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

Thursday 19 September 2019

Green Peas Improve Cognitive Performance in Vivo

By Kyle J. Norton

Cognitive performance is the process of the brain ability to process thoughts in healthy individuals.
Memory impairment is a condition associated with a slow decline in memory, thinking and reasoning skills. Over time, the condition can worsen enough to affect the quality of life and daily activity.

Memory loss frequently is an early sign of memory deficit.

Some memory change can be resolved on their own or cured by medical treatment if the underlining cause is found. However, loss or gradual loss of neurons capacity cannot be revered such as dementia.

According to statistics, in the US, approximately 5.7 million people are living with dementia. Most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, affecting 5.5 million people of all ages.

Most common risk factor associated with memory deficit is increasing age, smoking the genetic preposition of APOE-e4, also linked to Alzheimer's disease, obesity and medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and depression, and physical inactivity.

However, an unhealthy diet has been found to promote a gradual loss and death of neurons such as Alzheimer's disease.

Accompanied by aging, both aging and unhealthy diet may be the major culprits that cause memory deficit in large numbers of older adults, leading to irreversible memory impairment such as AD and PD.

Dr. Amy C. Reichelt, said, "The so-called western diet is rich in saturated fat and refined carbohydrates. Excessive consumption of this diet is associated not only with the development of obesity but also with reduced global cognitive function, cognitive decline, and dementia (Morris et al., ). This Research Topic explores the effects of diet and diet-induced obesity on learning, memory, and cognition in both experimental and epidemiological settings".

And, "High fat and high sugar foods are highly rewarding and excessive consumption leads to enduring alterations in brain regions involved in learning, memory, and reward. These changes are proposed to drive overconsumption by promoting food-seeking behaviors".

Green peas are species of Pisum Sativum belongings to the family Fabaceae and native to western Asia from the Mediterranean Sea to the Himalaya Mountains. The pea is a green, pod-shaped vegetable and a cool-season crop grown in many parts of the world.

On finding a potent ingredient for the improvement of brain functioning, researchers investigated the impact of green pea (GP) supplementation on cognitive performance.

The study included Maze model and Passive avoidance Paradigm served as Exteroceptive Behavioral models induced by Scopolamine and ethanol as amnesic agents were treated by administration of Pisum sativum (PS) at concentrations 2.5% w/w and 5% w/w for 15 successive days.

Based on the tested differentiation, mice treated by Pisum sativum (PS) showed a decrease in transfer latency and increase in step down latency.

Furthermore, green peas not only ameliorated memory deficits induced by scopolamine and ethanol but a significant increase in brain Glutathione levels,.

Moreover, Pisum sativum (PS) at different concentrations also inhibited brain stress marker observed on declined levels of Malondialdehyde levels and Acetylcholinesterase activity in the brain.

Collectively, researchers said, "Therefore, behavioral effects of PS would be worthwhile in management of cognitive dysfunctions".

Taken altogether, green peas may be considered a functional food for the prevention of cognitive dysfunctions, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Evaluation of Nootropic Potential of Green Peas in Mice by Sushila Kaura, and Milind Parle. (Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science)
(2) Editorial: Impact of Diet on Learning, Memory and Cognition by Amy C. Reichelt,1,* R. Fred Westbrook,2 and Margaret J. Morris. (PMC)

Cranberry Does Not Improve Urinary Infection in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

By Kyle J. Norton

Urinary incontinence, a medical, psychological, social, economic, and hygienic problem, is a condition of loss of the bladder to control that can lead to mild or severe form of involuntary leakage of urine.

Involuntary urine leakage or urinary incontinence is frequent among elderly women, adult women, even among adolescent women.

According to the statistics provided by the Phoenix Physical Therapy, approximately 25 million adult Americans are living with some form of urinary incontinence in which 75-80% are women.

Believe it or not, about 17% of women and 16% men over 18 years old have overactive bladder(OAB) and an estimated 12.2 million adults have urge incontinence.

All types of urinary incontinence have been found to have a negative impact on the quality of life and daily activity.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) casued by the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers.

MS causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body.

SHARON BEGLEY in examing the genetic preposition involved in MS wrote, " A newly discovered genetic mutation gives people who carry it a whopping 70 percent chance of developing multiple sclerosis, potentially opening the way toward new therapies for a debilitating neurological disorder whose ultimate cause has stumped researchers for decades".

The author continued, "The 70 percent chance of developing MS compares to a 0.1 percent risk in the general population, and the 100 or so previously known genetic variants increase the chance of MS to only about 0.3 percent at most, with no single gene packing much of a punch".

In other words, people having certain genes inherited from the parent are at the substantial risk of MS developing comapred to people who do not.

