MY JOURNEY TOWARDS KNOTTY HISTORY WITH THE RECIPES PROJECT – REFLECTIONS OF A MEDICAL HERBALIST

23/11/2017 ANNE STOBART LEAVE A COMMENT by Anne Stobart Starting from a science background ‘That is bad history!’ scowled my history lecturer back a decade or so. Yikes, what could I have done wrong? I felt struck down, so ashamed to have committed some major error, even deserving of being smitten with boils [Figure 1]. Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils c.1826 William Blake, Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported), http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/N03340 As a postgraduate, I had discovered women’s history, and become interested in researching seventeenth-century recipes. Deciphering these manuscripts required some skill, and so I had enrolled on a palaeography summer school where our kindly university lecturer introduced us to the transcription of poor law records. But what exactly was my error? From a science background, I knew only how to put together a scientific report with hypothesis, methodology, results and conclusions. I had no training in historical methods, so I applied the scientific method, daring to voice a hypothesis about the poor in the seventeenth century. The details escape me now, but likely my suggestion was a fanciful theory not borne out by the evidence, and the lecturer was trying to warn me about jumping to conclusions. It was a painful lesson about which I have thought many times since, and it certainly motivated me to find out about ‘good’ history. But, as I then began to immerse myself in early modern domestic medicine, I soon learned that ‘good’ history was something of a mirage. Welcome from history colleagues Rolling forward some years to growing interest in historical recipes and the Recipes Project, and what a welcome difference I found. I was much encouraged by history colleagues who gave freely of their knowledge and experience. In the early days, this led to setting up the Medicinal Receipts Research Group. I found other scholars developing much expertise in interpreting archival material with limited provenance and anonymous contributions by many hands. Often, the gaps themselves in the archives were meaningful, especially considering the invisible roles and activities of women. My doctoral research was assisted by groundbreaking studies of women’s history which questioned many historical concepts. I did go on to carry out research into historical recipes and domestic medicine (now published by Bloomsbury Academic as Household Medicine in Seventeenth-Century England). One of my earliest Recipes Project posts based on my research was about an unusual ‘not-recipe’, a vehicle enabling one woman to express her frustration in seventeenth-century medical matters, albeit in a limited way. It has been inspiring since to see Recipes Project contributions discussing ‘What is a recipe’ in a wide-ranging foray with much interdisciplinary collaboration. Difficult conversations and living history But, as a practising medical herbalist, my research also led me into difficult conversations with some herbal colleagues who claimed a romantic past of witches, midwives and healers. At times, I found myself, in turn, warning about ‘bad’ history, arguing for more objectivity about the historical evidence available, and questioning assumptions that all early modern women were expert healers [Figure 2]. Did all women make household remedies in the seventeenth century? Front cover of Household Medicine in Seventeenth-Century England (Bloomsbury Academic, 2016) www.bloomsbury.com/uk/household-medicine-in-seventeenth-century-england-9781472580368/] Fortunately, I found other herbalists keen to encourage more scholarly research in the history of herbal medicine and this led to setting up the Herbal History Research Network. At the opposite end of the scale, I found that historical colleagues needed ways to objectively evaluate medicinal plants, especially since many lacked medical or botanical backgrounds. This led me to develop the series entitled ‘The Working of Herbs’ providing a protocol for locating, and distinguishing, past and present understandings about medicinal plants. I have really valued the existence of the Recipes Project, as a sort of ‘room in the ether’ for networking with colleagues, a supportive space to explore such developments and techniques. I remain interested in the tensions between science and history, curious about issues of methodology in historical research, fascinated especially by ‘historiography’, an expansive term which seems to encompass everything about ‘writing’ history, yet draws back under the critical gaze of some historians at the ‘doing’ of history. Figure 3. Making a traditional recipe today (author’s photo) Particularly welcome in the Recipes Project has been the pioneering and positive approach towards the reconstruction of recipes [Figure 3]. As in the theatrical context (see Johnson, 2015), the recreation of living history, though not without drawbacks, brings greater appreciation of both emotive and technical aspects of culture, adding considerable value in interpretation of archives. A great forum for knotty issues For me, the study of historical recipes brings together so many social, cultural, economic and material aspects, that it is not surprising that historiography can be a challenge to articulate, let alone develop. I found that criticising other people’s historical approaches was easier than defining my own perspective. In my research I drew on a wide range of archival sources relating to an individual household, and I was glad to find others describing such a ‘micro-history’ style of working, recognising ‘ragged accounts’ in medical history research (Burnham, 2005, p.141). In further recognition of the importance of context, Wendy Wall (2015) writes of ‘knotty’ (p.91) issues raised by recipes, well illustrating the way in which these need to be carefully teased out. Trying to pin down accurate characterization of historical methods and frameworks is not a small task, but the Recipes Project can provide a great forum for such an endeavour. Long may the Recipes Project, and its tireless editors, continue to offer a rich feast of knotty historical recipe research. Burnham, John C. What Is Medical History? Cambridge: Polity, 2005. Johnson, Katherine M. ‘Rethinking (Re)Doing: Historical Re-Enactment and/as Historiography’. Rethinking History 19, no. 2 (2015): 193–206. Stobart, Anne. Household Medicine in Seventeenth-Century England. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016. Wall, Wendy. Recipes for Thought: Knowledge and Taste in the Early Modern English Kitchen. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.

1886: Uno and Billy, the Wyoming Bear and Harlem Goat That Wreaked Havoc at the Oak Point Pleasure Grounds in the Bronx

Posted: 26th November 2017 by The Hatching Cat in Animal Attractions, Goats of New York Tags: Benjamin M. Whitlock, Bronx, Gabriel Leggett, Jim Pilkerton, New York History, Oak Point, Oak Point Pleasure Grounds, Whitlock's Folly, William Henry Leggett 0 “Bronco John” Harrington Sullivan was a cowboy and showman known for his tall tales. He performed at the Oak Point Pleasure Grounds in the Bronx in 1886. What happens when an Indiana bear, a Harlem goat, a large crowd of people, and a Wild West cowboy with a silver-plated revolver all come together at a beer garden on the beach? Yes, the following story is from my file called “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up.” On January 8, 1886, two Harlem men set out to buy a goat. Not just any goat, but a goat that was tough enough to fight a large black bear in “Bronco John” Harrington Sullivan’s traveling Wild West show at the Oak Point Pleasure Grounds near Hunts Point in the Bronx. After scouring the many vacant lots in Harlem without success, the men finally found what they were looking for on East 124th Street, in the stable of the Widow O’Toole. Mrs. O’Toole was rather reluctant to part with her goat, which was a family relic and a favorite among her children and neighbors. “Phat wud yez be wantin’ for to buy a goat at this time o’ the year for, maybe? She asked the men. “Oh, we want him to fight a bear,” one man replied. “Fight phwat? A bear? And what kind of bear? Mrs. O’Toole asked. “A black bear! Bronco John’s bear, from Wyoming,” the men told her. Sensing that Mrs. O’Toole did not want to sell her goat, the men told her to forget about their offer. They told her they would go back to Mrs. O’Flaherty on 127th Street, whom they said had a goat “that could punish anything in Harlem.” That got Mrs. O’Toole’s goat. “Hold on, young man,” she said. “If there’s any goat in Harlem that’s got a reppytashun to sustain it’s this goat. Take him, an’ if he don’t uphold the pride of his race let him be killed, bad luck to him.” With those words, the men paid for the goat and led him to Charles Sulzer’s Oak Point Pleasure Grounds on the East River at the foot of East 149th Street. The Oak Point Pavilion and bathing pavilion are depicted on this 1887 map. Oak Point was a favorite family pleasure resort from the late 1880s to 1905. The Oak Point Pavilion and bathing pavilion are depicted on this 1887 map. Oak Point was a favorite family pleasure resort from the late 1880s to 1905. Today, this is the site of several large distribution centers and the Oak Point Yard freight railroad yard currently owned by CSX Transportation. Here's an aerial view of Oak Point today. The site of the old beer garden and bathing and beach pavilions is now occupied by Manhattan Beer Distributors. Here’s an aerial view of Oak Point today. The site of Jim Pilkington’s beer garden and Charles Sulzer’s Oak Point Pleasure Grounds near 149th Street is now occupied by Manhattan Beer Distributors and Restaurant Depot. The Oak Point freight yards are also visible at top. As the men and the goat made their way to Oak Point, Bronco John and his pet bear, Uno, were at The Golden Oar, a saloon at 2376 Third Avenue (near 129th Street) owned by oarsman and notorious gambler Percy Nagle and renowned oarsman Jim Pilkington, who also owned the beer garden at Oak Point. The bear reportedly had a sip of sarsaparilla at the bar, and then jumped on a stage, where he stood next to Jim’s friends Captain Paul Boyton and oarsman George Lee. Rowing partners Percy Nagle and Jim Pilkington owned the Golden Oar saloon at 2376 Third Avenue in Harlem (at that time, the building was a long-narrow frame structure). Professional scullers Robert Wallace and George W. Lee took over the business in May 1887, and renamed it The Ship. The men had to abandon ship after only a few months when the business failed to make money. This photo taken in 1932 shows 2376 Third Avenue in 1932 (building on right). Museum of the City of New York Collections Rowing partners Percy Nagle and Jim Pilkington owned the Golden Oar saloon at 2376 Third Avenue in Harlem (at that time, the building was a long, narrow frame structure). Professional scullers Robert Wallace and George W. Lee took over the business in May 1887, and renamed it The Ship. The men had to abandon ship after only a few months when the business failed to make money. This photo taken in 1932 shows 2376 Third Avenue in 1932 (building on right). Museum of the City of New York Collections Following their stop at the saloon, Bronco John and Uno headed to Oak Point (I have no idea how they got around), where Uno immediately jumped into the river. He walloped about in the water for a while and then he galloped up and down the beach. At one point he seized a man by the trousers. The terrified bystander was rescued before too much damage was done. For more than a half hour, the bear roamed about unsupervised while Bronco John showed off some tricks with his revolver. The poor goat was then set free, and it immediately scattered away. John lassoed the goat and dragged him up toward the field as the bear followed in hot pursuit. Bronco John in his later years. Bronco John in his later years. “Turn ‘im loose!” the crowd yelled as John released the lasso. The goat ran toward the field again, with the bear right behind him. At one point it looked as if the bear were going to win the race, but the goat picked up speed and Uno eventually lost interest. Bronco John finally got control of the bear and brought him indoors. He then fell asleep telling the crowd frontier life stories. I have no idea what happened to the goat, the bear, or the man with the torn trousers. A Brief History of Oak Point The documented history of Oak Point goes back to April 25, 1666, which is the date that Richard Nicolls, the first English governor of the Province of New York, confirmed the West Farms patent to Edward Jessup and John Richardson. West Farms then comprised the far western section of the town of Westchester (it wasn’t separated from Westchester until 1846). John Richardson had a daughter, Elizabeth, who was married Gabriel Leggett, a distinguished Englishman who had arrived in America in 1661. By the right of his wife, Gabriel took ownership of a large portion of the West Farms patent that was then known as the Great Planting Neck. A part of this land was known as Jeafferds Neck. In his will dated April 16, 1697, Gabriel Leggett bequeathed to his wife and son John his house, orchards, outhouses, land, and meadows in the Planting Neck. Over the next 130 years, the land passed through many hands, eventually making its way back to the Leggetts in 1830, when William Henry Leggett purchased the land from the Austin Graham estate and turned the property into his country seat, which he called Rose Bank. William H. Leggett moved into the old Graham mansion, which had been built on the former site of the Leggett farm. The view from the front of the home included Riker’s Island, the Two Brothers (North Brother and South Brother Island), the entrance to Hell’s Gate on the East River, and the distant shores of Manhattan. The view of the East River from the area of Hunts Point in 1864. The view of the East River from the area of Hunts Point in 1864. In the 1850s, Benjamin Whitlock, a wealthy New York grocer and cotton investor, purchased the Leggett property from Thomas B. Leggett and completely rebuilt the old Graham/Leggett mansion using stone imported from Caen, France. The 100-room mansion featured chandelier-filled hallways, subterranean vaults and cellars for the storage of wine and ammunition, three wells for providing the house with running water, and a drawbridge with a hidden spring that would cause the gates to fly open whenever a horse stepped on the spring. The Benjamin Whitlock Mansion on the old Leggett farm in Oak Point around 1905, just before the building was razed. The Benjamin Whitlock Mansion on the old Leggett farm in Oak Point around 1905, just before the building was razed. The mansion was located just south of Leggett Avenue between present-day Barry and Dupont Streets. The mansion was razed in 1906 to make way for the Rock Plaster Company, which burned down in 1913. With the end of the Civil War and slavery, cotton ceased to be profitable and Whitlock was forced to abandon his mansion. As nature took over and the weeds moved into, the dilapidated old house became known as “Whitlock’s Folly.” Following Whitlock’s death, his widow transferred the deed in 1867 to Innocencio Casanova, a Cuban patriot fighting for Cuban independence. The house became a rendezvous for supporters of the Cuba Libra, and the great cellars became storehouses for powder, rifles, and other munitions of war that were smuggled on vessels that accessed the house via the many nearby creeks. On this 1867 map, Oak Point was still called Whitlock Point (purple section) in honor of Benjamin Whitlock. On this 1867 map, Oak Point was still called Whitlock Point (purple section) in honor of Benjamin Whitlock, even though he had passed away. The old Whitlock/Casanova mansion is noted on the 1887 Oak Point map. The old Whitlock/Casanova mansion is noted on the bottom right of this 1887 map. The Oak Point Pavilion is at the top left. On October 2, 1885, the property was acquired by Mr. Robert Augustus Chesebrough, an American chemist who discovered petroleum jelly (which he marketed as Vaseline for the Chesebrough Manufacturing Company). Four years later, during a push by New York Mayor Hugh J. Grant to hold the next World’s Fair in New York to honor the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, Cheseborough suggested that his land could be a great location for the fair. Convinced that Oak Point would be the site of the World’s Fair, several prominent English financiers established the East Bay Land and Improvement Company to purchase several hundred acres of land, including Oak Point, Hunts Point, Barretto Point, and other lands in the vicinity. When the 1893 World’s Fair went to Chicago, the men were stuck with the land. Their first move was sell to a large part of their holdings to New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad for the establishment of the Oak Point freight yard. Church E. Gates & Co. acquired a large tract for its lumber yards, and a syndicate that included Mayor Grant and C.K.G. Billings took over about 125 acres for building the Bronx Terminal. In 1922, the last of the remaining 995 lots between Hunts Point Avenue and the East River were auctioned off for development. Here's the intersection of Oak Point Avenue and Barretto Street in 1910, just before developers took over. Museum of the City of New York Collections Here’s the intersection of Oak Point Avenue and Barretto Street in 1910, just before developers took over. Museum of the City of New York Collections The Oak Point Pleasure Grounds The earliest record of the Oak Point Pleasure Grounds is a newspaper article from 1884, when a “grand complimentary picnic” for the New York City Police Department took place on the grounds, then under the management of rowing partners Percy Nagle and Jim Pilkington from the Golden Oar Saloon. (Big Jim Pilkington was a former member of New York’s Metropolitan Police Force). The event featured swimming, sculling, glass-ball shooting, shot putting, dancing, and beer drinking. In 1885, Frederick Schermann received permission to construct a merry-go-round on the property. An advertisement in The Sun in 1887 described Charles Sulzer’s Oak Point Pleasure Grounds as a family resort with shady groves, beautiful lawns, boating and bathing facilities. The park was accessible by boat, which left the docks at Harlem Bridge every half hour, or by train and stage coach. Sometime around 1906, the year the old Leggett/Whitlock mansion was razed, the Oak Point Pleasure Grounds ceased to exist. Over the past 100 years, the land has been used as a landfill during the Bronx’s burning years (1970s), a hangout for criminals, and as an illegal dumping ground with reported ties to the Maffia. In 2002, Steven Smith, an engineer who grew up in Greenwood Lake, New York (where, by the way, Pilkington once participated in a sculling race), purchased 28 acres on Oak Point. It took him seven years to clean up the trash dumped by Britestarr, which had alleged ties to John A. Gotti (Smith told The New York Times he didn’t find any bodies, but he did find five handguns). Smith worked out a deal with the State Department of Environmental Conservation to build wetlands on three acres of the property, which serve as a haven for birds from the nearby islands. Although much of the wetlands were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, there is hope for the land: In 2013, a harbor seal that Smith named Oakie started making an appearance at Oak Point. It’s a good thing there are no bears or goats. Here's an aerial view of Oak Point as it looks today. It's hard to picture, but 130 years ago, a bear named Uno chased after a Harlem goat on this very site. Here’s an aerial view of Oak Point as it looks today. It’s hard to imagine, but 130 years ago, a bear named Uno chased after a Harlem goat on this very site.

