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The genus Tamarix includes several plant species well-known for their medicinal properties since ancient times. Tamarix stricta Boiss is a plant native to Iran which has not been previously investigated regarding its phytochemical and biological properties. This study assessed phytochemical and toxicological aspects of T. stricta. The plant was collected from Kerman province of Iran and after authentication by botanist, it was extracted with 70% ethanol. Total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids, and antioxidant properties were measured using spectrophometric methods. Quercetin content of the extract was measured after complete acid hydrolysis with high-performance liquid chromatography. The phytochemical profile of the extract was provided using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Acute toxicity study with a single intragastric dose of 5000 mg/kg of the extract and sub-chronic toxicity using 50, 100, and 250 mg/kg of the extract was assessed in Wistar rats. Phytochemical analysis showed that polyphenols constitute the major components of the extract. Also, the extract contained 1.552 ± 0.35 mg/g of quercetin. Biochemical, hematological, and histological evaluations showed no sign of toxicity in animals. Our experiment showed that T. stricta is a rich source of polyphenols and can be a safe medicinal plant. Further pharmacological evaluations are recommended to assess the therapeutic properties of this plant.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a prevalent gastrointestinal (GI) disease. Antispasmodics are a heterogeneous group of drugs that tackle IBS-associated altered bowel habit and abdominal pain. However, some studies have shown their failure to exhibit benefit over placebo. Considering the place of antispasmodics in managing key symptoms of IBS, there is a growing need for developing more efficacious and safe antispasmodics. Areas covered: The authors discuss the role of rational drug design (RDD) in developing new antispasmodics with desired features. Furthermore, they review the potential pharmacological targets and herbal medicines with spasmolytic activity. In addition, the authors present the recent findings concerning novel mechanisms involved in GI motility modulation as well as the potential antispasmodic role of drugs used in other conditions. Expert opinion: To develop better antispasmodics, it will be essential to gain a deeper insight into the underlying mechanisms involved in IBS-induced dysmotility and to uncover GI-specific receptors that regulating motility. New antispasmodics with GI-restricted and the multi-targeting features can be developed via implementation of RDD. Furthermore, the modification of current antispasmodics by formulation technologies might expedite the development of better antispasmodics. To conclude, the complex nature of IBS means that future successful drug discovery will require a multi-disciplinary approach.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Need for novel preventive and curative approaches with more safety than the present one seems inevitable. This review is devoted to potentially favorable role of probiotics in prevention and treatment of breast cancer as well as their alleviating role regarding chemotherapy-induced side effects. Literature was searched for human, animal, and in vitro studies about the role of probiotics in breast cancer. In vitro studies showed that probiotic intervention induces cancer cells apoptosis and inhibits their proliferation. In animal models, treatment with probiotics inhibited tumor growth and reduced tumor size; also, the immunomodulatory, antiangiogenesis and antimetastatic activities of probiotics were illustrated. Human studies showed that intake of Lactobacillus casei shirota reduced the breast cancer incidence and consumption of fermented milk products and yogurt was inversely associated with breast cancer incidence; however, no study regarding the curative role of probiotics in breast cancer is available. Studies on the effect of probiotics on chemotherapy-induced side effects in breast cancer were contradictory but showed potential for more investigation. Probiotics seem to have a potential role in both prevention and treatment of breast cancer. However, more clinical studies are needed to elucidate their efficacy and safety.

St. John's wort (SJW) is a common medicinal herb used for the treatment of mild to moderate depression. Hyperforin, one of the chief components of SJW, plays an important role in the induction of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP) and P-glycoprotein transporter (P-gp), and therefore, affects the pharmacokinetics of various drugs. There are several clinical studies demonstrating the interaction of SJW with the metabolism of conventional drugs which may cause life-threatening events. Areas covered: This review focuses on human studies that have evaluated pharmacokinetic alterations of conventional drugs in concomitant use with different SJW preparations. Expert opinion: SJW preparations have demonstrated clinically important interactions with several classes of conventional drugs such as immunosuppressants, anticancer agents, cardiovascular drugs, oral contraceptives, and lipid lowering agents that caused life-threatening events in several cases. The patient information label on the SJW products should provide enough information regarding the possible risk of interaction. Hyperforin seems to be the major ingredient responsible for CYP and P-gp inducing activity of SJW; thus, hyperforin-free products may be future candidates to decrease SJW's drug interactions.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (FLD) is a worldwide common liver disorder. Tragopogon graminifolius is used as a dietary supplement for liver disorders. This study aimed to assess the beneficial effects of a standardized preparation from T. graminifolius extract (TGE) in animal model of FLD induced by high-fat diet (HFD). The standardization of TGE based on phenolic compounds was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The HFD induced metabolic and hepatic damages. TGE significantly reduced the elevations of serum triglyceride, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and hepatic enzymes (p =.001 for 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg of TGE). Histopathological studies also confirmed beneficial effects of TGE in FLD. Activity of total antioxidant power, content of total thiol, myeloperoxidase (MPO) enzyme activity, and lipid peroxidation were significantly improved (p.001). Dietary supplementation with TGE results in improvement of biochemical as well as histopathological parameters. Clinical trials are warranted to prove its efficacy and tolerability in patients with FLD.

