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Objective: Depression is a serious mental disorder. Despite numerous medications, there are still limitations in depression treatment. So, herbal medicine has been considered an alternative therapy. This survey evaluated the effects of a Persian herbal formula on mice with chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)., Materials and Methods: A combination of Aloysia triphylla citrodora, Citrus aurantium , Echium amoneum , Lavandula angustifolia , Melissa officinalis , Salix aegyptiaca , Valeriana officinalis , Viola odorata , and Cinnamomum zeylanicum was prepared. Except for the control group, animals were subjected to CUMS for 8 weeks in 5 groups (n=10): CUMS, vehicle (distilled water), herbal formula (0.23 ml/mouse), fluoxetine (20 mg/kg), and bupropion (15 mg/kg). All administrations were performed orally daily for the last 4 weeks. The depression and anxiety-like behaviors were assessed by sucrose preference (SPT), tail suspension (TST), forced swimming (FST), and elevated plus-maze (EPM) tests. Superoxidase-dismutase (SOD) activities in tissues, and serum levels of cortisol, alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), and creatinine were measured. Also, histopathological changes were evaluated., Results: This formula significantly increased SPT (p<0.001) and decreased immobility time in FST and TST (p<0.01), but it was not effective on EPM vs. CUMS mice. The herbal formula did not change the serum level of creatinine or ALT, but insignificantly reduced cortisol vs. CUMS and vehicle groups. SOD activity increased in the brain vs. vehicle group (p<0.05). There were no changes in histological examination., Conclusion: The herbal formula improved depression-like behaviors which are possibly related to its anti-oxidative effect on the brain. Also, it did not cause any negative changes in the biochemical and histopathological analysis., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that there is no conflict of interest.

Objectives: Remote organ injury is a phenomenon that could happen following myocardial infarction (MI). We evaluated the potency of menstrual blood stromal (stem) cells (MenSCs) and bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) to alleviate remote organ injuries following MI in rats., Materials and Methods: 2 × 10 6 MenSCs or BMSCs were administrated seven days after MI induction via the tail vein. Four weeks after cell therapy, activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), urea, creatinine, and Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) were evaluated. The level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 were determined by ELISA assay. The expression of Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB) was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining. Apoptosis activity and tissue damage were also determined by TUNEL and H&E staining, respectively., Results: MenSCs and BMSCs administration caused a significant reduction in AST, urea, and BUN levels compared with the MI group. In addition, systemic injection of MenSCs significantly decreased the IL-1β level compared with BMSCs and MI groups ( P <0.05 and P <0.01 respectively). Apoptosis in injured kidneys was noticeably diminished in MenSCs-treated rats compared with BMSCs administrated and MI groups ( P <0.05 and P <0.05, respectively). In hepatic tissue, limited numbers of TUNEL-positive cells were detected in all groups. Interestingly, MenSCs therapy evoked inhibition of NF-κB in the kidney strikingly. Although, no significant NF-κB expression was observed in hepatic tissue in any group ( P >0.05)., Conclusion: MenSCs are probably more protective than BMSCs on remote organ injuries following MI via decreasing cell death and immunoregulatory properties., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Objectives: Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is one of the major causes of hepatic failure during liver transplantation, trauma, and infections. The present study investigated the protective effect of intra-portal administration of 2-methoxycinnamaldehyde (2-MCA) on hepatic IRI in rats., Materials and Methods: Twenty-four rats were equally divided into four groups; 1) sham group, (no IRI or transfusion), 2) Hepatic IRI (60 min ischemia + 120 min reperfusion, 3) Hepatic IRI+ NS (IRI + normal saline), 4) Hepatic IRI+2-MCA, (IRI + 2-MCA). In groups 3 and 4, 1 ml/kg normal saline and 2-MCA were administered slowly into the vein of the left lateral and median lobes of the liver 10 min before induction of hepatic reperfusion (upper the site of clumping), respectively. The harvest time points were at 2 hours post-reperfusion in all groups., Results: Histologically, cell death, degenerative changes, sinusoidal dilatation, congestion, hemorrhage, and infiltration of inflammatory cells were observed in IRI group, while these pathological changes were attenuated in the 2-MCA administrated group. The level of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, tumor necrosis factor- α and interleukin-6 in serum and hepatic malondialdehyde were significantly increased by IRI, and 2-MCA administration reduced all these markers. In addition, caspase-3 and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) expression were investigated immunohistochemically. Administration of 2-MCA considerably decreased caspase-3 positive cells and NF-κB activity in comparison with IRI group., Conclusion: As a conclusion, in situ administration of 2-MCA protects against hepatic IRI via anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties.