AIM OF THIS REVIEW: In this article, we have reviewed the literature on the phytochemicals of several Tinospora species, which have shown strong immunomodulatory effects and critically analyzed the reports to provide perspectives and instructions for future research for the plants as a potential source of new immunomodulators for use as medicinal agents or dietary supplements.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Electronic search on worldwide accepted scientific databases (Google Scholar, Science Direct, SciFinder, Web of Science, PubMed, Wiley Online Library, ACS Publications Today) was performed to compile the relevant information. Some information was obtained from books, database on medicinal plants used in Ayurveda, MSc dissertations and herbal classics books written in various languages.
RESULTS: T. cordifolia, T. crispa, T. sinensis, T. smilacina, T. bakis, and T. sagittata have been reported to possess significant immunomodulatory effects. For a few decades, initiatives in molecular research on the effects of these species on the immune system have been carried out. However, most of the biological and pharmacological studies were carried out using the crude extracts of plants. The bioactive compounds contributing to the bioactivities have not been properly identified, and mechanistic studies to understand the immunomodulatory effects of the plants are limited by many considerations with regard to design, conduct, and interpretation.
CONCLUSION: The plant extracts and their active constituents should be subjected to more detail mechanistic studies, in vivo investigations in various animal models including pharmacokinetic and bioavailability studies, and elaborate toxicity study before submission to clinical trials.
AIMS: To provide an up-to-date, authoritative review with respect to the traditional uses, chemical composition, in vitro and in vivo pharmacological properties, and toxicological estimations accomplished either utilizing the crude extracts or, wherever applicable, the bioactive compounds isolated from B. glabra. Besides, a critical evaluation of the published literature has been undertaken with regards to the current biochemical and toxicological data.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Key databases per se, Ovid, Pubmed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Google scholar amongst others were probed for a systematic search using keywords to retrieve relevant publications on this plant. A total of 52 articles were included for the review depending on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
RESULTS: The studies conducted on either crude extracts, solvent fractions or isolated pure compounds from B. glabra had reported a varied range of biological effects comprising antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, cytotoxic, analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. Phytochemical analysis of different parts of B. glabra unveiled 105 phytochemicals, belonging to phenolic, flavonoid, betacyanin, terpenoid, glycoside and essential oils classes of secondary metabolites.
CONCLUSION: Most of the pharmacological activities of crude extracts from this plant have been reported. A very few studies have reported the isolation of compounds responsible for observed biological potential of this plant. Moreover, the toxicity studies of this plant still need to be explored comprehensively to ensure its safety parameters. Additional investigations are recommended to transmute the ethnopharmacological claims of this plant species in folklore medicines into scientific rationale-based information.
AIM OF THIS REVIEW: The present study is a critical assessment of the state-of-the-art concerning the traditional uses, the phytochemistry and the pharmacology of species belonging to the genus Hedyosmum to suggest further research strategies and to facilitate the exploitation of the therapeutic potential of Hedyosmum species for the treatment of human disorders.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present review consists of a systematic overview of scientific literature concerning the genus Hedyosmum published between 1965 and 2018. Moreover, an older text, dated from 1843, concerning the traditional uses of H. bonplandianum Kunth has also been considered. Several databases (Francis & Taylor, Google Scholar, PubMed, SciELO, SciFinder, Springer, Wiley, and The Plant List Database) have been used to perform this work.
RESULTS: Sixteen species of the genus Hedyosmum have been mentioned as traditional remedies, and a large number of ethnomedicinal uses, including for the treatment of pain, depression, migraine, stomach-ache and ovary diseases, have been reported. Five species have been used as flavouring agents, tea substitutes or foods. Sesterterpenes, sesquiterpene lactones, monoterpenes, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, flavonoids, and neolignans have been reported as the most important compounds in these species. Studies concerning their biological activities have shown that members of the Hedyosmum genus possesses promising biological properties, such as analgesic, antinociceptive, antidepressant, anxiolytic, sedative, and hypnotic effects. Preliminary studies concerning the antibacterial, antioxidant, antiplasmodial, and antifungal activities of these plants as well as their cytotoxic activities against different tumour cell lines have been reported. Some active compounds from the Hedyosmum genus have been used as starting points for the innovative and bioinspired development of synthetic molecules. A critical assessment of these papers has been performed, and some conceptual and methodological problems have been identified regarding the materials and methods and the experimental design used in these studies, including a lack of ethnopharmacological research.
