Without an adequate immune response, SARS-CoV2 virus can simply spread throughout the body of the host. Two of the well-known immunonutrients are selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn). Se and Zn deficiency ...might lead to inflammation, oxidative stress, and viral entry into the cells by decreasing ACE-2 expression; three factors that are proposed to be involved in COVID-19 pathogenesis. Thus, in the current study we aimed at evaluating the correlation between serum Se and Zn status and COVID-19 severity. Eighty-four COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this observational study. Patients were diagnosed based on an infectious disease specialist diagnosis, using WHO interim guidance and the recommendations of the Iranian National Committee of Covid-19. The patients with acute respiratory tract infection symptoms were checked for compatibility of chest computed tomography (CT) scan results with that of Covid-19 and Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for corona virus infection. The severity of Covid-19 was categorized into three groups (mild, moderate, and severe) using CDC criteria. Serum Zn and Se level of all subjects was measured. The severity of the disease was determined only once at the onset of disease. According to the results of linear regression test, there was a significant association between Zn and Se level and COVID-19 severity (beta = - 0.28, P-value = 0.01 for Se; beta = - 0.26, P-value = 0.02). However the significance disappeared after adjusting for confounding factors. Spearman correlation analysis showed a significant negative association between serum Zn, Se and CRP level (r = - 0.35, P-value = 0.001 for Se; r = - 0.41, P-value < 0.001 for Zn).
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background: Plantago species contain aucubin and catalpol iridoid glycosides used in traditional medicine for many purposes. Objectives: To accelerate the utilization of aucubin and catalpol in ...Plantago species, research should be focused on introducing advanced purification and detection methods. In this regard, the therapeutic activities of aucubin and catalpol compounds are mentioned to confirm their effectiveness in medicinal uses. Methods: An extensive literature search was conducted using the keywords “Aucubin and Catalpol + Plantago” in the public domains of Google scholar. Results: The iridoid patterns exhibited a significant correlation with morphological and other chemical specifications of the representatives of the genus Plantago. Commonly, iridoid glycosides are detected with gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), and capillary electrophoresis techniques. The most common methods are HPLC and HPTLC. Aucubin and catalpol are active compounds possessing biological activities, including anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, hepatoprotective, osteoprotective, and neuroprotective properties. Conclusion: This review article comprehensively summarizes cytotoxic activities and detection methods of aucubin and catalpol in Plantago species. The results suggest that Plantago species and their metabolites may benefit human health beyond their traditional uses.
Objectives
Migraine is a common, multifactorial disorder. The exact pathomechanism of migraine remains unclear. Studies have revealed changes in serum prolactin (PRL) levels in relation to migraine, ...although the results have been inconsistent. The present case‐control study assessed the serum level of prolactin in migraine patients.
Materials and methods
In this case‐control study, participants were divided into chronic migraine (CM; n = 39), episodic migraine in ictal (during an attack), and interictal (between attacks) phases (n = 63, n = 37, respectively) along with 30 age‐ and sex‐matched headache‐free controls. After obtaining demographic, anthropometric data, and headache characteristics, blood samples were gathered and analyzed to evaluate the serum levels of prolactin (ng/mL).
Results
A significant difference was observed between the control, CM, and ictal EM, and interictal EM groups. The mean ± SD serum prolactin levels of the chronic migraineurs (1.82 ± 0.94) and those with ictal EM (1.93 ± 1.70) were comparable and were significantly higher than for interictal EM patients (0.82 ± 0.46) and the headache‐free control subjects (0.49 ± 0.15; p < .001). Although the mean serum concentration of prolactin for the interictal EM group tended to be higher than for control individuals, this difference was not statistically significant. The Spearman's correlation test also showed significant correlations between the serum prolactin levels and the number of headaches days among migraineurs.
Conclusion
The findings suggest that there might be an association between increased prolactin concentrations and migraine headache induction and progression. Further detailed and well‐designed studies are needed to confirm the importance of serum prolactin levels in the pathogenesis of migraine headaches.
The present case‐control study assessed the serum level of prolactin in migraine patients. The findings suggest that changes in prolactin levels are related to the pathogenesis of migraine attacks and may contribute to the progression of migraine headaches.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Background
The COVID‐19 pandemic has created new conditions for medical staff, forcing them to use personal protective equipment (PPE) for an extended duration of time. Headache is a commonly ...associated side effect of the use of such equipment among healthcare workers.
Method
In this cross‐sectional study, 243 frontline healthcare workers at four referral hospitals for COVID‐19 were evaluated for the occurrence of headache following the use of PPE and its relationship with blood gas parameters was assessed.
Results
The average age of participants was 36 ± 8 years. Of these, 75% were women. The prevalence of headache after the use of masks was 72.4%, with the N95 mask being the most commonly reported cause of headache (41%). Among patients, 25.1% developed external pressure, 22.2% migraine, and 15.2% tension‐type headaches. Headache was more common in the female gender. Apart from gender, only increased heart rate was significantly associated with headache due to mask use (p = .03 and .00, respectively). The mean heart rate was 97.7 ± 13.68 in participants with headache compared to 65.8 ± 35.63 in those without headache. No significant relationship was found between headache and venous blood gas parameters, including oxygen and carbon dioxide partial pressure.
