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Alkaloids potential health Benefits and toxicity
Published in Quan V. Vuong, Utilisation of Bioactive Compounds from Agricultural and Food Waste, 2017
Renée A. Street, Gerhard Prinsloo, Lyndy J. McGaw
Relatively little information has been published on bioavailability of alkaloids compared to their biological activity. Rat specimens are commonly employed in detection of bioavailability and pharmacokinetic parameters of plant compounds in medicinal plants. Chen (2016) studied the bioavailability in rats of Kumu injection (KMI)—a treatment made from the branches and stems of Picrasma quassiodes which has been used clinically against upper respiratory tract infection, acute tonsillitis, enteritis and bacillary dysentery. The active ingredients of this preparation are three— canthinone alkaloids, and intramuscular injection showed over 90 per cent absolute bioavailability while for oral administration, the values were lower than 50 per cent, suggesting that intramuscular injection of KMI was suitable in clinical usage (Chen et al. 2016). Wu et al. (2013) compared the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability in rats of protopine, tetrahydropalmatine, bicuculline and egenine in different formulations prepared from the rhizomes of Corydalis decumbens, a traditional Chinese medicine. The hydrochloride freeze-dried powder was the best among the three formulations for the alkaloid extract of Corydalis decumbens, where protopine and tetrahydropalmatine (the major bioactive components) showed highest absorption and bioavailability, while bicuculline and egenine (the toxic compounds) were detected at lower concentrations in rat plasma. This provided useful information on a potential formulation for further development of the alkaloid extract of Corydalis decumbens as a new drug.
Mindfulness training attenuates the increase in salivary cortisol concentration associated with competition in highly trained wheelchair-basketball players
Published in Journal of Sports Sciences, 2018
Luke A. MacDonald, Clare L. Minahan
Increases in physical and/or psychological stress can result in the chronic elevation of the hormone cortisol at rest. Indeed, prolonged elevations in basal cortisol concentration generally reflect long-term training as well as competition stress, and have been linked to overtraining syndrome prevalence in athletes (Eichner, 1995; Kellmann, 2010). Furthermore, prolonged periods of intensified intermittent strenuous exercise, competition and training also pose a challenge to mucosal immune function as observed by decreased resting levels of secretory salivary Immunoglobulin-A (sIgA) in elite athletes (Libicz, Mercier, Bigou, Le Gallais, & Castex, 2006). Reductions in sIgA have been identified as a risk factor of subsequent upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) incidence in elite athletes (Gleeson et al., 2012). Therefore, the measurements of cortisol and sIgA are useful monitoring tools for the management of training and competition loads as well as appropriate recovery strategies during a competition period to maintain physical and mental well-being and optimise sports performance.
Exposure to fine particulate matter and acute upper- and lower-respiratory tract infections (AURI and ALRI) in children under five years of age in India
Published in Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health, 2023
Kawuli Abudureyimu, Made Ayu Hitapretiwi Suryadhi, Takashi Yorifuji, Toshihihe Tsuda
We used acute upper respiratory tract infection (AURI) and acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) as the health outcomes in this study. The survey acquired this information based on symptoms experienced by children under five years of age, two weeks preceding the survey.8 We identified AURI from the question “Whether the child had suffered from a cough over the past two weeks”. Furthermore, ALRI was identified from the question “Whether the child had suffered from rapid breathing when he/she had the cough”. This definition has been used as an outcome of interest in many studies.10–13
Repurposing pharmaceutical excipients as an antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2
Published in Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition, 2022
Manisha Malani, Prerana Salunke, Shraddha Kulkarni, Gaurav K. Jain, Afsana Sheikh, Prashant Kesharwani, Jayabalan Nirmal
It is established as an oral antiseptic, broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent and used in mouthwashes. Halo™ marketed product contain CPC as safe and well-tolerated, as well as it brings down influenza symptoms and acts as a potent molecule to prevent upper respiratory tract infections. Since SARS-CoV-2 is also involved in upper respiratory tract infection, CPC could come out as an excellent antiviral against it.