• Dox induces kidney damage. • Dox leads to a decrease in antioxidant defense mechanism. • Diosmin administration restores antioxidant properties.

The use of traditional medicinal plants in Saudi Arabia stems mainly from consumers’ belief in prophetic medicine. This study was conducted to explore changes in patients’ use of dietary or herbal supplements among individuals infected with COVID-19 before and during infection and the association between herbal or dietary supplements and hospitalization. A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted enrolling symptomatic patients who had recently recovered from COVID-19. Data were collected through phone interviews, and McNemar’s test was used to investigate changes to consumption of dietary or herbal supplements before and during infection. Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the association between supplements use during patients’ infection and hospitalization. A total of 738 patients were included in this study, of whom 32.1% required hospitalization. About 57% of participants were male with a mean age of 36.5 (±11.9) years. The use of lemon/orange, honey, ginger, vitamin C, and black seed among participants significantly increased during their infection. In contrast, patients using anise, peppermint, and coffee peel before their infection were more likely to stop using them during their infection. In addition, using lemon/orange (p < 0.0001), honey (p = 0.0002), ginger (p = 0.0053), vitamin C (p = 0.0006), black seed (p < 0.0001), peppermint (p = 0.0027), costus (p = 0.0095), and turmeric (p = 0.0012) was significantly higher among nonhospitalized patients than hospitalized ones. However, in the multivariable logistic regression, only use of vitamin C (OR = 0.51; 95% CI 0.33–0.79), peppermint (OR = 0.53; 95% CI 0.31–0.90), and lemon/orange (OR = 0.54; 95% CI 0.33–0.88) was associated with significantly lower odds of hospitalization. The study reveals that patients’ consumption of dietary or herbal supplements changed in response to their COVID-19 infection, with hospitalized patients having a lower likelihood of using these supplements. Because some supplements were associated with lower odds of hospitalization, these supplements or their bioactive components should be further investigated as feasible options for COVID-19 treatment.

Parkinsonia aculeata L. growing in Saudi Arabia was investigated for its phytochemical profile, antioxidant, and cytotoxic properties. UPLC-ESI-MS/MS was employed as a powerful technique for the characterization of secondary metabolites from a hydroalcoholic extract, dichloromethane, and ethyl acetate fractions of P. aculeata L. aerial parts. Sixty-nine compounds (flavonoids, anthocyanins, phenolics and fatty acids) were detected and characterized; flavonoids were the abundant components in the analyzed samples. The dichloromethane fraction was rich in phenolics as vanillic acid hexoside, flavonols as 3,7-dimthylquercetin, and flavones as 3′-hydroxymelanettin. However, the ethyl acetate fraction was rich in flavonoid-C-glycosides as luteolin-8-C-β-D-glucoside (orientin) and apigenin-8-C-glucoside (vitexin), flavonoid- O, C-diglycosides such as luteolin 7-O-[6′'-dihydrogalloyl]-glucosyl-8-C-pentosyl-(1 → 2)-glucoside and 2′'-O-rhamnosyl isoorientin. These compounds were identified for the first time in dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions of Saudi P. aculeata L.

Peptic ulcer disease is the greatest digestive disorder that has increased incidence and recurrence rates across all nations. Prangos pabularia (L.) has been well documented as a folkloric medicinal herb utilized for multiple disease conditions including gastric ulcers. Hence, the target study was investigation the gastro-protection effects of root extracts of Prangos pabularia (REPP) on ethanol-mediated stomach injury in rats. Sprague Dawley rats were clustered in 5 cages: A and B, normal and ulcer control rats pre-ingested with 1 % carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)); C, reference rats had 20 mg/kg omeprazole; D and E, rats pre-supplemented with 250 and 500 mg/kg of REPP, respectively. After one hour, group A was given orally 1 % CMC, and groups B-E were given 100 % ethanol. The ulcer area, gastric acidity, and gastric wall mucus of all stomachs were determined. The gastric tissue homogenates were examined for antioxidant and MDA contents. Moreover, the gastric tissues were analyzed by histopathological and immunohistochemically assays. Acute toxicity results showed lack of any toxic effects or histological changes in rats exposed to 2 and 5 g/kg of REPP ingestion. The ulcer controls had extensive gastric mucosal damage with lower gastric juice and a reduced gastric pH. REPP treatment caused a significant reduction of the ethanol-induced gastric lacerations represented by an upsurge in gastric mucus and gastric wall glycoproteins (increased PAS), a decrease in the gastric acidity, leukocyte infiltration, positively modulated Bax and HSP 70 proteins, consequently lowered ulcer areas. REPP supplementation positively modulated oxidative stress (increased SOD, CAT, PGE2, and reduced MDA) and inflammatory cytokines (decreased serum TNF-α, IL-6, and increased IL-10) levels. The outcomes could be scientific evidence to back-up the folkloric use of A. Judaica as a medicinal remedy for oxidative stress-related disorders (gastric ulcer).

This study assessed the anxiolytic and antidepressant activities of a methanol leaves extract of Cnesmone javanica (CV) in Swiss albino mice. The study found a significant increase in the percentage of time spent in the open arms of an elevated plus maze and in the incidence of head dipping in hole-board tests following the administration of 400 mg/kg of CV or 1 mg/kg diazepam. Moreover, a significant (p < 0.001) dose-dependent reduction was observed in the immobility time following CV (200 and 400 mg/kg) and fluoxetine (20 mg/kg) administration for forced swimming and tail suspension tests. Gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) analysis identified 62 compounds in CV, consisting primarily of phenols, terpenoids, esters, and other organic compounds. A molecular docking study was performed to assess the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of 45 selected compounds against human serotonin transporter and potassium channels receptors. Network pharmacology was performed to predict the pathways involved in these neuropharmacological effects. Overall, CV demonstrated significant and dose-dependent anxiolytic and antidepressant effects due to the presence of several bioactive phytoconstituents, which should be further explored using more advanced and in-depth mechanistic research.