scholarly journals Isatis indigotica: from (ethno) botany, biochemistry to synthetic biology

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingxian Feng ◽  
Doudou Huang ◽  
Yingbo Yang ◽  
Junfeng Chen ◽  
Shi Qiu ◽  
...  

AbstractIsatis indigotica Fort. (Chinese woad) is a species with an ancient and well-documented history as an indigo dye and medicinal plant. It is often confused with Isatis tinctoria L. (European woad), a medicinal plant in Europe. Here, the differences between I. indigotica and I. tinctoria are systematically described. The usage development history, clinical applications and pharmacological activities, and chemical components of I. indigotica are also summarized. Lignans, indole alkaloids, and their corresponding derivatives have been identified as the major active ingredients of I. indigotica and are associated with anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and other health-promoting activities. Notable progress has been made in understanding the biosynthetic pathway and regulation mechanism of lignans and indole alkaloids in I. indigotica, the results from which should facilitate the process of targeted metabolic engineering or synthetic biology. Moreover, multiple biotechnology methods such as polyploid breeding and genetic engineering have been used with I. indigotica to result in, for example, greater yields, higher levels of bioactive component accumulation, and enhanced stress tolerance to salt, drought, and insects. Some issues require additional analyses, and suggestions for future research on I. indigotica are also discussed.

Author(s):  
Vijay Kumar

: Mimosa pudica Linn is an integrated part of Traditional Medicines Systems of India, China, Africa, Korea and America. It has been used from centuries in traditional medicines to cure different diseases like fever, diabetes, constipation, jaundice, ulcers, biliousness, and dyspepsia. It is an important ingredient of wide class of herbal formulations. To assess the scientific evidence for therapeutic potential of Mimosa pudica Linn and to identify the gaps for future research. The available information on the ethno-medicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of Mimosa pudica Linn was collected via a library and electronic searches in Sci-Finder, Pub-Med, Science Direct, Google Scholar for the period, 1990 to 2020. In traditional medicinal systems, variety of ethno-medicinal applications of Mimosa pudica Linn has been noticed. Phytochemical investigation has resulted in identification of 40 well known chemical constituents, among which alkaloids, phenols and flavionoids are the predominant groups. The crude extracts and isolates have exhibited a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological activities including anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, osteoporosis, neurological disorders, hypertension etc.. To quantify the Mimosa pudica Linn and its formulations, analytical techniques like HPLC and HPTLC has shown dominancy with good range of recovery and detection limit. Mimosa pudica Linn is the well-known herb since an ancient time. The pharmacological results supported some of the applications of Mimosa pudica Linn in traditional medicine systems. Perhaps, the predominance of alkaloids, phenols and flavionoids are responsible for the pharmacological activities the crude extracts and isolates of Mimosa pudica Linn. Further, there is need to isolate and evaluate the active chemical constituents of Mimosa pudica Linn having significant medicinal values. In future, it is important to study the exact mechanism associated with the phytochemicals of Mimosa pudica Linn especially on anti-cancer activities. Notably, toxicity studies on Mimosa pudica Linn are limited which are to be explored in future for the safe application of Mimosa pudica Linn and its formulations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-33
Author(s):  
Ying Wei ◽  
Yongqiao Liu ◽  
Yifan Hele ◽  
Weiwei Sun ◽  
Yang Wang ◽  
...  

Background: Gentianella acuta (Michx.) Hulten is an important type of medicinal plant found in several Chinese provinces. It has been widely used in folk medicine to treat various illnesses. However, there is not enough detailed information about the chemical constituents of this plant or methods for their content determination. Objective: The focus of this work is the isolation and characterization of the major chemical constituents of Gentianella acuta, and developing an analytical method for their determination. Methods: The components of Gentianella acuta were isolated using (1) ethanol extraction and adsorption on macroporous resin. (2) and ethyl acetate extraction and high speed countercurrent chromatography. A HPLC-DAD method was developed using a C18 column and water-acetonitrile as the mobile phase. Based on compound polarities, both isocratic and gradient elution methods were developed. Results: A total of 29 compounds were isolated from this plant, of which 17 compounds were isolated from this genus for the first time. The main components in this plant were found to be xanthones. The HPLC-DAD method was developed and validated for their determination, and found to show good sensitivity and reliability. Conclusion: The results of this work add to the limited body of work available on this important medicinal plant. The findings will be useful for further investigation and development of Gentianella acuta for its valuable medicinal properties.


