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Showing papers on "Medicinal plants published in 2018"


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09 Jan 2018
TL;DR: Indian medicinal plants/, Indian medicinal plants /, مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اصاع رسانی, کδاوρزی
Abstract: Indian medicinal plants / , Indian medicinal plants / , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی

8,252 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review attempts to demonstrate an overview of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds as the interesting alternative sources for pharmaceutical and medicinal applications.
Abstract: Phenolic compounds as well as flavonoids are well-known as antioxidant and many other important bioactive agents that have long been interested due to their benefits for human health, curing and preventing many diseases. This review attempts to demonstrate an overview of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds as the interesting alternative sources for pharmaceutical and medicinal applications. The examples of these phytochemicals from several medicinal plants are also illustrated, and their potential applications in pharmaceutical and medical aspects, especially for health promoting e.g., antioxidant effects, antibacterial effect, anti-cancer effect, cardioprotective effects, immune system promoting and anti-inflammatory effects, skin protective effect from UV radiation and so forth are highlighted.

947 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review addresses the scientific significance of various herbal formulations of different medicinal plants and their extracts, which have shown promise or been proven effective for the treatment of diseases caused by various viral pathogens, including emerging and re-emerging viruses that infect humans, animals, poultry and fish.
Abstract: Background Recently, there has been a remarkable progress in the field of antiviral herbal therapy owing to increasing concerns about the development of drug resistance and limited advances in the field of antiviral drug discovery. In almost all countries, medicinal plants have been used widely throughout history for the treatment of diseases and infections as traditional healing remedies due to their broad therapeutic spectrum and minimal or no side effects. As synthetic antiviral drugs are not available against most of the viral agents, hence all possible efforts have been focused on the search for new drugs and complementary/alternative medicines from different herbal formulations. Methods We have retrieved the related information from the online published resources (Medline, PubMed, Pub- Med Central, Science Direct and other scientific databases); which were further analyzed and compiled. Results Medicinal plants contain extractable biochemical and bioactive compounds, which can target certain viruses or can cure or prevent several viral diseases and infections. Despite their long history of use, the research and scientific evidences regarding the use of medicinal plants and natural products as prophylactics, therapeutics, and their health multiple beneficial applications have only gained momentum in past few decades. Many scientific studies have been undertaken, which range from the separation of active substances to the comprehension of the therapeutic mechanisms of antiviral herbs, their potent applications in the neutralization of viral pathogens and clinical trials. Consequently, hundreds of herbs and plant metabolites have been screened, identified, and tested for their antiviral activities; fortunately, some have shown significant medicinal activity in the amelioration or prevention of various viral diseases in both preclinical and clinical studies. Conclusion This review addresses the scientific significance of various herbal formulations of different medicinal plants and their extracts, which have shown promise or been proven effective for the treatment of diseases caused by various viral pathogens, including emerging and re-emerging viruses that infect humans, animals, poultry and fish.

159 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The antimicrobial activity of crude ethanolic extracts of 10 medicinal plants used in traditional Chinese medicine was tested against five species of microorganisms: Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans.
Abstract: The antimicrobial activity of crude ethanolic extracts of 10 medicinal plants used in traditional Chinese medicine was tested against five species of microorganisms: Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. Of the 10 plants tested, 5 showed antimicrobial activity against one or more species of microorganisms. The most active antimicrobial plants were Chelidonium majus, Sanguisorba officinalis, and Tussilago farfara.

156 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Anti-inflammatory activities of various medicinal plants from different geographical regions of Africa are documents with the aim of presenting the diversity of medicinal plants that are of traditional or therapeutic use in Africa.
Abstract: Various nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been shown to reduce pain and inflammation by blocking the metabolism of arachidonic acid by isoform of cyclooxygenase enzyme, thereby reducing the production of prostaglandin. Sadly, there are many side effects associated with the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. However, there are medicinal plants with anti-inflammatory therapeutic effects with low or no side effects. The Afri-can continent is richly endowed with diverse medicinal plants with anti-inflammatory activities that have been shown to be effective in the treatment of inflammatory conditions in traditional medicine. Interestingly, scientists have examined some of these African medicinal plants and documented their biological and therapeutic activities. Unfortunately, medicinal plants from different countries in Africa with anti-inflammatory properties have not been documented in a single review paper. It is important to document the ethnobotanical knowledge and applications of anti-inflammatory medicinal plants from selected countries representing different regions of the African continent. This paper therefore documents anti-inflammatory activities of various medicinal plants from different geographical regions of Africa with the aim of presenting the diversity of medicinal plants that are of traditional or therapeutic use in Africa.

