Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng. is a perennial herb belonging to the family Lamiaceae which occurs naturally throughout the tropics and warm regions of Africa, Asia and Australia. This herb has therapeutic and nutritional properties attributed to its natural phytochemical compounds which are highly valued in the pharmaceutical industry. Besides, it has horticultural properties due to its aromatic nature and essential oil producing capability. It is widely used in folk medicine to treat conditions like cold, asthma, constipation, headache, cough, fever and skin diseases. The leaves of the plant are often eaten raw or used as flavoring agents, or incorporated as ingredients in the preparation of traditional food. The literature survey revealed the occurrence 76 volatiles and 30 non-volatile compounds belonging to different classes of phytochemicals such as monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, triterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, phenolics, flavonoids, esters, alcohols and aldehydes. Studies have cited numerous pharmacological properties including antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antitumor, wound healing, anti-epileptic, larvicidal, antioxidant and analgesic activities. Also, it has been found to be effective against respiratory, cardiovascular, oral, skin, digestive and urinary diseases. Yet, scientific validation of many other traditional uses would be appreciated, mainly to discover and authenticate novel bioactive compounds from this herb. This review article provides comprehensive information on the botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and nutritional importance of P. amboinicus essential oil and its various solvent extracts. This article allows researchers to further explore the further potential of this multi-utility herb for various biomedical applications.

Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng: Botanical, Phytochemical, Pharmacological and Nutritional Significance

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential anticancer properties and modulatory effect of selected Aloe vera (A. vera) active principles on antioxidant enzyme activities. Thus, three anthraquinones (Namely: aloesin, aloeemodin and barbaloin) were extracted from A. vera leaves by supercritical fluid extraction and subsequently purified by high performance liquid chromatography. Additionally, the N-terminal octapeptide derived from verectin, a biologically active 14 kDa glycoprotein present in A. vera, was also tested. In vivo, active principles exhibited significant prolongation of the life span of tumor-transplanted animals in the following order: barbaloin > octapeptide > aloesin > aloe-emodin. A. vera active principles exhibited significant inhibition on Ehrlich ascite carcinoma cell (EACC) number, when compared to positive control group, in the following order: barbaloin > aloe-emodin > octapeptide > aloesin. Moreover, in trypan blue cell viability assay, active principles showed a significant concentration-dependent cytotoxicity against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphocytes leukemia (ALL) cancerous cells. Furthermore, in MTT cell viability test, aloeemodin was found to be active against two human colon cancer cell lines (i.e. DLD-1 and HT2), with IC50 values of 8.94 and 10.78 μM, respectively. Treatments of human AML leukemic cells with active principles (100 μg ml-1) resulted in varying intensities of internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, hallmark of cells undergoing apoptosis, in the following order: aloe-emodin > aloesin > barbaloin > octapeptide. Intererstingly, treatment of EACC tumors with active principles resulted in a significant elevation activity of key antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GST, tGPx, and LDH). Our data suggest that the tested A. vera compounds may exert their chemo-preventive effect through modulating antioxidant and detoxification enzyme activity levels, as they are one of the indicators of tumorigenesis. These findings are discussed in the light of the potential of A. vera plant extracts for developing efficient, specific and non-toxic anticancer drugs that are affordable for developing countries.

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Antitumor Properties and Modulation of Antioxidant Enzymes Activity by Aloe vera Leaf Active Principles Isolated via Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction

Polysaccharides from Lycium barbarum leaves: isolation, characterization and splenocyte proliferation activity.

Coleus aromaticus Benth (Lamiaceae) is known as a must-have plant in medicinal herb garden. The plant is well known for its antimicrobial and pharmacological activities. It is also reported to possess antioxidant and food additive properties. Antioxidant activity is reported to be mainly due to rosmarinic acid, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid. The essential oil of Coleus aromaticus has great anti-microbial activity on Gram negative as well as Gram positive bacteria, drug resistant microorganisms, phytopathogenic microorganisms and fungi. Promising fungi-toxic activity against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus ochraceus CFR 221, Aspergillus oryzae, Candida versatilis, Fusarium sp. GF-1019, Penicillium species and Sacharomyces cerevisiae are reported in literature. Carvacrol and /or thymol and β-caryophyllene are the major active constituents of essential oil of the plant. The compositions of oil vary considerably depending upon the locality, season of collection and maturation of plant. Coleus aromaticus is useful in natural antibiotic formulation as an active gradient. The plant is also used as a food supplement and a flavoring for drinks. Coleus aromaticus leaves are reported to possess remarkable diuretic property. The result shows therapeutic potential of Coleus aromaticus which can be used as potential source of bioactive compounds.