According to the statistics, in 2010/2011, approximately 93,500 Canadians were diagnosed with the disease or 290 cases per 100,000 population. Believe it or not, MS is the most prevalent in Canada comapred to other parts of the world.

Cranberry is an evergreen dwarf shrub, genus Vaccinium, belongings to the family Ericaceae, native to Northern America and Southern Asia.

Because of its health benefits, cranberry has been cultivated in some parts of the world for commercial profit and used in traditional and herbal medicine to treat wounds, urinary disorders, diarrhea, diabetes, stomach ailments, and liver problems.

On finding a potential compound for the improvement of the quality of life in cancer patients, researchers examined the cranberry extract on multiple sclerosis (MS) patients suffering from urinary disorders.

The cranberry versus placebo, prospective, double-blind study included a total of 171 adult MS outpatients with urinary disorders presenting at eight centers were randomized to cranberry extract (36 mg proanthocyanidins per day) or matching placebo received twice daily for 1 year.

According to the results at follow-up, there was no difference between cranberry and placebo.

Furthermore, there was no difference in time to first symptomatic UTI distribution across 1 year, with an estimated hazard ratio of 0.99, 95% CI [0.61, 1.60] (p = 0.97).

Moreover, secondary endpoints and tolerance did not differ between groups.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "Taking cranberry extract versus placebo twice a day did not prevent UTI occurrence in MS patients with urinary disorders".

Taken altogether, cranberry does not improve the urinary disorders in patients with MS, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Cranberry versus placebo in the prevention of urinary infections in multiple sclerosis: a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial by Gallien P1, Amarenco G2, Benoit N3, Bonniaud V4, Donzé C5, Kerdraon J6, de Seze M7, Denys P8, Renault A9, Naudet F10, Reymann JM. (PubMed)

Wednesday 18 September 2019

Healthy Food Onion Processes Neuro-Protective Activity

By Kyle J. Norton

Neuroprotection is a process to preserve the neuronal structure and/or function against the death or gradual death of neurons, including the use of medicines and herbs.

In other words, neuroprotection protects the neuronal integrity against the reduction in the rate of neuronal loss over time inducing neurological disease, including neurodegenerative disease.

Neurodegenerative disease is the class of condition associated with the progressive loss of neuron occurred mostly in older adults, including dementia. The most common dementia in the US is Alzheimer`s disease (AD).

Alzheimer's disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder caused by the slowly lost of neuron in the brain that affects the memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks as the disease progress into advanced stage.

According to the statistic, dementia affects over 47.5 million people worldwide, approximately 58 percent are living within low and middle-income countries.

Believe it or not, 5.8 million Americans of all ages are living with Alzheimer's dementia in 2019 and two-thirds of people with Alzheimer's disease are women.

Conventionally, as of today, there is no cure for dementia. Treatment of dementia is focusing to improve dementia symptoms and slow down the progression of the disease.

Some researchers suggested that the increased incidence of the onset of Alzheimer's disease over the past few decades may be correlated to the promotion of a high-fat diet in the US.

Dr. Rollins CPE, the lead scientist wrote, "HFD-induced obesity during adolescence exacerbated brain volume alterations by adult life in the 3xTg mouse model in comparison to control-fed mice and mediated volumetric alterations of select brain regions, such as the hippocampus".

And, "Further, HFD-induced obesity aggravated memory in all mice, lowering certain memory measures of B6129s control mice to the level of 3xTg mice maintained on a CD. Moreover, a decline in the volumetric trajectories of hippocampal regions for all mice was associated with the degree of spatial memory impairments on the MWM.".

The onion is a plant in the genus Allium, belonging 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 potential compound for the treatment of cognitive impairment, researchers examined the neuroprotective potential of Allium cepa (A. cepa, Onion) in aluminum chloride induced animal model neurotoxicity.

The study included mice induced neurotoxicity by aluminum chloride (50 mg/kg/day) orally were treated by supplemented with different doses of A. cepa hydroethanolic extract for a period of 60 days.

Before treatment of onion, aluminum chloride treated mice resulted in significant motor incoordination and memory deficits, observed by the increased oxidative stress and elevated levels of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and aluminum levels in the brain.

Onion supplement injection in aluminum exposed animals not only significantly improved muscle coordination and memory deficits but also decreased the levels of oxidative stress, AChE and decreased abnormal aluminum deposition induced by the aluminum chloride.

Decreased vacuolated cytoplasm associated with the death of neurons and pyramidal cells in the hippocampal area of the mice brain caused by toxicity was also reversed by the injection of A. cepa supplementation.

