Safe and Effective Galactogogues From Unani System of Medicine

Malnutrition is one of the major challenges for infants and children throughout the world. Breast feeding is a natural way of providing infants with the essential nutrients and is recommended as a perfect food for newborns. According to the WHO, breast feeding should be initiated within the first hour of birth and should be continued up to six months. Qilla al-Laban is a condition mentioned in Unani medicine in which breast milk production decreases or becomes scanty. It is due to the altered blood quality or quantity, Sū'-i-Mizāj and Ghalaba-i-Akhlat. Muwallid-i-Laban is an agent that promotes the secretion of milk. Synthetic drugs for augmentation of lactation have major safety concerns. Several galactogogues like Satawar, Musli safaid, etc. are being successfully prescribed by Unani physician since ancient times. This chapter describes various galactogogue mentioned in Unani system of medicine for promoting the production and secretion of milk. The dietary recommendations and drugs used to increase milk production are from natural source and chances of adverse effects are minimal.

Role of Herbal Medicine/Phyto-Therapy in Cancer Prevention by Inhibiting Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) Pathways

Human life is surrounded and dependent on its environment. Human civilization is nurtured by nature as it provides raw materials that are used in the manufacturing of various essential products like medicine, food items, etc. Not only developing countries but developed countries also depend on herbal-based medications. Cancer is a global health burden. Epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) plays a key role in cancer progression and is also stimulated by different extracellular signals and could be regulated at different levels. Conventional therapies exhibit a cytotoxic effect, which encourages the development of a new approach that could be used with synthetic drugs. Phytotherapy emerged as an effective weapon against cancer. Herbal drugs directly target different signaling pathways that promote EMT and eventually lead to cancer.

Combinational Therapy Using Chemotherapeutic Agents and Dietary Bioactive Compounds

Diet-derived phytochemicals find prominent use in traditional medicine and have been credited with lowering cancer risk significantly. Dietary agents demonstrate anticancer activity by modulating various molecular targets and cell signaling pathways. Several studies have focused on combinations of dietary bioactive compounds and conventional chemotherapeutic agents to augment their therapeutic response and mitigate the side effects of conventional chemotherapy. The observed synergistic response heralds promise for successful future chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic strategies in cancer management. Animal models and pre-clinical trials of the effective combinations must be undertaken to clearly understand the mechanism of action. This chapter catalogues recent studies that have used dietary bioactive compounds (sulforaphane, EGCG, curcumin, genistein, resveratrol, eugenol) in combination with conventional chemopreventive agents and with other phytochemicals.

An Insight on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Use of Herbal Medicines as Alternative Treatment

One of the most common endocrine disorder in females during reproductive age which leads to infertility, metabolic derangements, and also psychological impairments is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This syndrome has been known to increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, lipid disorders, and also autoimmune thyroiditis. Impending complication list includes malignancies like breast and endometrial cancer. The actual cause of this syndrome is unknown, and perhaps, it could be due to a combination of various unmodifiable genetic factors and modifiable environmental factors. Several research studies have been carried out on management of PCOS, and many medicinal plants have been used as an alternative therapy for oligo/amenorrhoea, hyperandrogenism, and PCOS in women. The chapter gives an insight on PCOS, its management, and elucidates the effects of medicinal plants on PCOS.

Pharmacology and Therapeutic Applications of Resveratrol

Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a non-flavonoid polyphenolic compound belonging to the stilbene group which is the main compound found in grapes. Resveratrol has shown a wide range of preventive and therapeutic alternatives against several diseases including distinct types of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, inflammation, antioxidant. It is a highly efficient treatment, which might be due to the three hydroxyl groups in its structure. Consumption of resveratrol has been shown to improve health status and has the positive effect of treatment of many diseases. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that resveratrol possesses the potential of lifespan extension in various organism and animal models. However, the long-term use of resveratrol may have some adverse effects and should be studied deeper. This chapter will outline some pharmacological effects of resveratrol.

