Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Limonene in the Prevention and Control of Injuries in the Respiratory System: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: The pulmonary inflammatory response results from exposure to injurious factors and is associated with oxidative stress, which intensifies the pathological reaction. In this context, limonene, a monoterpene found in citrus fruits, can be a therapeutic alternative for the treatment of this pathology, as it presents known anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the anti-inflammatory activity of limonene and its capacity to prevent and control respiratory system injuries. SEARCH STRATEGY: A comprehensive literature search of the Cochrane, Scopus, MEDLINE-PubMed, Web of Science, and Lilacs databases was performed using the keywords: "limonene", "lung", "pulmonary", "airway", "trachea", "lung injury", "respiratory system", "respiratory tract diseases". SELECTION CRITERIA: Studies on the use of limonene in disorders of the respiratory system, published until August 2019, were included. Those that did not use limonene alone or treated lesions in different systems other than the respiratory system, without targeting its anti-inflammatory action were excluded. In addition, review articles, meta-analyses, abstracts, conference papers, editorials/letters and case reports were also excluded. RESULTS: Of the 561 articles found, 64 were in the Cochrane database, 235 in Scopus, 99 in Web of science, 150 in PubMed and 13 in Lilacs. After completing the systematic steps, 25 articles were selected for full reading, after which 7 papers remained in the review. An article was added after a manual literature search, resulting in a total of 8 papers. There was a high level of agreement on inclusion/exclusion among the researchers who examined the papers (Kappa index > 88%). CONCLUSION: Limonene has effective anti-inflammatory activity in both preventing and controlling respiratory system injuries.

Effects of the solid lipid nanoparticle of carvacrol on rodents with lung injury from smoke inhalation.

The aim of this present study was to evaluate the effect of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) containing carvacrol over the lung damage of airway smoke inhalation. The study was conducted with 30 rats subjected to smoke inhalation and divided into 5 groups such as, normal control, negative control, oxygen group, SLN alone, and SLN+CARV group. The animals were sacrificed 24 h after the induction of inhalation injury further, the tissues of larynx, trachea, and lungs were collected for the histological, hematological, myeloperoxidase, and malondialdehyde analysis. The obtained results showed that treatment with CARV+SLN minimized the inhalation injury, since it reduced malondialdehyde significantly, when compared to the negative control group and minimized the histological changes which proves the absence of pulmonary emphysema and exudate in laryngeal and tracheal lumen in the CARV+SLN-treated group. Meanwhile, the presence of lesion with chronic characteristics was observed in the negative control and oxygen groups. It is suggested that the SLN containing carvacrol minimized oxidative stress and histological damages generated from smoke inhalation in rodents.

Natural compounds for solar photoprotection: a patent review.

INTRODUCTION: Ultraviolet irradiation has deleterious effects on human skin, including tanning, sunburn, cancer and connective tissue degradation (photoaging). Botanical antioxidants have been shown to be associated with reduced incidence of photocarcinogenesis and photoaging through their photoprotective profile. AREAS COVERED: Here, the authors summarized therapeutic patent applications concerning the employment of medicinal plants on the technological development of a formulation with photoprotective or photoaging application. So, the patent search was conducted in the databases WIPO, Espacenet, USPTO and Derwent, using the keywords - photoaging, photoprotection and the IPC A61K 8/97 (cosmetics or similar cleaning supplies obtained from vegetable origin, for example, plant extracts) and A61K 36/00 (medicinal preparations of undetermined constitution containing material from algae, lichens, fungi or plants, or derivatives thereof, for example, traditional herbal medicines). We found 180 patents, out of which 25 were evaluated using inclusion criteria as application of natural products with photoprotective or photoaging application. EXPERT OPINION: We found that some patents related to the cosmetic compositions for improving skin wrinkle and either preventing or reducing the signs of photoaging and sunburn. The cosmetic compositions are manufactured in the form of a lotion, gel, soluble liquid, cream, essence, oil-in-water-type or water-in-oil-type formulation, containing the vegetal extracts as an active ingredient.

Sleep pattern in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2: report of family case series.

OBJECTIVES: Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is the most prevalent hereditary motor and sensory polyneuropathy, and a condition in which sleep has rarely been studied, particularly in relation to the type 2 (CMT2). Thus, we aimed to characterize the sleep patterns of a family affected by CMT2 disease. METHODS: Sixteen volunteers with CMT2 from the same multigenerational family agreed to participate in the study (refusal rate = 31%). All participants answered sleep questionnaires and came to the sleep laboratory to perform a diagnostic polysomnography (PSG). Clinical manifestation and severity of the disease were also evaluated. RESULTS: 56% of the sample were male and 44% female, with a mean age of 32 ± 17 years, of normal weight (body mass index 21 ± 3 kg/m(2)); 64% presented moderate to severe CMT2. Regarding subjective sleep, 31% had excessive daytime sleepiness and 75% reported poor sleep quality. The PSG results revealed that CMT2 patients had an increase in stage N3 and a reduction in REM sleep, in addition to a high arousal index. Although 81% of the sample were snorers, only 13% had an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) > 5. However, a positive correlation was found between the severity of disease and the AHI. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these data show that CMT2 disease is characterized by important changes in sleep architecture, probably due to sleep fragmentation. Although these alterations may worsen with disease severity, it seems that they are not related to sleep breathing or movement disorders.

Oral health, temporomandibular disorder, and masticatory performance in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the oral health status of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and bruxism, as well as to measure masticatory performance of subjects with Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 (CMT2). METHODS AND RESULTS: The average number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) for both groups, control (CG) and CMT2, was considered low (CG = 2.46; CMT2 = 1.85, P = 0.227). The OHIP-14 score was considered low (CG = 2.86, CMT2 = 5.83, P = 0.899). The prevalence of self-reported TMD was 33.3% and 38.9% (P = 0.718) in CG and CMT2 respectively and for self-reported bruxism was 4.8% (CG) and 22.2% (CMT2), without significant difference between groups (P = 0.162). The most common clinical sign of TMD was masseter (CG = 38.1%; CMT2 = 66.7%) and temporalis (CG = 19.0%; GCMT2 = 33.3%) muscle pain. The geometric mean diameter (GMD) was not significantly different between groups (CG = 4369; CMT2 = 4627, P = 0.157). CONCLUSION: We conclude that the CMT2 disease did not negatively have influence either on oral health status in the presence and severity of TMD and bruxism or on masticatory performance.

Collagen-based films containing liposome-loaded usnic acid as dressing for dermal burn healing.

The aim of this study was assess the effect of collagen-based films containing usnic acid as a wound dressing for dermal burn healing. Second-degree burn wounds were performed in forty-five Wistar rats, assigned into nine groups: COL-animals treated with collagen-based films; PHO-animals treated with collagen films containing empty liposomes; UAL-animals treated with collagen-based films containing usnic acid incorporated into liposomes. After 7, 14, and 21 days the animals were euthanized. On 7th day there was a moderate infiltration of neutrophils, in UAL, distributed throughout the burn wounds, whereas in COL and PHO, the severity of the reaction was slighter and still limited to the margins of the burn wounds. On the 14th day, the inflammatory reaction was less intense in UAL, with remarkable plasma cells infiltration. On the 21st day, there was reduction of the inflammation, which was predominantly composed of plasma cells in all groups, particularly in UAL. The use of the usnic acid provided more rapid substitution of type-III for type-I collagen on the 14th day, and improved the collagenization density on the 21st day. It was concluded that the use of reconstituted bovine type-I collagen-based films containing usnic acid improved burn healing process in rats.