Background: Tarantula cubensis venom (Theranekron^®) is used as a homeopathic medicine which has shown anti-tumor effects in veterinary medicine. The aim of this study was to assess effect of Tarantula cubensis venom on apoptotic cell death of human cancer cell lines. Methods: HEK293, MCF7 and HN5 cell lines were used. The cells were treated with different concentrations of alcoholic extract of Tarantula cubensis (Theranekron^®) for different periods of time. Cell morphology was studied by light microscopic observation. Cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay and death rate was assessed applying trypan blue staining. Apoptosis was assessed by DNA fragmentation, cleaved caspase-3 protein western blotting and ELISA caspase-3 activity assays. Results: Tarantula cubensis venom ruined cell adhesion, reduced cell proliferation, increased cell death rates and caused DNA fragmentation in human cells. An increased caspase-3 cleavage and hyper-activation of caspase-3 was detected in the cells treated with the venom. Results also showed a significantly higher toxicity and apoptosis levels in cancer cell lines MCF7 and HN5 compared with non-cancerous HEK293 cells. Conclusion: We conclude that Tarantula cubensis venom is selectively toxic for human cancer cells via inducing caspase-3- mediated apoptosis.

Background: Generally 50 to 70 percent of women suffer from a severe and unbearable pain during their childbirth. Abnormal fetal heart patterns, an increase of caesarian delivery rate, prolonged labor and low APGAR score in newborn are some of adverse effects of labor pain. Disagreement between different studies regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of acupuncture on labor pain led us to do this study. Materials and Methods: This is a clinical trial study. Sampling was done randomly in Esfahan, Shahid Beheshti Hospital, based on the subjects' characteristics. Patients were classified into three groups of control, Pethidine and acupuncture (27-30 women in each group). All women with a first and second pregnancy.VAS pain ruler was used as data collection tool. Data were analyzed in SPSS software, and using ANOVA and kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: The average pain score in control group 30 min after intervention was 7.80, while in Pethidine and acupuncture groups respectively were 6.87 and 5.77. Kruskal-Walis test showed that three groups in pain severity had significant difference at this time. The average length of the active phase of labor in Pethidine and acupuncture groups was 175 min while this time in control group was 243 min that ANOVA test showed a significant difference (P = 0.000). Conclusion: Results showed that acupuncture can significantly reduce labor pain in 30 min after intervention, while it had no effect on labor pain at full dilatation. However, both in Pethidine and acupuncture groups, the length of the active phase has been considerably shortened.

The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has raised health concerns worldwide. Medical and allied health professional schools are seeking ways to alleviate stress and improve the quality of life among students. The effects of yoga have proven to be successful against stress. The review aimed to examine the psychophysiological effects of yoga on stress management among medical and allied health professional students during COVID-19 pandemic. The authors reviewed existing literature and official documents, which mostly focussed on the effect of yoga among medical and health professional students. Mental stress among these students is known to be higher than that of the general population. Sudden changes due to the pandemic are likely to have a significant impact on these students. Uncertainties concerning teaching, learning and assessment generate stress and anxiety, and social distancing further contributes to loneliness. Yoga has gained recognition not only in improving mental health and quality of life, but it also helps in improving respiratory and immune health. Although many published studies examined the psychophysiological effects of yoga among health professional students; only a few medical and allied health professional schools have incorporated yoga into an integrated curriculum for a holistic approach. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the use of yoga for stress reduction and immune modulation should be considered as a complement to other treatments. There is a need to integrate yoga into medical and health science curricula to prepare physically fit and mentally sound prospective healthcare professionals.

Premna integrifolia Linn. (Verbenaceae) is an important constituent of the formulation of ten roots of herbs known as Daśamūla and is widely used for treating various ailments in the Indian system of medicine. Aim of this review is to provide comprehensive information on the pharmacological activities of various parts of P. integrifolia. All the relevant universally accepted electronic databases were searched with respect to the terms “Agnimanthā”, “Headache tree”, “Premna integrifolia”, “Premna obtusifolia”, “Premna serratifolia” including Indian classical texts, pharmacopoeias, Ayurvedic books, journals, etc., for information without specific timeline. Complete information of the plant has been collected manually since the year 1964 and has been arranged chronologically. The collected data reflects that many ethno-medicinal claims have been confirmed through the modern in-vitro and in-vivo pharmacological studies using different extracts and their isolates of P. integrifolia. The isolation of active constituents, their biological actions, clinical safety and validation of traditional uses of P. integrifolia could provide leads for further scientific research. The information collected here will be useful to set-up research protocols for modern drugs and Ayurvedic formulation development.

Ayurveda is one of the world's oldest medical sciences, with a history that goes back more than 5,000 years. The knowledge of Ayurveda has at various times had an impact on a number of branches of medicine: From ancient Greek medicine in the West to the Chinese and Tibetan in the East. Ayurveda continues to retain its prominent position in our modern world, being officially recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and enjoying great popularity in the US, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. In India, Ayurveda is recognised by conventional medicine on a par with modern medical science. In the Soviet Union a strong interest in Ayurveda arose for the first time after the Chernobyl disaster, and since then Ayurveda has been actively developing in Russia. In this article we present the chronology of the development of Ayurvedic medicine in Russia since 1989, explore academic literature on the subject available in Russian and review the existing Ayurvedic products and services offered on the Russian market.

