Studio sui benefici dell'aloe contro gli effetti collaterali della radioterapia

The effect of aloe vera gel/mild soap versus mild soap alone in preventing skin reactions in patients undergoing radiation therapy.

Olsen DL, Raub W Jr, Bradley C, Johnson M, Macias JL, Love V, Markoe A. Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, USA.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the use of mild soap and aloe vera gel versus mild soap alone would decrease the incidence of skin reactions in patients undergoing radiation therapy. DATA SOURCES: Prospective, randomized, blinded clinical trial. SETTING: Radiation therapy outpatient clinic in a cancer center affiliated with a major teaching medical facility. SAMPLE: The mean age of the participants was 56 years. The group consisted of Caucasians (74%) and African Americans (26%). The ethnic mix was non-Hispanic (65%) and Hispanic (35%). METHODS: Prophylactic skin care began on the first day of radiation therapy. Patients cleansed the area with mild, unscented soap. Patients randomized into the experimental arm of the trial were instructed to liberally apply aloe vera gel to the area at various intervals throughout the day. FINDINGS: At low cumulative dose levels < or = 2,700 cGy, no difference existed in the effect of adding aloe. When the cumulative dose was high (> 2,700 cGy), the median time was five weeks prior to any skin changes in the aloe/soap arm versus three weeks in the soap only arm. When the cumulative dose increases over time, there seems to be a protective effect of adding aloe to the soap regimen. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Skin products used to treat radiation dermatitis vary among institutions. Nurses should be aware that some patients may be predisposed to skin problems. Nurses must be aware of newly developed products and research regarding these products so that effective treatment can be instituted. PMID: 11338761

Studies on chemical radioprotectors against X-irradiation used by soft X-ray accelerator

Shinoda M. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, Tokyo, Japan.

This review describes the modes of mice radiation injuries induced by soft X-irradiation under various conditions and the protective effects of several kinds of substances on these injuries. The models of radiation injuries in this study were bone marrow death after lethal irradiation, skin damage induced by irradiation with long length soft X-ray and leukocytopenia in the peripheral blood after sublethal irradiation. Two bioassay methods were established for the survival effect on the lethal irradiation and protective potency on the skin damage induced by soft X-irradiation. The protective potencies of various sulfur compounds, related compounds of ferulic acid, nucleic acid constitutional compounds, crude drugs and chinese traditional medicines were determined and then many effective drugs were recognized. Effective components in the methanol extracts of Cnidii Rhizoma and Aloe arborescens recognized as radioprotectable were fractionated. As a result of these studies, it was observed that the active principles in Cnidii Rhizoma were identified as ferulic acid and adenosine. The scavenge action of active oxygens, a protective effect on the damages of deoxyribonucleic acid and superoxide dismutase by in vitro soft X-irradiation were evaluated as radiation protective mechanisms. PMID: 7699579

Studio sulle proprietà immunostimolanti dell'aloe e protezione dalle radiazioni ultraviolette

Acemannan-containing wound dressing gel reduces radiation-induced skin reactions in C3H mice.

Roberts DB, Travis EL. Department of Experimental Radiotherapy, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030, USA.

PURPOSE: To determine (a) whether a wound dressing gel that contains acemannan extracted from aloe leaves affects the severity of radiation-induced acute skin reactions in C3H mice; (b) if so, whether other commercially available gels such as a personal lubricating jelly and a healing ointment have similar effects; and (c) when the wound dressing gel should be applied for maximum effect. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Male C3H mice received graded single doses of gamma radiation ranging from 30 to 47.5 Gy to the right leg. In most experiments, the gel was applied daily beginning immediately after irradiation. To determine timing of application for best effect, gel was applied beginning on day -7, 0, or +7 relative to the day of irradiation (day 0) and continuing for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 weeks. The right inner thigh of each mouse was scored on a scale of 0 to 3.5 for severity of radiation reaction from the seventh to the 35th day after irradiation. Dose-response curves were obtained by plotting the percentage of mice that reached or exceeded a given peak skin reaction as a function of dose. Curves were fitted by logit analysis and ED50 values, and 95% confidence limits were obtained. RESULTS: The average peak skin reactions of the wound dressing gel-treated mice were lower than those of the untreated mice at all radiation doses tested. The ED50 values for skin reactions of 2.0-2.75 were approximately 7 Gy higher in the wound dressing gel-treated mice. The average peak skin reactions and the ED50 values for mice treated with personal lubricating jelly or healing ointment were similar to irradiated control values. Reduction in the percentage of mice with skin reactions of 2.5 or more was greatest in the groups that received wound dressing gel for at least 2 weeks beginning immediately after irradiation. There was no effect if gel was applied only before irradiation or beginning 1 week after irradiation. CONCLUSION: Wound dressing gel, but not personal lubricating jelly or healing ointment, reduces acute radiation-induced skin reactions in C3H mice if applied daily for at least 2 weeks beginning immediately after irradiation. PMID: 7607925

