BACKGROUND Studies suggest an important role of autophagy as a target for cancer therapy. We constructed a "disease-gene-drug" network using the modular approach of bioinformatics and screened herbal monomers demonstrating functions related to autophagy regulation. METHODS Based on the microarray results of the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database (GSE2435 and GSE31040, starvation-induced a...

PURPOSE We tested the effects of a saw palmetto herbal blend in men with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) via a randomized, placebo controlled trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS We randomized 44 men 45 to 80 years old with symptomatic BPH into a trial of a saw palmetto herbal blend versus placebo. End points included routine clinical measures (symptom score, uroflowmetry and post-void...

Traditional Chinese herbal therapy can be characterized by the use of a large number of multi-herb formulae. To provide modern and Western scientists without knowledge of Chinese literature and cultural background easy access to information, a database with a total of 11 810 traditional Chinese herbal formulae was constructed. All the information was then translated into understandable scientif...

Herbal medicines in treatment of cancer as complementary and alternative therapy are accepted increasingly with growing scientific evidences of biomedical research and clinical trials. Anticancer drugs discovered from herbal medicines have a long history and some of them have been used in clinical setting as the conventional anticancer drugs. Actually, herbal medicines are a source for anticanc...

INTRODUCTION Mesenteric phlebosclerosis is a rare ischemic disease affecting the colon. Systemic disease and herbal medicine have been pointed out as possible causes, and the disease is characterized by calcifications involved the mesocolic veins. Patients who do not respond to conservative therapy require surgical treatment. In surgical intervention, an adequate extent of colonic resection is ...

BACKGROUND About 40% of adult Americans use complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) for health problems. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of reported use of CAM in a population of urban adolescents with asthma. DESIGN/METHODS We used a multistaged, stratified sample approach at an inner-city high school. An asthma screening survey was administered to 3800 registered students, aged ...

Medicinal plants have been used since ancient times for the treatment of different diseases. Natural sources are one of the important fields of research for preventing immunological complications. Using herbal medicine has decreased as the result of the development of chemical drugs. This review aimed to study herbal medicine regarding the oral cavity. English literature was searched with the t...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of a native herbal tea in patients with type 2 diabetes. DESIGN Randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blind study. SETTING The Metabolic Centre at the University of Alberta Hospitals. SUBJECTS Forty volunteers with type 2 diabetes. INTERVENTIONS After a 1 month "run-in" period, subjects drank 250 mL/d of either the herbal tea or a placebo tea for 10 da...

Within the last decade there has been a dramatic increase in the sale and use of herbal supplements and food supplements by Western populations and within the UK. This increased usage has coincided with a resurgence of interest in nutritional therapy and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, such as herbal medicine, naturopathy and homeopathy, in which therapists may provide d...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitudes among pharmacists in Kuwait towards the use of herbs. METHODS Self-administered questionnaire was designed as the study instrument and distributed among 100 qualified pharmacists working in government and private pharmacies in Kuwait. RESULTS The mean age was 34.2 (SD=7.5) years. About 51% of pharmacists rep...