Chaste tree berry, The Antinociceptive Functional Food

A recent study suggested that essential oil isolated from Chaste tree berry may have a potential effect in reduced neuro-pain through antinociceptive function in tested subjects.

The antinociceptive effect is the activity of reduced pain through interference with information transmitted and received by brain neurons.

Chaste tree berry is a species of Vitex agnus-castus, genus Vitex, belonging to the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, used in herbal medicine for thousands of years as an aphrodisiac herb and considered a Queen herb in treating menstrual problems and discomforts.

In the study of three behavioral models of nociception in adult male Wistar rats conducted by the University of Tabriz, the topical essential oil extracted from Vitexagnus-castus (EOVAC) was applied to animals expressed a reduced pain response in tail immersion tests, inhibited the acetic acid-induced writhing response with little adverse effects.

Dr. Khalilzadeh E, the lead author said, " major components of the EOVAC were α-pinene (14.83%), limonene (10.29%), β-caryophyllene (6.9%), sabinene (5.27%), and β-farnesene (5.9%), (may have direct influence to the) endogenous opioidergic system, as well as muscarinergic receptors of the cholinergic system, may be involved in the antinociceptive activity of Vitex agnus-castus essential oil in these models of pain in rats".


Interestingly, the extract of herbal medicine also displayed a strong effect against chronic inflammation in induced pain.

The joint study led by the Federal University of Santa Maria suggested that crude extract caused antinociceptive/antidepressant-like effects in the CFA-induced chronic inflammation model incomparable to naloxone, without altered inflammatory parameters at doses of 10mg/kg,


This result indicated that The VmE extract demonstrated pain relief by inducing opioid-dependent antinociception and antidepressant-like effects, without anti-inflammatory activity.


Furthermore, in the investigated petroleum ether fraction (PEF) from the aqueous ethanol extract of Chaste tree berry in several nociceptive mouse models, mouses treated with the fraction produced significant dose-related inhibitions on chemical nociception incomparable to Naloxone (1 mg/kg BW subcutaneously), a non-selected opioid receptor antagonist.

In the xylene-induced ear edema test, the fraction also exerted strong analgesic effects partially mediated by its anti-inflammatory activity.

Taking together, Chaste tree berry may have a therapeutic potential to be used as an antinociceptive functional food in reduced pain by blocking the information transfer by neurotransmitters.


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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton, Master of Nutrients
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published on line, including world wide health, ezine articles, article base, healthblogs, selfgrowth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bio science, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Antinociceptive effects, acute toxicity and chemical composition of Vitex agnus-castus essential oil by Khalilzadeh E, Vafaei Saiah G, Hasannejad H, Ghaderi A, Ghaderi S, Hamidian G, Mahmoudi R, Eshgi D, Zangisheh M.(PubMed)
(2) Antinociceptive and antidepressant-like effects of the crude extract of Vitexmegapotamica in rats by Hamann FR1, Zago AM2, Rossato MF3, Beck VR4, Mello CF4, de Brum TF5, de Carvalho LM6, Faccin H6, Oliveira SM7, Rubin MA8(PubMed)
(3) Antinociceptive activities of the liposoluble fraction from Vitex negundo seeds by Zheng CJ1, Huang BK, Han T, Zhang QY, Zhang H, Rahman K, Qin LP.(PubMed)

Healthy Food Fennel, a Natural Anti Fever Functional Food

Scientists may have found food and plant processes the antipyretic activity comparable to those of acetaminophen in patients with fever, some studies suggested.

Fever is a natural reaction caused by the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the immune system in protecting our body from damage and injury against foreign pathogens during the acute phase of infection.

According to medical literature, a person is not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 F (38.0 C).



Although fever is a common syndrome, however, if you or your kid are experiencing fever accompanied by symptoms of a severe headache, unusual skin rash, sensitivity to bright light, persistent stiff neck and pain, mental confusion, particularly persistent vomiting, and difficulty breathing or chest pain, you or your kid should go to the hospital right the way.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a plant species of the genus Foeniculum, belonging to Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), native to the Mediterranean.

