Scientific readings of studies, evidence and their limits concerning plants and foods.
5 results
A critical narrative review published 21 October 2026 by researchers in Malaysia, Australia and Taiwan examined how ginger varieties, cultivation, processing, extracts and bioavailability affect reported antimicrobial results. The review describes plausible laboratory signals but insufficient standardized, human clinical evidence to use ginger as a proven substitute for anti-infective medicines.
An Iranian study published 17 October 2026 compared three Satureja hortensis ecotypes under five fertilization regimes. Organic manure favored biomass in the Shiraz ecotype; high-rate NPK was associated with a higher essential-oil percentage. It was a single-site, single-season agronomic experiment, not a test of medical effectiveness or human safety.
At Chiang Mai University in Thailand, a double-blind clinical trial published 21 October 2026 tested a 0.12% Centella asiatica leaf-extract mouthwash after removal of an impacted lower wisdom tooth. In 36 participants, wound healing, pain and facial swelling were not significantly better than with placebo.
A collaboration involving Egyptian universities and the University of Porto in Portugal studied coriander, celery and parsley extracts against 20 multidrug-resistant uropathogenic E. coli isolates. Coriander showed the strongest laboratory inhibition, but the work used chemically prepared extracts outside the human body and does not show that eating these herbs treats urinary tract infection.
Researchers at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, published an in-vitro study on 22 October 2026 testing two commercial Sela tea products with lisinopril, aliskiren and acarbose. Combining the extracts with the drugs increased inhibition of some target enzymes in the laboratory, but no patients, blood-pressure outcomes or glucose outcomes were studied, so the experiment does not establish a clinical benefit, harm or safe combination.
