The Effect of the Combination of Ginseng, Tribulus Terrestris, and L-arginine on the Sexual Performance of Men with Erectile Dysfunction: a randomized, double-blind, parallel, and placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Objectives: Nitric oxide is the most important mediator of penile erection after the onset of sexual excitement. It activates cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), increasing penile blood flow. Most pharmaceutical medications prevent enzyme phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) from breaking down cGMP, thus keeping its level high. However, due to the adverse effects of pharmacological therapies, herbal drugs that improve sexual function have gained attention recently. This study aimed to investigate the combined effects of ginseng, Tribulus terrestris, and L-arginine amino acid on the sexual performance of individuals with erectile dysfunction (ED) using the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) questionnaire. Methods: Over three months, 98 men with erectile dysfunction were randomly assigned to receive either 500 mg of herbal supplements or placebo pills. Each herbal tablet contained 100 mg of protodioscin, 35 mg of ginsenosides, and 250 mg of L-arginine. Results: The results showed that the changes in the average scores of ILEF-5 within each group before and after the intervention indicated that all parameters related to the improvement of sexual function in patients with erectile dysfunction improved in the herbal treatment group (p < 0.001). The herbal group significantly improved IIEF-5 scores in non-diabetics (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the changes of IIEF-5 scores between the two intervention and control groups in diabetic patients. Conclusion: In conclusion, ginseng, Tribulus terrestris, and L-arginine have properties that increase energy and strengthen sexual function, making them suitable for patients with sexual disorders.

Improvement of thermal stability and antioxidant activity of anthocyanins of Echium amoenum petal using maltodextrin/modified starch combination as wall material.

To protect anthocyanins of Iranian borage extract (IBE) by encapsulation, maltodextrin (MD)/modified maize starch (MMS) combinations were used at four ratios (MD/MMS: 1/0, 1/0.25, 1/0.5, 1/1, w/w%). The microencapsulated powders with different ratios of wall material presented encapsulation efficacy between 93.1 and 97.4%. FTIR confirmed the cross-linking interaction between extract and MD/MMS wall. Increased thermal stability of extract was also indicated by DSC analysis. The stability of microstructures and crude extract at two conditions (5 and 40 °C) was evaluated by UV and HPLC methods during 60 days. The results of stability showed that encapsulation by treatment 4 (MD/MMS 1:1) improved the stability of anthocyanins 43.8% compared to crude extract. Additionally, microcapsule created in this treatment provided great antioxidant stability. The release in the simulated gastrointestinal tract revealed that the anthocyanins were chiefly retained inside the microparticles in the stomach, and were released in the intestine. The results demonstrated that the microencapsulation with MD and MMS by the spray-drying method can improve the stability, antioxidant and functional characteristics of borage extract, which could be useful in the food and pharmaceutical industry.

The Protective Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Rosa canina (Dog Rose) Fruit on Liver Function and Structure in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes in Rats.

This study was conducted to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of Rosa canina (R. canina) extract on streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetes in rats by measuring the fasting blood glucose (FBG), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and liver enzyme activity, including serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Forty adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups and treated daily for 42 days as follows: group I (control) received saline as a vehicle; group II (diabetic) received saline; groups III and IV (diabetic) treated with 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight (BW) per day R. canina extract, respectively. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal (IP) injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg BW). At the end of the study, blood samples were collected via heart puncture and sera were used for estimation of the mentioned parameters. Then all the rats were sacrificed and their livers used for histopathological evaluations. In the untreated diabetic group, the results showed a significant increase in FBG, ALT, and AST levels compared to the other groups (p < .05). The level of TAC decreased in this group, but not significantly compared to the other groups (p > .05). In the treated groups, administration of R. canina extract significantly improved the mentioned parameters in a dose-dependent manner (p < .05). Histological evaluations indicated that R. canina extract ameliorated defective liver caused by STZ. It can be concluded that R. canina extract has a hepatoprotective effect in STZ-induced diabetes in rats.

Identification of potential antioxidant compounds in the essential oil of thyme by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and multivariate calibration techniques.

Thyme species are used in traditional medicine throughout the world and are known for their antiseptic, antispasmodic, and antitussive properties. Also, antioxidant activity is one of the interesting properties of thyme essential oil. In this research, we aim to identify peaks potentially responsible for the antioxidant activity of thyme oil from chromatographic fingerprints. Therefore, the chemical compositions of hydrodistilled essential oil of thyme species from different regions were analyzed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and antioxidant activities of essential oils were measured by a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging test. Several linear multivariate calibration techniques with different preprocessing methods were applied to the chromatograms of thyme essential oils to indicate the peaks responsible for the antioxidant activity. These techniques were applied on data both before and after alignment of chromatograms with correlation optimized warping. In this study, orthogonal projection to latent structures model was found to be a good technique to indicate the potential antioxidant active compounds in the thyme oil due to its simplicity and repeatability.

UPLC and HPLC of caffeoyl esters in wild and cultivated Arctium lappa L.

Analytical methods including ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with photodiode array (PDA) detector were developed for the analysis of caffeoylquinic acid derivatives in seeds, leaves and roots of Arctium lappa L. Separation was performed on C(18) column utilising 5% (v/v) acetic acid in water and acetonitrile at 330 nm. Both methodologies were validated in terms of linearity, precision, and recovery. The results showed that the major advantages of UPLC, over HPLC were the fast analysis, narrow peaks, high sensitivity, and reduction of solvent consumption. Subsequently the methods were applied for the identification and quantification of chlorogenic acid (5-CQA) and 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (1,5-DCQA) as main compounds in samples. The total phenolic content of samples ranged from 3.93 to 14.13 g of 5-CQA equivalent/100g dry weight (DW). There was a significant variability from 89 to 571 mg/100g for 5-CQA and 48 to 486 mg/100g for 1,5-DCQA in dry material.