A Review of the Ethnomedicinal Uses, Biological Activities, and Triterpenoids of Euphorbia Species

The genus Euphorbia is one of the largest genera in the spurge family, with diversity in range, distribution, and morphology. The plant species in this genus are widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of diseases, ranging from respirational infections, body and skin irritations, digestion complaints, inflammatory infections, body pain, microbial illness, snake or scorpion bites, pregnancy, as well as sensory disorders. Their successes have been attributed to the presence of diverse phytochemicals like polycyclic and macrocyclic diterpenes with various pharmacological properties. As a result, Euphorbia diterpenes are of interest to chemists and biochemists with regard to drug discovery from natural products due to their diverse therapeutic applications as well as their great structural diversity. Other chemical constituents such as triterpenoids have also been reported to possess various pharmacological properties, thus supporting the traditional uses of the Euphorbia species. These triterpenoids can provide potential leads that can be developed into pharmaceutical compounds for a wide range of medicinal applications. However, there are scattered scientific reports about the anticancer activities of these constituents. Harnessing such information could provide a database of bioactive pharmacopeia or targeted scaffolds for drug discovery. Therefore, this review presents an updated and comprehensive summary of the ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, and the anticancer activities of the triterpenoids of Euphorbia species. Most of the reported triterpenoids in this review belong to tirucallane, cycloartanes, lupane, oleanane, ursane, and taraxane subclass. Their anticancer activities varied distinctly with the majority of them exhibiting significant cytotoxic and anticancer activities in vitro. It is, therefore, envisaged that the report on Euphorbia triterpenoids with interesting anticancer activities will form a database of potential leads or scaffolds that could be advanced into the clinical trials with regard to drug discovery.

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Ethnomedicinal uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Aspects of the Genus Berberis Linn: A Comprehensive Review

Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening ◽

10.2174/1386207323999201102141206 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 ◽

Author(s):

Roohi Mohi-ud-din ◽

Reyaz Hassan Mir ◽

Prince Ahad Mir ◽

Saeema Farooq ◽

Syed Naiem Raza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chemical Constituents ◽

Pharmacological Activities ◽

Traditional Use ◽

Comprehensive Review ◽

Wide Range ◽

Anti Cancer ◽

Comprehensive Survey ◽

Ethnomedicinal Uses

Background: Genus Berberis (family Berberidaceae), which contains about 650 species and 17 genera worldwide, has been used in folklore and various traditional medicine systems. Berberis Linn. is the most established group among genera with around 450-500 species across the world. This comprehensive review will not only help researchers for further evaluation but also provide substantial information for future exploitation of species to develop novel herbal formulations. Objective: The present review is focussed to summarize and collect the updated review of information of Genus Berberis species reported to date regarding their ethnomedicinal information, chemical constituents, traditional/folklore use, and reported pharmacological activities on more than 40 species of Berberis. Conclusion: A comprehensive survey of the literature reveals that various species of the genus possess various phytoconstituents mainly alkaloids, flavonoid based compounds isolated from different parts of a plant with a wide range of pharmacological activities. So far, many pharmacological activities like anti-cancer, anti-hyperlipidemic, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory both in vitro & in vivo and clinical study of different extracts/isolated compounds of different species of Berberis have been reported, proving their importance as a medicinal plant and claiming their traditional use.

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Ethnomedicinal Uses, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Toxicology of Species from the GenusAjugaL.: A Systematic Review

The American Journal of Chinese Medicine ◽

10.1142/s0192415x19500502 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 47 (05) ◽

pp. 959-1003 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Fei Luan ◽

Keqing Han ◽

Maoxing Li ◽

Ting Zhang ◽

Daoheng Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Current Knowledge ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Chemical Constituents ◽

Control Measures ◽

Neuroprotective Activity ◽

Extensive Literature ◽

Data Quality Control ◽

Toxicological Studies ◽

Ethnomedicinal Uses

The present review is aimed at providing a comprehensive summary of the botanical characteristics, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological studies of the genus Ajuga L. The extensive literature survey revealed Ajuga L. species to be a group of important medicinal plants used for the ethnomedical treatment of rheumatism, fever, gout, sclerosis, analgesia, inflammation, hypertension, hyperglycemia, joint pain, palsy, amenorrhea, etc., although only a few reports address the clinical use and toxicity of these plants. Currently, more than 280 chemical constituents have been isolated and characterized from these plants. Among these constituents, neo-clerodane diterpenes and diterpenoids, phytoecdysteroids, flavonoids, and iridoids are the major bioactive compounds, possessing wide-reaching biological activities both in vivo and in vitro, including anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antitumor, anti-oxidant, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antifeedant, antidiarrhoeal, hypolipidemic, diuretic, hypoglycaemic, immunomodulatory, vasorelaxant, larvicidal, antimutagenic, and neuroprotective activity. This review is aimed at summarizing the current knowledge of the ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, biological activities, and toxicities of the genus Ajuga L. to reveal its therapeutic potentials, offering opportunities for future researches. Therefore, more focus should be paid to gathering information about their toxicology data, quality-control measures, and the clinical application of the bioactive ingredients from Ajuga L. species.

