Safety and Effectiveness of Mist Antiaris, a Herbal Preparation for Treatment of Peripheral Neuropathy.

Mist Antiaris is a herbal decoction for treatment of nervous disorders. Safety and efficacy were evaluated in Sprague-Dawley rats and human patients, respectively. Acute toxicity was assessed by administration of a single 5000 mg/kg oral dose of decoction to a group of six rats. For subchronic toxicity, four groups of six rats each received water (control) or 10, 100, or 200 mg/kg oral doses of decoction daily for eight weeks. Body weight, serum, urine, and hematological profile of the animals in each group were monitored over the period. Effects of treatment on pentobarbital-induced sleeping time and histology of liver, lung, heart, and kidney tissue were assessed at the end of the study. There was no evidence of acute toxicity within 48 hours of the oral dose. Over the 8-week period, body weight increases in Mist Antiaris treatment groups were reduced relative to the control group. There were no significant differences in urine profile, serum biochemistry, hematological parameters, and pentobarbital-induced sleeping time. Tissue histology revealed no differences relative to controls. Assessment of efficacy was by retrospective review of data on patients who presented with peripheral neuropathy. Treatment resulted in 53.7 % of patients reporting complete resolution and 15.7 % showing reduction in neuropathic symptoms. The data demonstrate that there is no toxicity due to subchronic administration of Mist Antiaris in Sprague-Dawley rats. The reduction or resolution of neuropathic symptoms indicated by patents' file data provides evidence to suggest that Mist Antiaris has antineuropathic effects.

A chronic toxicity study of the ground root bark of Capparis erythrocarpus (Cappareceae) in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

The safety evaluation of Capparis erythrocarpus (CE) on chronic administration at 18 and 180 mg kg(-1) body weight for 6 months was investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The effects of CE on certain serum biochemical, haematological, urine and histopathological determinations were used as indices of organ specific toxicity. Also the effects of CE on rat blood clotting time and pentobarbital-induced sleeping time were determined. Results indicate that CE had no effect on urine, haematological and serum biochemical indices at termination of treatment with the exception of serum ALT level which was significantly (p < 0.05) attenuated in a dose-dependent fashion (21-35%). There were also no differences in blood clotting time and pentobarbital-induced sleeping time between CE-treated and control animals. Histopathological studies showed that CE did not adversely affect the morphology of the liver, kidney and heart tissues. However, lungs of CE-treated animals showed slight but insignificant inflammatory response in alveolar areas and Clara cell hyperplasia without the thickening of alveolar septa and bronchiolar epithelial wall. Organ weights were not adversely affected by CE treatment. There were significant (p < 0.05) changes in weight of CE-treated animals with duration of treatment compared to control. These results suggest that there is no organ specific toxicity associated with chronic administration of CE in rats and its ability to reduce body weight may be useful for slimming in obese persons.

Modulation of penile erection in rabbits by Mondia whitei: possible mechanism of action.

Mondia whitei root was evaluated to validate its anecdotal use and determine its possible mode of action in the management of erectile dysfunction. Rabbits were administered with daily oral doses of 100-400 mg kg(-1) crude ethanolic extract of M. whitei and sildenafil (50 mg kg(-1)) as positive control for 6 weeks. Cavernosal tissue NOS activity and levels of NO and cGMP, and NOS and PDE protein expressions were investigated. The effect of the crude extract, chloroform and petroleum ether fractions in vitro on cavernosal tissue NOS activity and levels of NO and cGMP at 0.01 and 0.10 mg g(-1) tissue were also investigated. Results indicate that the crude extract increased NOS activity by 7% at 200 mg kg(-1) with corresponding increases in NO (88%) and cGMP (480%) levels. No significant changes in these measurements were observed with the 100 and 400 mg kg(-1) doses whilst sildenafil slightly reduced them (15.9-37.5%). NOS and PDE protein expressions in test animals were not different from controls. Pre-incubation of cavernosal tissue in vitro with the crude extract of M. whitei and its chloroform fraction markedly increased NOS activity (26-132%) and levels of NO (25%) and cGMP (50-400%) at 0.01 mg g(-1) tissue but these were reduced to near control levels when their concentrations were increased to 0.10 mg g(-1) tissue whilst the petroleum ether fraction had no effect. These findings suggest that M. whitei may influence erectile function through activation/stimulation of NOS with corresponding increases in tissue NO and cGMP levels and that certain chemical constituents present in the chloroform fraction may be responsible for biological activity.