Natural Products Journal, The - Volume 13, Issue 4, 2023

Traditional medicines are considered as both food items and medicine, which have been used for thousands of years. They contain aerial and underground parts of plants as active ingredients, and they also contain a variety of pharmacologically active plant constituents. The aim of this study was to summarize and highlight the most important traditional and modern health benefits of cashew nuts. The literature search was conducted in PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Medline and Google Scholar databases. The main compounds of cashew nuts are β-phellandrene + limonene, methyl chavicol, germacrene D, germacrene B, trans-α-bergamotene, β-copaene, linalool, α-cadinol, β-phellandrene, β-caryophyllene, β-bisabolene, 9-epi-(E)-caryophyllene, α-phellandrene, epi-α- cadinol, hexadecanoic acid, and epi-α-muurolol. The most important pharmacological benefits of Anacardium occidentale are anti-bacterial activities, anti-diabetic activities, anti-diarrheal activities, anti-fungal activities, anti-hyperglycemic activities, anti-inflammatory activities, anti-microbial activities, anti-oxidant activities, anti-tumor activities, insecticidal activities, and wound healing. Cashew nut is a high potential natural functional food because of its high pharmacological activities and it being an efficacious natural drug.

Hyssopus officinalis is a traditional medicinal plant that belongs to the family Lamiaceae, which has been used for centuries for various purposes like carminative, expectorant, and cough reliever. It has been used for the treatment of numerous diseases in patients such as ulcers, asthma, jaundice, leprosy, dropsy, bronchitis, COPD, diabetes, AIDS, bacterial and fungal infections as an herbal remedy due to its fewer side effects and is more efficacies than other traditional medicine. Major classes of chemical compounds found in H. officinalis essential oil are bicyclic monoterpenes, monoterpenoids, acyclic monoterpenes, phenolic monoterpenoids, monocyclic monoterpenes, monocyclic sesquiterpenes, tricyclic sesquiterpenes, bicyclic sesquiterpenes, tricyclic sesquiterpenoids, straight chain saturated hydrocarbons. Some of the major chemical constituents present in the H. officinalis are β-pinene, α-pinene, 1, 8-cineole, apigenin, diosmin, caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, cis-pinocamphone, trans-pinocamphone, iso-pinocamphone, pinocarvone, which are responsible for its various pharmacological activity. Various studies have been performed on the pharmacological activity of its extract, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, anticancer, antiviral, antiinflammatory, analgesic, anti-leishmanial, anthelmintic, anti-protozoal, and anti-anxiety. Recently, it is used as an anticancer agent and has been demonstrated by studying its cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on breast cancer and colon cancer cells. It is used as a potent antibacterial and antifungal agent being studied on the antibiotic-resistant bacterial and fungal strains recently, which can be further useful in developing herbal medicine against AMR. It is an excellent natural antioxidant due to the presence of polyphenolic compounds, and H. officinalis is used in various food industries as a source of natural antioxidants, which has minimum side effects as compared to artificial antioxidants. Furthermore, the pharmacological activity of these individual chemical constituents in H. officinalis extract still needs to be investigated for identifying the effectiveness of this plant in the natural treatment of various diseases. This review aims to collect various data regarding the traditional herbal plant hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), including its photochemistry, chemical structures of the phyto-constituents and pharmacological profile, along with all the pharmacological models. This plant has significant importance in the health industry, so further studies are required on its effective usage against various emerging health problems, including COVID-19, cancer, diabetes, AMR.

Background: Mimosa pudica is a tropical weed that belongs to the legume family and is native to South America. This plant is also found in different regions of India, such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu. It is a known plant that can show thigmonasty. The plant possesses diverse biological properties, including antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anticonvulsant, antivenom, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antifungal, antinociceptive, and antiulcer activity, and has an antioxidant and antifertility effect, antihistamine, wound healing, diuretic effect, etc. The herb is traditionally used for ages to treat urogenital disorders, dysentery, sinus piles, and wound healing. Objective: Review stresses on plant movement displayed by the plant Mimosa pudica and the responsible phytocompounds. The bioactive compounds isolated by various researchers to date and the pharmacological activities displayed by the plant are thoroughly reviewed. Methods: The literature related to phytochemical and pharmacological studies has been collected from various databases such as Scopus, PubMed, various student papers, publications, and internet sources from 1877 to 2021. Results: The net result of the study showed that Mimosa pudica possesses various phytochemicals responsible for plant movement and pharmacological activities that are further proven through computational studies. Further, nanoparticles and hydrogels from Mimosa pudica have been studied for their various applications in recent years. Conclusion: The herb seems to be a promising natural medicine to undergo further investigation, as evidenced by its diverse biological profile.

Background: A bioactive flavone, apigenin, is plentifully present in common vegetables and fruits, including spinach, parsley, celery stalks, peas, black olives, olive oil, grapefruit, kumquat, honey etc. It is a low-toxic flavonoid. Flavonoids are currently considered an important component in a huge range of cosmetic, pharmacological, and medical formulations. According to epidemiological research, flavone-rich diets have been related to a lower risk of cancer, notably, lung, skin, prostate, breast cancers and certain hematological disorders. It has been proposed as a preventive agent in other disorders such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and cardiovascular and neurological issues. Apigenin-enriched medications are more effective for some chronic conditions, but if consumed regularly, they can harm animal and human health such as stomach discomfort, skin irritation, numbness and prolonged sedation etc. Apigenin's bioavailability limitations need the development of innovative carriers to increase bioavailability. Flavonoid’s data is gathered from the major public databank in order to emphasize apigenin's important role in the treatment and prevention of numerous illnesses, as well as to explore its health consequences. Methods: The literature review of the apigenin was collected from various databases viz. Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, Google and Science Direct, etc. Results: The compiled data on the therapeutic efficacy of apigenin and its derivatives provides a platform for future researchers. Conclusion: The data revealed the pharmacological effects viz. anti-microbial, anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, ischemic stroke and anti-arthritic activities of apigenin isolated by using different solvents and analytical methods that can be useful in the utilization for the development and formulation of herbal preparation by future researchers.

