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Colitis is an inflammatory disease of the intestine with unknown etiology involving multiple immune, genetic, and environmental factors. We were interested to examine the effect of total extract from Dracocephalum Kotschyi (D. kotschyi) Boiss. on the experimental colitis. D. kotschyi hydroalcoholic extract (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg) or apigenin (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg) were administered orally 2 h prior to induction of colitis which was induced by intrarectal administration of acetic acid (4%) in rats. Prednisolone (4 m/kg) was used as the standard drug for comparison. Biochemical evaluation of inflamed colon was performed by measuring myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. After 5 days treatment, mucosal ulceration was evaluated. Intrarectal instillation of acetic acid caused significant inflammatory reactions as indicated by macroscopic and microscopic changes. The activity of MPO increased in vehicle treated groups while recovered to normal level by pretreatment of animals with D. kotschyi extract, apigenin, or prednisolone. D. kotschyi and apigenin-treated groups showed significantly lower score values of macroscopic and microscopic characters when compared with the vehicle-treated negative control group. The beneficial effect of apigenin was comparable with that of prednisolone. This research has shown the anti-inflammatory potential of D. kotschyi extract and apigenin in experimentally induced colitis.

Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss, a member of Labiatae family, is a native plant to Iran, which has been reported to have immunomodulatory, antihyperlipidemic and antispasmodic activities. The objective of this research was to study the antispasmodic and antidiarrhoeal activities of hydroalcoholic and hexane extracts of D. kotschyi in mice. Furthermore, the antidiarrhoeal and antispasmodic effect of apigenin, a flavonoid constituent of D. kotschyi, was also studied. Hydroalcoholic and hexane extracts were obtained from aerial part of D. kotschyi using percolation method. Antispasmodic effect of the test compounds was assessed by measurement of small intestine transit following oral administration of a charcoal meal. Diarrhoea was induced by administration of either castor oil (0.5 ml) or magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) (10% w/v solution). Both the hydroalcoholic and hexane extracts of D. kotschyi (10 and 20 mg/kg) reduced the intestinal charcoal meal transit. Loperamide (2 mg/kg) and apigenin (2 and 10 mg/kg) inhibited intestinal movement of the charcoal meal and also inhibited castor oil and MgSO4-induced diarrhoea. The hydroalcoholic and hexane extracts of D. kotschyi (10 and 20 mg/kg) also significantly inhibited the castor oil and MgSO4-induced diarrhoea in mice in comparison with the vehicle-treated control groups. This study confirms that both the hydroalcoholic and hexane extracts of D. kotschyi has antispasmodic and antidiarrhoeal properties in vivo and could be a suitable remedy for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders in which smooth muscle spasm and/or diarrhoea plays a significant roles.

Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss. (Labiatae) is a traditional medicine which is believed to have antispasmodic and analgesic activities. The antispasmodic action of D. kotschyi essential oil has been shown in a previous report. The objective of this research was to study antispasmodic activity of hydroalcoholic extract of D. kotschyi on ileum contractions. Hydroalcoholic extract was obtained from aerial part of D. kotschyi using percolation method. For antispasmodic studies, a portion of rat ileum was suspended under 1g tension in Tyrode's solution at 37 °C and gassed with O2. Effect of the D. kotschyi extract was assessed on ileum contractions induced by KCl (80 mM), acetylcholine (ACh, 500 nM) and electrical field stimulation (EFS). The D. kotschyi extract concentration dependently inhibited the response to KCl (IC50 =36 ± 5.1 μg/ml), ACh (IC50 =101 ± 9.5 μg/ml), EFS-1 (IC50 =96 ± 7.1 μg/ml) and EFS-2 (IC50 =53 ± 4.3 μg/ml). From this experiment it was concluded that D. kotschyi extract possessed potent antispasmodic activity. Therefore, identification of the active component(s) is (are) recommended in order to find the best lead compound for drug development.

Background: Green tea contains phenolic compounds which could be considered as an anticariogenic agent. In addition, there has not been any significant side effect reported compared to sodium fluoride. So it seems that any comparison between the effects of green tea extract on the level of cariogenic bacteria with sodium fluoride is beneficial. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of sodium fluoride and green tea mouth rinses on the level of salivary Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus of children. Materials and Methods: In a double-blind randomized controlled parallel study, 60 children (8- to 12-year old) were selected according to inclusion criteria and were randomly divided into two groups. Subjects were instructed to rinse their mouth with 0.05% sodium fluoride mouth rinse or 0.5% green tea mouth rinse, twice a day for 2 weeks. Before intervention and after 2 weeks, salivary levels of bacteria were measured. Bacterial level changes were compared using t-test (α = 0.05). Results: Independent t-test showed no significant differences in the average number of bacterial colonies before and after intervention in both groups (P>0.05). According to the paired t-test there was a significant difference between the mean number of bacterial colonies, before and after intervention, in each group (P

Background: There are considerable attempts worldwide on herbal and traditional compounds to validate their use as anti-cancer drugs. Plants from Moringaceae family including Moringa oleifera possess several activities such as antitumor effect on tumor cell lines. In this study we sought to determine if callus and leaf extracts of M. oleifera possess any cytotoxicity. Materials and Methods: Ethanol-water (70-30) extracts of callus and leaf of M. oleifera were prepared by maceration method. The amount of phenolic compounds of the extracts was determined by Folin Ciocalteu method. The cytotoxicity of the extracts against Hela tumor cells was carried out using MTT assay. Briefly, cells were seeded in microplates and different concentrations of the extract were added. Cells were incubated for 48 h and their viability was evaluated by addition of tetrazolium salt solution. After 3 h medium was aspirated, dimethyl sulfoxide was added and absorbance was determined at 540 nm with an ELISA plate reader. Cytotoxicity was considered when more than 50% reduction on cell survival was observed. Results: Callus and leaf extracts of M. oleifera significantly decreased the viability of Hela cells in a concentration-dependent manner. However, leaf extract of M. oleifera were more potent than that of callus extract. Conclusion: As the content of phenolic compounds of leaf extract was higher than that of callus extract, it can be concluded that phenolic compounds are involved in the cytotoxicity of M. oleifera.