The results strongly suggested that onion processes anti-neuro-toxicity induced cognitive impairment in an animal model.

Dr. Singh T, the lead scientist, after taking other factors into account wrote, "significant neuroprotective potential of A. cepa in aluminum-induced neurotoxicity".

Taken altogether, onion may be considered a neuroprotective remedy, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Neuroprotective effect of Allium cepa L. in aluminium chloride induced neurotoxicity by Singh T1, Goel RK. (PubMed)
(2) Protective effects of onion-derived quercetin on glutamate-mediated hippocampal neuronal cell death by Yang EJ1, Kim GS, Kim JA, Song KS. (PubMed)
(3) Contributions of a high-fat diet to Alzheimer's disease-related decline: A longitudinal behavioural and structural neuroimaging study in mouse models by Rollins CPE1, Gallino D2, Kong V3, Ayranci G2, Devenyi GA4, Germann J2, Chakravarty MM. (PubMed)

Phytochemical Lycopene Detoxes the Liver Against Toxicity

By Kyle J. Norton

Human toxicity is a general term refers to any substance which causes harm to human health if inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin.

Liver toxicity is a process that causes liver damage by reducing the function of the liver.

Liver oxidative stress caused by a toxic substance such as an overdose of the supplement has been found to constitute most cases of acute liver damage.

The liver is the largest internal organ which not only filters the blood from the digestive system before passing them to other parts of the body but also plays a critical role in the production cholesterol, a waxy substance which aids digestion, builds cell membranes and produces vitamin D and steroid hormones.

Liver stress is a condition in which the function of the liver is partly reduced. Hepatic stress can be observed by the levels of liver stress-makers, including transaminases aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT).

Abnormal high levels of transaminases aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) are early indications of liver damage or injury.

Epidemiologically, drugs that induce liver injury are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), anti-infective drugs (anti-tubercular drugs), anti-cancer drugs, hormonal drugs, immunosuppressive agents, sedative and neuropsychiatric drugs.

Acetaminophen according to study is the most form of medication that implicates drug-induced liver injury

However, antibiotics are the class of drugs that cause liver toxicity most commonly

Conventionally, treatment of liver toxicity is totally depending on the types of inducers, including
* Management of drug-induced liver injury by discontinuing the suspected drug.

* Acetaminophen poisoning is treated by antidote N-acetylcysteine.

* Glucocorticoids are used for the treatment of the immune-mediated drug-induced liver injury.
And,
* Intravenous N- acetylcysteine is used for the treatment of non-acetaminophen-related acute liver failure

Lycopene is a phytochemical in the class of carotenoid, a natural pigment with no vitamin A activity found abundantly in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables, such as red carrots, watermelons, and papayas,

Tomatoes provide about 80% of the lycopene in the world diet. In plants, lycopene protects the host against excessive photodamage and perform various functions in photosynthesis.

On finding a potential compound for the prevention of liver injury, researchers investigated the potential oxidative damage of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in hepatic microsomal fractions in an animal model.

The study included rat liver microsomes that were divided into four groups.
* Group I served as a control and is incubated with vehicle (toluene).

* Groups II and IV incubated with 20 µM lycopene for 1 h before further incubating; and

* Groups III and IV with 15 nM of TCDD for further 1 h.

Based on the tested analysis, groups treated by TCDD showed a significant increase in liver oxidative stress observed by increasing levels of Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production, lipid peroxidation (LPO),

Protein carbonyl content and activities of uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronyltransferase (UDPGT) and P450 associated with liver damage also increased substantially in the TCDD treament groups.

Furthermore, the activity of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, glutathione-S-transferase, and glutathione reductase and the microsomal thiol content produced by the rat liver microsomes were significantly decreased in the TCDD treament groups.

Lycopene treatment group IV not only normalized the activities of the enzymes, thiol and carbonyl content but also significantly reduced LPO and H2O2 production.

These results suggested that TCDD induced liver toxicity by increasing the levels of free radicals and decreasing the antioxidant activity in rat liver microsomes.

Based on the findings, researchers concluded, "TCDD induces significant oxidative stress in liver microsomes as manifested by increased LPO, H2O2 production, protein carbonyl content and activities of UDPGT and P450 and decreased antioxidant enzymes activities and thiol content".

