Alternative & Integrative Medicine

The radioprotective activity of Nigella sativa extract (NSE) was ascertained by administering mice orally with 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 400 or 500 mg/kg b. wt. of NSE, once daily for five consecutive days prior to 10 Gy γ-irradiation. One hour after the last administration of NSE on fifth day, the animals were whole body exposed to 10 Gy radiation. The exposure of animals to 10 Gy irradiation resulted in the death of all irradiated animals within 16 days post-irradiation, whereas administration of mice with different doses of NSE reduced the radiation-induced mortality and increased the animal survival significantly (p<0.05). The maximum number of survivors (60%) was observed in the group of animals treated with 150 mg/kg NSE. A further increase in the NSE dose up to 500 mg/kg did not significantly elevate the animal survival when compared to 150 mg/kg. Since maximum number of survivors was observed with 150 mg/kg of NSE, it was considered as an optimum dose for radioprotection and further experiments were performed using this dose. In another set of experiments the animals were administered with 150 mg/kg b. wt. of NSE orally once daily for five consecutive days before exposure to 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 Gy γ-radiation, where the animals were monitored daily up to thirty days post-irradiation for the development of symptoms of radiation sickness and mortality. Treatment of mice with NSE before irradiation delayed the onset of mortality and reduced the symptoms of radiation sickness when compared with the double distilled water (DDW) treated irradiated controls. The LD50/30 was found to be 8 Gy for DDW + irradiation group, whereas the NSE treatment increased LD50/30 up to 9.6 Gy with a dose reduction factor (DRF) of 1.2. The in vitro studies in cell free system revealed that NSE inhibited the generation of various free radicals including 2,2-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), 3-ethyl benzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS•+), hydroxyl (OH•) and superoxide (O2•-) in a concentration dependent manner. The radioprotective effect of NSE may be due to free radical scavenging and increased antioxidant status

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a rheumatologic condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain with many co-morbid symptoms. There are some treatments available to control the symptoms but no complete cure was documented for this complicated pain syndrome. Qigong is an energy therapy and mind-body exercise from traditional Chinese medicine based on a theory or philosophy similar to acupuncture, but rarely studied in clinical trials in Western medicine. This study reports two cases with severe FMS who had minimal relief from conventional therapies. After 7 sessions of external Qigong therapy over 3 weeks; the patients experienced dramatically improvement in their FM symptoms and reported complete recovery. The 3-month follow-up indicated that they were still symptom-free in pain, functionality and depression. This ancient form of mind-body intervention for FMS resulting in complete recovery suggests something in Chinese medicine or the concept of bioenergy may be more effective in treating FMS than anything we know. Larger controlled clinical trials of this intervention are urgently needed.

The paper aims at showing that there is a physical process that might account for the non-electromagnetic action of photons on biological systems. An analogy is shown between the effects of low-intensity electromagnetic radiation and the effects of biologically active substances in ultra-low doses on biological systems and also the features of quantum correlation of photons. The analogy may be due to the same physical mechanism underlying the phenomena. It is of importance that quantum correlations of photons are effected by non-electromagnetic forces. A comparison is drawn between the features of quantum correlations in such quantum macrosystem as superfluid 3He-B and the experimentally established properties of quantum correlations of photons. It is shown that quantum correlations (and, consequently, the effects of low-intensity electromagnetic radiation on biological systems) may be due to spin supercurrents, whose properties are like those of spin supercurrents emerging between spin structures in superfluid 3He-B, the spin supercurrents being of non-electromagnetic nature. It is shown that the non-electromagnetic action of photons on a biological system may be performed by spin supercurrents emerging between the spin structures produced by the photons and biological system in the physical vacuum. The spin supercurrent speed may exceed that of light, because the spin supercurrent is not accompanied by the birth of a mass, as it is in the motion of a body (the relativistic increase in mass) or in the motion of photon (the kinetic mass of photon), and therefore has no inertial properties

