Research - Asthma
Some medicinal plants with antiasthmatic potential: a current status
Dnyaneshwar J Taur1,* and Ravindra Y Patil
Abstract
Asthma is a common disease that is rising in prevalence worldwide with the highest prevalence in industrialized countries. Asthma affect about 300 million people worldwide and it has been estimated that a further 100 million will be affected by 2025. Since the ancient times, plants have been exemplary sources of medicine. Current asthma therapy lack satisfactory success due to adverse effect, hence patients are seeking complementary and alternative medicine to treat their asthma. Ayurveda and other Indian literature mention the use of plants in various human ailments. India has about 45 000 plant species and among them several thousand are claimed to possess medicinal properties. Researches conducted in the last few decades on the plants mentioned in ancient literature or used traditionally for asthma have shown antiasthmatic, antihistaminic and antiallergic activity. This review reveals that some plants and their extract have antiasthmatic, antihistaminic, anticholinergic and antiallergic activity.
Source : Asia Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
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KOTMIN13, a Korean herbal medicine alleviates allergic inflammation in vivo and in vitro
- Eujin Lee†,
- Sun-Gun Kim†,
- Na-Young Park,
- Hyo-Hyun Park,
- Kyu-Tae Jeong,
- Jongkeun Choi,
- In-Hae Lee,
- Hwadong Lee,
- Keuk-Jun KimEmail author and
- Eunkyung Lee
Abstract
Background
The ethanol extract of KOTMIN13, composed of Inula japonica Flowers, Trichosanthes kirilowii Semen,Peucedanum praeruptorum Radix, and Allium macrostemon Bulbs, was investigated for its anti-asthmatic and anti-allergic activities.
Methods
The anti-asthmatic effects of KOTMIN13 were evaluated on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine asthma model. Anti-allergic properties of KOTMIN13 in bone-marrow derived mast cells (BMMC) and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) in vivo were also examined.
Results
In asthma model, KOTMIN13 effectively suppressed airway hyperresponsiveness induced by aerosolized methacholine when compared to the levels of OVA-induced mice. KOTMIN13 treatment reduced the total leukocytes, eosinophil percentage, and Th2 cytokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids in OVA-induced mice. The increased levels of eotaxin and Th2 cytokines in the lung as well as serum IgE were decreased by KOTMIN13. The histological analysis shows that the increased inflammatory cell infiltration and mucus secretion were also reduced. In addition, the degranulation and leukotriene C4 production were inhibited in BMMC with IC50 values of 3.9 μg/ml and 1.7 μg/ml, respectively. Furthermore, KOTMIN13 treatment attenuated mast-mediated PCA reaction.
Conclusions
These results demonstrate that KOTMIN13 has anti-asthmatic and anti-allergic effects in vivo and in vitro models.
Source : BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Soshiho-tang water extract inhibits ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation via the regulation of heme oxygenase-1
Woo-Young Jeon13, Hyeun-Kyoo Shin1, In-Sik Shin2, Sang Kyum Kim3 and Mee-Young Lee1*
Abstract
Background
Soshiho-tang, known as Xio-hai-Hu-Tang in Chinese and Sho-Saiko-to in Japanese, has been widely used as a therapeutic agent. Its pharmacological effects include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antihepatic fibrosis, antitumor and immunomodulating activities. However, little is known regarding its effects on allergic asthma. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether the Soshiho-tang water extract (SSTW) has antiasthmatic effects on airway inflammation in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced mouse model.
Methods
BALB/c mice were used as a model of asthma after induction by sensitization and challenge with OVA. We measured change in eosinophils, other inflammatory cells, and T helper 2 (Th2)-type cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-17, IL-33, and chemokine (eotaxin) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), presence of total and OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)E in plasma, and expression of mucus production and heme oxygenase (HO)-1 protein in lung tissue.
Results
Our results show that SSTW had a suppressive effect on eosinophil influx into BALF and decreased the levels of Th2-type cytokines. Moreover, SSTW exhibited a marked decrease in mucus hypersecretion, total and OVA-specific IgE levels, and significantly induced HO-1 protein expression.
