Allium sativum L., also known as garlic, is a perennial plant widely used as a spice and also considered a medicinal herb since antiquity. The aim of this study was to determine by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) the chemical profile fingerprint of the essential oil (EO) of one accession of Peruvian A. sativum (garlic), to evaluate its antioxidant activity and an in- silico study on NADPH oxidase activity of the volatile phytoconstituents. The antioxidant activity was tested using DPPH and β-carotene assays. An in-silico study was carried out on NADPH oxidase (PDB ID: 2CDU), as was ADMET prediction. The results indicated that diallyl trisulfide (44.21%) is the major component of the EO, followed by diallyl disulfide (22.08%), allyl methyl trisulfide (9.72%), 2-vinyl-4H-1,3-dithiine (4.78%), and α-bisabolol (3.32%). Furthermore, the EO showed antioxidant activity against DPPH radical (IC₅₀ = 124.60 ± 2.3 µg/mL) and β-carotene bleaching (IC₅₀ = 328.51 ± 2.0). The best docking score on NADPH oxidase corresponds to α-bisabolol (ΔG = −10.62 kcal/mol), followed by 5-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrathiane (ΔG = −9.33 kcal/mol). Additionally, the volatile components could be linked to the observed antioxidant activity, leading to potential inhibitors of NADPH oxidase.

C. citratus essential oil and carvacrol have shown an antitumor effect on breast tumor cell lines; the main objective of this research was to evaluate the antitumor effect of the essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus (EOCc) and carvacrol on 7,12-dimethylbenz [a] anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer in female rats. Cancer was induced by a single administration of DMBA at dose of 80 mg/kg body weight (BW). A total of 54 female Holtzman rats were randomly assigned into 9 groups (n = 6). Group I: PS (Physiological saline); Group II: DMBA; Groups III, IV, and V: DMBA + EOCc at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/day BW, respectively; Groups VI, VII, and VIII: DMBA + carvacrol at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/day BW, respectively; and group IX: DMBA + EOCc + carvacrol at doses of 100 mg/kg/day BW. The treatment lasted 14 weeks. As results, EOCc showed a reduction in tumors as well as necrosis and mitosis. Animals treated with carvacrol did not show necrosis, mitosis, or infiltration. Carvacrol at dose of 100 mg/kg/day BW revealed a significant decrease in the cumulative tumor volume down to 0.11 ± 0.05 cm³ compared to 0.38 ± 0.04 cm³ of the DMBA group (p < 0.01). It is concluded that EOCc and carvacrol had an antitumor effect on DMBA-induced breast cancer in female rats.

Thymus vulgaris L. is widely used as an ingredient in cooking and in herbal medicine. However, there is little information about its toxicity. The present study was performed to evaluate the acute and repeated 28-day oral dose toxicity of thyme essential oil in rats. For the acute toxicity test, two groups of three rats were used. The rats received a single dose of essential oil: 300 or 2,000 mg/kg of body weight (bw). The rats were observed individually during the first four hours, and then daily until day 14. For the toxicity test with repeated doses, four groups of 10 rats were used. Doses of 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg/day were tested for 28 days. At the end of the experiment, blood was collected and the animals were sacrificed. Histopathological examination showed that in the lungs of rats given the 2,000 mg/kg bw dose, polymorph nuclear infiltrates, hemosiderin macrophages, and interstitial space thickening were present. In the repeated dose study, all rats survived the 28-day treatment period and apparently showed no signs of toxicity. The hematological and biochemical parameters were not altered. The histopathological study of the organs showed severe changes in the lung, with the dose of 500 mg/kg/day; in the other organs, no alterations were observed or the changes were slight. The body weight was only altered in male rats given the 500 mg/kg dose. The relative weight of the organs did not show any significant changes. Our studies revealed that the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris has moderate oral toxicity according to the results of the acute test, whereas the results of the 28-day oral toxicity test suggest that the no-observed-adverse effect level (NOAEL) is greater than 250 mg/kg/day.