With the emergence of antibiotic-resistant Staph. sp., search for antimicrobial agents other than antibiotic is of great concern. The study aimed to determine both MIC and MBC of different honey samples against these strains. The study was conducted with 64 different Staph sp. isolated from bovine mastitis and tested in vitro against 11 antimicrobial agents. The most MDR strains (19) were tested in vitro against six honey batches; marjoram, cotton, two fennel samples and two different trefoil samples as well as against 10% propolis-fennel honey mixture. Both MIC & MBC of the tested honey samples against every tested strain were determined. Propolis-fennel honey mixture showed the lowest both MIC & MBC values against all Staph sp. all over the study with highly significant differences, while against different Staph sp., also it had the lowest MIC and MBC values against S. intermedius followed by S. aureus. The study revealed that among the different Staph. sp., S. aureus was the most sensitive species to the honey antimicrobial action with highly significant differences. The study concluded that all tested Staph. sp. –despite of being MDR- were sensitive to the antimicrobial activity of all tested honeys where S. aureus was the most sensitive one, while adding 10% propolis powder would maximize its antimicrobial activity significantly

Objective: In the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011 and the associated tsunami, the Japanese medical system was not adequately prepared to deal with the many cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and commonly used pharmaceuticals were not always effective in dealing with the symptoms of PTSD. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the physical and mental condition of tsunami survivors by using traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM) principles and examine the effects of Kampo medicine (Japanese herbal medicine) Kamishoyosan (Jia-wei-xiao-yao-san) on stress-related disorders such as PTSD. Method: The study participants consisted of 32 tsunami survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Clinical records were used to analyze (1) patient complaints, (2) diagnosis, and (3) treatment with traditional Chinese medicine. The clinical records were also used for Japanese-language version of the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R-J) assessments. Results: Thirty-two employees at the Urayasu nursing facility (7 men, 25 women; age, 40 ± 13 years) were enrolled as patients. The physical symptoms reported by the patients were insomnia, fatigue, palpitations, and shoulder discomfort; the mental symptoms included anxiety, sense of guilt, dreams, fear, anger, and irritation. Among TEAM syndromes, “liver qi stagnation” and “depressed liver qi transforming into fire” were most common. The herbal medicine Kamishoyosan was prescribed for 23 participants. The IES-R-J scores after the prescribed use of Kamishoyosan showed significant improvement compared to the pre-treatment IES-R-J scores. Conclusions: Kamishoyosan for applicable cases can be helpful as an adjunctive therapy for treatment of stress-related disorders such as PTSD following major disasters. Further investigation of the role of Kamishoyosan in reducing the symptoms of PTSD is warranted. Follow-up for survivors and rescue workers affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake is indispensable

The acaricidal activities of crude ethanolic extract of the leaves of Annona squamosa (annonaceae) was assessed against flat larvae and engorged female adults Hyalomma anatolicum using larval (LIT) and adult (AIT) immersion test, respectively. In the LIT, six concentrations of the crude extract (150 mg/ml (15%), 75 mg/ml (7.5%), 37.5 mg/ml (3.75%), 18.75 mg/ml (1.875%), 9.375 mg/ml (0.9375%) and 4.6875 mg/ml (0.46875%) with three replicates for each were used. The same concentrations with 6 replicates were used for AIT. The obtained results indicated that the crude ethanolic extract of A. squamosa at all concentrations used, is toxic to H. anatolicum larvae and adults. In the LIT mortality rate was observed to vary from 14.983 to 100%, 48 h after treatment. The mortality increased with increase concentration. LC50 and LC99 were 1.366% and 10.170%, respectively. On the other hand the effectiveness of AIT treatment against engorged females was assessed by measuring mortality, inhibition of egg production, hatchability and inhibition of reproduction (growth inhibition). AIT showed 100% mortality at the concentration of 15% and 7.5%, egg laying inhibition of 60.365, 62.282, 81.224, 94.117% and hatching inhibition of 28.4194, 80.69516, 88.89439 and 95.40229%, at the concentration of 0.46875, 0.9375, 1.875 and 3.75%, respectively. Our results showed that crude ethanolic extract of A. squamosa is a promising botanical acaricide and growth inhibitor against H. anatolicum.