The plant and food have been used in traditional and herbal medicine as warming, carminative, antispasmodic, antidepressant agent and to stimulate the appetite, ease indigestion, soothe coughing, reduce intestinal spasms, regulate the menstrual cycle, and relieve PMS,...

In the study to evaluate the antipyretic effect of the aqueous extract of an herbal coded formulation containing an equal amount of Salix alba, Emblica Officinalis, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Adhatoda vasica, Viola odorata, in a yeast induced pyrexia model in rabbits, researchers found that after recording the results immediately before the administration of the extractor paracetamol and again at 1 hour, application of the extract at 240mg/kg dose significant reduces elevated temperature as compared with that of standard drug paracetamol (150mg/kg).

Fennel extract applied alone showed antipyretic activity against hyperpyrexia in mice, induced by S.C. administration of 2 mL/100 g of a 20% aqueous suspension of brewer's yeast.

As an antipyretic agent, ethanolic extract of F. vulgare fruit showed a moderate antipyretic activity that was statistically significant after 30 and 90 min.

These results showed that herbal coded medicine at a dose of 240mg/kg and fennel extract have marked an antipyretic activity in animal models and this was strongly supported by the ethnopharmacological uses of medicinal plants.

Furthermore, in the examine the hepatotoxicity induced by acetaminophen caused by the excessive production of N-acetyl-para-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) in the induction of symptoms such as fever due to inflammation, researchers showed that the application of trans anethole, an aromatic compounds isolated from fennel exerted a significant effect in the inhibited pro-inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandin (PGE2), cytokines (TNF, IL-1) and nitric oxide (NO)thus decreasing the risk of fever caused by an overreaction of the immune system.

Application of AN at doses of 125 and 250mg/kg once a day for seven days prevented the changes caused by the APAP overdose.


Additionally, researchers also discovered, that AN infection prevents the overexpression of proinflammatory mediators such as NO, TNF, IL-1α, MIP-1α, and MCP-1 and induced the up-regulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10), thus reducing the onset of fever.

Taken all together, there is no doubt that fennel may be considered a functional food for the treatment of inflammatory induced fever.


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Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca


Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299

Sources
(1) Foeniculum vulgare Mill: A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Contemporary Application, and Toxicology by Shamkant B. Badgujar,* Vainav V. Patel, and Atmaram H. Bandivdekar(PMC)
(2) Antipyretic potential of herbal coded formulation (Pyrexol) by Khan MS1, Hamid A2, Akram M3, Mustafa SB3, Sami A1, Shah SMA4, Usmanghani K(PubMed)
(3) Acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity: Preventive effect of trans anethole by da Rocha BA1, Ritter AM2, Ames FQ3, Gonçalves OH4, Leimann FV5, Bracht L6, Natali MR7, Cuman RK8, Bersani-Amado CA(PubMed)

Chaste Tree Berry, The Whole Herb Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Cataract

A recent study suggested that Chaste Tree Berry may be used to modulate the risk and treatment of selenite-induced cataractogenesis.

Chaste tree berry is a species of Vitex agnus-castus, genus Vitex, belonging to the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, used in herbal medicine for thousands of years as an aphrodisiac herb and considered a Queen herb in treating menstrual problems and discomforts.

A cataract is a condition of blur vision caused by the clouding of the lens in the eye.

According to the University of Kerala, flavonoids found in the herbal plant exerted a cataract protective effect in reduced damage to the lenticular membrane and abnormal fiber structure in patients with cataracts viewed through electron microscopy.



Furthermore, the study also found that Chaste tree berry also expresses a significant improvement in chaperone property of α-crystallin and soluble protein levels in two-dimensional-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and immunoblot analysis.


Dr. Rooban BN, the lead author said, " FVN modulated selenite induced cataractogenesis in rat pups by preventing loss of chaperone property, various changes in lens proteins, and lens structure, further strengthening its protective role".

