Holistic Health Articles and Research Related to Herbal Medicines, Foods and Phytochemicals

Thursday, 29 August 2019

Bioactive Compound Sulforaphane (SFN) Isolated from Collard Greens, Processes Anti-Neuropathic Pain in Vivo

By Kyle J. Norton

Neurological disorders are a class of diseases of the nervous system characterized by the structural damage, biochemical or electrical abnormalities in the brain, spinal cord or nerves.

Neurodegenerative disease is a type of neurological disorder associated with the progressive loss of neuron in the brain caused by several mechanisms, including toxicity and oxygen deficiency.

Neuropathic pain is a type of pain that affects the somatosensory nervous system due to damage or disease. Abnormal sensations called dysesthesia or pain from normally non-painful stimuli (allodynia) are some of the most common forms of neuropathic pain found in patients.

There are no obvious causes of neuropathic pain. However, medical condition such as alcoholism, amputation, diabetes, nerve problems, HIV infection or AIDS, multiple myeloma, multiple sclerosis and shingles, and chemotherapy are some prevalent factors of neuropathic pain.

According to the joint study conducted led by the Health Outcomes Practice, there are no published data on the broad prevalence of neuropathic pain (NeP) in the US. However, the 15,751 respondents reported pain (63.7%), of 2,548 data suggested that 10% American may suffer from neuropathic pain (NeP). The rate of NeP in Blacks and Hispanics ethnicity was consistently higher compared to White

Most common treatments of NeP are the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (44.2%), followed by weak opioids (31.7%), antiepileptics (10.9%), and strong opioids (10.9%).

Most common therapies used for neuropathic pain treatment are physical therapy, relaxation therapy, massage therapy, psychological therapy, and acupuncture accompanied by pain counseling.

Furthermore, in neuropathic pain caused by medical conditions such as diabetes, treatment may emphasize on the management of the condition and improvement of quality of life by preventing further nerve damage.

In some cases, an invasive or implantable device may be used to manage the pain.

Collard Green is a species of Brassica Oleracea, belongings to the family Brassicaceae with unknown origin. Today, the plant is cultivated commercially for its thick, slightly bitter edible leaves.

With an aim to find a potential compound for the treatment of neuropathic pain, researchers investigated sulforaphane (SFN), a derivative of glucoraphanin present in cruciferous vegetables on inflammation-related diseases.

According to the tested analysis, SFN showed an anti-nociceptive effect in a neuropathic pain mouse model, sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI).

Furthermore, SFN injected intraperitoneally for 7 days inhibited the when pain behaviors, including mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in CCI mice.

Moreover, SFN at a dose-dependently also attenuated CCI-induced pain behavioral hypersensitivity, by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 that cause d neuropathic pain in mice and exhibiting the production of an anti-inflammatory cytokine such as IL-10 associated with pain relief.

More importantly, CCI enhancement of COX2 and iNOS in the induction of nerves injury were also counteracted by the administration of SFN.

Additionally, SFN treatment also increased the CCI-induced increase in µ-opioid receptors that are responsible for the analgesics, in injured sciatic nerves.

Based on the results, researchers said, "SFN has both anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory actions"

Taken altogether, collard green processed a high amount of SFN may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of neuropathic pain, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of turmeric in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory actions of sulforaphane in chronic constriction injury-induced neuropathic pain mice by Wang C1, Wang C. (PubMed)
(2) The prevalence of probable neuropathic pain in the US: results from a multimodal general-population health survey by Marco D DiBonaventura,1 Alesia Sadosky,2 Kristen Concialdi,1 Markay Hopps,2 Ian Kudel,1Bruce Parsons,2 Joseph C Cappelleri,3 Patrick Hlavacek,2 Andrea H Alexander,2Brett R Stacey,4 John D Markman,5 and John T Farrar. (PMC)

Phytochemical Betacyanins Inhibits Fat Accumulation in Obesity

By Kyle J. Norton

Obesity is a medical condition characterized by excessive body fat accumulated over time. Overweight is a condition of excess body weight relative to height.

According to the Body Mass Index(BMI), a BMI between 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, while a BMI of over 30 is an indication of obesity. According to the statistic, 68% of the American population is either overweight or obese.

Believe it or not, according to the statistic provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 40 percent of adults (or 93.3 million people) are obese.

