scholarly journals Pharmacological perspectives and phytochemical reservoir of Withania somnifera: A review

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 06-14
Author(s):  
Yashdeep Srivastava ◽  
◽  
Swati Upadhyay ◽  
Pankaj Gupta

Plants have always been an indispensable part of human life since the beginning of human civilisation. Withania somnifera (L.) DUNAL, popularly known as Wintercherry or Indian Ginseng, is widely considered as Ashwagandha. In Ayurveda, it is classified as a Rasayana (rejuvenation) and projected to promote mental and physical health, rejuvenate the body in debilitated conditions and increase longevity. Due to its beneficial chemical constituents, the herb possesses a broad spectrum of biological activities and is used to treat a variety of diseases affecting human health. These include Cardioprotective activity, Anti-cancer activity, Immunomodulatory activity, Neuroprotective activity, Antimicrobial activity, Anti-stress activity,Anti-diabetic activity and Anti-inflammatory activity. The present review discusses the pharmacological importance of Withania somnifera and its important constituents.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1778-1788
Author(s):  
Bargale Sushant Sukumar

Ayurveda is successfully implemented as a primary healthcare system in India, and it is flourishing in the promotion of health around the world. Ayurveda aims to create a society happily, healthy, and peaceful. In general, the simple regimes mentioned in Ayurveda texts are of immense use faced by the present world today regarding health pro- motion. Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera) is usually referred to as 'Indian winter cherry' or 'Indian Ginseng'. It is a shrub grown in India and North America whose roots have been used by Ayurvedic practitioners for thousands of years. Ashwagandha is one of Ayurveda's most essential herbs, used as Rasayana for its wide range of health benefits for centuries. Chemicals constitute of Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera)- The chemistry of Ashwagan- dha (Withania Somnifera) has been widely studied and numerous categories of chemical constituents have been described, extracted, and isolated, such as steroidal lactones, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannin, etc. More than 12 alka- loids, 40 withanolides and several sitoindosides have currently been isolated from the aerial parts, roots, and berries of the Withania species and have been recorded. The principal biochemical element of Ashwagandha (WS) root is withanolides, which are steroidal alkaloids and steroidal lactones. The pharmacological activity of Ashwagan- dha- It has been shown to have pharmacological importance as an Adaptogen, Antibiotic, abortifacient, aphrodisiac, Astringent, Anti-inflammatory, deobstructive, diuretic, narcotic, sedative, and tonic through centuries of Ayurvedic medicinal practice using Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera). Along with these Ashwagandha acts as Anti-stress,Anticarcinogenic activity, Anti-inflammatory activity, Anti-aging activity, Cardioprotective activity, hypothyroid activity and Immunomodulatory activity. Keywords: Ashwagandha, Withania Somnifera, Alkaloids, Withanoids, sitoindosides



Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Svetlana N. Morozkina ◽  
Thi Hong Nhung Vu ◽  
Yuliya E. Generalova ◽  
Petr P. Snetkov ◽  
Mayya V. Uspenskaya

For a long time, the pharmaceutical industry focused on natural biologically active molecules due to their unique properties, availability and significantly less side-effects. Mangiferin is a naturally occurring C-glucosylxantone that has substantial potential for the treatment of various diseases thanks to its numerous biological activities. Many research studies have proven that mangiferin possesses antioxidant, anti-infection, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, cardiovascular, neuroprotective properties and it also increases immunity. It is especially important that it has no toxicity. However, mangiferin is not being currently applied to clinical use because its oral bioavailability as well as its absorption in the body are too low. To improve the solubility, enhance the biological action and bioavailability, mangiferin integrated polymer systems have been developed. In this paper, we review molecular mechanisms of anti-cancer action as well as a number of designed polymer-mangiferin systems. Taking together, mangiferin is a very promising anti-cancer molecule with excellent properties and the absence of toxicity.



Author(s):  
Iqra Sarfraz ◽  
Azhar Rasul ◽  
Ghulam Hussain ◽  
Muhammad Ajmal Shah ◽  
Bushra Nageen ◽  
...  