Conclusion
Headache due to PPE is common and can decrease the efficiency of hospital staff performance. Hence, it is necessary to consider this issue among health center personnel and provide modalities to reduce the risk of headache.
Given that headache is one of the most common side effects of PPE, we designed a cross‐sectional study to evaluate the occurrence of PPE‐associated headache among the healthcare staff during the COVID‐19 pandemic.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
To study the anticancer activity of Plantago major, we assessed the effect of ethanolic, methanolic and acetonic extracts of this plant on HCT-116, SW-480, and HEK-293 cell lines as control.
The ...cytotoxic activity, biocompatibility, and toxicity were evaluated by MTT assay, hemolysis, and Artemia salina-LD50 (on mice) tests, respectively. The analysis of the extracts was performed by GC-MS analysis.
The results showed that all the extracts had the most antiproliferative properties on the HCT-116 cell line. The P. major root extract was more effective than the aerial parts, and IC50 values for ethanolic, methanolic and acetonic root extracts were 405.59, 470.16, and 82.26 µg/mL, respectively on HCT-116 cell line at 72 h. Hemolysis degree of the ethanolic extract of aerial and root parts were approximately 1% at 400 μg/mL.. Using the ethanolic extracts, the Artemia survived every concentration, and no toxicity was observed. One week after the oral administration of different parts of P. major extracts, none of the mice died, even those were administered 2000 mg/kg. The results of GC/MS analysis showed that P. major extracts contain potential anticancer compounds, such as stearic acid (8.61%) in aerial parts of methanolic extract and 1,2- Benzenedicarboxylic acid, mono(2-ethylhexyl)ester (88.07% and 40.63%) in aerial and root parts of acetonic extract of P. major.
Our findings suggest that the P. major is a source of potential compounds with antiproliferative properties.
Hairy root induction in Plantago lanceolata was optimized to take advantage of transformed root cultures. The highest frequency of transformation was achieved using leaf explant, A4 strain, ...pre-cultivation of explant, 150 µM Acetosyringone, 5 min inoculation, half-strength Murashige and Skoog basal medium as co-cultivation, and half-strength Gamborg′s basal medium as a selective medium with 3% sucrose. Among the studied compound encompassing gallic acid, catalpol and apigenin, only the production of gallic acid in hairy roots was affected by 20 mg L
−1
AgNO
3
and 100 mg L
−1
chitosan at 24 hr which yielded 7.63, 4.76-fold increase in its content, respectively. The methanolic extracts of hairy roots elicited by 20 mg L
−1
AgNO
3
exhibited anti-bacterial activity (MIC and MBC = 25 mg mL
−1
) against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris and Salmonella typhi and anti-bacterial potential of non-elicited hairy roots of P. lanceolata (MIC = 25 mg mL
−1
and MBC = 35 mg mL
−1
) were more active against Klebsiella pneumoniae and P. vulgaris than other bacteria. The methanolic extracts of the P. lanceolata hairy roots demonstrated significant cytotoxic activity on colorectal carcinoma cell line (SW-480) with IC
50
= 250.65 ± 6.8 µg mL
−1
in comparison to human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) with IC
50
= 5263.65 ± 4.6 µg mL
−1
. Plantago lanceolata hairy roots showed important biological activity explaining its role in traditional medicine.
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BFBNIB, GIS, IJS, KISLJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
(
) has been used as a medicinal plant in Asia for its effects on digestive system for the last 2000 years. To investigate the anti-cancer activity of rhizome of
, the ethanolic and methanolic ...extracts and essential oil of the rhizome were prepared and their effects were assessed on human gastric cancer cell line (AGS).
The viability of cells which were treated with the extracts and the essential oil was assessed by MTT assay. To evaluate the anti-angiogenic property of the extracts,
tube formation assay was done. Cell cycle distribution and the expression of Oct4 and Nucleostemin, after treatments, were checked by flowcytometry and quantitative RT-PCR, respectively. Furthermore, analysis of essential oil from
was done by GC-MS.
Our results showed that the growth of AGS cells was inhibited by the extracts and essential oil and the extracts inhibited the angiogenesis in HUVEC cells. Our data revealed that the extracts and essential oil of
caused G1 arrest in AGS cells and downregulation of Oct4 and NS after treatment. By GC-MS analysis, we found new compounds such as epiprezizaene, valencene and isocyclocitral in essential oil of
All together, our results showed that the extracts of
have anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic effects on cancer cells.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Although the exact mechanism involved in migraine pathogenesis remained uncertain, and different researches have been developed to address the role of neuroinflammation and immune dysfunction. ...Therefore, considering the immune protective functions of vitamin D3, we aimed to investigate the effects of daily administration of 2000 IU D3 supplements on serum status of immune markers in migraine patients.
Eighty episodic migraineurs who randomly assigned into two equal groups to receive either vitamin D3 2000 IU/d or placebo for 12-week were enrolled in this placebo-controlled double-blind trial included. Serum concentrations of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) and interleukin (IL)-17 were evaluated at baseline and after the trial via the ELISA method.