The formula of the BMI indexBMI= weight (kg)/ height (m2)

The causes of obesity are easily understood. If you regularly eat and drink more calories than your needs accompanied by physical inactivity, a lack of sleep, over time you are ar an increased risk of overweight or obese.

Please note that certain medical conditions such as hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome, Cushing's syndrome,..., genetic preposition and the use of certain medications that can cause weight gain or water retention, such as corticosteroids, antidepressants or some seizure medications, also increases the risk of overweight and obesity.

Epidemiologically, obese people are associated with an increased risk of diseases and health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Some researchers suggested that by dietary changes, increased physical activity and behavior changes have been found to enhance weight loss in obesity.

Conventionally, in extremely obese subjects, prescription medications and weight-loss surgery may be the only options.

Betacyanins are phytochemicals in the class of red and yellow indole-derived pigments, belonging to the group of Betalains, found abundantly in beets, chard, etc.

On finding a potential compound for the prevention of fat accumulation, researchers examined the effects of food that inhibits the development of obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic diseases.

The study included betacyanins isolated from Hylocereus undatus (white-fleshed pitaya) peel applied to high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obese mice and compared to a low-fat diet or HFD supplemented with PPBNs for 14 weeks.

According to the tested assays, all betacyanins found in white-fleshed pitaya peel (PPBNs) reduced HFD-induced parameters associated with the obesity including body weight gain, adipose tissue hypertrophy, hepatosteatosis, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance.

Furthermore, dietary PPBNs also increased the expression levels of lipid-metabolism-related genes and decreased genes associated with glucose and lipid homeostasis.

In other words, dietary PPBNs not only protected against fat accumulation but also decreased the risk of complications of obese subjects.

Based on the finding, researchers wrote, "the protective effect of PPBNs might be associated with the induced fatty acid oxidation, decreased fatty acid biosynthesis, and alleviated FGF21 resistance".

Taken altogether, betacyanins may be considered a remedy for the prevention of obesity, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of betacyanins in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Sources
Obesity
(1) Red pitaya betacyanins protects from diet-induced obesity, liver steatosis and insulin resistance in association with modulation of gut microbiota in mice by Song H1,2, Chu Q1, Yan F1, Yang Y1, Han W1, Zheng X. (PubMed)
(2) Purified Betacyanins from Hylocereus undatus Peel Ameliorate Obesity and Insulin Resistance in High-Fat-Diet-Fed Mice by Song H1, Chu Q1, Xu D1, Xu Y1, Zheng X. (PubMed)

Tomatoes Kill Bacterial Staphylococcus Aureus Against the Onset of Pneumonia

By Kyle J. Norton

Pneumonia is a medical condition associated with the infection of the lung. In adults, the most common causes of pneumonia are a bacterial infection such as Staphylococcus aureus.

Viruses or fungi also have been found to induce the onset of the disease.

Most common symptoms of pneumonia are persistent coughing with phlegm (mucus) fever, sweating, chills and chest pain. However, depending on the types of pathogens that cause the infection.

In severe cases, pneumonia is life-threatening. Some patients at this stage also experience persistently shortness of breath due to severe inflammation in the air sacs of the lungs.

According to epidemiological studies, most cases of pneumonia are acquired from either hospitals and community caused by people who have the disease.

Some researchers suggested people who have a weakened such as elderly or immature immune system such as baby and underage children are more prone to the disease.

Dr. Sanjay Sethi at the University at Buffalo SUNY wrote, "Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs. Pneumonia in people whose immune system is weakened or impaired (for example, by AIDS, cancer, organ transplantation, or the use of certain drugs) is often caused by different organisms than those that cause pneumonia in healthy people".

In other words, people who are treated by chemotherapy drugs due to cancer or immune suppressants, and disease associated with immunity are susceptible to pneumonia developing.

Most cases of pneumonia are treated with antibiotics. Depending on the condition, treatment may include medicine for reduced coughing, pain and fever with an aim to improve patients' quality of life.

If you are taking certain types of antibiotics for the treatment of pneumonia, please make sure you know all the side effects for preventive measure.

Tomato is red, edible fruit, genus Solanum, belonging to family Solanaceae, native to South America. Because of its health benefits, the tomato is grown worldwide for the commercial purpose
and often in the greenhouse.

On finding a potential ingredient for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia, researchers examined the effect of naringenin found abundantly in tomato.

In Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia model, naringenin protected the lung cells integrity and viability by inhibiting the production of α-toxin.

Where α-toxin is an essential virulence factor found in patients with Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia.

Furthermore, at the 16 μg/ml of naringenin, treatment organisms showed reduced expression of α-toxin significantly compared to the untreated group.

Moreover, in vivo, a mouse model of S. aureus pneumonia treated with naringenin demonstrated a significant effect in attenuating symptoms of lung injury and inflammation against infection.

In other words, naringenin acted as a natural antibiotic in preventing the overexpression of α-toxin produced by Staphylococcus aureus through its antibacterial activity.

Based on the findings, Dr. Zhang Y, the lead scientist after taking into account co and confounders wrote in the final report, "These results suggest that naringenin is a promising agent for the treatment of S. aureus infection".

Taken altogether, tomatoes may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of naringenin in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Sources
(1) Inhibition of α-toxin production by subinhibitory concentrations of naringenin controls Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia by Zhang Y1, Wang JF, Dong J, Wei JY, Wang YN, Dai XH, Wang X, Luo MJ, Tan W, Deng XM, Niu XD. (PubMed)
(2) Pneumonia in Immunocompromised People By Sanjay Sethi , MD, University at Buffalo SUNY. (MSD Manual)

Cucumber's Bioactive Compound Cucurbitacin B (CuB) Exerts Anti-Hyperglycemic Effect in Diabetics

By Kyle J. Norton

Hypoglycemia is abnormally high blood glucose levels in the bloodstream in diabetes.

Most cases of hyperglycemia are associated with poor management of blood sugar levels as a result of poor diet and poor practice of medicine intake and insulin injection.

Hyperglycemia is a hallmark of diabetes caused by the inability of the body to convert glucose to energy or make the hormone insulin.

Most common and early signs of hyperglycemia are increased thirst and/or hunger, frequent urination, sugar in your urine, fatigue.

In severe cases, patients with hyperglycemia may also experience symptoms of headache and blurred vision.

Long-term untreated hyperglycemia may induce complications that affect the eyes, kidneys, ner, es and heart.

In severe case, hyperglycemia can also lead to serious complications that require emergency care, such as a diabetic coma.

Women who are nondiabetics before pregnancy and experience gestation hyperglycemia are likely to develop diabetes in the later days.

Believe it or not, hyperglycemia can also occur in people without diabetes due to stress. According to the study, people who are nondiabetics and experience abnormally high blood glucose are most likely to develop diabetes later in life.

According to the statistics, In 2015, approximately 30.3 million Americans, or 9.4% of the population, had diabetes. Approximately 1.25 million American children and adults have type 1 diabetes.

Some researchers suggested that by changing lifestyle with moderate exercise, hyperglycemia can be manageable in type II diabetes.

Dr. Salwa W. Rizkalla wrote, " Only 4 weeks of a (low GI diet) LGI diet was able to improve glycemic control, glucose utilization, some lipid profiles, and the capacity for fibrinolysis in type 2 diabetes. Even if changes in glycemic control were modest during the 4-week period, the use of an LGI diet in a longer-term manner might play an important role in the treatment and prevention of diabetes and related disorders"

The cucumber plant is a species of Cucumis Sativus, belongings to the family Cucurbitaceae and native to Western Asia. It is a creeping vine with roots in the ground and grows up with the support of frames.

With an aim to find a natural ingredient for the prevention of hyperglycemia in patients with diabetes, researchers examined the effect of Cucurbitacin B (CuB) isolated from cucumber induced hypoglycemic effect in an animal model.

On mice, induced diabetes, administration of Cucurbitacin B (CuB) composed of triterpenoid structure stimulated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway which has been found to contribute to the correction of insulin resistance overexpression in hyperglycemia.

CuB also ameliorated hyperglycemia not only by activating intestinal AMPK levels and also by inducing production of plasma GLP-1 associated with the improvement of insulin-releasing by pancreatic β-cells.

However, GLP-1 mimetic medicines although exerted a similar effect compared to that of natural GLP-1, it induced clinical side effects, such as autoimmune hepatitis, acute kidney injury, pancreatitis, and pancreatic cancer.

Interestingly, the efficacy of hypoglycemic activity of CuB decreased significantly in dorsomorphin- (a selective inhibitor of the BMP pathway involved in the expression of cytokines) injected mice and α-gustducin null mice.

