Adipose Tissue ; physiology ; Humans ; Iran ; Medicine, Traditional ; methods ; Pericardium ; physiology

Hemorrhoidal disease is a prevalent anorectal condition which is generally not managed well with current pharmacologic interventions. However, in Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) there are numerous plants with hemorrhoid-healing properties. The present research assembled plants with hemorrhoid-healing properties in ITM; their related pharmacological effects, phytochemical constituents and mechanisms of action in the modern medicine were also gathered. For this purpose, leading ITM textbooks were searched for plants with hemorrhoid-healing effects. Further, in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies on the most cited species were considered using scientific databases. Studying ITM textbooks revealed 37 medicinal plants with hemorrhoid-healing effects. Among the mentioned herbal medicines, six species, including Allium ampeloprasum, Phyllanthus emblica, Aloe vera, Terminalia chebula, Vitis vinifera and Commiphora mukul, had the largest number of related pharmacological effects documented in scientific databases. These herbs from ITM should be considered as important resources for producing novel drugs for hemorrhoid treatment.

BACKGROUNDXerostomia is one of the most common side effects of radiation therapy among patients with head and neck cancers (HNC). However, conventional medicine lacks an effective treatment for radiation-induced xerostomia.

OBJECTIVESynthesizing the traditional use of Alcea digitata and Malva sylvestris with their known beneficial effects from recent studies, we evaluated the efficacy of the herbs in the quality of life (QOL) of HNC patients with radiation-induced xerostomia.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONSThis study is a randomized, double-arm, open-label active-controlled clinical trial. We evaluated the effect of A. digitata and M. sylvestris on QOL of HNC patients with radiation-induced xerostomia compared with Hypozalix (artificial saliva). Patients were enrolled from the Imam Hossein Hospital's oncology clinic in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURESPrimary outcome measures in this trial were changes in patients' QOL assessed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire, Head and Neck Module (EORTC QLQ-H&N 35).

RESULTSBetween-group analysis showed that the intervention group patients obtained significantly lower (better) total EORTC QLQ-H&N 35 scores as compared to the control group at the end of the intervention period (P = 0.007). Mean scores of dry mouth of EORTC QLQ-H&N 35 was also significantly lower (better) in the intervention group as compared to the control group (P = 0.017).

CONCLUSIONTraditional Persian medicine preparation of hollyhocks and common mallow should be considered as a suitable treatment for xerostomia and improving QOL in HNC patients with radiation-induced xerostomia.

TRIAL REGISTRATIONThe trial was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov with Identifier: NCT02854358.