Alternative Medicine

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Agaricus blazei Murrill (ABM) popularly known as ‘Cogumelo do Sol’ in Brazil, or ‘Himematsutake’ in Japan, is a mushroom native to Brazil, and widely cultivated in Japan for its medicinal uses, so it is now considered as one of the most important edible and culinary-medicinal biotechnological species. It was traditionally used to treat many common diseases like atherosclerosis, hepatitis, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, dermatitis and cancer. In vitro and in vivo ABM has shown immunomodulatory and antimutagenic properties, although the biological pathways and chemical substances involved in its pharmacological activities are still not clear. The polysaccharides phytocomplex is thought to be responsible for its immunostimulant and antitumor properties, probably through an opsonizing biochemical pathway. Clinical studies are positive confirmations, but we are still at the beginning, and there are perplexing concerns especially relative to the content of agaritine. Argantine is a well-known carcinogenic and toxic substance in animals, that must be completely and fully evaluated.

In the last decade, there has been a rapid growth in the presence of clowns in hospitals, particularly in pediatric settings. The proliferation of clowns in health care settings has resulted in varying levels of professionalism and accountability. For this reason, there is a need to examine various forms of clowning, in particular therapeutic clowning in pediatric settings. The purpose of this article is to address what therapeutic clowning is and to describe the extent to which it can provide a complementary form of health care. In an attempt to apply theory to practice, the article will draw upon the experiences of a therapeutic clown within a pediatric setting while providing a historical and theoretical account of how clowns came to be in hospitals. Toward this end, a proposed model of therapeutic clowning will be offered which can be adapted for a variety of settings where children require specialized forms of play in order to enhance their coping, development and adjustment to life changes. Finally, current research on clowning in children's hospitals will be reviewed including a summary of findings from surveys administered at the Hospital for Sick Children.

Reduced glutathione or simply glutathione (-glutamylcysteinylglycine; GSH) is found in the cytosol of most cells of the body. GSH in the epithelial lining fluid (ELF) of the lower respiratory tract is thought to be the first line of defense against oxidative stress. Inhalation (nebulized or aerosolized) is the only known method that increases GSH's levels in the ELF. A review of the literature was conducted to examine the clinical effectiveness of inhaled GSH as a treatment for various pulmonary diseases and respiratory-related conditions. This report also discusses clinical and theoretical indications for GSH inhalation, potential concerns with this treatment, its presumed mechanisms of action, optimal doses to be administered and other important details. Reasons for inhaled GSH's effectiveness include its role as a potent antioxidant, and possibly improved oxygenation and host defenses. Theoretical uses of this treatment include Farmer's lung, pre- and postexercise, multiple chemical sensitivity disorder and cigarette smoking. GSH inhalation should not be used as a treatment for primary lung cancer. Testing for sulfites in the urine is recommended prior to GSH inhalation. Minor side effects such as transient coughing and an unpleasant odor are common with this treatment. Major side effects such as bronchoconstriction have only occurred among asthma patients presumed to be sulfite-sensitive. The potential applications of inhaled GSH are numerous when one considers just how many pulmonary diseases and respiratory-related conditions are affected by deficient antioxidant status or an over production of oxidants, poor oxygenation and/or impaired host defenses. More studies are clearly warranted.

This is part three of a four-part series reviewing the evidence on how humor influences physiological and psychological well-being. The first article included basic background information, definitions and a review of the theoretical underpinnings for this area of research. The second article discussed use of humor as a complementary therapy within various clinical samples, as well as evidence concerning how a sense of humor influences physiological and psychological wellbeing. This third article examines how laughter influences health outcomes; including muscle tension, cardio-respiratory functioning and various stress physiology measures.

Currently, the goal of treatment for those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is to improve the quality of life through a reduction in symptoms. While the majority of treatment approaches involve the use of traditional medicine, more and more patients seek out a non-drug approach to managing their symptoms. Current forms of non-drug psychologic or mind/body treatment for IBS include hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and brief psychodynamic psychotherapy, all of which have been proven efficacious in clinical trials. We propose that incorporating the constructs of mindfulness and acceptance into a mind/body psychologic treatment of IBS may be of added benefit due to the focus on changing awareness and acceptance of one's own state which is a strong component of traditional and Eastern healing philosophies.

The Conference was organized and supported by: Nei Dan School (European School of Internal Martial Arts), NIB (Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Bioengineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, Institute of Cardiology, S.Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna), WACIMA (Worldwide Association Chinese Internal Martial Arts), Arti D’Oriente (Magazine of Eastern culture and traditions), Nuovo Orizzonte (Taiji Quan School in Florence), Samurai (Journal on Martial Arts), and Pinus (First National Institute for the Unification of Medical Strategies). Nei Dan School (www.taichineidan.com, neidan@libero.it) was in charge of the organization. Future meetings of the Centro studi ‘Tao and Science’ will take place in spring 2007 in Firenze and in October 2007 in Bologna. For information: E-mail: neidan@libero.it; web site: www.taichineidan.com, www.taoandscience.com

In the present study, inhibitory effect of the methanol extract of Raphanus sativus root on lipid peroxidation has been carried out in normal rats. Graded doses of methanol extract of root of the plant (40, 80 and 120 mg kg^–1 body weight) were administered orally for 15 days to experimental treated rats. Distilled water was administered to experimental control rats. At the end of experiment, rats were killed by decapitation after ether anesthesia. Blood and liver were collected to measure thiobarbituric acid reactive substance, reduced glutathione and activity of catalase. Results indicated that the extract of R. sativus root reduced the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance significantly in all experimental treated groups (P < 0.05) as compared to the experimental control group. It also increased the levels of reduced glutathione and increased the activity of catalase. In vitro experiments with the liver of experimental control and experimental treated rats were also carried out against cumene hydroperoxide induced lipid peroxidation. The extract inhibited in vitro cumene hydroperoxide induced lipid peroxidation. R. sativus inhibits lipid peroxidation in vivo and in vitro. It provides protection by strengthening the antioxidants like glutathione and catalase. Inclusion of this plant in every day diet would be beneficial.