Author(s):  
Oliver M. Shannon ◽  
Chris Easton ◽  
Anthony I. Shepherd ◽  
Mario Siervo ◽  
Stephen J. Bailey ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Dietary inorganic nitrate (NO3−) is a polyatomic ion, which is present in large quantities in green leafy vegetables and beetroot, and has attracted considerable attention in recent years as a potential health-promoting dietary compound. Numerous small, well-controlled laboratory studies have reported beneficial health effects of inorganic NO3− consumption on blood pressure, endothelial function, cerebrovascular blood flow, cognitive function, and exercise performance. Translating the findings from small laboratory studies into ‘real-world’ applications requires careful consideration. Main body This article provides a brief overview of the existing empirical evidence basis for the purported health-promoting effects of dietary NO3− consumption. Key areas for future research are then proposed to evaluate whether promising findings observed in small animal and human laboratory studies can effectively translate into clinically relevant improvements in population health. These proposals include: 1) conducting large-scale, longer duration trials with hard clinical endpoints (e.g. cardiovascular disease incidence); 2) exploring the feasibility and acceptability of different strategies to facilitate a prolonged increase in dietary NO3− intake; 3) exploitation of existing cohort studies to explore associations between NO3− intake and health outcomes, a research approach allowing larger samples sizes and longer duration follow up than is feasible in randomised controlled trials; 4) identifying factors which might account for individual differences in the response to inorganic NO3− (e.g. sex, genetics, habitual diet) and could assist with targeted/personalised nutritional interventions; 5) exploring the influence of oral health and medication on the therapeutic potential of NO3− supplementation; and 6) examining potential risk of adverse events with long term high- NO3− diets. Conclusion The salutary effects of dietary NO3− are well established in small, well-controlled laboratory studies. Much less is known about the feasibility and efficacy of long-term dietary NO3− enrichment for promoting health, and the factors which might explain the variable responsiveness to dietary NO3− supplementation between individuals. Future research focussing on the translation of laboratory data will provide valuable insight into the potential applications of dietary NO3− supplementation to improve population health.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 3227
Author(s):  
Yuanwei Liu ◽  
Kishneth Palaniveloo ◽  
Siti Aisyah Alias ◽  
Jaya Seelan Sathiya Seelan

Soft corals are widely distributed across the globe, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, with Sarcophyton being one of the most abundant genera. To date, there have been 50 species of identified Sarcophyton. These soft corals host a diverse range of marine fungi, which produce chemically diverse, bioactive secondary metabolites as part of their symbiotic nature with the soft coral hosts. The most prolific groups of compounds are terpenoids and indole alkaloids. Annually, there are more bio-active compounds being isolated and characterised. Thus, the importance of the metabolite compilation is very much important for future reference. This paper compiles the diversity of Sarcophyton species and metabolites produced by their associated marine fungi, as well as the bioactivity of these identified compounds. A total of 88 metabolites of structural diversity are highlighted, indicating the huge potential these symbiotic relationships hold for future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damilare Rotimi ◽  
Jennifer Chidubem Amanze ◽  
Adebola Busola Ojo ◽  
Matthew Iyobhebhe ◽  
Tobiloba Christiana Elebiyo ◽  
...  

Abstract: The use of herbal remedies for medicinal purposes is becoming more popular around the world. As a result, plants have become viable treatment options for a variety of diseases. Garcinia kola (bitter kola) is a perennially grown plant in the Guttiferae family that has been evaluated and reported to have numerous health-promoting properties. Kolaviron is a biflavanoid and major phytochemical found in Garcinia kola that includes Garcinia Biflavanoid-1 (GB-1), kolaflavanone, and Garcinia Biflavanoid-2 (GB-2). It is obtained as a fraction extracted from Garcinia kola. Kolaviron's pharmacological properties include anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, ameliorative, anti-asthmatic, anti-cancer, anti-malarial, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anti-atherogenic, neuroprotective, anti-diabetic, and anti-amnesic properties. Kolaviron is recommended for use in clinical settings because it has been shown to have a high therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials. The purpose of this review is to assess the therapeutic efficacy of kolaviron.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Danny Laurent ◽  
Nesti F. Sianipar ◽  
Chelen _ ◽  
Listiarini _ ◽  
Ariandana Wantho

