Application of Aleppo pine extract for skin burn treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the Pinus halepensis extracts and determine its healing and antibacterial effects, and to evaluate the treatment of skin burns. METHODS: Aqueous and ethanolic extracts and topical based on Aleppo pine plant extracts were prepared. Thirty male and female Wistar rats were used to study the cutaneous toxicity of extracts from the bark of P. halepensis. The extracts' healing potential for burn wounds were also assessed by evaluating the clinical and macroscopic aspects of the wounds. The antibacterial activity of crude extracts of P. halepensis as well as its wound healing abilities was verified in this investigation. RESULTS: In animals with acute dermal toxicity, there were no signs of treatment-related toxicity or death. The extracts of these plants could be transformed into phytomedicines for the treatment of infected wounds. The results demonstrated that formulated ointments are successful in treating second-degree burns in rats and may be suitable for the short-term therapeutic treatment of second-degree burns. CONCLUSION: This study successfully answered our problem, regarding the efficacy of our extract for treating second-degree burns in rats. Further studies are needed to confirm these results by identifying the molecules responsible for these activities and examining their mechanism of action.

Evaluation of the Wound Healing Potential of Cynara humilis Extracts in the Treatment of Skin Burns.

Cynara humilis is traditionally used to treat skin burns and microbial infections. However, experimental studies on this plant are rare. Furthermore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Cynara humilis, a Moroccan herbal remedy, on the healing of deep second-degree burns in rats with a silver sulfadiazine group. This research was also carried out to confirm if C. humilis had antibacterial capabilities. Under typical burn procedures, each rat received a deep second-degree burn on the upper back. The burns were treated regularly with control groups (control and control VH), silver sulfadiazine (SDD) in group 3, C. humilis ethanolic extract (CHEE) in group 4, and C. humilis aqueous extract (CHAE) in group 5. Throughout the treatment, digital photography was used to measure rat responses to the treatment until day 18. After the scar biopsy at the end of the study, histological parameters (inflammatory cells, collagen, epithelialization, fibrosis, and granulation tissue) were assessed. Using the well technique, the antibacterial activity of the extracts was tested against Staphylococcus aureus CIP 483, Bacillus subtilis CIP 5262, Escherichia coli CIP 53126, Pseudomonas aeruginosa CIP 82118, and Salmonella enterica CIP 8039, and the results showed important activities of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts against the five species tested with MICs of 2 and 4 mg/mL, respectively. In the aqueous extract group, the wound healed faster. In addition, the healing rate in the C. humilis extracts (CHEA and CHEE) group was faster than in the silver sulfadiazine and control groups. In the C. humilis group, maximum wound surface recovery was observed at the same time, as it was not noted in the silver sulfadiazine group. Pathologically, epithelialization was more marked in wounds treated with C. humilis extracts (CHE). Angiogenesis and inflammatory cells were considerably lower in the CHE group than in the silver and other control groups. However, elastic fibers were considerable in the CHE-treated group. In histological examination, the C. humilis group had a low incidence of angiogenesis and inflammation, indicating that this group had less wound scarring. Collagen and burn wound healing were both faster in the C. humilis group. The findings of this study suggest that C. humilis, as indicated by traditional medicine, is a promising natural source for the management of wound healing.

Quality Control and Authentication of Argan Oils: Application of Advanced Analytical Techniques.

In addition to the nutritional and therapeutic benefits, Argan oil is praised for its unique bio-ecological and botanic interest. It has been used for centuries to treat cardiovascular issues, diabetes, and skin infections, as well as for its anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative properties. Argan oil is widely commercialized as a result of these characteristics. However, falsifiers deliberately blend Argan oil with cheaper vegetable oils to make economic profits. This reduces the quality and might result in health issues for consumers. Analytical techniques that are rapid, precise, and accurate are employed to monitor its quality, safety, and authenticity. This review provides a comprehensive overview of studies on the quality assessment of Moroccan Argan oil using both untargeted and targeted approaches. To extract relevant information on quality and adulteration, the analytical data are coupled with chemometric techniques.

Investigation of wound healing activity Cynara humilis of root extracts.

BACKGROUND: Wound healing is among the frequent illnesses that affects the skin, and therefore, the screening of natural preparation to treat skin burn is important. In Morocco, Cynara humilis is a Moroccan medicinal plant widely used for the treatment of skin burn. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the safety of C. humilis and its wound healing potential against skin burn. METHODS: In this work, C. humilis was selected based on an ethnopharmacological survey. As revealed by traditional medicine, C. humilis powder extract (CHPE) was used to test wound healing effects. Furthermore, to assure the safety of this powder, acute and subchronic dermal toxicities were investigated on animal models. RESULTS: The oral acute toxicity test of CHPE did not show mortality in treated rats (LD50 >2000 mg/kg). Moreover, in the acute dermal toxicity, CHPE at 5 g/kg did not induce clinical signs observed during the observation period of 48 h. In the subchronic toxicity test, CHPE did not cause significant abnormalities in the physiological parameters and pathological changes in the major organs of the rats. Body weight evolution and macroscopic analysis of skin burn showed CHPE exhibited important wound healing effects in a time-dependent manner. CHPE reduced significantly wound surface (6.93 ± 0.25 cm2 ) compared with the SDA group (8.30 ± 0.37 cm2 ) and the no-treated group (10.05 ± 0.28 cm2 ). Moreover, the retention rate was increased importantly after the treatment with CHPE (61.66 ± 1.42%) compared with the SDA-treated group (53.57% ± 2.83%) and the no-treated group control animals (43.34% ± 1.27%). CONCLUSION: These results were confirmed by a histological evaluation, which showed that CHPE increased the neovascularization, the collagen deposition, and the re-epithelialization. The findings of this work suggest that CHPE could be a promising source for developing drugs against skin burn.