Some researchers suggested that the efficacy of chaste tree berry in reduced risk and treatment of cataracts may be a result of phytochemical antioxidants activity in scavenging free radicals cause of the disease, such as oxidative stress, loss of calcium homeostasis, calpain activation, and protein insolubilization are found to associate to cataract patients.

More importantly, a study of eight-day-old Sprague-Dawley rat pups was divided into four groups: Control (G I), Sodium selenite-induced (G II), Sodium selenite+quercetin treated (G III), Sodium selenite+flavonoids from Vitex negundo (FVN) (G IV), group fed with sodium selenite+flavonoids showed normal levels of expression of the lens of water-soluble proteins in compared to other groups.


In fact, fed treated with FVN showed to exhibit the antioxidant effects in modulating biochemical parameters against selenite-induced cataracts, the University of Kerala insisted.

In support of the above differentiation, the Sprague-Dawley rat pups of 8 days old were divided into control (G I), selenite induced (G II), and selenite + V. negundo treated (G III) with cataract induced by the single subcutaneous injection of sodium selenite (4 mg/kg body weight) on the tenth day and V. negundo (2.5 mg/Kg body weight) administered intraperitoneally from eighth to 15th-day study, group III showed to exert reduced activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, lower level of reactive oxygen species, Ca(2+), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance significantly.


Taking together, Chaste tree berry may process of therapeutic potential used for the prevention and treatment of cataracts with mild adverse effects.

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Sources
(1) Analysis on the alterations of lens proteins by Vitex negundo in selenite cataract models by Rooban BN1, Sasikala V, Sahasranamam V, Abraham A.(PubMed)
(2) Vitex negundo attenuates calpain activation and cataractogenesis in selenite models by Rooban BN1, Lija Y, Biju PG, Sasikala V, Sahasranamam V, Abraham A.(PubMed)

Fennel Causes the Apoptosis of Cancer Cells, Scientists Find

Scientists may have found a whole food or herb with the potential to activate the protein that programs the death of cancer cells, some studies found.

Cell death is a natural process to warrant the normal development of cells and the cell cycle maturation and maintain the normal function body in the optimized state.


However, some microorganisms are found to process the activity in triggering cell death for their own survival.

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a function of the immune system that evolved as a rapid and irreversible process to efficiently eliminate dysfunctional cells, including cells that were damaged by the alternation of DNA or infection


Cancer apoptosis is an action that causes cancer cells to die off with or without affecting the nearby cells.


Some herbal medicine such as fennel was shown to induce the function of overexpression of levels of free radical in initiating a cytotoxic effect that targets cancer cells while protecting the healthy cells through its antioxidant activity.


Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a plant species of the genus Foeniculum, belonging to Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), native to the Mediterranean.

Herbal medicine has been used in traditional and herbal medicine as a warming, carminative, antispasmodic, antidepressant agent to stimulate the appetite, ease indigestion, soothe coughing, reduce intestinal spasms, regulate the menstrual cycle and relieve PMS,...

In the study to investigate several herbal plants ethanol extracts from fruits of their apoptotic activity from fruits of seven species of Apiaceae family, namely, Eryngium planum, Archangelica officinalis, Pastinaca sativa, Heracleum sibiricum, Carum carvi, Foeniculum vulgare (fennel), and Levisticum officinale against ML-1—human acute myeloblastic leukemia, J-45.01—human acute T cell leukemia, EOL—human eosinophilic leukaemia, HL-60—human Caucasian promyelocytic leukemia, 1301—human T cell leukemia lymphoblast, C-8166—human T cell leukemia, U-266B1—human myeloma, WICL—human Caucasian normal B cell, and H-9—human T cell, researchers found that
* The ethanol extract from fruit F. Vulgare shows the highest mortality in Trypan blue test for J45 cell line with 4% of viable cells and a C8166 cell line with 100% of mortality.


* The extract also shows the highest viability in other cell lines, including the HL60 with 60% EOLwith 48%, and ML1 with 42%. The normal cell line H9 and WICL showed 35% and 25% of viable cells, respectively.