Medicinal benefits of Nigella sativa in bronchial asthma: A literature review

Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal Volume 25, Issue 8, December 2017, Pages 1130-1136 open access Review Author links open overlay panelAbdulrahmanKoshakabEmadKoshakcMichaelHeinricha https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2017.07.002 Get rights and content Open Access funded by King Saud University Under a Creative Commons license Abstract Nigella sativa L. (NS) seeds, known as black seed, is a spice and a traditional herbal medicine used in various diseases including bronchial asthma. This review aimed to assess the studies supporting the medicinal use of NS in asthma and to highlight future research priorities. Various medical databases were searched for the effects of NS and its active secondary metabolites in asthma inflammation and outcomes. There were fourteen preclinical studies describing multiple effects of NS in animal or cellular models of asthma including bronchodilation, anti-histaminic, anti-inflammatory, anti-leukotrienes and immunomodulatory effects. Furthermore, seven clinical studies showed improvements in different asthma outcomes including symptoms, pulmonary function and laboratory parameters. However, often these studies are small and used ill-defined preparations. In conclusion, NS could be therapeutically beneficial in alleviating airway inflammation and the control of asthma symptoms, but the evidence remains scanty and is often based on poorly characterised preparations. Accordingly, well-designed large clinical studies using chemically well characterised NS preparation are required. Keywords Nigella sativa Black seed Asthma Traditional medicine Clinical studies Abbreviations NSNigella sativa L. GINAGlobal Initiative for Asthma ILInterleukin ACTAsthma Control Test FEV1forced expiratory volume in one second Th1Type 1 T helper (Th1) cells Th2Type 2 T helper (Th2) cells RDBPCTRandomised Double-Blinded Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial RSBPCTRandomised Single-Blinded Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial RDBCTRandomised Double-Blinded Clinical Trial FeNOfractional exhaled nitric oxide IgEImmunoglobulin E 1. Introduction The seeds of the medicinal plant Nigella sativa L. (NS) are commonly used as a spice known as black seed. It also has traditional medical applications and considered to be a characteristic traditional herbal medicine for diverse diseases in Unani, Arabic, Prophetic and Indian traditional medicines (Ahmad et al., 2013). Popular ancient physicians such as Hippocrates (460–370 BCE), Dioscorides (40–90 CE), Galen (130–210 CE), and Avicenna (980–1037 CE) reported various traditional therapeutic uses of NS (Botnick et al., 2012). In the context of bronchial asthma and its symptoms, the Muslim scholar Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (1292–1350 CE), author of the Prophetic Medicine, reported that NS aid in gasping and hard breathing (Abdullah, 2003). Avicenna has also reported its benefit for shortness of breath (انتصاب النفس) and for stopping phlegm (مقطع البلغم) (Avicenna, 1593). Nowadays, NS is still a traditional remedy for many illnesses such as cough and asthma in Arabia (Lebling and Pepperdine, 2006). The chemical composition of NS has been studied in considerable detail. Mainly, it contains fixed oil (24.76–40.35%), volatile oil (0.5–1.6%), alkaloids, saponins, and other compounds in trace amounts (Ahmad et al., 2013; Botnick et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2011). The activity of NS appeared to be mainly attributed to thymoquinone (Ahmad et al., 2013). Thymoquinone was first isolated from NS oil by El–Dakhakhny (1963). The Global Initiative for Asthma defined asthma as “a heterogeneous disease, usually characterised by chronic airway inflammation. It is identified by the history of respiratory symptoms such as wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough that vary over time and in intensity, together with variable expiratory airflow limitation” (Global Initiative for Asthma, 2017). The Global Asthma Report 2014 considered asthma as an epidemic disease probably affecting about 334 million people worldwide and becoming a global health priority (Global Asthma Network, 2014). In Saudi Arabia (with a population of 28 million), the prevalence of asthma is increasing and affects more than 2 million Saudis (Al-Moamary, 2012). Asthma is initiated by multiple interactions between inflammatory cells and mediators. After an exposure to a triggering factor, inflammatory mediators are released from mast, macrophages, T-cells and epithelial cells. This cause attraction of other inflammatory cells mainly eosinophil into the pulmonary tissues. These causes lung injury, mucus hypersecretion and smooth muscle hyperactivity. Furthermore, at least 27 cytokines and 18 chemokines play a role in asthma pathophysiology (Koda-Kimble, 2009). Th2 lymphocytes cytokines [interleukin IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13] and Th1 cytokine interferon-gamma are the main ones to provoke allergy and asthma (Ngoc et al., 2005). Generally, the key goals for asthma management are to reach a good control of symptoms and minimize future risk of exacerbations, airflow limitation and treatment adverse events. Assessment of asthma control level can be done using several tools (Bateman et al., 2008). The Asthma Control Test (ACT) is a global validated numerical tool for the assessment of asthma control which is also commonly used by health care providers in Saudi Arabia (Al-Moamary, 2012). Future risk can be assessed by pulmonary function testing, particularly the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) (Bateman et al., 2008). From a global clinical perspective, achieving asthma control is considered to be suboptimal regardless of the availability of conventional treatments (Demoly et al., 2012; Price et al., 2014). Poor adherence to asthma medications is one of the factors leading to suboptimal asthma control (Haughney et al., 2008; Horne et al., 2007). Common medication-related reasons for non-adherence include difficulties with inhaler techniques, the complex course of therapy, adverse events, and cost of medications (Bateman et al., 2008; Dima et al., 2015). In Saudi Arabia, a survey of adult asthmatics found that asthma attacks were highly associated with patients on current asthma medications (Moradi-Lakeh et al., 2015). The Global Asthma Physician and Patient Survey reported that 76% of patients and 81% of physicians consider that new treatment options are required (GAPP, 2005). The introduction of novel treatment strategies (such as “add-on” treatments) is a key step for better asthma control (Lommatzsch and Stoll, 2016). Asthma patients tend to use herbal medicines as one of the common therapies of complementary and alternative medicine (Slader et al., 2006). However, these therapies often have insufficient evidence for their effectiveness in asthma. In Saudi Arabia, a questionnaire type study was done by Al Moamary (2008) in 200 asthmatic patients. He found that NS is one of the most commonly non-standard therapies used by 10% of the patients. In this review, we aimed at exploring and assessing the relevant pre-clinical and clinical studies supporting the use of NS in patients with asthma, and evaluating the current evidence to highlight future research priorities. 2. Methods A literature search for scientific studies published in electronic databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar) was done using the terms Nigella sativa, Black seed, Thymoquinone and (their pharmacological effects) on asthma. Studies were searched for electronically between the years 1990 and 2017. Retrieved studies were assessed and the data was categorised into preclinical and clinical studies. 3. Results At least nineteen preclinical studies and seven clinical studies reported the effects of NS in asthma. Details of the retrieved studies are summarised in the following. 3.1. Preclinical studies of Nigella sativa in cellular and animal models of asthma NS and its active compounds thymoquinone, nigellone and α-hederin have been investigated in eighteen whole or cellular animal models and one human cellular model related to asthma. NS oil, thymoquinone or α-hederin showed anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects in seven studies (Abbas et al., 2005; Balaha et al., 2012; El Gazzar et al., 2006; Mansour and Tornhamre, 2004; Saadat et al., 2015; Saleh et al., 2012; Shahzad et al., 2009). NS extracts, thymoquinone or α-hederin demonstrated a bronchodilatory or relaxant effect in six studies (Abd El Aziz et al., 2011; Al-Majed et al., 2001; Boskabady et al., 2008; Gilani et al., 2001; Keyhanmanesh et al., 2013; Saadat et al., 2015). The anti-histaminic effect was shown in four studies used NS oil/aqueous extract, nigellone or α-hederin (Abd El Aziz et al., 2011; Chakravarty, 1993; Saadat et al., 2015; Saleh et al., 2012). Pathological improvements were detected by thymoquinone or NS oil in five studies (Arabzadeh et al., 2016; Boskabady and Sheiravi, 2002; El Gazzar et al., 2006; Kalemci et al., 2013; Shahzad et al., 2009). The summary of findings of these studies are shown in Table 1. Table 1. Effects of NS in pre-clinical studies of asthma. Studies Study material Minimal active dose Model Negative control Positive control Effects Notes & limitations Serum immunoglobulins Inflammatory mediators Inflammatory cells, BALF Inflammatory cells, lung Histamine release Block H1 receptors Relaxation of SM Other Chakravarty (1993) Nigellone 11 µg/ml Mixed peritoneal cells of egg albumin induced Wistar rats N/A N/A ↓ No control group (without Thymoquinone) Gilani et al. (2001) NS (70% aqueous-methanol extract) 0.1–3.0 mg/ml Guinea pig trachea N/A N/A + No control group (without Thymoquinone) Al-Majed et al. (2001) Thymoquinone 50 µM Guinea-pig trachea N/A N/A + + No control group (without Thymoquinone) Boskabady and Sheiravi (2002) Aqueous extracts of NS 0.3 ml Guinea pig trachea Saline Chlorpheniramine + Mansour and Tornhamre (2004) Thymoquinone 3 and 10 µM Human granulocytes Untreated human granulocytes N/A ↓ leukotrienes No positive control Abbas et al. (2005) NS fixed oil 5 ml/kg/day injected (ip) for 17 days Conalbumin sensitised (CD1) albino mice Untreated mice Dexamethasone ↓ IgG ↓ serum IL-2 & IL-12 ↓ ↓ blood eosinophil count Büyüköztürk et al. (2005) NS fixed oil 0.3 ml/day for 1 month OVA sensitised BALB/c mice Saline No change in IL-4, IL-10 and IFN-γ in splenic mononuclear cells No positive control El Gazzar et al. (2006) Thymoquinone + 10% DMSO 3 mg/kg TQ in 10%DMSO injected (ip) for 5 days OVA sensitised BALB/c mice and lung cells Saline + 10% DMSO OVA + 10% DMSO ↓ OVA IgE & IgG1 ↓ IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 ↑ IFN-γ in BALF ↓ eosinophils ↓ eosinophils ↓ goblet cells hyperplasia Boskabady et al. (2008) Methanol and dichloromethane extracts of NS -0.8 g% of methanol extract-1.2 g% of dichloromethane extracts Guinea pig trachea Saline Theophylline + Shahzad et al. (2009) NS fixed oil 4 ml/kg/day injected (ip) for 7 days OVA sensitised E3 rats Saline N/A ↓ Total IgE ↓ IgG1 ↓ OVA IgG1 ↓ mRNA expression of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6 and TGF-β1 from lung cells ↓ nitric oxide in BALF ↓ eosinophils, macrophages & lymphocytes ↓ eosinophils, macrophages, lymphocytes ↓ bronchial and alveolar epithelial hyperplasia ↓goblet cells and collagen fibres No positive control Abd El Aziz et al. (2011) Thymoquinone 3 mg/kg injected (ip) for 5 days in guinea pig-8 mg/kg injected (ip) for 21 days in rats OVA sensitised guinea pig trachea Mast cells of egg-albumin sensitised rats Saline N/A ↓ + No positive control Balaha et al. (2012) NS fixed oil Oral NS oil 4 ml/kg/day for 31 days OVA sensitised BALB/c mice Saline N/A ↓ Total IgE ↓ OVA IgE & IgG1 ↑ BALF Th1 cytokines ↓ BALF Th2 cytokines ↓ leukocytes, macrophages & eosinophils ↓ Airway hyperresponsivness No positive control Saleh et al. (2012) NS fixed oil Oral NS oil 2.5 ml/kg/day for 3 weeks OVA sensitised guinea pig Isolated rat peritoneal mast cells Saline N/A ↑ PGE2 in lung tissue ↓ leukotrienes ↓ No positive control Keyhanmanesh et al. (2013) Fractions of 20% methanolic extract of NS (50, 100, 150, 200 mg/L) Guinea pig trachea Saline Theophylline + Kalemci et al. (2013) Thymoquinone 3 mg/kg/day injected (ip) for 5 days OVA sensitized BALB/c mice Saline Dexamethasone ↓ Subepithelial and epithelial hyperplasia ↓ Number of mast and goblet cells Keyhanmanesh et al. (2014) Thymoquinone 0.3 mg/kg i.p. OVA-sensitized guinea pig Saline N/A ↑ Blood IFN-γ ↓ Eosinophil ↓ Basophils ↓ Tracheal responsiveness ↓ Airway membrane hyperplasia ↓ Respiratory epithelial denudation ↓ Cellular infiltration ↓ Emphysema No positive control Saadat et al. (2015) α-hederin 0.3 mg/kg i.p. OVA-sensitized guinea pig Saline Thymoquinone ↓ Total WBC ↓ Eosinophils ↓ Basophils + ↓ Tracheal contractile response to histamine Fallahi et al. (2016) α-hederin 0.2 mg/kg i.p. OVA-sensitized Wistar rats Saline Thymoquionone ↓ IL-13 mRNA ↓ miRNA-126 ↓ Pneumocyte and fibroblastic hypertrophy and hyperplasia ↓ Hyperemia ↓ Haemorrhage ↓ Edematous and exudative changes Arabzadeh et al. (2016) Ethanolic extract of NS Oral 500 mg/kg/day for 3 weeks Exercise-induced Wistar rats Exercise-induced Wistar rats without NS N/A ↓ thickness epithelial bronchi, tunica media (muscle) bronchi, and tunica adventitia bronchi ↓ number of goblet cells No positive control ip; intraperitoneal. OVA; ovalbumin. BALF; Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. N/A; data not included in the original study. Generally, these studies used animal models sensitised with ovalbumin or isolated Guinea pig trachea. Some studies used cellular models such as human granulocytes or animal mast cells. However, these studies had limitations such as the variability of NS preparations used between most them, and absence of control group in some studies (Table 1). 3.2. Clinical studies of Nigella sativa in patients with asthma Seven clinical studies showed a potential efficacy of NS on asthma outcomes and biomarkers. Three Randomised Double-Blinded Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials (RDBPCT) and two Randomised Single-Blinded Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials (RSBPCT) using NS crushed seeds powder or oil/aqueous extract, showed an improvement in clinical symptoms and pulmonary function test in adult asthmatics (Boskabady et al., 2007; Kalus et al., 2003; Kardani et al., 2013; Koshak et al., 2017; Salem et al., 2017). In addition, a reduction of blood eosinophilia was found in RDBPCT by Koshak et al. (2017). Also, a decrease in total serum IgE and FeNO, and an increase in serum INF-gamma cytokine were shown in the RSBPCT trial of Salem et al. (2017). A Randomised Double-Blinded Clinical Trial (RDBCT) showed a short bronchodilatory effect in patients with asthma after administration of a single dose of NS (Boskabady et al., 2010). Two studies used NS in combination with other treatments showed an improvement in ACT and PFT scores (Al Ameen et al., 2011; Kardani et al., 2013) (Table 2). Table 2. Effects of Nigella sativa on asthma in clinical studies. Study reference Study material Study design Control NS dose Duration Sample Effects Advantages (+) and limitations (−) Symptoms Pulmonary function Blood Other Salem et al. (2017) NS powder RSBPCT Placebo 1 and 2 g/day 3 months 76 adult asthmatics −24 placebo −26 (1 g NS) −26 (2 g NS) ↑ ACT ↑ FEV1 (% predicted) ↑ FEF25-75% ↑ PEF ↓ serum IgE ↑ serum IFN-γ ↓ FeNO + Large sample size but still comparatively small +Longer duration −Single-Blinded −NS was not chemically characterised Koshak et al. (2017) NS fixed oil RDBPCT Placebo 1 g/day 4 weeks 80 adult asthmatics −40 active −40 placebo ↑ ACT Non-significant ↑ FEV1 (% predicted) ↓ eosinophils No change in serum IgE +The largest study conducted but still a comparatively small +NS chemically characterised −High standard study design −Short duration Kardani et al. (2013) NS powder + IM (House dust mite) RSBPCT IM + placebo 15 mg/kg/day 14 weeks 31 Child asthmatics −8 IM + placebo −8 IM + NS −8 IM + probiotic -7 IM + NS + probiotic ↑ ACT No change in number of Th17 cells −Small sample size +NS not chemically characterised and was used in combination −Single-blinded −Outcomes limited to symptoms only Al Ameen et al. (2011) Whole NS seeds + bee honey Non RCT open-label N/A 2 g of NS seeds + 1 tsp honey 3 months 5 adult asthmatics 22 non-asthmatics ↑ FVC in asthmatics ↑ PEF in non-asthmatics No change in FEV1 −Very small sample size −NS was not chemically characterised and was used in combination −Low standard study design −Outcomes were very limited and compared between same group before and after treatment, and not between groups. −No symptoms measurement Boskabady et al. (2010) Aqueous extract of NS RDBCT crossover Theophylline Single dose of 50 mg/kg 150 min 15 adult asthmatics ↑ FEV1 ↑ MMEF ↑ PEF +NS was chemically characterised −Very small sample size −Not placebo controlled +Outcomes was limited to pulmonary function Boskabady et al. (2007) Aqueous extract of NS RDBPCT Placebo 15 mL/kg of 0.1 g% 3 months 29 adult asthmatics 15 active 14 control Improved asthma symptoms ↑ FVC ↑ FEV1 ↑ PEF ↑ MMEF ↓ asthma medication usage. +NS was chemically characterised +High standard study design −Small sample size −Limited outcomes to symptoms and pulmonary function −Invalidated symptoms scoring system Kalus et al. (2003) NS fixed oil RDBPCT Placebo 40–80 mg/kg/day Three times daily 3 weeks 63 adults: −31 allergic rhinitis, −3 bronchial asthma, −6 atopic eczema Improved subjective severity of symptoms −↓ eosinophils (not significant) −↓ serum IgE (not significant) −Sample of mixed allergic diseases with only 3 asthmatics −No pulmonary function measurement −Blood biomarkers were not compared between groups −limited NS characterisation −Unclear and invalidated symptoms scoring system RDBPCT; Randomised Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial. RSBPCT; Randomised Single-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial. RDBCT: Randomised Double-Blind Controlled Trial. ACT; Asthma control test. FEV1; forced expiratory volume in 1 s. FVC; forced vital capacity. MMEF; maximal mid expiratory flow. PEF; peak expiratory flow. Tsp; tea spoonful. FeNO; fractional exhaled nitric oxide. FEF25-75%; mid expiratory flow. IM; Immunotherapy. However, these clinical trials appeared to have some important limitations (Table 2). In many of these studies, the standard of design was poor as three studies only were RDBPCT. The phytochemical characterisation of the investigational NS product was not shown in many studies. The sample size was comparatively small in most studies. The largest trial by Koshak et al. (2017) included 80 adult asthmatic patients. The measured outcomes were generally limited to symptoms or pulmonary function in several studies. Therefore, there is a need for a longer, larger and high standard multicentre clinical trial (more than 80 asthmatic patients) with phytochemically well-characterised NS product. Also, to use validated asthma control measurement tools with consideration of additional asthma outcomes and biomarkers such as FeNO, Sputum eosinophils, total blood eosinophils, total serum IgE, allergen-specific IgE and urinary LTE4 (Szefler et al., 2012). Additionally, measuring serum inflammatory cytokines may be worth considering, since asthma is regulated by multiple inflammatory cytokines and some were associated with asthma control (Akiki et al., 2017). 4. Conclusion This literature review showed that various preparations derived from Nigella sativa have a potential role for the clinical use in asthma. Preclinical studies of NS preparations showed bronchodilation, anti-histaminic, anti-inflammatory, anti-leukotrienes and immunomodulatory effects in animal or cellular models of asthma. Clinical studies of NS preparations showed an improvement of asthma symptoms control, lung function and asthma biomarkers. However, these studies have study design limitations and limited phytochemical characterisation of NS preparations used. Consequently, the current clinical evidence for the use of NS in patients with asthma is evolving in strength. In future, larger, longer, well-designed clinical trials including additional biomarkers and using phytochemically characterised NS preparation are required for assessing the clinical use of NS in asthma. Eventually, NS may offer a cost-effective and clinically proven effective add-on therapeutic option for asthmatics with fewer side, which may be used as integrative medicine within the Saudi healthcare system and beyond. Funding This research is part of the PhD thesis of Mr. Abdulrahman Koshak funded by the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia. It did not receive any specific external grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. References Abbas et al., 2005 A.T. Abbas, M.M. Abdel-Aziz, K.R. Zalata, T.E.