Hyptis pectinata essential oil: chemical composition and anti-Streptococcus mutans activity.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anti-Streptococcus mutans activity of Hyptis pectinata essential oil, and present its promising potential against oral diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The essential oil of H. pectinata was obtained by hydrodistillation from dried leaves and analyzed by GC / MS. The effectiveness of this essential oil regarding the antimicrobial activity against several S. mutans strains was investigated by the agar diffusion and microdilution methods, and chlorohexidine was used as a standard control. RESULTS: The H. pectinata essential oil exhibited considerable inhibitory effect against either all the clinical isolates obtained from patients' saliva or the ATCC strains tested, with minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of 200 microg ml(-1). The study also compared the efficiency of the emulsifying agents Tween 20, Tween 80, dimethyl sulfoxide and propylene glycol in H. pectinata essential oil when tested against S. mutans. The data obtained confirmed the better inhibitory effect of the oil when using all tested diluents, although Tween 80 seemed to be more suitable for emulsification. CONCLUSION: According to our results, H. pectinata essential oil can be considered a promising alternative to chlorhexidine for the control of oral bacteria-related diseases and hygiene.

Anatomic study of the collateral blood supply of the sternum.

A microdissection study was carried out on ten injected, cleared human sternal specimens. Three types of vessel were identified that have the potential to carry blood to the sternum after mobilization of the internal thoracic artery (ITA): (1) branches of the ITA that supply both the sternum and the pectoralis major ("sternal/perforating branches"), (2) branches of the ITA that supply both the sternum and an adjoining intercostal space ("sternal/intercostal branches"), and (3) posterior intercostal arteries that do not anastomose with an ITA branch but continue past the ITA to reach the sternum. All three types of vessel were found more frequently in the proximal than in the distal half of the sternum. For sternal/perforating and sternal/intercostal vessels to function as collaterals after ITA bypass grafting, their short common trunks of origin must remain intact. The data support the recommendation that the branches of the ITA be ligated as close as possible to the ITA itself to preserve collateral blood flow to the sternum.

Analysis of the antinociceptive properties of marrubiin isolated from Marrubium vulgare.

We have shown previously that Marrubium vulgare, a medicinal plant employed frequently in folk medicine to treat a variety of ailments, exhibits antispasmodic and antinociceptive effects in different experimental models. This work describes the antinociceptive profile of marrubiin, the main constituent of this plant, which was analysed in some models of nociception in mice. The results showed that marrubiin exhibits potent and dose-related antinociceptive effects, whose calculated ID50 values (micromol/kg, i.p.) were the following: 2.2 in the writhing test, 6.6 (first phase) and 6.3 (second phase) in the formalin-induced pain test and 28.8 when evaluated in the capsaicin test. It was more potent than some well-known analgesic drugs. The antinociception produced by the marrubiin was not reversed by naloxone when analyzed against the writhing test. In the hot-plate test, marrubiin did not increase the latency period of pain induced by the thermal stimuli. Its exact mechanism of action remains to be determined, but the results suggest that marrubiin, like hydroalcoholic extract of M. vulgare, does not interact with opioid systems.

Analgesic profile of hydroalcoholic extract obtained from Marrubium vulgare.

Marrubium vulgare L. is a medicinal plant used in folk medicine to cure a variety of diseases. Recently we have demonstrated that a hydroalcoholic extract of this plant showed significant, nonspecific antispasmodic effects on isolated smooth muscle. In this report, we have investigated the possible analgesic effects of the same hydroalcoholic extract in different models of pain in mice. The results suggest that this extract exhibits significant analgesic activity, antagonizing chemically-induced acute pain. Such effects may be related to the presence of steroids and terpenes, which were detected by TLC analysis.