The abundant use of anti-infective agents resulted in the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, fungi, and viruses. To overcome the increasing resistance of pathogenic microbes, a variety of medicinal plants have been screened worldwide for their antimicrobial properties. The aim is to find new, effective antimicrobial agents with novel modes of actions. Essential oils derived from aromatic medicinal plants have been reported to exhibit exceptionally good antimicrobial effects against bacteria, yeasts, filamentous fungi, and viruses. The progress of this expanding scientific field will be documented by the most important results published in the last decade.

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Essential Oils of Aromatic Plants with Antibacterial, Antifungal, Antiviral, and Cytotoxic Properties – an Overview

Ficus spp. (fig): ethnobotany and potential as anticancer and anti-inflammatory agents.

Chemoprevention has become an effective cancer control modality; however, the search for novel agent(s) for the armamentarium of cancer chemoprevention continues We argue that agents capable for inhibition of promotion stage of tumorigenesis with the ability to intervene at several critical pathways in the tumorigenesis process will have greater advantage over other single-target agents Lupeol, a triterpene, is the principal constituent of common fruit plants such as olive, mango, fig and medicinal herbs that have been used to treat skin aliments Lupeol has been reported to possess a wide range of medicinal properties that include strong antioxidant, antimutagenic, anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic effects In the present study, we show that Lupeol possesses antitumor-promoting effects in a mouse skin tumorigenesis model We first determined the effect of topical application of Lupeol to CD-1 mouse against 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced conventional markers and other novel markers of skin tumor promotion We found that topical application of Lupeol (1–2 mg/mouse) 30 min prior to TPA (32 nmol/mouse) application onto the skin of CD-1 mice afforded significant inhibition, in a time- and dose-dependent manner, against TPA-mediated increase in (i) skin edema and hyperplasia, (ii) epidermal ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity, and (iii) protein expression of ODC, cyclo-oxygenase-2 and nitric oxide synthase As of the role of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling in tumor promotion, we next determined the effect of topical application of Lupeol to mouse skin against these signaling pathways We found that Lupeol treatment to mouse skin resulted in the inhibition of TPA-induced (i) activation of PI3K, (ii) phosphorylation of Akt at Thr308, (iii) activation of NF-κB and IKKα, and (iv) degradation and phosphorylation of IκBα The animals pretreated with Lupeol showed significantly reduced tumor incidence, lower tumor body burden and a significant delay in the latency period for tumor appearance At the termination of the experiment at 28 weeks, 100% of the animals in TPA-treated group exhibited seven to eight tumors/mouse, whereas only 53% of the mice receiving Lupeol prior to TPA treatment exhibited one to three tumors/mouse These results for the first time provide evidence that Lupeol possesses antiskin tumor-promoting effects in CD-1 mouse and inhibits conventional as well as novel biomarkers of tumor promotion We suggest that Lupeol is an attractive antitumor-promoting agent that must be evaluated in tumor models other than skin carcinogenesis

Lupeol modulates NF-κB and PI3K/Akt pathways and inhibits skin cancer in CD-1 mice

The genus Commiphora: a review of its traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology

This paper describes the botanical features of Ficus carica L. (Moraceae), its wide variety of chemical constituents, its use in traditional medicine as remedies for many health problems, and its biological activities. The plant has been used traditionally to treat various ailments such as gastric problems, inflammation, and cancer. Phytochemical studies on the leaves and fruits of the plant have shown that they are rich in phenolics, organic acids, and volatile compounds. However, there is little information on the phytochemicals present in the stem and root. Reports on the biological activities of the plant are mainly on its crude extracts which have been proven to possess many biological activities. Some of the most interesting therapeutic effects include anticancer, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and antimicrobial activities. Thus, studies related to identification of the bioactive compounds and correlating them to their biological activities are very useful for further research to explore the potential of F. carica as a source of therapeutic agents.

/pdf/ficus-carica-l-moraceae-phytochemistry-traditional-uses-and-12ocuseat1.pdf

Ficus carica L. (Moraceae): Phytochemistry, Traditional Uses and Biological Activities

Antibacterial activities of some constituents from oleo-gum-resin of Commiphora mukul.

Irritant potential of triterpenoids from Ficus carica leaves.

Antibacterial activity of Caesalpinia bonducella seeds.

https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/biology/issues/biy-99-23-2/biy-23-2-7-96065.pdf

M Asif Saeed

Papers

Antibacterial activities of some constituents from oleo-gum-resin of Commiphora mukul.

Irritant potential of triterpenoids from Ficus carica leaves.

Antibacterial activity of Caesalpinia bonducella seeds.

Effects of Fagonia cretica L. constituents on various haematological parameters in rabbits.

Irritant potential of some constituents from the seeds of Caesalpinia bonducella (L.) fleming.