-D. Abd Al-Galel Effect of dexamethasone and Nigella sativa on peripheral blood eosinophil count, IgG1 and IgG2a, cytokine profiles and lung inflammation in murine model of allergic asthma Egypt J. Immunol., 12 (2005), pp. 95-102 Abd El Aziz et al., 2011 A.E. Abd El Aziz, N.S. El Sayed, L.G. Mahran Anti-asthmatic and anti-allergic effects of thymoquinone on airway-induced hypersensitivity in experimental animals J. Appl. Pharm. Sci., 1 (2011), pp. 109-117 Abdullah, 2003 A. Abdullah Healing with the Medicine of the Prophet (second ed.), Darussalam, Riyadh (2003) Ahmad et al., 2013 A. Ahmad, A. Husain, M. Mujeeb, S.A. Khan, A.K. Najmi, N.A. Siddique, Z.A. Damanhouri, F. Anwar A review on therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa: a miracle herb Asian Pac. J. Trop. Biomed., 3 (2013), pp. 337-352, 10.1016/S2221-1691(13)60075-1 ArticlePDF (631KB) Akiki et al., 2017 Z. Akiki, M. Rava, O. Diaz Gil, I. Pin, N. le Moual, V. Siroux, S. Guerra, S. Chamat, R. Matran, M. Fitó, P. Salameh, R. Nadif Serum cytokine profiles as predictors of asthma control in adults from the EGEA study Respir. Med., 125 (2017), pp. 57-64, 10.1016/j.rmed.2017.03.002 ArticlePDF (673KB) Al-Majed et al., 2001 A.A. Al-Majed, M.H. Daba, Y.A. Asiri, O.A. Al-Shabanah, A.A. Mostafa, H.A. El-Kashef Thymoquinone-induced relaxation of guinea-pig isolated trachea Res. Commun. Mol. Pathol. Pharmacol., 110 (2001), pp. 333-345 Al-Moamary, 2012 Al-Moamary The Saudi initiative for asthma – 2012 update: guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma in adults and children Ann. Thorac. Med., 7 (2012), p. 175 Al Ameen et al., 2011 N.M. Al Ameen, F. Altubaigy, T. Jahangir, I.A. Mahday, E.A. Mohammed, O.A.A. Musa Effect of Nigella sativa and bee honey on pulmonary, hepatic and renal function in sudanese in khartoum state J. Med. Plant Res., 5 (2011), pp. 6857-6863, 10.5897/jmpr11.1357 Al Moamary, 2008 M.S. Al Moamary Unconventional therapy use among asthma patients in a tertiary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Ann. Thorac. Med., 3 (2008), pp. 48-51, 10.4103/1817-1737.39636 Arabzadeh et al., 2016 E. Arabzadeh, S. Mirdar, H. Moradiani Nigella sativa supplementation attenuates exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in the maturing rat: a histometric and histologic study Comp. Clin. Path., 25 (2016), pp. 1-5, 10.1007/s00580-015-2128-6 Avicenna, 1593 Avicenna The Canon of Medicine (thousand five hundred ninety third ed.), The Medical Press, Rome (1593) Balaha et al., 2012 M.F. Balaha, H. Tanaka, H. Yamashita, M.N. Abdel Rahman, N. Inagaki Oral Nigella sativa oil ameliorates ovalbumin-induced bronchial asthma in mice Int. Immunopharmacol., 14 (2012), pp. 224-231, 10.1016/j.intimp.2012.06.023 ArticlePDF (957KB) Bateman et al., 2008 E.D. Bateman, S.S. Hurd, P.J. Barnes, J. Bousquet, J.M. Drazen, M. FitzGerald, P. Gibson, K. Ohta, P. O’Byrne, S.E. Pedersen, E. Pizzichini, S.D. Sullivan, S.E. Wenzel, H.J. Zar Global strategy for asthma management and prevention: GINA executive summary Eur. Respir. J., 31 (2008), pp. 143-178, 10.1183/09031936.00138707 Boskabady et al., 2007 M.H. Boskabady, H. Javan, M. Sajady, H. Rakhshandeh The possible prophylactic effect of Nigella sativa seed extract in asthmatic patients Fundam. Clin. Pharmacol., 21 (2007), pp. 559-566, 10.1111/j.1472-8206.2007.00509.x Boskabady et al., 2008 M.H. Boskabady, R. Keyhanmanesh, M.A.E. Saadatloo Relaxant effects of different fractions from Nigella sativa L. on guinea pig tracheal chains and its possible mechanism(s) Indian J. Exp. Biol., 46 (2008), pp. 805-810 Boskabady et al., 2010 M.H. Boskabady, N. Mohsenpoor, L. Takaloo Antiasthmatic effect of Nigella sativa in airways of asthmatic patients Phytomedicine, 17 (2010), pp. 707-713, 10.1016/j.phymed.2010.01.002 ArticlePDF (285KB) Boskabady and Sheiravi, 2002 M.H. Boskabady, N. Sheiravi Inhibitory effect of Nigella sativa on Histamine (H1) receptors of isolated Guinea pig tracheal chains Pharm. Biol., 40 (2002), pp. 596-602, 10.1076/phbi.40.8.596.14653 Botnick et al., 2012 I. Botnick, W. Xue, E. Bar, M. Ibdah, A. Schwartz, D.M. Joel, E. Lev, A. Fait, E. Lewinsohn Distribution of primary and specialized metabolites in Nigella sativa seeds, a spice with vast traditional and historical uses Molecules, 17 (2012), pp. 10159-10177, 10.3390/molecules170910159 Büyüköztürk et al., 2005 S. Büyüköztürk, A. Gelincik, F. Ozşeker, S. Genç, F.O. Savran, B. Kiran, G. Yillar, S. Erden, F. Aydin, B. Colakoğlu, M. Dal, H. Ozer, A. Bilir Nigella sativa (black seed) oil does not affect the T-helper 1 and T-helper 2 type cytokine production from splenic mononuclear cells in allergen sensitized mice J. Ethnopharmacol., 100 (2005), pp. 295-298, 10.1016/j.jep.2005.03.007 ArticlePDF (147KB) Chakravarty, 1993 N. Chakravarty Inhibition of histamine release from mast cells by nigellone Ann. Allergy, 70 (1993), pp. 237-242 Demoly et al., 2012 P. Demoly, K. Annunziata, E. Gubba, L. Adamek Repeated cross-sectional survey of patient-reported asthma control in europe in the past 5 years Eur. Respir. Rev., 21 (2012), pp. 66-74, 10.1183/09059180.00008111 Dima et al., 2015 A.L. Dima, G. Hernandez, O. Cunillera, M. Ferrer, M. De Bruin Asthma inhaler adherence determinants in adults: Systematic review of observational data Eur. Respir. J. (2015) El–Dakhakhny, 1963 M. El–Dakhakhny Studies on the chemical constitution of Egyptian Nigella Sativa L. seeds Planta Med., 11 (1963), pp. 465-470, 10.1055/s-0028-1100266 El Gazzar et al., 2006 M. El Gazzar, R. El Mezayen, M.R. Nicolls, J.C. Marecki, S.C. Dreskin Downregulation of leukotriene biosynthesis by thymoquinone attenuates airway inflammation in a mouse model of allergic asthma Biochim. Biophys. Acta – Gen. Subj., 1760 (2006), pp. 1088-1095, 10.1016/j.bbagen.2006.03.006 ArticlePDF (361KB) Fallahi et al., 2016 M. Fallahi, R. Keyhanmanesh, A.M. Khamaneh, M.A. Ebrahimi Saadatlou, S. Saadat, H. Ebrahimi Effect of Alpha-Hederin, the active constituent of Nigella sativa, on miRNA-126, IL-13 mRNA levels and inflammation of lungs in ovalbumin-sensitized male rats Avicenna J. Phytomed., 6 (2016), pp. 77-85 Gilani et al., 2001 A.H. Gilani, N. Aziz, I.M. Khurram, K.S. Chaudhary, A. Iqbal Bronchodilator, spasmolytic and calcium antagonist activities of Nigella sativa seeds (Kalonji): a traditional herbal product with multiple medicinal uses J. Pak. Med. Assoc., 51 (2001), pp. 115-120 Global Asthma Network, 2014 Global Asthma Network The Global Asthma Report [WWW Document] http://www.globalasthmareport.org/ (2014) (accessed 5.17.17) Global Initiative for Asthma, 2017 Global Initiative for Asthma Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention [WWW Document] www.ginasthma.org (2017) (accessed 5.17.17) Haughney et al., 2008 J. Haughney, D. Price, A. Kaplan, H. Chrystyn, R. Horne, N. May, M. Moffat, J. Versnel, E.R. Shanahan, E.V. Hillyer, A. Tunsäter, L. Bjermer Achieving asthma control in practice: Understanding the reasons for poor control Respir. Med. (2008), 10.1016/j.rmed.2008.08.003 Horne et al., 2007 R. Horne, D. Price, J. Cleland, R. Costa, D. Covey, K. Gruffydd-Jones, J. Haughney, S.H. Henrichsen, A. Kaplan, A. Langhammer, A. Østrem, M. Thomas, T. van der Molen, J.C. Virchow, S. Williams Can asthma control be improved by understanding the patient’s perspective? BMC Pulm. Med., 7 (2007), p. 8, 10.1186/1471-2466-7-8 Kalemci et al., 2013 S. Kalemci, S.C. Micili, T. Acar, T. Senol, N. Dirican, G. Omeroglu, A. Bagriyanik, G. Kamaci Effectiveness of thymoquinone in the treatment of experimental asthma Clin. Ter., 164 (2013), pp. 139-142, 10.7417/CT.2013.1559 Kalus et al., 2003 U. Kalus, A. Pruss, J. Bystron, M. Jurecka, A. Smekalova, J.J. Lichius, H. Kiesewetter Effect of Nigella sativa (black seed) on subjective feeling in patients with allergic diseases Phyther. Res., 17 (2003), pp. 1209-1214, 10.1002/ptr.1356 Kardani et al., 2013 A.K. Kardani, L.E. Fitri, W. Barlianto, E. Olivianto, C. Kusuma The effect of house dust mite immunotherapy, probiotic and Nigella sativa in the number of Th17 cell and asthma control test score IOSR J. Dent. Med. Sci., 6 (2013), pp. 2279-2861 Keyhanmanesh et al., 2013 R. Keyhanmanesh, H. Bagban, H. Nazemieh, F. Mirzaei Bavil, M.R. Alipour The main relaxant constituents of Nigella sativa methanolic fraction on Guinea pig tracheal chains Iran. J. Allergy. Asthma Immunol., 12 (2013), pp. 136-143 Keyhanmanesh et al., 2014 R. Keyhanmanesh, L. Pejman, H. Omrani, Z. Mirzamohammadi, A.A. Shahbazfar The effect of single dose of thymoquinone, the main constituents of Nigella sativa, in guinea pig model of asthma BioImpacts, 4 (2014), pp. 75-81, 10.5681/bi.2014.006 Koda-Kimble, 2009 M.A. Koda-Kimble Applied Therapeutics: The Clinical Use of Drugs (Ninth ed.), Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (2009) Koshak et al., 2017 Koshak, A., Wei, L., Koshak, E., Wali, S., Alamoudi, O., Demerdash, A., Qutub, M., Pushparaj, P.N., Heinrich, M., 2017. Nigella sativa supplementation improves asthma control and biomarkers: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Phyther. Res. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ptr.5761. Lebling and Pepperdine, 2006 R.W. Lebling, D. Pepperdine Natural Remedies of Arabia Stacey International, London (2006) Liu et al., 2011 X. Liu, A.M. Abd El-aty, J. Shim Various extraction and analytical techniques for isolation and identification of secondary metabolites from Nigella sativa seeds Mini-Rev. Med. Chem., 11 (2011), pp. 947-955 Lommatzsch and Stoll, 2016 M. Lommatzsch, P. Stoll Novel strategies for the treatment of asthma Allergo J. Int., 25 (2016), pp. 11-17, 10.1007/s40629-016-0093-5 Mansour and Tornhamre, 2004 M. Mansour, S. Tornhamre Inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase and leukotriene C4 synthase in human blood cells by thymoquinone J. Enzyme Inhib. Med. Chem., 19 (2004), pp. 431-436, 10.1080/14756360400002072 Moradi-Lakeh et al., 2015 M. Moradi-Lakeh, C. El Bcheraoui, F. Daoud, M. Tuffaha, H. Kravitz, M. Al Saeedi, M. Basulaiman, Z.A. Memish, M.A. AlMazroa, A.A. Al Rabeeah, A.H. Mokdad Prevalence of asthma in Saudi adults: findings from a national household survey, 2013 BMC Pulm. Med., 15 (2015), p. 77, 10.1186/s12890-015-0080-5 Ngoc et al., 2005 P.L. Ngoc, L.P. Ngoc, D.R. Gold, A.O. Tzianabos, S.T. Weiss, J.C. Celedón Cytokines, allergy, and asthma Curr. Opin. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 5 (2005), pp. 161-166 Price et al., 2014 D. Price, M. Fletcher, T. van der Molen Asthma control and management in 8,000 European patients: the REcognise Asthma and LInk to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) survey Prim. care Respir. Med., 24 (2014), pp. 1-10, 10.1038/npjpcrm.2014.9 Saadat et al., 2015 S. Saadat, M. Mohammadi, M. Fallahi, R. Keyhanmanesh, M.R. Aslani The protective effect of α-hederin, the active constituent of Nigella sativa, on tracheal responsiveness and lung inflammation in ovalbumin-sensitized guinea pigs J. Physiol. Sci., 65 (2015), pp. 285-292, 10.1007/s12576-015-0367-6 Saleh et al., 2012 Saleh, S., ElDenshary, E., Mahran, N., 2012. Nigella sativa (Black seed) oil: anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in experimental models of allergic asthma, In: First USIM International Conference on Medicine and Health (ICMH2012), Kuala Lumpur. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/2.1.3966.5927. Salem et al., 2017 A.M. Salem, A.O. Bamosa, H.O. Qutub, R. Kumar, A. Badar, A. Elnour, M.N. Afzal Effect of Nigella sativa supplementation on lung function and inflammatory mediators in partly controlled asthma: a randomized controlled trial Ann. Saudi Med., 37 (2017), pp. 514-521, 10.5144/0256-4947.2017.514 Shahzad et al., 2009 M. Shahzad, X. Yang, M.B. Raza Asim, Q. Sun, Y. Han, F. Zhang, Y. Cao, S. Lu Black seed oil ameliorates allergic airway inflammation by inhibiting T-cell proliferation in rats Pulm. Pharmacol. Ther., 22 (2009), pp. 37-43, 10.1016/j.pupt.2008.11.006 ArticlePDF (705KB) Slader et al., 2006 C.A. Slader, H.K. Reddel, C.R. Jenkins, C.L. Armour, S.Z. Bosnic-Anticevich Complementary and alternative medicine use in asthma: Who is using what? Respirology, 11 (2006), pp. 373-387, 10.1111/j.1440-1843.2006.00861.x Szefler et al., 2012 S.J. Szefler, S. Wenzel, R. Brown, S.C. Erzurum, J.V. Fahy, R.G. Hamilton, J.F. Hunt, H. Kita, A.H. Liu, R.A. Panettieri, R.P. Schleimer, M. Minnicozzi Asthma outcomes: biomarkers J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 129 (2012), pp. S9-S23, 10.1016/j.jaci.2011.12.979 ArticlePDF (242KB) Peer review under responsibility of King Saud University. © 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.