Characterization of Aloeride, a new high-molecular-weight polysaccharide from Aloe vera with potent immunostimulatory activity.

Pugh N, Ross SA, ElSohly MA, Pasco DS. Department of Pharmacognosy, National Center for Natural Products Research, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677, USA.

We have characterized a new immunostimulatory polysaccharide called Aloeride from commercial aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) juice. Aloeride is between 4 and 7 million Da, and its glycosyl components include glucose (37.2%), galactose (23.9%), mannose (19.5%), and arabinose (10.3%). At 0.5 microg/mL Aloeride increased NF-kappa B directed luciferase expression in THP-1 human monocytic cells to levels 50% of those achieved by maximal concentrations (10 microg/mL) of LPS. Aloeride induced the expression of the mRNAs encoding IL-1beta and TNF-alpha to levels equal to those observed in cells maximally activated by LPS. Acemannan, the major carbohydrate component from aloe, used at 200 microg/mL in the macrophage assay resulted in negligible NF-kappa B activation. Analysis of acemannan and Aloeride using size-exclusion chromatography suggests that the low activity of acemannan is due to trace amounts of Aloeride. Although Aloeride comprises only 0.015% of the aloe juice dry weight, its potency for macrophage activation accounts fully for the activity of the crude juice. PMID: 11262067

In vivo metabolism of aloemannan.

Yagi A, Nakamori J, Yamada T, Iwase H, Tanaka T, Kaneo Y, Qiu J, Orndorff S. Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fukuyama University, Japan. yagi@fupharm.fukuyama-u.ac.jp

The metabolism of fluoresceinyl isothiocyanate labeled aloemannan (FITC-AM) was examined by p.o. and i.v. administration in mice at a dose of 120 mg/kg. Analysis of FITC-AM in urine and feces showed that FITC-AM (MW 500 KD) was metabolized into smaller molecules that mainly accumulated in the kidneys. AM was catabolized by the human intestinal microflora to catabolites 1 and 2 with molecular weights of 30 and 10 KD, respectively. Hydrolysis of AM showed hexosamine peaks on HPAE. The findings suggest that the immunomodulation of AM may come from not only neutral polysaccharides but also contaminated hexosamine in AM. PMID: 10418327

Prevention of ultraviolet radiation-induced suppression of contact hypersensitivity by Aloe vera gel components.

Lee CK, Han SS, Shin YK, Chung MH, Park YI, Lee SK, Kim YS. College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, South Korea. cklee@cbucc.chungbuk.ac.kr

We have recently reported that Aloe vera gel contains small molecular weight immunomodulators, G1C2F1, that restore ultraviolet B (UVB)-suppressed accessory cell function of epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) in vitro. In the present study we evaluated the UVB-protective activity of G1C2F1 in vivo. Exposure of the shaved abdominal skin of mice to 2.4 KJ/m2 of UVB radiation resulted in suppression of contact sensitization through the skin to 41.1%, compared to normal unirradiated skin. Topical application of G1C2F1 immediately after irradiation reduced this suppression significantly. The percentage recovery of UVB-suppressed contact hypersensitivity (CHS) response was 52.3, 77.3, and 86.6% when the irradiated skin was treated once with 0.1, 0.5, and 2.5 mg/ml of G1C2F1-containing cream, respectively. G1C2F1 did not show nonspecific stimulatory activity on CHS response. The present study, together with the previous observation, show that Aloe vera gel contains small molecular weight immunomodulators that prevent UVB-induced immune suppression in the skin by restoration of UVB-induced damages on epidermal LC. PMID: 10408627

Aloe barbadensis extracts reduce the production of interleukin-10 after exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Byeon SW, Pelley RP, Ullrich SE, Waller TA, Bucana CD, Strickland FM. Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030, USA.