Conclusions
These results suggest that SSTW may be used as a valuable therapeutic agent for treating various inflammatory diseases including allergic asthma.
Source : BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Histone deacetylation of memory T lymphocytes by You-Gui-Wan alleviates allergen-induced eosinophilic airway inflammation in asthma
Hong Ping Zhang12†, Juan Juan Fu2†, Tao Fan2, Wen Bin Zhang3, Zeng Li Wang4, Lei Wang12 and Gang Wang12*
Abstract
Background You-Gui pills (You-Gui-Wan; YGW) can promote T lymphocyte proliferation and differentiation, and restore Th1/Th2 balance in the treatment of asthma, but their mechanism of action is not fully known. This study aims to explore whether YGW can induce histone deacetylation or acetylation in memory T lymphocytes (Tm) for improvement of airway inflammation in asthma.
Methods CD4+CD45RBlow cells, as Tm, were obtained by magnetic-activated cell sorting and flow cytometry from the spleens of BALB/c mice with ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma. Tm were cocultured with hydrocortisone (CORT; 1000 nM), serum containing low (0.225 g/kg), moderate (0.9 g/kg), or high (3.6 g/kg) doses of YGW, or medium only, and then adoptively transferred into naïve mice (n = 5 per group). Recipient mice were challenged with aerosolized OVA. The levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and IFN-γ in culture supernatants and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from the OVA-challenged mice were measured by ELISA. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) and histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activities and protein expressions of T-bet, GATA-3, and HDAC1–11 in lung tissue were measured by western blotting analyses. The alveolar eosinophilic inflammation index (AEII) was evaluated in the lungs of adoptive transfer recipient mice.
Results YGW reduced inflammation and eosinophil infiltration into the lung tissues as evidenced by histology, with similar effects to those of CORT. High-, moderate-, and low-YGW increased HDAC (P < 0.0001, P = 0.0009 and P = 0.0253 respectively) and decreased HAT (P = 0.0001, P = 0.0000 and P = 0.0039, respectively) activities in dose-dependent manners in the lung tissues of adoptive transfer recipient mice. Increased histone deacetylation of Tm by YGW reduced the AEII by reducing GATA-3 (P = 0.014),IL-4 (P = 0.0004), IL-5 (P = 0.0067), and IL-13 (P = 0.0002), and inducing IFN-γ release (P = 0.0375). Moreover, YGW reduced inflammatory cytokines such as IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 by upregulating the activities of HDAC7 (P = 0.003)/10 (P = 0.003), HDAC11 (P < 0.0001), and HDAC9–11 (P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001, respectively), respectively, and increased IFN-γ release by increasing HDAC9 (P < 0.0001).
Conclusions Histone deacetylation of Tm was observed during alleviation of allergen-induced eosinophilic airway inflammation in asthma by YGW.
Source : Journal Chinese Medicine
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Kids exposed in the womb to plasticizers more likely to have asthma
New York City children exposed in the womb to moderate levels of two plasticizers had a 72 to 78 percent higher chance of developing asthma, according to a new study published today.
The study is the first to link childhood asthma, which has been increasing in recent decades, to prenatal exposure to phthalates.
“These results suggest that phthalates may be one of the factors associated with that increase,” said Robin Whyatt, a Columbia University environmental health scientist who led the study. She added, however, that more studies are needed to understand how important a risk factor these chemicals may be.
Phthalates, used in the manufacture of vinyl and some cosmetics, have been connected to a number of health effects in lab animal and human studies, including airway inflammation, altered male genitalia, attention and learning problems and premature births.
Nationally, one in every 11 children has asthma, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Asthma rates more than doubled between 1980 and the mid-1990s, and have remained high.
“We don’t have a good answer for why asthma and allergies have increased dramatically. Looking at the role of environmental exposures is an interesting and important question,” said Dr. David Bernstein, an allergist at the University of Cincinnati and spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
Previous studies reported an association between childhood exposures to phthalates and asthma, but no one until now had examined risk related to exposures before birth. “The prenatal period is likely the greatest window of susceptibility for lung development,” Whyatt said.