106 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The recent advances in botany, phytochemical composition, ethnobotanical uses, food preservation, and the preclinical and clinical efficacy of Aloe plants are summarized to provide future directions for the industrial and medicinal use ofAloe plants.
Abstract: Aloe genus plants, distributed in Old World, are widely known and have been used for centuries as topical and oral therapeutic agents due to their health, beauty, medicinal, and skin care properties Among the well-investigated Aloe species are A arborescens, A barbadensis, A ferox, and A vera Today, they account among the most economically important medicinal plants and are commonly used in primary health treatment, where they play a pivotal role in the treatment of various types of diseases via the modulation of biochemical and molecular pathways, besides being a rich source of valuable phytochemicals In the present review, we summarized the recent advances in botany, phytochemical composition, ethnobotanical uses, food preservation, and the preclinical and clinical efficacy of Aloe plants These data will be helpful to provide future directions for the industrial and medicinal use of Aloe plants

104 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The beneficial effects of using medicinal plants from the Balkan region to Heal wounds according to traditional practices have been proven in many scientific studies, but information on the quantitative benefits to human health of using herbal medicines to heal wounds is still scarce or fragmented, hindering a proper evaluation.

92 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The present review focuses on the composition, pharmacology, and results of experimental trials of selected medicinal plants, finding that further research is needed to identify, characterize, and standardize the active ingredients, useful compounds, and their preparations for the treatment of liver diseases.
Abstract: Insight into the hepatoprotective effects of medicinally important plants is important, both for physicians and researchers. Main reasons for the use of herbal medicine include their lesser cost compared with conventional drugs, lesser undesirable drug reactions and thus high safety, and reduced side effects. The present review focuses on the composition, pharmacology, and results of experimental trials of selected medicinal plants: Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn., Glycyrrhiza glabra, Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn., Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge., Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge, Capparis spinosa (L.), Cichorium intybus (L.), Solanum nigrum (L.), Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn., Ginkgo biloba (L.), Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz, Vitex trifolia (L.), Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., Cuscuta chinensis (Lam.), Lycium barbarum, Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, and Litsea coreana (H. Lev.). The probable modes of action of these plants include immunomodulation, stimulation of hepatic DNA synthesis, simulation of superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase to inhibit oxidation in hepatocytes, reduction of intracellular reactive oxygen species by enhancing levels of antioxidants, suppression of ethanol-induced lipid accumulation, inhibition of nucleic acid polymerases to downregulate viral mRNA transcription and translation, free radical scavenging and reduction of hepatic fibrosis by decreasing the levels of transforming growth factor beta-1, and collagen synthesis in hepatic cells. However, further research is needed to identify, characterize, and standardize the active ingredients, useful compounds, and their preparations for the treatment of liver diseases.

82 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An ethnobotanical study that focused on the traditional medicinal plants used by local communities to treat human diseases in Oromia region, Ethiopia found that shrubs constituted the highest proportion of medicinal plants and Roots were the most frequently utilized plant parts for preparation of traditional herbal medicines.
Abstract: This paper reports an ethnobotanical study that focused on the traditional medicinal plants used by local communities to treat human diseases. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants was carried out from June 25 to September 5, 2015, in Berbere district of Oromia region, Ethiopia. The study focused on documentation of medicinal plants used to treat various human diseases in the study area. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semistructured interviews, group discussion, guided field walks, and observations with participants. Preference ranking, paired comparison, direct matrix ranking, and informant consensus factors (ICF) were used to analyze the importance of some plant species. A total of 70 medicinal plants, distributed in 56 genera and 46 families, were collected and identified. Plant family with the highest medicinal plants in the study area used for various diseases treatment was Euphorbiaceae (11.4%). The result of growth form analysis showed that shrubs constituted the highest proportion of medicinal plants (48.6%). Roots, 43 (44.8%), were the most frequently utilized plant parts for preparation of traditional herbal medicines. Crushing was a widely used mode of preparation of traditional remedies where oral administration (37.5%) was the dominant route. The highest informants consensus factor (ICF) values were linked to gonorrhea and syphilis disease (0.95); the lowest was linked with external parasites and wound (0.69). Local people in the study area possess traditional knowledge of medicinal plants to treat various human ailments; however, agricultural expansion and disinterest of young generation became the major threat to medicinal plants. It is, therefore, necessary to preserve this indigenous knowledge on traditional medicines by proper documentation, identification of plant species used, and herbal preparation. To save medicinal plants from further loss, involving local communities in cultivation of the most utilized medicinal plants is recommended.

