Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disease of the airways that is triggered primarily by smoking. It manifests clinically with dyspnea, cough and sputum production, all of which become aggravated with disease progression. The only intervention that can halt the decline in lung function in COPD is smoking cessation--other interventions and therapeutic treatments can on...

Beta-adrenoceptor agonists are potent and selective relaxants of airway smooth muscle. They produce symptomatic bronchodilatory effects and are the most widely used therapy in asthma. In patients with asthma, they usually effect a reduction of airway resistance, but there have been several reports of episodes of increased airway obstruction, arterial hypoxaemia and even death associated with su...

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of asthma. This study describes its airways relaxant potential, with elucidation of possible underlying mechanism. Crude extract of cardamom which tested positive for alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, sterols and tannins, when tested against carbachol-mediated bronchoconstriction in rats under anesthesia, dose-depe...

Agonists of the dopamine receptors have been demonstrated to have bronchodilatory properties in pathologically constricted airways. The mechanism by which these agonists induce bronchodilatation is thought to involve airway sensory nerves. In this study, the expression and function of dopamine D(2) receptor were examined in sensory ganglia supplying the airways. Neuronal dopamine D(2) receptor ...

Several reports have shown the various effects of grape (Vitis vinifera) seed extract such as antioxidant, hypotensive, hypolipidemic and vasodilatory effects. The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of grape leaf hydroalcoholic extract on isolated rat tracheal contractions induced by KCl and acetylcholine. The trachea was removed from male adult Sprague-Dawley rat and placed in ...

Asthma is a chronic disease of the airways that affects over 20 million people in the United States. It is a complex disease that involves airway infiltration by different types of cells and cell mediators causing chronic inflammation of the airway as well as hyper-responsiveness and edema. Management of asthma symptoms often requires combination therapy with multiple medications. Long-acting b...

Lepidium sativum is widely used in folk medicine for treatment of hyperactive airways disorders, such as asthma, bronchitis and cough. The crude extract of Lepidium sativum (Ls.Cr) inhibited carbachol (CCh, 1 μM-) and K(+) (80 mM-) induced contractions in a pattern similar to that of dicyclomine. Ls.Cr at 0.03 mg/mL produced a rightward parallel shift of CCh curves, followed by nonparallel shif...