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Publications (24)
A seed recovered during archaeological excavations of a cave in the Judean desert was germinated, with radiocarbon analysis indicating an age of 993 CE– 1202 calCE. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis identified the seedling as belonging to the angiosperm genus Commiphora Jacq., sister to three Southern African Commiphora species, but unique f...
Significance
Resurrection genomics is an alternative to ancient DNA approaches in studying the genetics and evolution of past and possibly extinct populations. By reviving biological material such as germinating ancient seeds from archaeological and paleontological sites, or historical collections, one can study genomes of lost populations. We appl...
Germination of 2000-year-old seeds of Phoenix dactylifera from Judean desert archaeological sites provides a unique opportunity to study the Judean date palm, described in antiquity for the quality, size, and medicinal properties of its fruit, but lost for centuries. Microsatellite genotyping of germinated seeds indicates that exchanges of genetic...
Mercury an important therapeutic substance in Tibetan Medicine undergoes complex “detoxification” prior to inclusion in multi-ingredient formulas. In an initial cross-sectional study, patients taking Tibetan Medicine for various conditions were evaluated for mercury toxicity. Two groups were identified: Group 1, patients taking “Tsothel” the most i...
The health-related consequences of stress in hospital workers and associated costs of absenteeism and high turnover have increased the need for programs targeting stress in this population. "Caring for the Caregivers," a multimodal approach to stress-reduction designed to address the multidimensional nature of stress in hospital staff, integrates f...
Plants have been used for medical purposes since the beginning of human history and are the basis of modern medicine. Most chemotherapeutic drugs for cancer treatment are molecules identified and isolated from plants or their synthetic derivatives. Our hypothesis was that whole plant extracts selected according to ethnobotanical sources of historic...
Supplementary Material describes the screen of 17 plants that were initially selected and tested for anti-cancer activity based on their historical and traditional use in treating cancer. This screen was the basis for selecting the most effective plant extracts that were further studied in details for their anti-cancer activity.
An ancient date seed (Phoenix dactylifera L.) excavated from Masada and radiocarbon-dated to the first century Common Era was germinated. Climatic conditions at the Dead Sea may have contributed to the longevity of this oldest, directly dated, viable seed. Growth and development of the seedling over 26 months was compatible with normal date seedlin...
Unlabelled:
Symptoms of mercury toxicity, biochemical changes, and blood/urine mercury levels were evaluated in a small group of patients. Six patients attending Delek Hospital, Dharamsala, India, taking mercury-containing traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) (Group I), were compared with three patients taking non-mercury containing TTM (Group II) a...
The growth factors basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) have been implicated in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and restenosis. The Tibetan herbal preparation PADMA-28 (a mixture of 22 plants which is used as an anti-atherosclerosis agent) was tested for its ability to inhibit the mitogenic activity...
Padma Lax, a complex Tibetan herbal formula for constipation was evaluated for safety and effectiveness in treating constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome in a 3-month double-blind randomised pilot study.
Patients were recruited from Hadassah Hospital's Gastroenterology clinic, using the Rome I Criteria for irritable bowel syndrome, and...
The use of alternative medicine is increasing rapidly and currently includes more than a third of the adult population in the US. Hence, two-thirds of US medical schools are presently including courses in complementary or alternative medicine as part of their curriculum. We addressed the deans of the four medical schools in Israel in order to deter...
Both aqueous and methanolic fractions derived from the Tibetan preparation PADMA-28 (a mixture of 22 plants) used as an anti-atherosclerotic agent, and which is non-cytolytic to a variety of mammalian cells, were found to strongly inhibit (1) the killing of epithelial cells in culture induced by 'cocktails' comprising oxidants, membrane perforating...
Padma 28, a complex herbal formula, has been used successfully in clinical trials to improve pain-free walking distance in patients with intermittent claudication. Using objective, non-invasive techniques of vascular testing, a randomised, 6 month double-blind pilot study assessed the efficacy, safety and tolerance of Padma 28 in patients with peri...
Human neutrophils were studied in vitro in the presence of the herbal preparation Padma-28. At concentrations higher than 0.3 mg/ml, the Padma-28 induced O2- production in unstimulated neutrophils. At lower concentrations, O2- production was inhibited in phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) stimulated cells. Lysozyme release by PMA and opsonized zymosan...
Despite studies documenting existence of celiac disease worldwide, its prevalence in many parts of the world is underestimated and cases remain unrecognized. In Israel, celiac disease is relatively common among the Jewish population but considered to be rarer among the Arab population. We compared the manifestations of celiac disease in children of...
A 1-year prospective study in Gaza of diarrhoeal disease in children aged <5 years demonstrated that Salmonella spp. (18·5% of cases), Cryptosporidium (14·6%), Campylobacter spp. (8·3%) and rotavirus (6·8%) were the major pathogens. However, when compared with non-diarrhoeic controls, only Cryptosporidium and rotavirus were significantly associated...
A prospective survey of children admitted with gastro-enteritis to the Nasser Children's Hospital, Gaza revealed that 19% were excreting cryptosporidium, a significantly (p less than 0.001) greater percentage than that (7%) observed in children admitted for other reasons. Detection of cryptosporidium decreased when the change from hot dry to colder...
• Cryptosporidium was found in the stools of 13.5% of 221 children hospitalized with diarrhea. It was the single most prevalent pathogen isolated. Children with Cryptosporidium-positive stools were significantly more malnourished than children in whom Cryptosporidium was not detected. Children with more severe malnutrition (ie, less than 50% of the...