Numerous studies have implicated oxidative stress in the development of complications of diabetes. During hyperglycemia, production of oxidant agents such as reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species increases. This process, along with a decrease in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, induces oxidative stress in the body. This redox imbalance causes damage to vital biomolecules such as proteins, lipids and DNA and results in the generation of harmful products for the body. Mechanisms associated with the creation of oxidative stress conditions and subsequently complications of diabetes are explained through several pathways such as flux through the polyol pathway, intracellular production of advanced glycation end products precursors, protein kinase-C activation, and increased activities of the hexosamine pathway. On the other hand, the study of polymorphism in the antioxidant enzymes genes indicates that some of the gene polymorphisms reduce the antioxidant power of the enzymes. This article aims to review various studies to demonstrate the effect of oxidative stress on the pathogenesis of diabetes and the positive role of antioxidants on diabetic complications. Ghasemi-Dehnoo Maryam 1 Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord Amini-Khoei Hossein 2 Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord Lorigooini Zahra 3 Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord Rafieian-Kopaei Mahmoud 4 Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord Braun S, Bitton-Worms K, LeRoith D. The link between the metabolic syndrome and cancer. Int J Biol Sci 2011; 7(7): 1003-1015. Sagoo MK, Gnudi L. Diabetic nephropathy: Is there a role for oxidative stress. Free Radic Biol Med 2018; 116: 50-63. Rani V, Deep G, Singh RK, Palle K, Yadav UCS. Oxidative stress and metabolic disorders: Pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies. Life Sci 2016; 148: 183-193. Hutcheson R, Rocic P. The metabolic syndrome, oxidative stress, environment, and cardiovascular disease: The great exploration. Exp Diabetes Res 2012; 2012: 1-13. Asmat U, Abad K, Ismail K. Diabetes mellitus and oxidative stress-a concise review. Saudi Pharm J 2016; 24(5): 547-553. Calderon GD, Juarez OH, Hernandez GE, Punzo SM, De la Cruz ZD. Oxidative stress and diabetic retinopathy: Development and treatment. Eye 2017; 31(8): 1122-1130. Nunes S, Rolo AP, Palmeira CM, Reis F. Diabetic cardiomyopathy: Focus on oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation. In: Kirali K. (eds.) Cardiomyopathies-types and treatments. Croatia: InTech; 2017, p. 235-257. Rahimi-Madiseh M, Malekpour-Tehrani A, Bahmani M, Rafieian-Kopaei M. The research and development on the antioxidants in prevention of diabetic complications.

Brucellosis is an old, infectious and common zoonosis whose causative agents are Gramnegative bacteria from the Brucella genus. Brucellosis is transmitted through direct contact with infected animals or using unpasteurized dairy products of goats, pigs, camels, sheep, buffalo and cows. Brucellosis is still the most common zoonosis in the world, with most of cases occurring in developing countries. Today, an approach to traditional medicine and medicinal plants, especially with regards to the repeated recommendations of the World Health Organization, is a necessity. One-third of chemical drugs are produced by using plants and there is a high potential to produce more drugs from plants. Medicinal plants are helpful in the management of various conditions, especially bacterial diseases. Although there is not enough scientific evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness of herbal drugs for the treatment of brucellosis, there is strong evidence on the antimicrobial effects of herbal drugs to prevent infection. Therefore, this article seeks to describe the antibacterial effects of some plant-derived essential oils or extracts, so that they can serve as promising choices to develop new anti-Brucella medications, as suitable alternatives to conventional antibiotics for brucellosis, as much as possible, taking into account the benefits of these herbal drugs.