: Oxalis corniculata (Oxalidaceae) is a small decumbent and delicate appearing medicinal herb flourishing in warm temperate and tropical domains such as Pakistan and India. Main bioactive chemical constituents of Oxalis plant include several alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, saponins, phlobatannins along with steroids. Due to its polyphenolic, glycosides and flavonoid profile, it is proved to be protective in numerous ailments and exhibit various biological activities such as anti-fungal, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-diabetic, and cardioprotective. Moreover, bioactive phytochemicals from this plant possess significant wound healing potential. Our current effort intends to emphasize on the immense significance of this plant species, which have not been the subject matter of clinical trials and effective pharmacological studies, even though its favored usage has been stated. This review proposes that Oxalis corniculata possess potential for the cure of various diseases, however, further researches on isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds along with pre-clinical trials are compulsory to figure out its pharmacological applications.



2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 497-503
Author(s):  
Kasula Masthanaiah ◽  
Karthikeyan E

Immunomodulation had been in application in medical systems and the traditional Indian systems like Ayurveda. It has various applications in medicine for altering the defence of the body that is immunity. A lot of conditions that require immunomodulation are supported by drugs for immune suppression and immune stimulation. They are often called as immune suppressants and immune stimulants. There are other class of drugs, immune adjuvants. Synthetic drugs are notorious for causing side effects and the herbal alternatives had been investigated for the activity. So the herbs stand as the alternatives for the synthetic drugs in better treating the disease that concern the immune system. The inconsistency of the in-vivo response of the immunity, with the phytochemicals, is also a limiting step for their effective usage as immunomodulatory agents when it comes to practical application. Overall, herbs had been supplying the chemical constituents that can be used directly or in the purified form as immunomodulatory agents. This review is the segregation of the various methods available to perform the screening of the drugs and extracts for immunomodulatory activity. This paper also enlists various herbs used for immunomodulation and had been proven for the same recently from 2010 to date.



Author(s):  
ANJU BHATNAGAR

Picrorhiza (family Scrophulariace), commonly known as ‘kukti’ is a small perennial herb found in the Himalayan regions of China, Pakistan, India, Bhutan and Nepal at an altitude of 3000-5200 m. Different plant parts and its extract have traditionally been used as a remedy of various ailments such as fever, asthma, jaundice, anemia, abdominal pain, dysentery, cold, stomach problems. Picrorihza has been investigated for its chemical composition and biological activities by various researchers. The major chemical constituents found in this plant were iridoid glycosides, cucurbitacins (triterpenoids) glycosides, phenylethanoid glycosides and phenolics. The Picrorihza has various pharmacological properties, including hepto-protective, antimicrobial, anti-mutagenic, cardio-protective, anti-malarial, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, and neuroprotective and antioxidant activities. A thorough bibliographic investigation was carried out by analyzing worldwide scientific databases including Pub Med, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Wiley online as well as offline sources. The Present review is aimed to provide an updated overview of traditional uses, chemical constituents and biological activities of Picrorihza to explore its therapeutic potentials and to provide bases for future research.



2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charu Arora ◽  
Vinita Tamrakar

<p><em>Gmelina arborea </em>(<em>G. arborea</em>) is a bio-prospective plant belonging to family verbenaceae. It is widely used for it’s medicinal properties from ancient times. The present paper comprehensively reviewed the traditional uses, medicinal properties and chemical constituents isolated from <em>G. arborea</em> based on literature reported as well as critical analysis of the research. The present article is aimed to provide information on recent advances and new foundations and direction for further exploring <em>G. arborea </em>for its applications. Pharmacological research reviewed that <em>G. arborea </em>possess various medicinal properties and biological  activities including antidiuretic, antidiarrhoeal, antipyretic, antianalgesic, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihelmintic, antibacterial, antifungal, cardiopotective, insecticidal, antiulcer, gastro-protective, anticancer, antihyperlipidemic and immunomodulatory activity. It has been reported for its applications in treatment of bone fracture, hypertension and regeneration of β-cells. The main chemical constituents of <em>G. arborea</em> include lignans, iridoid glycoside, flavonoids, flavons, flavone glycoside and sterols. The present review provides all the references and beneficial directions to explore further application of <em>G. arborea.</em></p>



2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (05) ◽  
pp. 959-1003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Luan ◽  
Keqing Han ◽  
Maoxing Li ◽  
Ting Zhang ◽  
Daoheng Liu ◽  
...  

