Biomaterials created 50 years ago are still receiving considerable attention for their potential to support development in the biomedical field. Diverse naturally obtained polysaccharides supply a broad range of resources applicable in the biomedical field. Lately, chitosan, a marine polysaccharide derived from chitins-which are extracted from the shells of arthropods such as crab, shrimp, and lobster-is becoming the most wanted biopolymer for use toward therapeutic interventions. This is a general short review of chitosan, highlighting the history, properties, chemical structure, processing method, and factors influencing the usage of chitosan derivatives in the biomedical field.
Alpinia calcarata Roscoe (Family: Zingiberaceae), is a rhizomatous perennial herb, which is commonly used in the traditional medicinal systems in Sri Lanka. Alpinia calcarata is cultivated in tropical countries, including Sri Lanka, India, and Malaysia. Experimentally, rhizomes of Alpinia calcarata are shown to possess antibacterial, antifungal, anthelmintic, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, aphrodisiac, gastroprotective, and antidiabetic activities. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of polyphenols, tannins, flavonoids, steroid glycosides and alkaloids in the extract and essential oil of this plant. Essential oil and extracts from this plant have been found to possess wide range of pharmacological and biological activities. This article provides a comprehensive review of its ethnomedical uses, chemical constituents and the pharmacological profile as a medicinal plant. Particular attention has been given to the pharmacological effects of the essential oil of Alpinia calcarata in this review so that the potential use of this plant either in pharmaceutics or as an agricultural resource can be evaluated.
Ayurveda is one of the traditional medicinal systems of Indian. The philosophy behind Ayurveda is preventing unnecessary suffering and living a long healthy life. Ayurveda involves the use of natural elements to eliminate the root cause of the disease by restoring balance, at the same time create a healthy life-style to prevent the recurrence of imbalance. Herbal medicines have existed world-wide with long recorded history and they were used in ancient Chinese, Greek, Egyptian and Indian medicine for various therapies purposes. World Health Organization estimated that 80% of the word's inhabitants still rely mainly on traditional medicines for their health care. The subcontinent of India is well-known to be one of the major biodiversity centers with about 45,000 plant species. In India, about 15,000 medicinal plants have been recorded, in which the communities used 7,000-7,500 plants for curing different diseases. In Ayurveda, single or multiple herbs (polyherbal) are used for the treatment. The Ayurvedic literature Sarangdhar Samhita' highlighted the concept of polyherbalism to achieve greater therapeutic efficacy. The active phytochemical constituents of individual plants are insufficient to achieve the desirable therapeutic effects. When combining the multiple herbs in a particular ratio, it will give a better therapeutic effect and reduce the toxicity. This review mainly focuses on important of the polyherbalism and its clinical significance.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, wherein a progressive loss of cholinergic synapses occurs in hippocampus and neocortex. Decreased concentration of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine (ACh), appears to be critical element in the development of dementia, and the most appropriate therapeutic approach to treat AD and other form of dementia is to restore acetylcholine levels by inhibiting both major form of cholinesterase: Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). Consequently, researches have focused their attention towards finding cholinesterase inhibitors from natural products. A large number of such inhibitors have been isolated from medicinal plants. This review presents a comprehensive account of the advances in field of cholinesterase inhibitor phytoconstituents. The structures of some important phytoconstituents (collected through www.Chemspider.com) are also presented and the scope for future research is discussed.
Phaleria macrocarpa, commonly known as Mahkota dewa is a medicinal plant that is indigenous to Indonesia and Malaysia. Extracts of P. macrocarpa have been used since years in traditional medicine that are evaluated scientifically as well. The extracts are reported for a number of valuable medicinal properties such as anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant and vasorelaxant effect. The constituents isolated from different parts of P. macrocarpa include Phalerin, gallic acid, Icaricide C, magniferin, mahkoside A, dodecanoic acid, palmitic acid, des-acetylflavicordin-A, flavicordin-A, flavicordin-D, flavicordin-A glucoside, ethyl stearate, lignans, alkaloids andsaponins. The present review is an up-to-date summary of occurrence, botanical description, ethnopharmacology, bioactivity and toxicological studies related to P. macrocarpa.