CONCLUSIONS: The present review partially confirms the basis for some of the traditional uses of Hedyosmum species (mainly H. brasiliense) through preclinical studies that demonstrated their antinociceptive and neuroprotective effects. Due to promising preliminary results, further studies should be conducted on 13-hydroxy-8,9-dehydroshizukanolide and podoandin. Moreover, several essential oils (EOs) from this genus have been preliminarily investigated, and the cytotoxic and antibacterial activities of H. brasiliense and H. sprucei EOs certainly deserve further investigation. From the promising findings of the present analysis, we can affirm that this genus deserves further research from ethnopharmacological and toxicological perspectives.
AIMS OF THE STUDY: The aims of this review were to assess the scale of the global trade in F. cirrhosa, and to synthesise studies of the impacts of wild harvest on F. cirrhosa populations and on the extent of emerging cultivation initiatives as an alternative to wild harvest.
METHODS: Firstly, we reviewed published information on studies on impacts of wild F. cirrhosa harvest from across the geographic range of this species. Secondly, global trade data for F. cirrhosa were analysed.
RESULTS: The principal demand for F. cirrhosa bulbs is in China, where hundreds of different companies produce Fritillaria preparations. Trade data also show that in 2013, China exported over 44 tonnes of F. cirrhosa bulbs to Taiwan and 26.7 tonnes to the Republic of Korea. Extensive commercial use and limited wild stocks result in a high price (2000 - 3800 CNY per kg (around US$ 303 -560 per kg in 2017)) for F. cirrhosa bulbs. Prices of cultivated Fritillaria bulbs are much lower (600-680 CNY per kg in 2017) than wild harvested bulbs. But due to very specific growth requirements of F. cirrhosa, cultivation is not yet able to meet total demand. The consequence is continued exploitation of wild stocks. At the same time, however, an increasing proportion of the demand is met by cultivation of alternative Fritillaria species that are easier to grow than F. cirrhosa. The air-dry mass of F. cirrhosa bulbs varies between 0.0917 and 0.1116 g per bulb. This represents 8960 - 10,900 bulbs/kg or 8.9 - 10.9 million bulbs per tonne. Current demand therefore represents billions of bulbs per year.
CONCLUSIONS: Demand for F. cirrhosa bulbs, particularly from China, makes this species one of the most intensively harvested alpine Himalayan medicinal bulbs. Although F. cirrhosa is listed as a Class III protected species in China, billions of these tiny, wild harvested bulbs are sold per year. Due to demand exceeding supply, the price of F. cirrhosa bulbs has increased dramatically. Between 2002 and 2017, for example, the price of wild harvested F. cirrhosa bulbs increased over nine-fold, from the equivalent of US$60 in 2002 to US$560 per kg in 2017. To date, cultivation has been unable to meet the entire market demand for F. cirrhosa bulbs, although other Fritillaria species are successfully cultivated on a larger scale.
AIM OF THE STUDY: Our study focuses on previously unreported anti-depressant activity of E. variegata bark ethanolic extract (EBE) and determination of its mechanism of action possibly through regulation of monoamine oxidase activity in mouse brain homogenates.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: EBE was characterized using standard protocols for phytochemical analysis, followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Anti-depressant activity of EBE (50, 100, 200 and 500 mg/kg) was evaluated in Swiss white albino mice using acute and chronic forced swim test (FST) models. Furthermore, the potential use of the extract as an adjunct to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), escitalopram, was evaluated using the chronic unpredictable mild stress test model wherein inhibitory effects on monoamine oxidase (MAO) A and B were assessed by spectrophotometric-chemical analysis in mouse whole brain homogenates.