77 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Natural herbs are safe, effective and better options as anti-inflammatory agents than synthetic ones and are as effective with the comparable mechanism of action as synthetic molecules.
Abstract: Background Diseases with inflammatory etiopathology have increased in incidence in recent times. Drugs used for therapeutic management of such inflammatory diseases are relieving the ailment but at the same time also countering serious life threatening consequences. Moreover, they are costly and rarely available at all places. In this context, research and development on medicinal herbs have opened a new era in the prophylactic and therapeutic management of inflammatory diseases. Objective To highlight the importance of anti-inflammatory medicine-synthetic drugs and natural herbs, their constituents, mechanism of action, benefits, side effects and future prospects. The overall aim is to provide better health services to patients regardless of their background on equality basis. Results Anti-inflammatory herbs have proven beneficial by combating inflammatory responses that lead to severe abnormality in body systems. Inflammation though a protective response to infection or injury and may result in pathological outcome when aggravated or of severe degree thus needs an early intervention for proper resolution. Medicinal plants or their constituents are considered beneficial due to the properties i.e., satisfactory potency, ease of availability, cheapness, less or no side effects, safer and efficient as compared to the synthetic counterparts. These medicinal herbs contain phytoconstituents that can prevent undesirable inflammatory processes and also posses anti-inflammatory activity. Steroids, glycosides, phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, terpenoids, cannabinoids, fatty acids are common phytoconstituents present in these plants. Different mechanisms have been explored for the anti-inflammatory action of these active ingredients. They may synergize the anti-inflammatory pathway enzymes, factors, proteins or interfere with these in the inflammatory pathway like lipooxygenases, cyclooxygenases, tumor necrosis factors, interleukins, prostaglandin, nitric oxide, mitogenactivated protein, nuclear factor, etc. Considering all the above-mentioned factors, further research from molecular to cellular level will enable a better understanding of the mechanisms. Common antiinflammatory herbal plants are Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale, Rosmarinus officinalis, Borago officinalis, Urtica dioica, Uncaria tomentosa, Vaccinium myrtillus, Olea europaea and much more. They are believed to be without side effects unlike the chemical counterparts or synthetic anti-inflammatory agents e.g. steroids, nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs, and immunosuppresants used for controlling and suppressing inflammatory crisis. A proper phytochemical, pharmacological and physiological evaluation will enable their safe and effective use in inflammatory conditions. Many of these anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal preparations have been patented with some under consideration. Conclusion Natural herbs are safe, effective and better options as anti-inflammatory agents than synthetic ones. The phytoconstituents are as effective with the comparable mechanism of action as synthetic molecules. Future research should focus on molecular mechanisms of different beneficial applications of these herbal plants in various diseases. Recent patents on anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal plants have been covered which provide insight into the current status and future prospects in this field.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It was concluded that the fruit coat of C. colocynthis, pods of S. alexandrina, and leaves of A. aethiopicus might be excellent sources of natural products and have a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activities that could be used in the pharmaceutical industries and to control diseases.
Abstract: In traditional folklore, medicinal herbs play a vital role in the prevention and treatment of microbial diseases In the present study, the phenolic profiles of the medicinal plants Asparagus aethiopicus L, Citrullus colocynthis L, Senna alexandrina L, Kalanchoe delagoensis L, Gasteria pillansii L, Cymbopogon citratus, Brassica juncea, and Curcuma longa L were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode-array detector method The results revealed rich sources of important compounds such as robinin in the fruits and leaves of A aethiopicus; caffeic acid in the tubers of A aethiopicus and quercitrin in the leaves of G pillansii Further, relatively high antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities were observed in C colocynthis fruit coat, S alexandrina pods, and A aethiopicus leaves, respectively The relatively higher the bioactivities of plants extracts associated with the phenols in these plants, in particular, the more abundant the phenols Therefore, it was concluded that the fruit coat of C colocynthis, pods of S alexandrina, and leaves of A aethiopicus might be excellent sources of natural products These plant extracts also have a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activities that could be used in the pharmaceutical industries and to control diseases