The researchers measured four phthalate metabolites in the urine of 300 pregnant women in the South Bronx and Northern Manhattan between 1998 and 2006. All of the women were African American or of Dominican descent.
“We don’t have a good answer for why asthma and allergies have increased dramatically. Looking at the role of environmental exposures is an interesting and important question.” –Dr. David Bernstein, University of Cincinnati Just over half of the study children visited a doctor for asthma symptoms between the ages of 5 and 11. Of those, 94 children, or 31 percent of the entire group, were diagnosed with the disease.
The children in the study had asthma at a rate three times higher than the U.S. average, and roughly double the national average for black children. They likely have such a high rate for a multitude of reasons, including cigarette smoke and vehicle exhaust.
“We don’t know how applicable these [phthalate] findings are to groups with much lower rates of asthma,” Whyatt said.
Kids whose mothers had the highest levels of di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) were 78 percent more likely to have an asthma diagnosis than kids whose mothers had the lowest levels. In addition, kids with mothers who had high levels of butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP) were 72 percent more likely to have asthma. Children also were 39 to 44 percent more likely to have asthma symptoms, such as wheeze, if their mothers had higher levels of DnBP and BBzP during pregnancy. No association was between asthma and two other phthalates used in cosmetics and food packaging.
The phthalate levels measured in study mothers are comparable to levels found in adults throughout the United States, Whyatt said.
The findings “raise new concerns that the presence of relatively ubiquitous environmental exposures may have deleterious respiratory effects,” according to the study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
BBzP, used to soften plastics, is commonly found in PVC plastics such as vinyl floor tiles and artificial leather. DnBP is used in food packaging and some cosmetics.
A 2013 study reported that levels of both chemicals are dropping in Americans. They were banned from some children’s products in 2008. DnBP, once widely used in nail polishes, has been removed from most formulations.
The new study builds on 2012 studies of the same group that reported that children exposed to BBzP or diethyl phthalate (DEP) had elevated risk of asthma-related airway inflammation. Prenatal exposure to BBzP also was associated with elevated risk of childhood eczema.
While the new study, taken alone, isn't conclusive, “there is mounting evidence linking phthalates to a number of diseases and chronic conditions,” said Kenneth Spaeth, director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Center at the North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., who was not involved in the study.
It’s unclear how phthalates may be increasing asthma risk. One theory, Whyatt said, is that they may make airways overly sensitive – essentially programming them to respond to common environmental stimuli, such as pollen or animal dander.
Representatives of plastics and chemical manufacturers declined to comment on the new findings.
Based on a handful of studies conducted between 2003 and 2009, the American Chemistry Council, which represents manufacturers of phthalates and other chemicals, concluded that, “phthalates do not cause, and are not likely to exacerbate, asthma.”
But Whyatt said that conclusion is “remarkably incomplete” and misses more recent findings.
Nearly everyone in the U.S. is exposed to phthalates. Whyatt said pregnant women can reduce their exposures by avoiding numbers 3 and 7 plastics, storing food in glass containers and never microwaving food in plastic containers.
