Hyssopus Essential Oil: An Update of Its Phytochemistry, Biological Activities, and Safety Profile

The genus Hyssopus is widespread in central Asia, East Mediterranean, and Mongolian areas. It has six main species which are used as herbal remedies, such as Hyssopus officinalis which is used as a condiment and flavoring agent in food industry. The other five species are H. ambiguus, H. cuspidatus, H. latilabiatus, H. macranthus, and H. seravschanicus. Its species are used in the treatment of various ailments such as cold, cough, loss of appetite, fungal infection, and spasmodic condition. Its constituents especially essential oils are popularly used as an additive in beverages, foods, and cosmetics. The volatile constituents are used for aroma in the food industry, cosmetic industry, and household products. The important active constituents in its essential oils are β-pinene, pinocamphone, isopinocamphone, and other terpenoids. Hyssopus genus is also bundled with other secondary metabolites including flavonoids luteolin, quercetin, apigenin, and their glucosides, as well as phenolic compounds including ferulic, p-hydroxy-benzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic, and caffeic acid. Combinedly, the extracts of Hyssopus are reported to have potential antiviral and antifungal activities proven using in vitro studies, whereas in vivo investigations have reported the crucial role of Hyssopus extracts in plasma membrane relaxation, cytotoxic, and sedative effects. This plant is believed to be relatively safe at levels commonly used in foods; nevertheless, more studies are needed to determine the safety profile.

Herbal Medicines—Are They Effective and Safe during Pregnancy?

Since the teratogenicity of Thalidomide has been proven, herbal products are more commonly used in pregnancy to not only relieve morning sickness but also to fight infections. These products are frequently considered as natural and therefore harmless. However, herbs contain a number of active substances that, when used during pregnancy, can affect the development of the fetus. Often, pregnant women do not consult the usage of herbal medicines with a physician. The access to these products is easy and treatment of certain ailments with the use of herbs is common in many countries. The aim of the present literature review was to discuss available data regarding the efficacy and safety of cranberry, chamomile, Echinacea purpurea, garlic, ginger, Ginkgo biloba, and peppermint, which are used to counteract the most common ailments during pregnancy, i.e., infections and pregnancy-related ailments (e.g., nausea and vomiting, dizziness, and headache). Analysis of available data showed that ginger is one of the most extensively analyzed herbal remedies. The dose of ginger below 1000 mg per day may help to relief hypereremesis gravidarum, and such an amount of ginger did not increase frequency of adverse effects for either woman or developing fetus. Data regarding other herbs are most often heterogeneous and give conflicting results with no clear conclusions. However, all herbal products should be used with a special caution in pregnancy. Further high-quality human studies should be determined to confirm the safe doses of herbal products which could be used by pregnant or breast-feeding women.

COVID-19 Response: The case for Phytomedicines in Africa with particular focus on Cameroon

Despite enormous efforts deployed and considerable positive results obtained in the global fight against the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) the scourge remains a major international public health hazard. The main control measures at the onset consisted in the application of barrier and hygiene measures to stop the spread of the virus and case identification and clinical management of symptoms in the absence of widely available anti-COVOD-19 drugs. Vaccination as a major control measure became widely available in the advanced countries of the global north, but not in Africa where less than 5-10% 0f the population are vaccinated against COVID-19. However, African countries, possibly excluding South Africa, have been less impacted by COVID-19 pandemic as they registered fewer cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Herein it is postulated that the wide use of African traditional Phytomedicines (herbal medicines) has contributed, at least in part, to the better control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa. Abundant evidence in the literature suggests the availability of anti-viral, anti-oxidant and immune-stimulatory agents in the proposed COVID-19 herbal remedies., these activities being similar to those the standard drugs used in the standard treatment/ management of COVID-19. The review also examines a number of COVID-19 herbal medicines including COVID Organics CVO (Madagascar) ADSAR, ELISIR COVID, COROCUR (Cameroon) IHP Detox Tea (Nigeria) and COVIDEX (Uganda) and notes that though approved by the competent authorities in the respective African countries, these phytomedicines have not been approved by the WHO. It is proposed that additional studies be carried out to validate the Africa herbal remedies for possible use as stand-alone or complementary treatment of COVID-19 in addition to vaccination and barrier and hygiene control measures.

