Scopolamine sublingual spray: an alternative route of delivery for the treatment of motion sickness

Review of traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Tibetan Medicine tangchong

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Tangchong (ཐང་ཕྲོམ།), a term in the Tibetan language, encompasses a diverse group of plants belonging to different genera of the Solanaceae family. These plants have been utilized in traditional Tibetan medicine for centuries and are currently still employed to treat a variety of ailments, including acute and severe abdominal pain, intestinal obstruction, epilepsy, ascariasis, lung abscess, and other diseases. The therapeutic properties of tangchong are attributed to the presence of tropane alkaloids (TAs), although recent research has also revealed their toxicity.

AIM OF THIS REVIEW

The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the traditional uses of tangchong, as well as the phytochemical and pharmacological studies conducted on this plant. The review aims to offer a critical update on the current state of knowledge of tangchong and to identify new opportunities for exploring its therapeutic potential.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To gather information on tangchong, we conducted a thorough search of several scientific databases, including Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scifinder, Baidu Scholar, PubMed, and CNKI.

RESULTS

This review summarizes the traditional usage of 11 plants, 168 chemical components, including alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, amides, coumarins, etc., describes the pharmacological activities of these medicinal plants and their mechanisms of action, provides an elaboration of toxicology, and provides new plant-derived drugs and herbal preparations from tangchong.

CONCLUSIONS

Clarity regarding the source of the drug is crucial to ensure the safety and efficacy of clinical applications of Tibetan medicine. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of tangchong, including its traditional medicinal uses, chemical composition, pharmacology, toxicology, and quality control measures. Our analysis highlights the significant value of tangchong as an ethnomedicinal resource, with pharmacological activities primarily linked to its alkaloid content. Furthermore, this review serves as a valuable reference for future research on alkaloid-containing ethnomedicines.

Welfare of domestic birds and rabbits transported in containers

This opinion, produced upon a request from the European Commission, focuses on transport of domestic birds and rabbits in containers (e.g. any crate, box, receptacle or other rigid structure used for the transport of animals, but not the means of transport itself). It describes and assesses current transport practices in the EU, based on data from literature, Member States and expert opinion. The species and categories of domestic birds assessed were mainly chickens for meat (broilers), end-of-lay hens and day-old chicks. They included to a lesser extent pullets, turkeys, ducks, geese, quails and game birds, due to limited scientific evidence. The opinion focuses on road transport to slaughterhouses or to production sites. For day-old chicks, air transport is also addressed. The relevant stages of transport considered are preparation, loading, journey, arrival and uncrating. Welfare consequences associated with current transport practices were identified for each stage. For loading and uncrating, the highly relevant welfare consequences identified are handling stress, injuries, restriction of movement and sensory overstimulation. For the journey and arrival, injuries, restriction of movement, sensory overstimulation, motion stress, heat stress, cold stress, prolonged hunger and prolonged thirst are identified as highly relevant. For each welfare consequence, animal-based measures (ABMs) and hazards were identified and assessed, and both preventive and corrective or mitigative measures proposed. Recommendations on quantitative criteria to prevent or mitigate welfare consequences are provided for microclimatic conditions, space allowances and journey times for all categories of animals, where scientific evidence and expert opinion support such outcomes.