Source : ChemWatch
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Identifying Core Herbal Treatments for Children with Asthma: Implication from a Chinese Herbal Medicine Database in Taiwan
Hsing-Yu Chen,1,2Yi-Hsuan Lin,1,2Peck-Foong Thien,3Shih-Chieh Chang,4,5Yu-Chun Chen,3,5,6Su-Shun Lo,5Sien-Hung Yang,1,7and Jiun-Liang Chen1,7,8
1Division of Chinese Internal Medicine, Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital,No. 123, Dinghu Road, Gueishan, Taoyuan 33378, Taiwan
2Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, No. 259, Wen Hwa 1st Road,Gueishan, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan
3Department of Medical Research and Education, National Yang-Ming University Hospital,No.152,XinMinRoad,I-Lan26042,Taiwan
4Division of Chest Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, National Yang-Ming University Hospital,No.152,XinMinRoad,I-Lan26042,Taiwan
5Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, No. 155, Section 2,Linong Street, Taipei 112, Taiwan
6Institute of Hospital and Health Care Administration, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University,No.155,Section2,LinongStreet,Taipei112,Taiwan
7School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, No. 259, Wen Hwa 1st Road,Gueishan, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan8Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, No. 155, Section 2,Linong Street, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Asthma is one of the most common allergic respiratory diseases around the world and places great burden on medical payment.Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is commonly used for Taiwanese children to control diseases. The aim of this study is to analyze the CHM prescriptions for asthmatic children by using a nationwide clinical database. The National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) was used to perform this study. Medical records from 1997 to 2009 with diagnosis with asthma made for children aged 6 to 18 were included into the analysis. Association rule mining and social network analysis were used to analyze the prevalence of single CHM and its combinations. Ma-Xing-Gan-Shi-Tang (MXGST) was the most commonly used herbal formula(HF) (20.2% of all prescriptions), followed by Xiao-Qing-Long-Tang (13.1%) and Xing-Su-San (12.8%). Zhe Bei Mu is the most frequently used single herb (SH) (14.6%), followed by Xing Ren (10.7%). MXGST was commonly used with Zhe Bei Mu (3.5%) and other single herbs capable of dispelling phlegm. Besides, MXGST was the core formula to relieve asthma. Further studies about efficacy and drug safety are needed for the CHM commonly used for asthma based on the result of this study.
Source : Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Histophatologic changes of lung in asthmatic male rats treated with hydro-alcoholic extract of Plantago major and theophylline
Farah Farokhi , Fereshteh Khaneshi
Abstract:
Objective: Plantago major (P. major) is one of the medicinal crops in the world which has therapeutic properties for treatment of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases. Theophylline is commonly used for the treatment of respiratory diseases. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of hydro-alcoholic extract of P. major on lung in asthmatic male rats.
Materials and Methods: 32 male adult rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: The control group (C) received normal saline; Asthma (A) group received a normal diet; Asthma group treated with Theophylline (200 mg/kg b.w.) (T); Asthma group which received p.major (100 mg/kg b.w.) (P). Asthma was induced by citric acid, 0.1 mg in form of spraying. The injection of P.major extract and theophylline was administered intraperitoneally for four weeks. At the end of the treatment, all of the rats were sacrificed and lungs were taken out, fixed, and stained with H&E, toluidine blue, and PAS, then histological studies were followed with light microscope.
Results: Results showed that, in asthmatic group, the mean number of mast cells was significantly increased (p<0.05). Thickness of alveolar epithelium and accumulation of glycoprotein in airways was increased. Moreover, in some of alveolar sac hemorrhaging was observed. Administration of p.major extract in asthmatic rats restored these changes towards normal group.
Conclusion: The present study revealed that P. major compared with theophylline, has a protective effect on lung in asthmatic rats.
Source : Aviceena Journal of Phytomedicine
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The preventive effects of hydroalcoholic extract of saffron on hematological parameters of experimental asthmatic rats
Somayyeh Vosooghi , Maryam Mahmoudabady , Ali Neamati* , Heydar Aghababa
Abstract:
Objective: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory airways distinguished by edema and infiltration of inflammatory immune cells. To test our hypothesis about the anti-inflammatory effect of saffron, we examined effects of Crocus sativus (C. sativus) extract as a prophylactic anti-inflammatory agent in sensitized rats.
Materials and Methods: To induce experimental asthma, rats were sensitized with injection and inhalation of ovalbumin (OA). Forty male Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups (n=8 for each): control, sensitized (asthma), and sensitized and pretreated with three different concentrations of extract, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, 2 times a week (group asthma+50EX, group asthma+100EX, and group asthma+200EX). After 32 days, total white blood cells (WBC) counts, red blood cells (RBC), and platelet counts in blood were examined.
Results: Total WBC number and eosinophil and neutrophil percentage in blood were increased, but lymphocyte decreased in sensitized animals compared with those of control group (p<0.05 to p<0.001). We observed also elevated levels in RBC and platelet counts after sensitization in the asthma group. Pretreatment of sensitized rats in all concentrations decreased WBC count which was significant in first two concentrations (p<0.01 compared with group asthma). All concentrations of extract decreased eosinophil percentage significantly (p<0.001 compared with group asthma), however, for neutrophil percentage this improvement was not significant. Lymphocyte percentage increased in group asthma+100EX compared with group asthma (p<0.05). Moreover, in all concentrations, the extract reduced RBC and platelet count in pretreated sensitized rats compared with group asthma (p<0.01 to p<0.001).
