A comprehensive review on medicinal plants possessing antioxidant potential.

Many research studies have proposed that about two-thirds of the medicinal plant species of the world possess significant antioxidant potential. Antioxidants are very beneficial as they decrease oxidative stress (OS) in cells and hence play their role in management as well as treatment of numerous diseases like cancers, cardiovascular diseases, as well as many inflammatory illnesses. This review comprises the antioxidant potential of numerous parts of medicinal plants like leaves, stems, roots, seeds, fruits, as well as bark. Synthetic antioxidants named butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) as well as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are extensively employed in foods because of their role as food preservatives. Several natural antioxidants have better efficacy as compared to synthetic antioxidants. These medicinal plants include Geranium sanguineum L., Rheum ribes L., Diospyros abyssinica, Sargentodoxa cuneata Rehd. Et Wils, Pistacia lentiscus, Ficus microcarpa L. fil., Polyalthia cerasoides (Roxb.) Bedd, Cunn, Teucrium polium L., Crataeva nurvala Buch-Ham., Urtica dioica L., Dracocephalum moldavica L., Momordica Charantia L., Acacia auriculiformis A., Bidens pilosa Linn. The Lamiaceae species, Radiata, Leea indica, Pelargonium endlicherianum, Salvia officinalis L., and Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC. The literature study disclosed more side effects of synthetic antioxidants (including food additives) in comparison with natural antioxidants and for prevention of many diseases.

Alternative treatment in Hepatitis B by using polyherbal formulation.

The hepatitis B is most prevalent diseases (along with morbidities) in Asian countries. This research study has been conducted to provide an alternative treatment which is safe, effective and cost-effective to comprehend relations of disease, symptoms, patients response and the clinical response via better management of hepatitis B. The goal of this research is to evaluate efficacy and safety of herbal medicine as compared to allopathic medicine in patients suffering from hepatitis B. This was a single blind, randomized controlled clinical trial conducted at Shifa-ul-Mulk Memorial Hospital Hamdard University, Karachi and Dar ul Shifa Unani Dawakhana Karachi, Pakistan. The patients of both genders ranging from 25 to 50 years with symptoms and diagnosed for hepatitis B that fulfilled the criteria for membership, and consented for participation were registered. Ethical committee clearance and permission was obtained from the concerned committee at Faculty of Eastern Medicine, Hamdard University, Karachi, Pakistan. No significant difference was identified after treatment and it was found that the efficacy of Alpha (Control drug) is same as Safoof akseer e jigar (Test drug). The data offered support to the null hypothesis and therefore research hypothesis was rejected. According to the statistical analysis by chi square, hepatitis B was recorded as negative in 26 patients (57.77%) out of 45 patients by the use of Interferon Alpha (control therapy) and in 27 patients (64.28%) out of 42 patients by the use of Safoof akseer e jigar (test drug). Comparison of the data recorded of the patients was determined as both drugs showed significant improvement and p value>0.05. The efficacy response is equal in both drugs while test drug showed more safety response. It is concluded that Safoof akseer e jigar possesses as effective a therapeutic value in treating hepatitis B as allopathic medicine.

Ways to manage hepatitis C without cirrhosis: Treatment by comparison of coded eastern medicine hepcinal with interferon alpha 2b and ribavirin.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a serious and significant global health problem in the Pakistan and elsewhere. In majority of cases HCV infection remains asymptomatic but in advance cases it may progress to fibrosis of liver, shrinkage of liver cells or failure of liver. The hepatitis C may progress to cause liver cirrhosis that mostly develop in 20% of the affected patients in 20 years with an increased risk in male, alcoholic drink, immune-compromised and who acquire HCV infection after the age of 40 years. This was an open-label prospective study conducted on 66 clinically and immunologically diagnosed cases of HCV infection. In Hepcinal treated group, there were significant improvement in HCV associated symptoms compared to control group (p<0.05). While Interferon therapy resulted in significant improvement in serological response (55.88%) compared to Hepcinal treated patients (46.88%). It was concluded that Hepcinal has shown better clinical response but no significant serological response (p=0.3244) and it might be an alternative therapy to treat hepatitis C infection and to prevent its progression into chronic ailment.

Plantago ovata: Clinical study of overuse.