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 2018
TL;DR: The review was conducted to show that these medicinal plants are capable in treating infections and some diseases and there are still many species of ethnobotanical plants that are not yet investigated thoroughly and might be a source for potential drugs.
Abstract: Natural product is one of the sources of drugs in pharmaceutical industry, and one of the notable origin of natural product is the medicinal plants. Medicinal plants tend to cure some certain diseases and could be a source for potential drugs. The Department of Health of the Philippines approved 10 medicinal plants namely Allium sativum (Garlic/Bawang), Blumea balsamifera (Nagal camphor/sambong), Cassia alata (Ringworm bush/akapulko), Clinopodium douglasii (Mint/yerba Buena), Ehretia microphylla (Scorpion bush/Tsaang Gubat), Momordica charantia (Bitter Melon/Ampalaya), Peperomia pellucida (Silver bush/ulasimang Bato), Psidium guajava (Guava/Bayabas), Quisqualis indica (Rangoon creeper/niyug-niyogan), and Vitex negundo (Five-leaved Chaste Tree/lagundi). The review was conducted to show that these medicinal plants are capable in treating infections and some diseases. It was found that Allium sativum for the treatmet of wounds, hypertension and tootache; Blumea balsimifera is effective in diuretic treatment for hypertension; Cassia alata for the treatment of scabies, fungal infection, athlete’s foot, tinea flava, ringworm; Clinopodium douglasii for the treatment of muscle pain, arthritis, rheumatism, cough, headache; Ehretia microphylla for the treatment of diarrhea and stomachache; Momordica charantia for the treatment of diabetes mellitus; Peperomia pellucida for the treatment of gout and rheumatism; Psidium guajava for the treatment of wounds and diarrhea; Quisqualis indica for anti-helmintic medicine; and Vitex negundo for the treatment of cough, asthma, and fever. In conclusion, these 10 medicinal plants have natural products that can be used as source for potential drugs. However, there are still many species of ethnobotanical plants that are not yet investigated thoroughly and might be a source for potential drugs. Therefore, more investigations should be done in other species of plant, most especially for the plants with practical used.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: 110 medicinal plants and their phytochemical constituents that have been shown to possess anti-depressant activity are summarized and mechanistic evaluation of many of these plants still needs to be investigated and explored.

