Gelsemium Sempervirens Research Articles

Impact of Bias in Data Collection of COVID-19 Cases.

Prognostic factor research (PFR), prevalence of symptoms and likelihood ratio (LR) play an important role in identifying prescribing indications of useful homeopathic remedies. It involves meticulous unbiased collection and analysis of data collected during clinical practice. This paper is an attempt to identify causes of bias and suggests ways to mitigate them for improving the accuracy in prescribing for better clinical outcomes and execution of randomized controlled studies. A prospective, open label, observational study was performed from April 2020 to December 2020 at two COVID Health Centers. A custom-made Excel spreadsheet containing 71 fields covering a spectrum of COVID-19 symptoms was shared with doctors for regular reporting. Cases suitable for PFR were selected. LR was calculated for commonly occurring symptoms. Outlier values with LR ≥5 were identified and variance of LRs was calculated. Out of 1,889 treated cases of confirmed COVID-19, 1,445 cases were selected for pre-specified reasons. Nine medicines, Arsenicum album, Bryonia alba, Gelsemium sempervirens, Pulsatilla nigricans, Hepar sulphuricus, Magnesia muriaticum, Phosphorus, Nux vomica and Belladonna, were most frequently prescribed. Outlier values and large variance for Hepar sulphuricus and Magnesia muriaticum were noticed as indication of bias. Confirmation bias leading to lowering of symptom threshold, keynote prescribing, and deficiency in checking of all symptoms in each case were identified as the most important sources of bias. Careful identification of biases and remedial steps such as training of doctors, regular monitoring of data, checking of all pre-defined symptoms, and multicenter data collection are important steps to mitigate biases.

Unilateral eyelid ptosis: A case report cured by Gelsemium sempervirens

Our aim is to present the importance of mobile Handheld Lung Ultrasound (HLUS) in COVID-19 patients at the bedside, which is a pre-screening tool with high diagnostic value that can provide triage of symptomatic patients at home (pre-hospital), emergency services, Intensive Care Units (ICU). In this context, the current role and importance of HLUS at the bedside in COVID-19 pneumonia has been summarized.

The metabolism of gelsevirine in human, pig, goat and rat liver microsomes.

Gelsemium is a small genus of flowering plants from the family Loganiaceae comprising five species, three of which, Gelsemium sempervirens (L.) J. St.‐Hil., G. elegans Benth and G. rankinii Small, are particularly popular. Compared with other alkaloids from G. elegans, gelsemine, gelsevirine and koumine exhibit equally potent anxiolytic effects and low toxicity. Although the pharmacological activities and metabolism of koumine and gelsemine have been reported in previous studies, the species differences of gelsevirine metabolism have not been well studied. In this study, the metabolism of gelsevirine was investigated by using liver microsomes of humans, pigs, goats and rats by means of HPLC‐QqTOF/MS. The results indicated that the metabolism of gelsevirine in liver microsomes had qualitative and quantitative species differences. Based on the results, the possible metabolic pathways of gelsevirine in liver microsomes were proposed. Investigation of the metabolism of gelsevirine will provide a basis for further studies of the in vivo metabolism of this drug.

Homeopathic Remedies in COVID-19: Prognostic Factor Research.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new disease; its clinical profile and natural history are evolving. Each well-recorded case in homeopathic practice is important for deciding the future course of action. This study aims at identifying clinically useful homeopathic remedies and their prescribing symptoms using the prognostic factor research model. This was an open-label, multi-centric, observational study performed from April 2020 to July 2020 at various public health care clinics. The data were collected prospectively from clinical practice at integrated COVID-19 care facilities in India. Good-quality cases were selected using a specific set of criteria. These cases were analyzed for elucidating prognostic factors by calculating the likelihood ratio (LR) of each frequently occurring symptom. The symptoms with high LR values (>1) were considered as prescribing indications of the specific remedy. Out of 327 COVID-19 cases reported, 211 met the selection criteria for analysis. The most common complaints were fatigue, sore throat, dry cough, myalgia, fever, dry mouth and throat, increased thirst, headache, decreased appetite, anxiety, and altered taste. Twenty-seven remedies were prescribed and four of them-Arsenicum album, Bryonia alba, Gelsemium sempervirens, and Pulsatilla nigricans-were the most frequently used. A high LR was obtained for certain symptoms, which enabled differentiation between the remedies for a given patient. Homeopathic medicines were associated with improvement in symptoms of COVID-19 cases. Characteristic symptoms of four frequently indicated remedies have been identified using prognostic factor research, findings that can contribute to accurate homeopathic prescribing during future controlled research in COVID-19.

