Current Traditional Medicine - Online First

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, surpassed only by Alzheimer's disease. It is distinguished by a diverse array of motor and non-motor symptoms that impact various aspects of neurological function. In recent years, the autophagy-enhancing potential of several medicinal plants has been tested and results in better protection against neurodegeneration in PD. Accordingly, the major objective of this work is to explore the autophagy-enhancing activity of Mucuna pruriens (Mp) seed extract in the rotenone intoxicated mouse model.

To evaluate our hypothesis, we categorized the mice into four distinct groups: a control group, a drug-only control group, a rotenone-intoxicated group, and a group of rotenone-intoxicated mice that were also treated with Mp. After dosing was finished, the behavioral test was measured. The mice were then sacrificed in each group, and the brains were isolated. Rotenone-intoxicated Parkinsonian mice exhibited significant behavioral impairments in the rotarod, hanging grip, and narrow beam walking tests, indicating deficits in balance, coordination, and muscle strength. Treatment with Mp markedly improved motor performance, suggesting its neuroprotective and therapeutic potential in alleviating PD-related dysfunction. Similarly, Mp effectively mitigates biochemical impairments in the Parkinsonian mouse model, improving catalase activity, reducing nitrite levels, lipid peroxidation, and enhancing glutathione reductase function. TFEB and mTORC1 are the 2 most important modulators of autophagy. The TFEB level was decreases in the rotenone group ultimately restored in the Mp group. The activity of TFEB was negatively regulated by mTORC1. The level of mTORC1 was increased in rotenone group and was significantly reduced by Mp treatment. The enzymatic level of glucocerebrosidase was also decreases in rotenone intoxicated mice and increased in Mp group. The ultimate impact of these autophagy enhancers is reflected at the level of Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). The activity of TH is reduced in the rotenone group and consequently enhanced by Mp treatment.

Our result shows the autophagy enhancing activity of Mp.

Further studies will be needed to search and test the additional number of regulators that are involved in the autophagy mediating activity of Mp.

There is a need to identify original molecules to develop drugs for the treatment of microbial infections. Such chemical entities could be found in secondary metabolites of rainforest plants that are not so well-known. This study examines the antibacterial and antibiotic-potentiating effects, and antiviral activities of six rainforest plants endemic to the primary rainforest of Malaysia.

Leaves, bark, fruits, and wood of Burkillanthus malaccensis, Cleistanthus bracteosus, Diospyros hasseltii, Kibatalia maingayi, Knema retusa, and Litsea spathacea were extracted successively with hexane, chloroform, and methanol, and tested against six human pathogenic bacteria species by disc diffusion and broth microdilution. The extracts were tested against influenza virus A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (H1N1) using MDCK cells.

Of the 42 extracts tested, the hexane extract of fruits of D. hasseltii inhibited the growth of E. coli with the MIC value of 39 µg/mL. The chloroform extract of leaves of C. bracetosus potentiated the activity of levofloxacin against P. aeruginosa. The strongest antiviral activity was observed with the chloroform extract of leaves of C. bracteosus with the IC50 value of 6.3 µg/mL. The chloroform extract of bark of B. malaccensis with the IC50 value of 0.6 µg/mL was the most cytotoxic.

Preserving the primary rainforest of Malaysia is a means to preserve natural products with the ability to be developed as antimicrobial leads. In particular, D. hasseltii, C. bracteosus, and B. malaccensis could be examined for their active antimicrobial constituents.

Li Qi Huo Xue Di Wan (LQHXDW), a traditional Chinese medicine, is used to treat patients with the symptoms of palpitations, chest tightness, chest pain, and shortness of breath. It is not known, however, whether LQHXDW can reduce high-altitude hypoxia-induced cardiopulmonary injury, what are the specific active ingredients, and what is the exact mechanism behind its cardiopulmonary protection.

This study intends to investigate the effect of LQHXDW on hypoxia-induced cardiopulmonary injury and the underlying mechanisms.

The components of LQHXDW were identified by UPLC-QTOF-MS. The potential targets of LQHXDW against high-altitude hypoxia were screened via network pharmacology. Mice were subjected to an animal hypoxic chamber for 5 days to establish a high-altitude hypoxia animal model. Rat heart-derived H9c2 cells and human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAECs) were cultured in glucose-free medium under hypoxic conditions (O2/N2/CO2, 3/92/5) for 72 h to mimic the high-altitude hypoxia in vivo.

Compounds detected in LQHXDW were mainly categorized into ten major groups, and 143 targets of LQHXDW were overlapped with the targets of high-altitude hypoxia. These common targets were closely related to apoptosis and inflammation pathways. In mice exposed to hypoxia, LQHXDW reduced cardiac and lung injury, decreased inflammatory responses, and improved cardiac function. For instance, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was improved by 20% (p<0.05), and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS) was increased by 10% (p<0.05) in LQHXDW-treated mice. in vitro, LQHXDW elevated cell viability by 25% (p<0.01) and reduced cell apoptosis by 10% (p<0.01) in cultured cardiomyocytes and pulmonary artery endothelial cells exposed to hypoxia. Mechanistically, LQHXDW inhibited the activities of caspase-8 and caspase-3 by 40% (p<0.01), thereby preventing cardiopulmonary apoptosis in cardiomyocytes and pulmonary artery endothelial cells exposed to hypoxia.

LQHXDW can be used as a potential inhibitor of apoptosis for treating high-altitude hypoxia. This study provided a clue for future studies to identify the exact active components of LQHXDW for targeting the pathways of apoptosis.