Furthermore, the reaffirm the use of fennel in traditional cancer treatment, researchers at the King Abdulaziz University (KAU), launched a study to demonstrate the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effect of chloroform fraction of fennel (CFF) in MCF-7 cells.

Application of fennel showed to inhibit the growth against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-237 in time- and concentration-dependent manners.


Fennel induced apoptosis of around 49% at the doses of 0.5 mg/ml of CFF and PI-stained cells showed the G1 phase cell cycle arrest, according to the Annexin V/PI-assay.


More importantly, the application of fennel also was found to reduce the elevated levels of ROS, disrupted mitochondrial membrane and increased levels of caspase-9 & caspase-3, and DNA fragmentation in the promotion of MCF-7 cells death.experiment


Dr. Syed FQ, the lead author in the final assessment of the experiment said, "(The results) revealed the proliferation inhibition, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction effect of CFF, which may help in exploring the novel anti-cancer drug for therapeutic implications".

Moreover, in the study to examine whether anethole, a major bioactive compound found in fennel, anise, and camphor processes anti-metastatic and apoptotic effects on highly-metastatic HT-1080 human fibrosarcoma tumor cells, researchers found that
* Despite weak cytotoxicity against HT-1080 cells, anethole inhibits the adhesion to Matrigel and invasion of HT-1080 cells in a dose-dependent manner.

* Anethole is also able to down-regulate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 with anti-apoptotic function and up-regulate the gene expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 with apoptotic function.


Finally, anethole significantly decreased mRNA expression of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), but not uPA receptor (uPAR) in the facilitated cancer cell death.

Taken all together, fennel alone or its extracts and bioactive compound anethole may be considered adjunct therapy combined with conventional medicine for the treatment of cancers


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Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How-To
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Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca


Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Foeniculum vulgare Mill: A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Contemporary Application, and Toxicology by Shamkant B. Badgujar, Vainav V. Patel, and Atmaram H. Bandivdekar(PMC)
(2) Chloroform fraction of Foeniculum vulgare induced ROS mediated, mitochondria-caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway in MCF-7, human breast cancer cell line by Syed FQ1, Elkady AI2, Mohammed FA3, Mirza MB4, Hakeem KR5, Alkarim S(PubMed)
(3) Anethole exerts antimetatstaic activity via inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase 2/9 and AKT/mitogen-activated kinase/nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathways by Choo EJ1, Rhee YH, Jeong SJ, Lee HJ, Kim HS, Ko HS, Kim JH, Kwon TR, Jung JH, Kim JH, Lee HJ, Lee EO, Kim DK, Chen CY, Kim SH(PubMed)

Ginger, The Potential Anti Breast Cancer Functional Remedy, Studies Found

Ginger may be the next natural whole food for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, without inducing any side effects, some scientists said.

Breast cancer is a medical condition caused by cell growth disorderly and irregularly in the breast tissue.

Most cases of primary breast cancer start either in the cell on the surface of the inner lining of milk ducts (Ductal carcinoma) or the lobules (Lobular carcinoma) that supply the ducts with milk.

At the early stage, some women may experience, a lump (mass) in the breast or in the armpit (lymph nodes), nipple abnormal discharge, inverted or retracted nipple, scaly or pitted skin on the nipple, and persistent tenderness of the breast.

Invasive primary breast cancer at the advanced stage, after penetrating deeper into the breast tissue, the malignant cells can travel a distance away to infect other healthy tissue and organs.

Metastatic breast cancer (also called stage IV) is mostly found in the liver, brain, bones, or lungs.

According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women both in the developed and less developed world, causing the worldwide death of over 508 000 women in 2011.

In the US, In 2018, over 260,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with over 63,000 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.


The risk of an American woman being diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime is 12.4%.

Early diagnosis of breast cancer can increase the chance of survival. The 5 years survival rate of women diagnosed with stage 0 and I is 100%.


The exact causes of breast cancer are unknown. However, researchers do know that genetic preposition, obesity, unhealthy diet, and lifestyle such as smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption are some most prevalent risk factors for breast cancer.

