It has been reported that American ginseng attenuates hyperglycemia and may present itself as a supplement to diabetes therapy. However, the lack of standardization in the usage of ginseng root leads to inconclusive results when applied to diabetes treatment. The mechanisms of American ginseng root in the treatment of diabetes remains a mystery. This greatly limits the effective utilization of American ginseng in facilitating diabetic therapy. Initiating studies have shown that American ginseng increases insulin production and reduces cell death in pancreatic β-cells. Also, studies have revealed American ginseng’s ability to decrease blood glucose in type II diabetes patients as well as in streptozotocin-induced diabetic animals (STZ-diabetic mice). These data suggest that effects of ginseng in improving hyperglycemia may alter mitochondrial function as well as apoptosis cascades to ensure cell viability in pancreatic islet cells. This review briefly summarizes current knowledge of ginseng components and clinical studies related to diabetes. Further research will be needed to explore and identify the component(s) of ginseng, which may be responsible for the beneficial effects observed in animal studies which could then be extrapolated to human islets.

Practiced in China for more than 2000 years, acupuncture has recently gained increased attention in the United States as an alternative treatment approach for a variety of medical conditions. Despite its growing prevalence and anecdotal reports of success among pediatric populations, few empirically based studies have assessed the efficacy of acupuncture for children and adolescents. This article presents a review of the current literature, including a systematic appraisal of the methodological value of each study and a discussion of potential benefits and adverse effects of acupuncture. While acupuncture holds great promise as a treatment modality for diverse pediatric conditions, a significant amount of additional research is necessary to establish an empirical basis for the incorporation of acupuncture into standard care.

The purpose of this project was to conduct a systematic review to identify instruments designed to evaluate the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of natural health products (NHPs). Instruments were examined for inclusion of items assessing methods, identity and content of the NHP, generalizability of results and instructions for use. Online databases, websites, textbooks and reference lists were searched to identify instruments. Relevance assessment and data extraction of articles were completed by two investigators and disagreements were settled by the third investigator. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Of the 4442 citations identified, 29 were potentially relevant with 16 meeting the criteria for inclusion. None of the instruments stated they were validated; content in the four areas of interest varied considerably. The most common items included randomization sequence generation (100%), blinding (100%), allocation concealment (75%) and participant flow (75%). Only nine of the NHP instruments included at least one item to appraise the specific content of the NHP. The CONSORT Statement for Herbal Interventions most closely addressed the four areas of interest; however, this instrument was specific for herbs. There is a need for the development of a validated instrument for assessment of the quality of RCTs that would be useful for herbs as well as other NHPs.

Developing countries, where malaria is one of the most prevalent diseases, still rely on traditional medicine as a source for the treatment of this disease. In the present study, six selected plants (Acalypha fruticosa, Azadirachta indica, Cissus rotundifolia, Echium rauwalfii, Dendrosicyos socotrana and Boswellia elongata) commonly used in Yemen by traditional healers for the treatment of malaria as well as other diseases, were collected from different localities of Yemen, dried and extracted with methanol and water successfully. The antiplasmodial activity of the extracts was evaluated against fresh clinical isolates of Plasmodium falciparum. The selectivity parameters to evaluate the efficacy of these medicinal plants were measured by in vitro micro test (Mark III) according to World Health Organization (WHO) 1996 & WHO 2001 protocols of antimalarial drug tests. Among the investigated 12 extracts, three were found to have significant antiplasmodial activity with IC₅₀ values less than 4 µg/ml, namely the water extracts of A. fruticosa, A. indica and D. socotrana. Six extracts showed moderate activity with IC₅₀ values ranging from 10 to 30 µg/ml and three appeared to be inactive with IC₅₀ values more than 30 µg/ml. In addition, preliminary phytochemical screening of the methanolic and aqueous extracts indicated the presence of saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, polysaccharides and peptides.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of Acori graminei rhizoma (AGR) on learning and memory for the Morris water maze task and on the central cholinergic system of the rats with excitotoxic medial septum (MS) lesion. On the water maze test, the rats were trained to find a platform that was in a fixed position during 6 days and then they received a 60 s probe trial in which the platform was removed from the pool on the 7th day. Ibotenic lesioning of the MS impaired the performance on the maze test and it caused degeneration of choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholine esterase in the hippocampus, which are markers of the central cholinergic system. Daily administrations of AGR (100 mg kg^–1, i.p.) for 21 consecutive days produced reversals of the ibotenic acid-induced deficit in learning and memory. These treatments also reduced the loss of cholinergic immunoreactivity in the hippocampus that was induced by ibotenic acid. These results demonstrated that AGR ameliorated learning and memory deficits through their effects on the central nervous system, and neuroprotection was partly evaluated through the effect of AGR on the cholinergic system. Our studies suggest that AGR can possibly be used as treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

