apigenin and Skin-Diseases

Recent years have seen a rise in the demand for dermatological herbal and plant products as well as products containing chamomile. Extracts and decoctions made from this plant are often recommended by laymen for treatment of a number of skin diseases e.g. inflammation, wounds and itching. This systematic review explores the evidence base of the dermatological effects of chamomile. While numerous beneficial effects of chamomile have been suggested no studies have so far been able to substantiate these claims significantly. The absence of evidence is primarily caused by the design and quality of the studies identified.

Topics: Anti-Infective Agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antipruritics; Chamomile; Dermatologic Agents; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts; Plant Preparations; Skin Diseases; Wound Healing

to evaluate the safety of a topical formulation containing chamomile microparticles coated with chitosan in the skin of healthy participants.. phase I blind, controlled, non-randomized, single-dose clinical trial with control for skin, base formulation, and formulation with microparticles. The variables analyzed were irritation and hydration by the Wilcoxon and Kruskall-Wallis tests.. the study started with 35 participants with a mean age of 26.3 years. Of these, 30 (85.71%) were female, 29 (82.90%) were white skinned and 32 (91.40%) had no previous pathologies. One participant was removed from the study reporting erythema at the site of application, and four other participants for not attending the last evaluation. In the 30 participants who completed the study, the tested formulation did not cause erythema, peeling, burning, pruritus or pain; there was an improvement in cutaneous hydration in the site of application of the formulation with microparticles. In the evaluation of the barrier function, there was an increase in transepidermal water loss in all sites.. the formulation with chamomile microparticles is safe for topical use, not causing irritation and improving skin hydration over four weeks of use. Its effects on barrier function need further investigation. No. RBR-3h78kz in the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC).

Topics: Administration, Topical; Adolescent; Adult; Chamomile; Chitosan; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Plant Extracts; Single-Blind Method; Skin; Skin Care; Skin Diseases; Skin Physiological Phenomena; Water Loss, Insensible; Young Adult

This article analyzes whether the distribution or area of use of 18 medicinal plants is influenced by ecological and cultural factors which might account for their traditional use and/or phytonymy in Navarra. This discussion may be helpful for comparative studies, touching as it does on other ethnopharmacological issues: a) which cultural and ecological factors affect the selection of medicinal plants; b) substitutions of medicinal plants in popular medicine; c) the relation between local nomenclature and uses. To analyze these questions, this paper presents an example of a species used for digestive disorders (tea and camomile: Jasonia glutinosa, J. tuberosa, Sideritis hyssopifolia, Bidens aurea, Chamaemelum nobile, Santolina chamaecyparissus...), high blood pressure (Rhamnus alaternus, Olea europaea...) or skin diseases (Hylotelephium maximum, H. telephium, Anagallis arvensis, A. foemina).. Fieldwork began on January 2004 and continued until December 2006. During that time we interviewed 505 informants in 218 locations in Navarra. Information was collected using semi-structured ethnobotanical interviews, and we subsequently made maps using Arc-View 8.0 program to determine the area of use of each taxon. Each map was then compared with the bioclimatic and linguistic map of Navarra, using the soil and ethnographic data for the region, and with other ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies carried out in Europe.. The results clearly show that ecological and cultural factors influence the selection of medicinal plants in this region. Climate and substrate are the most important ecological factors that influence the distribution and abundance of plants, which are the biological factors that affect medicinal plant selection.. The study of edaphological and climatological factors, on the one hand, and culture, on the other, can help us to understand why a plant is replaced by another one for the same purposes, either in the same or in a different area. In many cases, the cultural factor means that the use of a species is more widespread than its ecological distribution. This may also explain the presence of synonyms and polysemies which are useful for discussing ethnopharmacological data.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cardiovascular Diseases; Chamomile; Climate; Ecosystem; Ethnobotany; Female; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Humans; Male; Medicine, Traditional; Middle Aged; Phytotherapy; Plant Preparations; Plants, Medicinal; Skin Diseases; Spain; Tanacetum parthenium; Tea

Herbs have been used in clinical medicine for thousands of years. However, it is only in recent times that we have been able to employ scientific methods to prove the efficacy of many of these herbs and to give us a better understanding of their mechanisms of action. This article will focus on the use of herbs in various dermatological conditions characterized by inflammation and pruritus. Topical preparations of many of these herbs are more commonplace in Europe. However, their availability is increasing in the US. As this is occurring we are witnessing a growing marriage between alternative and traditional medicines.

Topics: Aloe; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Antipruritics; Astringents; Bromelains; Calendula; Capsaicin; Chamomile; Curcuma; Fatty Acids, Essential; Glycyrrhiza; Humans; Magnoliopsida; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts; Plant Oils; Plants, Medicinal; Skin Diseases

Topics: Chamomile; Dermatology; Humans; Plant Extracts; Skin Diseases