Cutaneous exposure to ultraviolet radiation suppresses the induction of T cell mediated responses such as contact and delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) by altering the function of immune cells in the skin and causing the release of immunoregulatory cytokines. Extracts of crude Aloe barbadensis gel prevent this photosuppression. Because the regulation of contact hypersensitivity and DTH responses differ, we investigated whether protection was afforded by a single or multiple agents in Aloe and the mechanism by which this material prevents suppression of DTH immunity. The ability of Aloe gel to prevent suppression of contact hypersensitivity responses to hapten decayed rapidly after manufacture. In contrast, agents that protected against systemic suppression of DTH responses to Candida albicans were stable over time. Oligosaccharides prepared from purified Aloe polysaccharide prevented suppression of DTH responses in vivo and reduced the amount of IL-10 observed in ultraviolet irradiated murine epidermis. To assess the effect of Aloe extracts on keratinocytes, Pam 212 cells were exposed in vitro to ultraviolet radiation and treated for 1 h with Aloe oligosaccharides. Culture supernatants were collected 24 h later and injected into mice. Supernatants from ultraviolet irradiated keratinocytes suppressed the induction of DTH responses, whereas Aloe oligosaccharide treatment reduced IL-10 and blocked the suppressive activity of the supernatants. These results indicate that Aloe contains multiple immunoprotective factors and that Aloe oligosaccharides may prevent ultraviolet induced suppression of DTH by reducing keratinocyte derived immunosuppressive cytokines. PMID: 9579551

Prevention of ultraviolet radiation-induced suppression of accessory cell function of Langerhans cells by Aloe vera gel components.

Lee CK, Han SS, Mo YK, Kim RS, Chung MH, Park YI, Lee SK, Kim YS. College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, South Korea.

The active components of Aloe vera gel that can prevent ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced suppression of accessory cell function of Langerhans cells (LC) were purified by activity-guided sequential fractionation followed by in vitro functional assay. The functional assay was based on the fact that exposure of freshly isolated murine epidermal cells (EC) to UVB radiation resulted in impairment of accessory cell function of LC, as measured by their ability to support anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (mAb)-primed T-cell mitogenesis. This UVB-suppressed LC accessory cell function was prevented by addition of partially purified Aloe gel components to cultures of UVB-irradiated EC. The Aloe gel components appeared to prevent events occurring within the first 24 h after UVB irradiation that lead to the impairment of accessory cell function. The Aloe gel components did not cause proliferation of anti-CD3 mAb-primed T-cells, nor did induce proliferation of normal EC. The activity-guided final purification of Aloe gel components resulted in the isolation of two components. Both of the components were small molecular weight (MW) substances with an apparent MW of less than 1,000 Da but different from each other in net charge characteristics at pH 7.4. These results suggest that Aloe vera gel contains at least two small molecular weight immunomodulators that may prevent UVB-induced immune suppression in the skin. PMID: 9403333

Hematopoietic augmentation by a beta-(1,4)-linked mannan.

Egger SF, Brown GS, Kelsey LS, Yates KM, Rosenberg LJ, Talmadge JE. Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha 68198-5660, USA.

