Journal of ethnopharmacology
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Vernonia guineensis Benth. (Asteraceae) root decoction is used in folk medicine in Cameroon to treat some ailments including prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to validate the claimed antiprostate cancer activity of Vernonia guineensis Benth. in vivo and to investigate the cytotoxicity of a pentaisovaleryl sucrose isolated from Vernonia guineensis on some cancer cell lines. ⋯ VGDE does possess in vivo activity against prostate tumor and has potential for development into a natural product for the treatment of prostate cancer. This study thus provides preliminary validation for the folk use of Vernonia guineensis against prostate conditions. Further in vivo studies are however required to confirm these results and to understand the mechanism of action of VGDE and the in vivo efficacy of pentaisovaleryl sucrose.
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Long term hyperglycemia leads to development of complications associated with diabetes. Diabetic complications are now a global health problem without effective therapeutic approach. Hyperglycemia and oxidative stress are important components for the development of diabetic complications. Over the past few decades, herbal medicines have attracted much attention as potential therapeutic agents in the prevention and treatment of diabetic complications due to their multiple targets and less toxic side effects. This review aims to assess the current available knowledge of medicinal herbs for attenuation and management of diabetic complications and their underlying mechanisms. ⋯ Screening chemical candidate from herbal medicine might be a promising approach for new drug discovery to treat the diabetic complications. There is still a dire need to explore the mechanism of action of various plant extracts and their toxicity profile and to determine their role in therapy of diabetic complications. Moreover, a perfect rodent model which completely mimics human diabetic complications should be developed.
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Baicalin is one of the principal flavonoids isolated from the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi that has long been used to treat ischemic stroke. However, its neuroprotective mechanisms against cerebral ischemia injury are poorly understood. ⋯ Baicalin can directly scavenge peroxynitrite and the peroxynitrite-scavenging ability contributes to its neuroprotective mechanisms against cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury.
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Scutellarin (Scu) and caffeic acid ester fraction (Caf), the extracts from the traditional Chinese herb, Erigeron breviscapus, are known to ameliorate post ischemic neuronal dysfunction. ⋯ These results indicate that the neuroprotective effect of Scu and Caf might be mediated, at least in part, via a stimulation of the production and release of NTFs through p-CREB and p-Akt signaling. Furthermore, Scu and Caf could antagonistic the hypoxia induced toxicity through astrocytes conditioned medium. Those results suggested that Scu and Caf might have therapeutic potential for stroke.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
A prospective, randomized, double-blind, multicenter comparative study on the safety and efficacy of Celecoxib and GCSB-5, dried extracts of six herbs, for the treatment of osteoarthritis of knee joint.
This prospective, randomized, double-blind, multicenter study compared the efficacy and safety of Celecoxib and GCSB-5, a new product from extracts of six herbs, for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. ⋯ The result of this study supports that GCSB-5 is comparable to Celecoxib in terms of the efficacy and safety for the treatment of osteoarthritis of knee joint.