Updates from China: clinical and research experience of homeopathy in the pandemic

Background: Hong Kong is one of the regions which is most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in China. In homeopathy, common pathognomonic symptoms are less informative, while homeopathic symptoms are always more helpful for homeopathic prescriptions. Aims: The first case series from Hong Kong was presented and the homeopathic repertorization symptoms observed in the 18 confirmed/suspected cases of COVID-19 in Hong Kong in early 2020 was reported. Methodology: A standard questionnaire on common homeopathic symptoms was filled in by all diagnosed/suspected COVID-19 patients, with or without the help of a consulting-room assistant, before the consultation. Repertorization symptoms from the case series were reported from 18 consecutive patients who used homeopathy as an adjunctive measure, in addition to the conventional or traditional chinese medicine, for symptomatic relief from COVID-19. Anonymized clinical information for research and academic purposes was used and approved by patients. The authors focused mainly on the homeopathic symptoms, i.e. the more individualised and characteristic symptoms which were available in the homeopathic repertories. In the presentation, the demographics, prevelance of homeopathic medicines, common repertorization symptoms in each of the top-ranked remedies, and differentiating symptoms for each top-ranked remedy were presented. Differentiating features were defined as homeopathic symptoms that were present in at least 50% of cases for the top-ranked remedy and in no more than 2 cases for other top-ranked remedies. The data collection project was further extended under the Clificol COVID-19 Support Project, a multinational, combined retrospective, and prospective longitudinal study. Results and discussion: Homeopathic symptoms of 18 cases were presented. All of the cases were categorized as mild. Eighteen common symptoms screened out of 79 selected repertorization symptoms constituted two sets of homeopathic symptom pictures: Bryonia alba (n = 4) and Gelsemium sempervirens (n = 12). Eight and seven differentiating features, respectively, were identified for Bryonia alba and Gelsemium sempervirens. Most updated data from the ongoing COVID-19 Support project was also presented. Conclusion: The common symptoms of 18 mild COVID-19 cases constituted two sets of homeopathic symptom pictures, indicating Bryonia alba or Gelsemium sempervirens; they were indicated in 4 and 12 cases, respectively, out of the 18 in total.

