Palmitoylethanolamide: A Natural Compound for Health Management.

All nations which have undergone a nutrition transition have experienced increased frequency and falling latency of chronic degenerative diseases, which are largely driven by chronic inflammatory stress. Dietary supplementation is a valid strategy to reduce the risk and severity of such disorders. Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is an endocannabinoid-like lipid mediator with extensively documented anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and neuroprotective effects. It is well tolerated and devoid of side effects in animals and humans. PEA's actions on multiple molecular targets while modulating multiple inflammatory mediators provide therapeutic benefits in many applications, including immunity, brain health, allergy, pain modulation, joint health, sleep and recovery. PEA's poor oral bioavailability, a major obstacle in early research, has been overcome by advanced delivery systems now licensed as food supplements. This review summarizes the functionality of PEA, supporting its use as an important dietary supplement for lifestyle management.

Prenatal developmental toxicity study of an alkaloid-free Ageratum conyzoides extract powder in rats by oral administration.

A prenatal developmental toxicological study was conducted to evaluate the safety of an alkaloid-free Ageratum conyzoides extract powder administration on pregnant female Wistar rats and on the development of the conceptus in accordance with OECD test guideline (no. 414). Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) naturally present in A. conyzoides have been shown to induce toxicity in past studies, particularly towards hepatic cells. Therefore our test item preparation of A.conyzoides extract (aerial part of the plant) consisted of the removal of PAs. There were no treatment related adverse effects found during maternal examinations (body weights, food consumption, numbers of pregnant and non-pregnant female rats, endocrine evaluation, gravid uterine weights, and number of corpora lutea), maternal/fetal examinations (numbers of implantation sites, pre-and post-implantation loss (%), dead and live fetuses (%), resorption sites), or fetal examinations (litter size and weights, number of fetuses, sex ratio, or external, visceral, and skeletal variations and malformations) in the Ageratum conyzoides extract powder groups at doses of 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kw bw/day compared to vehicle control group. The no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) determined for both maternal and developmental toxicity was 2000 mg/kg bw/day, which was the highest dose tested.