Efficacy and Safety of Kudzu Flower-Mandarin Peel on Hot Flashes and Bone Markers in Women during the Menopausal Transition: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Anti-osteoporosis effect of bioactives in edible medicinal plants: a comprehensive review

Current treatments for osteoporosis include a calcium-rich diet, adequate exercise, and medication. Many synthetic drugs, although fast-acting, can cause a range of side effects for patients when taken over a long period, such as irritation of the digestive tract and a burden on the kidneys. As the world's population ages, the prevalence of osteoporosis is increasing, and the development of safe and effective treatments is urgently needed. Active compounds in edible and medicinal homologous plants have been used for centuries to improve bone quality. It is possible to employ them as dietary supplements to prevent osteoporosis. In this review, we analyze the influencing factors of osteoporosis and systematically summarize the research progress on the anti-osteoporosis effects of active compounds in edible and medicinal homologous plants. The literature suggests that some naturally occurring active compounds in edible and medicinal homologous plants can inhibit bone loss, prevent the degeneration of bone cell microstructure, and reduce bone fragility through alleviating oxidative stress, regulating autophagy, anti-inflammation, improving gut flora, and regulating estrogen level with little side effects. Our review provides useful guidance for the use of edible and medicinal homologous plants and the development of safer novel anti-osteoporosis dietary supplements.

Menopause Hot Flashes and Molecular Mechanisms Modulated by Food-Derived Nutrients

The causes of vasomotor symptoms, including hot flashes, are not fully understood, may be related to molecular factors, and have a polygenic architecture. Nutrients and bioactive molecules supplied to the body with food are metabolized using various enzymatic pathways. They can induce molecular cell signaling pathways and, consequently, activate effector proteins that modulate processes related to hot flashes in menopausal women. In this review, we analyzed the literature data from the last 5 years, especially regarding genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis, and selected molecular factors and cell signaling pathways that may potentially be related to hot flashes in women. These are the kisspeptin-GnRH pathway, adipocyte-derived hormones, aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling, catechol estrogens and estrogen sulfotransferase, inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers, and glucose availability. Then, single compounds or groups of food ingredients were selected that, according to experimental data, influence the course of the discussed molecular pathways and thus can be considered as potential natural therapeutic agents to effectively reduce the troublesome symptoms of menopause in women.

Plant-derived natural medicines for the management of osteoporosis: A comprehensive review of clinical trials

Background

Osteoporosis is a chronic and systemic skeletal disease that is defined by low bone mineral density (BMD) along with an increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. This study aimed to overview clinical evidence on the use of herbal medicine for management of osteoporosis.

Methods

Electronic databases including Pubmed, Medline, Cochrane library, and Scopus were searched until November 2022 for any clinical studies on the efficacy and/or safety of plant-derived medicines in the management of osteoporosis.

Results

The search yielded 57 results: 19 on single herbs, 16 on multi-component herbal preparations, and 22 on plant-derived secondary metabolites. Risk of fracture, bone alkaline phosphatase, BMD, and specific bone biomarkers are investigated outcomes in these studies. Medicinal plants including Acanthopanax senticosus, Actaea racemosa, Allium cepa, Asparagus racemosus, Camellia sinensis, Cissus quadrangularis, Cornus mas, Nigella sativa, Olea europaea, Opuntia ficus-indica, Pinus pinaster, Trifolium pretense and phytochemicals including isoflavones, ginsenoside, Epimedium prenyl flavonoids, tocotrienols are among plant-derived medicines clinically investigated on osteoporosis. It seems that multi-component herbal preparations were more effective than single-component ones; because of the synergistic effects of their constituents. The investigated herbal medicines demonstrated their promising results in osteoporosis via targeting different pathways in bone metabolism, including balancing osteoblasts and osteoclasts, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and estrogen-like functions.

Conclusion

It seems that plant-derived medicines have beneficial effects on bone and may manage osteoporosis by affecting different targets and pathways involved in osteoporosis; However, Future studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness and safety of these preparations.