Backgrounds: Phytochemicals are an important class of natural compounds present in vegetables, herbs, fruits, and seeds. Phytochemicals have been used in medicine for the treatment of human disorders in the form of drugs, medicine, and Nutraceuticals. Flavonoid class secondary metabolites were found to be present in medicinal plants and some food materials derived from plants. Flavonoid class phytochemicals have beneficial health aspects and numerous pharmacological activities in the medicine. Psoralea corylifolia has been widely used in medicine for the treatment of skin diseases, including vitiligo, alopecia areata, leukoderma, and psoriasis. More than 90 different types of phytocompounds have been separated and isolated from Psoralea corylifolia. Bavachinin is a flavonoid class phytochemical, found to be present in the seeds of Psoralea corylifolia. Bavachinin possesses anti-bacterial, anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, α-glucosidase and nitric oxide inhibitory potential. Methods: Scientific data on bavachinin have been collected from different literature databases such as Google, Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus in the present work and analyzed to know the biological importance of bavachinin. Scientific research data on bavachinin have been collected in the present work for their medicinal importance, pharmacological activities and analytical aspects. Further, all the collected scientific data have been separated into different sub-sections i.e., Medicinal importance, pharmacological activities and analytical aspects of bavachinin. Detailed pharmacological activity data of bavachinin have been analyzed in the present work to know the therapeutic potential of bavachinin in medicine. Analytical data of bavachinin have been collected and analyzed in the present work to know the biological importance of bavachinin in modern medicine for the standardization of Psoralea corylifolia. Results: Literature data analysis of different scientific research works revealed the biological importance of flavonoids in medicine. Flavonoid class phytochemicals have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-viral, anti-cancer and anti-ageing properties in medicine. Scientific data analysis revealed the effectiveness of bavachinin in cancer, blood glucose, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, inflammation, immune system, T cell differentiation, oxidative damage and enzymes. However, therapeutic efficacy, metabolism, biotransformation, pharmaceutical product development and pharmacokinetic parameters of bavachinin have also been discussed in the present work. Analytical data signified the importance of modern analytical tools for the separation, isolation and identification of bavachinin. Conclusion: Scientific data analysis of different research work revealed the biological importance and therapeutic benefit of bavachinin in medicine.

Introduction: The global pandemic COVID-19 and its uncontrolled spread and lack of effective therapeutics demand to investigate the herbal resources in search of novel, safe and potent therapeutics. Herbal medicines have proven the advantage of multi-target potential and thus can be investigated for virus-host interaction protein and viral protein targets. Objectives: The manuscript aims to provide an outcome-based analysis of studies performed to evaluate herbal compounds as anti-COVID agents. The studies focus on the proposed mechanism of viral inhibition by herbal compounds. Methods: The details on modern drug discovery approach for investigating potential antiviral agents include in silico screening, ADMET and molecular docking studies. It helps to establish the probable mechanism of viral inhibition as well as to establish pharmacophore. The reports explaining the role of herbal therapeutics/phytochemicals in antiviral drug development have been thoroughly searched. Results: The study summarizes herbal therapeutics and phytochemicals based on their antiviral properties against various pathogenic viruses. Herbal compounds that have an interesting role in the development of therapeutics and herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2 are included and discussed. Conclusion: The manuscript summarizes herbal resources and phytochemicals investigated as a potential therapeutic option for SARS-CoV-2 inhibition. It will be a useful resource for researchers interested in developing herbal therapeutics for the prevention and/or treatment of COVID-19.

Objective: The aim of our study was to assess thymoquinone (TQ) as a combination therapy with metformin (MT) against breast cancer in diabetic tumor-bearing mice. Methods: The antiproliferative activities of TQ and MET and their combination were tested against three breast cancer cell lines (EMT6/P, T47D, MDA-MB-231) using an MTT assay. We used the isobolographic method to calculate the combination index (CI). Balb/C mice were implanted with EMT6/P cells and diabetes was induced using Streptozotocin (STZ). The antitumor activity was assessed for TQ and MET and their combination in vivo. The antiangiogenic activity and apoptosis induction ability of TQ and MET were estimated using ELISA kits. To estimate the liver and kidney functions, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) levels, and creatinine were detected in serum samples using standard kits. The impact of the TQ and MET combination on reducing blood glucose levels was measured daily using a glucometer. Results: Synergistic anticancer effect was observed between TQ and MET. The combination of TQ and MET caused a significant reduction in tumor size (p-value <0.05) with a high cure percentage of (71.42%) and lower blood glucose levels. The combination therapy induces apoptosis, inhibits angiogenesis, and causes tumor regression. Moreover, no significant effect was observed in the serum levels of AST, ALT, and creatinine, as the values were very close to the normal ones. Conclusion: The combination of TQ and MET is considered a promising anticancer therapy to treat breast cancer induced by diabetes and nondiabetes mice. This combination possesses antiproliferative activity, anti-hyperglycemic activity, inhibits angiogenesis and induces apoptosis. Furthermore, this combination demonstrated low toxicity.