In differentiated NCI-H716 cell line, CuB inhibited hyperglycemia involved in activation of AMPK through α-gustducin and Gβγ-signaling of taste receptors in signaling secretion of incretin hormones such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).

Where taste receptors are found in several organs including tongue to colon and have the diverse functions dependent on specific cell type.

In enteroendocrine L cells, stimulated taste receptor signaling plays a critical role in inducing incretin hormones, including GLP-1.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "CuB represents novel hypoglycemic agents by activation of AMPK and stimulation of GLP-1 in differentiated enteroendocrine L-cells".

Taken altogether, cucumber processed high levels of CuB may be used for the treatment of hyperglycemia in diabetics, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of CuB in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Sources
(1) Cucurbitacin B Induces Hypoglycemic Effect in Diabetic Mice by Regulation of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Alpha and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 via Bitter Taste Receptor Signaling by Kim KH1,2, Lee IS1,2, Park JY1,2, Kim Y1,2, An EJ1,2, Jang HJ. (PubMed)
(2) Improved Plasma Glucose Control, Whole-Body Glucose Utilization, and Lipid Profile on a Low-Glycemic Index Diet in Type 2 Diabetic Men by

Salwa W. Rizkalla, MD, PHD1 2,

Laika Taghrid, MD1,

Muriel Laromiguiere, PharmD, PHD3,

Dorothée Huet, MD1,

Josette Boillot, PHD1,

Aude Rigoir, RN1,

Fabienne Elgrably, MD1 and

Gerard Slama, MD. (the American Diabetes Association)

Wednesday, 28 August 2019

Healthy Food Onion in the Inhibition of Angiogenesis

By Kyle J. Norton

Angiogenesis is the process that promotes the formation of new blood vessels involving many factors including the migration, growth, and differentiation of endothelial cells.

In normal cells, angiogenesis is important for the cells to obtain nutrients and metabolites through the small blood vessels. Angiogenesis has been found to process a therapeutic effect for the treatment of ischemic heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, and wound healing.

Dr. Papetti M, the lead scientist at the Tufts University School of Medicine said, "Normal angiogenesis ensures that developing or healing tissues receive an adequate supply of nutrients".
In cancers, angiogenesis stimulated by the tumor cells has been associated with tumors proliferation and metastasis.

More precisely, angiogenesis process a function of a double sword, on one hand, the process provides an ideal condition for the treatment of diseases and wound healing. On the other hand, it promotes invasive and overgrowth tumor.

Dr. Papetti M continued, "tumor cells induce the formation of new blood supply from the preexisting vasculature, and this affords tumor cells the ability to survive and propagate in a hostile environment"

Collectively, " both normal and tumor-induced neovascularization fulfill the essential role of satisfying the metabolic demands of tissue".

Based on the findings some researchers suggested, by the inhibiting the process of blood vessels formation of the tumor, cancer may be curable.

Dr. Dai X, the lead researchers in the study of "Suppression of murine B-cell lymphoma growth by trichosanthin through anti-angiogenesis" showed, "trichosanthin TCS, ( an immunosuppressive and anti-tumor protein) inhibits murine B-cell lymphoma growth by anti-angiogenesis was reported. First, TCS inhibit tumor growth and prolonged survival significantly in vivo, and TCS depressed the formation of new blood vessels around the tumor in a dose-dependent manner".

The onion is a plant in the genus Allium, belongings to the family Alliaceae, a close relation of garlic. It is often called the "king of vegetables" because of its pungent taste and found in a large number of recipes and preparations spanning almost the totality of the world's cultures.

Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy, pungent, mild or sweet.

On finding a potent ingredient which processes anti-cancer activity researchers studied the antiangiogenic activity of quercetin isolated from onion, using ex vivo, in vivo and in vitro models.

According to the tested differentiation, quercetin at non-toxic concentrations significantly inhibited the microvessel sprouting associated with cancer cell proliferation.

Furthermore, the activity of cancer cells migration, invasion and tube formation of endothelial cells involved in the process of angiogenesis.was also significantly decreased by the administration of quercetin.

Quercetin treatment inhibited ex vivo angiogenesis observed by chicken egg chorioallantoic membrane assay (CAM) and matrigel plug assay.

Moreover, quercetin suppressed vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which has been found to induce the formation of a blood vessel for the progression of the tumor.

