreatic cancer xenograft nude mouse model was used to evaluate anti-tumor capability\r\nof Fraction IV frankincense essential oil in vivo. Frankincense essential oil-induced tumor cytostatic and cytotoxic\r\nactivities in animals were assessed by immunohistochemistry.\r\nResults: Longer duration and higher temperature hydrodistillation produced more abundant high molecular\r\nweight compounds, including boswellic acids, in frankincense essential oil fraactions. Human pancreatic cancer cells\r\nwere sensitive to Fractions III and IV (containing higher molecular weight compounds) treatment with suppressed\r\ncell viability and increased cell death. Essential oil activated the caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway, induced a\r\nrapid and transient activation of Akt and Erk1/2, and suppressed levels of cyclin D1 cdk4 expression in cultured\r\npancreatic cancer cells. In addition, Boswellia sacra essential oil Fraction IV exhibited anti-proliferative and\r\npro-apoptotic activities against pancreatic tumors in the heterotopic xenograft mouse model....
Background: Protopanaxadiol (PPD) is a triterpenoid that can be prepared from steamed ginseng. PPD possesses\r\nanticancer potential via caspase-dependent apoptosis. Whether paraptosis, a type of the caspase-independent cell\r\ndeath, is also induced by PPD has not been evaluated.\r\nMethods: Cell death, the cell cycle and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were analyzed by flow cytometry\r\nafter staining with annexin V/PI, PI/RNase or H2DCFDA. We observed morphological changes by crystal violet\r\nstaining assay. Mitochondrial swelling was measured by ultravioletââ?¬â??visible spectrophotometry. The activation of\r\nNF-?B was measured by luciferase reporter assay.\r\nResults: At comparable concentrations of 5-fluorouracil, PPD induced more cell death in human colorectal cancer\r\ncell lines HCT-116 and SW-480. We demonstrated that PPD induced paraptosis in these cancer cells. PPD treatment\r\nsignificantly increased the percentage of cancer cells with cytoplasmic vacuoles. After the cells were treated with\r\nPPD and cycloheximides, cytoplasmic vacuole generation was inhibited. The paraptotic induction effect of PPD was\r\nalso supported by the results of the mitochondrial swelling assay. PPD induced ROS production in cancer cells,\r\nwhich activated the NF-?B pathway. Blockage of ROS by NAC or PS-1145 inhibited the activation of NF-?B signaling.\r\nConclusions: PPD induces colorectal cancer cell death in part by induction of paraptosis. The anticancer activity of\r\nPPD may be enhanced by antioxidants such as green tea, which also inhibit the activation of NF-?B signaling....
ZHENG, also known as traditional Chinese\r\nmedicine(TCM)syndromeorTCMpattern,isanintegral\r\nand essential part of TCM theory. A TCM ZHENG, in\r\nessence, is a characteristic profile of all clinical\r\nmanifestations that can be identified by a TCM\r\npractitioner. Clinical treatments of a patient rely on the\r\nsuccessfuldifferentiationofaspecificZHENG.Recently,\r\nsomenewtechnologiesandmethodssuchastheSystem\r\nOmics approach were introduced in ZHENG research,\r\nwhichsignificantlyfacilitatethedevelopmentofZHENG\r\ntheory. This review focuses on a brief introduction of\r\nthese new technologies and methods and their\r\napplication in TCM ZHENG differentiation research.\r\nAlso,someofthelatestprogressandapplicationsinthis\r\narea, such as ZHENG measurement, information\r\ncollection, data analysis and mining, ZHENG\r\ndifferentiationbasedTCMtreatment,andmechanismsof\r\nZHENG differentiation based on biological networks\r\nreviewed....
Background: The number of older adults participating in yoga has increased dramatically in recent years; yet, the\r\nphysical demands associated with yoga performance have not been reported. The primary aim of the Yoga\r\nEmpowers Seniors Study (YESS) was to use biomechanical methods to quantify the physical demands associated\r\nwith the performance of 7 commonly-practiced standing yoga poses in older adults.\r\nMethods: 20 ambulatory older adults (70.7 + - 3.8 yrs) attended 2 weekly 60-minute Hatha yoga classes for\r\n32 weeks. The lower-extremity net joint moments of force (JMOFs), were obtained during the performance of the\r\nfollowing poses: Chair, Wall Plank, Tree, Warrior II, Side Stretch, Crescent, and One-Legged Balance.\r\nRepeated-measure ANOVA and Tukeyââ?¬â?¢s post-hoc tests were used to identify differences in JMOFs among the poses.\r\nElectromyographic analysis was used to support the JMOF findings.\r\nResults: There was a significant main effect for pose, at the ankle, knee and hip, in the frontal and sagittal planes\r\n(p = 0.00 ââ?¬â?? 0.03). The Crescent, Chair, Warrior II, and One-legged Balance poses generated the greatest average\r\nsupport moments. Side Stretch generated the greatest average hip extensor and knee flexor JMOFs. Crescent\r\nplaced the highest demands on the hip flexors and knee extensors. All of the poses produced ankle plantar-flexor\r\nJMOFs. In the frontal plane, the Tree generated the greatest average hip and knee abductor JMOFs; whereas\r\nWarrior II generated the greatest average hip and knee adductor JMOFs. Warrior II and One-legged Balance induced\r\nthe largest average ankle evertor and invertor JMOFs, respectively. The electromyographic findings were consistent\r\nwith the JMOF results.\r\nConclusions: Musculoskeletal demand varied significantly across the different poses. These findings may be used to\r\nguide the design of evidence-based yoga interventions that address individual-specific training and rehabilitation\r\ngoals in seniors....
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