Journal of ethnopharmacology
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After almost 50 years of international trade in wild harvested medicinal bark from Africa and Madagascar, the example of Prunus africana holds several lessons for both policy and practice in the fields of forestry, conservation and rural development. Due to recent CITES restrictions on P. africana exports from Burundi, Kenya and Madagascar, coupled with the lifting of the 2007 European Union (EU) ban in 2011, Cameroon's share of the global P. africana bark trade has risen from an average of 38% between 1995 and 2004, to 72.6% (658.6 metric tons) in 2012. Cameroon is therefore at the center of this international policy arena. ⋯ Without the current substantial international donor subsidies, sustainable harvest cannot be sustained. What is required to supply the current and future market is to develop separate, traceable P. africana bark supply chains based on cultivated stocks. On-farm production would benefit thousands of small-scale farmers cultivating P. africana, including local women, for whom wild harvesting is too onerous. This change requires CITES and EU support and would catalyze P. africana cultivation in across several montane African countries and Madagascar, increasing farm-gate prices to harvesters compared to economic returns from wild harvest.
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Observational Study
Herbal remedies use by breast cancer patients in the West Bank of Palestine.
Recent ethnopharmacological surveys showed that herbal remedies are the most preferred modality of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). In Palestine as in many other countries, herbal remedies are widely used in the treatment of many diseases. ⋯ The use of herbal remedies is prevalent in breast cancer patients in Palestine. The use of herbal remedies was associated with educational level, time since diagnosis, type of surgery use, and use of endocrine therapy. It was apparent that the majority of users were satisfied with herbal remedies use. Clinical trials and pharmacological tests are required to be established for the presence of side effects, toxicity and efficacy for these herbal remedies.
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Diao Xin Xue Kang (DXXK) is the active pharmaceutical ingredient of the traditional Chinese medicinal product DXXK capsules, which have been approved for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and have been widely used clinically in China for many years with distinct curative effects. In March 2012, DXXK capsules were approved in the Netherlands, making them the first traditional herbal medicinal product (THMP) made outside of Europe. ⋯ The current study revealed that DXXK has a significant anti-inflammatory effect that may be attributed to its inhibitory effect on the NF-κB/COX-2 pathway and associated inflammatory mediators, including PGE2, NO, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6. The current study provides additional evidence of the effects of DXXK in inflammation. Based on the combination of our results and previously reported data, we propose that DXXK has multiple pharmacological effects that could be harnessed to treat systemic diseases.