BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Pelargonium sidoides DC. Root (PELARGO) 20 mg capsule is approved by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the symptomatic treatment of common cold. In compliance with FDA, this post-authorization safety study was conducted to determine the incidence of signs and symptoms of liver injury with PELARGO intake. It also aimed to look at symptom improvement and the incidence of other adverse events.

METHODS

This non-interventional post-authorization safety study enrolled 300 adult patients with common cold, pre- scribed with Pelargonium sidoides DC. 20 mg capsule three times a day for seven days during routine clinical care from May 2023 to December 2023 in Cavite, Philippines. Demographic, clinical, and physical exam data were collected at baseline. Physical exam data, signs and symptoms of liver injury, symptom improvement, and other adverse events were determined post-treatment. Descriptive statistics were computed to characterize the participants at baseline (day 0) and end-study visit (day 8).

RESULTS

There were 300 enrolled patients, 53% female and 60% single. The mean age was 36 years and the mean BMI was 26 kg/m2. Vital signs at baseline were mostly within normal limits and most had respiratory f indings. Two hundred ninety-eight (298) completed the study. Only a few had respiratory findings at end-study visit. There were no signs and symptoms of liver toxicity nor serious adverse events after seven days of PELARGO intake. Reported adverse effects with 2.0% to 1.3% incidence in seven days include dizziness, drowsiness, headache, and polyphagia. Others wereCONCLUSION

There is no evidence of liver toxicity after seven days of PELARGO intake for common cold among Filipino adults. The drug was well tolerated, and most patients experienced significant symptom improvement. Results should be interpreted with caution in the light of study limitations.

Human ; Pelargonium ; Common Cold

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis is the exploration of the potential evidence of the effectiveness of aromatherapy products on the sexual function of menopausal women. METHODS: From inception to December 2017, the search process was performed using the MEDLINE and Scopus databases and the Cochrane Library regarding the trials on the effectiveness of herbal-medicine aromatherapy on the sexual function of menopausal women. RESULTS: Three of the trials comprise suitable data for inclusion in the meta-analysis. According to the meta-analysis, it is possible to improve the standardized mean difference (SMD) of the sexual desire up to 0.56 in the aromatherapy group compared with the control group (SMD = 0.56; P < 0.001; heterogeneity; I² = 42%; P = 0.141). According to one of the trials, the serum-estrogen level of two different doses did not change in the neroli oil inhalation group compared with the almond-oil group. CONCLUSIONS: Both aromatherapy with neroli oil or lavender (monopreparation) and combined-oil aromatherapy with lavender, fennel, geranium, and rose significantly improved human sexual function; however, a significant change of the serum-estrogen level was not detected. The findings of the present review should be presented cautiously because of the corresponding limitations such as the lack of a standardized tool, the lack of intention-to-treat reporting, the low study amount, and the short-term follow-up.
Aromatherapy ; Female ; Foeniculum ; Follow-Up Studies ; Geranium ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Lavandula ; Menopause ; Population Characteristics ; Sexuality

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of 10% lidocaine spray and aroma hand massage on pain, anxiety, blood pressure, and pulse during arteriovenous (AV) fistula needling in hemodialysis (HD) patients. METHODS: This study used a quasi-experimental design. Forty HD patients were assigned to either 10% lidocaine spray group (n=21) or aroma massage group (n=19). 10% lidocaine was sprayed 3 times around AV fistula 10 minutes before. Aroma hand massage was performed for 5 minutes with fluids containing 2% of lavender, peppermint, and geranium concentrate mixture. Pain, anxiety, blood pressure, and pulse were measured during AV fistula needling without any intervention on the first week and during interventions on the second week. Data were analyzed with χ² test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, paired t-test and MANCOVA. RESULTS: Pain and anxiety were significantly decreased in both the lidocaine spray group and aroma massage group. Aroma hand massage was more effective to reduce pulse during AV fistula needling. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that 10% lidocaine spray and aroma hand massage may be effective to reduce pain, anxiety, and pulse during AV fistula needling in HD patients.
Anxiety* ; Arteriovenous Fistula* ; Blood Pressure* ; Fistula ; Geranium ; Hand* ; Humans ; Lavandula ; Lidocaine* ; Massage* ; Mentha piperita ; Renal Dialysis*