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Dichrostachys cinerea: Ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities - A review

The Natural Products Journal ◽

10.2174/2210315511666210806144540 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Ofentse Mazimba ◽

Tebogo E. Kwape ◽

Goabaone Gaobotse

Keyword(s):

Traditional Medicine ◽

Animal Studies ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Root Extract ◽

Dichrostachys Cinerea ◽

Snake Bites ◽

Wide Range ◽

Ethnomedicinal Uses

: Indigenous and medicinal plants have proven crucial to the health of mankind for a very long time. Dichrostachys cinerea is a traditional herb used in the treatment of a variety of human diseases in African and Indian traditional medicine. This paper reviews the ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemical constituents, pharmacology and toxicity of D. cinerea, in order to provide scientific consensus for further research and exploitation of its therapeutic potential of this plant. Information was accessed by literature searches in different sources including Science direct, PubMed and Google Scholar. The findings of this review paper highlight D. Cinerea as an important component of African and Indian traditional medicine. D. cinerea is traditionally used in the treatment of rheumatism, diabetes, coughs, asthma, kidney disorders, gonorrhea, syphilis, malaria, tuberculosis, epilepsy, snake bites, pains, wounds, boils, burns, toothache, headache, and scabies. D. cinerea displays a diverse phytochemistry, with a wide range of isolated compounds that have well documented biological activities. D. cinerea has demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo biological activities. In vitro biological activities exhibited include enzyme inhibition, antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-malarial activities. In vivo activities demonstrated by D. cinerea include anti-inflammatory, anti-diarrheal, anti-analgesic, hepatoprotective, anti-uro lithiatic, anti-lice, anti-dandruff and neuropharmacological activities. Animal studies have elucidated non-toxicity of D. cinerea for the ethanol root extract and methanol and water leaf extracts. It is vital that future studies on D. cinerea focus on the mechanisms of action behind these biological activities for both the crude extract and its individual chemical compounds. These studies could possibly lead to clinical trials to confirm biological activities found in animal studies. Further studies on multi-target network pharmacology, and molecular docking technology of D. cinerea sub fractions for enzyme inhibitions and neuropharmacological activities are of great importance and could accelerate the process of pharmaceutical development of this plant.

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Traditional Uses, Chemical Constituents and Biological Activities of Plants from the Genus Sanguisorba L.

The American Journal of Chinese Medicine ◽

10.1142/s0192415x17500136 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 45 (02) ◽

pp. 199-224 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Zefeng Zhao ◽

Xirui He ◽

Qiang Zhang ◽

Xiaoyang Wei ◽

Linhong Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Control ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Chemical Constituents ◽

Control Measures ◽

Biologically Active ◽

Bioactive Metabolites ◽

Clinical Value ◽

Wide Range

Plants from the genus Sanguisorba have been treated as medicinal ingredients for over 2000 years. This paper reviews advances in the botanical, phytochemical and pharmacological studies of the genus. To date, more than 120 chemical constituents have been isolated and identified from these plants, especially from S. officinalis and S. minor. Among these compounds, triterpenoids, phenols and flavonoids are the primary biologically active constituents. Triterpenoids can be used as quality control markers to determine the quality of medicinal materials and their preparations. In vivo and in vitro studies have shown that plants from the genus Sanguisorba exhibit a wide range of pharmacological properties, including hemostatic, antibacterial, antitumor, neuroprotective and hypoglycemic activities. In Chinese medical practice, many drugs (e.g., tablets and powders) that contain S. officinalis roots have been used to treat leukopenia, hemorrhaging and burns. However, there is still a multitude of Sanguisorba species that have garnered little or no attention. Indeed, there are few reports concerning the clinical use and toxic effects of these plants. Further attention should be focused on the study of these species in order to gather information on their respective toxicology data, any relevant quality-control measures, and the clinical value of the crude extracts, active compounds, and bioactive metabolites from Genus Sanguisorba.