The objective of the study was to undertake evidence-base study to evaluate clinical manifestation of the over-estimated use of herbal drug Plantago ovata and to compare it with placebo for the efficacy and adverse effects. The patients of both genders were included. Blood urea, creatinine, ALT, Serum B12, CP, ESR and liver function tests were performed. The data was statistically analyzed in both groups for differential symptomatology. In anorexia test verses control results showed that Plantago ovata husk and placebo showed the affected ratio as 81 percent and 50 percent, correspondingly. Whereas in clinical performance of heart burning, pain in epigastrium, low libido, body pain, dyspepsia, fever, burning sensation in palm and sole in test drug showed affected response as adverse effect 90%, 88% and as control drug, 36%, 29%, 22%, 25%, 38%, 30%, 33%, 57%, respectively. The results were highly marked in test drug i.e. in comparison with placebo. This is clearly evident from data analysis that effect observed in test arm is far more superior hence null hypothesis was rejected clearly. Similarly serological and biochemical reports study i.e. (ALT, Vit. B1 and Vit A) revealed that there is no hepatotoxic and neurotoxic effect found in both the drugs.

Alternative treatment for iron deficiency anemia: Irocbin versus Sherbat Faulad.

The wide spread reason of anemia is Iron deficiency in Pakistan and even worldwide. A clinical trial was undertaken to assess the efficacy of Irocbin formulation for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia as compared to Sherbat Faulad. The curative evaluations of these medicines were recorded in clinically and biochemically identified cases of iron deficiency anemia. The therapeutic evaluation of the different drugs both test and control drug were conducted on the bases of improvement in the subjective signs and symptoms, clinical observations and biochemical investigations at periodic intervals during the course of therapy. This data was collected in the period November 2010 to November 2012 and completed the clinical trials. According to the statistical analysis comparison of data recorded by patients concerning to different variables, showed significant results between test and control groups (p<0.05). By applying ANOVA test, the p values for multiple comparisons of the levels of improvement of Hemoglobin after treatment exhibited significant difference as compared Sherbat Faulad and Irocbin. The control drug Sherbat Faulad with only iron component improves Hemoglobin level and the sign and symptoms but associated with side adverse effects.

Efficacy of Gingocap as compared to pyridoxine in the treatment of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

Nausea and vomiting is the common problem disturbing almost 80% of the females in initial three months of conception and later sometime throughout pregnancy. To find out the efficacy and safety of herbal coded test drug Gingocap in comparison with the control drug Pyridoxine, a randomized clinical case control study was conducted at the OPD of Yusra Medical Centre, Karachi and Amir Habib Medical Center and Maternity Home, Karachi. After administration of test and control drug the frequency of nausea and vomiting was noted after every 2 weeks on 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th weeks during 60 days of the course of study. The percentage of reduction of nausea and vomiting symptoms from the baseline in cases treated with test Gingocap compared to control drug Pyridoxine was recorded. Overall 35 and 30 patients were administered Gingocap and Pyridoxine between 6-16 weeks conception respectively. The data analyzed through T-test using SPSS version 18.0. It was concluded that Gingocap has the potential to relieve the symptoms of nausea and vomiting and exhibited no side effects and this drug was acceptable by maximum number of the patients.

Clinical assessment of coded Unani formulation D-worm and mebandazole for the treatment of hook worm, roundworm and whip worm.

A case control, multicenter, prospective randomized two arm parallel group clinical trials was conducted on 190 patients. The main objective of this study is to provide comparative efficacy results of both trialed medicines. The comparison was done in between herbal medicine D-Worm and Mebandazole allopathic drug for the treatment of helminthiasis. All the rules of GCP (Good Clinical Practices) were followed including clinical history, clinical presentation, examination findings and stool tests. Stool D/R and Parasite antigen tests were performed before and after treatment. The comparison of symptoms were also done including the improvement in abdominal pain, worms in stool, anal itching, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, and fatigue etc. The data on clinical proforma was gathered and subjected to statistical analysis. Parasite specific antigen test and stool D/R is considered as gold standard test for the diagnosis and confirmation of helminthes infection. Different parameter i.e. age, sex, and other clinical sign and symptoms were studied and compared between two treatment groups (Control and Test groups) at baseline and end of therapeutic application. Consent of patient was taken at first before the start of examination. Majority of the patients (90%) included in this study group get cured after herbal treatment. The statistical analysis used for the assessment of the effect of the treatment also showed significant improvement after treatment.

Comparative clinical study on the efficacy of biocor plus compared with simvastatin for the management of hypercholesterolemia.