Applying ANCOVA adjusted for baseline levels and confounding variables, it was found that the serum level of TGF-β was significantly higher in vitamin D group (adjusted mean:1665.50 ng/L) than the placebo group (1361.90 ng/L) after the experiment (P-value = 0.012); on the other hand, vitamin D prevented the increment in IL-17 serum level in the intervention group after the trial (adjusted mean:37.84 ng/L) comparing to the controls (adjusted mean:70.09 ng/L; P-value = 0.039). The Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between changes in serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) and TGF-β (r = - 0.306, P-value = 0.008). In contrast, no significant correlations were noted between serum 25(OH) D and IL-17 changes throughout the study.
Based on the results of this study, it was revealed that 12-week vitamin D3 supplementation (2000 IU/day) could enhance the Th17/Treg related cytokines balance in episodic migraineurs. Although these findings are promising, it is needed to be extended.
The trial is registered in the Iranian registry of clinical trials (IRCT) at 11 July 2018, with IRCT code: IRCT20151128025267N6 ( https://www.irct.ir/trial/31246 ).
Background and Objectives: Plantago is a diverse genus of the Plantaginaceae family. Plantago lanceolata L. (P. lanceolata) and Plantago major L. (P. major) are used commercially worldwide as a ...traditional treatment for many diseases. A sensitive, simple, and reliable high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed to simultaneously quantify the three active ingredients: apigenin, catalpol, and gallic acid in P. lanceolata and P. major. Methods: HPLC analysis was carried out using C8 and C18 columns. The mobile phase comprised acetonitrile, orthophosphoric acid, or formic acid (different ratio V/V) with flow rates of 0.4, 0.8, and 1 mL/min. The eluted peaks were detected at 204, 210, 256, and 330 nm. The crude extracts were separated using the liquid-liquid extraction method. Results: HPLC analysis was performed using the C8 column with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile–orthophosphoric acid (1:1%) at a 1 mL/min flow rate. The detection of the eluted peaks was observed at 204 nm. Using this protocol, the detection and quantification limits for apigenin, catalpol, and gallic acid were 0.007 and 0.022 μg/mL, 0.04 and 0.14 μg/mL, 0.02 and 0.073 μg/mL, respectively. The calibration curve’s correlation coefficient indicated good linearity (r>0.9996, 0.9991, and 0.9978), with average recoveries for the three compounds between 100.02, 95.98, and 108.30%, respectively. Meanwhile, the intra-day and inter-day accuracy averages ranged from 100.07 to 99.95%, respectively. The results showed that using dichloromethane extracts of Plantago species leaves produced the highest yield of apigenin (1.08 and 0.58 μg/mg). At the same time, gallic acid was more abundant in methanolic, butanol, and aqueous extracts of P. lanceolata (3.33 μg/mg) and P. major (3.95, 4.34, and 4.72 μg/mg). The aqueous extract of P. lanceolata leaf and P. major root also showed more catalpol content (9.339 and 2.451 μg/mg). Conclusion: The developed method indicated reliable results with reproducibility, high accuracy in an analytical run, repeatability, acceptable intermediate precision, reproducibility, and stability of these working solutions. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first report for the simple, simultaneous quantification of three compounds in Plantago spp. using HPLC.
Background: Plantago lanceolata L. (ribwort plantain) and Plantago major L. (broadleaf plantain) are widely used in ethnobotanical studies and for treating various diseases. This study aims to ...investigate the antimicrobial activity and chemical compounds of these plants. Methods: The leaf extracts of P. lanceolata and P. major were fractioned using different solvents. The phytochemical screening was carried out by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. The antibacterial activity of extracts was assessed using the disc diffusion method, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were measured by microtiter-broth dilution method. Results: The dichloromethane leaf extract of P. lanceolata and P. major showed the highest antibacterial activity against Salmonella paratyphi (diameter of the inhibition zone: 18.83 and 20.00 mm, respectively) at 100 mg/mL concentration. The lowest MIC was related to dichloromethane extracts of both plants against S. paratyphi (500 µg/mL). The lowest MBC (1000 µg/mL) was related to the dichloromethane extract of P. major against S. paratyphi. The main compounds of P. lanceolata leaf extracts were bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (41.96%), 1-methoxy-3-(2-hydroxyethyl)nonane (32.69%), bicyclo3.1.1heptane, 2,6,6-trimethyl- (1.alpha.,2.beta.,5.alpha.)- (10.45%), and cycloheptasiloxane tetradecamethyl- (27.96% and 31.33%). The main compounds of P. major leaf extracts were eicosane (23.62%), cyclohexasiloxane dodecamethyl- (18.21%), 1-methyl-3-n-propyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one (18.08%), cycloheptasiloxane tetradecamethyl- (33.85%), and 1,2-benzisothiazole-3-acetic acid, methyl ester (34.26%). Conclusion: Fractionation of the methanolic leaf extract of P. lanceolata and P. major can help better isolate active components from these plants. The antibacterial properties of the extracts of two plants may be due to the presence of antibacterial compounds detected in GC-MS.
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