Jenny M. Wilkinson

Effect of ginger tea on the fetal development of Sprague-Dawley rats.

This study investigated the effect of ginger, a common morning sickness remedy, on fetal development. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were administered, from gestation day 6 to 15, 20 g/liter or 50 g/liter ginger tea via their drinking water and then sacrificed at day 20. No maternal toxicity was observed, however embryonic loss in the treatment groups was double that of the controls (P<0.05). No gross morphologic malformations were seen in the treated fetuses. Fetuses exposed to ginger tea were found to be significantly heavier than controls, an effect that was greater in female fetuses and was not correlated with increased placental size. Treated fetuses also had more advanced skeletal development as determined by measurement of sternal and metacarpal ossification centers. The results of this study suggest that in utero exposure to ginger tea results in increased early embryo loss with increased growth in surviving fetuses.

Evaluation of Common Antibacterial Screening Methods Utilized in Essential Oil Research

Abstract The use of essential oils as therapeutic agents has become increasingly popular; however, research into the antimicrobial activity of these products has been hampered by the lack of standardized and reliable screening methods. The lack of standardized methods also makes direct comparison of results between studies impossible. In this study, the most commonly used antimicrobial assays cited in the literature were evaluated for reliability and their ability to accurately assess, and directly compare, essential oil antimicrobial activity. The methods used were disc diffusion, well diffusion, agar dilution and broth dilution. This study revealed that the disc diffusion, well diffusion and agar dilution methods were unreliable and produced inconsistent results. This was largely due to problems related to achieving stable dispersion of the oils in aqueous media, diffusion of lipophilic constituents in aqueous media and varying methods for determining numbers of viable bacteria remaining after the addition of the oil. An optimized broth dilution method, using 0.02% Tween 80 to emulsify the oils, was developed and shown to be the most accurate method for testing the antimicrobial activity of the hydrophobic and viscous essential oils. When evaluated against a range of oils, this method provided the most reliable and correct results and allowed direct comparison of the antibacterial activity of the test oils, irrespective of viscosity and hydrophobicity.

Antibacterial Activity of Berry Fruits Used for Culinary Purposes

Increasing interest in the health benefits of various culinary berries has led to investigation of their antibacterial activity. Commercial raspberry, blackcurrant, cranberry, and blackberry cordials (100% fruit) as well as fresh berries were assessed for their ability to inhibit the growth of various bacteria and the yeast Candida albicans. Three of the six raspberry cordials and the blackcurrant cordial inhibited all 12 bacteria and C. albicans at dilutions of 1:5. Bacteria showed varying susceptibilities to the remaining cordials. All cordials inhibited the growth of Mycobacterium phlei. Of the fresh berries, mulberries and boysenberries did not inhibit any bacteria, and the remaining berries inhibited the growth of varying numbers of bacteria. There was no correlation between gram-positive or gram-negative bacterial status and susceptibility to the berries. It is suggested that the antibacterial activity of these berries may be of benefit as a means of water purification for suspect water supplies or to enhance shelf life when incorporated into food products.

Antiparasitic activity of two Lavandula essential oils against Giardia duodenalis, Trichomonas vaginalis and Hexamita inflata.

Two essential oils derived from Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula × intermedia were investigated for any antiparasitic activity against the human protozoal pathogens Giardia duodenalis and Trichomonas vaginalis and the fish pathogen Hexamita inflata: all of which have significant infection and economic impacts. The study has demonstrated that low (≤1%) concentrations of L. angustifolia and L. × intermedia oil can completely eliminate T. vaginalis, G. duodenalis and H. inflata in vitro. At 0.1% concentration, L. angustifolia oil was found to be slightly more effective than L × intermedia oil against G. duodenalis and H. inflata. The potential applications are discussed.

Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) in the Management of Asthma: An Examination of the Evidence

Although individuals are using Complementary and Alternative Medical (CAM) therapies to help manage their asthma, there is no clear direction in the current guidelines for the use of CAM in asthma. This literature review undertakes to determine the current science regarding the use of CAM in asthma management. Electronic literature searched all EBM Reviews, Medline, OVID full text, and PubMed and National Complementary and Alternative Medication databases for Randomised Controlled Trials (RCT) published in English between 1997 and 2002 with keywords “asthma” and “complementary medicine” or “complementary therapy” or “alternative medicine” or “alternative therapy.” Abstracts (N = 197) were reviewed for inclusion in the review and duplicates discarded (N = 65). Abstracts of non‐RCT studies, review articles, and surveys were also discarded (N = 66). Abstracts discussing environmental control measures and pharmaceutical alternatives to steroid therapy were discarded (N = 9). The 15 final studies were grouped within three categories: mind‐body and relaxation, manual therapies, and diet and reviewed for statistical and clinical significance, suggesting some CAM therapies have shown minimally significant improvements in asthma quality of life (breathing exercises) or pulmonary function (relaxation) and immune function (relaxation and acupuncture) in select asthma populations. Although CAM therapy is being used in the management of asthma, these 15 studies show a tendency to little or no significant difference between placebo or sham therapy. This may be due, in part, to the enhanced placebo effect of sham therapies used as control and the small size of most studies. Although the changes in the immune function seen in two studies are provocative, these changes did not translate to changes in lung function. More research is needed to assist in determining the efficacy of CAM therapies in asthma management.

