No abstract

Much attention has been recently given to the effect of diet compounds on physical and mental health. Gallic acid is a phenolic compound with antioxidant activity. This compound is widely presented in black tea leaves, green tea, apples, grapes, strawberries, and pineapples. During the past years, it has been reported that gallic acid is effective against nervous system's disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, ischemia, and reperfusion, depression and anxiety. These indicate that gallic acid can be considered as a valuable agent for nutraceutical interventions. In this study, several clinical studies suggested that gallic acid can improve human health by preventing or delaying the onset of neurological diseases. The present study indicated the neuroprotective features of gallic acid including the pre-clinical evidence for its effects in AD and PD and other diseases related to the nervous system. Significant efforts are required to confirm the neuroprotective effects of gallic acid in treating the diseases related to the nervous system.

Background and Aim. Depression is a social problem with high economic burden in the society. Finding an effective agent with high efficacy and few side effects is therefore needed. Involvement of neuroimmune response as well as nitric oxide (NO) has been determined in the pathophysiology of depression. Limonene is a terpene with various pharmacological properties. Thus, we aimed to evaluate antidepressant-like effect of limonene on a mouse model of maternal separation (MS) focusing on neuroinflammation and NO level in the hippocampus. Methods. Mice were randomly divided into experimental groups as follows: the control group received normal saline and MS groups received normal saline, limonene (10 and 20 mg/kg), L-NAME (10 mg/kg), L-arginine (L-arg) (75 mg/kg), limonene (10 mg/kg) plus L-NAME, and limonene (20 mg/kg) plus L-arg. Behavioral tests including the forced swimming test (FST), open field test (OFT), and splash test were performed. Finally, serum and hippocampal nitrite levels as well as the expression of inflammatory genes (IL-1β and TNF-α) in the hippocampus were measured. Results. We showed that MS caused depressive-like behavior. Treatment of MS mice with limonene reduced the duration of immobility time in FST and increases the grooming activity time in the splash test. Limonene also reduces serum and brain nitrite levels and reduces the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in the hippocampus. We found that L-NAME potentiated the effects of a subeffective dose of limonene. Conclusion. We concluded that the antidepressant-like effects of limonene are probably mediated through inhibition of neuroinflammation and attenuation of nitrite levels in the hippocampus.

Medicinal plants that are used today have been known by people of ancient cultures around the world and have largely been considered due to their medicinal properties. Cornus mas L. (Cornelian cherry) is one of these medicinal plants with high level of antioxidant activity. Cornelian cherry is an attractive ornamental plant with delicious fruit having nutritional and therapeutic values. The main purpose of this paper is to present and summarize the pharmacological and therapeutic effects from researches done on Cornelian cherry in studies from 2000 to 2016. Information and findings in this review were taken from electronic journals in some websites including PubMed, Elsevier, ISI, Google scholar, SID and relevant books. C. mas L. is important in terms of decoration and is used in traditional medicine to treat diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, cholera, fever, malaria, kidney stones, urinary tract infections, cancer, bleeding and heat stroke. Several studies have shown that Cornelian cherry fruit plays an important role in prevention of atherosclerosis, blood sugar, lipid profiles and reduction of fat accumulation in the liver. Cornelian cherry has antimicrobial, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer effects as well as protecting liver, kidney and cardiovascular system. Using Cornelian cherry in pharmaceutical and food industries has caused fantastic value of this plant. Pharmaceutical properties of Cornelian cherry seeds, fruits, leaves and stems have led the need of further studies to explore the other unknown effects or review mechanism of its pharmacological effects for preparation of new drugs.

No abstract