The use of herbal medicinal products and supplements has increased tremendously over the past three decades with not less than 80% of people worldwide relying on them for some part of primary health care. Although therapies involving these agents have shown promising potential with the efficacy of a good number of herbal products clearly established, many of them remain untested and their use are either poorly monitored or not even monitored at all. The consequence of this is an inadequate knowledge of their mode of action, potential adverse reactions, contraindications and interactions with existing orthodox pharmaceuticals and functional foods to promote both safe and rational use of these agents. Since safety continues to be a major issue with the use of herbal remedies, it becomes imperative, therefore, that relevant regulatory authorities put in place appropriate measures to protect public health by ensuring that all herbal medicines are safe and of suitable quality. This review discusses toxicity related-issues and major safety concerns arising from the use of herbal medicinal products and also highlights some important challenges associated with effective monitoring of their safety.

/pdf/the-growing-use-of-herbal-medicines-issues-relating-to-1ckeueyb3l.pdf

The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety

https://chemistry.mdma.ch/hiveboard/rhodium/pdf/archive/merbst/quinoline1999.pdf

Quinoline, quinazoline and acridone alkaloids

F. Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is planted in the forest to enhance the natural ginseng resources, which have an immense medicinal and economic value. The morphology of the cultivated plants becomes similar to that of wild growing ginseng (W. Ginseng) over the years. So far, there have been no studies highlighting the physiological or functional changes in F. Ginseng and its wild counterparts. In the present study, we used proteomic technologies (2DE and iTRAQ) coupled to mass spectrometry to compare W. Ginseng and F. Ginseng at various growth stages. Hierarchical cluster analysis based on protein abundance revealed that the protein expression profile of 25-year-old F. Ginseng was more like W. Ginseng than less 20-year-old F. Ginseng. We identified 192 differentially expressed protein spots in F. Ginseng. These protein spots increased with increase in growth years of F. Ginseng and were associated with proteins involved in energy metabolism, ginsenosides biosynthesis, and stress response. The mRNA, physiological, and metabolic analysis showed that the external morphology, protein expression profile, and ginsenoside synthesis ability of the F. Ginseng increased just like that of W. Ginseng with the increase in age. Our study represents the first characterization of the proteome of F. Ginseng during development and provides new insights into the metabolism and accumulation of ginsenosides.

/pdf/proteomic-analyses-provide-novel-insights-into-plant-growth-209q1fqbwa.pdf

Proteomic Analyses Provide Novel Insights into Plant Growth and Ginsenoside Biosynthesis in Forest Cultivated Panax ginseng (F.Ginseng)

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673699064570.pdf

Herb-drug interactions

Epidemiological studies have revealed that a diet rich in plant-derived foods has a protective effect on human health. Identifying bioactive dietary constituents is an active area of scientific investigation that may lead to new drug discovery. Kaempferol (3,5,7-trihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one) is a flavonoid found in many edible plants (e.g. tea, broccoli, cabbage, kale, beans, endive, leek, tomato, strawberries and grapes) and in plants or botanical products commonly used in traditional medicine (e.g. Ginkgo biloba, Tilia spp, Equisetum spp, Moringa oleifera, Sophora japonica and propolis). Some epidemiological studies have found a positive association between the consumption of foods containing kaempferol and a reduced risk of developing several disorders such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Numerous preclinical studies have shown that kaempferol and some glycosides of kaempferol have a wide range of pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, antidiabetic, anti-osteoporotic, estrogenic/antiestrogenic, anxiolytic, analgesic and antiallergic activities. In this article, the distribution of kaempferol in the plant kingdom and its pharmacological properties are reviewed. The pharmacokinetics (e.g. oral bioavailability, metabolism, plasma levels) and safety of kaempferol are also analyzed. This information may help understand the health benefits of kaempferol-containing plants and may contribute to develop this flavonoid as a possible agent for the prevention and treatment of some diseases.

A review on the dietary flavonoid kaempferol.

Twenty-eight species of epiphyllous liverworts were identified from twenty-five sites in Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Twenty-four of these species are new records to Hong Kong, while four of them are new epiphyllous records to the Chinese mainland. The majority of the sites are located between 30-200 m above sea level, representing the lowest altitude of epiphyllous liverworts found in the Chinese mainland. Characteristics of the host plants bearing epiphyllous liverworts are briefly discussed. The following new combination is proposed: Cololejeunea pseudolatilobula (Chen & Wu) But & Gao comb. nov. ( Pedinolejeunea pseudolatilobula Chen & Wu).

/pdf/epiphyllous-hepaticae-of-kowloon-peninsula-hong-kong-534o313kp6.pdf

Epiphyllous Hepaticae of Kowloon Peninsula (Hong Kong)

The treatment of Rutaceae in the Chinese flora chose to follow Engler in recognizing Rutoideae and Toddalioideae as two separate subfamilies. Morphological and chemical comparisons, however, suggested grouping those two subfamilies in one subfamily, Rutoideae. This move has received support from molecular phylogenetic analyses, which also showed that the Chinese taxa in Euodia should be placed in Tetradium and Melicope following Hartley. Investigations into the chemistry and molecular phylogeny of Murraya also indicated that the species in the section Bergera without yuehchukene should be removed from Murraya. These findings clearly show the value of molecular cladistics to the taxonomy of Rutaceae in China and also directions for further investigations.

Contribution of molecular cladistics to the taxonomy of Rutaceae in China

A New Anti-HIV Triterpene from Geum japonicum.

The invention provides methods for treating medical conditions caused by abnormal chloride ion flux with compositions containing active ingredients isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Bao-Ji-Wan (BJW). The compositions comprise any one, two, or three of the following: magnolol, honokiol, imperatorin, isoimperatorin or only magnolol, honokiol, imperatorin, isoimperatorin and a physiologically acceptable carrier. In preferred embodiments, the medical conditions include disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, such as diarrhea and constipation.

Active compounds of Bao-Ji-Wan for anti-diarrhea and relieving gastrointestinal symptoms

A pair of new alkaloid stereo-isomers, stemocochinin (1) and isostemocochinin (2), was obtained from the roots of Stemona japonica Miq., along with seven known alkaloids, stemonamine (3), isostemonamine (4), maistemonine (5), isomaistemonine (6), croomine (7), stemonine (8), and protostemonine (9). The complete structure and stereochemistry of the pair of isomers were established by extensive analysis of the spectral data. Furthermore, our results indicated that S. japonica is chemically closer to S. sessilifolia than S. tuberosa, which are consistent with our previous DNA study on Stemona species.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1934578X1501001221

Paul Pui-Hay But

Papers

Epiphyllous Hepaticae of Kowloon Peninsula (Hong Kong)

Contribution of molecular cladistics to the taxonomy of Rutaceae in China

A New Anti-HIV Triterpene from Geum japonicum.

Active compounds of Bao-Ji-Wan for anti-diarrhea and relieving gastrointestinal symptoms

Structures and Chemotaxonomic Significance of Stemona Alkaloids from Stemona japonica.