Food as Medicine: Anise (Pimpinella anisum, Apiaceae)

HerbalEGram: Volume 13, Issue 12, December 2016 Editor’s Note: Each month, HerbalEGram highlights a conventional food and briefly explores its history, traditional uses, nutritional profile, and modern medicinal research. We also feature a nutritious recipe for an easy-to-prepare dish with each article to encourage readers to experience the extensive benefits of these whole foods. With this series, we hope our readers will gain a new appreciation for the foods they see at the supermarket and frequently include in their diets. The basic materials for this series were compiled by dietetic interns from Texas State University in San Marcos and the University of Texas at Austin through the American Botanical Council’s (ABC’s) Dietetic Internship Program, led by ABC Education Coordinator Jenny Perez. We would like to acknowledge Jenny Perez, ABC Special Projects Director Gayle Engels, and ABC Chief Science Officer Stefan Gafner, PhD, for their contributions to this project. By Hannah Baumana and Anne Semraub a HerbalGram Associate Editor b ABC Dietetics Intern (TSU, 2014) Overview Anise or aniseed (Pimpinella anisum, Apiaceae) is an herbaceous annual that grows to almost a meter (3.3 feet) in height.1,2 The lower leaves of the plant are dark green, heart-shaped, and shallowly lobed, while the upper leaves are feathery. In the summer, the plant produces small, white flowers in an umbrella-shaped head, and, in the fall, these flowers produce aromatic fruits that are three to four millimeters in length. These fruits, called “anise seeds” in the market and referred to in the rest of this article as “seeds,” are the medicinal and culinary portion of the plant.Anise seeds The cultivation of anise, which is native to the Anatolian peninsula, Greece, and Egypt, has spread to other countries. The plant grows well in warm, frost-free climates.3,4 Anise should not be confused with fennel (Foeniculum vulgare, Apiaceae), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra, Fabaceae), or star anise (Illicium verum, Schisandraceae), which have similar flavors but different medicinal effects. Phytochemicals and Constituents Anise contains a number of biologically important substances, in particular its essential oil.5 The most abundant constituent of aniseed essential oil is trans-anethole, which makes up 80-90% of the oil.6 Other components found in anise include a variety of coumarins (scopoletin, umbelliferone, umbelliprenine, and bergapten), flavonoids (quercetin, apigenin, luteolin, and their glycosides), and other aromatic oil compounds (estragole, anise ketone, and beta-caryophyllene).4,7 Some coumarins have anticoagulant (blood-thinning) properties and increase blood flow while decreasing capillary permeability. Certain flavonoids, such as quercetin, have antioxidant activities that may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and various types of cancer.8 Historical and Commercial Uses Anise has been used in culinary and medical applications for more than 3,000 years. The gray-brown, ovoid seeds are known for their gastrointestinal benefits, relieving distension and cramping due to gas, and for being a mild cough-reliever and expectorant. A folk remedy for hiccups calls for a few seeds taken with water.1 The earliest recorded medicinal use of anise seed dates back to 1500 BCE in Egypt, as mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus as a medicine for flatulence.2 The use of anise spread through trade and became a common medicine throughout the Mediterranean, East Asia, and Europe. The Greek physician Dioscorides described anise in his 70 CE medical treatise De materia medica as warming and drying, and recommended it as a vermifuge as well as for bad breath, headaches, low milk supply in nursing mothers, colds, and to aid digestion.4 Around the same time period, Roman statesman Pliny the Elder wrote in his Naturalis historia that the best anise came from Crete, and that “it is generally thought that there is nothing in existence more beneficial to the abdomen and intestines than anise.”9 Pliny also described the use of anise for convulsions and seizures. Traditional Chinese medicine indicated anise as a remedy for cough and gastrointestinal upset, and the Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine noted anise as a gas-reliever and aromatic spice.2 Native Amazonians used it as a gentle remedy for children with stomach aches.4 In traditional Iranian medicine, anise has been used as an analgesic for migraines and as a carminative, aromatic, disinfectant, and diuretic. In some traditional texts, anise is mentioned as a remedy for melancholy, nightmares, and as a treatment for epilepsy and seizures.10,11 The German Commission E monographs list the internal use of anise seed decoction or essential oil for dyspepsia, sore throats, and coughs, and the inhalation of preparations containing 5-10% essential oil for sore throats and coughs.12 The monographs of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is the medicine authority for the European Union, indicate the oral use of anise preparations for symptomatic treatment of mild, spasmodic gastrointestinal complaints, including bloating and flatulence, and as an expectorant in cough associated with cold.13 The seeds are mildly estrogenic and promote milk production.14 In the Netherlands, anise seed cookies are a traditional gift given to new mothers to ensure a plentiful milk supply. Although the whole seed is generally considered a safe addition to a postpartum diet, there have been two reported cases of nursing mothers who drank large amounts (2 liters per day) of fennel and anise tea, which caused weakness and vomiting in their newborns.14,15 Symptoms resolved quickly after consumption of the tea was discontinued, with no known long-term effects for mothers or infants. Currently, anise seeds are a popular flavoring for liquor, desserts, and other culinary applications. Almost every culture around the globe has a liquor made from anise, including Middle Eastern arak; Greek ouzo; Turkish rakı; French absinthe, anisette, and pastis (and, it is rumored, part of the herbal mélange in Chartreuse); German Jägermeister; Swiss Appenzeller Alpenbitter; Italian sambuca; Dutch Brokmöpke; Bulgarian and Macedonian mastika; Portuguese, Peruvian, and Spanish anísado and Herbs de Majorca; Colombian aguardiente; and Mexican Xtabentún. Modern Research Human trials have shown relief of constipation consistent with the historical role of anise in resolving gastrointestinal complaints.10 A double-blind, randomized study of 107 subjects found that three grams of anise powder after every meal was effective in relieving the symptoms of functional dyspepsia,16 and a smaller study of 25 subjects in hospice and palliative care found that an aromatherapy treatment using a blend of oils, including anise oil, reduced the symptoms of nausea.17 A multi-herb decoction of anise, fennel, elder flower (Sambucus nigra, Adoxaceae), and flowers of the stimulant, laxative herb senna (Senna alexandrina, Fabaceae) was found to be a safe and effective treatment for chronic constipation in a small randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled trial.18 Human trials have also investigated anise as a therapy for symptoms of menopause, likely due to its phytoestrogen content. A randomized, controlled trial found that 300 mg of an anise extract taken daily was effective at reducing the number and intensity of hot flashes in menopausal women.19 Animal studies have investigated anise’s anticonvulsant activity. Anise oil was shown to reduce epileptic seizures and seizure-related brain damage in rats by increasing the time between seizures and decreasing seizure severity.20 An additional study indicated that the effect on mice was dose-dependent and “more satisfactory” than conventional anti-seizure drug phenobarbital in delaying death.21 In vitro tests on anise oil and extract are uncovering new possible medicinal applications. Trans-anethole and its derivatives may help reduce tumor development and progression by blocking the activation of genes involved in inflammation, cell survival, cell proliferation, and blood vessel development.22 Water and alcohol extracts of anise seeds have been evaluated for antioxidant activity using different antioxidant tests, with both extracts showing strong antioxidant activity.8 Anise’s antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties indicate that it may have use as a food additive to prevent the growth of foodborne pathogens and spoilage.23-25 Consumer Considerations Great care should be taken with the internal use of essential oils. Ingestion of one to five milliliters of anise essential oil can cause nausea, vomiting, seizures, and pulmonary edema. However, at low levels, trans-anethole is efficiently broken down by the body.7 The coumarins present in anise oil may cause photosensitivity in excessive doses.26 Anise essential oil may also interfere with acetaminophen and caffeine, making these substances less bioavailable in the body and compromising their efficacy.27 Those with an allergy to anise or other plants in the Apiaceae family (fennel, caraway [Carum carvi], celery [Apium graveolens], coriander [Coriandrum sativum], dill [Anethum graveolens], etc.) should avoid the use of anise.4,12 Nutrient Profile5 Macronutrient Profile: (Per 1 tablespoon anise seeds [approx. 6.7 grams]) 23 calories 1.18 g protein 3.35 g carbohydrate 1.07 g fat Secondary Metabolites: (Per 1 tablespoon anise seeds [approx. 6.7 grams]) Very good source of: Iron: 2.48 mg (13.8% DV) Good source of: Manganese: 0.15 mg (7.5% DV) Also provides: Calcium: 43 mg (4.3% DV) Dietary Fiber: 1 g (4% DV) Phosphorus: 29 mg (2.9% DV) Magnesium: 11 mg (2.8% DV) Potassium: 97 mg (2.8% DV) Vitamin C: 1.4 mg (2.3% DV) Vitamin B6: 0.04 mg (2% DV) Thiamin: 0.02 mg (1.3% DV) Riboflavin: 0.02 mg (1.2% DV) Niacin: 0.21 mg (1.1% DV) DV = Daily Value as established by the US Food and Drug Administration, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Recipe: Citrus Salad with Anise Syrup Adapted from Gourmet28 Ingredients: 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup water 3 tablespoons anise seed 5 large ruby red or pink grapefruit 4 blood oranges Directions: Dissolve sugar in water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add anise and simmer five minutes. Remove from heat and let steep, covered, for 30 minutes. Cut peel, including white pith, from fruit with a sharp knife. Cut segments free from membranes into a bowl. Squeeze juice from membranes into bowl. Add anise syrup to fruit and juice and stir gently. Note: Can be made ahead and chilled. References Weiss RF, Fintelmann V. Herbal Medicine. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Georg Thieme Verlag; 2000. Hemphill I. The Spice and Herb Bible. Toronto, Canada: Robert Rose Inc.; 2002. National Geographic Society. Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Food Plants. Washington DC: National Geographic Society; 2008. Jodral MM. Illicium, Pimpinella, and Foeniculum. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press LLC; 2004. Basic Report: 02002, Spices, anise seed. US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Available at: https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/252. Accessed November 18, 2016. Özcan MM, Chalchat JC. Chemical composition and antifungal effect of anise (Pimpinella anisum L.) fruit oil at ripening stage. Ann Microbiol. December 2006;56:353-358. Barnes J, Anderson LA, Phillipson JD. Herbal Medicines. 3rd ed. London, UK: Pharmaceutical Press; 2007. Yao LH, Jiang YM, Shi J, et al. Flavonoids in food and their health benefits. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition. 2004;59:113-122. Pliny the Elder. Naturalis historia. Bostock J, trans. London, UK: Taylor and Francis; 1855. Shojaii A, Fard MA. Review of pharmacological properties and chemical constituents of Pimpinella anisum. ISRN Pharmaceutics. 2012;2012:510795. Karimzadeh F, Hosseini M, Mangeng D, et al. Anticonvulsant and neuroprotective effects of Pimpinella anisum in rat brain. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2012;12:76-84. Blumenthal M, Busse WR, Goldberg A, et al, eds. Klein S, Rister RS, trans. The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. Austin, TX: American Botanical Council; Boston: Integrative Medicine Communication; 1998. Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. Community herbal monograph on Pimpinella anisum L., aetheroleum. London, UK: European Medicines Agency; 2013. Available at: www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Herbal_-_Community_herbal_monograph/2014/06/WC500168973.pdf. Accessed November 17, 2016. Romm A. Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health. St. Louis, MO: Churchill Livingstone; 2010. Rosti L, Nardini A, Bettinelli ME, Rosti D. Toxic effects of a herbal tea mixture in two newborns. Acta Paediatrica. June 1994;83(6):683. Ghoshegir SA, Mazaheri M, Ghannadi A, et al. Pimpinella anisum in the treatment of functional dyspepsia: A double-blind, randomized clinical trial. J Res Med Sci. January 2015;20(1):13-21. Gilligan NP. The palliation of nausea in hospice and palliative care patients with essential oils of Pimpinella anisum (aniseed), Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce (sweet fennel), Anthemis nobilis (Roman chamomile) and Mentha x piperita (peppermint). International Journal of Aromatherapy. 2005;15(4):163-167. Picon PD, Picon RV, Costa AF, et al. Randomized clinical trial of a phytotherapic compound containing Pimpinella anisum, Foeniculum vulgare, Sambucus nigra, and Cassia augustifolia for chronic constipation. BMC Complement Altern Med. April 2010;10:17. Nahidi F, Kariman N, Simbar M, et al. The study on the effects of Pimpinella anisum on relief and recurrence of menopausal hot flashes. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. 2012;11(4):1079-1085. Fard MA, Shojaii A. Efficacy of Iranian traditional medicine in the treatment of epilepsy. BioMed Research International. 2013; 692751. Heidari MR, Ayeli M. Effects of methyl alcoholic extract of Pimpinella anisum L. on picrotoxin induced seizure in mice and its probable mechanism. Scientific Journal of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. 2005;10(3):1-8. Sung B, Prasad S, Yadav VR, et al. Cancer cell signaling pathways targeted by spice-derived nutraceuticals. Nutrition and Cancer. 2012;64(2):173-197. Fitsiou E, Mitropoulou G, Spyridopoulou K, et al. Phytochemical profile and evaluation of the biological activities of essential oils derived from the Greek aromatic plant species Ocimum basilicum, Mentha spicata, Pimpinella anisum, and Fortunella margarita. Molecules. 2016;21(8):1069. Conforti F, Tundis R, Marrelli M, et al. Protective effect of Pimpinella anisoides ethanolic extract and its constituents on oxidative damage and its inhibition of nitric oxide in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. J Med Food. February 2010;13(1):137-141. Radaelli M, da Silva BP, Weidlich, et al. Antimicrobial activities of six essential oils commonly used as condiments in Brazil against Clostridium perfringens. Braz J Microbiol. April-June 2016;47(2):424-430. Hoult JRS, Paya M. Pharmacological and biochemical actions of simple coumarins: natural products with therapeutic potential. Gen. Pharmac. 1996;27(4):713-722. Samojlik I, Petković S, Stilinović N, Vukmirović S, Mijatović V, Božin B. Pharmacokinetic herb-drug interaction between essential oil of aniseed (Pimpinella anisum L., Apiaceae) and acetaminophen and caffeine: A potential risk for clinical practice. Phytother Res. February 2016;30(2):253-259. Roberts M. Citrus Salad with Star Anise Syrup. Gourmet. December 2008. Available at: www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Citrus-Salad-with-Star-Anise-Syrup-350912. Accessed November 17, 2016.

Variations in the Types and Amounts of Bacteria in Echinacea Plants May Influence the Herb’s Effects on Infectious Disease

Echinacea © Steven Foster Results of a 2016 study add to the growing body of literature suggesting that differences in the bacteria inside echinacea plants may determine whether and how much the herb enhances the immune system and fights infectious diseases like the common cold. Both the types of bacteria and the quantity of bacteria within the plants may contribute to differences in their effects. The study, conducted at the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University and supported by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, was published in the journal Planta Medica and awarded Most Innovative Paper of the Year (2016) by the editors of that journal. Echinacea has been widely used as a dietary supplement for the common cold and other infections, based on the idea that it stimulates the immune system. However, clinical studies on whether it works for this purpose have been inconsistent and not easily interpreted―in part because the studies used different plant species and different plant parts, and the material was sourced from different areas. In addition, echinacea’s mechanism(s) of action for therapeutic effects have not been completely established. The researchers obtained Echinacea purpurea plant materials from commercial growers as well as freshly harvested plants (cultivated in greenhouses or growing wild). Fresh plant material was frozen immediately to prevent acquisition of additional bacteria. The team then isolated bacterial colonies from the plant materials, treated them in the laboratory, prepared extracts, and measured the extracts’ ability to stimulate macrophages (a macrophage is a type of white blood cell). Additional tests identified each bacterial taxon (i.e., biological classification) that might have contributed to this activity. The researchers found the plant samples contained representatives from 38 different taxa of bacteria. The most common was Proteobacteria, which was also the most powerful macrophage activator. For both the fresh plant material and the extracts, the degree of macrophage activation was determined by both the amount and types of bacteria. The researchers noted these findings could help explain why the results of clinical trials of echinacea to treat the common cold have been inconsistent. They also noted that the results add to a growing body of evidence that taking certain types of bacteria or bacterial components by mouth could impact human health. Reference Haron MH, Tyler HL, Pugh ND, et al. Activities and prevalence of Proteobacteria members colonizing Echinacea purpurea fully account for macrophage activation exhibited by extracts of this botanical. Planta Medica. 2016;82(14):1258-1265. Additional Resources Echinacea Information Publication Date: June 10, 2016

Recipe of the Month: Legume Pesto Pasta with Mushrooms and Pumpkin

Connect Health By Belinda Morris, Clinical Nutritionist Legume pasta is a great way to increase the nutritional composition of your favourite comfort foods. With added protein, fibre, heart-healthy nutrients, and being low-allergenic, legume pasta is a great way to enjoy comfort foods in fall while staying on your therapeutic diet needs. This recipe calls for fresh or leftover roast pumpkin, and mushrooms to bump up the plant-based protein. Optionally, this would be great with some free-range chicken breast. A great meal for dinner, gatherings, or excellent to prepare at the start of the week and enjoy for lunch. Ingredients: Legume pasta – for example, any of the legume pastas by Tolerant Foods, found at Choices Market 500g large mushrooms – choose a variety to get the full range of therapeutic benefits to boost your immune system 1/2 of 1 butternut pumpkin, roasted in bite-sized chunks 1 head of broccoli, chopped into small florets 3 tbsp pine nuts 1 tbsp olive oil 4-6 tbsp pesto – you can make your own or go for store-bought 1-3 cloves garlic, diced Directions: Cook legume pasta as directed on the packet. Make sure it is al dente, meaning it is still slightly firm to the bite. With approximately 8 minutes left of pasta cooking, heat oil in a pan. When it is starting to warm, add in garlic and cook until fragrant. Add mushrooms and cook for approximately 2 minutes. Add broccoli and continue to sauté for approximately 5 minutes. If your pumpkin is cold from being leftover, add it in with the broccoli. If you have been fresh roasting your pumpkin, pull it out now and set aside. Serve pasta in large bowls and top with vegetables. Put your desired amount of pine nuts back into the pan and lightly toss over the heat until fragrant. This step is optional but delicious. While the pine nuts are popping, top dish with pesto and mix through. I find this gives you the most flavour and the least amount of stick to the pan! Add the pine nuts, and serve, or store for 5-8 days in the fridge.

