Cancer is a challenging problem for the global health community, and its increasing burden necessitates seeking novel and alternative therapies. Most cancers share six basic characteristics known as ..."cancer hallmarks", including uncontrolled proliferation, refractoriness to proliferation blockers, escaping apoptosis, unlimited proliferation, enhanced angiogenesis, and metastatic spread. Apoptosis, as one of the best-known programmed cell death processes, is generally promoted through two signaling pathways, including the intrinsic and extrinsic cascades. These pathways comprise several components that their alterations can render an apoptosis-resistance phenotype to the cell. Therefore, targeting more than one molecule in apoptotic pathways can be a novel and efficient approach for both identifying new anticancer therapeutics and preventing resistance to therapy. The main purpose of this review is to summarize data showing that various plant extracts and plant-derived molecules can activate both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways in human cancer cells, making them attractive candidates in cancer treatment.
Background and objectives: Allergic asthma is an inflammatory respiratory system disease. Capparis spinosa L. has been traditionally used to treat inflammatory diseases. Our goal was to examine the ...anti-inflammatory activity of C. spinosa extract on a mouse model of allergic asthma. Methods: Capparis spinosa fruits were extracted with methanol 80% by maceration method. Forty-two Balb/c mice were divided into six groups of seven. The healthy control group received normal saline and the other five groups were treated with ovalbumin to induce asthma. Subsequently, one group received dexamethasone, three groups were treated with C. spinosa extract (185, 370 and 740 mg/kg/day) for 7 days and the sixth group remained untreated as the positive control. The number of eosinophils and neutrophils and the levels of interleukins -4, -5, and -13 were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of all mice. Histopathological changes in the lung tissues of all animals were also analyzed. Results: The number of eosinophils and neutrophils and the levels of interleukins -4, -5, and -13 in BALFs significantly decreased in C. spinosa extract-treated mice compared with the positive control. Capparis spinosa extract inhibited goblet cell hyperplasia and mucus hypersecretion in lung tissues. Inflammation in the peribronchial and perivascular spaces was non-significantly ameliorated in extract-treated mice. The results of C. spinosa extract-treated mice were comparable with dexamethasone-administered animals. Conclusions: This study is the first report of anti-inflammatory and antiasthmatic properties of C. spinosa extract by modulating eosinophilic trafficking and type 2 inflammatory responses.
Metastasis is a multi-step phenomenon during cancer development leading to the propagation of cancer cells to distant organ(s). According to estimations, metastasis results in over 90% of ...cancer-associated death around the globe. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are a group of regulatory RNA molecules more than 200 base pairs in length. The main regulatory activity of these molecules is the modulation of gene expression. They have been reported to affect different stages of cancer development including proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and metastasis. An increasing number of medical data reports indicate the probable function of LncRNAs in the metastatic spread of different cancers. Phytochemical compounds, as the bioactive agents of plants, show several health benefits with a variety of biological activities. Several phytochemicals have been demonstrated to target LncRNAs to defeat cancer. This review article briefly describes the metastasis steps, summarizes data on some well-established LncRNAs with a role in metastasis, and identifies the phytochemicals with an ability to suppress cancer metastasis by targeting LncRNAs.
Linn (Maidenhair fern) is an herb belonging to the family Pteridaceae. It is named as "
" in medical and pharmaceutical textbooks of Iranian Traditional Medicine. The fronds of Maidenhair fern were ...mainly administrated by ancient physicians as single medicine or in combination with other plants in multi-herbal formulations for curing different diseases. Because of different chemical compositions, the herb fronds were also assessed for its numerous pharmacological effects. Therefore, the current study was done to review the traditional usage and modern pharmacological and toxicological effects of Maidenhair fern.
Scientific databases and publications including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science direct, Cochrane Library, SID (for Persian papers) and medical and pharmaceutical textbooks of traditional medicine as well were searched for "
", "
" and "
" without limitation up to 2016.