A Characterization Study to Indetify Antibactrial Effect of Ruta Graveolens (Hurb of Grace)

Most of rural people even today depend on plants for medicines. The use of complentary and alternative medicine (CAM) has become increasingly popular worldwide, such that an estimated 38% of American adults reported using a form of CAM in 2006. The study of herbal remedies is common because many diseases and infections are known to have been treated with natural medicinal plants throughout the history of humanity. Ruta graveolens is aromatic shrub belong to family rutaceae and is commonly known as rue, cultivated as ornamental and medicinal herb in gardens. Due to its cultural and medicinal value, rue has been introduced in various countries of North, Central and South America, China, India, Middle East and South Africa. This plant also contains glucoside rutin. The flavonoids are a part of primary chemical components of Ruta graveolens Linn. The most important analyzed flavonoids are rutin (quercetin-3-β- rutinoside) that belongs to flavonol glycoside. Quercetin is other major flavonoids found in Ruta graveolens and can also be obtained by rutin hydrolysis.

Cognitive Enhancement and Neuroprotective Abilities of Plants

Extensive research suggests that a number of plant-derived chemicals and traditional Oriental herbal remedies possess cognition-enhancing properties. Widely used current treatments for dementia include extracts of Ginkgo biloba and several alkaloidal, and therefore toxic, plant-derived cholinergic agents. Several non-toxic, European herbal species have pan-cultural traditions as treatments for cognitive deficits, including those associated with aging. Acute administration has also been found to reliably improve mnemonic performance in healthy young and elderly cohorts, whilst a chronic regime has been shown to attenuate cognitive declines in sufferers from Alzheimer's disease. The present chapter looks at the ethnobotanical and pharmacological importance of various plants cognitive enhancing and other neuroprotective abilities.

Kolaviron, a Biflavonoid Compound: Pharmacological activity and Therapeutic Efficacy

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.

THE PROTECTIVE AND THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF CORN SILK EXTRACT ON UROLITHIATIC AND HYPERTENSIVE RATS INDUCED BY ETHYLENE GLYCOL

Renal stone is one of the most problems worldwide. They are affected by different factors such as environmental effectors such as nutrient as well as family history. Corn silk (CS) used as antiurolythiasis. This study investigated the impact of corn silk extract as the management of renal stone formation, hypertension, and hepatoprotective. This work has been carried out on rats at Faculty of science Sana’a University, University of Science, and Technology Laboratories. Twenty-four male albino rats with weighing range between (200 g to 250g) were taken. They were divided in four groups (each group consists of 6animals). The first group of rats took normal diet and named as negative control (Co) whereas, the second group took normal diet with ethylene glycol (EG) (0.75%) and 1% ammonium chloride (AC) for 28 days and serve as positive control (Po). The third and fourth groups took the same substances as inPo group with 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg of corn silk (CS) for 28 days respectively.Blood samples were collected from rats on last day of the experiment. All the tested samples showed a significant antioxidant DPPH radical scavenging activity and a notifiable decrease in serum aldosterone hormone, angiotensin comforting enzyme urea and creatinine levels comparedto positive control. Shown to significantly increased AST, ALT, and LDH in comparison to the urolithiatic group and near of normal group.In conclusion, the present study emphasizes the safe herbal remedies of CS as anti-hypertensive and antioxidants, as well as antiurolithiatic and hepatoprotective.

NATURAL PRODUCTS WITH ANTI-HERPES ACTIVITIES: IN VIVO STUDIES

Herpes are a group of similar viruses that are responsible for a number of infecting diseases, the most important of which are herpes simplex, herpes zoster and pseudopox. Resistance to traditional antiviral medications is becoming increasingly common, making treatment of such infections even more difficult. For example, the usage of nucleoside analogues like acyclovir to target the DNA-polymerase of the virus on a regular and long-term basis promotes the generation of resistant viruses. As a result, a different treatment is required. Natural products, such as herbal remedies, have been shown to have in vitro and in vivo activity against herpes viruses, and have shown to be a valuable source for new antivirals development and separation. The goal of this review is to highlight the most promising extracts and pure chemicals obtained from plants and marine species that have in vivo anti-herpes simplex virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2) action. Natural products as new anti-HSV medications offer a number of benefits, including fewer side effects, minimal toxicity, and lowered resistance, and a variety ways of deed.

A Preliminary HPTLC fingerprint study of Madhuka Indica –An Immune Enhancer

– Ayurveda is now accepted as a global medical science. The world is shifting to herbal remedies which is considered to be safe and effective. But the quality maintenance of these herbal medicines is a difficult task which hinders the globalization of Ayurvedic drugs and thus it’s a need to use suitable techniques to maintain relevant standards. Standardization is very much important for the reproducibility of the efficacy and safety of any drug which is brought to the counter as medicine for sale. Madhuka (1)has been mentioned in classical texts as brimhana, shukrakruta , veerya pushtivardhana, dahahara, shramahara, vatapittavinasham, bhutadi jantudoshagna ,kshatkshayharam etc. This article aims to explore the qualities of Madhuka pushpa, its phytochemical parameters with HPTLC and the preliminary standardization of preparing madhuka pushpa vati for its use as an immune enhancer