Preliminary analysis of the Clificol COVID-19 support project

Background: The Clificol® COVID-19 Support Project is an innovative international project set up during the current crisis to register cases of Covid which received adjunctive homeopathic care. Aims The project aims to describe the demographics, geographic specificities, and time-courses of the cases and shed some light on the notion of Genus Epidemicus in the context of this infection. Beyond this, the project aims to use the data to tackle more fundamental questions in homeopathy, such as the notion of Individualization and the 'Law of Similars’. Methodology: This online multi-national data-collection project receives the support of ECH, ECCH, ICH, HRI, LMHI, and other professional associations; the Governance Committee now consists of 11 representatives, representing 197 associations. The study is designed as an observational study, and standardized consent terms were used to gather anonymized data. The collected data consists of demographic information, severity, conventional diagnosis, treatment, presenting symptoms, and a remedy prescribed at each consultation. The course of the condition is tracked using the ORIDL scale. Besides basic statistics regarding demographics, the notion of Individualisation is investigated by analyzing whether presenting symptoms cluster into tight groups as would be expected by the homeopathic principle of Individualisation (K-Means clustering approach). The connection – Law of Similars – between symptoms and a successful remedy are analyzed using logistic regression modelling (SPSS). Results and discussion: Up-to-date demographic data will be presented at the conference. The preliminary analysis picked up the two most common remedies pictures corresponding to Gelsemium sempervirens (Cluster 1) and Bryonia alba (Cluster 3). Interestingly it found another remedy picture (Cluster 2), which had a much lower success rate (75%) compared to cluster 1 (99%) and 3 (100%). In the preliminary analysis, statistically significant regression models for Gelsemium and Bryonia were built. These show that indeed there is a consistent link – that can be statistically modelled - between sets of symptoms and a successful remedy. With sufficient data, the modelling can be extended to explore the notions of ‘Keynote Symptom’ and ‘Three-Legged Stool’ to see whether such key symptoms or sets of symptoms do indeed come out from the analysis. The approach is limited by the natural inclination of homeopaths to see the symptoms of remedy they think is required in the patient. We hope to be able to use the data to shed some light on this type of bias. Conclusion: The data collected during this pandemic offers a unique opportunity to shed light on some of the core principles of homeopathy. The preliminary analysis is presented to demonstrate the potential of the approach and how powerful it can be provided enough data is gathered. The Clificol COVID-19 data collection project, currently supported by most organizations worldwide, requires more cases to fulfil its ambitious aims.

Clinical Characteristics and Remedy Profiles of Patients with COVID-19: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

The aim of the study was to identify indicated homeopathic remedies based on the clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in India. In this retrospective, cohort study, confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted at a COVID Health Centre in New Delhi between April 29 and June 17, 2020 were given conventional and homeopathic treatment. Patients were grouped into mild, moderate or severe categories of disease. Their symptomatologic profiles were analyzed to identify indicated homeopathic medicines. A total of 196 COVID-19 patients were admitted. One hundred and seventy-eight patients had mild symptoms; eighteen patients had moderate symptoms; no patients with severe symptoms were included as they were referred to tertiary care centers with ventilatory support. The mean age of patients with mild symptoms was significantly lower (38.6 years; standard deviation or SD ± 15.8) compared with patients in the moderate category (66.0 years; SD ± 9.09). The most important symptoms identified were fever (43.4%), cough (47.4%), sore throat (29.6%), headache (18.4%), myalgia (17.9%), fatigue (16.8%), chest discomfort (13.8%), chills (12.6%), shortness of breath (11.2%) and loss of taste (10.2%). Twenty-eight homeopathic medicines were prescribed, the most frequently indicated being Bryonia alba (33.3%), Arsenicum album (18.1%), Pulsatilla nigricans (13.8%), Nux vomica (8%), Rhus toxicodendron (7.2%) and Gelsemium sempervirens (5.8%), in 30C potency. Data from the current study reveal that Arsenicum album, Bryonia alba, Pulsatilla nigricans, Nux vomica, Rhus toxicodendron and Gelsemium sempervirens are the most frequently indicated homeopathic medicines. A randomized controlled clinical trial based on this finding is the next step.

BHLH IRIDOID SYNTHESIS 3 is a member of a bHLH gene cluster regulating terpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthesis in Catharanthus roseus.