Taken altogether, lycopene found in tomato may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of liver toxicity, pending on the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

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) Lycopene: Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Effects toward Bisphenol A-Induced Toxicity in Female Wistar Rats by Abdel-Rahman HG1, Abdelrazek HMA2, Zeidan DW3, Mohamed RM4, Abdelazim AM. (PubMed)
(2) Ameliorative effect of lycopene against 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-induced rat liver microsomal toxicity: an in vitro study by Aly HA1, El-Shitany NA2, El-Beshbishy HA3, Ashour OM. (PubMed)
(3) Liver Toxicity by Anam Bashir, and Dhruv Mehta. (NCBI)

Herbal Turmeric, a Natural and Potential Treatment of Uveitis with No Side Effects

By Kyle J. Norton

Uveitis is a type of eye inflammation, affecting the middle layer of tissue in the eyewall (uvea).

The condition has been found to onset suddenly and get worse quickly. Most common symptoms of uveitis are eye redness, pain, and blurred vision that can affect one or both eyes.

In some cases, patients with the condition also experience symptoms of light sensitivity, floaters and decreased vision.

If you have some of the aforementioned symptoms, please check with your doctor to rule out the possibility.

The exact cause of uveitis is unknown. However, some researchers suggested that people with a compromised immune system associated with inflammatory disease and infected diseases are at an increased risk of uveitis.

Other risk factors, epidemiologically such as eye injury, diseases that affect the eye such as diabetes are also found in the patients with uveitis.

Most cases of uveitis are treated by prescription eye drops in combination with anti-inflammatory medications. If all fail, surgery may be necessary.

Untreated uveitis has been found to induce complication of glaucoma, cataracts, optic nerve damage and retinal detachment.

Out of the prevalent factors of uveitis, some researchers suggested that aging associated with the weakened immune system may be the major factor that causes uveitis.

Dr, Marwan R. Abdulaal, the lead scientist said, "Uveitis is a vision-threatening inflammation of the eye that carries considerable morbidity. It is responsible for 10% of legal blindness in the United States and up to 25% in the developing world".

And. "The aging body has a changing response of the immune system, which might reflect a different pattern of uveitis in the elderly population".

Turmeric is a perennial plant in the genus Curcuma, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, native to tropical South Asia.

The herb has been used in traditional medicine as anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, colorant, antiseptic, wound healing agent, and to treat flatulence, bloating, and appetite loss, ulcers, eczema, inflammations, etc.

On finding a natural compound for the treatment of uveitis, researchers examined the effect on turmeric administered 4 h after induction of E. coli lipopolysaccharide-induced uveitis in rats.
Compared to the control group, turmeric showed significantly suppressed inflammation with a significantly lower mean clinical grade, histopathological grade, and aqueous humor (AH) protein level, second to the conventional medicine prednisolone.

The turmeric administered 4 h did not affect proinflammatory cytokines levels of TNF-alpha levels.

However, when the aqueous extract was administered starting from 3 days before induction of uveitis, treatment group not only showed a similar effect on the mean clinical and histopathological grade, as well as AH protein but also reduced TNF-alpha levels, comparable to treatment group.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "topically applied a standardized aqueous extract of C. longa suppresses endotoxin-induced uveitis in rats by reducing TNF-alpha activity".

In order to reveal more information about turmeric anti-uveitis property, researchers examined the anterior uveitis induced in rabbits by intravitreal injection of lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli after pretreatment with C. longa and B. aristata aqueous extracts.

According to the clinical and histopathologic grading, anterior segment inflammation in the control group was significantly higher compared to both the extract-treated groups.

More precisely, the inflammatory cell count in the control group was 30.75 cells/mL compared to 2.39 and 11.56 cells/mL in the C. longa- and B. aristata-treated groups, respectively.

Similarly, C. longa- and B. aristata-treated groups also exerted strong effects on the protein content and TNF-alpha level as of that on the aforementioned study.

Taken altogether, turmeric may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of uveitis, 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.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

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) Topically applied standardized aqueous extract of Curcuma longa Linn. suppresses endotoxin-induced uveal inflammation in rats by Agarwal R1, Gupta SK, Agarwal P, Srivastava S. (PubMed)
(2) The anti-inflammatory effects of Curcuma longa and Berberis aristata in endotoxin-induced uveitis in rabbits by Gupta SK1, Agarwal R, Srivastava S, Agarwal P, Agrawal SS, Saxena R, Galpalli N. (PubMed)
(3) Uveitis in the Aging Eye: Incidence, Patterns, and Differential Diagnosis by Marwan R. Abdulaal, Bachir H. Abiad, and Rola N. Hamam. (PMC)

Herbal Coltsfoot(Tussilago farfara) Protects the Lung Against Tuberculosis (TB)

By Kyle J. Norton

The lung is a vital organ located near the backbone on either side of the heart with major functions to inhale oxygen from the air to the bloodstream that nourishes the body cells and exhale carbon dioxide from the bloodstream.