Conclusion: Our findings indicated that the extract of C. sativus could be useful to prevent asthma as an anti-inflammatory treatment.
Source : Aviceena Journal of Phytomedicine
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Vitamin D Deficiency and Lung Function in Asthmatic Children
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with poorer lung function in asthmatic children treated with inhaled corticosteroids, according to a new study from researchers in Boston.“In our study of 1,024 children with mild to moderate persistent asthma, those who were deficient in vitamin D levels showed less improvement in pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) after one year of treatment with inhaled corticosteroids than children with sufficient levels of vitamin D,” said Ann Chen Wu, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. “These results indicate that vitamin D supplementation may enhance the anti-inflammatory properties of corticosteroids in patients with asthma.”
The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The study was conducted using data from the Childhood Asthma Management Program, a multi-center trial of asthmatic children between the ages of five and 12 years who were randomly assigned to treatment with budesonide (inhaled corticosteroid), nedocromil, or placebo. Vitamin D levels were categorized as deficient (≤ 20 ng/ml), insufficient (20-30 ng/ml), or sufficient (> 30 ng/ml).
Among children treated with inhaled corticosteroids, pre-bronchodilator FEV1 increased during 12 months of treatment by 330 ml in the vitamin D insufficiency group and 290 ml in the vitamin D sufficiency group, but only 140 ml in the vitamin D deficient group.
Compared with children who were vitamin D sufficient or insufficient, children who were vitamin D deficient were more likely to be older, be African American, and have higher BMI. Compared with being vitamin D deficient, being vitamin D sufficient or insufficient was associated with a greater change in pre-bronchodilator FEV1 over 12 months of treatment after adjustment for age, gender, race, BMI, history of emergency department visits, and season that the vitamin D specimen was drawn.
The study had some limitations, including a small sample size of 101 vitamin D deficient children, and the investigators only studied vitamin D levels at one time point.
“Our study is the first to suggest that vitamin D sufficiency in asthmatic children treated with inhaled corticosteroids is associated with improved lung function,” said Dr. Wu. “Accordingly, vitamin D levels should be monitored in patients with persistent asthma being treated with inhaled corticosteroids. If vitamin D levels are low, supplementation with vitamin D should be considered.”
To read the article in full, please visit: www.thoracic.org//media/press-releases/resources/Wu.docx.
Source : Newswise
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Oral magnesium supplementation in asthmatic children: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial
Guarantors: C Gontijo-Amaral and JD Ribeiro.
C Gontijo-Amaral1, M A G O Ribeiro1, L S C Gontijo1, A Condino-Neto1,2 and J D Ribeiro1
- 1Department of Pediatrics and Center for Investigation in Pediatrics, State University of Campinas Medical School, Unicamp, Campinas, SP, Brazil
- 2Department of Immunology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the long-term effect of oral magnesium supplementation on clinical symptoms, bronchial reactivity, lung function and allergen-induced skin responses in children and adolescents with moderate persistent asthma.
Design: A double-blind randomized parallel placebo-controlled study.
Setting and subjects: The patients were recruited from the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic, Division of Pulmonology, Allergy and Immunology, and followed at the Center for Investigation in Pediatrics at State University of Campinas Hospital, Brazil. Thirty-seven out of 72 patients met the study criteria. There were no dropouts.
Intervention: The 37 patients (aged 7–19 years, 19 males) were randomized in two groups: magnesium (n=18, 300 mg/day) and placebo (n=19), during 2 months. Both patient groups received inhaled fluticasone (250 g twice a day) and salbutamol as needed. The primary outcome was bronchial reactivity evaluated with methacholine challenge test (PC20).
Results: After a follow-up of 2 months, the methacholine PC20 for testing bronchial reactivity has augmented significantly in the magnesium group only. The skin responses to recognized antigens have also decreased in patients treated with magnesium. The forced vital capacity (FVC), the forced expiratory volume at first second (FEV1), the forced expiratory flow at 25–75 and the FEV1/FVC ratio were similar in both groups. The magnesium group presented fewer asthma exacerbations and used less salbutamol compared to the placebo group.
