Complementary Medicine Journal
Year:2020 | Volume:10 | Issue:1 (34)|Papers Count:8

Objective Pharmacological treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is based on the use of at least two antibiotics with a double dose of proton pump inhibitor which results in antibiotic resistance. Anti-helicobacterial activity of sulforaphane-rich broccoli has been evaluated in laboratory studies. This study aimed to systematically review the conducted randomized clinical trials that have examined the effect of broccoli on H. pylori in humans. Methods This study is a systematic review of randomized clinical trials on the effect of broccoli on H. pylori. The search was conducted in PubMed, OVID, Web of Science, and Scopus databases using the keywords: Helicobacter pylori, broccoli sprouts, H. pylori, randomized clinical trials, and Brassica, without any time limits for studies conducted until 2019. After excluding duplicates, the titles and abstracts of remained articles were evaluated by two researchers and then the related ones were extracted. Next, their full-texts were examined to select the final articles for review. We included clinical trials and excluded those were in the laboratory or animal testing phases or their full-texts were unavailable. Results Three studies that had met the inclusion criteria were considered for the review. Overall, neither in the articles that reviewed in the present study nor in the articles that did not enter the review process due to unavailability of their full-texts or having a very small sample size, no clear positive effect of broccoli on inhibiting H. pylori infection in humans had been reported. Conclusion Due to the lack of optimal results from broccoli consumption for the control of H. pylori infection in humans, it is recommended that longer studies with sufficient sample size and appropriate dose of broccoli along with standard treatment be performed in the future...

Objective Due to the impact of the beliefs and attitudes on clinical practice, it is necessary to measure the beliefs and attitudes of nurses towrads the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in patient care. This study aimed for development and psychometric evaluation of Nurses’ Beliefs and Attitudes towards CAM Questionnaire (NBACQ) for Iranian population. Methods In this methodological study, based on Waltz et al. ’ s approach and the constructs of the theory of planned behavior, the initial version of NBACQ was designed, and its face and content validity were assessed. Participants were 250 eligible clinical nurses in Kashan, Iran selected using a stratified random sampling method in 2018 after obtaining informed written consent from them. Construct validity of the tool was evaluated by factor analysis and known-groups method, and its reliability was assessed by measuring its internal consistency and stability as well as the ceiling and floor effects. Data were analyzed in SPSS by using exploratory factor analysis, ANOVA, Cronbach’ s alpha and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Results The initial version of NBACQ had 60 items. In the face and content validity assessment stage, 4 items were eliminated. Factor analysis yielded 6 factors by eliminating 14 items (Explained Variance= 52. 3%). There was a significant relationship between the NBACQ score and the nurses’ agreement with the use of CAM in clinical practice (F=6. 85, P<0. 0001). Cronbach’ s alpha and ICC values were obtained 0. 878 and 0. 973, respectively. The standard error of measurement and the smallest detectable change were calculated ± 14. 685 and 10. 62, respectively. The frequency of minimum and maximum possible NBACQ scores was zero. Conclusion The 42-item NBACQ can be used as a valid and reliable tool for assessing the nurses’ beliefs and attitudes towards CAM...

Objective Spiritual health of caregivers has association with the patients’ health, but less attention has been paid to spiritual self-care education in health programs. This study aimed to assess the effect of spiritual self-care education on the care burden of mothers with children in hospitalized in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) for open heart surgery. Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 mothers of children hospitalized in ICUs of Shahid Modarres Hospital in Tehran, Iran. They were selected randomly from among those gave informed consent to participate in the study. The data collection tools were a demographic form and Zarit Burden Interview which were completed before and after intervention. The spiritual self-care education was presented using the teaching aids in four 45-min sessions, twice a week. Collected data were analyzed in SPSS V. 24 software using descriptive (frequency, percentage) and inferential (paired t-test) statistics at a significance level of P<0. 05. Results Before the intervention, 72. 3% of the samples had a severe care burden and 24. 5% had a very severe care burden, which decreased after the intervention such that only 32. 7% had a severe care burden. The mean and standard deviation of mothers’ care burden also decreased after the educational intervention (from 62. 3± 7. 6 to 42. 1± 3. 8). The results of paired t-test showed that this difference was statistically significant (P<0. 001). Conclusion Spiritual self-care education can reduce the care burden of children’ caregivers; hence, planning and implementing appropriate programs to increase self-care knowledge of caregivers (especially the mothers of children with heart problems) and medical staff and paying more attention to mothers’ education are recommended...

Objective Humans always have faced with the phenomenon of anxiety and have tried to find solutions to overcome this problem by various methods. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of echium amoenum on the anxiety of college students. Methods This is a clinical trial study. Participants were 40 nursing students in Kerman, Iran who were randomly assigned into two groups of intervention (n=20) and control (n=20). The data collection tools were a demographic form and Cattle’ s anxiety questionnaire. First, the baseline assessment was conducted in both groups. Then, the intervention group received 1 g echium amoenum powder in 250cc boiling water daily. After a month, both groups were assessed again. Data analysis was performed in SPSS V. 20 software using descriptive and inferential statistics (mean, standard deviation, chi-square test, paired t-test, independent t-test, Mann-Witney U test). Results At baseline, there was no significant difference between the two groups. After consumption of echium amoenum, the overall anxiety score decreased from 40. 4± 6. 31 to 38. 65± 3. 39 in the intervention group and increased from 39. 7± 9. 29 to 41. 75± 9. 91 in the control group; however, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion Echium amoenum could reduce anxiety in the students, but its effect was not significant maybe due to the short duration of its use or small sample size. Hence, further studies with a larger sample size are recommended...