Food as Medicine: Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbitaceae)

HerbalEGram: Volume 12, Issue 10, October 2015 Editor’s Note: Each month, HerbalEGram highlights a conventional food and briefly explores its history, traditional uses, nutritional profile, and modern medicinal research. We also feature a nutritious recipe for an easy-to-prepare dish with each article to encourage readers to experience the extensive benefits of these whole foods. With this series, we hope our readers will gain a new appreciation for the foods they see at the supermarket and frequently include in their diets. The basic materials for this series were compiled by dietetic interns from Texas State University in San Marcos and the University of Texas at Austin through the American Botanical Council’s (ABC’s) Dietetic Internship Program, led by ABC Education Coordinator Jenny Perez. We would like to acknowledge Perez, ABC Special Projects Director Gayle Engels, and ABC Chief Science Officer Stefan Gafner, PhD, for their contributions to this project. By Hannah Baumana and Laura Bakerb a HerbalGram Assistant Editor b ABC Dietetics Intern (TSU, 2014) History and Traditional Use Range and Habitat Cucurbita pepo is a species in the gourd family which includes many varieties of winter squash and summer squash. Any round and orange fruit yielded by any variety or cultivar (there are many cultivars) of the species is usually called a pumpkin, even though the word has no real botanical meaning.1,2 The species is characterized by sprawling, coarse vines and climbing tendrils that are flexible, hollow, and prickly to the touch with large, oval-shaped leaves.3 Cucurbita pepo flowers are bright yellow or orange with rounded lobes that angle outwards. The species can produce a wide variety of fruits of different shapes, sizes, and colors, but pumpkins are spherical in shape, covered by a firm, ribbed, thick layer of orange or yellow skin. Inside the skin, the fleshy part of the pumpkin is mildly sweet and grainy. Each fruit contains a large quantity of seeds, which are flat and ovate-elliptical shaped, dark green in color and enclosed in a creamy white husk. The seed has a fibrous texture with a subtle sweetness and nuttiness. Pumpkins range in size from less than a pound to over 1,000 pounds, but average 7-10 pounds.4 Cucurbita pepo is native to Central America, and evidence of cultivation and use dates back to 5500 BCE.5 The United States is the top producer of pumpkins, followed by Mexico, India, and China, respectively.6 Phytochemicals and Constituents Several bioactive constituents in pumpkin exhibit medicinal properties, such as anti-diabetic, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, hypotensive, and antioxidant actions.3,7 The pumpkin fruit is low in fat and has protein-rich seeds, which make it a nutrient-dense food. Specific peptides and proteins found in pumpkin seeds have demonstrated broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.7 For example, two of these proteins, alpha-moschin and beta-moschin, have exhibited inhibitory activity against fungal infections caused by Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, and Mycosphaerella arachidicola. Additionally, pumpkin proteins display a synergistic effect with antibiotics for the inhibition of the fungus Candida albicans, which can cause mucous membrane infections, such as thrush, in humans. Some of the bioactive compounds in pumpkin fruit flesh that offer beneficial health effects are polysaccharides, para-aminobenzoic acid, oils, phytosterols (beta-sitosterol, sitostanol and avenasterol), proteins, peptides, and lignans.3 Anti-diabetic effects are due to protein-bound polysaccharides (PBPP), which have been shown to increase levels of insulin, decrease blood glucose levels, and enhance glucose tolerance.7 Researchers theorize that this happens due to antioxidant activities which are thought to prevent destruction of pancreatic beta-cells, which produce insulin.6 Therefore, PBPP present in pumpkin may play a role in preventing the development and progression of diabetes.7,8 Additionally, the polyamine content of pumpkins may also play a role in optimizing the function of the pancreas.7 Pumpkin seeds are rich in phytoestrogen content (265 mg per 100g), specifically secoisolariciresinol.9 Secoisolariciresinol has been shown to exhibit cholesterol-lowering activity, and produce cardioprotective effects through the formation of new blood vessels and decreased apoptosis (programmed cell death). These effects are thought to be the result of antioxidant properties, which inhibit cell membrane damage and scavenge “free radicals.” Pumpkin seeds also contain beneficial compounds such as linoleic acid, essential amino acids, and vital micronutrients. Linoleic and linolenic acids exhibit oxidative mechanisms to reduce the production of inflammatory products, while oleic fatty acid is known to enhance signaling pathways of vasodilation (expanding blood vessels), promote a reduction in blood pressure levels, and reduce effects of vasoconstriction (narrower diameter of blood vessels). Pumpkin seeds are also a good source of trace minerals including magnesium, zinc, copper, and selenium.3 The bright orange color of pumpkin indicates elevated levels of beta-carotene, a vital antioxidant and precursor to vitamin A, which maintains vision and the health and function of bones, skin, and mucous membranes.4,10 Additionally, the fruit contains gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA; a neurotransmitter that has inhibitory effects on the nervous system) and modest levels of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.3 Historical and Commercial Uses The name “pumpkin” originates from the Greek word pepon, which means “large melon.”4 The French modified this name to pompon and the British changed it to pumpion, which was later changed by the American colonists to pumpkin.6 Pumpkin has a traditional history as a food and medicine. Some Native American tribes dried the skins of pumpkins into strips and wove them together into mats.4 The modern pumpkin pie has its origins in colonial New England, where colonists cut off the top of the pumpkin, removed the seeds, filled the fruit with milk, spices, and honey, and baked the fruit over hot ashes.4,5 Pumpkins are highly valued in Chiapas, Mexico, where they are combined with honey for the preparation of the dessert palanquetas.3 Though native to Central America, the pumpkin was one of the first foods from the “New World” to be brought back to Europe, and cultivation spread quickly thereafter.5 Pumpkins have been used as a medicine in several countries. For example, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Argentina, India, Brazil, and Mexico have traditionally used pumpkins as a treatment for diabetes.11 In addition,7 pumpkin seed oil from a particular variety known as the Styrian pumpkin (C. pepo subsp. pepo var. styriaca) produced in southern Austria and Slovenia is a European Union Protected Designation of Origin product. Nicknamed “green gold,” the dark green oil has culinary and medicinal applications and is an integral part of the local culture throughout Eastern Europe.12 The seeds of pumpkins have also been used as a vermifuge for intestinal parasites and worms. In addition to the many health benefits offered by pumpkin, it also is used as an ornamental decoration during the US holidays Halloween and Thanksgiving and has recently become a crop of interest in agritourism (defined broadly, agritourism is the act of visiting any agricultural operation or business in order to be educated or entertained).13 Currently, pumpkin farms in California are considered to be one of the most popular and lucrative agritourism attractions, commonly offered in conjunction with pony rides and corn mazes. Modern Research Current research on the medicinal possibilities of C. pepo focuses heavily on pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil (PSO). Studies show that pumpkin seeds have therapeutic potential for a variety of conditions, including benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), urinary tract infections associated with BPH, hypertension, diabetes, and microbial infections. Researchers theorize that the phytosterol content of pumpkin seeds can prevent testosterone-induced BPH by inhibiting the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.14 Male rats with testosterone-induced BPH given a daily dose of pumpkin seed oil were found to have reduced levels of hyperplasia. This further indicates that PSO may be directly involved in prostate health. Pumpkin seeds have been shown to be an effective alternative treatment for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to BPH.13 BPH is characterized by an enlargement of the prostate gland, which commonly results in the constriction of the lower urinary tract in men.15,16 Fifty percent of men over the age of 60 report having BPH, with 15%-30% of these men also having LUTS.16 A 12-month study of men diagnosed with BPH/LUTS was conducted to analyze the health effects of pumpkin seeds.16 Doses of purified pumpkin seed, pumpkin seed extract, or placebo were administered twice daily. Both treatment modalities exhibited statistically significant improvements as measured by the International Prostate Symptom Score screening tool (I-PSS) and quality of life (QoL) scores. Additionally, the pumpkin seed group revealed greater improvements in IPSS-related QoL scores than the placebo group. QoL scores were enhanced 36% for pumpkin seed, 33.4% for pumpkin seed extract, and 29.2% for the placebo treatment group. Another 12-month study revealed similar results, with I-PSS scores significantly enhanced after administration of 320 mg of PSO twice daily.17 This study also showed a decrease in prostate volume and a significant increase in maximal urinary flow rate. The intervention resulted in an average increase from 14 mL/second at baseline to 17 mL/second after taking PSO for an improvement of 14.9% in urinary flow rate. Pumpkin seed oil enhances cardiovascular health through its antihypertensive and atheroprotective characteristics.6 Hypertensive rats fed either 40 mg/kg/day or 50 mg/kg/day of PSO for six weeks exhibited cardioprotective effects.18 The study showed that use of PSO resulted in a significant reduction of high systolic blood pressure and proved to be as effective as a common antihypertensive medication (amlodipine) in reducing high blood pressure by producing close to normal levels of nitric oxide.6,18 This mechanism may be a result of the linoleic, linolenic fatty acid and/or oleic fatty acid content of pumpkin seeds.18 PSO also exhibited antioxidant effects by increasing low levels of nitric oxide metabolites back to normal and significantly reduced indicators of oxidative stress known as malondialdehydes (MDAs). A study of post-menopausal women found that consumption of pumpkin seeds increased levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol by 16% and decreased diastolic blood pressure by 7%.6,9 These effects may be attributed to the high content of the phytoestrogen secoisolariciresinol, which has been shown to exhibit cardioprotective properties through its antioxidant content.9 Subjects also experienced a decrease in severity of hot flashes, decreased occurrence of headaches, and reduced joint pain. These findings provide supporting evidence of PSO supplementation for improved cardiovascular health. Pumpkin seeds traditionally have been used for their anti-diabetic properties and are a promising area of research in diabetes treatment. Due to the hypoglycemic activities observed in animal and human studies, PSO may eventually be considered as an alternative modality of treatment. Hypoglycemic effects are due to bioactive constituents such as polysaccharides, para-aminobenzoic acid, oils, sterols, proteins, peptides, and macromolecules such as trigonelline, nicotinic acid, and D-chiro-inositol. D-chiro-inositol is classified as an insulin sensitizer and plays a vital role in the anti-diabetic properties of pumpkin.3 A study done on diabetic rats with orally administered polysaccharides isolated from pumpkin fruits revealed improvements in insulin regulation and glucose levels.7 These animal studies offer intriguing evidence of pumpkin’s anti-diabetic properties, though additional research and human clinical trials are needed to support the implementation of pumpkin as a medicinal alternative for glycemic control.11 Pumpkin seed oil has exhibited broad spectrum antimicrobial effects in cell culture studies with the following organisms: Acinetobacter baumannii, Aeromonas veronii biogroup sobria, Candida albicans, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype typhimurium, Serratia marcescens, and Staphylococcus aureus.3,7 These findings hold a twofold benefit for developed and developing countries: as antibiotic-resistant bacteria grow more prevalent, scientists are working to identify plant-based compounds with antimicrobial actions; additionally, pumpkin consumption in countries with insufficient health care infrastructures may serve as a protection against harmful organisms that result in infectious diseases.3 Pumpkin and PSO should be further researched to validate these possible uses. Nutrient Profile19 Macronutrient Profile: (Per 1 cup raw 1” cubes [approx. 116 g]) 30 calories 1.16 g protein 7.54 g carbohydrates 0.10 g fat Secondary Metabolites: (Per 1 cup raw 1” cubes [approx. 116 g]) Excellent source of: Vitamin A: 9,875 IU (197.5% DV) Very good source of: Vitamin C: 10.4 mg (17.3% DV) Potassium: 394 mg (11.26% DV) Good source of: Iron: 0.93 mg (5.2% DV) Phosphorus: 51 mg (5.1% DV) Also provides: Folate: 19 mcg (4.75% DV) Vitamin E: 1.23 mg (4.6% DV) Thiamin: 0.06 mg (4% DV) Magnesium: 14 mg (3.5% DV) Niacin: 0.7 mg (3.5% DV) Vitamin B6: 0.07 mg (3.5% DV) Calcium: 24 mg (2.4% DV) Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g (2.4% DV) Vitamin K: 1.3 mcg (1.6% DV) DV = Daily Value as established by the US Food and Drug Administration, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Recipe: Pumpkin-Shiitake Risotto Ingredients: 4-5 cups vegetable stock 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped 2 cups shiitake mushroom caps, sliced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup uncooked Arborio or other short-grain rice ½ cup dry white wine ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup fresh or canned unflavored pumpkin puree 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped Directions: In a medium saucepan, heat the broth until simmering. Reduce heat to low and keep warm. In a large nonstick pan, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6-7 minutes. Add the rice to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is lightly toasted and coated in oil, about 1 minute. Add the wine and reduce until nearly evaporated. Ladle 1 cup of the warm broth into the rice and stir constantly until the rice absorbs most of the liquid. Reduce heat, if necessary, to maintain a simmer. Continue adding the broth in 1-cup increments, each time waiting for the rice to absorb most of the liquid, approximately 20-30 minutes. The rice will slowly become creamy and cooked, with tender grains and a loose sauce. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the salt and pumpkin puree and heat through. Garnish with chives and serve immediately. References What is the difference between pumpkins, squashes and gourds? Missouri Botanical Garden website. Available here. Accessed October 15, 2015. Cucurbita pepo. Missouri Botanical Garden website. Available here. Accessed October 15, 2015. Yadav M, Jain S, Tomar R, Prasad GB, Yadav H. Medicinal and biological potential of pumpkin: An updated review. Nutr Res Rev. 2010;23(2):184-190. Pumpkins and More. University of Illinois Extension website. Available here. Accessed September 16, 2015. Barksdale N. The History of Pumpkin Pie. History website. November 21, 2014. Available here. Accessed September 16, 2015. Gamonski W. The true potency of the pumpkin seed. Life Extension. 2012;18(10):95-98. Caili F, Huan S, Quanhong L. A review on pharmacological activities and utilization technologies of pumpkin. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2006;61(2):70-77. Quanhong L, Caili F, Yukui R, Guanghui H, Tongyi C. Effects of protein-bound polysaccharide isolated from pumpkin on insulin in diabetic rats. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2005;60(1):13-16. Gossell-Williams M, Hyde C, Hunter T, et al. Improvement in HDL cholesterol in postmenopausal women supplemented with pumpkin seed oil: Pilot study. Climacteric. 2011;14(5):558-564. Weil A, Becker B. Supplements and Herbs: Facts about Vitamin A. Andrew Weil, MD website. October 29, 2012. Available here. Accessed September 23, 2015. Adams GG, Imran S, Wang S, et al. The hypoglycemic effect of pumpkin seeds, trigonelline (TRG), nicotinic acid (NA), and D-chiro-inositol (DCI) in controlling glycemic levels in diabetes mellitus. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2014;54(10):1322-1329. Košťálová Z, Hromádková Z, Ebringerová A. Chemical evaluation of seeded fruit biomass of oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L. var. Styriaca). Chemical Papers. 2009;63(4):406–413. Aegerter B, Smith R, Natwick E, Gaskell M, Rilla E. Pumpkin Production in California. Richmond, CA: University of California Vegetable Research and Information Center; 2013. Available here. Accessed September 16, 2015. Gossell-Williams M, Davis A, O'Connor N. Inhibition of testosterone-induced hyperplasia of the prostate of sprague-dawley rats by pumpkin seed oil. J Med Food. 2006;9(2):284-286. Vahlensieck W, Theurer C, Pfitzer E, et al. Effects of pumpkin seed in men with lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia in the one-year, randomized, placebo-controlled GRANU study. Urol Int. 2015;94(3):286-295. Coulson S, Rao A, Beck SL, et al. A phase II randomised double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial investigating the efficacy and safety of ProstateEZE Max: A herbal medicine preparation for the management of symptoms of benign prostatic hypertrophy. Complement Ther Med. 2013;21(3):172-179. Hong H, Kim CS, Maeng S. Effects of pumpkin seed oil and saw palmetto oil in Korean men with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. Nutr Res Prac. 2009;3(4):323-327. El-Mosallamy A, Sleem AA, Abdel-Salam OM, Shaffie N, Kenawy SA. Antihypertensive and cardioprotective effects of pumpkin seed oil. J Med Food. 2012;15(2):180-189. Basic Report: 11422, Pumpkin, raw. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture website. Available here. Accessed September 16, 2015.

