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Religious Aspects and Medicinal Uses of Salvadora persica (Miswak)
Published in Mehwish Iqbal, Complementary and Alternative Medicinal Approaches for Enhancing Immunity, 2023
The precise derivation of teeth cleansing devices is unidentified. Though, from historical times and prior to the discovery of the contemporary toothbrush, cultured people have utilised some kind of cleansing devices to purify and maintain the health of their teeth. The earliest devices include the toothpick/tooth stick and the twig brush, wood mop, siwak or miswak (Hyson, 2003). Toothpicks have been discovered as early as prehistoric times; they have been uncovered along with other toiletry items in the earliest Babylonian city of Ur, which thrived in nearly 3500 BC (Hyson, 2003). In the second century BC, Alciphron, the Greek sophist, suggested the utilisation of a toothpick to wash out the ‘fibrous residue' persisting between the teeth subsequent to meal consumption. The term ‘karphos' was used by Alciphron to define the toothpick, which signifies ‘blade of straw'. The toothpicks prepared from Pistacia lentiscus (mastic tree) were used by the Romans (Hyson, 2003). The ancient predecessor of the contemporary toothbrush might be the fibre brush of Babylonian, known as the ‘fibre pencil', ‘fibre stick' or ‘chew stick', which was utilised as early as 3500 BC. One end of this wooden stick was squashed to segregate the fibres to around one-fourth of an inch. Arabian people term this instrument miswak or sawik (Wu et al., 2001; Hyson, 2003).
An Introduction to the Ethnopharmacology of Wild Plants
Published in Mahendra Rai, Shandesh Bhattarai, Chistiane M. Feitosa, Ethnopharmacology of Wild Plants, 2021
Shandesh Bhattarai, Christiane Mendes Feitosa, Mahendra Rai
Croton lechleri is an herb used in folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticancer properties (Hartwell 1969, Pieters et al. 1993, Lopes et al. 2004). Crude extracts from plants like Colubrina macrocarpa, Hemiangium excelsum, and Acacia pennatula possess a selective cytotoxic activity against human tumor cells (Popoca et al. 1998). In the Palestinian and Israeli territories, extracts of Teucrium polium and Pistacia lentiscus are known to treat liver disease, jaundice, diabetes, fertility problems and cancer (Howiriny and Sohaibani 2005). Paris polyphylla has been used to treat liver cancer and has been reported as a potent anticancer agent. Salvia officinalis are known for their antitumor effects (Liu et al. 2000), and Solanum nigrum to cure inflammation, edema, mastitis and hepatic cancer (Lee and Lim 2003). Until the development of penicillin in the early 1940s, most natural product-derived drugs were obtained from terrestrial plants. The success of penicillin in treating infection led to an expansion in the area of drug discovery from microorganisms. Unlike the long-standing historical medical uses of terrestrial plants, marine organisms have a shorter history of utilization in the treatment of human disease (Dewick 2002, Newman et al. 2003, Butler 2005, Sneader 2005).
Biblical times
Published in Michael J. O’Dowd, The History of Medications for Women, 2020
A famous Biblical drug treatment known as balm of Gilead remained in the pharmaceutical literature right up to the twentieth century. Balm of Gilead is thought to have been the ‘mastic’ (resin) of Pistacia lentiscus or the resinous exudate from Commiphora sp., including C. opobalsamum and C. meccanensis, but is now commonly identified with a North American poplar tree, Populus gileadenis. A delicately odorous resinous substance of a dark-red color, it turns yellow as it solidifies. The balm has antiseptic and astringent properties. Gilead was a mountainous wooded country to the east of the River Jordan, which the Hebrews annexed from the Amorites.
A systematic review of the efficacy of alternative medicine in the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy
Published in Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2020
Fahimeh Khorasani, Hossein Aryan, Abousaleh Sobhi, Reihaneh Aryan, Arefeh Abavi-Sani, Masumeh Ghazanfarpour, Masumeh Saeidi, Fatemeh Rajab Dizavandi
The search was undertaken by two separate reviewers on PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases since inception until January 14, 2019 to investigate the effects of herbal medicines on NVD, using keywords such as (Pregnant OR pregnancy) AND (emesis OR anti-emetic OR Nausea OR vomit OR morning sickness), AND (Complementary treatments OR alternative treatments OR phytomedicine, herbal treatments, zingiber officinale OR Ginger OR Citrus lemon OR lemon OR Matricaria chamomilla OR Citrus medica L OR alternative medicine OR complementary medicine OR Citron OR Cydonia oblonga mill OR Quince OR Elletaria cardamomum OR Cardamom OR, Mentha spicata L. OR Spearmint OR, Mentha piperta L OR Mint OR Myristica fragrans Houtt OR Nutmeg OR Pistacia lentiscus Linn OR Mastic, Punica granatum L OR Pomegranate OR Malus domestica Borkh OR Apple OR Piper cubeba) . The researchers reviewed all abstracts and then the full-texts of relevant articles were found. Any disagreement was resolved by a third party.
Female infertility caused by organophosphates: an insight into the latest biochemical and histomorphological findings
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2023
Mohammad Samare-Najaf, Ali Samareh, Bahia Namavar Jahromi, Navid Jamali, Sina Vakili, Majid Mohsenizadeh, Cain C. T. Clark, Ali Abbasi, Nastaran Khajehyar
Moreover, the anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic properties of 6-Gingerol have been sought after for protecting against chlorpyrifos-induced toxicity in the ovaries and uterus (Abolaji et al.2017). In addition, the extract of Broccoli Sprouts, a natural plant product rich in antioxidants, has been revealed to be effective in preventing triazophos-induced ovarian toxicity via modulating the levels of oxidative stress markers such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase, and lipid peroxidation. Concomitantly, improved ovarian histoarchitecture, reduced apoptotic granulosa cells and follicular atresia, and preserved sex steroids resulted (Sharma and Sangha 2021). Furthermore, Chebab et al. demonstrated that Pistacia lentiscus contain protective properties against chlorpyrifos-induced alterations in LH, FSH, E2, and P4 levels, and oxidative markers such as malondialdehyde and protein content (Chebab et al.2017). Interestingly, when Kumar et al. studied the bioremedial properties of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) and Curcuma longa (Turmeric) against chlorpyrifos exposed animals, the findings showed that the levels of E2 and cholesterol were restored, and the degenerated germinal epithelium, Graafian follicles, and corpus luteum were ameliorated (Kumar et al.2015). The amelioration of malathion-induced estrus cycle disorder via attenuating oxidative stress, apoptosis, and autophagy in the ovarian tissue resulted upon administration of resveratrol, a non-flavonoid polyphenol compound abundantly presents in grape leaves (Yong et al.2021).
Salvia officinalis attenuates bleomycin-induced oxidative stress and lung fibrosis in rats
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2020
Sana Bahri, Ridha Ben Ali, Afef Nahdi, Mona Mlika, Raed Abdennabi, Saloua Jameleddine
Our research team has been focused for several years on the effect of medicinal plant extracts in the treatment of this incurable respiratory disease, such as Nigella Sativa (4), Pistacia lentiscus (5) Rosmarinus officinalis (6) and Flaxseed oil (7). We have studied also the direct effect of some active biomolecules extracted from plants such as retinoic acid (8) and carnosic/rosmarinic acids (9) in an experimental model of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in wistar rats, which is the most extensively animal model of IPF used by several research teams worldwide, by producing similar pathological features to IPF patients (10).