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this paper, the synthesis and enhancement of different bioactive compounds by Methyl-Jasmonate (MeJA), Jasmonate(JA), and Salicylic Acid (SA) as elicitors of many medicinal plants in vitro by using different cultures.
Abstract: Secondary metabolites are the bioactive compounds of plants which have no role in the development process but are needed for defense purposes. Their synthesis takes place from the primary metabolism of the plant. Plants are a novel source of bioactive compounds from which different drugs are derived. These bioactive compounds have therapeutic value for which they are used all over the world. As medicinal plants are used for the extraction of different compounds they are exploited and becoming threatened. To overcome this problem and to preserve the resulting loss of biodiversity we can conserve the medicinal plants by propagation and the production of secondary metabolites by different in vitro culture techniques. As we know that intact plant has a low potential for chemical synthesis of bioactive compounds so to enhance the production of secondary metabolites elicitors are used. Elicitors are those molecules which enhance the secondary metabolism of the plant. Elicitors may be biotic or abiotic. The present review deals with the synthesis and enhancement of different bioactive compounds by Methyl-Jasmonate (MeJA), Jasmonate (JA) and Salicylic Acid (SA) as elicitors of many medicinal plants in vitro by using different cultures.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The ethnopharmacology of the Near East was influenced by Arabic and Islamic medicine and might be promising for developing new natural and safe anticancer agents.
Abstract: Background: Cancer is one of the major problems affecting public health worldwide. As other cultures, the populations of the Near East rely on medicinal herbs and their preparations to fight cancer. Methods: We compiled data derived from historical ethnopharmacological information as well as in vitro and in vivo results and clinical findings extracted from different literature databases including (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) during the past two decades. Results: In this survey, we analyzed the huge amount of data available on anticancer ethnopharmacological sources used in the Near East. Medicinal herbs are the most dominant ethnopharmacological formula used among cancer's patients in the Near East. The data obtained highlight for the first time the most commonly used medicinal plants in the Near East area for cancer treatment illustrating their importance as natural anticancer agents. The literature survey reveals that various Arum species, various Artemisia species, Calotropis procera, Citrullus colocynthis, Nigella sativa, Pulicaria crispa, various Urtica species, Withania somnifera, and others belong to the most frequently used plants among cancer patients in the Near East countries. Molecular modes of action that have been investigated for plant extracts and isolated compounds from Near East include cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction with participation of major player in these processes such as p53 and p21, Bcl-2, Bax, cytochrome c release, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, activation of caspases, etc. Conclusion: The ethnopharmacology of the Near East was influenced by Arabic and Islamic medicine and might be promising for developing new natural and safe anticancer agents. Further research is required to elucidate their cellular and molecular mechanisms and to estimate their clinical activity.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results concluded that secondary metabolite from Alternaria sp.
Abstract: Medicinal plants have been used as an alternative medicine to promote human health and longevity in many regions of the world since ancient times. In recent years, many novel secondary metabolites ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Some of the most important medicinal plants with hypoglycemic properties according to reliable clinical and laboratory evidence are reported, and also touched on the medicinal plants that are prescribed in Iranian traditional medicine, for the treatment of diabetes.