Necrotic enteritis (NE) caused by Clostridium (C.) perfringens commonly occurs in domestic broiler farms since antibiotic supplementation in poultry feed has been banned. We evaluated the antibacterial activities of medicinal plant extracts against C. perfringens isolates to select alternative compounds for preventing NE. We compared antibacterial activities using two methods and evaluated susceptibilities of the isolates based on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Two (Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance [FRH] and Geranium koreanum Kom. [GKK]) of the 30 plant extracts had potent antibacterial activities against C. perfringens ATCC 13124 in two assays. The MIC values for FRH and GKK against 20 C. perfringens isolates were 128~256 microg/mL and 32~128 microg/mL, respectively. The geometric MIC mean values for the two extracts were 147.2 microg/mL and 68.8 microg/mL, respectively. The MBCs for the two extracts against the same strains were 1,024~2,048 microg/mL and 256~1,024 microg/mL, respectively. The geometric mean MIC and MBC for GKK were about two-fold lower than those of FRH. The modified spot-on-lawn assay may be useful for measuring primary antibacterial potential. FRH and GKK are expected to be used as feed additives to prevent or treat NE in veterinary practice.
Chickens* ; Clostridium ; Clostridium perfringens* ; Enteritis ; Fraxinus* ; Geranium* ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Plant Extracts ; Plants, Medicinal ; Poultry

The common cold is an acute, self-limiting viral infection of the upper respiratory tract involving the nose, sinuses, pharynx and larynx. Drug therapies for the common cold are normally aimed at relieving the symptoms of the illness. Over-the-counter cough and cold medications should not be used in children younger than four years old because of potential harms and lack of benefit. Antibiotics, antitussives, anti-histamines, and inhaled corticosteroids are not effective in children. Products that may improve symptoms in children include expectorants, mucolytics, honey, vitamin C, zinc lozenges, geranium extract, and nasal saline irrigation. In adults, antihistamines, intranasal corticosteroids, codeine, intranasal ipratopium, and antibiotics are not effective. Decongestants, antihistamine/decongestant combi-nations, expectorants, and mucolytics may improve cold symptoms in adults. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen reduce pain secondary to upper respiratory tract infection in adults. Among complementary and alternative medicinetherapeutics, products containing vitamin C, zinc, or garlic may improve cold symptoms in adults. Prophylactic use of probiotics may decrease the frequency of colds in adults and children.
Acetaminophen ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Antitussive Agents ; Ascorbic Acid ; Child ; Codeine ; Common Cold* ; Complementary Therapies ; Cough ; Drug Therapy* ; Expectorants ; Garlic ; Geranium ; Histamine Antagonists ; Honey ; Humans ; Larynx ; Nasal Decongestants ; Nonprescription Drugs ; Nose ; Pharynx ; Probiotics ; Respiratory System ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Zinc

In order to optimize extraction process conditions of tannins from Geranium orientali-tibeticum by supercritical CO2, the content of tannins was determined by phosphomolybdium tungsten acid-casein reaction, with extraction pressure, extraction temper- ature and extraction time as factors, the content of tannins from extract of G. orientali-tibeticum as index, technology conditions were optimized by orthogonal test. Optimum technology conditions were as follows: extraction pressure was 25 MPa, extraction temperature was 50 °C, extracted 1.5 h. The content of tannins in extract was 12.91 mg x g(-1), extract rate was 3.67%. The method established could be used for assay the contents of tannin in G. orientali-tibeticum. The circulated extraction was an effective extraction process that was stable and feasible, and that provides a way of the extraction process conditions of tannin from G. orientali-tibeticum.
Carbon Dioxide ; chemistry ; Chemical Fractionation ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Geranium ; chemistry ; Tannins ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo establish a RP-HPLC method for the determination of four acids compounds including gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, corilagin and ellagic acid in Erodium Stephanianum.

METHODThe RP-HPLC separation was performed on an Agilent TC-C18 analytical column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm). The mobile phase was methanol (A) -water containing 0.4% H3PO4 (B) with gradient elution mode at the flow rate of 0.8 mL x min(-1). The detection wavelength was set at 259 nm, and the column temperature was 30 degrees C.

