Introduction: Understanding why adults resort to herbal medicine can help in planning interventions aimed at increasing awareness regarding herbal use. This study sought to investigate the prevalence and to determine factors for predicting the use of herbal medicine among Jordanian adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 378 older adults who were randomly selected from two different areas of Jordan. A questionnaire was used to gather data and validation criteria for validity and reliability of the content were tested by content and face validity in a panel of experts. Results: From a total of 500 invited participants, 378 completed the questionnaire. The prevalence of the use of of herbal products in this study was high at 80.2%. Herbal medicines use was not associated with any demographic factors other than age (p < 0.05). Moreover, the only associated health-related characteristic was the patient's disease state including, notably, hypertension (p < 0.05). Reasons for not using herbal medicines as reported by nonusers included mainly a lack of belief in their efficacy (52.2%). Another two important reasons were that the individuals believed themselves to healthy and have no need for their use (31.3%) and the unavailability of enough information about the herbal medicines (29.7%). Finally, the most common side effects as reported by patients in this study were nausea and vomiting (9.3%), and, to a lesser extent, skin rash (2.1%). Conclusion: There is a high rate of use of herbal medicines in Jordan, especially among hypertensive patients. Therefore, there is a need to establish effective herbal medicine policies and health education programs to discuss the benefits and risks of herbal medicine use, with the aim of maximizing patient-desired therapeutic outcomes.

A. citrodora EO displays a range of pharmacological properties worthy of further investigation to isolate the compounds responsible for the observed neuroactivities, to further analyse their mode of action and determine their clinical potential in neurodegenerative diseases.

Luteolin is a naturally occurring secondary metabolite belonging to the class of flavones. As many other natural flavonoids, it is often found in combination with glycosides in many fruits, vegetables, and plants, contributing to their biological and pharmacological value. Many preclinical studies report that luteolin present excellent antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory effects, and as a consequence, various clinical trials have been designed to investigate the therapeutic potential of luteolin in humans. However, luteolin has a very limited bioavailability, which consequently affects its biological properties and efficacy. Several drug delivery strategies have been developed to raise its bioavailability, with nanoformulations and lipid carriers, such as liposomes, being the most intensively explored. Pharmacological potential of luteolin in various disorders has also been underlined, but to some of them, the exact mechanism is still poorly understood. Given the great potential of this natural antioxidant in health, this review is aimed at providing an extensive overview on the in vivo pharmacological action of luteolin and at stressing the main features related to its bioavailability, absorption, and metabolism, while essential steps determine its absolute health benefits and safety profiles. In addition, despite the scarcity of studies on luteolin bioavailability, the different drug delivery formulations developed to increase its bioavailability are also listed here.

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This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Author SA designed the study, wrote the protocol and the first draft of the manuscript. Authors SA and SAO conducted the experimental works. Author RA performed the statistical analysis. Author PC managed the literature searches and the analyses of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts of Achillea fragrantissima L. (Asteraceae) grown in Jordan were screened for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiplatelet, anti-proliferative and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition efficacy. Total phenols and flavonoids were determined colorimetrically. The radical scavenging activities were evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activity assays. High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) analysis resulted in the identification of 7 phenolic compounds in the hydro-alcoholic extract and 4 compounds in the aqueous extract; quercetin 3-β-D-glucoside was the main component for both extracts. Antimicrobial activities were determined by antimicrobial susceptibility testing such as agar well-diffusion method, minimum inhibition concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration. Gram positive bacteria showed sensitivity to hydro-alcoholic extract in the agar-well diffusion test. No significant activity was observed against gram negative bacteria and Candida albicans. Hydro-alcoholic extract had a bactericidal activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Bacillus cereus at high concentrations (MIC 12.5 mg/ml) rather than inhibitory effect. In vitro antiplatelet activity was tested on human whole blood using an electrical impedance method. At concentrations (50, 100, and 200 μg/ml), no effect on platelet aggregation was noticed. Anti-proliferative activity was investigated using the MTT assay. At concentrations up to 200 μg/ml, extracts did not possess cytotoxic activity against the MCF-7 cells. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory capacity of A. fragrantissima extracts was tested using TLC assay method, and neither aqueous, nor hydroalcoholic extracts showed AChE inhibition. The present investigation supported the traditional use of A. fragrantissima in the Jordanian folk medicine as an antimicrobial active representative of the genus Achillea. A. fragrantissima extracts should be further studied for their potential use in preventing/treating diseases in which oxidative stress is a part of the pathophysiology.

Abstract:From the aerial parts of Ruta chalepensis L., grown in Jordan, two furanocoumarins (bergapten and chalepensin), one fl avonoid glycoside (rutin) as well as several minor compounds have been isolated. The structural elucidation of these compounds was established based on spectral data (UV, IR, MS, 1 H-NMR and 13 C-NMR). In Jordan, R. chalepensis is recommended for the treatment of rheumatism, mental disorders and menstrual problems. Fresh and dried leaves are used as fl avoring agent in food and beverages. Antiplatelet activities of the crude methanolic and ethylacetate extracts in addition to the three isolated major compounds were measured by the aggrometric method according to Beretz and Casenave. Optical aggregometer connected to dual channel recorder was used for measuring aggregation. Both, ethylacetate and methanol extracts inhibited ADP-induced platelet aggregation (ADP-IA) of human blood. However, only ethylacetate extract was able to induce 50% inhibition of collagen-induced platelet aggregation (Co-IA) platelet rich plasma. Bergapten was more active against ADP-IA compared to chalepensin while the latter was more active against Co-IA compared to bergapten.

Melissa officinalis L. is used in traditional European and Iranian folk medicines to treat a plethora of neurological diseases including epilepsy. We utilized the in vitro and in vivo models of epilepsy to probe the anticonvulsant potentials of essential oil from M. officinalis (MO) to gain insight into the scientific basis for its applications in traditional medicine for the management of convulsive disorders. MO was evaluated for effects on maximal electroshock (MES) and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) -induced seizures in mice, on 4–aminopyridine (4-AP)-brain slice model of epilepsy and sustained repetitive firing of current clamped neurons; and its ameliorative effects were examined on seizure severity, anxiety, depression, cognitive dysfunction, oxidative stress and neuronal cell loss in PTZ-kindled rats. MO reversibly blocked spontaneous ictal-like discharges in the 4-AP-brain slice model of epilepsy and secondary spikes from sustained repetitive firing, suggesting anticonvulsant effects and voltage-gated sodium channel blockade. MO protected mice from PTZ– and MES–induced seizures and mortality, and ameliorated seizure severity, fear-avoidance, depressive-like behavior, cognitive deficits, oxidative stress and neuronal cell loss in PTZ–kindled rats. The findings warrant further study for the potential use of MO and/or its constituent(s) as adjunctive therapy for epileptic patients.