Maidenhair fern exhibited to possess anti-diabetic, anticonvulsant, analgesic, hypocholesterolemic, goitrogenic, anti-thyroidal, antibacterial, antifungal, wound healing, antiobesity, anti hair loss, anti-asthmatic, anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal and antispasmodic, antioxidant as well as diuretic, anti-urolithiatic and detoxifying effects in modern medicine. Ancient physicians declared some of the confirmed pharmacological effects.
Maidenhair fern frond can be a good candidate for clinical purpose. Therefore, future researches on the other mentioned effects in traditional medicine are recommended.
Rutin has been reported as a potential anti-cancer agent for several decades. This study evaluated the effects of rutin on the proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 ...breast cancer cell lines. Increasing concentrations of rutin significantly stimulated the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells compared to controls. Wound scratch assay demonstrated that rutin had an inducing effect on the migration of the cells. In MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells, rutin upregulated MKI67, VIM, CDH2, FN1, and VEGFA and downregulated CDH1 and THBS1 genes. It also increased N-cadherin and VEGFA and decreased E-cadherin and thrombospondin 1 protein expression. Our data indicated that rutin could stimulate proliferation, migration, and pro-angiogenic activity in two different breast cancer cell lines. This phytoestrogen induced invasion and migration of both cell lines by a mechanism involving the EMT process. This suggests that rutin may act as a breast-cancer-promoting phytoestrogen.
Plants of Labiatae are used in traditional medicine and phytotherapy. Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a phenolic compound which is found in many genus of Labiatae and exhibits important biological ...activities.
In this investigation, RA contents of 29 species of Labiatae named Salvia officinalis, Salvia limbata, Salvia virgata, Salvia hypoleuca, Salvia macrosiphon, Salvia choloroleuca, Melissa officinalis, Origanum vulgare, Lavandula angustifolia, Rosmarinus officinalis, Thymus daenensis, Thymus citriodorous, Thymus pubescens, Thymus vulgaris, Zataria multiflora, Mentha piperita, Mentha pulegium, Mentha longifolia, Mentha spicata, Mentha aquatica, Mentha crispa, Perovskia artemisoides, Zhumeria majdae, Satureja hortensis, Satureja khuzistanica, Satureja bachtiarica, Satureja atropatana, Satureja mutica and Satureja macrantha were determined by using high-performance liquid chromatographic method.
The results showed that RA content in different species of Labiatae was 0.0-58.5 mg g(-1) of dried plants. The highest amount of RA was found in Mentha species especially M. spicata.
M. spicata can be considered as a new source of rosmarinic acid .
Background and objectives: This study evaluated the acute and subacute toxicity of the Coriander Triphala tablet (CTT) in Wistar rats. Methods: The CTT was prepared according to the method described ...in our previous work. In the acute toxicity study, five female Wistar rats received 2000 mg/kg CTT and five female rats were administered distilled water as control. In the subacute test, sixty male and female rats were randomly divided into six groups. Three groups received 200, 500, and 1000 mg/kg of the tablet; the satellite group was treated with 1000 mg/kg of CTT, and controls received distilled water for 28 days. Body weights and food and water intake of rats were recorded. Toxicity signs were recorded and hematological, biochemical, and histopathological analyses were performed. Results: No remarkable toxic effect of the tablet was observed in the rats after receiving a single dose of 2000 mg/kg. This indicated that the median lethal dose (LD50) was more than 2000 mg/kg. In the subacute toxicity study, different doses of CTT didn’t change hematological parameters. However, the tablet increased the levels of cholesterol, creatinine, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in males and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and AST in females at high doses. Histopathological evaluation of liver samples from both sexes showed congestion and hydropic degeneration of hepatocytes. Renal histopathology revealed varying degrees of tubular cell necrosis. Conclusion: Our data indicated the toxic effects of CTT on the liver and kidney, suggesting the need for special precautions in administration of this medication to the patients.
