No abstract

Most disease—both acute and chronic—results from inflammation, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are considered some of the strongest stimuli of inflammation. Many studies reported the traditional use of herbal species for treating inflammation, especially when ROS are involved. The present study aims to demonstrate the antioxidant–anti-inflammatory effects of a patented preparation based on Populus nigra and Rosmarinus officinalis extracts and to highlight its applicative potential; the formula was characterized by HPTLC and HPLC and in-vitro studies were conducted on TNF-α-stimulated HUVECs. The antioxidant activity of the formula was determined by DPPH assay and the phosphomolybdenum method; to assess in-vivo anti-inflammatory activity, a rat paw edema model was used; the formula contains high amounts of polyphenols. It exhibited scavenging activity of 50–85% at 1–10 mg/mL, it inhibited nitrite production and ICAM-1 expression in TNF-α-stimulated endothelial cell cultures dose-dependently, at a maximum of 58.7% at the maximum dose administered and exerted an obvious anti-inflammatory effect in vivo, settling early and decreasing at 180 min; a new herbal bioactive product was presented with promising therapeutic potential that can be an adjunct to conventional therapies for diseases based on oxidative stress and inflammation.

The scavenger properties of some flavonoidic vegetal extracts obtained from Crataegus monogyna Jacq have been studied using the chemiluminescence technique and ex vivo lipid peroxidation assay. A correlation between antioxidant activity and phenolic/flavonoidic content was observed for all the seven extracts, and a parallel behaviour with the antioxidant activity determinated by ex vivo lipid peroxidation assay and in vitro chemiluminescence tests was also noted.

No abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease worldwide and its rising prevalence is supported by factors such as obesity and sedentariness. At molecular level, it is considered an inflammatory disease that leads to destruction of articular cartilage. An effective therapy to end the degenerative process of arthritis remains elusive, and most of the therapeutic tools prevent the progress or alleviate the symptoms. By now, medicines for OA are available for oral, topical or intra-articular (IA) therapy and include analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid. Compared with the conventional oral administration, IA therapy has multiple advantages in terms of bioavailability, efficacy and toxicity. This review aims at underlying the beneficial effect of herbal medicine in OA therapy and to open new research perspectives. Herbal medicine administered orally or topically exhibit pharmacological properties that could be relevant for their beneficial effect in OA, mainly anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. There are few studies regarding IA injections of plant extracts/ compounds and none related to any combination with agents used already in clinic. Designing natural pharmaceutical formulations with increased bioavailability, safe and lack of side effects, specifically tested, would be a plus for medicinal plant areas of research and a novelty for clinic.