Herbal medications commonly used in the practice of rheumatology: mechanisms of action, efficacy, and side effects.

The aim of this study was to assess, using the DPPH assay, the antioxidant activity of several substances that could be proposed to immediately revert the problems caused by bleaching procedures. The percentage of antioxidant activity (AA%) of 10% ascorbic acid solution (AAcidS), 10% ascorbic acid gel (AAcidG), 10% sodium ascorbate solution (SodAsS), 10% sodium ascorbate gel (SodAsG), 10% sodium bicarbonate (Bicarb), Neutralize(®) (NE), Desensibilize(®) (DES), catalase C-40 at 10 mg/mL (CAT), 10% alcohol solution of alpha-tocopherol (VitE), Listerine(®) (LIS), 0.12% chlorhexidine (CHX), Croton Lechleri (CL), 10 % aqueous solution of Uncaria Tomentosa (UT), artificial saliva (ArtS) and 0.05% sodium fluoride (NaF) was assessed in triplicate by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) free radical assay. All substances exhibited antioxidant activity, except for CL. AAcidS, AAcidG and VitE exhibited the highest AA% (p<0.05). On the contrary, CHX, NE, LIS and NaF showed the lowest AA% (p<0.05). In conclusion, AAcidS, AAcidG, SodAsS, SodAsG and VitE presented the highest antioxidant activity among substances tested in this study. The DPPH assay provides an easy and rapid way to evaluate potential antioxidants.

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Antioxidant activity by DPPH assay of potential solutions to be applied on bleached teeth

The use of both over-the-counter and prescription nonsteroidal medications is frequently recommended in a typical neurosurgical practice. But persistent long-term use safety concerns must be considered when prescribing these medications for chronic and degenerative pain conditions. This article is a literature review of the biochemical pathways of inflammatory pain, the potentially serious side effects of nonsteroidal drugs and commonly used and clinically studied natural alternative anti-inflammatory supplements. Although nonsteroidal medications can be effective, herbs and dietary supplements may offer a safer, and often an effective, alternative treatment for pain relief, especially for long-term use.

https://ponderapharma.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Natural-anti-inflammatory-agents-for-pain-relief.pdf

Natural anti-inflammatory agents for pain relief

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and hip is a debilitating disease affecting more women than men and the risk of developing OA increases precipitously with aging. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common form of inflammatory joint diseases, is a disease of unknown etiology and affects approximately 1% of the population worldwide, and unlike OA, generally involves many joints because of the systemic nature of the disease. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the first drugs of choice for the symptomatic treatment of both OA and RA. Because of the risks associated with the use of NSAIDs and other limitations, the use of alternative therapies, such as acupuncture and medicinal herbs, is on the rise and according to reports approximately 60-90% of dissatisfied arthritis patients are likely to seek the option of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). This paper reviews the efficacy of some of the common herbs that have a history of human use and their anti-inflammatory or antiarthritic properties have been evaluated in animal models of inflammatory arthritis, in studies employing well defined and widely accepted in vitro models that use human chondrocytes/cartilage explants or in clinical trials. Available data suggests that the extracts of most of these herbs or compounds derived from them may provide a safe and effective adjunctive therapeutic approach for the treatment of OA and RA. This, in turn, argues for trials to establish efficacy and optimum dosage of these compounds for treating human inflammatory and degenerative joint diseases.

/pdf/biological-basis-for-the-use-of-botanicals-in-osteoarthritis-1uf1w92v7d.pdf

Biological basis for the use of botanicals in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis: a review.

Botanical samples are often freeze-dried (lyophilized) for use in research studies, and a variety of freeze-dried botanicals are marketed to the public. In both instances, there is an underlying assumption that freeze-drying properly preserves the medicinal qualities of plants, and is superior to other preservation methods. In fact, little systematic research has been done to verify this assumption. A review of the existing research, done primarily by the food and spice industry, indicates that freeze-drying has unanticipated and significant effects on the constituent profiles of medicinal plants that puts into question whether freeze-drying necessarily is the best method to preserve botanical medicines.This research review finds there is insufficient information to conclude that freeze-drying has negative effects on the medicinal qualities of plants. But, because existing research indicates that freeze-drying imperfectly preserves important classes of medicinal compounds (such as volatiles, phenolics and carotenoids), may increase the mutation rate in unicellular organisms and may diminish some medicinal plant actions, researchers and practitioners should carefully consider how the use of freeze-dried material may affect pharmacological and clinical study results.

The effect of freeze-drying and its implications for botanical medicine: a review.

http://www.samento.com.ec/sciencelib/carticles/Cats%20Claw%20Inhibits%20TNF.pdf

Jarod Roberts

Papers

Cat’s claw inhibits TNFα production and scavenges free radicals: role in cytoprotection