Background: Neurological disorders represent one of the most prominent causes of morbidity and mortality that adversely affect the lifestyle of patients and a major percentage of these diseases exists in developing countries. Purpose: The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and prescription pattern for outpatients with neurological disorders in Bangladesh. Methods: The study was conducted on 1,684 patients in 6 hospitals (National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College, Sir Salimullah Medical College, and Apollo Hospitals Dhaka) of the Dhaka City from March 2014 to June 2015. Data were collected through a predesigned questionnaire from the patients that contain information about gender, age, marital status, occupation, residential status, affected disease, self-medicated medicines, and prescribed medicines. Results: Out of 1,684 patients, 28.38% patients were aged 51–60 years and male, 57.19% predominance. The study exposed headache and migraine for 29.75% patients, followed by stroke for 23.93% patients and seizure for 7.07% patients. Genetic reason for the neurological disorders was seen only among 12.35% patients. In this study, 16.98% patients had been affected by neurological disorders for more than 2 years and 19% of patients for less than 6 months. Most extensively prescribed medicines were multivitamins and multiminerals used by 17.89% of patients followed by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other analgesic by 14.84%; afterwards antiulcerants were used by 12.62%, subsequently anticoagulants were used by 11.61% followed by antihyperlipidemic medicines by 10.26% and antiepileptic drugs by 8.08% of patients. The crucial reasons for the selection of prescribed medicines were the confidence that patients had with the physician’s prescribed medicines, which was shown for 40.97% patients and knowledge of the medicines was reported for 35.04% patients. The period of prescribed medicine usage was 1–3 months for 39.73% patients and 3–6 months for 29.16% patients. The patient’s compliance for prescribed medicines was satisfactory for 34.56% patients, good for 28.15% patients, and side effects were reported for 23.22% patients. Conclusion: In Bangladesh, it is not surprising to note that neurological diseases are more prevalent than other different diseases among different age groups and genders. Headache and migraine, stroke and seizure are most frequently encountered neurological disorders here. Treatment procedure of these disorders is not quite suitable due to the anomalies of health care management systems. Appropriate management of the health care system, especially the placement of hospital and community pharmacy can overcome the existing inconsistencies as well as increase the knowledge, awareness, and perception of the patients about health and neurological disorders.

COVID-19 is a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Currently, there is no effective treatment and vaccines seem to be the solution in the future. Virtual screening of potential drugs against the S protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has provided small molecular compounds with a high binding affinity. Unfortunately, most of these drugs do not attach with the binding interface of the receptor-binding domain (RBD)–angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) complex in host cells. Molecular modeling was carried out to evaluate the potential antiviral properties of the components of the medicinal herb Uncaria tomentosa (cat’s claw) focusing on the binding interface of the RBD–ACE-2 and the viral spike protein. The in silico approach starts with protein–ligand docking of 26 Cat’s claw key components followed by molecular dynamics simulations and re-docked calculations. Finally, we carried out drug-likeness calculations for the most qualified cat’s claw components. The structural bioinformatics approaches led to the identification of several bioactive compounds of U. tomentosa with potential therapeutic effect by dual strong interaction with interface of the RBD–ACE-2 and the ACE-2 binding site on SARS-CoV-2 RBD viral spike. In addition, in silico drug-likeness indices for these components were calculated and showed good predicted therapeutic profiles of these phytochemicals found in U. tomentosa (cat’s claw). Our findings suggest the potential effectiveness of cat’s claw as complementary and/or alternative medicine for COVID-19 treatment. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Cyperus articulatus (CA) rhizomes have demonstrated different properties on nervous system. However, the leaves still have not studied to treat epilepsy. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of CA ethanolic extract on pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) induced seizures in mice as well as measuring its antioxidant activity in vivo and in vitro. Mice were divided into five groups: (1) control (PTZ 80 mg/kg; i.p.), (2) PTZ-Diazepam (1 mg/kg; i.p.), (3-5) PTZ-CA 50, PTZ-CA 150 and PTZ-CA 300 (50, 150 and 300 mg/kg of CA extract, 30 min prior to each PTZ injection). The PTZ-CA 150 group showed lower seizure scores (P < 0.01), latency (P < 0.01), frequency (P < 0.01) and duration (P < 0.01) than control group. The antioxidant activity of CA extract scavenged DPPH radical showed IC 50 = 16.9 ± 0.1 μg/mL and TEAC = 2.28 ± 0.08, mmol trolox/g of extract, the content of gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly high (P < 0.01) at dose of 150 mg/kg (82 ± 1.2 ng/g tissue; 1.0 ± 2.2 mol/g tissue, respectively). The present research demonstrated that CA extract possesses a potential effect to prevent PTZ induced seizures, antioxidant activity in addition to increase GABA levels.