Commentary on Traditional and Modern Biomedical Prospecting: Part II-The Benefits by Werner E.G. Muller, Heinz C. Schroder, Matthias Wiens, Sanja Perovic-Ottstadt, Renato Batel and Isabel M. Muller: Anti-protozoa and antiviral activities of non-cytotoxic truncated and variant analogues of mussel defensin by P. Roch, A. Beschin and E. Bernard

Bioactivity of the Murex Homeopathic Remedy and of Extracts from an Australian Muricid Mollusc against Human Cancer Cells

Marine molluscs from the family Muricidae are the source of a homeopathic remedy Murex, which is used to treat a range of conditions, including cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro bioactivity of egg mass extracts of the Australian muricid Dicathais orbita, in comparison to the Murex remedy, against human carcinoma and lymphoma cells. Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used to characterize the chemical composition of the extracts and homeopathic remedy, focusing on biologically active brominated indoles. The MTS (tetrazolium salt) colorimetric assay was used to determine effects on cell viability, while necrosis and apoptosis induction were investigated using flow cytometry (propidium iodide and Annexin-V staining, resp.). Cells were treated with varying concentrations (1–0.01 mg/mL) of crude and semi-purified extracts or preparations (dilute 1 M and concentrated 4 mg/mL) from the Murex remedy (4 h). The Murex remedy showed little biological activity against the majority of cell lines tested. In contrast, the D. orbita egg extracts significantly decreased cell viability in the majority of carcinoma cell lines. Flow cytometry revealed these extracts induce necrosis in HT29 colorectal cancer cells, whereas apoptosis was induced in Jurkat cells. These findings highlight the biomedical potential of Muricidae extracts in the development of a natural therapy for the treatment of neoplastic tumors and lymphomas.

Orthosiphon versus placebo in nephrolithiasis with multiple chronic complaints: a randomized control trial

Nephrolithiasis in the communities of Northeast Thailand frequently presents with multiple chronic health complaints, i.e. myofascial pain, back pain, dyspepsia, arthralgia, headache, fatigue, frank paresthesia, dysuria and any of these aggravated by purine-rich food (PRF). We assessed the efficacy of Orthosiphon in treating subjects with at least two active symptoms and negative for urine white blood cells. Subjects were randomly allocated to two groups. Crude extract of Orthosiphon given in a capsule (equivalent to 1.6-1.8 g of dried leaves of Orthosiphon) two times a day to Group 1 (n = 36) and a placebo to Group 2 (n = 40) for 14 days. The medication for each subject was packed and its code kept secret until the data analysis. Both groups were asked not to consume any of 25 purine-rich foods (PRFs) during treatment. The primary measure was the reduced sum of active severity symptoms as recorded using the visual analog scale before and after therapy (i.e. on day 7 and 14). The data on 76 subjects were processed. The mean of the total scores (95% CI) of the symptoms in each group were decreased significantly (P < 0.001); 185.6 (153.3, 218.0) to 94.7 (58.2, 131.2) in the Orthosiphon group and 196.1 (164.4, 227.8) to 89.6 (62.8, 116.5) in the placebo group. When comparing between groups, no statistically significant difference was found. The mean consumption in PRFs was significantly decreased (P < 0.001) in both groups; however, Orthosiphon did not have additional benefit over placebo at 7 and 14 days of treatment during which they reduced these foods.

Indigofera suffruticosa: an alternative anticancer therapy

Indigofera suffruticosa Mill (Fabeceae) occurs in the Northeast countryside and has intensive popular use in the treatment of infectious, inflammatory and other processes. The main aim of the present work was to investigate the cytotoxic and antitumor effects of aqueous extracts of leaves of I. suffruticosa obtained by infusion and maceration as well as to evaluate the toxicological properties. Aqueous extracts did not exhibit cytotoxicity against HEp-2 (human epidermoid cancer cell) cell lines by MTT method. From the aqueous extract by infusion, the toxicological assay showed low order of toxicity. The antitumor effect of aqueous extracts by infusion (64.53%) and maceration (62.62%) against sarcoma 180 in mice at a dose of 50 mg kg(-1) (intraperitoneally), based on low order of toxicity was comparable to the control group, which showed 100% development. Considering the low order of toxicity and that it is highly effective in inhibiting growth of solid tumors, the aqueous extracts of leaves of I. suffruticosa may be used as an alternative anticancer agent.

Maggot therapy: the science and implication for CAM part II-maggots combat infection

Maggot therapy employs the use of freshly emerged, sterile larvae of the common green-bottle fly, Phaenicia (Lucilia) sericata, and is a form of artificially induced myiasis in a controlled clinical situation. Maggot therapy has the following three core beneficial effects on a wound: debridement, disinfection and enhanced healing. In part II of this review article, we discuss clinical infections and the evidence supporting the potent antibacterial action of maggot secretions. Enhancement of wound healing by maggots is discussed along with the future of this highly successful, often controversial, alternative treatment.

Developmental therapeutics: review of biologically based CAM therapies for potential application in children with cancer: part I

This article is a review of the status of biologically based complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies that have potential anticancer activity with a focus on those agents that may be active in childhood cancer. The review presented in 2 parts includes the descriptions of the mechanisms that underlie their effects, the manner by which these agents are identified and evaluated and discussion of some of the limitations of current research. The first part introduces the topic of biologically based CAM therapies. The discussion includes a description the discovery biologically based products for cancer, the classification of these compounds and their use from the perspectives of the Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine systems. Issues associated with evidence-based research of compounds used in these practices are addressed. The second part focuses on preclinical and clinical studies of specific herbs or natural products and their bioactive constituents that demonstrate potential in cancer therapeutics. Turmeric, mistletoe, green tea, ginseng, mushrooms, and micronutrients are representative of compounds that exert their effects through mechanisms attributed to specific chemical classes. The section concludes with a discussion of status of clinical trials of biologically based CAM therapeutics for cancer and the future direction of research.