替代医学和综合医学

A correlated investigation of cell metabolism and protein expression of Chinese Hamster Ovary cells (CHO-K1) under different growth conditions was performed by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), mass spectrometry (MS) and biochemical assays. CHO fibroblasts have shown different metabolic products when grown in different media and when differentiation is stimulated by adenosine 3’, 5’ cyclic monophosphate (cAMP). In particular, while addition of Fetal Calf Serum causes an increase in the glucose metabolism correlated to changes in lipid composition of the membrane observed by 1 H-NMR, differentiation induced by cAMP causes biochemical differences in glucose and lipidic metabolism uniquely correlated both to the specific changes in the composition of nuclear proteins, revealed by mass spectrometry, and to the differences in metabolism, determined by NMR.

The use of oral gargle has gained popularity recently. Despite being either alcohol-based or plant-based, the main purpose for the usage of oral gargle is to prevent the accumulation of heavy plaque or oral malodour, that usually caused by the growth of oral biofilm. In this study, the antimicrobial effect of Psidium guajava, Mangifera sp. and Mentha sp. was tested against the single-species biofilm consisting of Streptococcus sanguinis and Streptococcus mitis. The biofilms were allowed to grow on the saliva-coated glass beads in Nordini’s Artificial Mouth (NAM) model to represent the oral cavity for 24 hours. The saliva would form the experimental pellicle on the glass beads. The results obtained showed that biofilm of Streptococcus mitis displayed a maximum adherence (11.53%) compared to Streptococcus sanguinis (1.83%) on the untreated experimental pellicle. When the aqueous extraction of plant extract was applied on the experimental pellicle, the bacterial adherence was significantly reduced to 1.54% (Streptococcus mitis) and 0.21% (Streptococcus sanguinis). This result indicates that the selected plant extracts can be used to inhibit the heavy growth of oral biofilm.

Background: Even though child and infant protection against health problems using various methods is as old as mankind, there is limited literature on traditional methods used to protect infant and child in Tanzania. Objective: To collect and critical analyze traditional methods used to protect child and infant against health problems in rural settings. Methods and materials: Qualitative methods for sampling and data collection on both traditional and conventional methods for protecting child and infant against health problems were used. Results: A total of 203 children of whom 48.3% were females were observed when medical students were assessing infant/children nutritional status. Besides the children a total of 20 women aged 20-48 years; and five traditional health practitioners (THPs) who were purposeful sampled were interviewed. The findings showed two methods were used; and these were traditional/indigenous and conventional methods. The used traditional methods included oral and bathing remedies, abstaining when mother was breast feeding, use of “hirizi” (amulet) for illness believed to be caused by personalistic factors, and herbs for “degedge” (convulsion) and other infant illnesses. Whereas on conventional methods were child growth monitoring; and vaccination against killer diseases to infants and children. The two different methods (traditional and conventional methods) used for protection of the child were not competing; but complemented each other on health care. Conclusion: Parents/guardians and (THPs) were aware some health problems affecting infants and children could be protected by conventional medicine and some needed use of traditional remedies. The problem is hygiene of traditional remedies and proper dosage to infants and children. There is a need to examine critical the used herbal remedies on healthcare in laboratories. These herbal remedies might have some curative elements on health problems currently cannot be treated by conventional medicine.