Bromelain, a widely used pineapple extract with cysteine protease activity, has been shown to have immunomodulatory effects in a variety of immune system models. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of orally administered bromelain in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine model of acute allergic airway disease (AAD). To establish AAD, female C57BL/6J mice were sensitized with intraperitoneal (i.p.) OVA/alum and then challenged with OVA aerosols for 3 days. Mice were gavaged with either (phosphate buffered saline)PBS or 200 mg/kg bromelain in PBS, twice daily for four consecutive days, beginning 1 day prior to OVA aerosol challenge. Airway reactivity and methacholine sensitivity, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cellular differential, Th2 cytokines IL-5 and IL-13, and lung histology were compared between treatment groups. Oral bromelain-treatment of AAD mice demonstrated therapeutic efficacy as evidenced by decreased methacholine sensitivity (P ≤ 0.01), reduction in BAL eosinophils (P ≤ 0.02) and IL-13 concentrations (P ≤ 0.04) as compared with PBS controls. In addition, oral bromelain significantly reduced BAL CD19+ B cells (P ≤ 0.0001) and CD8+ T cells (P ≤ 0.0001) in AAD mice when compared with controls. These results suggest that oral treatment with bromelain had a beneficial therapeutic effect in this murine model of asthma and bromelain may also be effective in human conditions.

Stress is a generic term that summarizes how psychosocial and environmental factors influence physical and mental well-being. The interaction between stress and immunity has been widely investigated, involving the neuroendocrine system and several organs. Assays using natural products in stress models deserve further investigation. Propolis immunomodulatory action has been mentioned and it has been the subject of scientific investigation in our laboratory. The aim of this study was to evaluate if and how propolis activated macrophages in BALB/c mice submitted to immobilization stress, as well as the histopathological analysis of the thymus, bone marrow, spleen and adrenal glands. Stressed mice showed a higher hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) generation by peritoneal macrophages, and propolis treatment potentiated H₂O₂ generation and inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production by these cells. Histopathological analysis showed no alterations in the thymus, bone marrow and adrenal glands, but increased germinal centers in the spleen. Propolis treatment counteracted the alterations found in the spleen of stressed mice. New research is being carried out in order to elucidate propolis immunomodulatory action during stress.

Since the range of comfort zone or thermo neutral zone of domestic chickens is narrow, they become easily susceptible to heat and cold environmental stress. We evaluated Brahma Rasayana (BR) supplementation on concentrations of certain oxidative stress markers associated with heat stress. A total of 48 egg type male chickens of local strain were divided into six groups (n = 8) for the study. Three groups were fed with BR orally at the rate of 2 g/kg bw daily for 10 days prior to and during the period of experiment. Two of the four groups that were exposed to heat stress (HST i.e. to a temperature of 40 ± 1°C and relative humidity of 80 ± 5% in an environmental chamber) for 4 h daily for 5 or 10 days, received BR orally. The other two groups remained as BR treated and untreated non-heat stressed (NHST) controls. There was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes in blood such as catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), as well as liver CAT, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione reductase (GR) in NHST-BR treated and HST-BR treated (both 5 and 10 days) chickens when compared with untreated controls. A great deal of significant (P < 0.05) variations were seen in serum and liver reduced glutathione (GSH) concentration in NHST-BR treated and HST-BR treated (both 5 and 10 days) chickens. Serum and liver lipid peroxidation levels were found to be significantly (P < 0.05) higher in HST-untreated (both 5 and 10 days) chickens when compared with other groups. Thus BR supplementation during HST brings about enhanced action of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, which nullified the undesired side effects of free radicals that are generated during HST.

Phellinus linteus is a fungus distributed throughout Japan, Korea and China. Boiled water-soluble extracts from P. linteus (PLW) have shown anti-tumor and immunomodulatory properties in experiments done by intraperitoneal treatment, or in in vitro cell cultures. This is the first investigation on how oral administration of PLW influences immune responses. Here, we established immunodeficient mice by mitomycin C (MMC) and then researched how PLW influenced plaque-forming cell (PFC) production and populations of cytokine [interferon- (IFN-) and interleukin-4 (IL-4)]-producing T lymphocytes. PLW samples were administered orally for 19 days (1, 2 or 4 g/kg/day). PFC assay was followed using Jerne's method. IFN- and IL-4-producing T lymphocyte populations were measured by flow-activated cell sorter (FACS). These assays were conducted the day after the last oral administration. MMC groups were given MMC (1 mg/kg/day) intraperitoneally for 6 days with PLW administration. The number of PFC per 10⁶ spleen cells increased significantly in the PLW (2 g/kg/day) group when compared with the MMC-control (P < 0.05) while populations of IFN- and IL-4-producing T lymphocytes decreased by MMC treatment. However, the PLW group tended to increase more than the MMC-control. Our results indicated that PLW augments the immune response of the spleen in MMC-induced immunodeficient mice.