Abstract: Diabetes mellitus is a syndrome that is characterized by hyperglycemia, change in the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, and in the long term, with eye, kidney, cardiovascular, and neurological complications. Plenty of plants from different regions of the world have been investigated for anti-diabetic effects. This review article was designed to report some of the most important medicinal plants with hypoglycemic properties according to reliable clinical and laboratory evidence, and also touched on the medicinal plants that are prescribed in Iranian traditional medicine, for the treatment of diabetes. The information in this review was obtained from the eligible articles retrieved using the search terms diabetes mellitus, medicinal plants, type 1 diabetes and medicinal plants, type 2 diabetes and medicinal plants, and the effect of extract and essential oil of medicinal plants affecting diabetized tissues in the human body indexed in databases such as Iran medex, Irandoc, ISI, PubMed, Scopus, SID, Magiran, Google Scholar, etc. Based on the results drawn in this review the plants, Urtica, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Allium sativum, Carthamus tinctorius, Ferula assa-foetida, Bauhinia, Gymnema sylvestre, Swertia, Combretum, Sarcopoterium, Liriope, Caesalpinia bonduc, Coccinia grandis, Syzygium cumini, Mangifera indica, Momordica charantia, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Pterocarpus, Tinospora cordifoli, Salvia officinalis, Panax, Cinnamomum verum, Abelmoschus moschatus, Vachellia nilotica, Achyranthes, Fabaceae, Mentha, Asphodelaceae, Andrographis paniculata L, Artemisia herba-alba, Artemisia dracunculus, Azadirachta indica, Caesalpinioideae, Pachira aquatic, Gongronema latifolium, Nigella Sativa, Tinospora cordifolia (guduchi), Chrysanthemum morifolium, Zingiber zerumbet, Symphytum, Cactaceae, Symplocos, Perilla frutescens, Terminalia chebula and Aloe vera are effective to controland treat diabetes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The folk knowledge of medicinal plants species of Koh-e-Safaid Range was unexplored and abies pindrow, Artemisia scoparia, Nannorrhops ritchiana, Salvia reflexa, and Vincetoxicum cardiostephanum have been reported previously for their medicinal importance.
Abstract: The residents of remote areas mostly depend on folk knowledge of medicinal plants to cure different ailments. The present study was carried out to document and analyze traditional use regarding the medicinal plants among communities residing in Koh-e-Safaid Range northern Pakistani-Afghan border. A purposive sampling method was used for the selection of informants, and information regarding the ethnomedicinal use of plants was collected through semi-structured interviews. The collected data was analyzed through quantitative indices viz. relative frequency citation, use value, and family use value. The conservation status of medicinal plants was enumerated with the help of International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Categories and Criteria (2001). Plant samples were deposited at the Herbarium of Botany Department, University of Peshawar for future reference. One hundred eight informants including 72 male and 36 female were interviewed. The informants provided information about 92 plants species used in the treatment of 53 ailments. The informant reported maximum number of species used for the treatment of diabetes (16 species), followed by carminatives (12 species), laxatives (11 species), antiseptics (11 species), for cough (10 species), to treat hepatitis (9 species), for curing diarrhea (7 species), and to cure ulcers (7 species), etc. Decoction (37 species, i.e., 40%) was the common method of recipe preparation. Most familiar medicinal plants were Withania coagulans, Caralluma tuberculata, and Artemisia absinthium with relative frequency (0.96), (0.90), and (0.86), respectively. The relative importance of Withania coagulans was highest (1.63) followed by Artemisia absinthium (1.34), Caralluma tuberculata (1.20), Cassia fistula (1.10), Thymus linearis (1.06), etc. This study allows identification of novel uses of plants. Abies pindrow, Artemisia scoparia, Nannorrhops ritchiana, Salvia reflexa, and Vincetoxicum cardiostephanum have not been reported previously for their medicinal importance. The study also highlights many medicinal plants used to treat chronic metabolic conditions in patients with diabetes. The folk knowledge of medicinal plants species of Koh-e-Safaid Range was unexplored. We, for the first time, conducted this quantitative study in the area to document medicinal plants uses, to preserve traditional knowledge, and also to motivate the local residents against the vanishing wealth of traditional knowledge of medicinal flora. The vast use of medicinal plants reported shows the significance of traditional herbal preparations among tribal people of the area for their health care. Knowledge about the medicinal use of plants is rapidly disappearing in the area as a new generation is unwilling to take interest in medicinal plant use, and the knowledgeable persons keep their knowledge a secret. Thus, the indigenous use of plants needs conservational strategies and further investigation for better utilization of natural resources.

