IL-6 and TNF-alpha proinflammatory cytokine gene polymorphisms could change individual susceptibility to IBS and might have a role in pathophysiology of disease.

Inflammation and mucosal immune system activation have an important role in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), whereas genetic factors can control some immunological mediators. In this study, a number of polymorphic genes coding for T-helper 1, T-helper 2, and T-regulatory cytokines were genotyped in 71 patients with IBS, and the results were compared with controls. IL-4 CC genotype at position -590, IL-4 TT genotype at position -33, and IL-10 GA genotype at position -1082 were significantly overrepresented in the patients with IBS in comparison with controls (P < 0.001). The frequencies of the following haplotypes in the patient group were significantly higher than in the control group: IL-2 (-330, +160) GT haplotype (P = 0.002), IL-4 (-1098, -590, -33) TCC haplotype (P < 0.001), and TCT haplotype (P < 0.001). While production of cytokines could be affected by genetic polymorphisms within coding and promoter regions of cytokine genes, IL-4 and IL-10 gene polymorphisms could affect individual susceptibility to IBS.

Iran has a rich and diverse cultural heritage, consisting of a complex traditional medicine deeply rooted in the history of the territory that goes back to the Assyrian and Babylonian civilizations. The ethnomedical practices that can be identifiable nowadays derive from the experience of local people who have developed remedies against a wide range of diseases handing down the knowledge from generation to generation over the millennia. Traditional medicine practices represent an important source of inspiration in the process of the development of new drugs and therapeutic strategies. In this context, it is useful to determine the state of the art of ethnomedical studies, concerning the Iranian territory, and of scientific studies on plants used in traditional Iranian medicine. Data regarding 245 plants used in Iranian ethnomedical practices and scientific studies conducted on 89 plants collected in the Iranian territory have been reported. All of the scientific studies here reported draw inspiration from traditional medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly called for an intensification of the scientific validation processes of traditional medicines intended as an important contribution to public health in various parts of the world. The process of study and validation of Iranian ethnomedical practices appears to be at an early stage.

No abstract

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as a glutathione inducer is known for its anti-inflammatory effects in inflammatory conditions. The aim of the present study was to know if supplementation of the culture medium with NAC can improve anti-inflammatory activities of hepatocytes during their differentiation from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). For this, in vitro hepatic differentiation of MSCs was performed in culture medium supplemented with NAC and selected pro-and anti-inflammatory factors were monitored for two weeks. Treatment of the MSCs undergoing hepatic differentiation with NAC (0.1 and 1.0 mM) caused a significant (~5-fold) increase in proliferation rate of MSCs, whereas the rate of hepatic differentiation was declined in NAC-treated cells as compared to those untreated with NAC. Under these circumstances, NAC caused a significant increase in total glutathione in cell lysate during 2 weeks of differentiation as compared to untreated group. NAC-related increase in glutathione was associated with significant alterations in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and IL-10 levels secreted in the culture medium. A substantial decrease in the IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels in the culture medium supplemented with NAC was obvious in hepatocytes recovered 14 days after differentiation. In contrast, the secretary IL-10 was significantly increased as a result of NAC treatments. These data suggest that NAC supplementation can improve anti-inflammatory activities of the hepatocytes derived from MSCs. NAC function mediated by glutathione synthesis can also help in modulation of proliferation of the stem cells and their differentiation into hepatocyte-like cells.☆ The paper by Allameh et al. deals with in vitro evaluation of pharmacological actions of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on primitive features and expression profiles of several proinflammatory cytokines in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from bone marrow of healthy human subjects. Exposure to NAC led to a marked increase in the endogenous glutathione levels along with alterations of particular cytokine transcript expression in cultured cells.

Background: Hydroquinone, arbutin and kojic acid are herbal-based skin whitening compounds that are used in many cosmetics. Today, the lack of side effects of arbutin and kojic acid has made them a valuable alternative to hydroquinone. Due to the toxic effects of whitening compounds, it is necessary to control the amount of use of these in the whitening products so that their concentration is within the permissible range. Objective: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and quantify these three compounds in anti-lacquer products. In this research, the best separation of analytes has been tried by changing the HPLC mobile phase. Methods: Different samples were taken from the supply level. After extraction and preparation of samples, the solution was injected into HPLC-UV. In order to optimize the method, three different mobile phases were used to identify the compounds. By comparing the obtained peaks with the standard peaks, the Whitening compounds were identified and quantified. Results: The results showed that hydroquinone and kojic acid were applied in three products and arbutin in one product and the concentration of all the compounds used were within the standard range. Four out of the eight companies surveyed did not correctly identify the compounds used in their products. Conclusion: Reverse Phase HPLC-UV is also one of the best methods for determination and quantification the whitening compounds and water composition: acetonitrile with a ratio of 80:20 v/v is the most appropriate mobile phase in this method.