Interior-warming medicines (Wēnlǐ herbs) have the effect of warming the interior of the body and dispelling cold, and they are traditionally used for interior cold syndrome. Currently, they are used for treating gastrointestinal disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, tumors, etc. Transient receptor potential channel M8 (TRPM8) is a non-selective cation channel that can be activated by low temperature and menthol. However, the mechanism of temperature regulation of interior-warming medicines is not clear. This study designed an in vitro experiment on the TRPM8 signaling pathway using interior-warming medicines, aiming to investigate the relationship between the hot property of interior-warming medicines and the regulatory effect of TRPM8.

The breast cancer cell line 7 was cultured at different temperatures as a research model, six kinds of interior-warming medicines were used, and medicated serums from rats were prepared as test drugs. PCR and western blotting were carried out to investigate their effects on TRPM8 mRNA and protein expression. ELISA and flow cytometry were conducted to detect intracellular cAMP and Ca²⁺ concentration.

Compared with the blank-containing serum group, interior-warming medicines had no significant effect on the expression of TRPM8 at 37°C, while they could inhibit the expression of TRPM8 at low temperatures (30°C). Moreover, the six herbs could increase intracellular cAMP content and reduce Ca²⁺ concentration at different temperatures.

The natural hot property of interior-warming medicines may be associated with the regulation of the TRPM8 signaling pathway, causing Ca²⁺ influx blocking, which provides a deeper experimental basis for their clinical application and new drug development.

Diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia commonly use herbal medicines (HMs) to manage their condition. Research studies indicate that up to 70% of this population has tried HMs, with popular choices including Cinnamomum verum, Zingiber officinale, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Allium sativum, Aloe vera, Olea europaea, and Nigella sativa. More clinical trials evaluating their safety and effectiveness are needed to increase the adoption of these herbal remedies.

This systematic review aims to review clinical research in the Saudi Arabian context on the efficacy of commonly used HMs for diabetes.

A comprehensive search of medical literature was conducted to identify the most popular herbs used by Saudi diabetic patients. The PubMed, Cochrane, Medline, and ScienceDirect databases were utilized to find research studies published in Saudi Arabia that examined the effectiveness of traditional herbal remedies for managing diabetes.

Only four relevant studies from Saudi Arabia were identified, with three specific herbs (Trigonella foenum-graecum, Zingiber officinale, and Nigella sativa) used in all four studies. Two of the studies were blind clinical trials, but only one was double-blinded. The methodological quality of these studies was assessed using the Jadad score, with scores ranging from 1 to 3.

Although Saudi Arabia has a large population of diabetic patients, its contribution to clinical research in this field remains limited. Establishing research groups and developing a sustainable infrastructure could help to address this problem and promote more rigorous studies on HMs.

Plant extracts have wide applications in food, nutrition, and cosmetics, which results in a deeper investigation of natural ingredients. Numerous natural ingredients have been demonstrated to exhibit multiple activities, including antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and anti-melanogenesis. However, their combinations have not been well investigated, which could provide stronger performance with less toxicity and easier applications.

We used B16F10 cells treated with alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (αMSH) for melanogenesis-related studies, including cellular melanin content, tyrosinase activity, and gene or protein expression. MTT assay was used to evaluate cell viability. DPPH scavenging activity was measured for antioxidation. Nitric oxide (NO) content was evaluated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treated RAW264.7 cells to indicate the performance on anti-inflammation.

In this study, six different compounds and their combinations were tested for melanogenesis. The results showed that the combination of glabridin, resveratrol, and ellagic acid (GRE) exhibited the highest efficiency, which was mainly manifested as inhibition of melanin production and tyrosinase activity, higher DPPH scavenging rate, and inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production. Meanwhile, our results showed that GRE could significantly downregulate the expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) related genes and proteins and could also inhibit the phosphorylation of cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB), which was the upstream signal of MITF.

The results suggest GRE exhibits high efficiency in inhibiting anti-melanogenesis, antioxidation, and anti-inflammation. Furthermore, GRE could downregulate the phosphorylation of the CREB and MITF signal pathway, which provides a theoretical basis for its application in pigmentation disorder disease and cosmetics.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a combination of physical and psychological symptoms that start during the luteal phase. There are no specific effective and safe remedies to relieve these symptoms. However, there is a great tendency to use herbal medicines instead of chemical medicines. This study aimed to assess and compare the effects of a soft gel capsule containing Pimpinella anisum, Oenothera biennis, and Salvia sclarea oils (POS) with control, before and after use in two consecutive cycles, on physical and psychological symptoms of PMS.

This was a triple-blind randomized clinical trial performed on 67 female students, who were residents in dormitories of the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science in Tehran, Iran. The participants were randomly divided into two groups: soft gel capsule users containing POS as the intervention group (n=32) and sunflower as the control group (SF) (n=35). The participants were 18-35 years old female students who were affected by PMS. The capsules were used twice daily, from the 21^st day of the menstrual cycle to 2 days after the menstruation, for two consecutive menstrual cycles. The tools for data collection were three questionnaires: a personal information questionnaire, a valid and reliable daily PMS symptom report (DSR) form, and a side effects assessment questionnaire. The physical, psychological, and general symptoms of PMS were assessed by the DSR, and the results were taken before and after intervention and between groups of the study.

Before and after the intervention, the comparison showed significant effectiveness of POC in reducing general, physical, and psychological symptoms after the first and second months of use. However, the comparison of the groups did not show a significant difference between the two groups regarding their PMS symptoms and the side effects of the medicines (p<0.05).

POS is a combination of three herbal medicines effective on the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, which can be used effectively and safely to improve the physical and psychological symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. This herbal remedy can be recommended by health care providers to women, who suffer from PMS symptoms and prefer to use herbal remedies instead of synthetic drugs. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the combined herbal remedies as well as the effectiveness of sunflower oil on PMS symptoms.

IRCT20190306042943N1.