Diabetes mellitus can damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart. Microvascular and macrovascular disorders are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients. Hyperglycemia can increase the indicators of lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in which free radicals have the main role in the pathogenesis of these complications. Therefore, antioxidants which combat oxidative stress should be able to prevent and repair free radicals induced damages. Although free radicals contribute to kidney damage, atherosclerosis, diabetes, heart disease, nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity; however, clinical trials do not uniquely confirm a substantial impact on diabetic damage. It seems that antioxidants in vegetables, fruits and grains help preventing diabetes complications; however, there is little evidence that taking single antioxidants such as vitamin E or vitamin C protect these complications. The findings about combination antioxidants are also complicated and not entirely clear. In this review paper we tried to present the role of oxidative stress on micro-vascular complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Other objective of this paper is to review the new findings about the role of various antioxidants on prevention and treatment of diabetes mellitus as well as its complications including retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy.

Objective:To identify the medicinal plants effective in infectious diseases.
Methods: Initially, we obtained a list of herbalists and traditional healers from Food and Drug Deputy. Direct observations and interviews as well as collection of herbarium specimens of indigenous medicinal plants effective in infectious diseases of urinary tract, reproductive, digestive, respiratory and skin systems were performed. This study was conducted through questionnaires and interviews; the questionnaires were distributed among traditional healers and simultaneous interviews were also run. The plants were herbariumized, herbarium specimens were authenticated, and their species were determined by using reliable flora and other sources. Finally, the data were input into Excel 2010 and analyses were performed.
Results: Out of the studied plants, 35 native medicinal plants belonging to 17 families were effective in the treatment of various diseases and infections. In this study, the Lamiaceae family had the highest frequency of plants for the treatment of infections. Traditional healers of Urmia in 24% of cases used the leaves of medicinal herb to treat patients. In 68% of cases, they prescribed medicinal herbs in the boiled forms. Most medicinal herbs showed therapeutic effect on the digestive system.
Conclusions: Traditional medicinal sources, valuable knowledge of traditional healers in Urmia, the scientific investigation of the effects of the herbs offered in this study and their effects in traditional medicine may provide a good source for new drugs in modern medicine.

Many native plants in traditional medicine have been used for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis and the recent clinical trials have proven the efficacy of some of them. Researches conducted on these plants have shown that garlic, shallots, wormwood, yarrow, walnuts, thyme, henna plant, mimosa, aloe, wood betony, medlar, periwinkle, yeah, savory, black beans, etc. are effective on cutaneous leishmania. Synthetic agents in Iranian market have some disadvantages such as high cost and side effects and are painful in injections. Given the effectiveness of these plants, they can be a source of natural and safe compounds for the treatment of Leishmania. Therefore, more clinical researches should be done to determine the effectiveness and safety of these medicinal plants, their active ingredients and their possible toxic substances which can lead to the production of effective and safe drugs for leishmaniasis. It also might be an effective way to prepare herbal ointment on wound healing.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of ethanolic extract of chamomile on balance and motor learning in rats receiving scopolamine and intact rats. Methods: Fourty-two rats were divided into 6 groups ( n = 7). Control group received distilled water. Rats in Group 2 were given 1 mg/kg scopolamine. Groups 3 and 4 received chamomile extract 200 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg, respectively, and scopolamine simultaneously for 20 days. Intact groups (Groups 5 and 6) only received chamomile extract 200 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg, respectively. Motor coordination of rats was assessed with rotarod apparatus. Results: According to the obtained results, compared with the control group, scopolamine significantly decreased time spent on rotarod performance (. P < 0.001). Compared with scopolamine group, the strength and staying on rotarod apparatus in Group 3 significantly increased ( P < 0.05). The results of this research showed that intact groups that received only chamomile extract at doses of 200 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg significantly increased time spent on rotarod, compared with scopolamine group ( P < 0.001). Conclusions: The results of this study indicated the high antioxidant property and protective effect of chamomile extract on motor coordination in the groups that received scopolamine.

