IntroductionBackgroundHistorical PerspectiveCurrent TopicsCatalog of Major African Medicinal Plants (Alphabetical listing)Pharmacognostical Profile of Selected Medicinal Plants (Alphabetical listing)Healing and the African CultureIntroductionHealing, a Gift of the SpiritThe Restless SpiritsSpirit PossessionSymbols and Artifacts in African EthnomedicineIncantations and the Magic Power of the WordTaboo and TotemsThe African Medicine ManTraining of Traditional HealersTypes of Traditional HealersTrephination or CraniotomyThe SpecialistMedicinal Plants and Traditional Healing MethodsDiagnosisMalariaArthritis and Inflammatory DisordersSexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDSGastrointestinal DisordersSnakebitesPsychiatric and Psychosomatic DiseasesConvulsions and EpilepsyHelminthic InfestationCoughsAbortionSterility MedicinesDiabetesSkin Diseases and Cutaneous InfectionsArrow and Ordeal PoisonsAdaptogensIndex of Species, Genera, and FamiliesSubject Index

Handbook of African Medicinal Plants

Several hundred plant and herb species that have potential as novel antiviral agents have been studied, with surprisingly little overlap. A wide variety of active phytochemicals, including the flavonoids, terpenoids, lignans, sulphides, polyphenolics, coumarins, saponins, furyl compounds, alkaloids, polyines, thiophenes, proteins and peptides have been identified. Some volatile essential oils of commonly used culinary herbs, spices and herbal teas have also exhibited a high level of antiviral activity. However, given the few classes of compounds investigated, most of the pharmacopoeia of compounds in medicinal plants with antiviral activity is still not known. Several of these phytochemicals have complementary and overlapping mechanisms of action, including antiviral effects by either inhibiting the formation of viral DNA or RNA or inhibiting the activity of viral reproduction. Assay methods to determine antiviral activity include multiple-arm trials, randomized crossover studies, and more compromised designs such as nonrandomized crossovers and pre- and post-treatment analyses. Methods are needed to link antiviral efficacy/potency- and laboratory-based research. Nevertheless, the relative success achieved recently using medicinal plant/herb extracts of various species that are capable of acting therapeutically in various viral infections has raised optimism about the future of phyto-antiviral agents. As this review illustrates, there are innumerable potentially useful medicinal plants and herbs waiting to be evaluated and exploited for therapeutic applications against genetically and functionally diverse viruses families such as Retroviridae, Hepadnaviridae and Herpesviridae

Novel antiviral agents: a medicinal plant perspective

Anticancer and immunostimulatory compounds from Andrographis paniculata.

Andrographis paniculata plant extract is known to possess a variety of pharmacological activities. Andrographolide, the major constituent of the extract is implicated towards its pharmacological activity. We studied the cellular processes and targets modulated by andrographolide treatment in human cancer and immune cells. Andrographolide treatment inhibited the in vitro proliferation of different tumor cell lines, representing various types of cancers. The compound exerts direct anticancer activity on cancer cells by cell-cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase through induction of cell-cycle inhibitory protein p27 and decreased expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4). Immunostimulatory activity of andrographolide is evidenced by increased proliferation of lymphocytes and production of interleukin-2. Andrographolide also enhanced the tumor necrosis factor-alpha production and CD marker expression, resulting in increased cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes against cancer cells, which may contribute for its indirect anticancer activity. The in vivo anticancer activity of the compound is further substantiated against B16F0 melanoma syngenic and HT-29 xenograft models. These results suggest that andrographolide is an interesting pharmacophore with anticancer and immunomodulatory activities and hence has the potential for being developed as a cancer therapeutic agent.

Andrographolide, a potential cancer therapeutic agent isolated from Andrographis paniculata.

Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees (Acanthaceae) is a medicinal plant used in many countries. Its major constituents are diterpenoids, flavonoids and polyphenols. Among the single compounds extracted from A. paniculata, andrographolide is the major one in terms of bioactive properties and abundance. Among the andrographolide analogues, 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide is immunostimulatory, anti-infective and anti-atherosclerotic; neoandrographolide is anti-inflammatory, anti-infective and anti-hepatotoxic; 14-deoxyandrographolide is immunomodulatory and anti-atherosclerotic. Among the less abundant compounds from A. paniculata, andrograpanin is both anti-inflammatory and anti-infective; 14-deoxy-14,15-dehydroandrographolide is anti-inflammatory; isoandrographolide, 3,19-isopropylideneandrographolide and 14-acetylandrographolide are tumor suppressive; arabinogalactan proteins are anti-hepatotoxic. The four flavonoids from A. paniculata, namely 7-O-methylwogonin, apigenin, onysilin and 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid are anti-atherosclerotic.

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Isolation and identification of bioactive compounds in Andrographis paniculata (Chuanxinlian)

A phase I dose-escalating clinical trial of andrographolide from Andrographis paniculata was conducted in 13 HIV positive patients and five HIV uninfected, healthy volunteers. The objectives were primarily to assess safety and tolerability and secondarily to assess effects on plasma virion HIV-1 RNA levels and CD4(+) lymphocyte levels. No subjects used antiretroviral medications during the trial. Those with liver or renal abnormalities were excluded. The planned regimen was 5 mg/kg bodyweight for 3 weeks, escalating to 10 mg/kg bodyweight for 3 weeks, and to 20 mg/kg bodyweight for a final 3 weeks. The trial was interrupted at 6 weeks due to adverse events including an anaphylactic reaction in one patient. All adverse events had resolved by the end of observation. A significant rise in the mean CD4(+) lymphocyte level of HIV subjects occurred after administration of 10 mg/kg andrographolide (from a baseline of 405 cells/mm(3) to 501 cells/mm(3); p = 0.002). There were no statistically significant changes in mean plasma HIV-1 RNA levels throughout the trial. Andrographolide may inhibit HIV-induced cell cycle dysregulation, leading to a rise in CD4(+) lymphocyte levels in HIV-1 infected individuals.

Melissa Dorr

Papers

A phase I trial of andrographolide in HIV positive patients and normal volunteers.