Efficacy and safety of novel herbal tablets in COVID-19 patients in hospital stay days, ICU admission and mortality rate thereof: An open-label, single-blind randomized clinical trial

Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the super-spreading virus, has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the novel suggested herbal compound, formulated as compressed tablets, in reducing the length of hospital stay (LoS), intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mortality in confirmed COVID-19 cases. Methods: Following an open-label, single-blind randomized clinical trial design, a total of 200 patients aged 18-65 admitted to Imam Reza hospital in Tabriz, northwest of Iran, were randomized to intervention and control groups in a 1:1 ratio, i.e., 100 subjects in each group. The former received standard treatment along with the compressed herbal tablets, and the latter only received the standard treatment. Adverse reactions incidence within 180 days after the beginning of the intervention was set as the primary safety endpoint. The most important and active ingredients of the tablets were Terminalia chebula, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Anacyclus pyrethrum, Senna alexandrina, Ferrula asafoetida, Pistacia lentiscus, Zizyphus jujuba, Crocus sativus, Echinacea angustifolia, and Hyssopus officinalis. This trial is registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (code: IRCT20200522047545N1). Results: Those in the intervention arm had significantly lower rates of LoS (7.38 vs. 9.45, P = 0.030), ICU admission (6 out of 100 vs. 32 out of 100, P = 0.000), and mortality (1 vs. 19 out of 100, P = 0.000). Conclusions: Our observations suggest that adequate improvement is provided by the prepared herbal compound along with substantial savings in hospitalization hoteling costs. While further multi-center studies with a larger sample size are needed to extend our knowledge regarding the effect of this new option, these novel clinical data may well provide a new alternative for the management of COVID-19 disease.

Effects of Soil Amendment with Chinese Herbal Medicine on Cassava Growth and Rhizosphere Microbial Diversity

This study aimed to determine the effects of different dosages of Chinese herbal compound soil amendment on cassava growth and rhizosphere microbial diversity. In this study, Cassava SC8 growth was determined under four treatments. The growth was promoted by the application of the Chinese herbal compound soil amendment powder and agent. After 240 days of treatment, we measure its height, diameter of the stem, maximum perimeter of cassava, tuber number, weight of single tuber, yield per hectare, the mineral elements in cassava, the ash content in starch and the microbial diversity in the soil. Compared with the control group, the height, diameter of the stem, maximum perimeter of cassava, tuber number, the weight of a single tuber, yield per hectare in the treatment groups all show increase, and the application of 1200 kg of Chinese herbal compound soil amendment per hm2 (T2) had the strongest positive effect on the cassava growth. As for the water content of tubers, that of T2 decreased by 5.96% compared with T4, while no substantial difference among other groups. The Fe content in T2 decreased by 29.46%, and Zn in T3 increased by 39.48%, while the content of other metal ions in four treatments showed no substantial difference. At the same time, the experiment also found that, as bacterial abundance in soil, Streptophyta dominated in T2, and Fimbriimonas is a unique genera of T2. In addition, the abundances of Nocardioides and unclassfied_Spartobacteria in the T2 were greatly considerable than other treatment groups. As fungal abundance in soil, after treated with different concentrations, the composition of soil fungi differed greatly among the groups, and the samples at different concentrations contained more than 20 species of unique bacteria. At the genus level, compared with the control group, the relative abundance of unclassfied_Chaetomiaceae in the treatment group was considerably reduced, and the relative abundance of Psathyrella in the T1 increase substantially. We speculates that these advantages and the existence of bacteria and fungi can affect rhizosphere soil microorganisms, further improve soil effective nutrients and enzyme activities, thereby affecting the growth and physiological indicators of cassava plants.