4th hard drive since dec 2014

Dell did not say anything except that they installed windows 10 this time instead of putting me back on win 8.1. That means that I don't have to go back to windows insider and I probably won't. As usual I installed firefox, chrome, ccleaner, and a free antivirus program. I have gone back to the annoying and noisy comodo firewall, just in case I was attacked a couple of weeks ago.

The need for citizen science in the transition to a sustainable peer-to-peer-society

Futures Volume 91, August 2017, Pages 46-52 Original research article Author links open overlay panelDianaWildschut https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2016.11.010 Get rights and content Under a Creative Commons license open access Highlights • Society is moving towards a peer-to-peer society. • Citizens become the new decision makers. • Scientists should produce knowledge for citizens. • Citizen science is needed to make the sustainable transition happen. Abstract Society is changing towards a peer-to-peer society that is characterised by a new way to produce things, ranging from software to food, to cities, to scientific knowledge. This requires a new role for science. Instead of focusing on knowledge production for NGO's, governments and business, scientists should become aware that the citizen will be the new decision-maker in a future peer-to-peer (p2p) society, and produce suitable and accessible knowledge, and work together with citizen scientists. Citizens have proven to be capable of asking their own research questions, setting up their own projects, educating themselves and managing complex projects. It is time for them to get taken seriously. There is still a large gap between citizens and academic scientists when it comes to knowledge sharing. Knowledge collected by citizens hardly ever gets used by academic scientists, and outcomes from scientific research are still for a large part hidden behind pay walls. If we want the sustainable transition to take place, we need to open up the barriers between science and the public. The concerns of citizens have to be taken seriously and their knowledge used and valued. 1. Introduction Society is amid a transition towards a peer-to-peer (p2p) society that is characterised by a new way of produce of everything, ranging from software to food, to cities, to scientific knowledge (Bauwens 2012). In a p2p society, networks of individuals, or peers, take over tasks that were previously in the hands of institutions. This requires a new role for science. Instead of focussing on knowledge production for NGO's, governments and business, scientists should become aware that the citizen might be the new decision-maker in a future p2p society, and produce knowledge that is suitable and accessible to them. In this essay, when I talk about citizens I mean non professionals who engage with their surroundings, which could be a city, a street, the environment, the democratic system etc. When I talk about citizen scientists I mean people who practise science outside of an academic or industrial environment. Citizen scientists may or may not have had any formal scientific training. My definition of a neoliberal system is a system with a free market, small government in a globalised world. Looking around us we see old structures fail. The effectiveness of NGOs is doubted (Edwards & Hulme, 1996) and they seem to be mainly after their own survival. They are stuck to the methods of the 80′s; they dress up as pigs or bees, or wear gas masks and show up in a small unimpressive group at company or government headquarters. Their causes are legitimate and the problems they put on the agenda are urgent, but their methods are completely unfit for the world we live in. The focus of neoliberal governments is no longer on the well being of their citizens, it has long shifted towards concern for corporate interests (Chomsky, 1999; von Werlhof, 2008). Long term interests, including science, suffer (Saltelli & Giampietro, 2017). Corporations have no legal duty to act in the public interest, and no tendency to do so if that conflicts with short term economic interests (Banerjee, 2008; Chomsky, 1999). The future of the planet could lie in the hands of small groups of citizens and individuals, who are building a new society next to the existing one by setting up grassroots sustainability initiatives that are interconnected by p2p networks. Already, science is providing technologies that give people the power to do their own research, using their smart phones, webcams and laptops (Bonney et al., 2014). But here is still a large gap between citizens and academic scientists when it comes to knowledge sharing. Knowledge collected by citizens hardly ever gets used by academic scientists, and outcomes from scientific research are still for a large part hidden behind pay walls. If we want the sustainable transition to take place, we need to open up the barriers between science and the public. The concerns of citizens have to be taken seriously and their knowledge used and valued (Irwin, 1995). In this essay I argue that citizens are ready to do sound science and to use and understand science produced by academics. They are ready to use science to jump into some of the gaps that governments, businesses and NGOs do not fill. 2. Citizen science In the early days of the scientific revolution, any interested person with time to spare could look at the stars, gather data and make predictions. They did not need equipment, nor a lot of mathematical skills. Scientists were often also farmers, artists or statesmen. They were generalists, rather than specialists. Since the second half of the 19th century, science has become a practise for specialists, using state-of-the-art equipment and mathematics, requiring many years of university studies. Science was no longer something anybody could engage in (Vermij, 2006). In the last decades, computers have become cheap and powerful. The internet enabled people to get access to data as well as training. The development of cheap programmable micro-controllers has enabled many lay men to develop their own electronics. The popularity of these micro-controllers can mainly be attributed to Arduino, a cheap, open source micro controller board with an online programming environment. Programming them is easy because of the large, community run database of examples, tutorials and code. The boards can be connected to a circuit, the schematics of which can be found online. The Arduino community maintains an excellent collection of knowledge for beginners as well as experts on www.arduino.cc. The availability of cheap sensors is the next problem to be solved. The use of sensors combined with ATMegas (the micro controllers used in Arduino boards) is very popular. People measure whatever they can think of in their environment. They typically log all their data and look for opportunities to compare their data with other people's. This creates a demand for online open data sharing platforms. Communities form, not only around the hardware, but also around research topics. Examples are spectralworkbench.org, where people share the spectra they take of different light sources. They use a spectrometer made of a piece of cardboard and a piece of a CD (Fig. 1) connected to a webcam. They upload their spectra to the database, which contains results from both home made spectrographs and professional ones. It is a mix of useful spectra and blurry images. The database gets filled mostly by curious hobbyists, and as it grows it becomes a valuable resource for determination of chemicals. On the website's section ‘learn’ you can see what use is being made of the data. Citizens use it for measuring food contamination, GMO’s in food (Critical Art Ensemble, 2003), nitrogen levels in agricultural soil, detection of air pollution etc. It empowers them to be critical of the information they get from official sources, like governments and manufacturers. Fig. 1 Download high-res image (912KB)Download full-size image Fig. 1. A home made cardboard spectrograph, using a piece of a CD as grating, connected to a webcam. A recent development is the Lab-on-a-Chip, a tiny laboratory that can be used for fluid analyses. The Lab-on-a-Chip is low cost and easy to use. The purpose is to make a lab that is so user friendly that anybody can use it without much knowledge. For medical purposes, it enables patients to do their own in-vitro diagnostics. It can also shorten the time needed for decision-making because the patient does not have to wait for an appointment if he already has the lab in his home (von Lode, 2005). A Lab-on-a-Chip is a small piece of glass with tiny fluid channels engraved in it. It is mounted very close to a semi-conductor sensor, connected to a micro-controller that either does the analysis or sends the data to an online analysis tool. The recent boom of Fablabs, open workshops for digital fabrication which originated at MIT (Gershenfeld, 2012), have enabled citizen scientists to engrave their own Lab-on-a-Chip systems, by providing access to laser-cutters and 3D printers. Using Arduinos and open-source software for analysis, they can now do complex chemical fluid analyses themselves. These new technologies are now available for everyone, provided they are not afraid of technology. New tools often start out as toys for wizzkids and it takes a while before people start making them accessible for a larger audience by making user friendly interfaces. This process is already taking place and many tools are becoming useful to people who are interested in using them, rather than getting them to work. Not only the data collected by citizens but also their knowledge, intelligence, creativity and social networks can be valuable for academic scientists. In many citizen science projects run by academic scientists, use is made only of the participant's time or computer power. Usually the participant is only used for data collection or classification. The participant's intelligence or creativity is rarely needed and the project only offers very limited opportunities for personal growth (Rotman et al., 2012). Sometimes there is some education available where the participant learns to recognise patterns, species or types of galaxies, but he or she is hardly ever invited to participate in the design of the research. Citizens have valuable knowledge that is often out of reach for university scientists (see also Pereira & Saltelli, 2017). They have local knowledge, which Warren (Warren, 1991) describes as “Knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. […] It is the basis for local level decision making in agriculture, health care, food preparation, education, natural resource management, and a host of other activities in rural communities.” But of course, not only in rural communities is local knowledge important. Citizens are much more capable of participation than they get a change to show (Fischer, 2000). Many local governments now realise that they need the input of their citizens to govern their cities to the satisfaction of their citizens. Starting to work with critical citizens is not an easy step to take, but once citizens are involved in producing the knowledge for decision making, they are more likely to accept the outcomes and the resulting measures. In the Dutch city of Amersfoort, the local government needed data about the impacts of climate change on a very local scale, where only low resolution data was available. After visiting a conference about citizen science, they decided not to give the job to a consultancy, but to find a group of interested citizens who wanted to investigate climate change in their neighbourhoods. The group was asked to set up the research, decide on what indicators should be measured and how, who to cooperate with and how to disseminate their results. They have now started their project, of which the results can be followed on www.meetjestad.net (Meet je Stad, 2015). Academic scientists see the advantages of cooperating with citizens, not only because of the qualitative value of their local knowledge, but also because of their extensive social networks. Active citizens know what is going on in their community, and they can tell what stakeholders should be involved. So they have to be involved in the very beginning of a research project, otherwise it is too late to make use of this part of their knowledge. Twenty years ago, Alan Irwin (Irwin, 1995) argued for the coming together of the worlds of academic science and citizen science. Now both the need and the possibilities have grown. Citizen scientists have more tools at their disposal to create knowledge with, the infrastructure is there to share the knowledge, and we have some big problems at our hands for which we need all the help we can get. Cash et al. (2003) conclude “[…] that efforts to mobilize science and technology for sustainability are more likely to be effective when they manage boundaries between knowledge and action in ways that simultaneously enhance the salience, credibility and legitimacy of the information they produce”. Many citizens are ready for action or already active. They need scientific knowledge. 3. Open access For this essay, I planned to use only references to open access articles, just to prove a point. It turned out to be impossible, which is a better proof than I would have liked. To be able to write an essay like this a citizen scientist would have to email friends who work for universities, use the Twitter hashtag #icanhazpdf and write emails to authors, hoping for their article in reply. Some of the closed access articles, like this one, are about citizen science and some of those could be interesting to citizens. But citizens who struggle to do their own no-budget science projects are unlikely to be able to pay $41.95 for an article that may or may not be of use. In most cases, science about citizen science will not reach citizens doing science or citizens in need of scientific input. In the p2p-society it is agreed on that whoever uses the services of another, if possible gives something in return to the community it feeds on. So studying citizen science and not sharing the results would be to violate these unwritten rules. Copyrights and patents hinder the availability and development of knowledge. It is often thought that copyrights are the only way to protect authors, but there are other ways to protect the rights of authors and developers of open source products. Some institutions develop their own licenses for open source software (MIT Public License, 1988) or hardware (CERN Open Hardware License, 2011). These institutions deploy their knowledge of copyright and ownership to help people who want to add their data, ideas, designs and products to the public domain. Once there, it can be used and built on by anyone (depending on the license), but it can never be claimed, patented or taken out of the public domain. Different licenses have different conditions, giving the developer the choice of who can use his product and under what conditions. Some licenses allow commercial use of the product, others do not. Some demand attribution to the maker. Some demand that any offspring of the product is published under the same license as the original. Designing these licenses and making them available is a very welcome way for institutions to give something back to the commons. 