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Vitex Diterpenoids: Structural Diversity and Pharmacological Activity

Current Pharmaceutical Design ◽

10.2174/1381612825666191216151703 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 138-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yanfei Ban ◽

Tianshuang Xia ◽

Rui Jing ◽

Yaoli Guo ◽

Yiya Geng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pharmacological Activity ◽

Hormone Level ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Folk Medicine ◽

Structural Diversity ◽

Pharmacological Activities ◽

Structure Activity ◽

Wide Range ◽

Potential Applications

Plants of the genus Vitex (Verbenaceae) are mainly distributed throughout tropical and temperate regions, and many Vitex plants have been traditionally used in folk medicine. Plants of this genus are a rich source of diterpenoids, which not only displayed versatile structural diversity with potential chemotaxonomical significance but also exhibited a wide range of biological activities, mainly including in vitro cytotoxic, antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, hormone level-regulating and antiangiogenic activities. Recently, a series of bioactive diterpenoids, with interesting carbon skeletons, have been reported and gathered considerable interest. This article systematically reviewed diterpenoids isolated from the genus Vitex that appeared in the literature up to December 2018, critically highlighting their structural diversity and pharmacological activities. Up to now, a total of 154 diterpenoids with diverse structures have been isolated and identified from Vitex plants. The authors also summarized the reported structure-activity relationships of those well explored Vitex diterpenoids. Finally, the authors discussed the challenges and potential applications of these diterpenoids in the future.

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A Review on Daphnane-Type Diterpenoids and Their Bioactive Studies

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules24091842 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (9) ◽

pp. 1842 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Yue-Xian Jin ◽

Lei-Ling Shi ◽

Da-Peng Zhang ◽

Hong-Yan Wei ◽

Yuan Si ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biological Activities ◽

Structural Diversity ◽

Cytotoxic Activities ◽

Hydroxyl Groups ◽

Substitution Pattern ◽

In Vivo Experiments ◽

Wide Range ◽

Anti Cancer

Natural daphnane diterpenoids, mainly distributed in plants of the Thymelaeaceae and Euphorbiaceae families, usually include a 5/7/6-tricyclic ring system with poly-hydroxyl groups located at C-3, C-4, C-5, C-9, C-13, C-14, or C-20, while some special types have a characteristic orthoester motif triaxially connectedat C-9, C-13, and C-14. The daphnane-type diterpenoids can be classified into five types: 6-epoxy daphnane diterpenoids, resiniferonoids, genkwanines, 1-alkyldaphnanes and rediocides, based on the oxygen-containing functions at rings B and C, as well as the substitution pattern of ring A. Up to now, nearly 200 daphnane-type diterpenoids have been isolated and elucidated from the Thymelaeaceae and Euphorbiaceae families. In-vitro and in-vivo experiments of these compounds have shown that they possess a wide range of biological activities, including anti-HIV, anti-cancer, anti-leukemic, neurotrophic, pesticidal and cytotoxic effects. A comprehensive account of the structural diversity is given in this review, along with the cytotoxic activities of daphnane-type diterpenoids, up to April 2019.

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Euphorbia Diterpenes: An Update of Isolation, Structure, Pharmacological Activities and Structure–Activity Relationship

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26165055 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (16) ◽

pp. 5055

Author(s):

Douglas Kemboi ◽

Xavier Siwe-Noundou ◽

Rui W. M. Krause ◽

Moses K. Langat ◽

Vuyelwa Jacqueline Tembu

Keyword(s):

Drug Discovery ◽

Structural Diversity ◽

Structure Activity Relationship ◽

Activity Relationship ◽

Hydroxyl Group ◽

Pharmacological Activities ◽

Structure Activity ◽

Wide Range ◽

Ic50 Values

Euphorbia species have a rich history of ethnomedicinal use and ethnopharmacological applications in drug discovery. This is due to the presence of a wide range of diterpenes exhibiting great structural diversity and pharmacological activities. As a result, Euphorbia diterpenes have remained the focus of drug discovery investigations from natural products. The current review documents over 350 diterpenes, isolated from Euphorbia species, their structures, classification, biosynthetic pathways, and their structure–activity relationships for the period covering 2013–2020. Among the isolated diterpenes, over 20 skeletal structures were identified. Lathyrane, jatrophane, ingenane, ingenol, and ingol were identified as the major diterpenes in most Euphorbia species. Most of the isolated diterpenes were evaluated for their cytotoxicity activities, multidrug resistance abilities, and inhibitory activities in vitro, and reported good activities with significant half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) values ranging from 10–50 µM. The lathyranes, isopimaranes, and jatrophanes diterpenes were further found to show potent inhibition of P-glycoprotein, which is known to confer drug resistance abilities in cells leading to decreased cytotoxic effects. Structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies revealed the significance of a free hydroxyl group at position C-3 in enhancing the anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities and the negative effect it has in position C-2. Esterification of this functionality, in selected diterpenes, was found to enhance these activities. Thus, Euphorbia diterpenes offer a valuable source of lead compounds that could be investigated further as potential candidates for drug discovery.