Basic helix‐loop‐helix (bHLH) transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of plant specialized metabolites, including terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs) in Catharanthus roseus. Two previously characterized subgroup‐IVa bHLH TFs, BIS1 (bHLH Iridoid Synthesis 1) and BIS2 regulate iridoid biosynthesis in the TIA pathway. We reanalyzed the recently updated C. roseus genome sequence and discovered that BIS1 and BIS2 are clustered on the same genomic scaffold with a previously uncharacterized bHLH gene, designated as BIS3. Only a few bHLH gene clusters have been studied to date. Comparative analysis of 49 genome sequences from different plant lineages revealed the presence of analogous bHLH clusters in core angiosperms, including the medicinal plants Calotropis gigantea (giant milkweed) and Gelsemium sempervirens (yellow jessamine), but not in the analyzed basal angiosperm and lower plants. Similar to the iridoid pathway genes, BIS3 is highly expressed in roots and induced by methyl jasmonate. BIS3 activates the promoters of iridoid branch genes, geraniol synthase (GES), geraniol 10‐hydroxylase (G10H), 8‐hydroxygeraniol oxidoreductase (8HGO), iridoid synthase (IS), 7‐deoxyloganetic acid glucosyl transferase (7‐DLGT), and 7‐deoxyloganic acid hydroxylase (7DLH), but not iridoid oxidase (IO). Transactivation of the promoters was abolished when BIS3 is converted to a dominant repressor by fusing with the ERF‐associated amphiphilic repression (EAR) sequence. In addition, BIS3 acts synergistically with BIS1 and BIS2 to activate the G10H promoter in tobacco cells. Mutation of the known bHLH TF binding motif, G‐box (CACGTG) in the G10H promoter significantly reduced but did not abolish the transactivation by BIS3. Promoter deletion analysis of G10H suggests that the sequences adjacent to the G‐box are also involved in the regulation by BIS3. Overexpression of BIS3 in C. roseus flower petals significantly upregulated the expression of iridoid biosynthetic genes and increased loganic acid accumulation. BIS2 expression was significantly induced by BIS3 although BIS3 did not directly activate the BIS2 promoter. Our results advance our understanding of the regulation of plant specialized metabolites by bHLH TF clusters.

Isolation and Identification of a Potent PTP1B Inhibitor, Ursolic Acid, from Carolina Jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens (L.) J.St.-Hil.)

Extracts of Carolina jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens (L.) J.St.-Hil.) petals were evaluated in vitro for inhibition activity against protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). The principle active agent was also isolated from the extract and identified as ursolic acid (1). This is the first report of ursolic acid from G. sempervirens and of PTP1B-inhibiting activity in the genus Gelsemium.

Overview on Phyto-based Treatment for Anxiety

Background: The prevalence of psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, is very common and affects many people all around the world. Currently, many synthetic pharmacological products/ drugs are available in the market to cure the disorder but associated with various adverse reactions or side effects, which may cause discomfort and sometimes other disorders to the patients. In the past years, the use of complementary and alternative medicine has increased. The exploration in the area of herbal psychopharmacology has received much attention as people are using more herbal treatment to benefit their health. Objective: To provide comprehensive information on anxiety disorder and its herbal treatment. Methods: In this review, we enlisted the plants, plant extracts and isolated components (if any) along with models used to explore anxiolytic property; in retrospect, still a lot of research required to establish them clinically. Result: Literature revealed that a variety of medicinal plants are effective for the treatment of anxiety like Ginkgo biloba, Passiflora incarnata, Gelsemium sempervirens, Piper methysticum, Bauhinia variegate, Matricaria recutita, Brassica oleracea, Hypericum perforatum, Echium amoenum, and Scutellaria lateriflora. Conclusion: Exploration of herbal plants may be beneficial to establish more potential compounds for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Sempervirine inhibits RNA polymerase I transcription independently from p53 in tumor cells

In the search of small molecules that can target MDM2/p53 pathway in testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), we identified sempervirine (2,3,4,13-tetrahydro-1H-benz[g]indolo[2,3-a]quinolizin-6-ium), an alkaloid of Gelsemium sempervirens, that has been previously proposed as an inhibitor of MDM2 that targets p53-wildtype (wt) tumor cells. We found that sempervirine not only affects cell growth of p53-wt cancer cells, but it is also active in p53-mutated and p53-null cells by triggering p53-dependent and independent pathways without affecting non-transformed cells. To understand which mechanism/s could be activated both in p53-wt and -null cells, we found that sempervirine induced nucleolar remodeling and nucleolar stress by reducing protein stability of RPA194, the catalytic subunit of RNA polymerase I, that led to rRNA synthesis inhibition and to MDM2 block. As shown for other cancer cell models, MDM2 inhibition by nucleolar stress downregulated E2F1 protein levels both in p53-wt and p53-null TGCT cells with the concomitant upregulation of unphosphorylated pRb. Finally, we show that sempervirine is able to enter the nucleus and accumulates within the nucleolus where it binds rRNA without causing DNA damage. Our results identify semperivirine as a novel rRNA synthesis inhibitor and indicate this drug as a non-genotoxic anticancer small molecule.