4. Education Well educated citizens are a condition for a functioning democracy (Hiis Hauge & Barwell, 2017), and equally important for the p2p society. However, a university education in for instance the Netherlands is not easily accessible to every intelligent citizen. People who already have a degree pay enormous fees. Part-time studying is discouraged and for most fields not even available. This is in conflict with the ideal of ‘Life Long Learning’ that is propagated by educational institutions and it will not create broadly interested, well-informed citizens. Yet, we rely on them to make wise choices when it is time to vote (Westheimer & Kahne, 2000). It is fashionable for governments to want citizens to participate, but hardly any efforts are made to provide the necessary tools and information. But now, a growing part of the public are finding their way to new, more accessible and less structured forms of education. New methods for knowledge sharing are being invented, often using the internet. Some universities stream lectures. This can be a helpful addition to an education, but without exercises, it is not complete. Khanacademy.org is a website where you can educate yourself in any high school topic, up to a university level. It uses a clever algorithm that allows students to keep track of their progress. However, Khan Academy is very top-down; a person is lecturing and a student is consuming knowledge. OpenTOKO.org (http://web.archive.org/web/20140927205928/http://www.opentoko.org/) uses a different approach. A topic is offered online, and both experts and lay persons sign up, creating a knowledge sharing group that comes together for an afternoon. The dynamics vary a lot, sometimes a TOKO is planned far in advance, sometimes on short notice. Topics can be popular or obscure, there can be many people or only two or three. It often turns out that beginners have skills, knowledge or questions that the experts learn from. The experts get a deeper understanding of the topic, while the beginners get a valuable jump start. Sometimes no expert signs up and the participants figure it out together. OpenTOKO.org is waiting be improved. An automatic website will be created, enabling anybody to suggest a topic, sign up as an expert or lay person, offer a location and pick a date. When all conditions are met, an OpenTOKO automatically takes place. Entrance is free, everybody benefits by gaining knowledge. Topics range from learning a programming language, electronics, mathematics and statistics to knitting socks and growing vegetables, depending on what participants need. For scientists who want to include citizens in their audience, there is no need for scientists to simplify their results or their language. Citizens can educate themselves and get used to the terminology used in different areas of science. As a starting point of a search for information on almost any topic, Wikipedia can be used. From there, it is easy to find scientific publications, but again the citizen's search will often end at a publisher's pay-wall. 5. Towards a p2p society During the last decade, we have seen a trend towards sharing on a p2p basis: from one individual to another. In 1999, a teenager programmed Napster, which enabled anybody to share digital files (Carlsson & Gustavsson, 2001). Napster used a central server. Because of this, the record industry was able to shut Napster down with law suits. The next generations of music sharing tools were p2p networks, where users shared files directly with other individuals. These networks had no hierarchy and were hard to shut down. Brafman and Beckstrom (2006) compare these leaderless networks to a starfish and hierarchical organisations to a spider; if you cut off the spider's head, it will die. The starfish, however, has no head. Cut of a leg and a new leg will form. Cut the starfish in half, two starfish will form. The p2p network seems indestructible as long as it has the will to live. Bauwens and Lievens (2013) see the transition towards a peer to peer society as the inevitable next step in human development. They give an overview of the history of western society, beginning at the Roman times. In those days, around 80% of society were slaves. The Roman society was utterly dependent on those slaves, and had an ever growing need for more. To keep expanding the number of slaves, they had to keep extending their reign. Eventually this became more expensive than alternatives like sharecropping. They started freeing slaves, allowing them to use land in return for a share in the harvest. This situation developed into the feudal system, which lasted many centuries. In the 19th century, industrialisation caused workers to come to cities, buying their food instead of growing it. Workers got wages, and the time was right for capitalism. Also, people became specialised parts of big hierarcical structures. Now, automation has reduced the amount of human labour necessary to produce our society's basic needs. Political economist Skidelsky (2012) concludes: “The truth is that we cannot go on successfully automating our production without rethinking our attitudes toward consumption, work, leisure, and the distribution of income.” In the western society only a small percentage of our labour is used for society’s basic needs. Most people have jobs that can easily be missed (Graeber, 2013) Most of them know this, with often negative effects on their health and psychology. There is also a growing amount of unemployed citizens for whom the old system has failed. Their former employers have discarded of them, often after decades of dedicated work and loyalty from the employee’s side. A large part of the people that got fired have become too expensive because of their age. Employers tend to choose cheaper employees, rather than the more experienced ones. Here, money is preferred over quality and humanity. Some of the unemployed people choose to do things differently from now on, and start looking for a new system that is more respectful of people and that values real quality. Like the freed slaves, they are a growing group in our society who have the energy to start working in a new system. Bauwens and Lievens 22] call this new system ‘the p2p economy', which is based on exchange between individuals. The combination of available knowledge and a growing dissatisfaction with the way governments handle environmental problems, encourages people to get involved in experiments with small scale solutions for energy production, local food production, recycling of waste and democratic and social innovation. Some of these experiments fail, but others succeed and render stable, small, local alternatives that can be an inspiration to others. Not everything can easily be done locally. Specialised health care is best done in dedicated hospitals. Justice is best handled by experts, although the system of jury law is a bit more p2p than law systems with professional judges only, and is in many countries considered fair. Production processes that are said to be more efficient on a large scale, may not be if the real costs and efforts of transport, infrastructure, resources and waste are included in the calculation. These so called “externalities” are often not payed for by multinationals (Mansfield, 2011; Scherhorn, 2005). 6. When systems clash In many cases the p2p society can coexist with the capitalist society, as can the citizen scientist coexist with the academic scientist. There can be conflicts of a financial nature, like in the case of the record companies versus the p2p networks for music distribution, where both sides try to maximise their profit. The more interesting situations, however, occur when both viewpoints are valid, but incompatible. The p2p society is based on trust, earned by previous work. If you contribute to the community, you gain respect and trust. In the capitalist society however, trust comes with credentials. If you want a job as a software engineer, you need to have diplomas and certificates to prove you can write code. In the p2p society you prove you can write code by writing code. The code is open source so users can check if it works and experts can check if it is well written and contains no malware. When the two worlds meet, they are often skeptical about each other’s approach. Some individuals see the flaws and benefits of both systems, and a software engineer may get a job without a diploma, if he happens to run into the right employee manager. The connection between the two worlds comes from those who recognise the possibilities to cooperate and are in a position where they have the freedom not to stick to the protocol. In any case, the p2p way of assessing the quality or reliability of a peer will take more effort than assessing the quality or reliability of, for instance, an academic scientist. Some research into the person will be required, through personal contact or by looking at the peer’s reputation and work. For newcomers it is a completely different situation. But what about other differences between citizen scientists and academic scientists? To do real science, you have to work according to many rules, and citizens can just do whatever they want. What about quality and ethics? This seems to be the concern of many academic scientists. Citizens’ motivations and the quality of their work are suspect (Show, 2015). Even projects set up and run by academic scientists that use data collected by volunteers have trouble getting published (Bonney et al., 2014). It is true that citizen science does not necessarily have a fixed set of rules for ethics or methods. Even though there are many examples of networks that share a code of ethics or list of methods [29], like some diy-biolabs (Diybio.org, 2016) and makerspaces (Fablab.nl), there are plenty of people who never think of it nor discuss it and are simply not interrested. But in the same way any programmer can check open source computer code, any academic scientist can check if a citizen science project is well done, by the academic scientist’s standards. In my opinion this does not mean that the academic standards should be the ones we should measure citizen science by, but we could if we wanted to. In some cases, the university standards are less strict than the ones used in citizen science. For instance, in regular science it is not common to open up all data, while in citizen science it is. In this aspect citizens science is much more reproducible and fraud is more easily detected. Citizen scientists’ experiments are often repeated and improved on. Citizen scientists have no publication pressure (Saltelli & Giampietro, 2017, discuss the desperation to publish or perish as a key ingredient of the crisis in science), they publish when they think they have produced something interesting. They open their work for peer review right from the first attempts to the final conclusions. Citizen scientists are also more likely to publish negative results. They are not at all embarrassed of their errors. Publications of positive results often also include a section about previous attempts that failed, and a discussion about why they failed. These negative results are in my opinion as valuable as positive results, yet in regular science there is a strong tendency to only publish positive results, which makes academic science incomplete (Dwan et al., 2008). Citizen scientists are often suspected of having biases, hidden motives or agendas. We know by now that professional scientists have biases too. There are even types of biases that citizen scientists are less likely to have, like biases that are related to prestige or funding, and the bias towards positive results. But the fact that academic scientists do not necessarily perform any better than citizen scientists, does not mean we should ignore possible problems with citizen scientists’ quality. In order to enable more cooperation between citizen scientists and academic scientists we should insist on full transparency on possible conflicts of interest, for both citizen scientists and academic scientists. In academic science there is a healthy discussion going on about quality, biasses and conflicts of interest. In citizen science the subject is hardly ever raised, which is a shame since some biasses are less likely to occur when their owner is aware of them. Quality is often described as being ‘fit for function”. Sometimes we may need accurate data from expensive sensors. In this case academic science could deliver a higher quality. But at other times we may need a high resolution, and here large groups of citizens are more likely to achieve high quality. Knowledge is only fit for function if it is open to those that need it. It is therefore important that knowledge related to climate change and other global problems is completely open. I think it would be good to have a conversation between academics and citizen scientists about what quality results are useful both for other citizens, local policy makers and academic scientists, depending on the function. If we want to share data between academic scientists and citizen scientists, or between citizen scientists and decision makers, what barriers are there and how can we overcome them? Should we find a set of criteria for quality (including accessibility) that is acceptable for academic scientists and manageable for citizens? 7. The commons Most of the issues mentioned in the above paragraphs lead us to the concept of the commons. The commons includes everything that belongs to everybody. It includes our atmosphere, our planet's ecosystem, our culture and our knowledge. Most of the private wealth in the world exists because goods or services that belong to the commons can often be taken without payment, and there is no obligation to give something back to the commons. This applies to businesses that pollute or take resources, commercial entertainment companies that take folk stories from the public domain and protect them with copyrights, companies that patent genes that are for the largest part natural, as well as to scientific research that takes input from the commons, with results that are not given back to the commons (Barnes, 2006). Climate change, pollution and the depletion of resources are everybody's problem. These problems are as much part of the commons as the solutions are. Solving them does not have to be a private undertaking. By sharing the knowledge between academic scientists and citizens, we can work on these problems together. 8. Discussion and conclusion Citizen scientists are not angels, sent from above to save science. Nor have they come to destroy academic institutions and take over. They have their own agenda's, flaws and biasses, as do academic scientists. More awareness of these biasses can improve the quality of their work. Any discussion about quality should be respectful and open, with consideration of the limitations of citizen science and its practitioners. We know that citizens don't always take the right decisions when they vote, do not vote or buy products. So why should we count on them to solve societies' problems? We should not wait anybody, but we need to engage all the help we can get, and if people are already intrinsically motivated, we should not marginalise them. Even though the groups that use citizen science to solve problems that they feel are not being addressed by institutions are often still small, the interest they receive from others and the availability of user friendly tools and infrastructure can result in more and larger groups, and a stronger network of individuals. What we see now is the beginning of a trend of independent thinkers and do-ers. They might one day develop into institutions of their own, but they may also stay loose groups of individuals. The same goes for the transition towards a p2p society. This transition is already taking place. It does not need a revolution but grows inside the current system. It accellerates in areas where the current system fails. It needs those impulses, and if the current system suddenly solves the problems, or if the p2p system turns out not to, this trend may stop. For now, it is growing. Citizens are eager to contribute to the solution of problems that the neoliberal system fails to solve, like environmental problems and democratic representation (Publiclab.org). Citizens are increasingly sharing in decision-making as our society moves towards a p2p model (Public Laboratory, 2016). Citizens have proven to be capable of asking their own research questions, setting up their own projects, educating themselves and managing complex projects. It is time for them to get taken seriously. Scientists already contribute to the empowerment of citizens by developing for instance new technologies and licenses, but those are offspring of scientific knowledge. It is also necessary to share the knowledge itself. If scientists want their results to be useful, they should make them accessible to citizens. The knowledge created by citizens can be very valuable for academic scientists. However, the act of giving something back to the community has to be embraced by academic scientists who engage in citizen science projects. We are not so far away from getting rid of everything that stands in the way of a collaborative production of useful knowledge. It takes some adjustments from both sides to bring citizen science and academic science together, so we can join efforts in making the sustainable transition happen. References Banerjee, 2008 S.B. Banerjee Corporate social responsibility: The good, the bad and the ugly Critical Sociology, 34 (1) (2008), pp. 51-79 Barnes, 2006 P. 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