€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****PHARMACY WORLD AND SCIENCE***** Hill N Stam C van Haselen RA The efficacy of Prrrikweg gel in the treatment of insect bites: a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. In: Pharm World Sci (1996 Jan) 18(1):35-41 ISSN: 0928-1231 OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to examine the efficacy of Prrikweg gel, a homeopathic after-bite gel, in relieving the effects of mosquito bites, in particular itching and erythema. DESIGN: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. SETTING: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. SUBJECTS: 100 healthy volunteers. METHODS: All subjects were bitten under laboratory conditions by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes at one spot on the ventral aspect of the left forearm and another on a corresponding position on the right forearm. One spot was treated with the homeopathic after- bite gel and the other with a placebo gel. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Itching was assessed on a 5-point discrete rating scale at 0, 0.5, 1, 26.5, and 48 h post-bite to compare the itch-relieving efficacy of the two treatments. Erythema development was assessed by photographing the bite sites, measuring length and width of the erythema with a calliper, and comparing the ratio of the erythema surface at baseline T(0) to the mean erythema surface at 0.5, 1, 26.5, and 48 h post-bite (T mean) for the two treatments. RESULTS: Testing erythema development by comparing the ratio T(0)/T (mean, after-bite gel) and the ratio T(0)/T (mean, placebo gel) gave a two- tailed p = 0.098(95% Cl, -0.031-0.361) in favour of the after-bite gel. There was not a statistically significant difference between the itch relief provided by the two treatments (two-tailed p = 0.424; 95 percent Cl, -0.541-0.191). The correlation between itching and erythema was significant (r = 0.46; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS. There are strong indications that the homeopathic after-bite gel reduces erythema development following mosquito bites. The homeopathic mother tinctures of Echinacea angustifolia DC., Ledum palustre L., Urtica urens L. as well as the Hamamelis extract in this gel, whether alone or in combination, are the biologically active ingredients. The homeopathic after-bite gel was not demonstrated to relieve itching; however, based on the correlation between erythema and itching, an effect on itching is not inconceivable. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****RADIOBIOLOGIIA***** Narimanov AA [The reproductive capacity of male mice protected against the superlethal action of gamma radiation by the administration of a mixture of Archangelica officinalis and Ledum palustre extracts] Reproduktivnaia sposobnost' myshei-samtsov, zashchishchennykh ot sverkhletal'nogo deistviia gamma-radiatsii vvedeniem smesi ekstraktov iz Archangelica officinalis i Ledum palustre. In: Radiobiologiia (1992 Mar-Apr) 32(2):271-5 ISSN: 0033-8192 (Published in Russian) Thirty-day old albino mongrel male mice were exposed to gamma radiation (LD90/30) after preventive single injection of a mixture of extracts from Archangelica officinalis and Ledum palustre. One month after irradiation, the survivors were mated to nonirradiated females. Healthy offspring were obtained from 11 out 12 experimental males. The number of mouse pups was 10.2 +/- 0.6 and 7.4 +/- 0.7 in the experimental and nonirradiated groups respectively. The number of both sexes in the posterity of nonirradiated parents was equal, whereas in offspring of experimental groups, the number of female pups was 2.3 times larger than that of males. The experimental posterity was found to be resistant to supralethal radiation doses. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ Narimanov AA Miakisheva SN Kuznetsova SM [The radioprotective effect of extracts of Archangelica officinalis Hoffm. and Ledum palustre L. on mice] Radiozashchitnoe deistvie ekstraktov Archangelica officinalis Hoffm. i Ledum palustre L. na myshei. In: Radiobiologiia (1991 May-Jun) 31(3):391-3 ISSN: 0033-8192 (Published in Russian) A single injection of Archangelica officinalis Hoffm. and Ledum palustre L. extracts to mice 5-15 min before irradiation with a median lethal dose increased their survival rate. The most favourable effect was produced by a combination of the two preparations: by day 30 100% of animals survived after a dose of 6 Gy (LD50/30); 70% survived after a dose of 7.5 Gy (LD90/30), and 25% after a dose of 8 Gy (LD100/12). DMF for the extract mixture was 1.48. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ Narimanov AA [The antiradiation effectiveness of a mixture of Archangelica officinalis and Ledum palustre extracts in the fractionated gamma irradiation of mice] Protivoluchevaia effektivnost' smesi ekstraktov Archangelica officinalis i Ledum palustre v usloviiakh fraktsionirovannogo gamma- oblucheniia myshei. In: Radiobiologiia (1993 Mar-Apr) 33(2):280-4 ISSN: 0033-8192 (Published in Russian) In experiments with mice a study was made of the favourable effect of a single dose of a mixture of extracts from Archangelica officinalis and Ledum palustre on the severity of radiation injury induced by fractionated gamma irradiation (doses of 1 and 4 Gy, cumulative dose of 12 Gy). Injection of the mixture prior to the first dose of 4 Gy (given 3 times at a 2-7 day interval) caused a significant decrease in the damaging effect with respect to both the survival rate and the average life expectancy of exposed mice. With fractionated irradiation, the protective effect of the extract mixture increased with decreasing efficiency of the cumulative radiation dose. The results obtained indicate that the mixture used protects the animals from the injury to both the gastrointestinal tract and the haemopoietic system. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****VOPROSY VIRUSOLOGII***** Fokina GI Frolova TV Roikhel' VM Pogodina VV [Experimental phytotherapy of tick-borne encephalitis] Eksperimental'naia fitoterapiia kleshchevogo entsefalita. In: Vopr Virusol (1991 Jan-Feb) 36(1):18-21 ISSN: 0507-4088 (Published in Russian) The virucidal effect of aqueous extracts of a number of plants was studied in tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus titration in SPEV cell culture in microplates, as well as their capacity to induce resistance in virus-infected mice. The aqueous extracts of ledum, motherwort, celandine, black currant, cowberry and bilberry inactivated TBE virus practically completely, and those of St. John's wort, pot marigold, tansy, chamomile, milfoil, and inula only partially. Studied in vivo, the extracts of motherwort, ledum, tansy and black currant induced resistance of mice to TBE virus infection assessed by the increased survival rate of the animals and significant prolongation of the average longevity. The degree of antiviral activity depended on the preparations used and the routes of their administration. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€