RESULTThe liner ranges of gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, corilagin and ellagic acid were 0.059-2.360 g x L(-1) (r = 0.999 6), 0.017-0.672 g x L(-1) (r = 0.999 9), 0.351-14.040 g x L(-1) (r = 0.999 9), and 0.151-6.040 g x L(-1) (r = 0.999 8), respectively. The average recoveries (n = 3) were 99.45% (RSD 1.5%), 98.65% (RSD 1.7%), 100.3% (RSD 2.0%), and 98.90% (RSD 1.2%), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe method is simple and accurate with a good reproducibility and can be used for quality control of Erodium stephanianum.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Ellagic Acid ; analysis ; Gallic Acid ; analysis ; Geraniaceae ; chemistry ; Glucosides ; analysis ; Hydrolyzable Tannins ; Hydroxybenzoates ; analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recently, obesity has become one of the major health problems in our society. To overcome this problem, keeping a balance between food intake and energy expenditure is very important. Many natural substances including essential oils have been suggested for their potential effect on reducing weight. This study was performed to evaluate whether aroma inhalation of essential oil has a role in appetite regulation and works on the central nervous system through the olfactory stimulus. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Food intake was measured after 30 minutes of treatment with essential oil in overnight fasted Sprague-Dawley rats. In the control group, saline was used instead of essential oil. Changes in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) mRNA expression levels in the hypothalamus were measured following 30 minutes of treatment with geranium essential oil using real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Of the seven essential oils, geranium significantly decreased the amount of food intake compared to the control group. Geranium essential oil significantly increased POMC mRNA expression in the hypothalamus, but did not change the NPY mRNA expression. The increased POMC mRNA expression was reversed by treatment with xylocaine, which blocks the olfactory perception. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that geranium essential oil has anorexic effect through the activation of POMC neurons in the hypothalamus via olfactory stimulus.
Appetite Regulation ; Central Nervous System ; Diethylpropion ; Eating ; Energy Metabolism ; Geranium ; Hypothalamus ; Inhalation ; Lidocaine ; Neurons ; Neuropeptide Y ; Obesity ; Oils, Volatile ; Olfactory Perception ; Pro-Opiomelanocortin ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; RNA, Messenger

OBJECTIVETo explore the characteristics of inorganic elements in Erodium stephanianum.

METHODThe content of elements such as Li, B, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Br, Rb, Sr, Ba, La, Ce and Rb in ten E. stephanianum samples were determined by means of ICP/MS. The results were used for the development of element distribution diagram. The principal component analysis of SPSS and Q-type cluster analysis were applied for the study of characteristic elements in E. stephanianum.

RESULTFive principal components which accounted for over 91% of the total variance were extracted from the original data. The analysis results showed that Al, Ti, V, Fe, La, Ce, Li, Ga and Ba may be the characteristic elements in E. stephanianum; The results of Q-type cluster analysis showed that the samples could be clustered reasonably into two groups, and the elemental distribution characteristics were related to the ecology and origins of E. stephanianum.

CONCLUSIONThe principal component analysis and Q-type cluster analysis could be used in data processing in inorganic elements.

China ; Geraniaceae ; chemistry ; classification ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; Principal Component Analysis ; Quality Control ; Trace Elements ; analysis

PURPOSE: This study was to examine the effects of aroma hand massage on pruritus, fatigue and stress of the patients undergoing hemodialysis. METHODS: This study was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Study sample was conveniently recruited from two hospitals(28 for experimental and 30 for control group). The experimental group went through aroma hand massage on hand without AVF for 5 min for 12 times mixed with Lavender, Chamomile and Geranium oils in the ratio of 4 : 4 : 2, which was diluted 3% with sweet almond crrier oil 100 ml. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 12.0. RESULTS: The 1st hypothesis, 'Experimental group who has received aroma hand massage will have lower rate of pruritus than the control group' was accepted(t = -5.084, p = .001). The 2nd hypothesis, 'Experimental group who has received aroma hand massage will have lower rate of fatigue than the control group' was accepted(t = -2.557, p = .015). The 3rd hypothesis, 'Experimental group who has received aroma hand massage will have lower rate of stress than the control group' was accepted(t = -5.537, p = .001). CONCLUSION: The aroma hand massage has shown to be an effective nursing intervention to reduce the pruritus, fatigue and stress among patients undergoing hemodialysis. Therefore, the massage is needed to continuously be applied to hemodialysis patients to improve their quality of life.
Aromatherapy ; Chamomile ; Fatigue ; Geranium ; Hand ; Humans ; Lavandula ; Massage ; Oils ; Prunus dulcis ; Pruritus ; Renal Dialysis