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.



Author(s):  
Mohamed Zaky Zayed ◽  
Benedict Samling

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study was conducted to identify the phytochemical constituents of <em>Leucaena leucocephala</em> leaf extracts using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Hexane, petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol leaves extract of <em>L. leucocephala</em> were analyzed using GC-MS, while the mass spectra of the compounds found in the extract were matched with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) library.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>GC-MS analysis of <em>L. leucocephala</em> leaves revealed the presence of 30 compounds and the major chemical constituents were Squalene (41.02%), Phytol (33.80%), 3,7,11,15-Tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol (30.86%) and 3,7,11-Tridecatrienenitrile, 4,8,12-trimethyl (25.64%). Some of these compounds have been reported to possess various biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, antiparasitic, insecticide, nematicide, pesticide, anti coronary, antiarthritic, antiandrogenic, hypocholesterolemic, cancer preventive, anti-cancer, analgesic, anesthetic, allergenic and etc.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings of this study indicating that<em> L.</em> <em>leucocephala</em> leaves possess various potent bioactive compounds and is recommended as a plant of phytopharmaceutical importance.</p>



2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-74
Author(s):  
Hai Xuan Nguyen ◽  
Nhan Trung Nguyen ◽  
Mai Thi Thanh Nguyen

Propolis is a resinous mixture that honey-bee collect from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. The chemical constituents of propolis depends on area as well as plant sources. Almost propolis contains polyphenols and flavonoids, except Myanmar propolis contains triterpenoids. Propolis is well known to various biological activities such as antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer. There is no study on chemical constituents and biological acitivities of Vietnamese propolis, therefore, we comparative study on total polyphenols, flavonoids content, and antioxidant activity of propolis from Vietnam and other countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Myanmar, and China. The results showed that, propolis from China, Mexico, Brazil green type and red type contained high amount of polyphenols and flavonoids, and a corresponding high antioxidant capacity. The IC50 values of DPPH scavenging activity were 33.65, 35.98, 46.59 và 55.49 μg mL-1, respectively, and IC50 values of xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity were 43.84, 6.07, 9.16 và > 100 μg mL-1, respectively. Propolis from Vietnam and Myanmar contained small amount of polyphenol and they showed less antioxidant activity.



2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 512-524
Author(s):  
Sri Krishna Jayadev Magani ◽  
Sri Durgambica Mupparthi ◽  
Bhanu Prakash Gollapalli ◽  
Dhananjay Shukla ◽  
AK Tiwari ◽  
...  

Background: Salidroside is a glucoside of tyrosol found mostly in the roots of Rhodiola spp. It exhibits diverse biological and pharmacological properties. In the last decade, enormous research is conducted to explore the medicinal properties of salidroside; this research reported many activities like anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-aging, anti-diabetic, anti-depressant, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, etc. Objective: Despite its multiple pharmacological effects, a comprehensive review detailing its metabolism and therapeutic activities is still missing. This review aims to provide an overview of the metabolism of salidroside, its role in alleviating different metabolic disorders, diseases and its molecular interaction with the target molecules in different conditions. This review mostly concentrates on the metabolism, biological activities and molecular pathways related to various pharmacological activities of salidroside. Conclusion: Salidroside is produced by a three-step pathway in the plants with tyrosol as an intermediate molecule. The molecule is biotransformed into many metabolites through phase I and II pathways. These metabolites, together with a certain amount of salidroside may be responsible for various pharmacological functions. The salidroside based inhibition of PI3k/AKT, JAK/ STAT, and MEK/ERK pathways and activation of apoptosis and autophagy are the major reasons for its anti-cancer activity. AMPK pathway modulation plays a significant role in its anti-diabetic activity. The neuroprotective activity was linked with decreased oxidative stress and increased antioxidant enzymes, Nrf2/HO-1 pathways, decreased inflammation through suppression of NF-κB pathway and PI3K/AKT pathways. These scientific findings will pave the way to clinically translate the use of salidroside as a multi-functional drug for various diseases and disorders in the near future.



Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document