Development of tolerance and dependence is a major problem associated with opioid treatment. Withdrawal syndrome is common between medical and illicit users of these agents. Phytomedicine has shown promise in the treatment of this complicated psychosomatic condition. In this study, the effects of plant extracts and active components on morphine dependence and withdrawal syndrome are discussed. Proper keywords were used to search through PubMed, Google Scholar, and SciVerse, as well as two local scientific databases, www.iranmedex.com and www.SID.com. All relevant results (original articles, meeting abstracts, patents, etc.) published from 2000 to 2013 were chosen for final review. A total of 35 plant species were studied on this subject. Plants from Lamiaceae, Ranunculaceae, and Apiaceae families were especially effective. A few studies were carried out on human subjects and the rest in animal models. Opioid dependence and withdrawal syndrome remain an intimidating challenge. Nonetheless, plants and their derivatives are suitable sources for their treatment. Although there are several plants shown to be effective in animal models, few clinical studies are available.

No abstract

No abstract

Introduction:β-Lactam antibiotics like Clavulanic Acid (CA) enhances cellular glutamate uptake through activation of Glutamate Transporter subtype 1 (GLT-1) and decreases the level of glutamate in the nervous system. Based on studies, blocking the glutamate activity inhibits morphine-induced Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) in animals. Therefore, the effects of CA on the acquisition of morphine craving were evaluated using the CPP model in the current study.Methods:CA (1, 50 and 150 mg/kg, ip) was co-administered with morphine (40 mg/kg) for 4 days in the conditioning phase. On day 8, the effects of CA on morphine preference was assessed. In another experiment, the effect of CA on reinstatement of morphine preference by a single morphine injection (10 mg/kg) was evaluated after an extinction period.Results:In the first method, the morphine-induced place preference was markedly reduced following administration of CA (50 and 150 mg/kg). In the second experiment, a single administration of CA (50 and 150 mg/kg) markedly inhibited the reinstatement of morphine preference on day 16. The results indicated that CA (50, 150 mg/kg) can block both morphine-induced CPP and the reinstatement of place preference following priming dose of morphine. Also memantine (as a positive control) (10 mg/kg) significantly inhibited both acquisition and reinstatement of morphine CPP.Conclusion:Considering the important role of glutamate neurotransmission in morphine dependence, the effects of CA may be partly due to decrease in glutamate level in synaptic space and blockade of N-Methyl-D-aspartate Acid (NMDA) receptors. Although, we need further studies to determine exact cellular mechanism.

Abstract. Gene therapy is a novel method to treat a variety of diseases including genetic disorders and cancer. Nonviral gene carriers have now gained considerable attention as gene carrier systems. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) and polypropyleneimine (PPI) are the two most widely used denderimers in gene delivery studies. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of modification of generation 5 polypropyleneimine (G5 PPI) dendrimers with alkanoate groups as hydrophobic moieties on DNA transfection and cytotoxicity. Six, 10, and 16 carbon derivatives of bromoalkanoic acids were conjugated onto PPI with 10%, 30%, and 50% of surface amine grafting. Ethidium bromide exclusion assay results proved the ability of modified carriers to condense DNA. Transfection assay showed higher DNA delivery potential for 30% and 50% grafting with decanoate moieties compared to native G5 PPI and Superfect TM . 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-di phenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and apoptosis experiments showed lower toxicity for modified carriers compared to unmodified PPI. The hemolytic effect of grafted carriers was not significantly different from G5 PPI. Size and zeta potential measurements revealed that polyplex size was less than 200 nm and electrical charges were in the range 14-25 mV. The hydrophobic modifications improved transfection activity and toxicity of G5 PPI without negatively affecting hemocompatibility. These modified carriers are therefore promising candidates for further in vivo investigations.