Objective: To identify the medicinal plants effective in infectious diseases. Methods: Initially, we obtained a list of herbalists and traditional healers from Food and Drug Deputy. Direct observations and interviews as well as collection of herbarium specimens of indigenous medicinal plants effective in infectious diseases of urinary tract, reproductive, digestive, respiratory and skin systems were performed. This study was conducted through questionnaires and interviews; the questionnaires were distributed among traditional healers and simultaneous interviews were also run. The plants were herbariumized, herbarium specimens were authenticated, and their species were determined by using reliable flora and other sources. Finally, the data were input into Excel 2010 and analyses were performed. Results: Out of the studied plants, 35 native medicinal plants belonging to 17 families were effective in the treatment of various diseases and infections. In this study, the Lamiaceae family had the highest frequency of plants for the treatment of infections. Traditional healers of Urmia in 24% of cases used the leaves of medicinal herb to treat patients. In 68% of cases, they prescribed medicinal herbs in the boiled forms. Most medicinal herbs showed therapeutic effect on the digestive system. Conclusions: Traditional medicinal sources, valuable knowledge of traditional healers in Urmia, the scientific investigation of the effects of the herbs offered in this study and their effects in traditional medicine may provide a good source for new drugs in modern medicine.

Objective: To investigate the effect of Thymus vulgaris (. T. vulgaris) on learning and memory functions in scopolamine-induced memory deficit in rats. Memory enhancing activity in scopolamine-induced amnesic rats was investigated by assessing the Morris water maze and passive avoidance paradigm. Methods: A total of 42 male Wistar rats were divided into 6 equal groups as follow: control group: received water, scopolamine treated group: received scopolamine 1 mg/kg for 15 days, two scopolamine + T. vulgaris treated groups: received scopolamine and T. vulgaris extract 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight per day for 15 days, two intact groups: received T. vulgaris extract 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight per day for 15 days. Results: Administration of T. vulgaris extract significantly restored memory and learning impairments induced by scopolamine in the passive avoidance test and Morris water maze test. Conclusions: T. vulgaris extract has repairing effects on memory and behavioral disorders produced by scopolamine and may have beneficial effects in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Many native plants in traditional medicine have been used for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis and the recent clinical trials have proven the efficacy of some of them. Researches conducted on these plants have shown that garlic, shallots, wormwood, yarrow, walnuts, thyme, henna plant, mimosa, aloe, wood betony, medlar, periwinkle, yeah, savory, black beans, etc. are effective on cutaneous leishmania. Synthetic agents in Iranian market have some disadvantages such as high cost and side effects and are painful in injections. Given the effectiveness of these plants, they can be a source of natural and safe compounds for the treatment of Leishmania. Therefore, more clinical researches should be done to determine the effectiveness and safety of these medicinal plants, their active ingredients and their possible toxic substances which can lead to the production of effective and safe drugs for leishmaniasis. It also might be an effective way to prepare herbal ointment on wound healing.

There are a number of medicinal combinations in the Iranian traditional medicine which are commonly used as tonic for liver. In this review, we have introduced some medicinal plants that are used mainly for the treatment of liver disorders in Iranian folk medicine, with focus on their hepatoprotective effects particularly against CC14 agent. In this study, online databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct were searched for papers published from January 1970 to December 2013. Search terms consisted of medicinal plants, traditional medicine, folk medicine, hepatoprotective, Iran, liver, therapeutic uses, compounds, antioxidant, CC14, anti-inflammatory, and antihepatotoxic, hepatitis, alone or in combination. Allium hirtifolium Boiss., Apium graveolens L., Cynara scolymus, Berberis vulgaris L., Calendula officinalis, Nigella sativa L., Taraxacum officinale, Tragopogon porrifolius, Prangos ferulacea L., Allium sativum, Marrubium vulgare, Ammi majus L., Citrullus lanatus Thunb, Agrimonia eupatoria L. and Prunus armeniaca L. are some of the medicinal plants that have been used for the treatment of liver disorders in Iranian folk medicine. Out of several leads obtained from plants containing potential hepatoprotective agents, silymarin, β-sitosterol, betalain, neoandrographolide, phyllanthin, andrographolide, curcumin, picroside, hypophyllanthin, kutkoside, and glycyrrhizin have been demonstrated to have potent hepatoprotective properties. Despite encouraging data on possibility of new discoveries in the near future, the evidence on treating viral hepatitis or other chronic liver diseases by herbal medications is not adequate.