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1.
Herbal compounds for rheumatoid arthritis: Literatures review and cheminformatics prediction.
Li, XZ, Zhang, SN
Phytotherapy research : PTR. 2020;(1):51-66
Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic disease characterized by autoimmunity, joint inflammation, and cartilage destruction, which affects 0.5-1% of the population. Many compounds from herbal medicines show the potentials to treat RA. On this basis, the compounds with good pharmacokinetic behaviors and drug-likeness properties will be further studied and developed. Therefore, the herbal compounds with anti-RA activities were reviewed in this paper, and the cheminformatics tools were used to predict their drug-likeness properties and pharmacokinetic parameters. A total of 90 herbal compounds were analyzed, which were reported to be effective on RA models through anti-inflammation, chondroprotection, immunoregulation, antiangiogenesis, and antioxidation. Most of the herbal compounds have good drug-likeness properties. Most of the compounds can be an alternative and valuable source for anti-RA drug discovery.
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2.
The Potential of Flavonoids and Tannins from Medicinal Plants as Anticancer Agents.
Teodor, ED, Ungureanu, O, Gatea, F, Radu, GL
Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry. 2020;(18):2216-2227
Abstract
The tendency of using herbs extracts or natural compounds extracted from herbs for preventing or treating different illnesses, including cancer, continues to be an alternative to drug use. Many studies of plant compounds aimed at finding substances with selective cytotoxicity on abnormal cells. Phenolic compounds, as important secondary metabolites from plants, are one of them. In this review, the recent literature data from the past five years about anticancer/antitumor effect of flavonoids and tannins extracted from medicinal plants are surveyed. The cytostatic/antitumor effects of the individual compounds extracted from plants and/or of the plants' polyphenolic extracts are considered, in order to point out the most significant constituents or plants with anticancer potential. The most important results concerning these compounds and their derivatives in cancer prevention and treatment, the importance of their chemical structure, their mechanism of action in vitro and in vivo, and some bioavailability aspects are discussed.
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3.
Progress and prospects in the management of bacterial infections and developments in Phytotherapeutic modalities.
Akram, M, Riaz, M, Munir, N, Rasul, A, Daniyal, M, Ali Shah, SM, Shariati, MA, Shaheen, G, Akhtar, N, Parveen, F, et al
Clinical and experimental pharmacology & physiology. 2020;(7):1107-1119
Abstract
The advent of antibiotics revolutionized medical care resulting in significantly reduced mortality and morbidity caused by infectious diseases. However, excessive use of antibiotics has led to the development of antibiotic resistance and indeed, the incidence of multidrug-resistant pathogens is considered as a major disadvantage in medication strategy, which has led the scholar's attention towards innovative antibiotic sources in recent years. Medicinal plants contain a variety of secondary metabolites with a wide range of therapeutic potential against the resistant microbes. Therefore, the aim of this review is to explore the antibacterial potential of traditional herbal medicine against bacterial infections. More than 200 published research articles reporting the therapeutic potential of medicinal plants against drug-resistant microbial infections were searched using different databases such as Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), etc., with various keywords like medicinal plants having antibacterial activities, antimicrobial potentials, phytotherapy of bacterial infection, etc. Articles were selected related to the efficacious herbs easily available to local populations addressing common pathogens. Various plants such as Artocarpus communis, Rheum emodi, Gentiana lutea L., Cassia fistula L., Rosemarinus officinalis, Argemone maxicana L, Hydrastis canadensis, Citrus aurantifolia, Cymbopogon citrates, Carica papaya, Euphorbia hirta, etc, were found to have significant antibacterial activities. Although herbal preparations have promising potential in the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infection, still more research is required to isolate phytoconstituents, their mechanism of action as well as to find their impacts on the human body.
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4.
The investigation of the healing effect of active ingredients in traditional medicinal plants on lung cancer.
Gökalp, F
Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England). 2020;(11):102
Abstract
The healing effect of herbal active compounds on lung cancer has been recently investigated. Lung cancer is one of the leading types of cancer. The causes and prevention of lung cancer diagnosis have an important role as the inhibition of proteins in the initial treatment of the disease. The docking score was used to investigate the effect of some active compounds in traditional medicinal plants. The use of widespread medicinal plants and determination of active substances reveal the importance of docking studies in choosing the right active substance in a short time. The inhibition of essentially active compounds on lung cancer has been an important condition as the traditional medicinal plants that are rich in active substance and direct the experimental studies. In this study, the effects of the active ingredients in traditional food supplements used in many countries on the lung cancer were calculated based on the drugs used as standard. It will be hope that these active substances with high healing effects will be tested in the clinical field and turned into drugs.