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TL;DR: These studies are novel in highlighting the significant prebiotic potential of medicinal herbs and suggest that the health benefits of these herbs are due, at least in part, to their ability to modulate the gut microbiota in a manner predicted to improve colonic epithelium function, reduce inflammation, and protect from opportunistic infection.
Abstract: Introduction: The prebiotic potential of herbal medicines has been scarcely studied. Methods: The authors therefore used anaerobic human fecal cultivation to investigate whether three herbal medicines commonly used in gastrointestinal health and disease in Ayurveda alter the growth and abundance of specific bacterial species. Results: Profiling of cultures supplemented with Glycyrrhiza glabra, Ulmus rubra, or triphala formulation by 16S rDNA sequencing revealed profound changes in diverse taxa in human gut microbiota. Principal coordinate analysis highlights that each herbal medicine drives the formation of unique microbial communities. The relative abundance of approximately one-third of the 299 species profiled was altered by all 3 medicines, whereas additional species displayed herb-specific alterations. Herb supplementation increased the abundance of many bacteria known to promote human health, including Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., and Bacteroides spp. Herb supplementation resul...

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TL;DR: The findings from the results favour the potential use of some South African medicinal plants in treating oral diseases such as dental caries, periodontal diseases and oral thrush.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review summarizes the anti-gout potential of Malaysian medicinal plants but the mechanisms, active compounds, pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, and safety of the plants still remain to be elucidated.
Abstract: Gout is a type of arthritis that causes painful inflammation in one or more joints. In gout, elevation of uric acid in the blood triggers the formation of crystals, causing joint pain. Malaysia is a mega-biodiversity country that is rich in medicinal plants species. Therefore, its flora might offer promising therapies for gout. This article aims to systematically review the anti-gout potential of Malaysian medicinal plants. Articles on gout published from2000 to 2017 were identified using PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar with the following keyword search terms: “gout,” “medicinal plants,” “Malaysia,” “epidemiology,” “in vitro,” and “in vivo.” In this study, 85 plants were identified as possessing anti-gout activity. These plants had higher percentages of xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity (>85%); specifically, the Momordica charantia, Chrysanthemum indicum, Cinnamomum cassia, Kaempferia galanga, Artemisia vulgaris, and Morinda elliptica had the highest values, due to their diverse natural bioactive compounds, which include flavonoids, phenolics, tannin, coumarins, luteolin, and apigenin. This review summarizes the anti-gout potential of Malaysian medicinal plants but the mechanisms, active compounds, pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, and safety of the plants still remain to be elucidated.

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TL;DR: The results indicate that the endophytic fungi from medicinal plants are promising sources of bioactive compounds and can be attributed to antiviral activates.
Abstract: This study aimed to explore the antioxidant potential and antiviral activity of endophytic fungi which were isolated from healthy living tissues of medicinal plants. Endophytic strains (29 different taxa) were isolated from 18 Egyptian medicinal plants collected from Saint Katherine Protectorate, Egypt. The fungal endophytes were identified based on morphological characters. All isolates were identified as ascomycetes, except two Zygomycetes strains (Absidia corymbifera and Mucor fuscus). Isolated endophytes were cultivated on potato dextrose media. The fungal metabolites were extracted by ethyl acetate and examined for their biological activities. Among 99 total extracts, only Chaetomium globosum, which was isolated from Adiantum capillus, showed a promising DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging activity (99% at 100 µg/mL). Fifteen extracts prohibited the reproduction of HSV-2 virus. On the other hand, the reproduction of VSV-virus was inhibited by sixteen endophytic extracts. The promising anti-(HSV-2 and VSV) extract of endophytic Pleospora tarda strain; that was originally isolated from the medicinal plant Ephedra aphylla, showed viral inhibitory activity of 40.7% and 15.2%, respectively. Two compounds, for which antiviral activates could be attributed, were isolated and identified as alternariol and alternariol-(9)-methyl ether using different NMR techniques from P. tarda extract. For the first time, we report here the ability of the endophytic fungus P. tarda to produce alternariol and alternariol-(9)-methyl ether. The results indicate that the endophytic fungi from medicinal plants are promising sources of bioactive compounds.

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TL;DR: This review aims at presenting the richness in bioactive compounds of the medicinal plants from Tabebuia and Handroanthus genera, as well as important aspects about endophyte-plant interactions, with emphasis on the production ofBioactive compounds by endophytic fungi, which has been isolated from various medicinal plants for such a purpose.
Abstract: Medicinal plants are a rich source of natural products used to treat many diseases; therefore, they are the basis for a new drug discovery. Plants are capable of generating different bioactive secondary metabolites, but a large amount of botanical material is often necessary to obtain small amounts of the target substance. Nowadays, many medicinal plants are becoming rather scarce. For this reason, it is important to point out the interactions between endophytic microorganisms and the host plant, because endophytes are able to produce highly diverse compounds, including those from host plants that have important biological activities. Thence, this review aims at presenting the richness in bioactive compounds of the medicinal plants from Tabebuia and Handroanthus genera, as well as important aspects about endophyte-plant interactions, with emphasis on the production of bioactive compounds by endophytic fungi, which has been isolated from various medicinal plants for such a purpose. Furthermore, bio-prospection of natural products synthesized by endophytes isolated from the aforementioned genera used in traditional medicine could be used to treat illnesses.

