Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic disease of the skin, involving itchy, reddish and scaly lesions. It mainly affects children and has a high prevalence in developing countries. AD may occur due to environmental or genetic factors. Currently, all therapeutic strategies involve methods to simply alleviate the symptoms, and include lotions and corticosteroids, which have adverse effects. Use of phytochemicals and natural products has not yet been exploited fully. The particle used in this study is derived from Cyamopsis tetragonoloba, an edible polysaccharide with a galactomannan component. The mannose component mainly increases its specificity towards cellular uptake by mannose receptors, highly expressed by macrophages. The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic effect of guar gum nanoparticles (GN) in vitro and in vivo in AD. Methods: To assess the wound healing capacity of GN, we first treated adherent fibroblast cells, with a scratch injury, with GN. GN successfully healed the wound caused by the scratch. In the in vivo experiments, Balb/c mice ears were treated topically with oxazolone (Oxa) to induce AD, and then were topically treated with GN. The ear thickness increased significantly until day 28 upon treatment with Oxa. Results: Application of GN showed a significant decrease in ear thickness as assessed on day 28. The total cell count of skin cells that showed a fold increase, when treated with Oxa, was again decreased after topical application of GN on the affected skin. The eosinophil count, as assessed by Giemsa staining, was also increased when treated with Oxa, while GN application led to a significant decrease. Serum IgE levels were restored by GN. T helper cell and macrophage populations, when examined by flow cytometry, showed an increase in percentage when treated with Oxa; the percentage was reduced after application of GN. Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining of the ear tissue showed an increase in epidermal thickness in Oxa-treated mice, while GN application showed reduced cellular infiltration and epidermal thickness. Conclusion: Overall, our results showed that GN, when administered topically, was successful in alleviating dermatitis caused by Oxa. Abstract

Abstract-Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating disease of unknown etiology, for which there is no curative pharmacological therapy. Bleomycin, an anti-neoplastic agent that causes lung fibrosis in human patients has been used extensively in rodent models to mimic IPF. The conventional therapy has been steroids and immunosuppressive agents. But only a minority of patients responds to such a therapy. IPF is a progressive, ultimately fatal disorder for which substantive medical therapy is desperately needed. Fisetin is a flavonol which inhibits the activity of several pro-inflammatory cytokines. The polyphenol curcumin is used to treat inflammatory diseases, abdominal disorders, and a variety of other ailments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the beneficial effect of fistine, curcumin and mesoporous carbaon nanoparticle (MCN) loaded fisetin as an anti-inflammatory agents against bleomycin-induced changes in mice with IPF. In our study, flavonoids showed their anti fibrotic action. The inflammatory cell count was greatly increased for bleo treated individuals and effectiveness of fisein was increased after addition of MCN particles with it, curcumin also showed anti-inflammatory effects. In another experiment, bleomycin effectively inhibits the cellular recruitment to the spleen and treatment with fisetin, and curcumin increases the cellular recruitment in spleen. Colony count was also increased in MCN+fisetin treated groups, and it was statistically significant. We also observed the increased level of cytokines with fisetin treatment, with curcumin treatment and with MCN +fisetin treatment as compared to the bleo treated sample. In conclusion, the present research suggests that fisetin and curcumin and MCN loaded fisetin may be a promising therapeutic agent for bleomycin-induced changes in mice with IPF. This will open up new perspectives for a potential role of these drugs as a molecular target in Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

No abstract

No abstract

Introduction: Allergic asthma is a prevalent disorder, in which eosinophilic inflammation is involved in the lungs. Asthma affects people all over the world, regardless of the country's level of development. Chronic allergen-induced fibrotic damage of the lungs is stimulated in 55 days, which results in significant tissue destruction constitutive to pulmonary tissues, in addition to extensive oxidative & inflammation-induced damage of small and large airways. To date, there is no cure for asthma, and symptoms are controlled using corticosteroids, which may cause systemic side effects. Flavonoids, like fisetin, are a class of secondary metabolites produced by plants, which are known to have numerous beneficial effects. Previous report demonstrated that fisetin has beneficial effects against various diseases such as cancers, tumors, diabetes, and alcohol-induced liver injury. Methods: In the present study, chronic allergic disease (asthma) was developed in C57BL/6J mice, using intraperitoneal injection of ovalbumin for 54 days together with orally administered fisetin as a treatment strategy. Fisetin was administered 1 hour before intratracheal treatment. On day 55, treated animals were sacrificed, and tissues were collected for various assays. Results: Fisetin was found to reduce the symptoms of asthma significantly. Reduction in total cell infiltration, eosinophil count, and the levels of serum IgE were observed. There was a down regulation in CD3+CD4+ TH cells, and a decrease in the deposition of collagen in the lung and airways. Conclusion: From these observations, we conclude that fisetin is effective in the treatment of asthma, and a pathway by which fisetin acts was hypothesized.