World human population is increasing with an alarming rate; and a variety of new types of health issues are popping up. For instance, increase in number of drug-resistant bacteria is a cause of concern. Research on antibiotics and other microbial natural products is pivotal in the global fight against the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. It is necessary to find new antibiotics to tackle this problem. The use of therapeutic plant species in traditional medicine is as old as mankind; and currently, it is strongly believed that all types of plant species across the plant kingdom do harbour endophytic bacteria (EB). The natural therapeutic compounds produced by EB do have several potential applications in pharmaceutical industry. The EB derived natural products such as Ecomycins, Pseudomycins, Munumbicins and Xiamycins are antibacterial, antimycotic and antiplasmodial. Some of these natural products have been reported to possess even antiviral (including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)) properties. Therefore, to deal with increasing number of drug-resistant pathogens EB could serve as a potential source of novel antibiotics.
The genus Subergorgia (coelenterata, Gorgonacea, Subergorgiidae) is distributed in the Indo-pacific region. Previous investigations on the various species of the genus have revealed the presence of a number of new compounds including alkaloids, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, and steroids. Certain biological activities particularly cytotoxic activity have been observed for the isolated constituents and compositions derived from the coral. This review covers the secondary metabolites reported from the genus Subergorgia and their biological properties.
Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules such as free radicals. Flavonoids are phenolic substances widely found in fruits and vegetables. The previous studies showed that the ingestion of flavonoids reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and certain types of cancer. These effects are due to the physiological activity of flavonoids in the reduction of oxidative stress, inhibiting low-density lipoproteins oxidation and platelet aggregation, and acting as vasodilators in blood vessels. Free radicals are constantly generated resulting in extensive damage to tissues leading to various disease conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer's, renal diseases, cardiac abnormalities, etc., Medicinal plants with antioxidant properties play a vital functions in exhibiting beneficial effects and employed as an alternative source of medicine to mitigate the disease associated with oxidative stress. Flavonoids have existed over one billion years and possess wide spectrum of biological activities that might be able to influence processes which are dysregulated in a disease. Quercetin, a plant pigment is a potent antioxidant flavonoid and more specifically a flavonol, found mostly in onions, grapes, berries, cherries, broccoli, and citrus fruits. It is a versatile antioxidant known to possess protective abilities against tissue injury induced by various drug toxicities.
Since time immemorial homo sapiens are subjected to both health and diseases states and seek treatment for succor and assuagement in compromised health states. Since last two decades the progressive rise in the alternative form of treatment cannot be ignored and population seems to be dissatisfied with the conventional treatment modalities and therefore, resort to other forms of treatment, mainly complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The use of CAM is predominantly more popular in older adults and therefore, numerous research studies and clinical trials have been carried out to investigate the effectiveness of CAM in the management of both communicable and non-communicable disease. In this current mini review, we attempt to encompass the use of CAM in chronic non-communicable diseases that are most likely seen in geriatrics. The current review focuses not only on the reassurance of good health practices, emphasizing on the holistic development and strengthening the body's defense mechanisms, but also attempts to construct a pattern of self-care and patient empowerment in geriatrics. The issues of safety with CAM use cannot be sidelined and consultation with a health care professional is always advocated to the patient. Likewise, responsibility of the health care professional is to inform the patient about the safety and efficacy issues. In order to substantiate the efficacy and safety of CAMs, evidence-based studies and practices with consolidated standards should be planned and executed.
A study has been conducted with the aim to provide researchers with general information on anti diabetic extracts based on relevant research articles collected from 34 reliable medical journals. The study showed that Asian and African continents have 56% and 17% share of the worldwide distribution of therapeutic herbal plants, respectively. In Asia, India and China are the leading countries in herbal plants research, and there has been an increase in medicinal research on plants extract for diabetes treatment since 1995 in these regions. The information collected shows that plant leaves are about 20% more favorable for storing active ingredients, as compared to other parts of herbal plants. A brief review on the extraction techniques for the mentioned parts is also included. Furthermore, the acting mechanisms for the anti diabetic activity were described, and the related active ingredients were identified. The findings reveal that most of the anti diabetic research is focused on the alteration of glucose metabolism to prevent diabetes.