Reliance on medicinal plant therapy among cancer patients in Jamaica.

PURPOSE: Patients' perspective of their treatment regime plays a vital role in its success. Recognizing the high prevalence of medicinal plant usage among Jamaicans at large, we investigated the engagement of such remedies by cancer patients, with the aim of uncovering self-medicating habits, perceptions and details of utilized plants. METHODS: A structured, interviewer-based questionnaire was administered to 100 patients attending the oncology and urology clinics at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. A method of convenience sampling was employed and the data were analyzed using summary statistics and statistical significance tests. RESULTS: A large proportion (n = 80, 80%) of interviewed patients, engaged medicinal plants in their treatment regimes. Such habits were independent of person's education, economic status and were higher among the 55-74 age groups (p < 0.05) compared with younger patients. The use of herbs was hinged on the patient's strong sense of tradition and positive perspective of herbal efficacy (88%), fueled by anecdotal accounts from fellow patients. Majority of such users (74.7%) were under concomitant treatment with a prescription medicine, and worryingly, only 15% of patients made their oncologists aware. Annona muricata L. and Petiveria alliacea L. were the most commonly used plants for treating breast and prostate cancers, respectively. CONCLUSION: A large proportion of Jamaican cancer patients use medicinal plants in self-medicating practices and their perceptions and habits need to be considered by physicians, in the design of safe and effective care regimes.

The effect of casing and gypsum on the yield and psychoactive tryptamine content of Psilocybe cubensis (Earle) Singer.

Psychedelic fungi have experienced a surge in interest in recent years. Most notably, the fungal secondary metabolite psilocybin has shown tremendous promise in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders. The mushroom species that produce this molecule are poorly understood. Here we sought to examine for the first time, the response of a psilocybin-producing species Psilocybe cubensis to casing (peat moss and vermiculite) and supplementation with gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate), two common practices in commercial mushroom cultivation. Mycelial samples of genetically authenticated P. cubensis were used to inoculate popcorn grain bags. The fully colonized bags of popcorn grain (0.15 kg) were transferred to bins of 0.85 kg pasteurized horse manure, with or without 1 cm thick layer of casing and/or 5 % gypsum. Our results indicate that the use of a casing layer significantly increases the biological efficiency (161.5 %), by approximately four fold, in comparison to control (40.5 %), albeit with a slight delay (∼2 days) for obtaining fruiting bodies and a somewhat reduced total tryptamine content (0.85 %) as gauged by High Performance Liquid Chromatography measurements. Supplementation with both casing and gypsum, however, appears to promote maximal yields (896.6 g/kg of dried substrate), with a biological efficiency of 89.6 %, while also maintaining high total tryptamine expressions (0.95 %). These findings, revealing methods for maximizing yield of harvest and expressions of psychoactive tryptamines, may prove useful for both home growers and commercial cultivators of this species, and ultimately support the growth of a robust industry with high quality natural products.

Selective cytotoxic and anti-metastatic activity in DU-145 prostate cancer cells induced by Annona muricata L. bark extract and phytochemical, annonacin.

BACKGROUND: Annona muricata L. was identified as a popular medicinal plant in treatment regimens among cancer patients in Jamaica by a previously conducted structured questionnaire. Ethnomedically used plant parts, were examined in this study against human prostate cancer cells for the first time and mechanisms of action elucidated for the most potent of them, along with the active phytochemical, annonacin. METHODS: Nine extracts of varying polarity from the leaves and bark of A. muricata were assessed initially for cytotoxicity using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay on PC-3 prostate cancer cells and the ethyl acetate bark (EAB) extract was identified as the most potent. EAB extract was then standardized for annonacin content using High-performance Liquid Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and shown to be effective against a second prostate cancer cell line (DU-145) also. The mode of cell death in DU-145 cells were assessed via several apoptotic assays including induction of increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential, activation of caspases and annexin V externalization combined with morphological observations using confocal microscopy. In addition, the potential to prevent metastasis was examined via inhibition of cell migration, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiogenesis using the chorioallantoic membrane assay (CAM). RESULTS: Annonacin and EAB extract displayed selective and potent cytotoxicity against the DU-145 prostate carcinoma cells with IC50 values of 0.1 ± 0.07 µM and 55.501 ± 0.55 µg/mL respectively, without impacting RWPE-1 normal prostate cells, in stark contrast to chemotherapeutic docetaxel which lacked such selectivity. Docetaxel's impact on the cancerous DU-145 was improved by 50% when used in combination with EAB extract. Insignificant levels of intracellular ROS content, depolarization of mitochondrial membrane, Caspase 3/7 activation, annexin V content, along with stained morphological evaluations, pointed to a non-apoptotic mode of cell death. The extract at 50 µg/mL deterred cell migration in the wound-healing assay, while inhibition of angiogenesis was displayed in the CAM and VEGF inhibition assays for both EAB (100 µg /mL) and annonacin (0.5 µM). CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the standardized EAB extract and annonacin appear to induce selective and potent cell death via a necrotic pathway in DU-145 cells, while also preventing cell migration and angiogenesis, which warrant further examinations for mechanistic insights and validity in-vivo.

