Discovery and identification of potential anti-melanogenic active constituents of Bletilla striata by zebrafish model and molecular docking

Background Bletilla striata is the main medicine of many skin whitening classic formulas in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is widely used in cosmetic industry recently. However, its active ingredients are still unclear and its fibrous roots are not used effectively. The aim of the present study is to discover and identify its potential anti-melanogenic active constituents by zebrafish model and molecular docking. Methods The antioxidant activities were evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The anti-melanogenic activity was assessed by tyrosinase inhibitory activity in vitro and melanin inhibitory in zebrafish. The chemical profiles were performed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS). Meanwhile, the potential anti-melanogenic active constituents were temporary identified by molecular docking. Results The 95% ethanol extract of B. striata fibrous roots (EFB) possessed the strongest DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and tyrosinase inhibitory activities, with IC50 5.94 mg/L, 11.69 mg/L, 6.92 mmol FeSO4/g, and 58.92 mg/L, respectively. In addition, EFB and 95% ethanol extract of B. striata tuber (ETB) significantly reduced the melanin synthesis of zebrafish embryos in a dose-dependent manner. 39 chemical compositions, including 24 stilbenoids were tentatively identified from EFB and ETB. Molecular docking indicated that there were 83 (including 60 stilbenoids) and 85 (including 70 stilbenoids) compounds exhibited stronger binding affinities toward tyrosinase and adenylate cyclase. Conclusion The present findings supported the rationale for the use of EFB and ETB as natural skin-whitening agents in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Nutraceuticals for Human Health and Hypersensitivity Reaction

An allergy is an overreaction of the immune system to a substance called an antigen, e.g., pollen from grasses, dust mites, etc. The drugs used for allergy in allopathy have undesirable side effects. The use of medicinal plants becomes popular due to the adverse effects of allopathic drugs. Nutraceuticals are food playing a significant role in maintaining normal physiological function. Mast cells are immunologically important cells found in almost all parts of our body, and contain histamines, leukotrienes within their granular sacs, along with those of basophils, are responsible for the symptoms of allergy. According to sources mast cell stabilizers can be classified into three categories, e.g., synthetic, semi synthetic and natural. Mast cell stabilising agents from natural resources can be obtained from different group of compounds, e.g., flavonoids, coumarins, phenols, terpenoids, alkaloids. In this book chapter, the active constituents present in them and their mode of action are highlighted using techniques of computational biology, e.g., molecular docking, etc.

Potential active constituents responsible for treating acute pharyngitis in the flowers of Hosta plantaginea (Lam.) Aschers and their pharmacokinetics

In Asia, the flower of Hosta plantaginea (Lam.) Aschers (hosta flower) is both an edible food and medicine. The hosta flower is often used as a material for cooking porridge...

Turmeric and Ginger as Health Protective Food Sources - An Integrative Review

Most of the medicinal plants utilized in traditional medicine are spices. Majority of those spices are widely used for aroma, flavour and colour in cuisine though they behave as appetizers, digestives, preventives and aphrodisiacs. Their antimicrobial properties are in a broad spectrum that provides a considerable immunity development within the human body. This review summarizes the beneficial characteristics of major active constituents in turmeric and ginger and their presumed pharmacological potential to safeguard human health.Keywords: Turmeric, Ginger, Curcumin, Human health, Active Ingredients, Nanotechnology

Literature review of 10 plants products for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and antiviral properties

The global health pandemic of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) did not have specifically approved medication for the treatment. To maintain the human immunity power by natural remedies is the only way to prevent coronavirus infection. We designed a study protocol by selecting 10 natural plant active constituents that were claimed by traditional and investigational ways to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and antiviral properties. We will analyze these selected 10 plants' active constituents by molecular docking analysis. This article is a literature review of selected 10 plants products including Coffea Arabica, Curcuma longa, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Zizyphus vulgaris, Sisymbrium irio, Borago officinalis, Althaea officinalis, Malva sylvestris, Cordia Latifolia, and Adhatoda vasica for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and antiviral properties.