Cancer is defined as the abnormal cell growth that can cause life-threatening malignancies with high financial costs for patients as well as the health care system. Natural polyphenols have long been used for the prevention and treatment of several disorders due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, antineoplastic, and immunomodulatory effects discussed in the literature; thus, these phytochemicals are potentially able to act as chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents in different types of cancer. One of the problems regarding the use of polyphenolic compounds is their low bioavailability. Different types of formulations have been designed for the improvement of bioavailability of these compounds, nanonization being one of the most notable approaches among them. This study aimed to review current data on the nanoformulations of natural polyphenols as chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents and to discuss their molecular anticancer mechanisms of action. Nanoformulations of natural polyphenols as bioactive agents, including resveratrol, curcumin, quercetin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, chrysin, baicalein, luteolin, honokiol, silibinin, and coumarin derivatives, in a dose-dependent manner, result in better efficacy for the prevention and treatment of cancer. The impact of nanoformulation methods for these natural agents on tumor cells has gained wider attention due to improvement in targeted therapy and bioavailability, as well as enhancement of stability. Today, several nanoformulations are designed for delivery of polyphenolic compounds, including nanosuspensions, solid lipid nanoparticles, liposomes, gold nanoparticles, and polymeric nanoparticles, which have resulted in better antineoplastic activity, higher intracellular concentration of polyphenols, slow and sustained release of the drugs, and improvement of proapoptotic activity against tumor cells. To conclude, natural polyphenols demonstrate remarkable anticancer potential in pharmacotherapy; however, the obstacles in terms of their bioavailability in and toxicity to normal cells, as well as targeted drug delivery to malignant cells, can be overcome using nanoformulation-based technologies, which optimize the bioefficacy of these natural drugs.

The effects of vinegar and oxymel solutions (used in Iranian traditional medicine) and processing temperatures (75, 85 and 100°C) on the milk coagulation was studied to identify and determine the protein indicators of resulting whey. The HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) analysis showed that the α-lactalbumin (ALA) and β-lactoglobulin (BLG) contents of resulting whey reduced significantly, when the coagulation temperature increased from 75 to 100°C. In both solutions and at 75°C processing temperature, the BLG of final whey protein was significantly more (∼ 60-70 %) than ALA content. The reverse process happened at 85°C, and the ALA content became much higher than BLG. A significantly higher content of ALA was recovered once the combination of oxymel and vinegar solutions with milk reached to respectively ∼ 10 and 0.3 % and milk protein was coagulated at 85°C. Overall, there is a good possibility to make a milk whey with high content of desirable ALA and negligible concentrations of BL...

Hypericum perforatum (HP), more commonly known as St. John's wort, is a popular medicinal herb used for the treatment of depression. HP affects the pharmacokinetics of many drugs by inducing cytochrome P450 (CYP) isozymes, such as CYP3A4, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, and the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) transporter.This review focuses on drugs that are metabolized by CYP3A4, CYP2C19, CYP2C9 and P-gp as their plasma concentrations show the effects of concomitant use of HP. For the purpose of this review, all electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and Cochrane library were searched to identify in vitro, in vivo or human studies about the effects of HP on the metabolism of drugs. Data collected were published between 1966 and January 2012.There are a number of drugs whose metabolism is reduced by HP. The authors point out that metabolic interactions between HP and drugs are not always unfavorable and sometimes have benefits (e.g., reduction of irinotecan toxicity and increase in clopidogrel responsiveness). HP does not have a significant influence on the kinetics of drugs such as carbamazepine, ibuprofen and theophylline. The use of HP preparations is not recommended in people who are taking immunosuppressants or cardiovascular drugs. With other medications, it is recommended that practitioners should only use HP preparations with a low hyperforin content and under careful monitoring. It is also recommended that because of the reduction in the bioavailability of oral contraceptives administered concurrently with HP, women who use HP preparations should use additional preventive methods to avoid unintended pregnancy.