Hypercholestriolemia is major risk factor that enhances the incidence of cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease. The present study was conducted to normalize the lipid profile in the blood by using Biocor Plus for hypercholesterolemia compared with Simvastatin. It was prospective randomized case control study conducted on 70 diagnosed patients of hypercholesterolemia at Sohail Memorial Hospital, Karachi and Amir Habib Medical Center and Maternity Home, Karachi. Patients of both genders (30-70 years) with clinical diagnosis of Hypercholesterolemia. Sample sizes for this study included total of 70 subjects. There was statistically significant difference when comparing the effectiveness of test drug, Biocor Plus to control drug, Simvastatin for the treatment of primary hypercholesterolemia. This is clearly evident that the herbal coded test drug, Biocor Plus possesses a therapeutic value for the treatment of primary hypercholesterolemia. There were no untoward or significant side effects associated with the use of Biocor Plus that proved its good acceptability by the patients. Moreover there was subjective feeling of wellbeing regarding breathlessness and chest tightness or pressure in the patients taking Biocor Plus. This makes an interesting point to focus on this effective alternative drug for primary hypercholesterolemia.

Comparative clinical efficacy and safety of coded herbal medicine Dermovix in the management of patients with atopic dermatitis versus allopathic medicine.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is defined as a chronic, highly pruritic inflammatory condition of skin. It is estimated that this disease may lead significant morbidity and also adversely affects the quality of life. Atopic dermatitis responds well to home treatment. Proper skin care reduces the need for medicines. Topical creams and oral antihistamines can be used to suppress the symptoms. The clinical trial was conducted on 60 patients in which 30 are control and 30 are test by taking written consent from them. Dermovix significantly improved skin symptoms associated with AD. This Dermovix ointment was safe and well tolerated in specified age group patients. Overall results of individual group were analyzed by using Paired sample t-test and level of significance of all the symptoms was calculated. Both the drugs showed similar efficacy and the calculated p value was p<0.05. Except in case of dry skin the test drug had shown not significant p value i.e. 0.407. When we compare all these and their effects and patients' complaints then Test group have shown better results because of no side effects.

Comparative clinical evaluation on herbal formulation Pepsil, Safoof-e-Katira and Omeprazole in gastro esophageal reflux disease.

This study was conducted to evaluate the role of Unani herbal drugs Pepsil and Safoof-e-katira on the gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD). This was multicentre randomized case control study conducted at Matab Hakeem Muhammad Noor-ud-din, Burewala; Aziz Muhammad din Medical and Surgical Centre, Burewala and Shifa-ul-mulk Memorial Hospital, Hamdard University Karachi. The patients were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. In test group-1 the male female ratio was 40%, 60%; test group-2 was 42%, 58% and in control group was 44%, 56% respectively. The observed symptoms in the study were increased appetite (TG-1-95%, TG-2-95% and CG-89%), difficulty in swallowing (TG-1-93%, TG-2-96% and TC-94%), belching/burping (TG-1-97%, TG-2-97% and CG-95%), vomiting (TG-1-90%, TG-2-96% and CG-89%), heart burn (TG-1-100%, TG-2-100% and CG-98%), palpitation (TG-1-100%, TG-2-100% and CG-97%), epigastric pain (TG-1-97%, TG-2-97% and CG-90%), abdominal cramps (TG-1-97%, TG-2-98% and CG-95%), tenesmus (TG-1-100%, TG-2-100% and CG-97%), flatulence (TG-1-100%, TG-2-75% and CG-95%), wakeup during sleep (TG-1-94%, TG-2-87% and CG-94%). The p-value of the results of the symptoms was 0.000 except flatulence where the value was 0.001. The statistical results of the study prescribed that all the drugs studied (Pepsil, Safoof-e-katira and Omeprazole) are highly significant. The herbal coded drug Pepsil showed no side effects and unani herbal drug safoof-e-katira showed minimum result of 75% in the patients while Omeprazole resulted with some side effects. In the result it can be concluded that the herbal coded drug Pepsil is a potent herbal drug for gastro esophageal reflux disease.

Clinical evaluation of herbal coded formulation Cran-off to Urixin in the treatment of urinary tract infection.

Urinary Tract Infections are the largest group of infections after the respiratory tract infections. In 85% of the cases the causative organism is E. Coli. A clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of coded herbal formulation "Cranoff" (Test drug) for the treatment of Urinary tract infection comparing with Urixin (Control). One hundred and thirty patients suffering from Urinary tract infection from both groups (Males: 45, mean age: 34±14 and females: 85, mean age: 33±13 year, range: 15-55) were enrolled in the trial and divided in to two groups according to treatment regimens. Cranoff (Test drug) 500mg two capsules and Urixin (Pipemidic Acid Trihydrate JP15) (Control) 400mg capsules twice daily were prescribed for 2-3 weeks. Urinary tract infection was improved in 23 (35.38%) patients out of 65 patients by the use of Cranoff (Test drug), and in 15 (23.07%) patients out of 65 by the use of Urixin (Control drug). Furthermore, there was a significant improvement in Urinary tract infection associated clinical features as compared to Urixin. It is concluded that Cranoff possesses a therapeutic value for the improvement of urinary tract infection and its associated symptoms as compared to Urixin.