Phytotherapic approach in menopause: light and darkness

INTRODUCTION

Menopause is a critical period of the woman life, characterized by a peculiar modification in estrogens concentration and accompanied by different signs and symptoms. To prevent and contrast unfavorable consequences of menopause, different therapeutic approaches could be evaluated. The hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the most known, but it has several contraindications. The increasing interest in phytotherapy introduces the necessity for endocrinologist involved in menopause to suggest different therapeutic approaches, considering the state of health of patient and the real efficacy of the drugs. We aim to outline the main phytotherapy treatments to choose in menopause.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

This review is based on focused research of the current literature on PubMed and Scopus such as research databases. We selected 4120 papers through these keywords: "MENOPAUSE" AND "phytotherapy," "natural therapy," "phytoterapy drugs." Then, the literature was scanned selecting English papers of last 10 years (last research on October 1, 2021), excluding reviews. Separately, two researchers MGT and CP examined and read 212 full selected papers. We included clinical trials and randomized clinical trials written in English and excluded duplicates, animal studies and studies with lack of group of interest, non-relevant outcomes, inappropriate methodology. Retrospective studies, case reports, case series, original articles, brief communications, and letter to the editor were included in our research. We furthermore completed our research by the examination of every study's bibliography.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

Phytotherapy involves the use of plants or plant extracts for the treatment of diseases thanks to the activities of their compounds and metabolites. In particular, many of them have an estrogen-like activity and are identified as phytoestrogens, because thanks to their chemical structure are able to bind the estrogen receptors and carry out biological estrogenic or antiestrogenic activities. The supplementing diet with these compounds can ensure an advantage on various aspects of the climacteric syndrome and some of them also have a beneficial impact on cardiovascular risk, bone health and sleep complaint. These substances can be used with safety due to their good tolerability and low rate of side effects. There are no known serious adverse events associated with their consumption, but as a precaution, its use is not recommended during pregnancy and in association with hormonal therapies or in women with hormone responsive cancers.

CONCLUSIONS

Phytotherapy must be considered an interesting tool in the treatment of signs and symptoms in selected menopause woman.

Calprotectin and N-telopeptide of Type I Collagen (NTx) as Gingival Crevicular Fluid (GCF) Biomarker in Peri-Implantitis Patients

Introduction: Formulation of various preventive and therapeutic strategies is possible only by a better understanding of the immune-inflammatory profile of peri-implant diseases. For understanding the changes and turnover of bone, various markers have been used in the past literature, out of which, N-telopeptide of Type I Collagen (NTx) is acknowledged to be the most reliable marker.

Aims and objectives: Assessment of calprotectin and NTx concentration in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) around the implant sites in subjects suffering from peri-implantitis.

Materials and methods: In total, 70 healthy individuals were included in the present study. These patients had opted for dental implants within the last decade. After collecting the peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) and GCF, various examinations were carried out. PICF samples were obtained with the help of sterile paper available in the form of strips. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was used for measuring the calprotectin and NTx. All the readings were obtained in nanograms per microliter of PICF. All the results were recorded and analyzed.

Results: The overall mean calprotectin and NTx values were observed to be in a significantly higher range within the sites suffering from peri-implantitis when compared with healthy locations. The calprotectin values and NTx levels were positively correlated with the mean values of periodontal parameters observed clinically.

Conclusion: Both calprotectin and NTx could be used as a biomarker signifying the presence of inflammation as well as bone resorption in patients suffering from peri-implantitis.

A Narrative Review of the Effects of Citrus Peels and Extracts on Human Brain Health and Metabolism

As life expectancy increases, age-associated diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) become a major health problem. The onset of AD involves neurological dysfunction due to amyloid-β accumulation, tau hyperphosphorylation, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation in the brain. In addition, lifestyle-related diseases-such as dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity, and vascular dysfunction-increase the risk of developing dementia. The world population ages, prompting the development of new strategies to maintain brain health and prevent the onset of dementia in older and preclinical patients. Citrus fruits are abundant polymethoxylated flavone and flavanone sources. Preclinical studies reported that these compounds have neuroprotective effects in models of dementia such as AD. Interestingly, clinical and epidemiological studies appear to support preclinical evidence and show improved cognitive function and reduced associated disease risk in healthy individuals and/or patients. This review summarizes the recent evidence of the beneficial effects of citrus peels and extracts on human cognition and related functions.