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Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. (Asteraceae): Ethnomedicinal Uses, Chemical Constituents, and Biological Activities

Biomolecules ◽

10.3390/biom11111738 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1738

Author(s):

Deepak Timalsina ◽

Hari Prasad Devkota

Keyword(s):

Biological Activities ◽

Chemical Constituents ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Bibliographic Databases ◽

Eclipta Prostrata ◽

Wide Range ◽

Available Information ◽

Phenolic Acid Derivatives ◽

Ethnomedicinal Uses ◽

Important Medicinal Plant

Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. (Syn.: Eclipta alba (L.) Hassak, Family: Asteraceae) is an important medicinal plant in the tropical and subtropical regions. It is widely used in treating various diseases of skin, liver and stomach in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and other countries. The main aim of this review was to collect and analyze the available information on traditional uses, phytoconstituents, and biological activities of E. prostrata. The scientific information was collected from the online bibliographic databases such as Scopus, MEDLINE/PubMed, Google Scholar, SciFinder, etc. and books and proceedings. The active phytochemicals were coumestan derivatives, phenolic acid derivatives, flavonoids, triterpenoid and steroid saponins, substituted thiophenes, etc. Various extracts and isolated compounds of E. prostrata showed a wide range of biological activities such as antimicrobial, anticancer, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective and hair growth promoting activities. Relatively a few studies have been performed to reveal the exact phytoconstituents responsible for their corresponding pharmacological activities. Future studies should focus on detailed mechanism based studies using animal models and clinical studies.

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Phytochemistry, Ethnopharmacological Uses, Biological Activities, and Therapeutic Applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: A Comprehensive Review

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26206252 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (20) ◽

pp. 6252

Author(s):

Md Yousof Ali ◽

Seongkyu Park ◽

Munseog Chang

Keyword(s):

Biological Activities ◽

Chemical Constituents ◽

Pharmacological Properties ◽

Cassia Obtusifolia ◽

Antiplatelet Aggregation ◽

Natural Remedy ◽

Therapeutic Uses ◽

Wide Range ◽

Anthraquinone Derivatives ◽

Aloe Emodin

Cassia obtusifolia L., of the Leguminosae family, is used as a diuretic, laxative, tonic, purgative, and natural remedy for treating headache, dizziness, constipation, tophobia, and lacrimation and for improving eyesight. It is commonly used in tea in Korea. Various anthraquinone derivatives make up its main chemical constituents: emodin, chrysophanol, physcion, obtusifolin, obtusin, au rantio-obtusin, chryso-obtusin, alaternin, questin, aloe-emodin, gluco-aurantio-obtusin, gluco-obtusifolin, naphthopyrone glycosides, toralactone-9-β-gentiobioside, toralactone gentiobioside, and cassiaside. C. obtusifolia L. possesses a wide range of pharmacological properties (e.g., antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective properties) and may be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer. In addition, C. obtusifolia L. contributes to histamine release and antiplatelet aggregation. This review summarizes the botanical, phytochemical, and pharmacological features of C. obtusifolia and its therapeutic uses.

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Sinensetin: An Insight on Its Pharmacological Activities, Mechanisms of Action and Toxicity

Frontiers in Pharmacology ◽

10.3389/fphar.2020.553404 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Lee Han Jie ◽

Ibrahim Jantan ◽

Syaratul Dalina Yusoff ◽

Juriyati Jalil ◽

Khairana Husain

Keyword(s):

Drug Discovery ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Mechanisms Of Action ◽

Comprehensive Understanding ◽

Anticancer Activities ◽

Pharmacological Activities ◽

Disease States ◽

Wide Range

Sinensetin, a plant-derived polymethoxylated flavonoid found in Orthosiphon aristatus var. aristatus and several citrus fruits, has been found to possess strong anticancer activities and a variety of other pharmacological benefits and promising potency in intended activities with minimal toxicity. This review aims to compile an up-to-date reports of published scientific information on sinensetin pharmacological activities, mechanisms of action and toxicity. The present findings about the compound are critically analyzed and its prospect as a lead molecule for drug discovery is highlighted. The databases employed for data collection are mainly through Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct. In-vitro and in-vivo studies showed that sinensetin possessed strong anticancer activities and a wide range of pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-obesity, anti-dementia and vasorelaxant activities. The studies provided some insights on its several mechanisms of action in cancer and other disease states. However, more detail mechanistic studies are needed to understand its pharmacological effects. More in vivo studies in various animal models including toxicity, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and bioavailability studies are required to assess its efficacy and safety before submission to clinical studies. In this review, an insight on sinensetin pharmacological activities and mechanisms of action serves as a useful resource for a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of sinensetin as a potential lead candidate for drug discovery.

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