Natural Products Journal, The - Volume 12, Issue 3, 2022

Liver disease is one of the major factors responsible for increased morbidity and mortality worldwide. Presently, limited therapeutic options are available to treat liver diseases. Moreover, allopathic medications are a double-edged sword due to their unfavorable side effects and exaggerated cost of therapy associated with the treatment. Transplantation of the liver is still in infancy state and is associated with staggering cost as well as non-accessibility of donors. Moreover, the cost of treatment is also a very significant hindrance in the treatment of liver disorders. Therefore, the focus is shifting to evaluate the potential of herbal drugs for the management of liver disorders. Although the course of treatment with the herbals is slow yet, the effects are more promising due to lesser side effects and reduced cost of therapy. Numerous plants have been reported to possess hepatoprotective activity due to the presence of phytochemicals like alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, etc. Among these phytoconstituents, saponins are considered more promising candidates in the management of hepatic disorders. The present review is focused on the plants containing saponins used in the management of hepatic disorders with their underlying mechanisms.

Metals occur naturally in soil and many kinds of rocks, particularly in minerals and ores, which also play a vital role in living systems such as plants and animals. Over the large time scale, metal evolution from toxins to drugs has achieved a milestone mean in medicine. Currently, a few metal-based drugs (i.e., metallodrugs) have been used in the clinic to treat patients with different medical conditions, making exciting new developments in anticancer therapeutics (e.g., arsenic trioxide and cisplatin) that quickly move into focus. Moreover, a thorough understanding of the properties and effects of metals on the human body could improve the development and innovation of metal-based drugs. In this review, we have comprehensively described the discovery and development of metal-based anticancer drugs, as well as their side effects in clinical treatment. Although metallodrugs have shown promising outcomes in the treatment of cancers, further investigation is needed to optimize their side effect for broader applications.

Indigenous and medicinal plants have proven crucial to the health of mankind for a very long time. Dichrostachys cinerea is a traditional herb used in the treatment of a variety of human diseases in African and Indian traditional medicine. This paper reviews the ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemical constituents, pharmacology, and toxicity of D. cinerea, in order to provide scientific consensus for further research and exploitation of the therapeutic potential of this plant. Information was accessed by literature searches in different sources including Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The findings of this review paper highlight D. Cinerea as an important component of African and Indian traditional medicine. D. cinerea is traditionally used in the treatment of rheumatism, diabetes, coughs, asthma, kidney disorders, gonorrhea, syphilis, malaria, tuberculosis, epilepsy, snake bites, pains, wounds, boils, burns, toothache, headache, and scabies. D. cinerea displays diverse phytochemistry, with a wide range of isolated compounds that have well-documented biological activities. D. cinerea has demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo biological activities. In vitro, biological activities exhibited include enzyme inhibition, antibacterial, anti-fungal, and antimalarial activities. In vivo activities demonstrated by D. cinerea include anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, anti-analgesic, hepatoprotective, anti-urolithiatic, anti-lice, anti-dandruff, and neuropharmacological activities. Animal studies have elucidated the non-toxicity of D. cinerea for the ethanol root extract and methanol and water leaf extracts. It is vital that future studies on D. cinerea focus on the mechanisms of action behind these biological activities for both the crude extract and its chemical compounds. These studies could lead to clinical trials to confirm biological activities found in animal studies. Further studies on multi-target network pharmacology, and molecular docking technology of D. cinerea sub fractions for enzyme inhibitions and neuropharmacological activities are of great importance and could accelerate the process of pharmaceutical development of this plant.

