BACKGROUND The widespread use of nutritional supplements among athletes is poorly understood. The prevalence of supplement intake and users' knowledge have been researched independently leading to useful, but disconnected, information on supplement use. METHODS The 'UK Sport 2005 Drug Free Survey' data (n = 874) were re-analysed using association [chi2] and 'strength of association' tests [ph...

BACKGROUND Pharyngitis is an inflammatory condition of the pharynx and associated structures commonly caused by the Group A streptococci (GAS). There is a growing interest in discovering plant-based anti-inflammatory compounds as potential alternatives to conventional drugs. This study evaluated anti-inflammatory activity of phytochemical-rich extracts prepared from 12 herbal plants using human...

Despite the widespread use of herbal medicines, documented herb-drug interactions are sparse. We have reviewed the literature to determine the possible interactions between the seven top-selling herbal medicines (ginkgo, St John's wort, ginseng, garlic, echinacea, saw palmetto and kava) and prescribed drugs. Literature searches were performed using the following databases: Medline (via Pubmed),...

background: it is important to understand the efficacy of immunoregulatory materials, herbal remedies or probiotics, in different parts of immune system following vaccination with different tropism. objectives: aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of echinacea purpurea and a probiotic (protexin) on systemic and mucosal immune response in turkey. methods: a total of 288 1-day-old male tu...

Hypergammaglobulinemic purpura (HGP) is a syndrome constellating recurrent purpura, hypergammaglobulinemia, positive rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-Ro/La antibodies, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). We present a case of a 29-year-old female who was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome four years prior to presenting with rash on her lower extremities for a period of 6 months. Skin b...

background & aim: this experiment investigated the effect of foliar application of methanol and ethanol on the biomass yield of medicinal plant echinacea purpurea. purple coneflower is an herbaceous perennial in the asteraceae family that is used in therapy of respiratory tract infection and bacterial otitis. experimental: this experiment was conducted in randomized complete block designed...

due to the limited availability of effective pharmaceutical products and serious side effects of the available therapy for leishmaniasis, search for useful medicinal plants is necessary. previous studies reported preventative effect of echinacea against leishmania infections through immunologic stimulation. here we tested concentrated ethanolic extract of the root of echinacea purpurea prepared...

Objective(s) There are some reports that the teratogenic effects of cyclophosphamide (CPA) can be prevented by application of antioxidant drugs and stimulation of the maternal immune system. Echinacea purpurea extract is antioxidative and immunomodulator drug. Mesna (Sodium 2-mercaptoethane sulfonate) is used for decreasing side effects of CPA, especially hemorrhagic cystitis. In this study, w...