Background: Recently, under National Health Mission alternate systems of Medicine are mainstreamed in public health care system. Effective action plan generation, logistic arrangement and roll out of these alternate systems of Medicine needs understanding on profile of morbidities among attendees who come to these facilities. Objectives: This study was planned to report profile of morbidities, age and sex differentials in specific morbidities among geriatric attendees in secondary level siddha health facilities. Materials and Methods: A facility based cross sectional study was conducted among elderly person (60 years and above) attending Siddha outpatient department (OPD) from two of the randomly selected sub district level siddha facilities in Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India. Information on socio-demographic variables like age, gender, education and clinical profile (diagnosis) were collected from records already maintained in the siddha OPD. Morbidities were summarized in terms of proportions based on age and gender. Age and sex specific differentials on specific morbidities were compared using 'z' test. Results: Of 2710 patients who visited these two siddha facilities during the reference period, 763 (28.1%) patients were elderly. Arthritis (45.2%), neuritis (8.8%), diabetes (6.6%), bronchial asthma (5.2%), hemiplegia (3.7%) were the top five morbidities diagnosed and treated among elderly attending the siddha OPD. There was a predilection towards elderly male for morbidities such as bronchial asthma and hemiplegia compared to elderly female. Similarly, higher proportions of lumbar spondylosis, hypertension and fungal skin diseases were reported among aged 80 years or more compared to elderly aged 60-79 years. Conclusion: Elderly constitute more than one fourth of outpatients load from siddha health facilities. Degenerative diseases like arthritis and non-communicable diseases were the common morbidities in this age group. Geriatric clinics and mobile clinics under siddha system may help in improving health care services.

Background: Epilepsy is a serious and complex central nervous system disorder associated with recurrent episodes of convulsive seizures due to the imbalance between excitatory (glutamatergic) and inhibitory (GABAergic) neurotransmitters level in the brain. The available treatments are neither competent to control the seizures nor prevent progress of disease. Since ages, Herbal medicines have remained important sources of medicines in many parts of world which is evidenced through their uses in traditional systems of medicine i.e. Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Homeopathy and Chinese etc. Aim: A polyherbal formulation (containing Terminalia chebula Retz., Asparagus racemosus Willd., Embelia ribes Burm. F, Acorus calamus L., Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers, Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy, Saussurea lappa C.B.Clarke, Achyranthes aspera L.) is mentioned in Ayurvedic classics Bhaiṣajya Ratnāvali. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anticonvulsant activity of the formulation in Maximum electroshock and Pentylenetetrazole induced convulsions in rats. Materials and Methods: In the present study, a polyherbal formulation was developed as directed by classical text and evaluated for the anticonvulsant activity using Maximal Electroshock Shock (MES) and Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced convulsions in rats. Statistical comparison was done by one way ANOVA followed by the Tukey's multiple comparison test. Results: The obtained results showed that the PHF had a protective role on epilepsy. Treatment with PHF significantly improves antioxidant enzymes activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) levels significantly as compared to controls. PHF also significantly decreased malonaldialdehyde (MDA) levels in the brain. Moreover, it also attenuated the PTZ-induced increase in the activity of GABA-T in the rat brain. Conclusion: These findings suggest that PHF might have possible efficacy in the treatment of epilepsy.

Background: This paper explores the role that Ayurveda can play in the management of Iron Deficiency Anaemia, a major nutritional deficiency disorder affecting people across the globe. Methodology: Forty (40) patients suffering from Iron deficiency anaemia as per WHO guidelines, between the age group of 20 to 60 yrs of either sex participated in the study. Study was a randomized, controlled, open label clinical study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: Group D (n = 20) received Dhārī avaleha 10 g twice a day after food. Group K (n = 20) received capsules Kasīsa bhasma 125 mg thrice a day. Both interventions were administered for 30 days and the subjects were followed up for next 30 days with placebo capsules to assess the sustainability of the effects. Assessments were done at baseline, 30^th and 60^th days. Primary outcome measure was hemoglobin estimation (Hb) and secondary outcome measures were the other hematological parameters such as Red blood cell (RBC) indices, total RBC count, Packed Cell volume (PCV) and Peripheral Blood smear study. Results: Both interventions produced significant improvements (P < 0.001). Kasīsa bhasma was better compared to dhārī avaleha in terms of primary (P < 0.0001) and secondary outcomes. Comparison of outcomes from base line – 30^th day, base line – 60^th day and 30^th – 60^th day showed significant (P < 0.0001) improvement in both the groups in parameters such as haemoglobin, MCV and MCH. Hence improvements sustained during placebo intervened sustainability period also. Conclusions: Study effectively shows that Kasīsa bhasma is better then Dhātrī avaleha. Improvements by both interventions were sustained even during the sustainability period.