<p>Rodent tuber (Typhonium flagelliforme Lodd.) is a plant from Araceae family. The plant has high medical potential as anti-cancer agent. The information regarding Indonesian rodent tuber’s genetic diversity is not available yet. Genetic information is very important for the development of rodent tuber as medicinal plant. In this research, genetic diversity and genetic distance of three Indonesian rodent tuber’s cultivars, from Bogor, Pekalongan, and Medan, were analyzed by using RAPD molecular markers. The data obtained was analyzed by NTsys software. Out of 16 primers used in the study, the 12 primers were found to be polymorphic. There were 83 bands of DNA obtained and 31 of them were polymorphic. Dendogram analysis of the three rodent tuber cultivars showed that these cultivars were clustered into two clusters. The first cluster consists of rodent tuber Bogor and Medan. The second cluster consists of rodent tuber Pekalongan. The coefficient of similarity ranged from 0.81 to 0.87. The highest coefficient of similarity was 0.87, which was detected between rodent tuber Pekalongan and Medan. The lowest coefficient of similarity was 0.81, which was detected between rodent tuber Bogor and Pekalongan. Among these three cultivars of rodent tuber, cultivar Bogor was exclusively different.</p><p><br /><strong>Keywords</strong>: Indonesia-rodent tuber, genetic diversity, RAPD-marker</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan van Vliet ◽  
Frederick D. Provenza ◽  
Scott L. Kronberg

While commission reports and nutritional guidelines raise concerns about the effects of consuming red meat on human health, the impacts of how livestock are raised and finished on consumer health are generally ignored. Meat and milk, irrespective of rearing practices, provide many essential nutrients including bioavailable protein, zinc, iron, selenium, calcium, and/or B12. Emerging data indicate that when livestock are eating a diverse array of plants on pasture, additional health-promoting phytonutrients—terpenoids, phenols, carotenoids, and anti-oxidants—become concentrated in their meat and milk. Several phytochemicals found in grass-fed meat and milk are in quantities comparable to those found in plant foods known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, and cardioprotective effects. As meat and milk are often not considered as sources of phytochemicals, their presence has remained largely underappreciated in discussions of nutritional differences between feedlot-fed (grain-fed) and pasture-finished (grass-fed) meat and dairy, which have predominantly centered around the ω-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid. Grazing livestock on plant-species diverse pastures concentrates a wider variety and higher amounts of phytochemicals in meat and milk compared to grazing monoculture pastures, while phytochemicals are further reduced or absent in meat and milk of grain-fed animals. The co-evolution of plants and herbivores has led to plants/crops being more productive when grazed in accordance with agroecological principles. The increased phytochemical richness of productive vegetation has potential to improve the health of animals and upscale these nutrients to also benefit human health. Several studies have found increased anti-oxidant activity in meat and milk of grass-fed vs. grain-fed animals. Only a handful of studies have investigated the effects of grass-fed meat and dairy consumption on human health and show potential for anti-inflammatory effects and improved lipoprotein profiles. However, current knowledge does not allow for direct linking of livestock production practices to human health. Future research should systematically assess linkages between the phytochemical richness of livestock diets, the nutrient density of animal foods, and subsequent effects on human metabolic health. This is important given current societal concerns about red meat consumption and human health. Addressing this research gap will require greater collaborative efforts from the fields of agriculture and medicine.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (20) ◽  
pp. 3679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan ◽  
Zhang ◽  
Luo ◽  
Wang ◽  
Tang ◽  
...  

Limonin is a natural tetracyclic triterpenoid compound, which widely exists in Euodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth., Phellodendron chinense Schneid., and Coptis chinensis Franch. Its extensive pharmacological effects have attracted considerable attention in recent years. However, there is no systematic review focusing on the pharmacology, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of limonin. Therefore, this review aimed to provide the latest information on the pharmacology, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of limonin, exploring the therapeutic potential of this compound and looking for ways to improve efficacy and bioavailability. Limonin has a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, anti-bacterial and anti-virus, anti-oxidation, liver protection properties. However, limonin has also been shown to lead to hepatotoxicity, renal toxicity, and genetic damage. Moreover, limonin also has complex impacts on hepatic metabolic enzyme. Pharmacokinetic studies have demonstrated that limonin has poor bioavailability, and the reduction, hydrolysis, and methylation are the main metabolic pathways of limonin. We also found that the position and group of the substituents of limonin are key in affecting pharmacological activity and bioavailability. However, some issues still exist, such as the mechanism of antioxidant activity of limonin not being clear. In addition, there are few studies on the toxicity mechanism of limonin, and the effects of limonin concentration on pharmacological effects and toxicity are not clear, and no researchers have reported any ways in which to reduce the toxicity of limonin. Therefore, future research directions include the mechanism of antioxidant activity of limonin, how the concentration of limonin affects pharmacological effects and toxicity, finding ways to reduce the toxicity of limonin, and structural modification of limonin—one of the key methods necessary to enhance pharmacological activity and bioavailability.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document