Evaluation of clinical trials of the plants, which have ethnobotanical uses for skin disorders in Turkey: a review

Background Ethnobotanical studies investigating a large number of traditional herbs and uses have an important role in the discovery of new drugs. Nowadays, some of these traditional herbs are researched directly in the clinical trials. In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the 19 plant species that have been identified in the clinical trials among 300 plant species belonging to 79 families with traditional use for skin problems in Turkey. Main body Natural sources are very important to treat diseases for thousands of years. The ethnopharmacological research of natural products ranges from the collection of biogenic samples such as plants to preclinical and clinical studies with the aim of developing drug templates or new drugs. In the ethnopharmacological approach, it is aimed to reach the result based on the traditional and modern knowledge about natural resources. The biggest advantage of this approach is synthesizing new and old information. After the plant or natural compound is determined, other processes work similarly with conventional drugs. Methods Ethnobotanical papers, thesis and projects in Istanbul University Faculty of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Botany and databases (PubMed and Google Scholar) have been sought and results were synthesized. Results Most of the clinical uses of herbs have been seen similar to their traditional uses. On the other hand, there are some plants on which their clinical uses differ from the traditional uses such as Borago officinalis, Calendula officinalis or Euphorbia peplus. When the frequency of traditional uses of herbs are compared, Plantago species, Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata are the most used taxa in Turkey, secondly, Hypericum perforatum comes. However, Plantago species are not of much interest in clinical trials. It is seen that most of the plants in the clinical research are tried for wound healing occuring due to different origins such as cancer, surgery and injury. Side effects were observed only during the application of Allium cepa, Cydonia oblonga and H. perforatum. Conclusions When clinical trials are evaluated in terms of efficacy and overall results, significant differences and effective results are seen in treatment groups given herbs in comparison with placebo or control groups.

تأثير بعض المستخلصات النباتية والرواشح الفطرية على الفترة الزمنية لأنبات وقتل بذور المديد L. Convolvulus arvensis

اختلف التردد العددي لانبات وقتل بذور المديد L. Convolvulus arvensis في التركيزين 50 و 100 ملغم/مل للمستخلصات النباتية حيث شرع اول انبات للمعاملة السيطرة في اليوم الرابع بينما سجل اول انبات للمعاملة نبات الحندقوق Melilotus indicus في اليوم السادس , بالنسبة للتركيز 50 ملغم/مل وقد سجل اول حالة قتل في اليوم الحادي عشر بالنسبة للنوع Euphorbia peplus في حين تفوق المستخلص النباتي الجرجير Eruca vesicaria على جميع المعاملات في عملية القتل في جميع ايام الدراسة اما عند التركيز 100 ملغم/مل فقد سجل اول انبات لبذور المديد في اليوم السابع في معاملة مستخلص ام الحليب Sonchus oleraceus بينما سجلت اول حالة قتل في اليوم الرابع عشر بالنسبة لمستخلص فربيون Euphorbia peplus و مستخلص الكلغان Silybum marianum , كما اختلف التردد العددي لتأثير الرواشح الفطرية في انبات بذور المديد في التركيز 50 ملغم/مل . سجل اول شروع للانبات في اليوم الخامس في معاملة الراشح Penicillium resticulosum بينما سجلت اول حالة قتل في اليوم العاشر للراشح A. alternate اما في التركيز 100 ملغم/مل فقد سجلت اول حالة انبات في اليوم السادس للراشح الفطري Penicillium resticulosum كما سجلت اول حالة قتل للبذور في اليوم الحادي عشر للراشح Alternaria alternata.

Xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of Euphorbia peplus L. phenolics

Background: Various phenolics show inhibitory activity towards xanthine oxidase (XO), an enzyme that generates reactive oxygen species which cause oxidative damage. Objective: This study investigated the XO inhibitory activity of Euphorbia peplus phenolics. Methods: The dried powdered aerial parts of E. peplus were extracted, fractioned and phenolics were isolated and identified. The XO inhibitory activity of E. peplus extract (EPE) and the isolated phenolics was investigated in vitro and in vivo. Results: Three phenolics were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of E. peplus. All isolated compounds and the EPE showed inhibitory activity towards XO in vitro. In hyperuricemic rats, EPE and the isolated phenolics decreased uric acid and XO activity. Molecular docking showed the binding modes of isolated phenolics with XO, depicting significant interactions with the active site amino acid residues. Molecular dynamics simulation trajectories confirmed the interaction of isolated phenolics with XO by forming hydrogen bonds with the active site residues. Also, the root mean square (RMS) deviations of XO and phenolics-XO complexes achieved equilibrium and fluctuated during the 10 ns MD simulations. The radius of gyration and solvent accessible surface area investigations showed that different systems were stabilized at ≈ 2500 ps. The RMS fluctuations profile depicted that the drug binding site exhibited a rigidity behavior during the simulation. Conclusion: In vitro, in vivo and computational investigations showed the XO inhibitory activity of E. peplus phenolics. These phenolics might represent promising candidates for the development of XO inhibitors.

Jatrophane Diterpenoids from the Seeds of Euphorbia peplus with Potential Bioactivities in Lysosomal-Autophagy Pathway

Euphopepluanones F − K (1 − 4), four new jatrophane type diterpenoids were isolated from the seeds of Euphorbia peplus, along with eight known diterpenoids (5 − 12). Their structures were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis and X-ray crystallographic experiments. The new compounds 1 − 4 were assessed for their activities to induce lysosomal biogenesis through LysoTracker Red staining. Compound 2 significantly induced lysosomal biogenesis. In addition, compound 2 could increase the number of LC3 dots, indicating that it could activate the lysosomal-autophagy pathway. Graphic Abstract

Diterpenoids with an unprecedented ring system from Euphorbia peplus and their activities in the lysosomal-autophagy pathway

Three jatrophane diterpenes with an unprecedented ditetrahydropyran 5/5/5/11 tetracyclic ring system and activity in inducing lysosomal biogenesis were isolated from the seeds of Euphorbia peplus.

LED light gradient as a screening tool for light quality responses in model plant species

Current developments in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) technologies have opened new perspectives for sustainable and highly efficient indoor cultivation. The introduction of LEDs not only allows a reduction in the production costs on a quantitative level, it also offers opportunities to manipulate and optimise qualitative traits. Indeed, while plants respond strongest to red and blue lights for photosynthesis, the whole light spectrum has an effect on plant shape, development, and chemical composition. In order to evaluate LEDs as an alternative to traditional lighting sources, the species-specific plant responses to distinct wavelengths need to be evaluated under controlled conditions. Here, we tested the possibility to use light composition gradients in combination with semi-automated phenotyping to rapidly explore the phenotypic responses of different species to variations in the light spectrum provided by LED sources. Plants of seven different species (Arabidopsis thaliana, Ocimum basilicum, Solanum lycopersicum, Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza sativa, Euphorbia peplus, Setaria viridis) were grown under standard white fluorescent light for 30 days, then transferred to a Red:Blue gradient for another 30 days and finally returned to white light. In all species, differences in terms of dimension, shape, and color were rapidly observed across the gradient and the overall response was widely species-dependent. The experiment yielded large amounts of imaging-based phenotypic data and we suggest simple data analysis methods to aggregate the results and facilitate comparisons between species. Similar experimental setups will help achieve rapid environmental optimization, screen new crop species and genotypes, or develop new gene discovery strategies.