Conclusions: Oral magnesium supplementation helped to reduce bronchial reactivity to methacholine, to diminish their allergen-induced skin responses and to provide better symptom control in pediatric patients with moderate persistent asthma treated with inhaled fluticasone.
Source : European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
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L-Carnitine Improves the Asthma Control in Children with Moderate Persistent Asthma
Mohammed Al-Biltagi,1 Mona Isa,2 Adel Salah Bediwy,3 Nevien Helaly,2 and Dalia D. El Lebedy4
1Department of Paediatric, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, P.o. box 1084, Gharbia Governate, Egypt
2Department of Paediatric, Abu Alrish Pediatric Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
3Department of Chest Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Gharbia Governate, Egypt
4Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Medical Division, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt
Abstract
The objective. was to investigate L-Carnitine level and the effects of its supplementation in children with moderate persistent Asthma. Methods. Free and total serum carnitine levels were measured in 50 children having moderate persistent asthma and 50 healthy control children. The patients group was randomly divided into two subgroups. Subgroup A was supplemented with L-carnitine for 6 months while subgroup B was used as a placebo controls. Both subgroups were assessed by pulmonary function tests (PFT) and childhood-asthma control test (C-ACT) before and 6 months after carnitine supplementation. Results. Total and free carnitine levels were significantly lower in patient group than in control group. PFT and C-ACT showed significant improvements in asthmatic children supplemented with L-carnitine than in those who were not supplemented. Conclusion. L-carnitine levels were initially lower in moderate persistent asthmatic children as compared to healthy control children. Asthmatic children who received L-carnitine supplementation showed statistically significant improvement of C-ACT and PFT.
Source : Journal of Allergy Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 509730, 7 pages doi:10.1155/2012/509730
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Antiasthmatic Effects of Herbal Complex MA and Its Fermented Product MA128
Dong-Seon Kim,1 Seung-Hyung Kim,2 Bok-Kyu Kim,2 Min Cheol Yang,1 and Jin Yeul Ma11
Herbal Medicine Improvement Research Center, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea
2Institute of Traditional Medicine & Bioscience, Daejeon University, Daejeon 300-716, Republic of Korea
Abstract
This study was conducted to determine if oral administration of the novel herbal medicine, MA, and its Lactobacillus acidophilus fermented product, MA128, have therapeutic properties for the treatment of asthma. Asthma was induced in BALB/c mice by systemic sensitization to ovalbumin (OVA) followed by intratracheal, intraperitoneal, and aerosol allergen challenges. MA and MA128 were orally administered 6 times a week for 4 weeks. At 1 day after the last ovalbumin exposure, airway hyperresponsiveness was assessed and samples of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, lung cells, and serum were collected for further analysis. We investigated the effect of MA and MA128 on airway hyperresponsiveness, pulmonary eosinophilic infiltration, various immune cell phenotypes, Th2 cytokine production, OVA-specific IgE production, and Th1/Th2 cytokine production inL this mouse model of asthma. In BALB/c mice, we found that MA and MA128 treatment suppressed eosinophil infiltration into airways and blood, allergic airway inflammation and AHR by suppressing the production of IL-5, IL-13, IL-17, Eotaxin, and OVA-specific IgE, by upregulating the production of OVA-specific Th1 cytokine (IFN-γ), and by downregulating OVA-specific Th2 cytokine (IL-4) in the culture supernatant of spleen cells. The effectiveness of MA was increased by fermentation with Lactobacillus acidophilus.
