Youth’s Drink Consumption Habits for the Body Immunity

Covid-19 pandemic that is happening in Indonesia and throughout the world has caused changes in people’s eating habits. Food and beverages which can increase immunity become the main focus for the community during this pandemic. This study aimed to analyze the drinking habits on the immunity of SMA Muhammadiyah 25 Pamulang students. This study used a cross-sectional design. There were 78 subjects at the age of 16-17 years old who are 12th grade of SMA Muhammadiyah 25 Pamulang. Drinking habits were collected into 11 beverages types and divided into three categories (1: tea, coffee, and boba drinks; 2: fresh milk, powdered milk, sweetened condensed milk, ice cream containing milk, and yogurt; 3: date juice, honey, and traditional herbal medicine). Data were analyzed descriptively by applying the univariate test method. The results show that 66,67% of subjects consumed boba drinks more often. 32,05% of subjects always consumed coffee, and the last 39,74% of subjects rarely consumed tea. Furthermore, there are 62,82% of subjects more often consume ice cream, 25,64% of subjects constantly consume powdered milk, and 47,44% of subjects rarely consume fresh milk. Hereafter, there are 64,10% of subjects who always consume date juice. subjects often consume honey (47,44%) as well as traditional herbal medicine (46,15%). Subjects drink various beverages such as tea, milk, and their processed products, date juice, honey, and traditional herbal medicine to increase their immunity due to nutrient and antioxidant contents, to protect themselves from virus infection, including Covid-19.

Analisis Fitokimia Air Rebusan Daun Mantalalu (Euphorbia hirta L) Asal Kota Palu Provinsi Sulawesi Tengah

One of the herbal plants that have long been used as traditional herbal medicine by Central Sulawesi peoples is Mantalalu (Euphorbia hirta L). Central Sulawesi peoples used this Mantalalu to appendicitis medicine. The chemical compound contained in Mantalalu plant has a role in providing different pharmacology. A study was conducted about the chemical compound content Mantalalu plant (Euphorbia hirta L). The method of this research was boiling dried leave and wet leave of Mantalalu plant and phytochemical test including flavonoids tests, alkaloids tests, saponins tests, polyphenol, and tannin tests. The results of this research showed that the decoction of dried and wet leaf samples of Mantalalu plant contained flavonoid, polyphenol, tannin, and saponins bioactive compounds.

Glycosylated Coumarins, Flavonoids, Lignans and Phenylpropanoids from Wikstroemia nutans and Their Biological Activities

Wikstroemia nutans Champ. ex Benth., a traditional herbal medicine collected at the Lingnan region of China, was chemically investigated. A new bis-coumarin glucoside, wikstronutin (1), along with three known bis- and tri-coumarin glucosides (2–4), two flavonoid glycosides (5–6), and eleven lignan glucosides (7–17) were isolated from the stems and roots of W. nutans. The new structure including its absolute configuration was elucidated based on a combination of 1D- and 2D-NMR, UV, IR, HRESIMS spectroscopic data, as well as chemical transformation. Compounds (1–17) were first isolated from the plant species W. nutans, while compounds 1–3, 8, and 11 was reported from the genus Wikstroemia for the first time. All co-isolates were evaluated for their in vitro inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in murine RAW264.7 macrophage cells. The antibacterial activity of the selected compounds was also tested. Our work enriches the structure diversity of the secondary metabolites from the genus Wikstroemia.

Variation of Triterpenic Acids in 12 Wild Syzygium formosum and Anti-Inflammation Activity on Human Keratinocyte HaCaT

Syzygium formosum (Wall.) Masam leaf is known as a Vietnamese traditional herbal medicine used to treat atopic dermatitis and stomach ulcers. Recently, its potent anti-allergic effects were reported with possible active compounds analysis. Here, we collected S. formosum leaves from 12 wild trees and compared compositions of triterpenic acids (TA) with Centella asiatica. Anti-inflammatory activities of S. formosum leaf extract (SFLE) was compared with C. asiatica extract (CAE) using human keratinocyte, HaCaT. In this study, up to seven TAs were identified in SFLE, while only madecassic and asiatic acids were detected in the CAE. Total TA content varied among SFLE, but asiatic, corosolic, and betulinic acids were the major components. Surprisingly, wild tree sample 12 (S12) contained total TA of 27.2 mg/g dry-leaves that was 5-fold greater than that in the C. asiatica sample, and S4 had the highest content of asiatic acid (12.6 mg/g dry-leaves) that accounted for 50% of the total TA. S4 and S12 showed more than 3-fold higher anti-oxidative power than the CAE. In the UVB irradiation model, S4 and S12 (5 μg/mL) strongly repressed mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) and COX-2, while the CAE at the same condition showed moderate or weak repression. The difference in anti-inflammation effects between the SFLE and the CAE was also confirmed by protein quantifications. Taken together, SFLE has great potentials as a new cosmeceutical ingredient with a higher amount of skin-active phytochemicals.

Traditional Herbal Medicine Discovery for the Treatment and Prevention of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by pulmonary artery remodeling that may subsequently culminate in right heart failure and premature death. Although there are currently both non-pharmacological (lung transplantation, etc.) and pharmacological (Sildenafil, Bosentan, and new oral drugs on trial) therapies available, PAH remains a serious and fatal pulmonary disease. As a unique medical treatment, traditional herbal medicine (THM) treatment has gradually exerted its advantages in treating PAH worldwide through a multi-level and multi-target approach. Additionally, the potential mechanisms of THM were deciphered, including suppression of proliferation and apoptosis of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells, controlling the processes of inflammation and oxidative stress, and regulating vasoconstriction and ion channels. In this review, the effects and mechanisms of the frequently studied compound THM, single herbal preparations, and multiple active components from THM are comprehensively summarized, as well as their related mechanisms on several classical preclinical PAH models. It is worth mentioning that sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate sodium and tetramethylpyrazine are under clinical trials and are considered the most promoting medicines for PAH treatment. Last, reverse pharmacology, a strategy to discover THM or THM-derived components, has also been proposed here for PAH. This review discusses the current state of THM, their working mechanisms against PAH, and prospects of reverse pharmacology, which are expected to facilitate the natural anti-PAH medicine discovery and development and its bench-to-bedside transformation.