Background: Psyllium husk has been used for treating gastrointestinal upsets like diarrhea, constipation and irritable bowel disease in the past. Recent medical researches have shown remarkable effects of psyllium husk on all parameters of lipid profile, except triglycerides and very low density lipoproteins. Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effects of psyllium husk on lipid...

BACKGROUND Treatment of chronic constipation remains challenging with 50% of patients dissatisfied with current therapy. There is an unmet need for natural and safe alternatives. Dried plums (prunes) have been used traditionally for constipation but their efficacy is not known. Aim To assess and compare the effects of dried plums and psyllium in patients with chronic constipation. METHODS Sub...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Parasitism is well understood to have wide-ranging deleterious effects on host performance in species thus far characterized. Photosynthetic performance reductions have been noted in the Striga-Zea mays association; however, no such information exists for facultative hemiparasitic plants and their hosts, nor are the effects of host species understood. METHODS Chlorophyll f...

Methanolic extracts from seven Plantago species used in traditional medicine for the treatment of cancer, were evaluated for cytotoxic activity against three human cancer cell lines recommended by the National Cancer Institute (NCI, USA). The results showed that Plantago species exhibited cytotoxic activity, showing a certain degree of selectivity against the tested cells in culture. Since the ...

Traditional medicines by medicinal plants have always played a key role in world health including Iran buttheir safety profile is a major concern in this regard. In fact some factors such as the method of extraction,contamination with microorganisms, existence of heavy metals, and pesticides may reduce the safety ofherbal based pharmaceutical products. The objective of this research was to dete...

OBJECTIVE To examine the efficacy of psyllium mucilloid in evacuating sand from the equine large intestine. ANIMALS 12 clinically healthy pony geldings. PROCEDURE Twelve ponies were assigned to 2 groups of six each. One group was treated with psyllium and the second was a control group. All ponies had an exploratory celiotomy and 10 g/kg body weight of sand was placed into the cecum. Ponies...

The basic aspire of current study was to review different aspects of Plantago ovata together with its cultivation, growth, biochemistry, pharmaceutical and pharmacological attributes. Plantago ovata belongs to family Plantaginaceae. It is an annual herb, indigenous to Mediterranean region especially Southern Europe, North Africa and West Asia. Different electronic databases (Medline, Science Di...

β-Glucans, mostly from oats, have been shown to reduce blood concentrations of total and LDL-cholesterol in animals and humans. After processing, spent brewer’s yeast, a by-product of the fermentation process, contains 85% 90% βglucans. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of yeast-derived β-glucan fiber on plasma lipids and early atherosclerosis development in hamsters consumin...