Therapeutic Index of Herbal Medicine in Pandemic COVID-19: A Review

The study of this review focus on effective herbal medicine against COVID-19. There have been many such plants on which a lot of research has been done earlier, and these have been very good for health as we know that the current situation of the whole world is very serious with the novel COVID-19 virus epidemic. Hence, people consume a lot of herbal medicine to increase their immunity, such as kadha (brewing), and it is also very effective against this viral infection. If we take brewing in the proper dose, research should be done from clinical trials. We have been taking many medicines since old times and have been doing research on them which is Antiviral and useful in different types of infection caused by bacteria, viruses, microbes, etc. The plant's diversity included their chemical constituents, showing the promise of their therapeutic level against the antiviral activity, without any toxicity with plasma concentration. Many plants show effectively against viral infections that are Flavonoids, Glycosides, polyphenols, alkaloids, etc.. Still, any clinical trials on humans do not prove their proper research on them, but the Chinese system of medicine claimed that Traditional Chinese medicine improves the COVID-19 patient. According to this review, we aim to collate data of plants the various large in the quantity of natural active constituents from individual medicinal plant species that may have potential therapeutic efficacy. The continuing development of novel antiviral drugs needs to isolate and synthesize more new active constituents.

Isolation and Identification of Phenolic Compounds from Dianthus orientalis Wildly Grown in Iraq.

The plant Dianthus Orientalis that belongs to the Caryphyllaceae family is one of the useful plants in Iraq. Its seeds are commonly used for toothache. This project provides the first comprehensive research done in Iraq and the world to study the phytochemicals and the methods of extraction and isolation of active constituents from Dianthus orientalis wildly grown in Iraq. The plant was harvested from Penjwin in AL-Sulaymaniyah city, Iraq in September 2019.The whole plant were washed carefully, dried in shade area for two weeks, and milled in a mechanical grinder to a coarse powder. The plant was defatted by maceration with hexane for 7days and dried after that extracted by cold extraction methods using 80% methanol solvent for 9 days then fractionation with chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol to separate the active constituents according to the change in polarities. The chloroform, ethyl acetate fractions were used for identification and isolation of phenolic compounds by TLC, PTLC, HPLC and LC/mass, FTIR. Results of the phytochemical screening exposed the presence of, phenols in the plant extract. The phenolic compound (vanillic acid, coumaric acid, cinnamic acid, genistein, oleuropein) were separated and purified by PTLC. The isolated compounds were subjected to several chemical, chromatographic and spectral analytical techniques for their identification such as TLC, HPLC, FTIR and LC/mass.

Quality Evaluation of Taxilli Herba from Different Hosts Based on Simultaneous Determination of Multiple Bioactive Constituents Combined with Multivariate Statistical Analysis

Taxilli Herba (TAXH) is an important traditional Chinese medicine with a long history, dating from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the present times. However, the active constituents in it that parasitize different hosts vary, affecting its clinical efficacy. Given the complexity of the host origins, evaluating the quality of TAXH is critical to ensure the safety and effectiveness of clinical medication. In the present study, a quantitative method based on ultra-fast liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS) was established, which simultaneously determined the content of 33 active constituents, including 12 flavonoids, 4 organic acids, 12 amino acids, and 5 nucleosides in 45 samples. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was employed to classify and distinguish between TAXH and its adulterants, Tolypanthi Herba (TOLH). A hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) was conducted combined with a heatmap to visually observe the distribution regularity of 33 constituents in each sample. Furthermore, gray relational analysis (GRA) was applied to evaluate the quality of samples to get the optimal host. The results demonstrated that TAXH excelled TOLH in quality as a whole. The quality of TAXH parasitizing Morus alba was also better, while those that were parasitic on Cinnamomum camphora and Glyptostrobus pensilis had relatively poor quality. This study may provide comprehensive information that is necessary for quality control and supply a scientific basis for further exploring the quality formation mechanism of TAXH.