Medical Herbs and the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder that affects millions of persons worldwide, and if uncontrolled may cause cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, or chronic kidney disease. Effective therapeutic management of diabetes mellitus involves the use of mainly oral hypoglycemic drugs whose mechanism of action includes improved insulin secretion, reduced insulin resistance, or increased glucose uptake. There is growing exploration of medicinal herbs as potential therapeutic sources for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and compared with conventional oral hypoglycemic drugs they have little or no side effects. The aim of this review is to provide up-to-date information on potential medicinal herbs that have demonstrated anti-hyperglycemic activity through either increased secretion of insulin from pancreatic β-cells, reduction of insulin resistance with subsequent increase in insulin sensitivity, or inhibition of intestinal glucose absorption via decreased α-glucosidase activity.

Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder which is at present rapidly growing to an alarming epidemic level. Various pathogenic processes are involved in the development of diabetes mellitus. This spectrums from autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells with consequent deficiency of insulin to abnormalities that lead to resistance to the action of insulin. In the 21st century, the astounding rise in obesity, poor diet, and inactive lifestyles have increased the prevalence dramatically. Although several therapies are in use, Western medications are associated with adverse drug reactions and high cost of treatment. Therefore, there is currently a growing interest in herbal medicines to replace or supplement the Western medications. Extensive research is essential to enhance diagnoses, treatment, and to lessen healthcare expenditures. This chapter provides an overview of the classification, diagnosis, symptoms, complications, and economic burden of diabetes mellitus. Additionally, the authors discuss the current and upcoming therapies to treat this metabolic disorder.

Dysbiosis, Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, and Chronic Diseases

Dysbiosis is characterized by an alteration in quantity and quality of intestinal microbiota composition. In the presence of dysbiosis, enterocytes will have difficulty in maintaining the integrity of the mucosal barrier, leading to increased intestinal permeability. These events are recognised to be linked to several chronic diseases. One of the consequences of dysbiosis is the manifestation of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), which is associated to a variety of chronic diseases. Single food nutrients and bioactive molecules, food additives, pre- and probiotics, and different dietary patterns may change the composition of the intestinal microbiota. Low FODMAPs diet has been a reference in SIBO treatment. This chapter intends to describe how the intestinal microbiota, dysbiosis, and SIBO can be related; to define dysbiosis food and nutrients influence; and to offer some nutritional therapy strategies for applying the low FODMAPs protocol, enabling better adherence by patients in order to increase their wellbeing.

Nutraceuticals

Nutraceutical is a unique grouping of two words, nutrition and pharmaceutical, which describes a food or food product that regularly provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and cure of various diseases. Chemically, nutraceuticals contain a range of bioactive elements classified as polyphenolic compounds, isoprenoids, minerals, amino acid derivatives, carbohydrate derivatives, fatty acids and structural lipids, prebiotics, and probiotics. The majority of nutraceuticals have numerous beneficial and healing effects without any kind of side effects that keep their attention towards the consumer. The demand for nutraceuticals was increasing slowly due to a high risk of toxicity or adverse effect of drugs. Consequently, in such circumstances, nutraceuticals prove a safer approach for health management. Meanwhile, a few challenges were hindering the fame of nutraceuticals like lack of standardization and awareness, high pricing, marketing, and supply. This chapter mainly emphasizes the recent role of nutraceuticals in human health and its status in other nations.

Herbal Medicines for Thyroid Diseases

Thyroid dysfunctions represent the most common endocrine disorders and a major healthcare issue throughout the globe. The drawbacks associated with the conventional treatment approaches calls upon for the need to explore alternative treatment strategies. Herbal medicinal approach has been used since ages; however, it is not acceptable by the clinicians. Currently, there is no scientific evidence for the efficacy of herbal medicines in patient management. The necessity to fight against adverse drug events, high treatment costs, and compliance issues is forcing the scientists to look upon for traditional herbal medicinal approaches. This chapter provides an overview of the efficacy of different herbal medicines and scientific evidence that necessitates their usage for improving thyroid functions. There remains a need for a careful and routine follow-up as a mandatory parameter before establishing herbal medicine as a global treatment approach.