Additionally, downstream pathways associated with the promotion of survival and growth in response to extracellular signals that induce angiogenesis were also inhibited by quercetin in HUVECs.

Quercetin at the concentration of 20 mg/kg/d significantly reduced the volume and the weight of solid tumors in a prostate xenograft mouse model by targeting angiogenesis.

Quercetin was also found to inhibited the cancer cell viability and induced apoptosis in prostate cancer cells.

In other words, quercetin inhibits tumor growth and angiogenesis by targeting the proteins and signaling pathways that initiate the growth of new blood vessels.

Taken altogether, onion processed a higher mount of quercetin may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Quercetin Inhibits Angiogenesis Mediated Human Prostate Tumor Growth by Targeting VEGFR- 2 Regulated AKT/mTOR/P70S6K Signaling Pathways by Poyil Pratheeshkumar, Amit Budhraja, Young-Ok Son, Xin Wang, Zhuo Zhang, Songze Ding, Lei Wang, Andrew Hitron, Jeong-Chae Lee, Mei Xu, Gang Chen, Jia Luo, and Xianglin Shi. (Plos One)
(2) Suppression of murine B-cell lymphoma growth by trichosanthin through anti-angiogenesis by Dai X1,2, Jiang P2, Ji Y3, Zhu X2, Sun X. (PubMed)

Bromelain Kills Leukemia Cancer Cells

By Kyle J. Norton

Leukemia is a medical and chronic condition that affects the blood and bone marrow associated with the production of immature white blood cells that can not function properly.

Leukemia can be classified into 2 types
A. Acute leukemia
Acute leukemia is a condition of the rapid increase in the numbers of extreme immature white blood cells which appear in the bloodstream and other parts of the body, including tissue and organs.

* Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is a type of cancer caused by the abnormal growth of extreme immature lymphocytes by the bone marrow and/or lymphatic system. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common children forms of leukemia, accounting 80% of all cases.

* Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is a cancer of myelogenous lining caused by the rapid growth of abnormal granulocytes accumulated in the bone marrow, interfering with the normal the blood cells.

B. Chronic leukemia
Chronic leukemia is a condition of the slow but still excessive build up of relatively mature abnormal white blood cells.

* Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a condition caused by slow growth and spreading of a group of abnormal white blood cells called B-cell lymphocytes, which fight against infection in our body by produced antibodies.

* Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a condition caused by slow growth and spreading of abnormal granulocytes.

The exact causes of leukemia are unidentified. Researchers do not know the exact factors that cause the alternation of cell DNA that promotes the abnormal growth of white blood cells.

However, they do know aging, family factors, male, smoking, long-term exposure to certain chemicals, chemo and radiation therapies, genetic proposition and certain types of blood disorder are associated with the increased risk of the disease.

Leukemia shared all general symptoms with other types of cancer such as unintended weight loss, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal discomforts and persistent fatigue accompanied by specific symptoms of bleeding or bruising, recurrent nosebleeds, tiny red spots in your skin, excessive sweating, and hight time bone pain or tenderness.

Bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme found in pineapples (Ananas comosus) has been used in traditional medicine as an inflammatory agent and to treat pains, strains, and muscle aches and pains and ease back pain and chronic joint pain, skin diseases, etc.

With an aim to discover a potential compound or whole food for the treatment of leukemia, researchers investigated a panel of cancer cell lines with bromelain in the presence or absence of peroxidase.

Bromelain combined with peroxidase (BM-PR) showed significant inhibition of acute myeloid (K562) cell proliferation and altered the morphological features.

The combination not only exhibited pro apoptosis against the cancer cell line but also interfered with the cell cycle division through cell cycle arrest.

BM-PR also increased the expression of intracellular ROS level in the induction of cytotoxicity and altered the mitochondrial membrane potential, against the tested cancer cells.

According to the Western blot analysis, BM-PR increased the levels of proteins associated with the activity of proapoptosis and tumor suppression.

Compared to the treatment of bromelain, researchers said, "These results suggest that BM-PR from pineapple induces apoptosis better than the only bromelain in acute myeloid leukemia cells possibly via mitochondria-dependent pathway".

In CD44 cell surface proteins involved in leukocyte binding to endothelium and the metastatic spread of tumor cells, injection of bromelain inhibited the human leukemia Molt 4/8 cells growth by reducing CD44 receptor density.