The Effect of a Persian Herbal Medicine Compound on the Lipid Profiles of Patients with Dyslipidemia: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Introduction. It has been well established in the world that lipid disorders promote the development of atherosclerosis and its clinical consequences. This study aimed to assess the impacts of a Persian medicinal (PM) compound on lipid profile. Materials and Methods. From June 21 to October 21, 2020, a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial was conducted with 74 dyslipidemic patients, who were randomly divided into two equally populated groups: one prescribed with a Persian medicinal herbal compound (n = 37) and a placebo group (n = 37). A Persian herbal medicine including fenugreek, sumac, and purslane is introduced. Biochemical parameters including 12-hour fasting serum levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and triglyceride (TG) were measured before the initiation and after the completion of study protocol. Results. Percent changes of biochemical parameters include the following: intervention group = cholesterol: 35.22, Tg: 45.91, LDL: 24.81, HDL: 2.05, VLDL: 8.94 and placebo group = cholesterol: 6.94, Tg: −7.3, LDL: 7.37, HDL: 2.88, VLDL: −0.14. The serum levels of total cholesterol ( p = 0.01 ) and LDL ( p = 0.01 ) significantly decreased and no increase was recorded in HDL ( p = 0.03 ) levels over time in the intervention group. Furthermore, between-group analysis showed a statistically significant difference between the intervention and placebo groups in this regard. VLDL ( p = 0.2 ) and TG ( p = 0.2 ) levels also decreased, however not significantly. Conclusion. This study showed that a Persian medicinal herbal compound could be safe and beneficial to decrease the levels of serum cholesterol and LDL in dyslipidemic patients. However, larger long-term studies are recommended to clarify this effect.

Synergistic Interactions of Antimicrobials to Counteract the Drug-Resistant Microorganisms

The development of multiple drug resistance organisms (MDR) is a major threat, and due to this emergence, it is found that it is difficult to treat many infectious diseases. Synergistic interaction means combining existing antimicrobials with any component that says it can be a herbal compound, phytochemicals, essential oils, antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides, and even any other antimicrobial. With the help of antimicrobial and phytochemical blending, this effective resistance conversion will neutralize the resistance mechanism, which makes the drug effective in resistant organisms. Microbes have developed several strategies, such as efflux pump inhibitors or inhibition of drug degrading enzymes. This combination interaction has shown promising abatement in minimum inhibitory concentrations and upturn of susceptibility of drug-resistant microorganisms. This synergistic interaction is brought into play because it is very difficult to develop new antimicrobials. There are already only limited antimicrobials that are segregated into classes and cannot be used all the time. So this synergistic effect can bring about a change like it can be used to increase antimicrobials' effect and prevent resistance in the organisms. Thus, it might be helpful in the effective treatment against various infections.

Colorectal Cancer, Gut Microbiota and Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Systematic Review

Based on the study and research on the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer, the types and functions of gut microbiota, and its role in guiding and regulating the occurrence and development of diseases, we have explored the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of colorectal cancer by regulating the gut microbiota. Genetic variation, abnormal responses of innate and adaptive immunity, mucosal barrier dysfunction, imbalance of intestinal microbial colonization, personal and environmental risk factors are the main pathogenesis of colorectal cancer. The gut microbiota mainly includes Sclerotium (including Clostridium, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus and Ruminococcus) and Bacteroides (including Bacteroides and Prevotella), which have biological antagonism, nutrition for the organism, metabolic abilities, immune stimulation, and ability to shape cancer genes functions to body. The gut microbiota can be related to the health of the host. Current studies have shown that Chinese herbal compound, single medicinal materials, and monomer components can treat colorectal cancer by regulating the gut microbiota, such as Xiaoyaosan can increase the abundance of Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, and Proteus and decrease the abundance of Desulfovibrio and Rickerella. Therefore, studying the regulation and mechanism of gut microbiota on colorectal cancer is of great benefit to disease treatment.

Correction to: A combination of herbal compound (SPTC) along with exercise or metformin more efficiently alleviated diabetic complications through down-regulation of stress oxidative pathway upon activating Nrf2-Keap1 axis in AGE rich diet-induced type 2 diabetic mice

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.