Background: Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants is an aromatic herb native to South America but also distributed widely throughout Africa and Europe. This plant is traditionally used to treat various ailments including pain and swellings, flu, parasitic diseases and is used as an analgesic, antipyretic, and wound healing. Phytochemical analyses of D. ambrosioides revealed the presence of terpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins, fatty acids, and miscellaneous compounds, among others, which might be responsible for its modern pharmacological actions. Objective: The present work summarizes recent developments on phytochemistry, ethnomedicinal use, pharmacology, and toxicity of D. ambrosioides. A critical assessment of the literature information of D. ambrosioides is also presented. Methods: The available information on D. ambrosioides was collected through libraries and electronic databases [Scifinder, ACS, Scielo, Science direct, Pubmed (National Library of Medicine), Wiley, Springer, PROTA, Web of Science, Google Web, Yahoo search and Google scholar] from respective inception until January 2021. Results: More than 150 compounds, including terpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins, fatty acids, and miscellaneous compounds, etc., were identified from D. ambrosioides. D. ambrosioides exhibited a wide range of pharmacological activities, including antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, antiparasitic, anticancer, insecticidal, antigiardial, among others. Metal nanoparticles synthesized from D. ambrosioides extracts presented enhanced pharmacological activities as compared to the crude plant extracts counterparts. Conclusion: D. ambrosioides is a promising medicinal plant, however, more in vivo experiments, cytotoxicity tests, and mechanisms of actions of its extracts and compounds are recommended to transubstantiate the ethnomedicinal claims of this plant into scientific rationale-based information.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder which results in a high level of sugar due to inadequacy in insulin secretion. The high sugar level in diabetes is linked to the impairment and dysfunction of the eyes, kidneys, blood vessels, nerves, and heart. In the current research, herbal medicines have been explored because of the side effects associated with oral hypoglycemic therapy of hyperglycemia. Herbal medicines could play a dominant role in the control of diabetes mellitus. Methods: Methanolic extracts of seeds of Psoralea corylifolia L & Psoralea esculenta L have been screened for both in-vitro and in-vivo anti-hyperglycemic roles using streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The methanolic extract of both plants was evaluated for pancreatic tissue studies. Results: According to the outcomes, a significant decrease in blood glucose level was observed in the diabetic groups treated with methanolic extracts of Psoralea corylifolia L. seeds. Conclusion: In this study, the methanolic extract of Psoralea corylifolia L. seeds used to evaluate anti-hyperglycemic potential showed appreciably notable and astonishing results when compared with the Glibenclamide. The methanolic extract of Psoralea corylifolia L. seeds has the potential to regulate hyperglycemia in the in-vivo model. Hence, Psoralea corylifolia L. methanol seeds extract may be selected for its anti-hyperglycemic activity.

Background: Infertility is the first-rate public health problem affecting one in five married couples globally; male causes embody a significant proportion. Natural products could be an alternative or complementary inexpensive treatment for such matters. Echinochrome (Ech) is a natural quinone pigment obtained from sea urchin, and it was confirmed to possess many pharmacological properties due to its chemical activity. Objective: The current research paper was targeted to evaluate the potential effects of Ech on male fertility, and to highlight the possible involved mechanisms. Methods: Eighteen adult male rats were randomly distributed into three groups: control (1 ml of 2% DMSO, p.o.), low dose Ech (0.1 mg/kg, p.o.), and high dose Ech (1 mg/kg p.o.). Results: The high dose Ech caused a significant decline in the levels of glucose, ALT, AST, ALP, urea, Cr, uric acid, TG, TC and LDL-C and testicular tissue MDA, while it caused a significant rise in the levels of albumin, TP, HDL-C, FSH, LH, testosterone and testicular tissue GSH activity. Moreover, it showed a significant positive effect on the testis weight, caudal epididymis weight, sperm count, sperm motility, sperm morphology, fructose concentration, and α-glucosidase activity. However, no significant changes were observed in the histological examination of testicular tissue among all groups. Conclusion: High dose Ech improved male rat-fertility either directly by activating the pituitarygonadal axis, and or indirectly via enhancing the renal and hepatic functions, the lipid profile and or the antioxidant pathways.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a considerable public health concern due to the excessive dietary consumption of high caloric diet and subsequent obesity. Additionally, splenectomy is considered one of the major common risk factors for NAFLD. Objective: Regardless of the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) being the most common chronic disorder, there is no effective cure for it. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the efficacy of Holothuria arenicola extract (HaE) on hepatic steatosis in splenectomized (SPX) rats fed High fat diet (HFD). Methods: Male Wistar rats (n=28) were randomly assigned to four groups: sham rats fed a standard diet, sham rats+ HFD, SPX+HFD and SPX+HFD+HaE. The estimation of hematological and some biochemical parameters, as well as oxidative status, were analyzed. Results: Oral administration of HaE caused a significant amelioration in all hematological parameters relative to untreated splenectomized rats. Concerning lipid metabolism, HaE treatment caused a pronounced amelioration in lipid metabolism, as indicated by the decreased total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol contents, as well as the increased HDL- cholesterol level. HaE treatment significantly enhanced hepatic function, as exhibited by the reduction in liver enzyme activities as well as the increase in protein and albumin content. Moreover, HaE could retard the hepatic oxidative stress via a pronounced increase in hepatic GSH content and antioxidant enzyme activities besides decreasing MDA, NO and H2O2 formation. Conclusion: HaE could be utilized as a potential alternative hepatoprotective remedy via lipid metabolism and oxidative damage attenuation.