Asclepiadaceae plant family is among the dominant families, in which plants with medicinal potentials are domiciled. Plants in this family with medicinal claims are widely distributed across the globe. These plants are major components of different forms of traditional medicine globally. They are employed traditionally for the treatment/management of various ailments including pain, skin diseases, worms, hemorrhoids, bronchitis, asthma, leprosy, diabetes, vertigo, and several other ailments. Different phytochemical studies have been carried out on medicinal plants in this family with an important bioactive compound identified in them and isolated, these include giganteol, calotropeol, and β-amyrin from Calotropis gigantea; β-sitosterol and taraxasterol from Calotropis procera; gymnemic acids and Gymnema saponins from Gymnema sylvestre; tylophorine, kaempferol, and stigmasterol from Tylophora indica; and other important bioactive principles. Several pharmacological studies have also been carried out on them which have justified a lot of the ethnomedicinal applications while new possible applications have as well been revealed and proposed from these studies, this makes the plant family a potential source for developing new conventional drugs in the near future. However, due to the fact that the findings from these studies were reported separately most of which are not available on the same platforms, it has become quite difficult to holistically ascertain the scientifically proven therapeutic potentials of this plant family. Hence, the need to chronicle the different scientific findings on the medicinal plants from this plant family in a concise solitary form. This review, therefore, aims at documenting classical information on the phytochemistry, pharmacology, and therapeutic applications of medicinal plants belonging to Asclepiadaceae family. The species reviewed are the predominantly used medicinal plants from the Asclepiadaceae family in traditional medicine and are also the most extensively researched for their therapeutic potential in conventional health-care practice.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a well-known complication of surgery that increases the death rate and the side costs of postoperative care and treatment. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a protein that is emerging as a new marker in the early detection of kidney damage. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: In this study, we try to compare the effect of propofol (Pro) and dexmedetomidine (Dex) on activity in patients undergoing thoracotomy by evaluating and measuring the amount of renal function evaluation factors similar to blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, and NGAL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients who underwent thoracotomy (with two types of anesthetics Dex and Pro) in the first 6 months of 2019 (April–September) in Masih Daneshvari Hospital were included in this study and the information obtained from all of them was based on a questionnaire design. RESULTS: The BUN index in patients of the two groups was significantly different in three time periods before surgery, 2 h after surgery, and 24 h. Based on the available results, the NGAL index as a factor in assessing renal function was significantly different in the two groups of patients. However, the mean numerical values in all three intervals of NGAL levels were much lower in the patients of the Pro group. However, other indicators in the study did not show significant changes in terms of mean values in the two groups of patients. CONCLUSION: Pro significantly reduced NGAL compared with Dex for thoracotomy surgery.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a transmissible disease and propagated through a new strain severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) since December 2019 emerged from Wuhan, China, and this infection has widespread globally that causes to declare public health emergency in the whole world by the WHO. In this article, an attempt was made to recognize natural phytoconstituents from various indigenous medicinal plants, in order to utilize as a source against COVID-19 infections by virtue of molecular docking. The main focus of the study was molecular docking analysis of forty phytoconstituents from plants such as Tinospora cordifolia, Zingiber officinale, Azadirachta indica, Withania somnifera, Glycyrrhiza glabra, and Ocimum tenuiflorum with four different targets of SARS-CoV-2. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to determine binding affinity of phytoconstitutents against different targets of SARS CoV2. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Molecular docking was performed using VLifeMDS^® (version: 4.6. 08032021) and AutoDockTools. RESULTS: Among forty phytoconstituents based on binding affinity, berberine and vicenin 2 showed the highest potential toward 3-chymotrypsin-like protease enzyme of SARS-CoV-2. Licorice and tinosporide had the potential to bind with the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 of SARS-CoV-2. Rosmarinic acid also has a binding affinity toward papain-like protease (PLpro) enzyme of SARS-CoV-2. It has been also seen that isoorientin has ability to bind to RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-2. CONCLUSION: Based on docking scores, the phytoconstituents from T. cordifolia, Z. officinale, A. Indica, W. somnifera, G. glabra, and O. tenuiflorum showed a good potential for binding to selected targets of SARS-CoV-2, and the antiviral activity of these plants can be scientifically supported by docking studies.

BACKGROUND: Falls are considered a serious problem among hospital events. Patients in hospitals are at risk for falls due to unfamiliar and potentially high-risk environments, weak physical conditions, and medicines that may increase fall risk. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: There is some evidence that patient education is an important component of multifactorial interventions for falls prevention. Given that patient education has an effective role in falls preventions at hospitals, the purpose of this study was to evaluate multimedia education for preventing falls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the effectiveness of educational materials in fall prevention program at Masih Daneshvari hospital. The study was conducted in four models of a patient education program. Patients' knowledge and skill of fall prevention in the hospital were tested on admission (pretest) and day 7 (posttest). The intervention was delivered after admission in all groups. RESULTS: There were 204 patients in four intervention groups and 50 patients in the control group. The comparison of the intervention groups with the control group showed that the changes in knowledge and behavior in the group that used multimedia education were significantly higher compared to traditional education. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study suggest that patient education can be considered one of the main strategies to prevent falls, especially in a hospital setting. Further, the use of multimedia education simultaneously with face-to-face training has a synergistic effect and increases the effectiveness of fall prevention education programs.