Objective Zataria is one of the native plants of Iran which is widely used for the treatment of diseases among Iranians. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial effects of Zataria essential oil on the skin bacteria in rats. Methods Bacterial strains were isolated from the skin of 6 wistar rats and the antimicrobial effects of Zataria essential oil were evaluated by disk diffusion and microbroth dilution methods. In-vivo tests were performed to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of the essential oil by microbial culture as well as allergy tests on the skin of experimental rats compared to controls. Results Three bacterial strains were isolated from the skin of rats identified as Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Minimum Growth Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) for the two strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Corynebacterium were obtained 0. 39 and 0. 78 mg/ml, while for Staphylococcus epidermidis, they were 0. 195 and 0. 39 mg/ml, respectively. In-vivo test results showed the antibacterial effect of the essential oil on the skin bacteria and no inflammatory effects were observed under the allergy test. Conclusion Zataria essential oil has antimicrobial effects on the skin infections in lower concentrations. The use of this essential oil as an antiseptic and preservative in cosmetics is recommended instead of chemical preservatives that generally have skin side effects...

Objective Regular physical activity and the use of portulaca oleracea may be effective in treating liver disease. The purpose of this study was to assess the response of liver enzymes to both exercise and supplementation with Portulaca oleracea in obese postmenopausal women with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Methods Forty obese women with NAFLD were randomly divided into four groups of supplementation (n=10), combined exercise (n=10), placebo (n=10), and supplementation + exercise (n=10) after signing an informed consent form. Portulaca oleracea supplementation was taken as a 500 mg capsule daily before lunch and dinner. Combined exercise was performed for 12 weeks, 3 sessions per week each for 90 minutes. Liver enzymes were measured before and after the intervention. For statistical analysis, paired t-test and ANCOVA were used with a significance level set at P<0. 05. Results Combined exercise and portulaca oleracea supplementation significantly reduced the levels of Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) enzymes in the groups exercise + supplement, exercise, and supplement. There was a significant difference between the exercise + supplement and placebo groups and between placebo and exercise groups (P<0. 05). Conclusion Consumption of portulaca oleracea and combined exercise can decrease the serum levels of liver enzymes in women with NAFLD, which can be effective in treatment of patients with this disease...

Objective Thirst (Attash) is a diagnostic sign of diseases from the perspective of Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM). The purpose of this study is to provide a functional definition for the concept of thirst and its causes in ITM. Methods In this study, we used the concept analysis (hybrid model) which has three phases; in the theoretical phase, the content related to the definition of thirst and its causes were searched in ITM books and an efficient definition of thirst was presented. In the fieldwork phase, main themes were obtained after semi-structured interviewing of 16 ITM specialists. In the final (analytical) phase, the results of the two previous phases were compared to each other to present the final definition for thirst. Results The thirst is defined as the need for water and any food that is cold and wet, and the increase and decrease in thirst is a sign of disease. For its examination, it is necessary to pay attention to the change in the degree of thirst and the amount of consumed water or cold/wet foods. It is important to differentiate between drinking water as recommended, drinking water as habit, or drinking water because of dry mouth with thirst. Different characteristics of thirst can be used to diagnose the affected organs. Conclusion In this study, using the concept analysis method, a functional definition of the thirst as a symptom was presented and its causes were investigated. The low number of studies on thirst and lack of access to some ITM specialists were some of the limitations of our study. It is recommended to investigate the prevalence of thirst in patients and its relationship with dystemperament in future studies...

Objective Studies have shown that the use of herbal medicines can be effective in prevention and treatment of obesity/overweight and its related disorders. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of nanocurcumin supplementation on anthropometric characteristics, lipid profile and C-reactive Protein (CRP) in overweight girls. Methods This is a quasi-experimental study with pretest/posttest design. The subjects were 24 overweight students with a mean age of 22. 48± 1. 64 years and body mass index (BMI) of 27. 53± 3. 29 kg/m2. After receiving written consent from the subjects, they were randomly divided into two groups of supplement (n=12) and placebo (n=12). Supplement group consumed 80 mg nanocurcumin capsule daily for 6 weeks. Anthropometric indicators (weight, BMI and waist-to-hip ratio) were measured before and after the intervention and blood samples were collected to measure lipid profile parameters (low-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein) and CRP level. Data were analyzed by dependent and independent t-tests. The significance level of the tests was set at P≤ 0. 05. Results Nanocurcumin supplementation for 6 weeks did not significantly affect the anthropometric indicators, lipid profile parameters and CRP level (P>0. 05). Conclusion It seems that the short-term nancurcumin supplementation cannot significantly affect anthropometric characteristics, lipid profile, and CRP level in overweight girls. Therefore, long-term use and different doses of this supplement are recommended...