Background: The naturally occuring polyphenols curcumin and resveratrol are considered to be powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds and both inhibit the proliferation of different types of cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated possible anti-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic effects of curcumin and resveratrol on the human lung fibroblast cell line MRC-5. Methods: MRC-5 cells were stimulated for 6 h with interleukin (IL)-1β or phorbol 12- myristate 13-acetate (PMA) in the absence or presence of different concentrations of curcumin or resveratrol. The release of interleukin (IL)-6 was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The modulation in phosphorylation of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) such as p38 and ERK1/2 were analyzed by Western blot. Cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effects of curcumin and resveratrol were monitored by the measurement of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and by Annexin-V/7-AAD staining. Results: Both curcumin and resveratrol effectively attenuated IL-1β and PMA-induced IL-6 expression in MRC-5 cells. Furthermore, curcumin treatment induced apoptosis via caspase-3 signaling and caused endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Salubrinal, an inhibitor of serine/threonine phosphatase PP1, and antioxidants such as N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), reduced glutathione (GSH) and sodium hydrogen sulfide (NaHS) diminished the cytotoxic effects of curcumin on MRC-5 cells. In contrast to curcumin, resveratrol had no negative effects on cell viability

Current treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma consists of chemotherapy and invasive tumor removal surgery. These forms of treatment have often been disappointing while new and natural methods to treat liver cancer may be preferred. We tested the cytotoxic effects of the fruit mixture Galaxy® against HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro. Galaxy® was evaluated using three groups; thus, cytotoxicity bioassays were determined against: whole product (unfractionated), the supernatant, and the particulates. Paclitaxel, a major FDA-approved chemotherapeutic drug, was tested against HepG2 cells in order to compare the effectiveness of the Galaxy® matrices against traditional chemotherapy. In addition, a 24-hour bioassay was performed to compare the toxicity of Galaxy® each hour through the incubation period. Our results have shown that unfractionated Galaxy® has significant anticancer activity in vitro against HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma, killing 90% of cancer cells at 26.3 mg/mL. The particulates and supernatant fractions were also cytotoxic on liver cancer. The majority of anticancer activity was present in the particulate fraction which suggests that most of the anticancer agents are located primarily in the pulp and are membrane bound. While Galaxy® is not as effective as Paclitaxel at lower concentrations; our in vitro results clearly show that Galaxy® (all three matrices) may be an effective product against human hepatocellular carcinoma at higher concentrations. During the 24-hour cycle study, unfractionated Galaxy® showed a steady linear cytotoxic effect per hour. Collectively the data from these experiments suggest that Galaxy® merits serious consideration in the development of future research protocols.

Neovascularization is often involved in many diseases and there is no effective treatment for this pathological process. In searching for potential therapies for neovascularization, we screened nineteen pre-selected small molecules isolated from herbal extracts for their possible anti-angiogenic effect in vitro and in vivo. We found that isoliquiritigenin, a chalconoid compound isolated from Chinese herb medicine licorice, potently inhibited vascular endothelial cell (EC) proliferation, migration, tube -like structure formation ex vivo. Western blot analysis shows that exposure of ECs to isoliquiritigenin inhibited extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) phosphorylation. In Matrigel plug assay, isoliquiritigenin effectively blocked fibroblast growth factor-induced in vivo angiogenesis in mice. Consistently, topical application of isoliquiritigenin significantly inhibited chemical injury-induced corneal neovascularization in mice. Collectively, these results suggest that isoliquiritigenin may be a low-cost and effective natural agent to treat angiogenesis-dependent diseases

Idiopathic scoliosis has long been held as a purely orthopedic spinal deformity without a known origin. Hence all treatment of scoliosis has involved physical methods exclusively to treat the condition, whether by bracing, surgery, or exercise-based methods. Over the last several years many authors have introduced etiological concepts of scoliosis involving multiple biochemical central nervous system pathways, such as neurotransmitter imbalances. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how these neurotransmitter imbalances affect patients’ ability to participate in a scoliosis therapy program and the ability of the resultant radiographic changes to be maintained. Two groups of patients performed baseline neurotransmitter testing, and completed a short-term chiropractic rehabilitation program for scoliosis. One group additionally participated in a nutrient program designed to rebalance their neurotransmitter levels, while the second group declined. Both groups were evaluated 6 months after the completion of their rehabilitation program to evaluate Cobb angle changes