%0 Journal Article
%T Cytological Aspects on the Effects of a Nasal Spray Consisting of Standardized Extract of Citrus Lemon and Essential Oils in Allergic Rhinopathy
%A Lydia Ferrara
%A Daniele Naviglio
%A Arturo Armone Caruso
%J ISRN Pharmaceutics
%D 2012
%R 10.5402/2012/404606
%X In this paper, a new formulation of nasal spray was set up based on the extract of lemon pulp, obtained by using a new solid-liquid technology of extraction, added to pure Aloe juice, soluble propoli, and essential oils of Ravensara and Niaouly. It was tested in a clinical study in which 100 subjects were recruited for a period of one month. Nasal scraping was used for collecting samples and after the application of the May-Gr¨¹nwald Giemsa standard technique, glass slides were analysed by using optical microscope with a 1000x oil immersion. A control group constituted of ten people was recruited as control and this group was administered with physiological solution (saline solution). The comparison of results obtained before and after the application of nasal spray showed a total reduction of eosinophils granulocytes and mast cells; clinical data were confirmed by improvement of clinical pictures of patients. The lemon-based nasal spray was a good alternative to conventional medicine for the treatment of perennial and seasonal allergic and vasomotor rhinopathy. 1. Nasal Cytology Nasal cytology is of remarkable importance in the study of rhinosinus diseases, especially the vasomotor rhinitis (VMR), as it represents valuable means of differential diagnosis between allergic/nonallergic diseases and bacterial/viral infections. It is a popular and proven method, considering that it dates back to 1889, when Gollash [1] identified the numerous eosinophils in the nasal secretion from an asthmatic patient and attributed their presence a key role in the pathogenesis of asthma. The nasal cytodiagnosis was actually encouraged by the study of Eyermann [2] in 1927, who identified the eosinophils in the nasal exudate of allergic patients and underlined its diagnostic importance. Since then, lots of researchers have focused their attention on cytology and particularly on the presence of different types of inflammatory cells in nasal diseases [3, 4]. Different factors have contributed to the increased interest in cytological study of the nasal mucosa, making this procedure more widespread: the sampling is easy to perform and minimally invasive, allowing the examination to be repeated, as often required in the follow-up visits in the case of vasomotor disorders and for monitoring the effectiveness of some treatments. Some studies have proved that the rhinocytogram of patients with allergies varies according to the topical nasal steroid treatment. Meltzer et al. [5] and Small [6] have shown that fluticasone dipropionate and beclomethasone dipropionate are able to
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.pharmaceutics/2012/404606/