Background and objective: Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (licorice) is one of the most important medicinal plants for respiratory disorders. It is used alone or in combination with other species. In the ...present investigation, an herbal syrup containing licorice, fennel, and fig was formulated according to Iranian traditional medicine prescriptions and glycyrrhizic acid content of the syrup was quantified using a validated HPLC method. Method: Traditional syrup was prepared by decocting the mixture of licorice: fennel: fig (20, 8, 62.5 g in 100 mL). It was filtered and concentrated. Sugar was used in the syrup (40%). Quality control tests were performed and glycyrrhizic acid content of the syrup was determined using an HPLC method. The method was verified according to verification parameters, as well. Accelerated stability tests were carried out during 6 months in 40 °C. Results: The prepared syrup was brown colored with fennel odor and sweet taste. The pH, viscosity, dry residue and density were 5.13, 134.8 cP, 51.43%, 1.10 g/cm3, respectively. Glycyrrhizic acid content was 1.99 mg/mL. The HPLC method was valid according to specificity, linearity (9.3-27.9 µg/mL, r2: 0.9972), intra-day precision (RSD≤1.71%), inter-day precision (RSD: 3.31%), instrument precision (RSD: 0.82%), recovery (95.6%), LOD (1.48 µg/mL) and LOQ (4.49 µg/mL). Conclusion: The prepared syrup with suitable physicochemical and microbial characteristics is a proper candidate for producing at industrial scale after further invivo and clinical studies. Moreover, the HPLC method can be used as a validated method for quality control of the syrup.
Background and objectives: Oligo-amenorrhea is one of the most common symptoms in poly cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) patients and Nigella sativa is a medicinal plant used in Iranian traditional ...medicine for the treatment of oligo-amenorrhea. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of N. sativa oil on oligo-amenorrhea in patients with PCOS. Methods: This study was a double-blinded placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted on 84 PCOS patients with oligo-amenorrhea. Patients were randomly assigned to intervention and placebo group. They used two soft gel capsules of N. sativa oil (500 mg, each capsule) or placebo at night for sixteen weeks. Four indices were used to assess menstruation; the interval between menstruations, duration of menstruation, the occurrence of menstruation and the severity of bleeding. The two groups were compared using analysis of covariance. Result: Fifty five patients completed the study (32 patients in N. sativa group and 23 patients in placebo group). The menstrual interval after the study in the intervention group (45 days, 95% CI) was significantly lower than the control group (86 days). The frequency of menstrual cycle in the intervention group (0.79) was significantly higher than the placebo group (0.48). No serious complication was reported in this clinical trial. Conclusion: findings suggest that N. sativa is an alternative treatment and could be useful for menstrual irregularities in women with PCOS. Further studies are recommended to find the exact mechanisms of N. sativa and its different derivatives.
Background and objective: Potassium alum, called “Zaj-e-abyaz” in Iranian traditional medicine, is used vaginally in traditional clinics as an astringent agent for uterine fibroids. Before evaluating ...its efficacy, it is necessary to prepare a suitable dosage form and assess the possible irritation in animal model which was the aim of the current research. Methods: Vaginal suppositories were prepared using 400 mg potassium alum, 200 mg honey and different proportions of poly ethylene glycol (PEG) 600, 1000 and 4000 in each suppository. The best formulation was used for evaluation of possible irritation in rabbit. The suppositories were used in rabbit’s perineum daily for 5 consecutive days in 3 albino rabbits and the appearance of the vaginal opening and perineum for signs of erythema and edema were recorded every day. The final results were calculated as a primary irritation index (PII). Results: The best formulation contained potassium alum 20%, honey 10%, PEG 600 18%, PEG 1000 12%, PEG 4000 30% and water 10%. According to the animal test, the irritation of the vaginal mucus membrane was considered moderate in rabbits. Conclusion: Regarding the results, potassium alum could not be used in form of suppository in PEG vehicle and other formulations should be prepared for acquiring the least irritation.
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