Current Insights into the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Its Homoeopathic Management

AbstractSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new coronavirus strain that has not been ever found in humans before December 2019. Both the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case fatality rate and deaths per million population in the top 10 affected countries are increasing a lot due to ever-increasing number of new cases among countries facilitated by increased affinity of SARS-CoV-2 to bind human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors. While human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 happens through close contact with an infected individual who spreads respiratory droplets through air or other means, its diagnosis relies mainly on detection of nucleic acid. Repurposing drugs such as dexamethasone, remdesivir, favipiravir and TMPRSS2 (trans membrane protease, serine 2) protease inhibitors have been shown to be effective for the treatment of COVID-19 with albeit requirement of further studies to conclude their complete effectiveness. Personal protective measures should be followed to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additionally, hundreds of clinical trials of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are undergoing, while plasma therapy from the COVID-19 survivors is also being tried to treat the severely affected patients. In addition to these aforementioned modern medicines and therapeutic approaches, homoeopathy also holds promising anti-viral effect as evident from its success against flu and other epidemics, historically. Therefore, present article provides a glimpse of advancements made in the area of homoeopathic ways of treating COVID-19 by summarising the recent homoeopathic clinical, research trials and future scopes of homoeopathy to combat the pandemic. After critical review of most of the ongoing or recently completed homoeopathic treatment efforts against SARS-CoV-2, it was identified that Bryonia alba, Arsenicum album and Gelsemium sempervirens are working best among homoeopathic medicines till now. These studies are also suggesting an increased application of these remedies to treat the current pandemic worldwide; therefore, more such studies are warranted. Those further research will pave the way to understand the mechanism of each of these homoeopathic drugs to cure COVID-19 facilitated by optimising their doses, effects and find the best among these multiple options in homoeopathic medicines for plausible mono- or combination therapies.

Verification of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Characterization of Traditional Homeopathically Manufactured Metal (Cuprum metallicum) and Plant (Gelsemium sempervirens) Medicines and Controls.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) proton relaxation is sensitive to the dynamics of the water molecule, H2O, through the interaction of the spin of the proton (1H) with external magnetic and electromagnetic fields. NMR relaxation times describe how quickly the spin of 1H, forced in a direction by an external electromagnetic field, returns to a normal resting position. As a result, such measurements allow us potentially to describe higher structuring of water in homeopathic medicines. The purpose of the present study was to verify whether specific NMR relaxation times could be measured in full lines of cH dynamizations of a metal (copper) and of a plant substance (Gelsemium sempervirens), compared with a solvent control, a potentized lactose control and a control prepared by simple dilution, in three production lines. It is aimed at verification of a previous publication (2017) on two new manufacturing lines of the same starting material and controls. To monitor dilution and potentization processes, measurements of 1H spin-lattice T1 and spin-spin T2 relaxation times were used. T1 and T2 relaxation times were measured at 25°C with a spin analyser working at a frequency of 20 MHz. To account for its possible role as a confounding factor, free oxygen was also measured in all samples, using a MicroOptode meter. When the values of the three production lines were pooled, a statistically significant discrimination of NMR relaxation times between the medicines and their controls was confirmed. We found for copper cH and Gelsemium sempervirens cH a highly significant influence of the starting material (p = 0.008), a highly significant influence of level of dilution (p < 0.001), and a significant influence of the O2 concentration (p = 0.04). We have evidence of an obvious retention of a specific magnetic resonance signal when a substance (lactose, copper, Gelsemium) is diluted/potentized in pure water. This means that homeopathic solutions cannot be considered to be pure water. O2 is a covariant and not an explanatory variable: this factor itself is too weak to explain the NMR signal specificities in potentized samples. Homeopathic dilutions may thus have a specific material configuration governed not only by the potentized substance but also by the chemical nature of the containers, the chemical nature of dissolved gases and even by the electromagnetic environment. This sensitivity of homeopathically prepared medicines to electromagnetic fields may be amplified by the processes routinely applied during their preparation; because it occurs only when a dynamization has been performed, we may call this phenomenon "dynamic pharmacy".