A homeopathic combination preparation (HCP) for canine osteoarthritic pain was evaluated in a randomized, double-controlled and double-blinded clinical trial. Forty-four dogs with osteoarthritis (OA) that were randomly allocated into one of three groups completed the study. All dogs were fed test products or placebo for 8 weeks. The dogs were evaluated at the clinic four times, with 4-week intervals. Six different variables were assessed: veterinary-assessed mobility, two force plate variables, an owner-evaluated chronic pain index and pain and locomotion visual analogue scales (VASs). Intake of extra non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was also evaluated. A Chi-squared test and a Mann–Whitney test were used to determine significant improvement between groups. When changed into dichotomous responses of ‘improved’ or ‘not improved’ three out of the six variables showed a significant difference (P = 0.016, P = 0.008, P = 0.039) in improved dogs per group, between the HCP group and the placebo group. The odds ratios were over one for the same variables. As extent of improvement in the variables from start to end of treatment, the HCP product was significantly more improved in four (P = 0.015, P = 0.028, P = 0.049, P = 0.020) of the six variables, compared with the placebo. Our results indicated that the HCP Zeel® was beneficial in alleviating chronic orthopedic pain in dogs although it was not as effective as carprofen.

Research investigating the efficacy of infant massage has largely focused on premature and low birth weight infants. The majority of investigations have neglected highly acute patients in academic neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The current study was developed with two aims: (Phase 1) to develop, implement and demonstrate the feasibility and safety of a parent-trained compassionate touch/massage program for infants with complex medical conditions and (Phase 2) to conduct a longitudinal randomized control trial (RCT) of hand containment/massage versus standard of care in a level III academic Center for Newborn and Infant Critical Care (CNICC). Certified infant massage instructors (CIMIs) taught parents to massage their hospitalized infants. Massage therapy and instruction were performed for seven consecutive days and health outcomes were collected for up to 1 month following treatment. Caregivers, nurses and certified infant massage therapists indicated moderate to high levels of satisfaction and feasibility with the implementation of hand containment/massage in a level III academic center CNICC. In addition, infant behavioral and physiological measures were within safe limits during the massage sessions. All caregivers participating in the massage group reported high levels of satisfaction 7 days into the intervention and at the 1-month follow-up with regards to their relationship with their infant, the massage program’s impact on that relationship and the massage program. Due to unequal and small sample sizes, between group analyses (control versus massage) were not conducted. Descriptive infant characteristics of health outcomes are described. Preliminary data from this study indicates feasibility and safety of infant massage and satisfaction among the caregivers, CIMIs and the nurses in the CNICC. An important contribution from this study was the demonstration of the infants’ safety based on physiological stability and no change in agitation/pain scores of the infants receiving massage. Massage in a tertiary urban academic NICU continues to be an area of needed study. Future studies examining infant health outcomes, such as weight gain, decreased length of hospitalization and caregiver–infant bonding, would provide greater insight into the impact of massage for medically fragile infants.

Propolis is a sticky dark-colored material showing a very complex chemical composition that honeybees collect from plants. It has been used in folk medicine since ancient times, due to several biological properties, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immunomodulatory activities, among others. Its antitumor action in vivo and in vitro has also been reported, using propolis extracts or its isolated compounds. The goal of this work was to evaluate propolis’s cytotoxic action in vitro on human laryngeal epidermoid carcinoma (Hep-2) cells. These cells were incubated with different concentrations of this bee product for different time periods, and morphology and the number of viable HEp-2 cells analyzed. Data showed that propolis exhibited a cytotoxic effect in vitro against HEp-2 cells, in a dose- and time-dependent way. Propolis solvent had no effects on morphology and number of viable cells, proving that the cytotoxic effects were exclusively due to propolis components. Since humans have been using propolis for a long time, further assays will provide a better comprehension of propolis’s antitumor action.