Coleus Aromaticus Benth – A Nutritive Medicinal Plant Of Potential Therapeutic Value

Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng. is a native Labiatae plant of Taiwan. The plants are commonly used in Chinese folk medicine for the treatment of cough, fever, sore throats, mumps, and mosquito bite. The aim of this study was to investigate the analgesic and antiinflammatory properties of the aqueous extract from Plectranthus amboinicus (PA) in vivo and in vitro. PA inhibited pain induced by acetic acid and formalin, and inflammation induced by carrageenan. The anti-inflammatory effect of PA was related to modulating antioxidant enzymes' activities in the liver and decreasing the Malondialdehyde (MDA) level and the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and cyclooxygenase2 (COX-2) in edema-paw tissue in mice. In vitro studies show that PA inhibited the proinflammatory mediators in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). PA blocked the degradation of IκB-α and nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 subunit. Finally, the amount of carvacrol in the aqueous extract of PA was 1.88 mg/g extract. Our findings suggest that PA has analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. These effects were mediated by inhibiting the proinflammatory mediators through blocking NF-κB activation. Meanwhile, the effects observed in this study provide evidence for folkloric uses of Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng. in relieving pain and inflammation.

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Analgesic and Antiinflammatory Activities of the Aqueous Extract from Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng. Both In Vitro and In Vivo

In vivo study of the anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities of leaves from Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng (Lamiaceae).

Naphthoquinones have been studied extensively due to their activity as topoisomerase inhibitors. These enzymes are critical to DNA replication in cells. beta-Lapachone (beta-lap) is an o-naphthoquinone chemically obtained from lapachol. This work results in a toxicological evaluation of beta-lap in Wistar rats observing the following parameters: teratology, histology, hematology and serum biochemistry. The data demonstrate teratogenic action at the doses used, as well as hematological alterations in the total leukocytes, monocytes and segmented. The biochemical data demonstrated an increase in gamma glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase and glutamate pyruvate transaminase levels. Histological study showed significant alterations in the spleen, however, the liver and kidney did not present significant alterations.

Toxicological assessment of beta-lapachone on organs from pregnant and non-pregnant rats

O uso popular, e mesmo o tradicional, nao sao suficientes para validar as plantas medicinais como medicamentos eficazes e seguros Para melhor entendimento, e necessario avaliar a relacao risco/beneficio de seu uso, por meio de estudos toxicologicos O objetivo desta pesquisa foi estimar a toxicidade aguda do extrato etanolico das cascas secas de Pithecellobium cochliocarpum (Gomez) Macbr atraves da obtencao da dose letal (DL50) em roedores, e da Concentracao letal (CL50) frente a Artemia salina Leach Foram realizados experimentos por via oral e intraperitoneal utilizando camundongos femeas albinos Swiss (Mus musculus) (n=6) Por via oral foram administradas 3 doses (1000, 3000 e 5000 mg Kg-1) e por via entraperitoneal, 5 doses (155, 160, 176, 345,6 e 414,72 Kg-1) Os sinais comportamentais foram avaliados durante uma hora apos a administracao do extrato, ficando em observacao ate 48 horas O numero de obitos foi quantificado para posterior calculo da DL50 A administracao por via intraperitoneal foi realizada em intervalo de 5 minutos para cada animal Nos ensaios de toxicidade por via oral a solucao foi introduzida por via intragastrica atraves de cânula metalica acoplada a seringa (gavagem) no mesmo intervalo de tempo utilizado pela via intraperitoneal Os animais do grupo de administracao oral apresentaram algumas reacoes, porem nao letais ate a dose de 5000 mg Kg-1 A DL50 para a via intraperitoneal foi 257, 49 mg Kg-1 (muito toxico, grau 4) (Schuartsman, 1980) A CL50 (543,5 µg Kg-1) demonstrou ser toxica frente a A salina Conclui-se que sob condicoes agudas de exposicao, o extrato do Pithecellobium cochliocarpum e um agente toxico, devendo ser considerado como tal, dependendo da dose administrada ou absorvida, do etempo e frequencia de exposicao e das vias de administracao

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Aldo Cezar Passilongo da Silva

Papers

In vivo study of the anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities of leaves from Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng (Lamiaceae).

Toxicological assessment of beta-lapachone on organs from pregnant and non-pregnant rats

Avaliação da toxicidade aguda do extrato das cascas de Pithecellobium cochliocarpum (Gomez) Macbr.