CARN 750 (injectable acemannan) is a polydispersed beta-(1,4)-linked acetylated mannan isolated from the Aloe barbadensis plant. It has multiple therapeutic properties including activity in wound repair and as a biological agent for the treatment of neoplasia in animals as well as the ability to activate macrophages. We report herein that CARN 750 directly or indirectly has significant hematoaugmenting properties. We observed that the subcutaneous administration of CARN 750 significantly increases splenic and peripheral blood cellularity, as well as hematopoietic progenitors in the spleen and bone marrow as determined by the interleukin-3-responsive colony-forming unit culture assay and the high-proliferative-potential colony-forming-cell (HPP-CFC) assay (a measure of primitive hematopoietic precursors) in myelosuppressed (7 Gy) C57BL/6 mice. The greatest hematopoietic effect was observed following sublethal irradiation in mice receiving 1 mg CARN 750/ animal, with less activity observed at higher or lower doses. Further, CARN 750, following daily injection, has activity equal to or greater than the injection of an optimal dose of granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in myelosuppressed mice. In this comparison, significantly greater activity was observed in the splenic and peripheral blood cellularity, and in the frequency and absolute number of splenic HPP-CFC as compared to the mice receiving G-CSF at 3 micrograms/animal. CARN 750, when administered to myelosuppressed animals, decreased the frequency of lymphocytes with a concomitant significant increase in the frequency of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). However, owing to the increased cellularity, a significant increase in the absolute number of PMN, lymphocytes, monocytes and platelets was observed, suggesting activity on multiple cell lineages. The latter is the primary difference in activity as compared to G-CSF which has activity predominantly on PMN. PMID: 9003464

Prevention of ultraviolet radiation-induced suppression of contact and delayed hypersensitivity by Aloe barbadensis gel extract.

Strickland FM, Pelley RP, Kripke ML. Department of Immunology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030.

We investigated the ability of Aloe barbadensis gel extract to prevent suppression of contact hypersensitivity (CHS) and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses in mice by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Local immune suppression was induced in C3H mice by exposure to four daily doses of 400 J/m2 UV-B (280-320 nm) radiation from FS40 sunlamps, followed by sensitization with 0.5% fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) through the irradiated skin. Topical application of 0.167-1.67% Aloe gel after each irradiation significantly reduced this suppression. Aloe treatment partially preserved the number and morphology of Langerhans and Thy-1+ dendritic epidermal cells in skin, compared to those in the skin of mice given only UVR or UVR plus the vehicle. Experiments using a single (2 kJ/m2) dose of UVR followed by Aloe treatment showed that the effect of Aloe was not due to screening of the UVR. Systemic suppression of DTH to Candida albicans or CHS to FITC was induced in C3H mice exposed to 5 or 10 kJ/m2 UV-B radiation, respectively, on shaved dorsal skin and sensitized 3 d later with a subcutaneous injection of formalin-fixed Candida or FITC painted on unirradiated, ventral skin. Treatment of the UV-irradiated skin with Aloe immediately after irradiation prevented suppression of both DTH to Candida and CHS to FITC. Aloe treatment did not prevent the formation of cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimers in the DNA of UV-irradiated skin or accelerate the repair of these lesions. These studies demonstrate that topical application of Aloe barbadensis gel extract to the skin of UV-irradiated mice ameliorates UV-induced immune suppression by a mechanism that does not involve DNA damage or repair. PMID: 7906286

Schistostomia ?

Anthraquinones in Rheum palmatum and Rumex dentatus (Polygonaceae), and phorbol esters in Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae) with molluscicidal activity against the schistosome vector snails Oncomelania, Biomphalaria and Bulinus.

Liu SY, Sporer F, Wink M, Jourdane J, Henning R, Li YL, Ruppel A. Institute of Tropical Hygiene and Public Health, University, Heidelburg, Germany.

Hot water extracts of Rheum plamatum and Rheum dentatus (from China) showed molluscicidal activity against the snails Oncomelania hupensis, Biomphalaria glabrata and Bulinus globosus, which are vectors of Schistosoma japonicum, S. mansoni and S. haematobium, respectively. Activity was correlated with antraquinones which were identified by HPLC: rhein and chrysophanol-anthron were most active (> 50% dead snails after 2 days in a 0.03% solution). Molluscicidal activity was intermediate with Rheum-emodin and physcion and was not detectable with cinnamic acid or Aloe-emodin. The snail O. hupensis tended to be more sensitive for several compounds than B. glabrata. Extracts of Jatropha curcas seeds (from Mali) showed molluscicidal activity against both B. glabrata and O. hupensis, the latter being the more sensitive snail. The activity was associated with phorbol esters extracted from Jatropha oil. Of the pure phorbol esters tested, 4 beta-phorbol-13-decanoate killed both snail species at a concentration of 0.001% (10 p.p.m). As Jatropha is locally grown in Mali for other purposes, it might potentially be exploited for schistosomiasis control. PMID: 9472303