Emerging evidence of homoeopathy in treating COVID-19 pandemic: An overview

Corona virus disease or COVID-19 is a viral disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 and declared pandemic by WHO. The COVID-19 infection has emerged from Wuhan, China in late December of 2019 and soon become a global health emergency spreading over 216 countries and territories around the world as there are no specific established treatments or vaccines available till date. Scientists around the world are constantly enganged in research work to find out specific treatment and vaccines for this disease. Several cases of treatment are being reported by the Homoeopathic physicians all over the world and the results are promising. Some of the Homoeopathic medicine which are being used with good results are Bryonia alba, Phosphorus, Arsenic album, Gelsemium sempervirens and Carboneum oxygenisatum. Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India has recommended the Homoeopathic medicine Arsenic album 30 as an immune booster for its possible role in preventing COVID-19 infection, and results are slowly coming out in the favour of this medicine. Homoeopathy as an adjuvant to the standard care should be evaluated for the management of COVID-19.

Homeopathic Clinical Features of 18 Patients in COVID-19 Outbreaks in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is geographically located in the province of Guangdong which, after Hubei, has been the region of China second-most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to the pathognomonic symptoms of the named disease, homeopathic symptoms are always more helpful for homeopathic prescriptions. This study reports and summarizes the homeopathic symptoms observed in 18 confirmed/suspected epidemiologically related cases in cluster outbreaks of COVID-19 in Hong Kong in early 2020. Homeopathic symptoms from this case series were collected from 18 consecutive patients who, in addition to their concurrent conventional treatment or traditional Chinese medicine, actively sought help from homeopathy as an adjunctive measure for symptomatic relief from COVID-19. Cases were categorized according to outbreak clusters, focusing mainly on the homeopathic symptoms. In the analysis, frequency of all homeopathic medicines, common rubrics in all the cases, common rubrics in each of the top-ranked remedies, and differentiating symptoms for each top-ranked remedy were determined. Homeopathic symptoms of 18 cases, each identified as mild and belonging to one of six separate clusters, are reported. Eighteen common symptoms screened out of 79 selected rubrics constituted two sets of homeopathic symptom pictures: Bryonia alba (n = 4) and Gelsemium sempervirens (n = 12). Eight and seven differentiating features, respectively, were identified for Bryonia alba and Gelsemium sempervirens. The common symptoms of 18 mild COVID-19 cases constituted two sets of homeopathic symptom pictures, indicating Bryonia alba or Gelsemium sempervirens; they were indicated in 4 and 12 cases, respectively, out of the 18 in total.

Individualized homoeopathic management in neurological and psychiatric maladies: A report of eleven cases

Individualized homoeopathic management in neurological and psychiatric maladies: A report of eleven cases - JPMHH- Print ISSN No: - 2454-6704 Online ISSN No:- 2454-6712 Article DOI No:- 10.18231/j.jpmhh.2019.021, Journal of Preventive Medicine and Holistic Health-J Prev Med Holist Health

Artificial Intelligence Approach To Investigate the Longevity Drug.

Longevity is a very important and interesting topic, and Klotho has been demonstrated to be related to longevity. We combined network pharmacology, machine learning, deep learning, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to investigate potent lead drugs. Related protein insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) and insulin receptor (IR) were docked with the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) database to screen out several novel candidates. Besides, nine different machine learning algorithms were performed to build reliable and accurate predicted models. Moreover, we used the novel deep learning algorithm to build predicted models. All of these models obtained significant R2, which are all greater than 0.87 on the training set and higher than 0.88 for the test set, respectively. The long time 500 ns molecular dynamics simulation was also performed to verify protein-ligand properties and stability. Finally, we obtained Antifebrile Dichroa, Holarrhena antidysenterica, and Gelsemium sempervirens, which might be potent TCMs for two targets.

