A Review on the Phytochemistry, Medicinal Properties and Pharmacological Activities of 15 Selected Myanmar Medicinal Plants

Medicinal plants are a reservoir of biologically active compounds with therapeutic properties that over time have been reported and used by diverse groups of people for treatment of various diseases. This review covers 15 selected medicinal plants distributed in Myanmar, including Dalbergia cultrata, Eriosema chinense, Erythrina suberosa, Millettia pendula, Sesbania grandiflora, Tadehagi triquetrum, Andrographis echioides, Barleria cristata, Justicia gendarussa, Premna integrifolia, Vitex trifolia, Acacia pennata, Cassia auriculata, Croton oblongifolius and Glycomis pentaphylla. Investigation of the phytochemical constituents, biological and pharmacological activities of the selected medicinal plants is reported. This study aims at providing a collection of publications on the species of selected medicinal plants in Myanmar along with a critical review of the literature data. As a country, Myanmar appears to be a source of traditional drugs that have not yet been scientifically investigated. This review will be support for further investigations on the pharmacological activity of medicinal plant species in Myanmar.

A Review of Common Medicinal Plants in Chin State, Myanmar

Promising sources of novel bioactive compounds include plants growing in several third-world countries where the local flora is still largely uninvestigated. A paradigmatic example is represented by medicinal plants growing in Myanmar, especially in Chin State, in northwestern Myanmar. This is one of the least developed areas of the country where the people still use natural remedies derived from a rich biodiversity. This review mainly covers the investigations done on phytochemical constituents and biological activities of 20 medicinal plants, namely Alangium chinense, Anemone obtusiloba, Anneslea fragrans, Antidesma bunius, Croton oblongifolius, Embelia tsjeriam-cottam, Ficus heterophylla, Gaultheria fragrantissima, Hydnocarpus kurzii, Leea macrophylla, Leucas cephalotes, Millingtonia hortensis, Myrica nagi, Olax scandens, Pimpinella heyneana, Pterospermum semisagittatum, Ruellia tuberosa, Smilax zeylanica, Stemona burkillii, and Tadehagi triquetrum, that have long been used in the Chin State for curing various diseases. These plants have been selected on the basis of their medicinal uses not only in Myanmar but also in the related Ayurvedic healing system. Moreover, besides their medicinal importance, most of them grow in the Chin State more abundantly than in other regions of Myanmar. Although the efficacy of some of these plants have been verified scientifically, the chemical constituents and biological activities of most of them still need to be investigated to confirm the claimed therapeutic effects.

In vivo anti-tumor efficacy of Croton oblongifolius in DMBA induced mammary tumor in rats

The present study was designed to evaluate anti-tumor activity of the methanolic extract of stem bark of Croton oblongifolius in Sprague Dawley rats. The tumor was induced in rats by DMBA given orally and intramammarily and challenging with plant extract. After obtaining suitable mass of tumor, the extract was gavaged to rats @ 200, 500 and 800 mg/kg which showed reduction in mammary tumor volume in dose-dependent manner, which was supported by histopathological observations of the treatment groups.

A bioactive diterpene; Nasimalun A from Croton oblongifolius Roxb.

A clerodane type diterpene, nasimalun A was isolated from a dichloromethane extract of the leaves of Croton oblongifolius Roxb. Nasimalun A showed moderate cytotoxicity toward MOLT- 3 cell line with IC50 value of 26.44 µg/mL. Furthermore, nasimalun A showed minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 50, 12.5, and100 μg/mL for Bacillus cereus and both Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis respectively.

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil from Croton Oblongifolius and its Antibacterial Activity Against Propionibacterium Acnes

The essential oil of C. oblongifolius Roxb. stem bark was obtained by hydrodistillation. Chemical analysis by GC-MS identified 29 compounds. Terpinen-4-ol (17.8%) was a major component, together with α-guaiene (7.9%), E-caryophyllene (7.0%), myrcene (6.7%), (+)-cyclosativene (5.1%), sabinene (4.8%), aciphyllene (4.7%), pogostol (4.6%), γ-terpinene (3.4%), α-muurolol (3.2%) and germecrene D (3.2%). The essential oil exhibited antibacterial activity against Propionibacterium acnes ATCC 6919 with an MIC of 0.125%, v/v.