Calendula officinalis 500ml/litre / Hypericum perforatum 500ml/litre spray

Arnica L. genus (Asteraceae) comprises perennial herbs native to the temperate and boreal parts of the northern hemisphere. Arnica montana is the main species. It shows different biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and antitumor effects. The Arnica formulations are mainly used for pain management. This systematic review is aimed at summarizing the studies focusing on the use of Arnica products on pain and inflammatory signs due to traumatic injuries related to sport and surgical interventions as well as to arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. Both phytotherapeutic and homeopathic formulations are taken into account. This paper only includes manuscripts published in mainstream journals. A literature search from Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases has been carried out using a combination of the keywords “Arnica”, “trauma”, “sport”, “injury”, “injuries”, and “pain”. According to the search strategy and inclusion criteria for this study, 42 eligible papers, focusing on both Arnica alone and formulations containing a mixture of plant extracts, have been finally selected. This review critically discusses the in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies dealing with Arnica products, reporting both positive and negative outcomes, thus providing perspectives for future research on the plant pharmacological potential.

Abstract licence: CC BY

The pharmaceutical industry has been primarily focused on developing synthetic drugs to address orofacial pain (OFP)-related conditions. There is limited knowledge regarding the efficacy of the use of herbal extracts in treating OFP. A systematic review and a meta-analysis of 62 randomized controlled trials assessing the analgesic effects of herbal extracts on pain intensity in various orofacial conditions was conducted. The intervention comprised the use of herbal extracts compared with a placebo and/or standard treatment. The primary outcome was pain intensity assessed before and after the intervention. The pain scores were compared with the baseline scores in each treatment. When compared with standard therapy, the pooled results of the patients who received herbal extracts revealed lower pain intensity in periodontal pain (MD = -0.92[-6.69, 4.85]), oral surgery pain (MD = 18.80[8.80, 28.79]), oral neuropathic pain (MD = 20.34[6.16, 34.52]), endodontic pain (MD = -8.04[-11.72, -4.37]), oral mucosal pain (MD = 8.74[2.76, 14.73]), and temporomandibular pain (MD = 30.94[6.04, 55.83]). The findings indicated a pain-attenuating effect of herbal extracts such as cannabis, turmeric, capsaicin, licorice, ginger, chamomile, clove, Hypericum perforatum, and Arnica montana. These findings revindicate that herbal extracts may be valuable alternatives to traditional pain medications and promising source for the development of new active ingredients for pharmaceuticals.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Microorganisms includes viruses, bacteria, protozoan, fungi and algae. The potential sources of microbes includes soil, water, atmosphere, plants, animals etc., of which, soil is the No. 1 concern for microbes. They mainly cause infections in respiratory tract, gastro intestinal tract, urogenital tract, skin etc. The repeated intake of antibiotics against these infections leads to many adverse effects like antimicrobial resistance, which creates an urge for the society to depend on medicinal plants. Homeopathic medicine is considered as a complementary systems of medicine, which uses lower doses of plants, animals and inorganic substances to cure ailments and many of these homeopathic tinctures possess antimicrobial activity. This article reviews on antimicrobial property of Calendula officinalis and Echinacae purpurae mother tinctures and concludes that these two tinctures can be regarded as promising antimicrobial agents as they contain some phytochemical constituents responsible for the prevention of microbial growth

Abstract licence: CC BY-SA

Hospital-acquired antibiotic-resistant pneumonia is one of the major causes of mortality around the world that pose a catastrophic threat. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most significant opportunistic pathogens responsible for hospital-acquired pneumonia and gained resistance to the majority of conventional antibiotics. There is an urgent need for antibiotic alternatives to control drug-resistant pneumonia and other related respiratory infections. In the present study, we explored the antibacterial potential of cineole in combination with homeopathic medicines against biofilm-forming drug-resistant P. aeruginosa. Out of 26 selected and screened homeopathic medicines, Hypericum Perforatum (HyPer) was found to eradicate biofilm-forming drug-resistant P. aeruginosa most effectively when used in combination with cineole. Interestingly, the synergistic action of HyPer and cineole was also found to be similarly effective against planktonic cells of P. aeruginosa. Further, the potential synergistic killing mechanisms of cineole and HyPer were determined by analyzing zeta membrane potential, outer membrane permeability, and DNA release from P. aeruginosa cells upon treatment with cineole and HyPer. Additionally, molecular docking analysis revealed strong binding affinities of hypericin (an active ingredient of HyPer) with the PqsA (a quorum sensing protein) of P. aeruginosa. Overall, our findings revealed the potential synergistic action of cineole and HyPer against biofilm-forming drug-resistant P. aeruginosa. Cineole and HyPer could be used in combination with other bronchodilators as inhalers to control the biofilm-forming drug-resistant P. aeruginosa.

Abstract licence: CC BY

Bacteria can coordinate biofilm formation through antiquorum sensing and create a more effective defense mechanism. Therefore, strategies that inhibit biofilm formation and target the antiquorum sensing mechanism are needed to combat antibiotic resistance. This study was conducted to determine the antibiofilm and antiquorum sensing (anti-QS) effect of essential oils (EOs) obtained from Calendula officinalis L., Hypericum perforatum L. and Trachystemon orientalis (L.) G. Don. and also to calculate oxidative stress indices (OSI) by analysing oxidant and antioxidant capacity. Antibiofilm capacities of EOs against Escherichia coli were investigated by microplate method. Anti-QS activities were evaluated with the agar well diffusion test. The oxidant capacities of plant EOs, whose antioxidant value was determined with the Total Antioxidant Status kit (TAS), were also examined with the Total Oxidant Status kit (TOS), and the OSI were calculated from the ratio of the two. EOs of all three plants have strong antibiofilm and anti-QS effects. T. orientalis, which has 19 mm+ anti-QS effect, shows 93.11% biofilm inhibition effect and draws attention together with the other two plants used pharmacologically. EOs with low OSI levels are expected to have high phytotherapeutic efficacy. As expected, the EOs used are considered important components for their capacity to inhibit biofilm formation and the QS mechanism. This study constitutes the first step in using EOs as alternative agents for strategies that prevent the anti-QS mechanism and biofilm formation.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND