When a scientific book is informative and excellently written, it is not destined to languish on a shelf for occasional reference, but to be read for enjoyment and the acquisition of knowledge. There are a few books in medicine which make the reader feel as if a great teacher is talking to him personally. Professor Boyd's Textbook of Pathology , in its eighth edition (as always) is one of the finest examples of the combination of science and art. This edition is not just a reprint of the 1961 volume. There are extensive changes and additions which bring the reader a skillful blend of modern and traditional in the changing speciality of pathology. The most extensive alterations have been made in the first section, "Principles of Pathology." The first chapter—a factual and philosophical essay on disease and its causes—has been completely rewritten and is a delight to read. The normal cell

Textbook of Pathology.

Peptic ulcer disease usually occurs in the stomach and proximal duodenum. The predominant causes in the United States are infection with Helicobacter pylori and use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Symptoms of peptic ulcer disease include epigastric discomfort (specifically, pain relieved by food intake or antacids and pain that causes awakening at night or that occurs between meals), loss of appetite, and weight loss. Older patients and patients with alarm symptoms indicating a complication or malignancy should have prompt endoscopy. Patients taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should discontinue their use. For younger patients with no alarm symptoms, a test-and-treat strategy based on the results of H. pylori testing is recommended. If H. pylori infection is diagnosed, the infection should be eradicated and antisecretory therapy (preferably with a proton pump inhibitor) given for four weeks. Patients with persistent symptoms should be referred for endoscopy. Surgery is indicated if complications develop or if the ulcer is unresponsive to medications. Bleeding is the most common indication for surgery. Administration of proton pump inhibitors and endoscopic therapy control most bleeds. Perforation and gastric outlet obstruction are rare but serious complications. Peritonitis is a surgical emergency requiring patient resuscitation; laparotomy and peritoneal toilet; omental patch placement; and, in selected patients, surgery for ulcer control.

 Permission from the AAFP was granted to publish this article in the hardcopy only. Kindly refer to www.aafp.org or subscribe to the hardcopy of South African Family Practice.

Peptic ulcer disease

The exposure to ultraviolet radiations (UVR) is the key source of skin sunburn; it may produce harmful entities, reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to aging. The skin can be treated and protected from the injurious effects of ROS by using various pharmaceutical formulations, such as cream. Cream can be loaded with antioxidants to quench ROS leading to photo-protective effects. Moreover, modern medicines depend on ethnobotanicals for protection or treatment of human diseases. This review article summarizes various in vivo antioxidant studies on herbal creams loaded with phyto-extracts. These formulations may serve as cosmeceuticals to protect skin against injurious effects of UVR. The botanicals studied for dermatologic use in cream form include Acacia nilotica, Benincasa hispida, Calendula officinalis, Camellia sinensis, Camellia sinensis, Nelumbo nucifera, Capparis decidua, Castanea sativa, Coffea arabica, Crocus sativus, Emblica officinalis Gaertn, Foeniculum vulgare, Hippophae rhamnoides, Lithospermum erythrorhizon, Malus domestica, Matricaria chamomilla L., Moringa oleifera, Morus alba, Ocimum basilicum, Oryza sativa, Polygonum minus, Punica granatum, Silybum marianum, Tagetes erecta Linn., Terminalia chebula, Trigonella foenum-graecum, and Vitis vinifera. The observed anti-aging effects of cream formulations could be an outcome of a coordinating action of multiple constituents. Of numerous botanicals, the phenolic acids and flavonoids appear effective against UVR-induced damage; however the evidence-based studies for their anti-aging effects are still needed.

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Anti-Aging Potential of Phytoextract Loaded-Pharmaceutical Creams for Human Skin Cell Longetivity

Turmeric, a product of Curcuma longa, has a very long history of being used for the treatment of wounds in many Asian countries. Curcumin, the principal curcuminoid of turmeric, has recently been identified as a main mediator of turmeric’s medicinal properties. However, the inherent limitations of the compound itself, such as hydrophobicity, instability, poor absorption and rapid systemic elimination, pose big hurdles for translation to wider clinical application. We present here an approach for engineering curcumin/gelatin-blended nanofibrous mats (NMs) by electrospinning to adequately enhance the bioavailability of the hydrophobic curcumin for wound repair. Curcumin was successfully formulated as an amorphous nanosolid dispersion and favorably released from gelatin-based biomimetic NMs that could be easily applied topically to experimental wounds. We show synergistic signaling by the released curcumin during the healing process: (i) mobilization of wound site fibroblasts by activating the Wnt signaling pathway, partly mediated through Dickkopf-related protein-1, and (ii) persistent inhibition of the inflammatory response through decreased expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 by fibroblasts. With a combination of these effects, the curcumin/gelatin-blended NMs enhanced the regenerative process in a rat model of acute wounds, providing a method for translating this ancient medicine for use in modern wound therapy. Loading an ancient medicine onto gelatin nanofibres enhances the production of wound-healing and anti-inflammatory agents in rat models. Turmeric, the main spice in curry powder, has been used to clean and manage injuries for thousands of years. Recent studies have identified curcumin as the responsible compound for many of its medicinal properties. Now, Xinyi Dai and Arndt Schilling from Germany's Technical University of Munich and University Medical Center Gottingen and colleagues have improved curcumin's bioavailability by electrospinning it with gelatin into a tissue-mimicking network of cross-linked nanofibres. X-ray measurements showed that this procedure turned normally crystalline curcumin into an amorphous dispersion with good solubility in cellular environments. Trials on rat skins revealed that the amorphous curcumin boosted the metabolism of beneficial fibroblast cells and helped regulate anti-inflammation proteins for significantly faster wound healing. Schematic illustration of nanoformulated curcumin accelerates wound healing. (a) Curcumin nanoformulation through electrospinning greatly enhances its solubility. (b) Topically applied Curcumin/Gelatin nanofibrous mat releases bioactive curcumin to mobilize wound site fibroblasts by enhancing both cell proliferation and migration, a process partially mediated by Dickkopf-related protein-1-regulated Wnt/β-catenin pathway signaling. In the mean time, fibroblasts decreased the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, leading to lasting inhibition of inflammatory response during the healing process. As a result, wound environment turns out to be more in favor of physiological healing, with faster re-epithelialization, granulation tissue formation, as well as collagen deposition and matuaration from proliferative fibroblasts.

