Communication—Selective Electrochemical Detection of Catechin Compounds in Herbal Medicines

Most electrochemical sensors reported for catechin determination in herbal medicines actually involve the detection of not only catechins but also other flavonoids. This work proposes a strategy to selectively detect and quantify flavan-3-ol, known as catechins, in the presence of other flavonoids by complexation with AlCl3. Flavonoids (e.g.,rutin, quercetin) form stable complex with AlCl3 which affect the electrooxidation of these molecules. Hence, the electrochemical oxidation of catechin is free from the interference of other flavonoids as shown by differential-pulse voltammetry using glassy-carbon electrode. The approach was applied to herbal medicines and mass-spectrometry confirmed the presence of catechins in such samples.

Nanofiber Systems as Herbal Bioactive Compounds Carriers: Current Applications in Healthcare

Nanofibers have emerged as a potential novel platform due to their physicochemical properties for healthcare applications. Nanofibers’ advantages rely on their high specific surface-area-to-volume and highly porous mesh. Their peculiar assembly allows cell accommodation, nutrient infiltration, gas exchange, waste excretion, high drug release rate, and stable structure. This review provided comprehensive information on the design and development of natural-based polymer nanofibers with the incorporation of herbal medicines for the treatment of common diseases and their in vivo studies. Natural and synthetic polymers have been widely used for the fabrication of nanofibers capable of mimicking extracellular matrix structure. Among them, natural polymers are preferred because of their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and similarity with extracellular matrix proteins. Herbal bioactive compounds from natural extracts have raised special interest due to their prominent beneficial properties in healthcare. Nanofiber properties allow these systems to serve as bioactive compound carriers to generate functional matrices with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiseptic, anti-viral, and other properties which have been studied in vitro and in vivo, mostly to prove their wound healing capacity and anti-inflammation properties.

Determination of the heavy metal contents of frequently used herbal products in Pakistan

Purpose: To determine the heavy metal content of selected local and international herbal medicines sold for the treatment of various diseases in Pakistan. Methods: The different dosage forms of herbal medicines assessed were crude forms of syrups, gel, capsule, powder and tonic. Wet digestion method was used to prepare the herbal samples using nitric acid, and then analyzed for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg), using MHS-15 mercury/hydride system and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Results: The investigated results displayed the Arsenic level (0.00 ppm to 0.580 ppm); Cadmium (0.001 ppm to 0.006 ppm); Lead (0.00 ppm to 1.078 ppm) and Mercury (0.001 ppm to 0.012 ppm). All results were found below the permissible limit of acceptability intake of the World Health Organization (WHO) and American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). The pH of the samples were in the range of 1.52 to 6.99. Conclusion: The findings reveal that the investigated herbal products available in Pakistan are safe with reference to heavy metals, and considered non-toxic for human consumption.

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.

Herbal Medicine for the Treatmentof Viral Infections: A Systemic Review

The term “Antiviral agents” has been defined in very wide terms as substances other than a virus or virus containing vaccine or specific antibody which can build either a protective or therapeutic effect to the direct measurable advantage of the virus infected host. Viruses are simple in form which are very tiny germs. They comprise of genetic material inside of a protein coating. Viruses cause amicable infectious diseases like common cold, flu and warts. They also cause severe diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola, avian influenzas, dengue virus and COVID-19. Viral diseases are very complex and are easily spread. Herbs and herbal medicines were the foremost in treating infections from centuries over the world in every civilization. Modern science has narrowed the importance of herbal medicine in the past two centuries. But, the side effects and new varieties of diseases creating challenges to modern science. So, usage of herbal medicines is again attaining interests these days. Herbal products for different treatments have achieved a lot of popularity in the last couple of decades. Thus, discovering novel antiviral drugs is of extremely important and natural products are an excellent source for such discoveries. There are many herbs which are excellent sources for the antiviral properties to treat viral infections. This review provides the verified data on the herbal substances with antiviral activity, and some of the herbal marketed antiviral agents like CORONIL TABLETS from Patanjali and different companies had made an attempt to treat viral infections in this pandemic situation. Therefore, herbal plants proved to be a major resort for the treatment of diseases and sickness by traditional healers in many societies.

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.

Transdermal Nutraceuticals Delivery System for CNS Disease

Herbal medicines are being used by humans since the oldest civilizations and have been an integral part of traditional and alternative medicines. In recent times, pharmaceutical and biomedical scientists are taking interest in developing nutraceutical-based medicines to overcome the side effects and adverse drug reactions caused by allopathic medicines. Nutraceuticals have started occupying the global market. Nutraceuticals have gained widespread acceptance due to their efficacy in treating difficult to treat diseases, low toxicity, low cost, easy accessibility, etc. Safety and efficacy are other important factors in the commercialization process of nutraceuticals. Different novel advanced drug delivery systems have been constantly studied to improve the efficacy and bioavailability of medicines obtained from herbal sources. The transdermal drug delivery system provides a potent alternative to the conventional method of using nutraceuticals. The development of transdermal system-based nutraceuticals could provide the advantage of enhanced bioavailability, improved solubility, bypass the first-pass metabolism, and targeted delivery of drugs in brain-related disorders. It additionally provides the advantage of being non-invasive. This article reviews the potential effects of various nutraceuticals, in brain-related disorders as well as trends in transdermal nano-systems to deliver such nutraceuticals. We would also focus on advantages, application as well as recent United States-based patents which emphasized emerging interest towards transdermal nutraceuticals in brain disorders.

Analytical Challenges and Metrological Approaches to Ensuring Dietary Supplement Quality: International Perspectives

The increased utilization of metrology resources and expanded application of its’ approaches in the development of internationally agreed upon measurements can lay the basis for regulatory harmonization, support reproducible research, and advance scientific understanding, especially of dietary supplements and herbal medicines. Yet, metrology is often underappreciated and underutilized in dealing with the many challenges presented by these chemically complex preparations. This article discusses the utility of applying rigorous analytical techniques and adopting metrological principles more widely in studying dietary supplement products and ingredients, particularly medicinal plants and other botanicals. An assessment of current and emerging dietary supplement characterization methods is provided, including targeted and non-targeted techniques, as well as data analysis and evaluation approaches, with a focus on chemometrics, toxicity, dosage form performance, and data management. Quality assessment, statistical methods, and optimized methods for data management are also discussed. Case studies provide examples of applying metrological principles in thorough analytical characterization of supplement composition to clarify their health effects. A new frontier for metrology in dietary supplement science is described, including opportunities to improve methods for analysis and data management, development of relevant standards and good practices, and communication of these developments to researchers and analysts, as well as to regulatory and policy decision makers in the public and private sectors. The promotion of closer interactions between analytical, clinical, and pharmaceutical scientists who are involved in research and product development with metrologists who develop standards and methodological guidelines is critical to advance research on dietary supplement characterization and health effects.