Clinical efficacy of polyherbal formulation Eezpain spray for muscular pain relief.

The topical herbal formulation Eezpain spray consisting of natural ingredients that have been clinically proved for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity. The designed formulation on application knee and wrist joints, back of neck and shoulder, forearms and lower back exhibited significant efficacy. A total of 20 subjects both male and female applied Eezpain spray consisting of Gaultheria oil, Eucalyptus oil, Turpentine oil, Clove Oil, Menthol and Camphor. All the active materials are cited that these have analgesic activity in myalgia and neuralgia. The study design was prospective and opens as pilot study followed the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All the sign and symptoms were noted at baseline and at the end of 14 days treatment performance was evaluated. The statistical analysis was done by using Microsoft Excel2007 and SPSS version 18.0. It is concluded that Eezpain spray has shown efficacy in mild to moderate cases on applying locally to the affected parts to relieve pain from different ailments.

Antioxidant activity and inhibitory effect of some commonly used medicinal plants against lipid per-oxidation in mice brain.

BACKGROUND: The present study compares the protective properties of aqueous extracts of six medicinal plants, Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia chebula (black and yellow), Terminalia arjuna, Balsamodendron Mukul and Alium sativum against lipid per-oxidation in mice brain. METHODS: The antioxidant activities were analyzed by lipid per-oxidation assay, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay, total antioxidant activity and metal chelation. RESULTS: The extracts (fruits and bark) showed inhibition against thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) induced by pro-oxidant (10 µM FeSO4) in mice brain. Moreover, the free radical scavenging activities of the extracts was evaluated by the scavenging of DPPH radical (IC50, 23.23 ± 1.2 µg/ml (Phyllanthus emblica), 20.24 ± 0.9 µg/ml (Terminalia chebula yellow) and 17.33 ± 1.1 µg/ml (Terminalia chebula black), 19.44 ± 0.45 µg/ml (Terminalia arjuna), 56.59 ± 2.1 µg/ml (Balsamodendron Mukul) and < 200 µg/ml (Alium sativum). CONCLUSION: The higher antioxidant and inhibitory effect of Terminalia chebula black in this study could be attributed to its significantly higher phenolic content, Fe(II) chelating ability, reducing ability and free radical scavenging activity. Therefore oxidative stress in brain could be potentially prevented by the intake of these plants.

Clinical efficacy of herbal coded formulation ocucure for the improvement of presbyopia: a randomized comparative clinical trial.

A progressively diminishing capacity of eye to visualize for close proximity increasing by age is known as presbyopia which is usually resulted due to loss of elasticity of crystalline lens. A clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of coded herbal formulation "ocucure" (Test drug) for the treatment of presbyopia comparing with leutivit (Placebo). One hundred and eleven patients suffering from presbyopia from both groups (Males: 63, mean age: 34±14 and females: 48, mean age: 33±13 year, range: 20-60) were enrolled in the trial and divided in to two groups according to treatment regimens. Ocucure (Test drug) 500mg two tablets and leutivit (Placebo) 250mg tablets twice daily were prescribed for 6-8 weeks. Presbyopia was improved in 17 patients (28.81%) out of 59 patients by the use of ocucure (Test drug), and in 6 patients (11.53%) out of 52 by the use of leutivit (Control drug). Furthermore, there was a significant improvement in presbyopic associated clinical features as compared to leutivit. It is concluded that ocucure possesses a therapeutic value for the improvement of presbyopia and its associated symptoms as compared to leutivit.

Clinical evaluation to assess the safety and efficacy of coded herbal medicine "Dysmo-off" versus allopathic medicine "Diclofenac sodium" for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.

The purpose of the present research work was to carry out clinical study on primary dysmenorrhea to comparatively examine the coded herbal drug formulation "Dysmo-off" with authentic allopathic medicine "Diclofenac sodium" (NSAIDs). A random controlled clinical trial was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of coded herbal medicinal treatments Dysmo-off with Diclofenac sodium/Phenylacetic acid. These evaluations were based on verbal rating scale so as to ascertain the rate of analgesic effects on dysmenorrhoeic pain. The patients were randomly allocated with the ratio of 1:2 for controlled treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (n = 40) received Diclofenac sodium tablets twice daily for 4 days (50 mg one day prior to and three days after the menstruation), and test treatment with Dysmo-off (n = 80) received powdered Dysmo-off twice daily for four days (5 g one day prior to and three days after the menstruation). Treatment lasted for 4 consecutive menstrual cycles. Hemoglobin, ESR and ultrasound were measured at baseline during study. All subjects were clinically studied and completed the assigned therapy during the period May 2001 to June 2004.