Chemical Investigation and Antinociceptive Activity Evaluation of Marrubium Vulgare L. Aqueous Extract.

Marrubium vulgare L. (Lamiaceae) has a long history of use in traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of respiratory tract infections, inflammatory conditions, and pain. This study aimed to investigate the chemical composition, acute toxicity, and antinociceptive effects of the aqueous extract from M. vulgare leaves (AEMV). Antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH and reducing power assays. The chemical composition of AEMV was determined through LC-MS/MS, and the levels of total phenolics, flavonoids, and condensed tannins were quantified. Acute oral toxicity was assessed in male Swiss mice with a single oral dose of AEMV (1, 2, 5 g/kg). The analgesic impact was examined through writhing, hot plate, and formalin tests. Our findings not only confirmed the safety of the extract in animal models but also revealed significant antioxidant activity in AEMV. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis identified important bioactive compounds, with marrubiin being a major component. Furthermore, AEMV demonstrated robust antinociceptive properties in all conducted tests, highlighting its potential as a valuable natural source of bioactive compounds suitable for a wide range of therapeutic applications.

Cell-mediated immune response associated with Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in atherosclerotic patients.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia pneumoniae is an obligate intracellular bacterium that activates cell mediated immune responses; several investigations have demonstrated its strong implication in atherosclerosis. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of our study was to explore the cell-mediated immune response to C. pneumoniae infection in patients with atherosclerosis by evaluating CD14, CD8 and CD4 expression. METHODS: This investigation involved a total of 27 patients with atherosclerosis and 32 controls, among patients recruited to evaluate the association of C. pneumoniae with atherosclerosis. C. pneumoniae DNA was detected in PBMCs by nested PCR as described in our previous studies. CD4, CD8 and CD14 expression was measured by flow cytometry and data analysis was performed using FlowJo software. RESULTS: The results revealed an increase in MFI expression of CD4, CD8 and CD14 in Cpn DNA+ subjects among both patients and healthy subject controls (CD4 Cpn DNA+ = 829.11 vs. CD4 Cpn DNA- = 571.14; CD8 Cpn DNA+ = 1562 vs. CD8 Cpn DNA- = 699; CD14 Cpn DNA+ = 1513.83 vs. CD14 Cpn DNA- = 1170.70), with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the comparison of CD4, CD8 and CD14 expression between Cpn DNA+ patients and Cpn DNA+ healthy subject controls showed a statistically significant increase in expression in the former group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These data provide incentive to further explore the role of C. pneumoniae in stimulating and changing mechanisms of the cell-mediated immune response induced by C. pneumoniae antigens. This may alter immune cell-mediated responses via increased expression of CD4, CD8 and CD14 during inflammation and the development of thrombosis, leading to fatal atherosclerosis.

Gut Microbiome-Mediated Mechanisms in Alleviating Opioid Addiction with Aqueous Extract of Anacyclus pyrethrum.

The escalating rates of morbidity and mortality associated with opioid use disorder (OUD) have spurred a critical need for improved treatment outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of prolonged exposure to Fentanyl, a potent opioid, on behavior, biochemical markers, oxidative stress, and the composition of the gut microbiome. Additionally, we sought to explore the therapeutic potential of Anacyclus pyrethrum in mitigating the adverse effects of Fentanyl withdrawal. The study unveiled that chronic Fentanyl administration induced a withdrawal syndrome characterized by elevated cortisol levels (12.09 mg/mL, compared to 6.3 mg/mL for the control group). This was accompanied by heightened anxiety, indicated by a reduction in time spent and entries made into the open arm in the Elevated Plus Maze Test, as well as depressive-like behaviors, manifested through increased immobility time in the Forced Swim Test. Additionally, Fentanyl exposure correlated with decreased gut microbiome density and diversity, coupled with heightened oxidative stress levels, evidenced by elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced levels of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). However, both post- and co-administration of A. pyrethrum exhibited substantial improvements in these adverse effects, effectively alleviating symptoms associated with OUD withdrawal syndrome and eliciting positive influences on gut microbiota. In conclusion, this research underscores the therapeutic potential of A. pyrethrum in managing Fentanyl withdrawal symptoms. The findings indicate promising effects in alleviating behavioral impairments, reducing stress, restoring gut microbiota, and mitigating oxidative stress, offering valuable insights for addressing the challenges of OUD treatment.

Anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic properties of Marrubium vulgare aqueous extract in an animal model.

This study aimed to investigate the potential anti-inflammatory properties of aqueous extract of Marrubium vulgare (AEMV) using various animal models. Several inflammatory models including xylene-induced ear edoema, carrageenan-induced paw edoema, and Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis were employed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of AEMV. LC-MS/MS of AEMV revealed that the major component was Marrubiin, a diterpenoid lactone. AEMV demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effects in all animal models tested. It effectively reduced ear and paw edoema induced by xylene and carrageenan, respectively. Furthermore, AEMV attenuated arthritis symptoms and hyperalgesia in rats with Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis. Biochemical analyzes revealed normalisation of inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, in treated animals. The findings suggest that AEMV possesses promising anti-inflammatory properties, supporting its potential therapeutic application in inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. Further investigations are needed to clarify the underlying mechanisms and optimise dosing regimens for clinical use.

Chlamydia pneumoniae sero-prevalence in Moroccan patients with cardiovascular diseases.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia pneumoniae is a pathogen associated with human respiratory tract infection, its viable presence in atherosclerotic plaques is also assumed to play significant function in cardiac diseases. Our study's main objective is to evaluate Chlamydia pneumoniae sero-prevalence in Moroccan patients with cardiovascular diseases using and comparing two serological methods. METHODS: Two hundred eighteen patients were enrolled; serums were tested by microimmunofluorescence to explore the sero-prevalence. Simultaneously 74 serums were analyzed by both immunoblot and micro-immunofluorescence to evaluate recombinant proteins diagnosis value. RESULTS: MIF results revealed 81% male and 84.5% female positive cases. The comparative study among 74 patients showed 78% men and 89% women positive cases by immunoblot, whereas MIF showed respectively 80% and 72%, a significant concordance between these methods was revealed. However, this comparison showed also two types of discrepancies, which may be related to difficulties in antigens detection by micro-immunofluorescence resulting from their structure complexity, or the antibodies reactivity with species' common antigens. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed a high sero-prevalence of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the studied population, a big interest of recombinant protein was also revealed in the diagnosis accuracy. We suggest therefore using immunoblot for diagnosis confirmation because it provides additional useful information.

Molecular characterisation of Chlamydia pneumoniae associated to atherosclerosis.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a respiratory pathogen associated with chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma and atherosclerosis, and its detection in human carotid and coronary atheroma suggests some support for its involvement in atherogenesis. The main objective of our study was to evaluate the association between Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis in Moroccan patients through a case-control approach and detected strain genotyping. A total of 137 cases and 124 controls were enrolled, nested PCR was performed for Chlamydia pneumoniae screening of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of both cases and controls as well as atheroma plaques from 37 cases, and positive samples were subjected to sequencing for genotyping and phylogenetic analysis. The results showed 54% and 18%, respectively, for positivity in cases and control PBMCs and 86.5% in atheroma plaques, the difference being significant between the two groups (P < 0.001, ORa = 8.580, CI, 95% [3.273-22.491]). Strain sequence analyses showed more than 98% similarity with human reference strains, and revealed various genotypes. This study supports the involvement of Chlamydia pneumoniae in atherosclerosis in the studied population and genotyping revealed that detected strains were identical to human strains circulating worldwide.