Analysis of essential oil of Satureja thymbra by hydrodistillation, thermal desorber, and headspace GC/MS techniques and its antimicrobial activity.

The essential oil composition of Satureja thymbra was analyzed by direct thermal desorber and Headspace GC/MS analysis methods. Its constituents were determined to be mainly carvacrol (40.15%), γ-terpinene (26.56%), p-cymene (16.39%), and thymol (13.16%). The other techniques, thermal desorber and Headspace GC/MS, were used for the plant leaves at three different temperature, which showed similar results. The thermal desorber GC/MS gave better and more sensitive results than Headspace GC/MS. The essential oil was found to be active against the bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella sonnei, and Staphylococcus aureus and the yeast Candida albicans.

Accumulation of theophylline, theobromine and paraxanthine in the fetal rat brain following a single oral dose of caffeine

This paper describes the disposition of caffeine and its metabolites, theophylline, theobromine and paraxanthine in the 20-day fetal and adult brains following a single maternal dose of 5 or 25 mg/kg caffeine. Brains and plasma were collected 5 and 30 min, and 1, 3, 8 and 24 h after dosing. It was found that fetal and adult caffeine AUC (area under the concentration-time curve) values did not differ between the brain and plasma at either dose. Caffeines primary metabolites theophylline, theobromine and paraxanthine did, however, accumulate in the fetal brain at both doses resulting in a 3-fold increase in brain metabolite exposure compared to fetal circulatory levels. In contrast to the fetus, metabolite AUC values after a dose of 25 mg/kg were found to be lower in the brains of adults compared with plasma. This suggests that caffeines primary metabolites might be selectively excluded from the adult brain. In conclusion we have shown that, unlike the adult, the fetal rat brain accumulates theophylline, theobromine and paraxanthine when exposed to caffeine doses comparable to those attainable by normal human consumption. Since many aspects of caffeine metabolism are similar in the rat and human, we suggested that particular attention should be paid to the consumption of caffeine during pregnancy.

Antifungal Activity of Australian Grown Lavandula spp. Essential Oils Against Aspergillus nidulans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Leptosphaeria maculans and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Abstract In this study the antifungal activity of eight essential oils and three hydrosols (aqueous distillates) from Australian grown lavenders was determined. The oils and hydrosols were assayed against four fungi, Aspergillus nidulans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Leptosphaeria maculans and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, using a disc diffusion method. No evidence of antifungal activity was observed with any of the hydrosols. In contrast, all oils displayed some antifungal activity. Lavandula angustifolia and the three examples of Lavandula x intermedia oil demonstrated the greatest effect against A. nidulans and T. mentagrophytes while L. stoechas was particularly effective against the two agricultural fungi, L. maculans and S. sclerotiorum. No significant difference was observed between the antifungal activity of L. angustifolia oils derived from European and Australian grown plants. These results suggest that the oils from various Lavandula species may be useful in the treatment of fungal infections.

Therapeutic options for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy: a systematic review

BackgroundChronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy is a rare acquired immune-mediated progressive or relapsing disorder causing peripheral neuropathic disease of duration more than two months. Many individuals with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy fail to make a long-term recovery with current treatment regimes. The aim of this study was to prospectively review the literature to determine the effectiveness of therapies for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy.MethodsArticles published from January 1990 to December 2012 were searched for studies to treat adults with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. Peer-reviewed full-text articles published in English were included.ResultsNine placebo-controlled double-blinded randomised trials were reviewed to treat subjects with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy exhibiting various degrees of effectiveness. The most effect treatments were; three randomised controlled trials using intravenous immunoglobulin, a study comparing pulsed dexamethasone and short term prednisolone and rituximab all showed promising results and were well tolerated.ConclusionIVIg and corticosteroids remain first line treatments for CIDP. Therapies using monoclonal antibodies, such as Rituximab and Natalizumab offer the most promise for treatment of Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy however they also need further research, as does the use of stem cell therapy for treating Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. Large randomised controlled trials and better patient selection are required to address responsiveness of CIDP patients to conventional treatments to elucidate mechanisms of action and future directions for therapeutic improvement.

Complementary and alternative medicine and the search for knowledge by conventional health care practitioners.

Abstract The use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) is growing rapidly within the western world and the nexus with conventional health care services is expanding. Many nurses and other conventional health care providers are not only using CAM themselves but see many of their clients using these medicines and therapies. The attitudes to CAM can influence client satisfaction and client use of different therapies and many practitioners of conventional health care are seeking education and information to enhance their knowledge and use of CAM. This paper reflects on the attitudes to CAM and the education needs and services in the field of CAM as identified by western health care providers, in particular nurses.