The effects of an alternative diet regimen with natural methionine ingredients on white striping breast myopathy in broiler chickens.

Conventional broiler diets include synthetic methionine to optimize fast muscle growth. Recently, a conventional synthetic methionine-rich diet was compared to alternative diet regimens providing natural sources of methionine. Broilers fed diets with natural methionine sources grew at a slightly slower rate. From this study, we hypothesized that the difference in a growth rate would be reflected in features of the breast muscle from broilers fed the alternative diet. We hypothesized that white striping of pectoralis major muscle would be reduced in slower growing broilers fed the alternative diet regimen with natural methionine. We also hypothesized that there would be associated differences in gene expression for cell differentiation and pathology markers. Broilers fed a conventional corn/soy diet regimen with synthetic methionine were compared to those fed roasted cowpea and sunflower seed meal (60% corn/soy, 20% sunflower seed meal, and 20% roasted cowpea) and no synthetic methionine. Overall broiler growth, muscle gene expression, and muscle collagen content data were compared. Expression analyses of combinations of MYOD1, PPARG, COL1A2, TRIM63, SOD1, PTGS2, and CD36 genes were used to examine differentiation and inflammation in the pectoralis muscles. The group fed an alternative diet gained less weight than those fed the control diet in the starter and grower phases but not in the finisher phase. Ultimately, the conventional diet resulted in a greater final weight for the broilers. However, mean white striping scores for the pectoralis major muscles were greater in the conventional control diet regimen. Gene expression results indicated greater expression of PPARG, PTGS2, and CD36 in the muscle of broilers fed the control diet. These data associate white striping with fat deposition and inflammation. Thus, whether due to differences in feed intake, growth rate, or actual compositional differences, the alternative diet with natural methionine sources seemed to curtail amounts of white striping in broiler muscle. More studies are necessary to further discern the effect of growth rate and natural methionine sources on white striping.

QSARs for phenols and phenolates: oxidation potential as a predictor of reaction rate constants with photochemically produced oxidants.

Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) for prediction of the reaction rate constants of phenols and phenolates with three photochemically produced oxidants, singlet oxygen, carbonate radical, and triplet excited state sensitizers/organic matter, are developed. The predictive variable is the one-electron oxidation potential (E1), which is calculated for each species using density functional theory. The reaction rate constants are obtained from the literature, and for singlet oxygen, are augmented with new experimental data. Calculated E1 values have a mean unsigned error compared to literature values of 0.04-0.06 V. For singlet oxygen, a single linear QSAR that includes both phenols and phenolates is developed that predicts experimental rate constants, on average, to within a factor of three. Predictions for only 6 out of 87 compounds are off by more than a factor of 10. A more limited data set for carbonate radical reactions with phenols and phenolates also gives a single linear QSAR with prediction of rate constant being accurate to within a factor of three. The data for the reactions of phenols with triplet state sensitizers demonstrate that two sensitizers, 2-acetonaphthone and methylene blue, most closely predict the reactivity trend of triplet excited state organic matter with phenols. Using sensitizers with stronger reduction potentials could lead to overestimation of rate constants and thus underestimation of phenolic pollutant persistence.

The Trager approach in the treatment of chronic headache: a pilot study.

CONTEXT: Although the traditional treatment of headache has been pharmacological, there have been many attempts to treat headaches with other methods with mixed levels of success. OBJECTIVE: To obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of the Trager approach in the treatment of chronic headache. DESIGN: Small-scale randomized controlled clinical trial. SETTING: University-based clinic. PATIENTS: Thirty-three volunteers with a self-reported history of chronic headache with at least one headache per week for at least 6 months. INTERVENTIONS: Medication only control group, medication and attention control group, and medication and Trager treatment group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported frequency, duration, and intensity of headache, medication usage and headache quality of life (HQOL) obtained at baseline and after a 6-week treatment period. RESULTS: Analyses of variance demonstrated significant improvement in HQOL for the Trager and attention control groups, and reduction in medication usage for the Trager group (P < 0.05). Within-group analyses revealed that participants randomized to Trager demonstrated a significant decrease in the frequency of headaches (P = 0.045), improvement in HQOL (P = 0.045), and a 44% decrease in medication usage (P = 0.03). Participants randomized to the attention control group demonstrated a significant improvement in HQOL (P = 0.035) and a 19% decrease in medication usage (P = 0.15). Participants randomized to the no-treatment control group revealed a significant increase in headache duration (P = 0.025) and intensity (P = 0.025), and a declination in HQOL (P = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: The Trager approach decreased headache frequency and medication usage. Trager and physician attention improved HQOL. A larger, multi-site study is recommended.