Rosmarinus plants: Key farm concepts towards food applications

Rosmarinus species are aromatic plants that mainly grow in the Mediterranean region. They are widely used in folk medicine, food, and flavor industries and represent a valuable source of biologically active compounds (e.g., terpenoids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids). The extraction of rosemary essential oil is being done using three main methods: carbon dioxide supercritical extraction, steam distillation, and hydrodistillation. Furthermore, interesting antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antileishmanial, anthelmintic, anticancer, anti‐inflammatory, antidepressant, and antiamnesic effects have also been broadly recognized for rosemary plant extracts. Thus the present review summarized data on economically important Rosmarinus officinalis species, including isolation, extraction techniques, chemical composition, pharmaceutical, and food applications.     

Effect of single‐dose injection of vitamin D on immune cytokines in ulcerative colitis patients: a randomized placebo‐controlled trial

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic recurrent inflammation of the colon. It has been proposed that the UC pathogenesis may be related to vitamin D deficiency and/or vitamin D administration in UC patients may have an ameliorating effect on the intestinal inflammation. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of vitamin D on the serum levels of immune cytokines in UC patients. In this double‐blind randomized controlled trial, 90 mild‐to‐moderate UC patients were assigned to get either a single muscular injection of 7.5 mg vitamin D3 or 1 mL normal saline as placebo. Three months later serum levels of IL‐4, IL‐10, IL‐12p70, IFN‐γ, and TNF‐α were measured. Two group variables were compared using independent t‐test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). There was a significant increase in vitamin D only in the vitamin D group. Compared to placebo, vitamin D had significant decreasing effects on serum TNF‐α, IFN‐γ, and IL12p70 levels, but it had no significant effect on serum levels of IL4 and IL10. Vitamin D seems to inhibit Th1 immune responses and have no effect on Th2 responses. The findings of this study support several in vitro studies, which suggest a therapeutic immunomodulatory potential of vitamin D.     

Areca catechu—From farm to food and biomedical applications

The family Arecaceae includes 181 genera and 2,600 species with a high diversity in physical characteristics. Areca plants, commonly palms, which are able to grow in nearly every type of habitat, prefer tropical and subtropical climates. The most studied species Areca catechu L. contains phytochemicals as phenolics and alkaloids with biological properties. The phenolics are mainly distributed in roots followed by fresh unripe fruits, leaves, spikes, and veins, while the contents of alkaloids are in the order of roots, fresh unripe fruits, spikes, leaves, and veins. This species has been reputed to provide health effects on the cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, metabolic, gastrointestinal, and reproductive systems. However, in many developing countries, quid from this species has been associated with side effects, which include the destruction of the teeth, impairment of oral hygiene, bronchial asthma, or oral cancer. Despite these side effects, which are also mentioned in this work, the present review collects the main results of biological properties of the phytochemicals in A. catechu. This study emphasizes the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, and clinical effectiveness in humans. In this sense, A. catechu have demonstrated effectiveness in several reports through in vitro and in vivo experiments on disorders such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, or anticancer. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that this species presents clinical effectiveness on neurological disorders. Hence, A. catechu extracts could be used as a bioactive ingredient for functional food, nutraceuticals, or cosmeceuticals. However, further studies, especially extensive and comprehensive clinical trials, are recommended for the use of Areca in the treatment of diseases.     

Apigenin as an anticancer agent

Apigenin is an edible plant‐derived flavonoid that has been reported as an anticancer agent in several experimental and biological studies. It exhibits cell growth arrest and apoptosis in different types of tumors such as breast, lung, liver, skin, blood, colon, prostate, pancreatic, cervical, oral, and stomach, by modulating several signaling pathways. Apigenin induces apoptosis by the activation of extrinsic caspase‐dependent pathway by upregulating the mRNA expressions of caspase‐3, caspase‐8, and TNF‐α. It induces intrinsic apoptosis pathway as evidenced by the induction of cytochrome c, Bax, and caspase‐3, while caspase‐8, TNF‐α, and B‐cell lymphoma 2 levels remained unchanged in human prostate cancer PC‐3 cells. Apigenin treatment leads to significant downregulation of matrix metallopeptidases‐2, ?9, Snail, and Slug, suppressing invasion. The expressions of NF‐κB p105/p50, PI3K, Akt, and the phosphorylation of p‐Akt decreases after treatment with apigenin. However, apigenin‐mediated treatment significantly reduces pluripotency marker Oct3/4 protein expression which might be associated with the downregulation of PI3K/Akt/NF‐κB signaling.     

Chronic pelvic pain syndrome: Highlighting medicinal plants toward biomolecules discovery for upcoming drugs formulation

Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) can be triggered by a various types of gynecological, gastrointestinal, urological, and musculoskeletal disorders. Recently, the role of the central nervous system has proven to be an integral part on the development of any chronic pain syndrome, including CPPS. However, owing to the complex and heterogeneous etiology and pathophysiology of CPPS, the establishment of effective therapeutic interventions remains challenging for both physicians and patients. Nonetheless, recent studies have pointed that medicinal plants and their secondary metabolites can be effectively used in CPPS therapy, besides contributing to restore the patients' quality of life and potentiate the conventional CPPS management. In this sense, this review aims to provide a careful overview on the biomedical data for the use of medicinal plants use and their secondary metabolites on CPPS management.     

