Aims
COVID-19 is a significant global threat to public health. Despite the availability of vaccines and anti-viral drugs, there is an urgent need for alternative treatments to help prevent and/or manage COVID-19 symptoms and the underlying dysregulated immune response. We hypothesized that administration of Inflawell
®
syrup, a Boswellia extract formulation enriched for boswellic acids (BAs), can reduce the excessive or persistent inflammation and thereby prevent disease progression. BAs are medicinally activated triterpenoids found in the resins of
Boswellia spp
., and possess an immense therapeutic potential due to their anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities. We investigated the effect of Inflawell
®
syrup, on moderate COVID-19 patients along with the current standard of care treatment.
Methods
A randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial was conducted, following definitive confirmation of COVID-19. Forty-seven hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19 were enrolled and received either the Inflawell
®
syrup or placebo. Clinical symptoms and markers of inflammation were evaluated at baseline and completion of the trial.
Results
Our clinical trial revealed an increase in the percentage of oxygen saturation level in patients that received the BAs compared to placebo (
P
< 0.0001). In addition, the average duration of hospitalization was significantly shorter in the BAs group compared with the placebo group (
P
< 0.04). Concomitantly, some improvement in the clinical symptoms including cough, dyspnea, myalgia, headache, and olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were detected in the BAs group. Hematologic findings showed a significant decrease in the percentage of neutrophils (
P
< 0.006) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) levels (
P
< 0.003), associated with a significant increase in the percentage of lymphocytes in the BAs group compared with the placebo (
P
< 0.002). Additionally, a significant decrease in CRP, LDH, IL − 6 and TNF − α levels was detected in the BAs group. Following the intervention, fewer patients in the BAs group were PCR-positive for COVID-19 compared to placebo, though not statistically significant.
Conclusion
Overall, the treatment with Inflawell
®
resulted in shorter hospital stay, alleviation of COVID-19 clinical symptoms and decline in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Trial registration
The trial has been registered in
https://www.irct.ir
with unique identifier: IRCT20170315033086N10 (
https://en.irct.ir/trial/51631
). IRCT is a primary registry in the WHO registry network (
https://www...
There are many causes for having preterm labor, including incompetent cervix, preterm rupture of membrane, diabetes of mother, and hypomagnesemia. A decrease of magnesium level may lead to preterm labor.
BackgroundCoronary artery disease (CAD) is the main cause of death and is characterized by atherosclerosis in coronary arteries. Since Inflammation play an essential role in progression and development of atherosclerosis, we investigated the effects of interaction MMPs, TIMP and cytokines in the pathogensis of atherosclerosis.Method and resultsThe present study was consisted of 132 Iranian individuals underwent coronary angiography, 65 patients with CAD and 67 controls. The Matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and vitamin D levels were measured by ELISA technique. The genes expression of MMP-9 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP1) were estimated by Real time PCR assay. A considerable increase in both levels and PBMC gene expression of MMP-9, serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were found in CAD patients compared with controls. While a significant decrease was detected in vitamin D levels of CAD patients in comparison with controls. A considerable direct correlation was found between MMP-9 levels and MMP-9 and TIMP1 genes expression in CAD patients. MMP-9 levels positively correlated with LDL-C and in CAD. Correlation between TIMP1 gene expression and IL-6 levels was also negatively significant. Moreover, there were positive correlations between MMP-9 levels and IL-6 and TNF-α serum levels in CAD patients.ConclusionThis study showed that the interaction between MMPs, TIMP and cytokines could play a role in the pathogensis of atherosclerosis.
The current study was designed to investigate the changes of the resistin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels of diabetic rats after treatment with Morus alba leaves flavonoid extract (MLE) and Morus alba leaves powder (MLP). Thirty male wistar rats in five groups including control and diabetic groups were included. Diabetic groups consisted of diabetic control, sham and treated group with MLE and MLP. Type 2 diabetes was induced in rats by administration of streptozotocin (STZ) and nicotinamide. The serum concentrations of resistin and insulin in the study groups were identified by ELISA. ALT and AST activities were assayed by spectrophotometer. For the first time, it was shown that the uptake of MLE and MLP by diabetic rats could significantly decrease the serum fasting blood sugar (FBS), resistin levels and enzymes activity of ALT and AST and increases the concentration of serum insulin significantly (P<0.05). in comparison with the sham group and diabetic control. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the anti-diabetic and inflammatory properties of MLE and MLP. In this study, the possible protective effect of MLE and MLP administration was evaluated against destructive effect of STZ on liver and pancreas function in diabetic rats. The results showed that these effects may play an important role in the regulating of adipokines secretion such as resistin and insulin secretion which are involved in the control of diabetes and obesity. MLE and MLP treatment could be useful agents in combination with other therapies in diabetes improvement.
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