Cineraria maritima Prevents Cataractogenesis

TAMIL NADU, IndiaAn ethanolic extract of Cineraria maritima, used as a homeopathic remedy to prevent cataract progression, prevented selenite-induced cataractogenesis in an animal model (Biol Trace Elem Res. ePub 15 Oct 2010). Cineraria maritima has been used as an eye drop to prevent corneal opacities as far back as the early 1900s; a letter published in The British Medical Journal in 1936 suggested the plants potassium and iodine content could be the key elements that fight cataract progression.

In the current report, researchers from Bharathidasan University assessed the efficacy of the ethanolic extract in vitro and in vivo. For the in vitro phase, lenses from the eyes of Wistar rats were incubated alone, with 100 M of selenite, or with 100 M of selenite and 300 g/ml C. maritima extract. Selenite alone induced dense opacification in the lenses; the lenses with added C. maritima extract showed only minimal opacification. Further, activities of antioxidant enzymes were lower in the selenite-only group than in the other two groups, and malondialdehyde concentration was higher in the selenite-only lenses.

In the in vivo study phase, rat pups were given either a single subcutaneous injection of sodium selenite alone (19 M/kg body weight) on postpartum day 10, or a single sodium selenite injection plus an intraperitoneal injection of C. maritima extract (350 mg/kg body weight) for five consecutive days. The animals who received only sodium selenite showed dense opacification, while only 33.3 percent of animals given selenite plus C. maritima extract had cataract formation.