Ethnopharmacological Survey and Comparative Study of the Healing Activity of Moroccan Thyme Honey and Its Mixture with Selected Essential Oils on Two Types of Wounds on Albino Rabbits.

Wound healing consists of several continuous phases involving various cells and chemical intermediates. As a rich source of nutrition elements, honey has proved to have potential benefits in the treatment of various diseases. The present study was designed to investigate the healing effect of a honey mixture with selected essential oils on chemical and thermal wound models in rabbits. Dressing mixtures of Thymus vulgaris honey with three essential oils (Origanum vulgare, Rosmarinus officinalis, and Thymus vulgaris) were prepared and applied daily in the treatment groups. These essential oils were rich in phytochemicals and had significant antibacterial activity against four selected ATCC bacterial strains. Madecasol ointment was used as a standard control. The healing effect of the mixtures was evaluated by measuring wound surface area and comparing healing time. The results showed that the healing rate in the treatment groups was significantly higher than that of the untreated group and standard group. The best healing effect for burns was seen in the mixture of honey and Thymus vulgaris essential oil, which had wound closure rates of 85.21% and 82.14% in thermal- and chemical-induced burns, respectively, and showed the shortest healing time (14 days) in comparison to other groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that honey mixtures have significant beneficial effects on skin wound healing and, thus, they may be used as a healing agent in different types of wounds in humans after specific clinical trials.

Cholesterol lowering effect in the gall bladder of dogs by a standardized infusion of Herniaria hirsuta L.

ETNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Infusions of Herniaria hirsuta L., Herniaria glabra L. and Herniaria fontanesii J.Gay are well known in Moroccon folk medicine for the treatment of biliary dyskinesia, (uro)lithiasis or as a diuretic. Herniariae Herba which can contain H. glabra and H. hirsuta is known in Europe as an urological drug. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the efficacy of a standardized infusion of Herniaria hirsuta against choleltihiasis, and evaluation of its genotoxicity. METHODS AND MATERIALS: An analytical HPLC-UV method to quantify flavonoids and saponins present in the extract of H. hirsuta was developed and validated. An in vivo experiment to evaluate the cholesterol lowering effect of a infusion of H. hirsuta in the gall bladder of dogs was carried out. Dogs were divided into 3 groups i.e. control dogs (CG), dogs treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) (2×7.35mg/kg body weight/day) and dogs treated with the standardized infusion (HG) (2×48.5mg/kg body weight/day). Dogs were fed a fatty diet during 120 days after which a diet without additional fat was introduced till day 180. Treatment started 30 days after introduction of the fatty diet and lasted till the end of the experiment. A bile and blood sample of each dog was collected every 30 days, after which the concentration of cholesterol was determined. An Ames test was performed according to the OECD-guidelines. RESULTS: The validated HPLC-UV method showed a linear calibration model and an acceptable precision for the total flavonoid content (total content 4.51%) as well as the total saponin content (12.74%). The in vivo experiments already showed a minor difference for bile cholesterol between CG and HG after 30 days of treatment with the infusion, and the difference was more pronounced after 90 days of treatment. Even 30 days after discontinuation of the cholesterol-rich diet a significant difference remained between CG and HG. There was no statistically significant difference in blood cholesterol. The Ames test showed that the infusion of H. hirsuta could be considered as being free from genotoxic risks. CONCLUSION: A method for the standardization of a infusion of Herniaria hirsuta was developed and validated. Prolonged use of this standardized H. hirsuta extract resulted in a cholesterol-lowering effect in the bile of dogs. Since this pharmacological effect prevents the formation of gallstones and can contribute to solving existing gallstones, a standardized infusion of H. hirsuta may have a positive effect in the treatment of gallstones in human patients.

Evaluation of anxiolytic activity of methanolic extract of Urtica urens in a mice model.

BACKGROUND: The present study was designed to study anxiolytic property of methanolic extracts of Urtica urens; an important and commonly used for its medicinal properties belongs to urticaceae family. METHODS: The anxiolytic activity was evaluated with the adult mice by hole board test, and the light-dark box test, and motor coordination with the rota rod test. The efficacy of the plant extract (100-400 mg/kg) was compared with the standard anxiolytic drug diazepam (1 mg/kg i.p.) RESULTS: The extract increased the time spent in the brightly-lit chamber of the light/dark box, as well as in the number of times the animal crossed from one compartment to the other. Performance on the rota rod was unaffected. In the hole board test, the extract significantly increased both head-dip counts and head-dip duration. Urtica urens, in contrast to diazepam, had no effect on locomotion. CONCLUSIONS: These results provides support for anxiolytic activity of Urtica urens, in line with its medicinal traditional use, and may also suggest a better side-effect profile of Urtica urens relative to diazepam.

Bioactive metabolites from Chaetomium aureum: structure elucidation and inhibition of the Hsp90 machine chaperoning activity.

Chemical investigation of the EtOAc extract of the fungus Chaetomium aureum, an endophyte of the Moroccan medicinal plant Thymelaea lythroides, afforded one new resorcinol derivative named chaetorcinol, together with five known metabolites. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined on the basis of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry as well as by comparison with the literature. All compounds were tested for their activity towards the Hsp90 chaperoning machine in vitro using the progesterone receptor (PR) and rabbit reticulocyte lysate (RRL). Among the isolated compounds, only sclerotiorin efficiently inhibited the Hsp90 machine chaperoning activity. However, sclerotiorin showed no cytotoxic effect on breast cancer Hs578T, MDA-MB-231 and prostate cancer LNCaP cell lines. Interestingly, deacetylation of sclerotiorin increased its cytotoxicity toward the tested cell lines over a period of 48 h.