The most active in reducing CD44 receptor density of bromelain was a half-maximal value of 1.9 mu g/ml and 2.3 mu g/ml.

Based on the findings, bromelain inhibited the progression of leukemia via the reduced CD44 receptor density.

Taken altogether, bromelain used alone or combined with other herbal medicines may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of leukemia, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of bromelain in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Sources
(1) Bromelain with peroxidase from pineapple are more potent to target leukemiagrowth inhibition - A comparison with only bromelain by Debnath R1, Chatterjee N2, Das S3, Mishra S4, Bose D4, Banerjee S4, Das S4, Saha KD5, Ghosh D6, Maiti D. (PubMed)
(2) Bromelain proteinases modulate the cd44 expression on human molt-4/8 leukemiaand sk-mel-28 melanoma-cells in-vitro by Harrach T1, Gebauer F, Eckert K, Kunze R, Maurer H. (PubMed)

Herbal Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), the Potent Antibacterial Antibiotic

By Kyle J. Norton

The bacterial infection is the inflammation caused by the multiplication of bacterias after entering the body successfully.

The process of infection can be divided into many stages. However, most bacterias that try to invade the body were killed in the acute phase of infection by the immune system response through the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines stimulated by the white blood cell macrophages.

According to the statistic provided by the CDC, each year in the U.S., at least 2 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection, and at least 23,000 people die due to bacterial infectious disease.

Most people do not experience any symptoms until the microbe multiplication to the peak in its’ population.

Acute infection in most cases is recovered with a week or two. However, if the immune function cannot destroy all the bacterias within 3 to 8 weeks, it will compromise, leading to chronic low-grade inflammatory diseases.

Most common and classical symptoms of acute infection are aches, pains, fever, malaise, and nausea.

The chronic low-grade inflammatory state is a pathological feature of a wide range of chronic conditions, such as metabolic syndrome (MetS), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), type 2 diabetes.

A most common risk of bacterial infection is a weakened immune system, particularly in the elderly.

The Institute of Medicine (US) Division of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in examing the risk of infection in elderly, wrote, "The implications of an aging population for health care are being widely discussed but seldom with the understanding that health promotion and disability prevention are workable concepts for people in the “second 50” years of life".

And, "Pneumonia and influenza are among the leading causes of death and morbidity from infection among older people. Safe and effective vaccines to prevent pneumonia and influenza are available and should be universally used in persons over age 50. Nosocomial (institutionally acquired) infections have a major deleterious impact on persons over 50 and require good infection control practices in hospitals and nursing homes".

Coltsfoot(Tussilago farfara) is a perennial herbaceous plant, genus Tussilago, belongings to the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and Asia. The herb has been used over thousands of year to treat asthma, various coughs, bronchial congestion, respiratory disorders, headaches and obstruction in the nasal passage, etc.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of bacterial infection, researchers examined the effect of the flower bud extract of Tussilago farfara on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

The study is to compare the antibacterial activity of a silver and gold nanoparticles of sesquiterpenoids from T. farfara flower bud extract and the use of extract alone.

According to the tested analysis, the silver nanoparticles exerted a two- to the four-fold enhancement of the extract comapred to the extract alone in the treatment of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

The solver nanoparticles also showed the highest antibacterial activity against vancomycin-resistant Enterococci Van-A type Enterococcus faecium, comapred to the extract alone.

Based on the findings, researchers said, " both nanoparticles synthesized with the sesquiterpenoids from T. farfara flower bud extract can be applied as drug delivery vehicles of anticancer or antibacterial agents for future nanomedicine applications.s".

Taken altogether, coltsfoot and silver and gold nanoparticles of sesquiterpenoids from T. farfara flower bud extract may be considered remedies for the treatment of bacterial infection, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of Tussilago farfara (L.) essential oil from Quebec, Canada by Boucher MA1, Côté H1, Pichette A1, Ripoll L1, Legault J. (PubMed)
(2) Sesquiterpenoids from Tussilago farfara Flower Bud Extract for the Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Silver and Gold Nanoparticles Possessing Antibacterial and Anticancer Activities by Lee YJ1, Song K2, Cha SH3, Cho S4, Kim YS5, Park Y. (PubMed)
(3) The Second Fifty Years by Promoting Health and Preventing Disability (1992). (NCBI)