Brain health deterioration is a worldwide health epidemic. Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are among the most expensive diseases to treat, with direct care expenses exceeding those for cancer and heart disease. The consumption of overly processed food products over the time has contributed to the increasing number of health deterioration at an earlier age. Honey has been known worldwide through history to be one of the purest, and popular natural product to be consumed as a health booster notably due to its antioxidant and phenolic contents. In the recent decade, many studies were perfomed to understand the biological process of cellular insult to the brain and ways to halt or slow down the process using natural products. Honey was shown in some of these studies as having the potential that may reduce or slow down these neural degenerations. Based on recent studies conducted on the use of honey and its effects on the brain physiologically, and anatomically, the results showed that honey holds potential in halting or even treating brain health deteriorations.
Piper betle (PB) leaves have been traditionally used in many Asian countries for the healing of wounds and other ailments. The aim of this study was to examine the wound healing effect of PB on skin injury-inflicted Sprague-Dawley rats. Eighteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were inflicted with wounds and then divided into three groups consisting of a control (normal wound healing without dressing), saline (wound healing aided by gauze soaked in saline) and PB (gauze impregnated with PB paste) dressings. Wounds were created on the back of rats with 6-mm sterilized punch biopsy needle. Wounds were examined on days 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 for dryness, exudation, and scar formation. Rats were sacrificed on day 14 and the granulation tissue formed on the wound was then excised for histological examination using Hematoxylin and Eosin staining. The formation of granulation tissue in rats treated with PB showed higher progress to wound closure with shorter days (on day 3) compared to the control and saline group (on day 5). PB dressing minimized the formation of scar tissue significantly (p
The occurrence of severe lead (Pb) poisoning has risen in certain countries.
There is increasing evidence that chronic lead exposure disturbs the prooxidant:
antioxidant balance in the brain tissue and alters brain histology. The present
study observed the antioxidant effect of tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) on brain
tissues of the experimental rats following lead poisoning. Eighteen (n=18) male
Sprague-Dawley rats, 6-weeks old, were randomly divided into control (CTRL)
group and experimental groups; fed with 0.2% w/v lead acetate, as PB2 group;
and fed with 0.2% w/v lead acetate and daily TRF supplementation (200 mg/kg
body weight) as PB2T group. The experiment was conducted for 30 days. At the
end of the study, the brain tissues were harvested and histopathological changes of
the hippocampal region were observed. Biochemical findings such as brain lead,
TRF and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase
(SOD) activity were determined. It was observed that atypical apoptotic-like and
disorganized neurons were present in the hippocampal region of the untreated
PB2 group compared to PB2T group. Biochemical parameters showed a significant
decrease (p < 0.05) in brain lead level in PB2T compared to PB. Even though no
significant difference (p > 0.05) was obtained for MDA level, there was a significant
increase (p < 0.05) in the erythrocyte SOD activity in PB2T compared to PB2 and
CTRL. Supplementation with TRF improved histopathological changes in the brain
tissues caused by lead exposure in drinking water by reducing lead accumulation
in the brain of experimental rats.
Delayed wound healing is one of the major complications of diabetes mellitus where it often leads to amputation. Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is a natural oil widely used to treat wounds and burns traditionally. It possesses potent antioxidant and antibacterial activities. This study aimed to determine the effect of VCO on the fibroblast population in diabetic wound healing. Full thickness cutaneous wound tissues were collected from non-treated, VCO-treated, and silver sulfadiazine (SS)- treated diabetic rats. The tissues were then subjected to Verhoeff eosin staining and immunohistology of fibroblast and myofibroblast. Histological analysis showed increased collagen deposition with intact epidermis in the VCO treated group compared to decreased collagen deposition with damaged epidermis in both non-treated and SS-treated groups. Interestingly, more fibroblasts and myofibroblasts were observed in the non-treated group compared to the VCO- and SS-treated groups. VCO significantly promoted wound healing process in diabetic rats via promoting re-epithelialization, and increasing collagen fibres deposition and wound contraction. The results suggested VCO can be used to treat diabetic wounds.