BACKGROUND: There is still no cure for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is a global emergency. The best choice for disaster management is vaccination. The principal COVID-19 preventive tactic of COVID-19 immunization is now widely accepted. Some scientists are advocating a fifth dosage vaccine in the event of the arrival of a new strain as well as the probable loss of public immunity following routine mass vaccination. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: The fifth dose of COVID-19 is typically reported to have successfully avoided mortality, although there is still concern about how to prevent severe COVID-19 cases that necessitate intubation. After receiving the fifth dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine, the authors of this study evaluated an extra protection rate that would reduce the need for intubation in COVID-19 infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors of this study employed a clinical model technique to assess an extra protection rate leading to a decrease in the need for intubation in COVID-19 infection following the fifth dose of COVID-19 vaccine immunization. RESULTS: According to the study, just four vaccine doses are required and are highly successful in preventing the need for intubation, thus there is no further benefit in this regard. However, the fifth dose may still be helpful in reducing the risk of contracting COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Clinical experiments have proven its efficacy in preventing omicron COVID-19 infection. However, there is no additional benefit in terms of lowering the need for intubation because just four immunization doses are necessary and extremely effective in doing so.

BACKGROUND: Anthocyanidins are plant pigments known for their protective effect against inflammation, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Axonal degeneration has been a hallmark of several neurodegenerative and neuropathic illnesses. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: Recently, several studies have attempted to stimulate axonal regeneration by targeting the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), Nogo, and transforming growth factor (TGF) pathways. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To illuminate an understanding of the potential of anthocyanidins to promote axon regeneration, we investigated anthocyanidins' physicochemical properties, binding affinity, and noncovalent interactions with enzymes downstream of mTOR, Nogo, and TGF beta (TGF-β) pathways that are known to inhibit axonal regeneration. RESULTS: We discovered that the six anthocyanidins we examined have favorable blood-brain barrier permeability and high estimated oral bioavailability. Most of the anthocyanidins exhibited the highest binding affinity with GSK3, Ret4, and TGF-βR1 in the mTOR-, Nogo-, TGF-β pathway. These compounds demonstrated a high number of hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds with the selected proteins, which may explain the high binding affinity. CONCLUSION: Although our findings are inconclusive due to the limitation of the in silico study, the binding affinity of anthocyanidins with these inhibitory enzymes may modulate them. However, it does not ensure axonal regrowth, necessitating additional in vivo and in vitro research.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia pneumoniae is an intracellular bacterium that causes respiratory tract infection. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate the association between past C. pneumoniae infection and asthma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined the presence of C. pneumoniae Immunoglobulin (IgG) and Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies by the commercial quantitative Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits in 87 asthmatic children and 87 controls. RESULTS: C. pneumoniae IgG antibody was significantly increased in patients (24.89 ± 16.65) as compared with controls (10.93 ± 6.75) P < 0.001. Further, the C. pneumoniae IgE antibody was significantly increased in patients (8.037 ± 4.645) compared to controls (6.52 ± 3.062) P = 0.024. There was a highly significant positive correlation between IgG and IgE levels (P < 0.001* r = 0.466). There was no significant difference in C. pneumoniae IgG and C. pneumoniae IgE levels among asthma severity groups (P = 0.507 and P = 0.539, respectively) and asthma-controlled groups (P = 0.858 and P = 0.517, respectively). CONCLUSION: Compared to a control group, children with asthma have a significantly higher rate of C. pneumoniae IgG and C. pneumoniae IgE levels. In asthmatic patients, there is a positive correlation between C. pneumoniae IgG and C. pneumonia IgE. Controversially, C. pneumoniae infection has no role in asthma severity and control.

BACKGROUND: Moringa flowers are most excellent suited for both raw and lightly cooked application such as frying or simmer. Moringa flowers are a good quality foundation of vitamin A, a nutrient that can facilitate boost the immune system and guard overall vision health. Moringa oleifera contains vital nutrients such as minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals such as tannins and flavonoids. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: The present work aims to study the optimization and quality attributes retention in moringa flower through freeze dryer (FD) because the conventional drying process takes more time and energy which also affects the product quality and safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Different solvents, such as ethanol, chloroform, hexane, acetone and ethyl acetate, were used to determine the presence of phytochemicals (alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids and saponins) in the moringa flower. RESULTS: From Qualitative and quantitative screenings of moringa flower, the phytochemicals were highly present in methanol and ethanol extracts. Dried moringa flower powder was prepared by using fresh moringa flower, steam blanched for 2-5 min and then sulfated at 0.1% for 10 min. After that, the dehydration process was performed at different temperatures (45, 55 and 65°C) in an FD drier. FD dried moringa flower powder at 55°C was found maximum physicochemical properties and higher retention of phytochemical with special reference to β – carotene (55.41 mg), total antioxidant (460.18 mg), flavonoids (19.34 mg/RE), phenol (234.13 mg/GAE), vitamin C (485.09 mg). CONCLUSION: According to the findings of this study, FD drying is one of the best drying techniques for preserving nutritional quality features while also being efficient and cost-effective for the entire food processing industry.

Although a little is known about the impact of coronavirus on male genitalia, the expression of virus receptors in this system makes it a potential target for this virus. Here, we reported orchitis as a late complication following coronavirus disease 2019 infection, which highlights the importance of follow-up in these patients.