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Nano-formulated curcumin accelerates acute wound healing through Dkk-1-mediated fibroblast mobilization and MCP-1-mediated anti-inflammation

Rice is one of the most economically important foods in the world today. The FAO has reported that managing rice processing and the resulting byproducts into more sustainable applications would be attractive for a variety of reasons. Rice processing involves several milling stages to produce edible final products. The milling process is the most important step in rice production because it sets the nutritional, cooking, and sensory qualities of crude rice. As crude rice goes through the milling process, it generates byproducts, such as bran, that have been shown to exhibit beneficial impacts on human and animal nutrition. While several rice byproducts have applications in agriculture, rice bran has probably received the most attention for its functional properties. Rice bran is a mixture of protein, fat, ash, and crude fiber. However, rice bran’s composition is largely dependent on the type of rice and the efficiency of the milling system. Based on studies with mice, rice bran has been shown to elicit prebiotic-like properties by preventing colonization of Salmonella in the gastrointestinal tract. More recently, in vitro incubation studies with chicken cecal contents have demonstrated that certain rice varieties are more inhibitory to Salmonella than others. Some of this may be related to impacts on cecal microbiome and production of certain metabolites. In this review, the byproducts of the milling process, how they are utilized, and potential application for conventional and alternative poultry production systems are discussed.

Current Trends of Rice Milling Byproducts for Agricultural Applications and Alternative Food Production Systems

Article history: Received on: 18/10/2012 Revised on: 06/11/2012 Accepted on: 15/11/2012 Available online: 29/11/2012 Wound healing is an integrated cellular and biochemical process of restoring normal structure functions of damaged tissue. Healing is a natural phenomenon by which body itself overcome the damaged to the tissue but the rate of healing is very slow and chance of microbial infection is high. Improvement in healing process can be accomplish either shorten the time required for healing or to minimize the undesired consequences. India has a rich tradition of plant-based knowledge on healthcare system. Several herbs and medicinal plants proved to be a wound healers were identified and formulated for treatment and management of wounds. Various herbal products have been used in management and treatment of wounds over the years. The present review attempt to highlight some herbs and medicinal plants proved to be scientifically used for the treatment of cuts and wounds as a wound healer.

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An overview of medicinal plants as wound healers

Formulation and in vitro evaluation of the topical antiageing preparation of the fruit of Benincasa hispida

Waxes have been used in many cosmetic preparations and pharmaceuticals as formulation aids. Rice bran wax is a byproduct of rice bran oil industry. Present investigation has been aimed to explore the possible utility of rice bran wax as ointment base compared to standard base. The rice bran wax obtained, purified and its physicochemical characteristics were determined. Ointment base acts as a carrier for medicaments. The ointment base composition determines not only the extent of penetration but also controls the transfer of medicaments from the base to the body tissues. Rice bran wax base was compared with standard base for appearance, spreadability, water number, wash ability and diffusibility. The results show that rice bran wax acts as an ointment base as far as its pharmaceutical properties are concerned and it could effectively replace comparatively costlier available ointment bases.

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Comparative Evaluation of Rice Bran Wax as an Ointment Base with Standard Base

Curcuma longa commonly known as turmeric is a well-known indigenous herbal medicine traditionally used as a spice in Indian food. Turmeric is used in India for thousands of years as a major part of Ayurvedic medicine. It was first used as a dye and then later for its possible medicinal properties. Turmeric is traditionally used as a spice and colori in foods dueing to curcuminoids curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bis-demethoxycurcumin as important chemical constituents. Curcuma longa sshows wide range of biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, antiseptic, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective and digestive activities. This Review expresses the devel lopment of Curcuma long from a traditional spice to a modern application in the present period.

Curcuma longa Linn. A Phytochemical and Phytopharmacological Review

Waxes have been used in many cosmetic preparations and pharmaceuticals as formulation aids Rice bran wax is a byproduct of rice bran oil industry Present study aims to investigate possible use of rice bran wax as occlusive moisturizer The rice bran wax obtained was purified and its physicochemical characteristics were determined In vitro studies were carried out to determine trans epidermal water loss through stratum corneum and water holding capacity of stratum corneum of human cadaver skin treated with pure rice bran wax and formulation of rice bran wax The results show that rice bran wax can be used as a promising occlusive moisturizer

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Vidya Sabale

Papers

An overview of medicinal plants as wound healers

Formulation and in vitro evaluation of the topical antiageing preparation of the fruit of Benincasa hispida

Comparative Evaluation of Rice Bran Wax as an Ointment Base with Standard Base

Curcuma longa Linn. A Phytochemical and Phytopharmacological Review

In vitro studies on rice bran wax as skin moisturizer