scholarly journals Toxicological and pharmacological profile of Amanita muscaria (L.) Lam. – a new rising opportunity for biomedicine

Pharmacia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-323
Author(s):  
Maria Voynova ◽  
Aleksandar Shkondrov ◽  
Magdalena Kondeva-Burdina ◽  
Ilina Krasteva

Amanita muscaria, commonly known as fly agaric, is a basidiomycete. Its main psychoactive constituents are ibotenic acid and muscimol, both involved in ‘pantherina-muscaria’ poisoning syndrome. The rising pharmacological and toxicological interest based on lots of contradictive opinions concerning the use of Amanita muscaria extracts’ neuroprotective role against some neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, its potent role in the treatment of cerebral ischaemia and other socially significant health conditions gave the basis for this review. Facts about Amanita muscaria’s morphology, chemical content, toxicological and pharmacological characteristics and usage from ancient times to present-day’s opportunities in modern medicine are presented.

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 752
Author(s):  
Andreas N. Angelakis ◽  
Heikki S. Vuorinen ◽  
Christos Nikolaidis ◽  
Petri S. Juuti ◽  
Tapio S. Katko ◽  
...  

Since ancient times, the need for healthy water has resulted in the development of various kinds of water supply systems. From early history, civilizations have developed water purification devices and treatment methods. The necessity for fresh water has influenced individual lives as well as communities and societies. During the last two hundred years, intensive and effective efforts have been made internationally for sufficient water quantity and quality. At the same time, human life expectancy has increased all over the globe at unprecedented rates. The present work represents an effort to sketch out how water purity and life expectancy have entangled, thus influencing one another. Water properties and characteristics have directly affected life quality and longevity. The dramatic increase in life expectancy has been, indisputably, affected by the improvement in water quality, but also in other concomitant factors, varying temporally and spatially in different parts of the world throughout the centuries. Water technologies and engineering have an unequivocal role on life expectancy. In some cases, they appear to have taken place earlier than the progress of modern medicine. Among these, improved sanitation, personal hygiene, progress in medicine, and better standards of economic living have played the greatest roles.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-32
Author(s):  
Emil Vlajki

The history of humanity is a history of rationality. As a result, mankind has progressed from the Stone Age to the era of modern medicine, genetics, computer science, robotics, and nanotechnology. The life span of a man in ancient times was about twenty years, and today, in highly developed societies, a man lives, on average, to eighty-six years. Advances in science and technology have not always had a positive impact. Suffice to say, the ongoing environmental problems that seriously affect humanity or, for example, the dietary problems that have resulted due to genetic manipulation. Scientific and technological development must be considered in a serious and philosophical manner. Ethics are increasingly becoming an integral part of life. In this paper, we focused on the new coronavirus that has led to the planetary-wide disease called COVID-19. All countries have engaged in their efforts to suppress the resulting pandemic. However, some of the utilized measures have been suspect: whether to lock-down people in quarantine, whether their movement should be restricted, whether they should be forced to vaccinate, and so on. Claiming to act prophylactically, scientists, by adding some DNA, RNA segments (gain of function, GOF) to an innocuous human virus, have created a dangerous artificial influenza virus. Likewise, an artificial, infectious coronavirus was created in a laboratory. Both procedures for creating these dangerous, hybrid viruses have been described in eminent scientific journals. The scientists involved in this research told us that they wanted to find cures and vaccines for these non-natural viruses on the off-chance they ever appeared among humans; when carefully handled, engineered organisms provide a unique opportunity to study biological systems in a controlled fashion. Biotechnology is a powerful tool to advance medical research and should not be abandoned because of irrational fears. But the chance of this type of virus appearing among humans is almost non-existent. However, what if these viruses "escape" from the lab, as has happened in the recent past? What if a terrorist organization start producing these viruses on their own according to detailed instructions and then use them? Finally, since the two great world powers, the US and China, that jointly created the artificial coronavirus, called SHC014-MA15, who can stop them from continuing this practice? Isn't it possible that they also created the current SARS-CoV-2 provoking a death of two and a half million people? Related to these questions, this study deals with the issue of tolerance. A large number of world-renowned scientists really believe that the current cause of the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, is an artificial, laboratory-created virus, presenting a number of facts for this. It is not disputed that their claims are arguable. This, however, does not mean that their opponents, pharmaceutical companies and some superpowers, who have far greater political and economic power, have to incorrectly and utterly embarrass them all over, morally discredit them, nor ban their texts on the subject. In science, the struggle must be waged by arguments, not by totalitarian Orwellian methods.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-78
Author(s):  
Charana Kumar ◽  
◽  
Clara Manasa P.A. ◽  
M. Jadeyegowda ◽  
Shrikant Gunaga ◽  
...  

Indigenous knowledge on the usage of medicinal plants all over the world precedes the origin of modern medicine in healthcare system. Plants have given many health benefits to humans since ancient times. Drynaria quercifolia commonly called Oak Leaf Fern, is used in traditional medicinal system by different groups of people to treat various kinds of health problems however, in Ayurvedic System of Medicine it is sold in the name of ‘Ashwakatri’. The present study aims to document the traditional medicinal knowledge on Drynaria quercifolia in the Kodagu district. The folk knowledge believes that the host specific Drynaria quercifolia has considered as strong and effective medicine. This ferns collected from only specific tree species can be extracted for its medicinal value. Paper also deals with the tradition information on the preparation and consumption of folk medicine. Though the medicinal uses of Drynaria quercifolia has been described by many workers, the practice of traditional medicines significantly varies from region to region and also in the similar location of the same region. The survey was conducted in the Kodagu district of Karnataka to document the traditional medicinal usage of fern Drynaria quercifolia. To generate the information on traditional knowledge, frequent discussions and semi-structured interviews with folk healers viz., natividyas, knowledgeable individuals and forest tribes. Based on the results of the study it is found that this species is used for curing jaundice as folk medicine and the medicinal value of the fern which is extracted only from those individuals growing on specific host trees viz., Artocarpus hirsutus, Ficus mysorensis, F. benghalensis and Mangifera indica have found the effective results than the species growing on other trees. Study concluded that the host specific trees of Drynaria quercifolia are more effective in treating ailments.


Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Ana Lúcia Morais ◽  
Patrícia Rijo ◽  
Belén Batanero ◽  
Marisa Nicolai

Presently, long-lasting health disorders represent a significant health problem in developing countries. Further, epidemiological trends associated with lifestyle habits suggest that chronic conditions tend not to slow down all over the world. As such, reliable analytical techniques to manage chronic health conditions such as diabetes-mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases, among other non-communicable diseases (NCD), are of paramount importance.


2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 1934578X0800300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Omar Rocabado ◽  
Luis Miguel Bedoya ◽  
María José Abad ◽  
Paulina Bermejo

Species of the genus Rubus (family Rosaceae, sub-family Rosoideae, tribe Potentilleae) are widely distributed in the warmer temperate zones of the northern hemisphere. Rubus species have been known since ancient times for their curative properties, and have been used for the treatment of various ailments, such as wounds, diarrhea, colic pain, diabetes, inflammatory disorders, and as antimicrobial agents. However, their use has been based mainly on empirical findings. This contribution provides a comprehensive review of the work published on the phytochemistry and pharmacology of the Rubus species over the past few years, in order to obtain a better understanding of the biological significance of this large genus.


2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1341-1346 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Bordet ◽  
T. Ouk ◽  
O. Petrault ◽  
P. Gelé ◽  
S. Gautier ◽  
...  

PPARs (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptors) are ligand-activated transcriptional factor receptors belonging to the so-called nuclear receptor family. The three isoforms of PPAR (α, β/δ and γ) are involved in regulation of lipid or glucose metabolism. Beyond metabolic effects, PPARα and PPARγ activation also induces anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in different organs. These pleiotropic effects explain why PPARα or PPARγ activation has been tested as a neuroprotective agent in cerebral ischaemia. Fibrates and other non-fibrate PPARα activators as well as thiazolidinediones and other non-thiazolidinedione PPARγ agonists have been demonstrated to induce both preventive and acute neuroprotection. This neuroprotective effect involves both cerebral and vascular mechanisms. PPAR activation induces a decrease in neuronal death by prevention of oxidative or inflammatory mechanisms implicated in cerebral injury. PPARα activation induces also a vascular protection as demonstrated by prevention of post-ischaemic endothelial dysfunction. These vascular effects result from a decrease in oxidative stress and prevention of adhesion proteins, such as vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 or intercellular cell-adhesion molecule 1. Moreover, PPAR activation might be able to induce neurorepair and endothelium regeneration. Beyond neuroprotection in cerebral ischaemia, PPARs are also pertinent pharmacological targets to induce neuroprotection in chronic neurodegenerative diseases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 10048-10048
Author(s):  
Neel S. Bhatt ◽  
Pamela Goodman ◽  
Wendy M. Leisenring ◽  
Gregory T. Armstrong ◽  
Eric Jessen Chow ◽  
...  

10048 Background: The impact of treatment era and chronic health conditions on health-related unemployment among childhood cancer survivors has not been studied. Methods: Childhood cancer survivors (age ≥25 years) enrolled in the CCSS (3,420 diagnosed in the 1970s, 3,564 in the 1980s, and 2,853 in the 1990s) were matched 1:5 on sex, race/ethnicity, census bureau division, age, and year of survey to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a nationally representative population. Among survivors, health-related unemployment was defined as self-reported unemployment due to illness/disability and for BRFSS participants as self-reported inability to work. To standardize follow-up, health-related unemployment was assessed either in 2002-05 or 2014-16 for both cohorts. Sex stratified standardized prevalence ratio (SPR) and relative SPR (rSPR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for health-related unemployment were estimated using multivariable generalized linear models, with BRFSS background rates to assess the impact of treatment era and moderate to severe health conditions (per the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events). Results: Prevalence of health-related unemployment in survivors (median age 9 years [range 0-20] at diagnosis and 33 years [25-54] at follow-up) was significantly higher compared to BRFSS participants (females: 11.3% vs 3.7%; SPR 3.0, 95% CI 2.7-3.3; males: 10.5% vs 3.0%; SPR 3.5, 95% CI 3.1-3.9). Health-related unemployment risks declined among survivors in more recent decades (ptrend< 0.001) for females: 1970s SPR 3.8, 95% CI 3.2-4.5, 1980s SPR 2.9, 95% CI 2.5-3.5, 1990s SPR 2.5, 95% CI 2.1-3.0; and males: 1970s SPR 3.6, 95% CI 2.9-4.4, 1980s SPR 3.8, 95% CI 3.1-4.7, 1990s SPR 3.0, 95% CI 2.5-3.7. Among survivors, multivariable models identified associations between presence of specific health conditions and elevated health-related unemployment (Table) adjusting for all statistically significant health conditions, race/ethnicity, treatment era, age at survey, and diagnosis. Among females, rSPR for endocrine conditions differed between 1970s and 1990s (interaction p = 0.04); fewer significant health conditions remained in the final model for males. Conclusions: While prevalence for health-related unemployment has declined over time, childhood cancer survivors remain at higher risk compared to the general population. These elevated risks are associated with chronic health conditions and affect female survivors more than male survivors.[Table: see text]


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