RESULTS: The extract showed significant reduction in immobility time periods in both acute (200 mg/kg) and chronic (100, 200 and 500 mg/kg) FST models. When used as an adjunct with escitalopram (15 mg/kg), the extract (100, 200 and 500 mg/kg) showed significantly greater inhibition of MAO-A and B activities when compared to escitalopram alone (30 mg/kg). Phytochemical analysis of EBE revealed presence of sugars, steroids, glycosides, alkaloids and tannins. LC-MS and GC-MS analysis identified components such as 2-amino-3-methyl-1-butanol, phenylethylamine, eriodictyol, daidzein and pomiferin, N-ethyl arachidonoyl amine, inosine diphosphate, trimipramine, granisetron, 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid, ethyl ester, tri-TMS and dodecane, previously reported for their anti-depressant activity.
CONCLUSIONS: The study thus demonstrated potential for use of the E. variegata bark ethanolic extract as an adjunct to currently available SSRI treatment. The study also identified components present in E. variegata bark ethanolic extract that may be responsible for its anti-depressant activity. Furthermore, the study thus confirms the traditional use of E. variegata barks in improving CNS function through its anti-depressant like activity.
AIMS OF STUDY: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the repeated dose toxicity of the standardized aqueous extract administered daily for 30 days through oral administration at its effective hypoglycemia doses.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The seeds were dried, ground and extracted in deionized water. A HPLC-photodiode array method was developed and validated for the standardization of both the hypoglycemia agents, namely bruceine D and E in aqueous extract. Both normoglycemia and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were fed orally with 15, 30 and 60mg/kg body weight of standardized aqueous extract. The blood glucose was measured at 0-8h. In repeated dose toxicity, similar doses were administered orally to rats for 30 days. At the end of 30 days, the blood was withdrawn and subjected to biochemical and haematology analysis while organs were harvested for histology analysis.
RESULTS: Oral administration of standardized aqueous extract exhibited a dose-response relationship in both the normoglycemia and STZ-induced diabetic rats. Daily oral administration of 15, 30 and 60mg/kg standardized aqueous extract for 30 days to rats did not show signs to toxicity in its biochemical, haematology and histology analysis.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, although the seeds were reported to contain compounds with various pharmacological activity, the daily oral administration to rats for 30 days do not showed signs of toxicity at its effective hypoglycemia doses.
METHODS: A crude methanol extract of the aerial parts of Isodon rugosus (Ir.Cr.) was used for both in vitro and in vivo experiments. The plant extract was tested on isolated rabbit jejunum preparations for possible presence of spasmolytic activity. Moreover, isolated rabbit tracheal and aorta preparations were used to ascertain the relaxant effects of the extract. Acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activities of Ir.Cr were also determined as well as its antioxidant activity. The in vivo antiemetic activity of the extract was evaluated by using the chick emesis model, while the analgesic and antipyretic activities were conducted on albino mice.
RESULTS: The application of the crude extract of I. rugosus to isolated rabbit jejunum preparations exhibited relaxant effect (0.01-0.3 mg/ml). The Ir.Cr also relaxed K+(80 m M)-induced spastic contractions in isolated rabbit jejunum preparations and shifted the Ca+2 concentration response curves towards right (0.01-0.3 mg/ml). Similarly, the extract, when applied to the isolated rabbit tracheal preparations relaxed the carbachol (1 μM)--as well as K+ (80 mM)-induced contractions in a concentration range of 0.01-1.0 mg/ml. Moreover, it also relaxed (0.01-3.0 mg/ml) the phenylephrine (1 μM)- and K+ (80 mM)-induced contractions in isolated rabbit aorta preparations. The Ir.Cr (80 mg/kg) demonstrated antipyretic activity on pyrogen-induced pyrexia in rabbits as compared to aspirin as standard drug. The Ir.Cr also exhibited anti-oxidant as well as inhibitory effect on acetyl- and butyryl-cholinesterase and lipoxygenase (0.5 mg/ml).
