AIM OF THE STUDY: To assess the motor and cognitive effects of acute oral administration of CT root methanolic extract and hippocampal long-term plasticity in the CA1 region of the CCH rat model.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Sprague Dawley rats (200-300 g) were subjected to permanent bilateral occlusion of common carotid arteries (PBOCCA) or sham operation. Then, these rats were given oral administration of CT root extract at doses of 100, 200 or 300 mg/kg on day 28 post-surgery and tested using behavioural tests (open-field test, passive avoidance task, and Morris water maze) and electrophysiological recordings (under urethane anaesthesia).
RESULTS: Treatment with CT root extract at the doses of 200 and 300 mg/kg resulted in a significant enhancement in memory performance in CCH rats induced by PBOCCA. Furthermore, CCH resulted in inhibition of long-term potentiation (LTP) formation in the hippocampus, and CT root extract rescued the LTP impairment. The CT root extract was confirmed to improve the glutamate-induced calcium increase via calcium imaging using primary cultured rat neurons. No significance difference was found in the CaMKII expression. These results demonstrated that CT root extract ameliorates synaptic function, which may contribute to its improving effect on cognitive behaviour.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated an improving effect of CT root extract on memory in the CCH rat model suggesting that CT root extract could be a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent the progression of cognitive deterioration in vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety human single rooted maxillary and mandibular teeth were selected for this study. The teeth were randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group as follows: Group A (Ethanolic extract of Sapindus Mukorossi), Group B (17% EDTA), and Group C (Distilled water). The root canals of all three groups were prepared with stainless steel K-files by means of the standard step-back technique and irrigated with 5.25% sodium hypo chloride. The teeth were decoronated, following the irrigation and divided longitudinally into two-halves and visualized using scanning electron microscope (SEM) for the amount of smear layer present utilizing the three-point score system. The observations were noted both before and after the treatment. Nonparametric tests were applied for the comparison and p-value ⩽ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
RESULTS: It was evident from that smear layer was completely removed in coronal portion of 27 out of 30 teeth in-group A. For middle and apical areas of group A, 24 and 19 teeth showed complete smear layer removal. In-group B it was found that there were 24, 21, and 3 teeth at coronal, middle and apical, areas respectively where smear layer were completely absent. Intra group comparison showed a significant difference (p = 0.002) in smear layer removal was found for group A at coronal, middle and apical thirds. Similarly, a significant difference (p = 0.001) was also found for group B; however heavy smear layer was found among the three parts of the canal for group C.
CONCLUSIONS: Ethanolic extract of Sapindus Mukorossi have higher effectiveness in removing the smear layer from the root canal in comparison to 17% EDTA.
OBJECTIVE: This review was aimed to summarize and critically discuss the convincing evidence for the therapeutic effectiveness of phytomedicines for the treatment of AD and explore their anti-AD efficacy.
RESULTS: The critical analysis of a wide algorithm of herbal medicines revealed that their remarkable anti-AD efficacy is attributed to their potential of reducing erythema intensity, oedema, inflammation, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and a remarkable suppression of mRNA expression of ADassociated inflammatory biomarkers including histamine, immunoglobulin (Ig)-E, prostaglandins, mast cells infiltration and production of cytokines and chemokines in the serum and skin biopsies.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, herbal medicines hold great promise as complementary and alternative therapies for the treatment of mild-to-moderate AD when used as monotherapy and for the treatment of moderate-to-severe AD when used in conjunction with other pharmacological agents.
METHODS: A search was done in EBSCOHOST, OVID and SCOPUS database to obtain potentially relevant articles that were published between 1823 and August 2019. This review includes studies that focus on the effect of Nigella sativa and its bioactive compound on the events related to type 2 EMT.
RESULTS: A total of 1393 research articles were found to be potentially related to the effect of Nigella sativa and its bioactive compound, thymoquinone on Type 2 EMT. After screening was done, 22 research articles met inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Majority of the studies, reported better wound healing rate or significant prevention of tissue inflammation and organ fibrosis following Nigella sativa or thymoquinone treatments. In terms of wound healing, studies included reported progression of EMT related pathological changes after treatment with Nigella sativa or thymoquinone. Alternatively, in terms of fibrosis and inflammation, studies included reported reversal of pathological changes related to EMT after treatment with Nigella sativa or thymoquinone.
CONCLUSION: Through this review, Nigella sativa and thymoquinone have been associated with events in Type 2 EMT. They have been shown to promote wound healing, attenuate tissue inflammation, and prevent organ fibrosis via regulation of the EMT process.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Murine MC3T3-E1 preosteoblastic cells were cultured in the different concentrations of AnTT (0.001-1 µg/mL) up to 24 days. Expression of osteoblastic differentiation markers was measured by qPCR (osterix [OSX], collagen 1 alpha 1 [COL1α1], alkaline phosphatase [ALP], and osteocalcin [OCN]) and by fluorometric assay for ALP activity. Detection of collagen and mineralized nodules was done via Direct Red staining and Alizarin Red staining, respectively.
RESULTS: The results showed that osteoblastic differentiation-related genes, such as OSX, COL1α1, ALP, and OCN, were significantly increased in the AnTT-treated groups compared to the vehicle group in a time-dependent manner (P<0.05). Type 1 collagen level was increased from day 3 to day 15 in the AnTT-treated groups, while ALP activity was increased from day 9 to day 21 in the AnTT-treated groups (P<0.05). Enhanced mineralization was observed in the AnTT-treated groups via increasing Alizarin Red staining from day 3 to day 21 (P<0.05).
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that AnTT enhances the osteogenic activity by promoting the bone formation-related genes and proteins in a temporal and sequential manner.