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5.
Medicinal Potential of Garcinia Species and Their Compounds.
Espirito Santo, BLSD, Santana, LF, Kato Junior, WH, de Araújo, FO, Bogo, D, Freitas, KC, Guimarães, RCA, Hiane, PA, Pott, A, Filiú, WFO, et al
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2020;(19)
Abstract
Garcinia is a genus of Clusiaceae, distributed throughout tropical Asia, Africa, New Caledonia, Polynesia, and Brazil. Garcinia plants contain a broad range of biologically active metabolites which, in the last few decades, have received considerable attention due to the chemical compositions of their extracts, with compounds which have been shown to have beneficial effects in several diseases. Our work had the objective of reviewing the benefits of five Garcinia species (G. brasiliensis, G. gardneriana, G. pedunculata, G. cambogia, and G. mangstana). These species provide a rich natural source of bioactive compounds with relevant therapeutic properties and anti-inflammatory effects, such as for the treatment of skin disorders, wounds, pain, and infections, having demonstrated antinociceptive, antioxidant, antitumoral, antifungal, anticancer, antihistaminic, antiulcerogenic, antimicrobial, antiviral, vasodilator, hypolipidemic, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, and cardioprotective properties. This demonstrates the relevance of the genus as a rich source of compounds with valuable therapeutic properties, with potential use in the prevention and treatment of nontransmissible chronic diseases.
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6.
Herb-drug interaction studies of herbs used in treatment of cardiovascular disorders-A narrative review of preclinical and clinical studies.
Shaikh, AS, Thomas, AB, Chitlange, SS
Phytotherapy research : PTR. 2020;(5):1008-1026
Abstract
About 70% of the world population is currently using medicinal herbs as complementary or alternative medicine, which is increasing at a tremendous pace in both developed and developing countries in the last two decades (World Health Organization Medicines Strategy 2002-2005). This increase in consumer demand of medicinal herbs continues despite the rarity of scientific data to establish their safety and efficacy profile. Its popularity is also attributed to several factors, including easy availability, cost effectiveness leading to better purchasing power and general perception that they are safe. Herbs are often administered concomitantly with therapeutic drugs for the treatment of major ailments, raising the potential for herb-drug interactions (HDIs). The major pathways postulated for HDIs involves the cytochrome P450 (CYP450)-mediated inhibition or induction and transport and efflux proteins. In our review, we highlight frequently used herbal medicines for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders (CVD), their established HDIs studied using in vitro tools and in vivo pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic assays and case reports. Herbs have been divided into different sections on the basis of availability of HDI data in relevance to cardiovascular drugs: herbs reported to interact with cardiac drugs, herbs yet to be reported for interaction with drugs of any class and herbs reported to interact with drugs of other therapeutic category but not with cardiac drugs. The amount of active phytoconstituents present in the selected herbs and their extent of bioavailability are also mentioned. This review can serve as a quick reference database for physicians and health care professionals involved in CVD treatment, aimed at maximizing clinical outcomes with reduction in adverse and toxic effects.
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7.
Herbal medicines to the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections: advantages of the multi-targets action.
Amparo, TR, Seibert, JB, Vieira, PMA, Teixeira, LFM, Santos, ODHD, de Souza, GHB
Phytotherapy research : PTR. 2020;(1):94-103
Abstract
The research for new treatments of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) is important due to their high prevalence and number of hospitalizations. The purpose of this review is to address the pathophysiology of SSTIs to highlight the advantages of herbal medicines to their treatment, showing examples of species and compounds with multi-targets action. SSTIs have a complex physiopathology involving the microorganism, as well as inflammation and difficult healing. Therefore, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and healing activities are an approach possible for their treatment. Herbal medicines have a wide diversity of biological compounds, mainly phenolic compounds that may act on different targets and also have synergism between them. Therefore, a single medicine may have the four key activities that allied allow eliminating the infection, control the inflammation process and accelerating the healing process, preventing complications with chronic infections.
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8.