Floral Scent Variation in the Heterostylous Species Gelsemium sempervirens.

Gelsemium sempervirens (L.) W.T. Aiton, a distylous woody vine of the family Gelsemiaceae, produces sweetly fragrant flowers that are known for the toxic alkaloids they contain. The composition of this plant’s floral scent has not previously been determined. In this study, the scent profiles of 74 flowers obtained from six different wild and cultivated populations of G. sempervirens were measured by solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS). There were 81 volatile organic compounds identified and characterized as benzenoids, terpenoids, fatty acid derivatives, and yeast associated compounds. The most abundant compound was benzaldehyde (23–80%) followed by ethanol (0.9–17%), benzyl benzoate (2–15%), 4-anisaldehyde (2–11%), (Z)-α-ocimene (0–34%), and α-farnesene (0.1–16%). The impacts of geographic location, population type (wild or cultivated), and style morph (L = long, S = short) on scent profile were investigated. The results showed no relationship between geographic location or population type and volatile organic compounds (VOC) profile, but did show a significant scent profile difference between L and S morphs based on non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) using Bray-Curtis similarity indices. The L morphs contained higher amounts of benzenoids and the S morphs contained higher amounts of terpenoids in their scent profiles. The L morphs also produced a higher total abundance of scent compounds than the S morphs. This study represents the first floral scent determination of G. sempervirens finding significant variation in scent abundance and composition between style morphs.

Place de l’homéopathie dans les troubles du sommeil

Homeopathic treatment can be indicated in sleep disturbances. Nowadays, French people for most of them (74%) claim the therapeutic benefits of this therapy.A recent study (EP13) carried out on more than 8000 patients reveals that with equal results, people with homeopathic treatment take 50% less psychotropic drugs. A study published in 2011 shows that Gelsemium sempervirens 5 CH and 9 CH has a sedative, anxiolytic and analgesic effect by stimulating the biosynthesis of allopregnanolone, which itself potentializes the allosteric modulation of the GABAergic inhibition system. Prospectively, we wish the assessment of homeopathic therapeutics in sleep be continued with appropriate tools according to individualized indications (case reports, pharmaco-epidemiologic studies, quality of live studies (HAS)).The value of homeopathy, which is reported by thousands of general practitioners, should be confirmed by a large scale evaluating study.

Evaluation of relative toxicity caused by deicing agents on photosynthesis, redox homeostasis, and the osmoregulatory system in creeper-type plants

Addressing the deterioration effects due to chlorine salt use as an anti-freezing agent to prevent the deposition of ice on roads during heavy snowfall is a serious issue to protect the ecosystem. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effects caused by deicing agents on three different creeper plant species that commonly grow on roadsides, such as Trachelospermum asiaticum, Euonymus fortunei, and Gelsemium sempervirens. The two chlorine salts calcium chloride (CaCl2) and magnesium chloride (MgCl2) were applied to plants either as a splash or spray in different concentrations at different intervals. After 6 days of treatments, the results suggested that application of both CaCl2 and MgCl2 affected the chlorophyll content and physiological processes of the creepers in a dose-dependent manner. Further analysis of oxidative stress related parameters such as lipid peroxidation, superoxide, and hydrogen peroxide content showed that both CaCl2 and MgCl2 affected redox homeostasis. While the application of deicing agents induced the activities of antioxidant enzymes, they also decreased the content of ascorbate and proline, which are efficient osmolytes, in the dose-dependent manner. Nevertheless, comparatively oxidative stress induced by CaCl2 is higher than the MgCl2 in all three creeper-type plants included in our analysis; still the frequent application and higher concentration of both deicing agents interrupt the growth of roadside vegetation. Despite the relative toxicity of the deicers, T. asiaticum was affected lesser than E. fortunei and G. sempervirens.