Designing a data set for postpartum recall registry of women with gestational diabetes in recent pregnancy and its implementation in Iranian urban health centers

Background and aimsGestational diabetes has serious short and long-term consequences for both mother and child. Designing a standard data set and implementing a recall registry system provides opportunities for early interventions in women with a history of gestational diabetes. The present study aims to draft a data set for the gestational diabetes recall registry and its establishment in urban health centers.MethodsTo design a data set for gestational diabetes postpartum recall registry a qualitative study has been done from April to June of 2019. In this stage, Information need assessment, Identification of data elements, development of registry software, and field-testing were done. Web-based software was designed in NET language and using a Visual Studio programming environment. Implementation of the postpartum recall registry was started in 6 health centers of Ahvaz city from August 2019.ResultsDuring six months 163 women with gestational diabetes in current pregnancy were registered. The final data set for the postpartum recall registry included six main groups, 23 subclasses, and 188 data elements. Mandatory data were included 115 elements.ConclusionA data set was finalized using a standard method and implemented in urban health centers for six months. Implementing a postpartum registry with standard elements can help manage data and plan for future interventions to reduce modifiable risk factors in this population.     

The therapeutic role of lasers in primary localized cutaneous amyloidosis: a systematic review

Lasers in Medical Science - With the investigation of the efficacy of laser therapy in primary localized amyloidosis(PLCA) only recently starting to materialize, we aimed to review the currently...     

The Effects of Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation on Glucose Metabolism,Lipid Profiles,Inflammation, and Oxidative Stress in Patients With Diabetic Nephropathy: A Randomized,Double-Blind,Placebo-Controlled Trial

Objective: Data on the effects of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation on glucose metabolism, lipid profiles, inflammation, and oxidative stress in subjects with diabetic nephropathy (DN) are scarce. This research was done to determine the effects of CoQ10 supplementation on metabolic status in subjects with DN.

Methods: This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was done in 50 subjects with DN. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups to intake either 100 mg/day CoQ10 supplements (n = 25) or placebo (n = 25) for 12 weeks. Fasting blood samples were obtained at first and after 12-week intervention to quantify metabolic profiles.

Results: After 12 weeks of treatment, compared with the placebo, CoQ10 supplementation resulted in significant decreases in serum insulin levels (?3.4 ± 6.8 vs +0.8 ± 6.4 µIU/mL, p = 0.02), homeostasis model of assessment-estimated insulin resistance (?1.0 ± 2.0 vs +0.2 ± 1.8, p = 0.03), homeostasis model of assessment-estimated B cell function (?12.3 ± 26.3 vs +3.5 ± 23.1, p = 0.02) and HbA1c (?1.1 ± 1.0 vs ?0.1 ± 0.2%, p < 0.001), and a significant improvement in quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (+0.009 ± 0.01 vs ?0.006 ± 0.01, p = 0.01). In addition, CoQ10 supplementation significantly decreased plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) (?0.6 ± 0.5 vs +0.5 ± 1.0 µmol/L, p < 0.001) and advanced glycation end products levels (AGEs) (?316.4 ± 380.9 vs +318.6 ± 732.0 AU, p < 0.001) compared with the placebo. Supplementation with CoQ10had no significant impacts on fasting plasma glucose (FPG), lipid profiles, and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) compared with the placebo.

Conclusions: Taken together, our study demonstrated that CoQ10 supplementation for 12 weeks among DN patients had favorable effects on glucose metabolism, MDA, and AGEs levels, but unchanged FPG, lipid profiles, and MMP-2 concentrations.     

The effects of loading time on osseointegration and new bone formation around dental implants: a histologic and histomorphometric study in dogs

BACKGROUND: Immediate loading of dental implants has been introduced as a method of reducing implant treatment time without compromising its prognosis. In this research, the effects of loading time on the amount of bone-to-implant contact and bone formation around dental implants were evaluated histologically. METHODS: Three months prior to implantation, the lower premolar teeth of 15 dogs were extracted. Three or four dental implants were placed in the healed extraction sites for each dog (N = 48). Dividing the dogs into three groups, the implants were either loaded 48 hours or 1 week later with metallic or prefabricated acrylic crowns or were left unloaded until the time of sacrifice. Three months after implant insertion, the animals were sacrificed and samples were investigated to define the amount of bone-to-implant contact, lamellar and woven bone percentage, and local inflammation of the newly formed bone. RESULTS: No significant difference in the observed criteria was reported among the three groups (P >0.05); however, the unloaded group had the highest degree of bone-to-implant contact and the group loaded 48 hours after the primary implant insertion had the least. The prosthesis type had no significant effect on the implant success rate (P >0.05). The lamellar and woven bone percentage of newly formed bone also did not differ in the three groups (P >0.05). One implant from each group failed in this study. CONCLUSION: Loading time does not seem to significantly affect the degree of osseointegration and bone-to-implant contact and the composition of newly formed bone around dental implants.