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TL;DR: The high concentrations of ethanolic extract of fruits caused high reduction in the viability of cancer cells, especially in Colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cell line, and phytochemical compound screened by GC-MS method.
Abstract: Higher plants have been utilized worldwide as characteristic drug a long time to cure human diseases. About 80% of individuals globally use plants as safe sources of medication to cure human diseases through completely different medicine system. One of the available indigenous medicinal plants, Ficus sycomorus belongs to the Moraceae family. The plant contains totally different teams of biologically active compounds that square measure chargeable for the biological activity. Ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of leaves of Ficus sycomorus contain higher concentrations of total phenols, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and steroids than the fruit extracts. Ethanolic extract in both fruits and leaves gave higher concentrations of phytochemical compounds than the ethyl acetate extracts. Therefore, fruit and leaves extract have antioxidant and antimicrobial activity against gram positive, negative bacteria and fungus. Also, the percentage of Liver cell line (HepG2), Colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) and Breast cell line (MCF-7) viability was decreased with increasing the concentrations of the ethanolic extract of fruits and leaves of Ficus sycomorus . The high concentrations of ethanolic extract of fruits caused high reduction in the viability of cancer cells, especially in Colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cell line. In addition, phytochemical compound screened by GC-MS method. In GC-MS analysis, 12 bioactive phytochemical compounds were identified in fruits and 29 bioactive compounds were detected in leaves extract. These totally different active phytochemicals are found to possess a good vary of activities, which can facilitate within the protection against incurable diseases.

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TL;DR: The present review to highlights the versatile applications of medicinal plants against honey bee pathogen such as fungi, mites, and microsporidia, and promising nonchemical (plant extracts) are innocuous to adult bees.

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TL;DR: The present investigation supports the potential role of plants used by tribal healers as the results have shown that these plants exhibit anti-mycobacterial activity in the acceptable range against Mtb.

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TL;DR: In this article, the contents of melatonin and other bio-active non-nutrient compounds of nineteen highly consumed herbal infusions were evaluated in aqueous infusions, including chamomile and green tea.
Abstract: The consumption of teas and herbal infusions has increased in Europe and the USA in recent years. The goal of this work was to provide new knowledge on the contents of melatonin and other bioactive non-nutrient compounds of nineteen highly consumed herbal infusions. Melatonin was previously assessed in some medicinal plants alcoholic extracts but not described in herbal aqueous infusions as we reported for the first time. Noticeable melatonin contents were found in most of herbal infusions, showing chamomile and green tea the highest values. These studied herbal infusions could be considered as potential dietary sources of this antioxidant compound, and they also exhibited high levels of total phenolic compounds and total flavonoids (lemon balm revealed the highest contents). From results, the total phenolic compounds and total flavonoids were associated with the inhibition of lipase and α-glucosidase, as well as to the in vitro antioxidant capacity measured through five different methods (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, ORAC, and deoxyribose assays). Thus, the studied teas and herbal infusions could be consided as suitable drinks herein validated for their bioactive compounds that may act as antioxidants and non-protein inhibitors of digestive enzymes, promoting health-promoting properties.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Medicinal plants traditionally used against mastitis are therapeutically active against bacterial pathogens and were found to be potential candidate species for the development of novel veterinary drugs with low cost and fewer side effects.

Journal Article
TL;DR: It was concluded that phytochemicals from anti-diabetic medicinal plants/herbs are pivotal in the production of marketable novel and efficacious anti-Diabetes drug in future.
Abstract: Diabetes is both an endocrine and a metabolic disease affecting large numbers of individuals worldwide. The use of natural products such as herbs in the management of diseases dates back to the prehistoric era. Herbal therapy presents a less adverse side effect when compared with the synthetic orthodox counterpart. The phytochemical components of medicinal plants have been credited for the efficacy of herbal formulations. The aim of this study is to review some common anti-diabetic plants which have been tested experimentally using recent diabetes marker parameters and to highlight the bioactive anti-diabetic principles isolated from their phytochemicals. In addition, anti-diabetic compounds isolated in the process of research in our laboratory have been cited in the review. Such keywords like anti-diabetic medicinal plants, mechanism of actions, phytochemicals, alloxan, streptozotocin, glycosylated haemoglobin, were used on different search engines to generate secondary data used in this review. Data obtained indicated that various phytochemical components of anti-diabetic herbs such as the flavonoids, saponins, tannins, alkaloids, glycosides, terpenes, were responsible for the said anti-diabetic activities of the plants. The data equally revealed that these phytochemicals acted in diverse mechanisms to bring about their activities. From the data obtained, it was concluded that phytochemicals from anti-diabetic medicinal plants/herbs are pivotal in the production of marketable novel and efficacious anti-diabetic drug in future.