Other functions of the lung are to maintain the right levels of pH, filter out blood clots, protect the heart against shock, infection, and speech.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The bacteria attacked the lung tissue, leading to the significantly reduced function of the lung in the inhaling and exhaling.

The disease is also found to cause major damage to other parts of the body.

According to statistic, 25% of the world's population is infected with TB. In 2016, 10.4 million people around the world became sick with the disease-inducing the death of 1.7 million people.

Most common signs and symptoms of TB are associated with reduced lung function, including coughing that lasts a long period of time, coughing up blood, chest pain, particularly in breathing or coughing, fatigue, fever, night sweats, and chills.

Some patients may also experience symptoms of unintended weight loss.

Conventionally, the length of treatment of TB depending on the severity of the disease takes longer compared to other infections with at least six months of antibiotics intake, including Isoniazid, Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane) and Ethambutol (Myambutol).

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 which processes antitubercular activity, researchers examined the effect of Arctium lappa and Tussilago farfara extracts for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

In Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, according to the tested analysis, the ethyl acetate extract of Tussilago farfara displayed antitubercular activity with a MIC of 62.5 μg/mL.

The anti-tuberculosis property of Tussilago farfara against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv was attributed to the compounds including mixture of β sitosterol/stigmasterol (4), trans-caffeic acid (7), kaempferol (8), quercetin (9), kaempferol-3-O-glucoside (10), loliolide (11), a (4:1) mixture of p-coumaric acid/4-hydroxybenzoic acid (12), p-coumaric acid (13). in the extract.

In compound comparison, the best anti-tuberculosis activity was observed in the p-coumaric acid (13) (MIC 31.3 μg/mL or 190.9 μM) alone and in mixture with 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (12) (MIC 62.5 μg/mL).

Based on the findings, researchers aid, "The above results provide for the first time some scientific evidence to support, to some extent, the ethnomedicinal use of Arctium lappa and Tussilago farfara as traditional antitubercular remedies.".

Taken altogether, coltsfoot may be considered a remedy for the treatment of tuberculosis, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) The antitubercular activity of Arctium lappa and Tussilago farfara extracts and constituents by Zhao J1, Evangelopoulos D2, Bhakta S2, Gray AI1, Seidel V. (PubMed)

Tuesday 17 September 2019

Herbal Coltsfoot Protects Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Against the Risk of Colitis

By Kyle J. Norton

Colitis is a condition characterized by the inflammation of the inner lining of the colon.

The disease can be caused by infection, such as inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis(CD)), ischemic colitis, allergic reactions, and microscopic colitis.

Most cases of colitis are involved in the damage of the intestinal mucosal barrier, particularly to those of ulcerative colitis.

Epidemiologically, damage and a reduction of gut bacteria by dietary chemicals, such as antibiotics of the protective mucus layer and the underlying tissue by the poorly inactivated digestive proteases induced both UC and CD.

The intestinal mucosal barrier is the outermost inner layer of the lining of the intestines which plays an essential role to ensure the adequate containment of undesirable luminal contents within the intestine and preserves the ability to absorb nutrients.

Additionally, the intestinal mucosal barrier also processes various immunological mediators, including cytokines and chemokines stimulated by gut microbiota and host immune responses, thus maintaining a well-balanced relationship between gut microbes and the host immune system.

In other words, the intestinal mucosal barrier protects the colonic integrity by interacting with the gut microbiota and the immune response to prevent the inflammation of the colon that causes the onset of colitis.

Coltsfoot(Tussilago farfara) is a perennial herbaceous plant, genus Tussilago, belonging 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 inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), researchers examined the anti-colitis effect of Tussilagone (TSL), a major component of Tussilago farfara.

On mice subjected to acute colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), tussilagone showed a significant protective effect by ameliorating weight loss, and colonic inflammatory damage.

Proteins associated with pro-inflammatory cytokines such as the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 and the activity of myeloperoxidase in colonic tissues were inhibited by tussilagone-treated mice.

Furthermore, tussilagone treatment reduced the numbers of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in the induction of cytokines and increased the numbers of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) involved the production of antioxidant enzymes in nuclei of colonic tissues.

Based on the findings, researchers said, " tussilagone treatment attenuated DSS-induced colitis in mice through inhibiting the activation of NF-κB and inducing Nrf2 pathways, indicating that tussilagone is a potent therapeutic candidate for the treatment of intestinal ".

Taken altogether, coltsfoot may be considered a remedy for the treatment of colitis, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Tussilagone, a major active component in Tussilago farfara, ameliorates inflammatory responses in dextran sulphate sodium-induced murine colitis by Cheon HJ1, Nam SH1, Kim JK. (PubMed)