Evaluation of the effect of Silybum marianum extract on menopausal symptoms: A randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Saberi, Z, Gorji, N, Memariani, Z, Moeini, R, Shirafkan, H, Amiri, M
Phytotherapy research : PTR. 2020;(12):3359-3366
Abstract
The tendency to use herbs to manage menopausal symptoms has increased in recent years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Silybum marianum (L.) compared with placebo in women with hot flashes. Eighty women were randomly allocated into two equal groups (S. marianum extract [400 mg/d] or placebo capsules). Hot flashes frequency and severity were evaluated in 12 weeks with the Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS) and the Hot Flash Related Daily Interference Scale (HFRDIS). The data were analyzed in SPSS software using t-test, Mann-Whitney, chi-square test and repeated measure analysis. Hot flashes frequency and severity decreased from 4.32 ± 0.20/day to 1.31 ± 0.15/day and from 5.25 ± 0.22 to 1.62 ± 0.08, respectively, during the study in test group (p < .001) which were significantly better than effects of placebo in all steps of study (p < .001). Significant decreases in GCS and HFRDIS scores were also detected in S. marianum group compared with placebo after 4, 8 and 12 weeks (p < .001). The results showed that S. marianum can decrease frequency and severity of hot flashes significantly. Considering the safety and high consumption of this herbal medicine worldwide, its use in women with menopausal symptoms can be helpful.
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9.
Promising plant-derived secondary metabolites for treatment of acne vulgaris: a mechanistic review.
Soleymani, S, Farzaei, MH, Zargaran, A, Niknam, S, Rahimi, R
Archives of dermatological research. 2020;(1):5-23
Abstract
Acne vulgaris is the most common skin condition associated with inflammation of pilosebaceous unit. Since conventional therapies have not demonstrated desirable effectiveness and possess remarkable side effects, there is a growing interest in the use of herbal medicines for the management of acne vulgaris. In this study, plant-derived molecules investigated in acne vulgaris have been reviewed and their possible underlying mechanisms of action were discussed. For this purpose, different electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane library and Google Scholar were searched to obtain any in vitro, in vivo, or human studies evaluating the phytochemicals in the management of acne vulgaris. Data were collected from 1980 to 2018 (up to October). Most of the phytochemicals investigated in acne were from the category of polyphenols including resveratrol, myricitrin, schisandrin, terchebulin, alpha-mangotin, curcumin, ellagic acid and epigallocatechin 3-gallate. Moreover, alkaloids and terpenoids such as berberine, ursolic acid, lupeol were evaluated in acne vulgaris with less abundance. Various molecular mechanisms were involved in effects of phytochemicals including antioxidant (through down-regulation of H2O2, MDA, ROS and upregulation of SOD), anti-inflammatory (through reduction of proinflammatory cytokines, i.e., IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, TGF-β, TNF-α, NF-κB), immunomodulatory, antibacterial (against Propionibacterium acnes and Propionibacterium granulosum), antiandrogenic, reducing sebum production, and lipogenesis inhibitory activities. Therefore, phytochemicals seem to be a precious source for identifying new medicines for treatment of acne vulgaris; however, since most of studies are preclinical, further clinical studies are needed to achieve more conclusive and reliable results.
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10.
Roles of Medicinal Plants and Constituents in Gynecological Cancer Therapy: Current Literature and Future Directions.
Akkol, EK, Dereli, FTG, Sobarzo-Sánchez, E, Khan, H
Current topics in medicinal chemistry. 2020;(20):1772-1790
Abstract
Gynecologic cancers, including cervical, primary peritoneal, ovarian, uterine/endometrial, vaginal and vulvar cancers and gestational trophoblastic disease, are characterized by abnormal cell proliferation in female reproductive cells. Due to the variable pathology of these cancers and the lack of appropriate screening tests in developing countries, cancer diagnosis can be reported in advanced stages in most women and this situation adversely affects prognosis and clinical outcomes of illness. For this reason, many researchers in the field of gynecological oncology have carried out many studies. The treatment of various gynecological problems, which cause physical, biological and psychosocial conditions such as fear, shame, blame and anger, has been important throughout the history. Treatment with herbs has become popular nowadays due to the serious side effects of the synthetic drugs used in treatment and the medical and economical problems caused by them. Many scientists have identified various active drug substances through in vivo and in vitro biological activity studies on medicinal plants from the past to the present. While the intrinsic complexity of natural product-based drug discoveries requires highly integrated interdisciplinary approaches, scientific and technological advances and research trends clearly show that natural products will be among the most important new drug sources in the future. In this review, an overview of the studies conducted for the discovery of multitargeted drug molecules in the rational treatment of gynecological cancers is presented.