Cannabinoids in Treating Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting, Cancer-Associated Pain, and Tumor Growth.

Cannabis has been used as an herbal remedy for thousands of years, and recent research indicates promising new uses in medicine. So far, some studies have shown cannabinoids to be safe in helping mitigate some cancer-associated complications, including chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, cancer-associated pain, and tumor growth. Researchers have been particularly interested in the potential uses of cannabinoids in treating cancer due to their ability to regulate cancer-related cell cycle pathways, prompting many beneficial effects, such as tumor growth prevention, cell cycle obstruction, and cell death. Cannabinoids have been found to affect tumors of the brain, prostate, colon and rectum, breast, uterus, cervix, thyroid, skin, pancreas, and lymph. However, the full potential of cannabinoids is yet to be understood. This review discusses current knowledge on the promising applications of cannabinoids in treating three different side effects of cancer-chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, cancer-associated pain, and tumor development. The findings suggest that cannabinoids can be used to address some side effects of cancer and to limit the growth of tumors, though a lack of supporting clinical trials presents a challenge for use on actual patients. An additional challenge will be examining whether any of the over one hundred naturally occurring cannabinoids or dozens of synthetic compounds also exhibit useful clinical properties. Currently, clinical trials are underway; however, no regulatory agencies have approved cannabinoid use for any cancer symptoms beyond antinausea.

Effects of Tephrosia purpurea aqueous seed extract on blood glucose and antioxidant enzyme activities in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of aqueous seed extract of Tephrosia purpurea (TpASet) on blood glucose and antioxidant status in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Hyperglycemia associated with an altered hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphatase activities, elevated lipid peroxidation, disturbed enzymatic [Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)] and non enzymatic [Glutathione, vitamin C and vitamin E] antioxidant status were observed in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Oral administration of "TpASet" at a dose of 600 mg/kg body weight showed significant improvement in above mentioned parameters. Our results clearly indicate that "TpASet" has potent antihyperglycemic and antioxidant effects in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and therefore further studies are warranted to isolate and characterize the bioactive principles from "TpASet".

Antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic effects of Tephrosia purpurea leaf extract in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.

Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide leading metabolic syndrome, associated with profound alterations in carbohydrate, lipids, lipoproteins and protein metabolisms. Worldwide, traditional practitioners for the treatment of diabetes and its complications use a wide variety of medicinal plants. In the present study the aqueous extract of Tephrosia purpurea leaves (TpALet) was evaluated for its antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic effects in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Profound alterations in the concentrations of blood glucose, lipids and lipoproteins were observed in diabetic rats. Oral administration of TpALet to diabetic rats at a dose of 600 mg/kg body weight significantly reduced the level of blood glucose and increased the level of plasma insulin as well as normalized the lipids and lipoproteins profile. The present study thus demonstrated that TpALet has prominent antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic effects in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.