CONCLUSIONS: The observed relaxant effect on isolated rabbit jejunum, trachea and aorta preparations caused by Ir.Cr is possibly to be mediated through Ca+2 channel blockade and therefore may provided scientific basis to validate the folkloric uses of the plant in the management of gastrointestinal, respiratory and cardiovascular ailments. The observed antioxidant activity as well as the lipoxygenase inhibitory activity may validate its traditional use in pain and inflammations.
AIM OF THE REVIEW: The present review aims to collate and analyze the available data and information on distribution, traditional uses, chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Blepharis.
METHODS: Scientific information of genus Blepharis was retrieved from the online bibliographic databases such as MEDLINE/PubMed, SciFinder, Web of Science and Google Scholar and secondary resources including books and proceedings.
RESULTS: Seven species of Blepharis were found to be reported frequently as useful in folklore in African and Asian countries. B. maderaspatensis was found to be widely used in Indian traditional medicines whereas the B. ciliaris and B. edulis were common in folklore of Egypt, Jordan, and Arabia. Active phytochemicals of Blepharis are flavonoids from B. ciliaris, alkaloids from B. sindica, phenolic acid derivatives, and phytosterols, and derivatives of hydroxamic acids from B. edulis resulted in possessing diverse biological properties such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer.
CONCLUSIONS: Various species of Blepharis were found to be used in traditional medicine systems in African and Asian countries. Few of these species were studied for their bioactive chemical constituents however the activity guided isolation studies are not performed. Similarly, detailed pharmacological studies in animal models to explore their mechanism of action are also not reported. Future studies should focus on these aspects related to the medicinally used species of Blepharis. The detailed and comprehensive comparative analysis presented here gives valuable information of the currently used Blepharis species and pave the way to investigate other useful species of Blepharis pertaining to ethnobotany, phytochemistry and discovery of new drugs.
AIMS OF THE REVIEW: To critically anayze the literature for the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicity, and clinical trials of P. sarmentosum in order to provide a scientific consensus for further research and discovery of potential candidate drugs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The contents of this review were sourced from electronic databases including PubMed, SciFinder, Web of Science, Science Direct, Elsevier, Google Scholar, Chinese Knowledge On frastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, Chinese Scientific and Technological Periodical Database (VIP), Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), Cochrane Controlled register of Clinical Trials, Clinical Trials. gov, and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Chinese medicine books published over the years were used to elucidate the traditional uses of P. sarmentosum and additional information was also collected from Yao Zhi website (https://db.yaozh.com/).
RESULTS: Phytochemical analyses of the chemical constituents of P. sarmentosum include essential oil, alkaloids, flavonoids, lignans, and steroids. The literature supports the ethnomedicinal uses of P. sarmentosum for the treatment of cold, gastritis, and rheumatoid joint pain, and further confirms its relatively new pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antineoplastic, and antipyretic activities. Other biological roles such as anti-osteoporosis, antibacterial, antidepressant, anti-atherosclerotic, and hypoglycemic activities have also been reported. However, the methodologies employed in individual studies are limited.
CONCLUSIONS: There is convincing evidence from both in vitro and in vivo studies supporting the traditional use of P. sarmentosum and it is imperative that natural bioactive compounds are examined further. More efforts should be focused on the pharmacodynamic constituents of P. sarmentosum to provide practical basis for quality control, and additional studies are needed to understand the mechanism of their action. Further studies on the comprehensive evaluation of medicinal quality and understandings of serum chemistry, multi-target network pharmacology, and molecular docking technology of P. sarmentosum are of great importance and should be considered.