Current Traditional Medicine - Volume 4, Issue 3, 2018

Since ancient times, plants played a basic role for humans and resulted in a fundamental resource both for surviving in the environment and for life quality improving. Particularly, many plants had specific properties which can be applied for some benefits to human health. Moreover, the large variability of plant species, located in different regions of the planet, has led to the development of distinct cultures and then to the use of plants as pharmaceuticals. In recent times, the use of plants as pharmaceuticals has moved from the historical empirical knowledge and applications to more scientific uses. Presently, a large number of plant-derived pharmaceuticals are used by humans and in view of growing human needs, extensive research activities have started for discovering new plant molecules. It is becoming clear that the wide diversity of natural compounds is a powerful stock for new pharmaceuticals against old and new pathologies.

There are about 5400 plant species grow in the mountains of Central Asia. The Chimgan Mountains are a spur of the Chatkal Range of the Western Tien Shan and also one of the richest areas in plant diversity in Uzbekistan. Some plant species such as Angelica brevicaulis, Bupleurum exaltatum, Daucus carota, Dictamnus angustifolius, Haplophyllum latifolium, H. perforatum, Ferula penninervis, F. prangifolia, F. tenuisecta, Heracleum lehmannianum and Prangos pabularia are found in the Chimgan mountains and they are used widely in traditional folk medicine to treat several diseases. Investigations of the phytochemical content of these species have led to the identification of bioactive substances such as essential oils, coumarins, flavonoids, sesquiterpenes and alkaloids. We summarized in this review the important reports on the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and pharmacological properties of the species of Apiaceae and Rutaceae families from Chimgan Mountains as described in the literature from recent years (1959 to 2017).

The word “Salvia” is derived from the Latin “salvare” (to heal) and indicates that many species of this genus are used as medicinal and dietary herbs. Traditional medicines consider Salvia plants useful for numerous biological activities such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, antiprotozoal, antifungal, blood circulation-improvement activity and prevention of atherosclerotic plaque formation. Interestingly, salvia plant extracts show potentially relevant activities against aging and mild cognitive damage and even neurodegenerative diseases containing different active compounds that enhance memory, attention and learning. Alzheimer's disease is associated with a loss of cholinergic synapses and improving cholinergic function is a target in the therapy. Salvia officinalis, is mostly used in Mediterranean diet as common spice and added to food for a traditional longstanding culinary utilization. Some evidence report that its use could be useful to ameliorate human health and plays the role of an adjuvant in Alzheimer's disease therapy and in this view we decided to focus our attention on this species. Exerting beneficial effects by inhibiting in vitro acetylcholinesterase activity and enhancing cognitive performance both in healthy subjects and patients with dementia or cognitive impairment.

Most Rubus species (family Rosaceae) represent a so far poorly explored source of plant products with a high potential of pharmacological/nutraceutical value (antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-pyretic, anti-inflammatory, immunostimulant, etc.) due to the content of phenolic compounds and flavonoids. Rubus ulmifolius Schott is a perennial shrub widely distributed at forest borders and uncultivated fields. Leaves and young shoots are used in folk medicine for several interesting properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-odontalgic, antimicrobial and gastrointestinal spasmolytic properties. Fruits (fresh or derivate products) contribute to a healthy diet for their effects in preventing metabolic syndrome at different levels such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. Here we report an overview of R. ulmifolius and an update of the most recent findings about its phytochemical composition and properties. Standardization of herbal preparations of R. ulmifolius as well as further studies to assess the complex chemical composition of R. ulmifolius bioactive compounds (metabolic profiling) are needed. In the future, novel in vitro approaches (i.e. plant cell, tissue cultures, etc.) together with metabolic engineering approaches might be explored as possible alternatives to cultivated or wild plants for a deeper exploitation of the whole biochemical potential of this plant species.

Traditional medicine is a global system of remedies having its special theoretical rules as well as its own procedural experience. The practice of traditional medicine has been recognized as the only given alternative for a proper health care system prior to the discovery of modern medicine. This practice has been popularly characterized as being relatively safe in comparison to conventional medicine and moreover effective. One of the highly acclaimed medicinal plant families is the Scrophulariaceae family, offering a gracious mine of species familiar in traditional medicine for the alleviation of many health disorders. In this review, a collection of previously reported literature concerning the traditional importance of some popular genera belonging to the Scrophulariaceae family namely Buddleja, Eremophila, Scrophularia and Verbascum is presented. Emphasis is not only made on the traditional medicinal value of these genera, but also further support of the ethnic claims is presented by recent biological and pharmacological evidence based studies on certain species.

Background: The problem of poor immunogenicity of new generation vaccines has generated the need for more effective and safe adjuvants for inducing a seroprotective immune response. Objective and Method: The plant-based immunoadjuvants have the potential to promote an optimized immune response and are promising candidate adjuvants for novel vaccine development. There are many natural compounds, which exhibit vaccine adjuvant activity. However, safety and hemolytic toxicity remain a problem. Research in the last four decades shows that plant extracts can be screened for isolating the least toxic adjuvant. Plant-based adjuvants with their superior immunostimulatory property could provide us with an effective alternative to conventional adjuvants. Conclusion: The present paper enumerates the plant-based immunoadjuvant which has shown remarkable immunostimulatory properties.