Background: Atherosclerosis is the major cause of morbidities and mortalities worldwide. In this study we aimed to review the mechanism of atherosclerosis and its risk factors, focusing on new findings in atherosclerosis markers and its risk factors. Furthermore, the role of antioxidants and medicinal herbs in atherosclerosis and endothelial damage has been discussed and a list of important medicinal plants effective in the treatment and prevention of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis is presented. Methods: The recently published papers about atherosclerosis pathogenesis and herbal medicines effective in the treatment and prevention of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis were searched. Results: Inflammation has a crucial role in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The disease is accompanied by excessive fibrosis of the intima, fatty plaques formation, proliferation of smooth muscle cells, and migration of a group of cells such as monocytes, T cells, and platelets which are formed in response to inflammation. The oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) to Ox-LDL indicates the first step of atherosclerosis in cardiovascular diseases. Malondialdehyde factor shows the level of lipoperoxidation and is a sign of increased oxidative pressure and cardiovascular diseases. In special pathological conditions such as severe hypercholesterolemia, peroxynitrite concentration increases and atherosclerosis and vascular damage are intensified. Medicinal plants have shown to be capable of interacting these or other pathogenesis factors to prevent atherosclerosis. Conclusions: The pathogenesis factors involved in atherosclerosis have recently been cleared and the discovery of these factors has brought about new hopes for better prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.

Nutraceuticals are products, which other than nutrition are also used as medicine. A nutraceutical product may be defined as a substance, which has physiological benefit or provides protection against chronic disease. Nutraceuticals may be used to improve health, delay the aging process, prevent chronic diseases, increase life expectancy, or support the structure or function of the body. Nowadays, nutraceuticals have received considerable interest due to potential nutritional, safety and therapeutic effects. Recent studies have shown promising results for these compounds in various complications. In the present review much effort has been devoted to present new concepts about nutraceuticals based on their diseases modifying indications. Emphasis has been made to present herbal nutraceuticals effective on hard curative disorders related to oxidative stress including allergy, alzheimer, cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, eye, immune, inflammatory and Parkinson's diseases as well as obesity. The recently published papers about different aspects of nutraceuticals as alternative for pharmaceuticals were searched using scientific sites such as Medline, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The used terms included nutraceutical and allergy, alzheimer, cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, eye, immune, inflammatory or Parkinson.

Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders in which the blood glucose is higher than normal levels, due to insufficiency of insulin release or improper response of cells to insulin, resulting in high blood pressure. The resultant hyperglycemia produces sever complications. Metformin drug has been shown to prevent diabetes in people who are at high risk and decrease most of the diabetic complications. Recent reports on metformin, not only indicate some implications such as renoprotective properties have been suggested for metformin, but some reports indicate its adverse effects as well that are negligible when its benefits are brought into account. We aimed here to review the new implications of metformin and discuss about the concerns in the use of metformin, referring to the recently published papers.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and aortic aneurysm, and is a cause of chronic kidney disease. Hypertension is often associated with metabolic abnormalities such as diabetes and dyslipidemia, and the rate of these diseases is increasing nowadays. Recently it has been hypothesized that oxidative stress is a key player in the pathogenesis of hypertension. A reduction in superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activity has been observed in newly diagnosed and untreated hypertensive subjects, which are inversely correlated with blood pressure. Hydrogen peroxide production is also higher in hypertensive subjects. Furthermore, hypertensive patients have higher lipid hydroperoxide production. Oxidative stress is also markedly increased in hypertensive patients with renovascular disease. If oxidative stress is indeed a cause of hypertension, then, antioxidants should have beneficial effects on hypertension control and reduction of oxidative damage should result in a reduction in blood pressure. Although dietary antioxidants may have beneficial effects on hypertension and cardiovascular risk factors, however, antioxidant supplementation has not been shown consistently to be effective and improvement is not usually seen in blood pressure after treatment with single or combination antioxidant therapy in subjects thought to be at high risk of cardiovascular disease. This matter is the main focus of this paper. A list of medicinal plants that have been reported to be effective in hypertension is also presented.

The incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing rapidly and it is expected to increase by 2030. Other than currently available therapeutic options, there are a lot of herbal medicines, which have been recommended for its treatment. Herbal medicines have long been used for the treatment of DM because of the advantage usually having no or less side-effects. Most of these plants have antioxidant activities and hence, prevent or treat hard curable diseases, other than having the property of combating the toxicity of toxic or other drugs. In this review other than presenting new findings of DM, the plants, which are used and have been evaluated scientifically for the treatment of DM are introduced.

Context: Acne vulgaris affects about 85% of teenagers and may continue to adulthood. There are about two million visits to physicians per year for teenagers and the direct cost of acne treatment in the US exceeds $1 billion per year. Evidence Acquisition: A wide variety of treatment regimens exist for acne vulgaris including benzoil peroxide, retinoids, isotretinoids, keratolytic soaps, alpha hydroxy acids, azelaic acid, salicilic acid as well as hormonal, anti-androgen or antiseborrheic treatments. However, none of these methods is free of side effects and their exact role in therapy is not clear. In this paper apart from presenting the possible causes of acne vulgaris and its available drugs, recently published papers about medicinal plants used in the treatment of acne vulgaris were reviewed. Results: Consumption of alternative and complementary medicine, including medicinal plants, is increasing and is common amongst patients affected by acne and infectious skin diseases. Medicinal plants have a long history of use and have been shown to possess low side effects. These plants are a reliable source for preparation of new drugs. Conclusions: Many plants seem to have inhibitory effects on the growth of bacteria, fungi and viruses in vitro. However, there are a few clinical evidences about the effectiveness and safety of these plants in the treatment of acne and other skin infections. Keywords: Acne Vulgaris; Medicinal Plants; Herbal Medicines; Infectious Disease; Skin Diseases