Some researchers also suggested that long-term use of oral contraceptives and psychological stress and anxiety are associated with the increased risk of the disease.


Dr, Kathleen E. Malone, in the concerns of oral contraceptive use in risk of breast cancer said, " In recent years, a large number of studies have focused on breast cancer risk in women under age 45. Meirik and colleagues (1986) published the first report suggesting a dose-response relationship with the duration of oral contraceptive use among young women: for use of 8 to 11 years, an RR of 1.4 was found; for 12 or more years of use, a 2.2-fold excess risk of breast cancer was found. Paul and colleagues (1986) reported an RR of 4.6 for use of 10 or more years among women aged 25–34. McPherson and coworkers (1987) found an increased RR of 1.8 for use exceeding 11 years among a group of British women through age 45".


These results clearly indicated the risk of breast cancer is increased linearly to the years of the use of oral contraceptives.


Ginger (Zingiber officinale) or ginger root, the second superfood used for thousands of years by mankind, is the genus Zingiber, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, native to Tamil.

The root has been used in traditional and Chinese medicine to treat dyspepsia, gastroparesis, constipation, edema, difficult urination, colic, etc.

On finding a nonexpensive natural ingredient and whole food for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, researchers examine the anti-breast cancer effects of kombucha tea with or without ginger.

Selected BALB/c mice were given 2 types of kombucha tea with or without ginger before and after the tumor challenge.

Administration of kombucha ginger tea demonstrated a significantly decreased catalase activity in the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen and GSH and MDA levels in tumor homogenate compared to kombucha without ginger.
Furthermore, the mice group treated with the combined products significant decrease in SOD activity and an increase in MDA quantity in the tumors.


Dr. Salafzoon S, the lead scientist said, " The consumption of kombucha prepared from ginger could exert minor antioxidant impacts by balancing multi-antioxidant factors in different tissues in the breast cancer models".

Moreover, in the investigation of [10]-gingerol anti-breast cancer activity, using human MDA-MB-231TNBC cells, compared to non-tumor MCF-10A breast cells, researchers suggested [10]-gingerol was able to inhibit cell adhesion, migration, invasion, and apoptosis more effectively in TNBC cells, without causing harm to the nearby healthy cells.

Additional analysis also found, [10] that gingerol's anti-breast cancer properties are associated with apoptotic and genotoxic activity, through stimulating the free radicals overexpression in the induction of cancer cells cytotoxicity.

After taking into account co and confounders, the team said, " ...results found here are complementary to previous studies of group and others and demonstrate that additional mechanisms, besides apoptotic cell death, is used by [10]-gingerol to accomplish its antitumor and antimetastatic effects".


Taken altogether, ginger with abundant bioactive compounds may be considered a functional food for the prevention and combined with other primary therapy for the treatment of breast cancer with no side effects.


Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professional's Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How-To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca


Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Evaluation of the antioxidant impact of ginger-based kombucha on the murine breast cancer model by Salafzoon S1, Mahmoodzadeh Hosseini H2, Halabian R. (PubMed)
(2) [10]-Gingerol Affects Multiple Metastatic Processes and Induces Apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 Breast Tumor Cells by Fuzer AM1, Martin ACBM1, Becceneri AB1, da Silva JA2, Vieira PC3, Cominetti MR. (PubMed)
(3) [10]-gingerol induces apoptosis and inhibits metastatic dissemination of triple negative breast cancer in vivo by Martin ACBM#1, Fuzer AM#1, Becceneri AB1, da Silva JA2, Tomasin R1, Denoyer D3, Kim SH4, McIntyre KA5, Pearson HB6, Yeo B7, Nagpal A7, Ling X4, Selistre-de-Araújo HS8, Vieira PC2, Cominetti MR#1, Pouliot. (PubMed)
(4) A. Oral Contraceptives and Breast Cancer: A Review of the Epidemiological Evidence with an Emphasis on Younger Women by Kathleen E. Malone. (NCBI)