Source
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Diet, gut microbiota and immune responses
Kendle M Maslowski & Charles R Mackay
The fields of immunology, microbiology, nutrition and metabolism are rapidly converging. Here we expand on a diet-microbiota model as the basis for the greater incidence of asthma and autoimmunity in developed countries.
wo important advances in the fields of immunology and gut microbiology have emerged in recent years. First, it has been clearly demonstrated that diet has a considerable effect on the composition of the gut microbiota1, 2. Different human populations can have vastly different intestinal microbiomes, and changes in diet lead to changes in microbiota composition. Second, findings from many laboratories have shown that the composition and products of the gut microbiota have unexpected effects on immune and inflammatory responses3, 4, 5. Accordingly, diet and the effects it has on the gut microbiota and immune responses are increasingly likely explanations for the greater incidence of inflammatory diseases such as asthma and type 1 diabetes in developed countries. New findings about the gut microbiota and its immunomodulatory abilities fit with persuasive epidemiological data on the connection between obesity and asthma6 or obesity and type 1 diabetes7. We suggest here that a lower intake of fiber (complex plant polysaccharides) adversely affects the makeup of the intestinal microbiota, which leads to less production of immunomodulatory products, in particular short-chain fatty acids (SCFA).The gut microbiota can be considered an extension of the self and, together with the genetic makeup, determines the physiology of an organism. For example, two supposedly genetically identical organisms, such as same-sex inbred mice, can have widely different metabolic and inflammatory responses depending on the makeup of their microbiota. The intestinal microbiota is derived at least in part from the mother during the birthing process and is modified thereafter by factors such as diet, antibiotic use, host genetics and other environmental factors. Whereas microbes in the gut were once considered only harmful or pathogenic, it is now clear that commensal bacteria accomplish many beneficial functions, such as vitamin synthesis, the digestion of dietary fiber and the regulation of inflammatory responses. Microbes and vertebrates have evolved together over the millennia, so normal functioning of the digestive and immune systems depends on the presence of nonpathogenic 'beneficial' bacteria (symbionts).....
Future directionsThe recent flurry of research articles on diet and its effects on gut microbiota, together with the new findings on the regulation of immune responses by microbiota, opens up an entirely new approach to the understanding and treatment of human inflammatory disease. Likely suspects in this equation are SCFAs, but there may be numerous molecules produced by gut microbes, or dietary molecules themselves, that affect immune responses. Rather than developing new anti-inflammatory drugs, it might be more cost-effective to devote more effort to new approaches, such as monitoring the human intestinal microbiota and manipulating it if required through the use of probiotics and/or prebiotics (nondigestible food ingredients that stimulate the growth and/or activity of bacteria). The opportunity exists to develop new probiotics on the basis of emerging knowledge of the mechanisms by which the microbiota modulates inflammatory responses. Another possibility is to develop probiotics from microbiota derived from human communities in which allergies and asthma are almost completely nonexistent. It will also be important to determine how antibiotics change the composition of the gut microbiota and how relevant this is to inflammatory diseases. Finally, if diet is a major contributing factor to the prevalence of allergies, asthma and even autoimmune disease, should humans consciously alter their intake of fiber, ω-3 fatty acids or other foodstuffs? Carefully controlled trials are needed to establish whether diet directly affects inflammatory disease and, if so, at what point in human development it operates, as well as through what cellular and molecular mechanisms. Increasing knowledge emerging from the human microbiome project and an increasing ability to sequence the metagenome will allow systematic analysis of the intestinal microbiota in human inflammatory disease.
Source : Nature Immunology
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Effects of Ginger on the Improvement of Asthma [The Evaluation of Its' Treatmental Effects]
Rouhi H, Ganji F, Nasri H. Pakistan J Nutr 2006; 5(4): 373-376
A randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted in Iran investigated the use of ginger for the treatment ofasthma. Patients were recruited and spirometry readings were taken. After one month, 92 patients received either ginger (tincture, containing 150 mg of rhizome, every 8 hours) or placebo. After two months they were evaluated again. The results indicated that ginger was effective in reducing asthmatic symptoms but had no effect on the severityof the disease, as assessed by spirometry. Those receiving ginger had fewer nocturnal coughing attacks, fewer dyspnoeic attacks and reduced usage of spray medication. The reduction was significantly different from that experienced in the placebo group (p<0.05 for each parameter). The authors noted that the prescribed dosage (about 0.5 g/day) was below the standard therapeutic dose of 1–4 g/day.
Conclusion
Treatment with ginger reduced symptoms of asthma
Source Parkistan J Nutr 2006
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