Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch.: a comprehensive review of its pharmacology, phytochemicals, ethnobotanical uses, and therapeutic potential.

Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch., commonly known as costus, is a perennial herb that has been traditionally used in various indigenous medicinal systems across Asia. Its historical prominence in traditional remedies underscores the need to explore its phytochemical composition, pharmacological properties, and potential therapeutic benefits. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the available literature on the pharmacological properties, phytochemical constituents, ethnobotanical uses, and therapeutic potential of S. costus. An exhaustive search was performed across multiple electronic databases, including PubMed/MedLine, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, TRIP database, and Science Direct. Both experimental and clinical studies, as well as traditional ethnobotanical records, were considered for inclusion. The phytochemical analysis revealed that S. costus contains a plethora of bioactive compounds, including sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, and essential oils, which are responsible for its myriad of medicinal properties. The pharmacological studies have demonstrated its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, hepatoprotective, and immunomodulatory effects, among others. Ethnobotanical data showcased its extensive use in treating ailments like asthma, digestive disorders, and skin conditions. Some clinical trials also underscore its efficacy in certain health conditions, corroborating its traditional uses. S. costus possesses significant therapeutic potential, largely attributable to its rich phytochemical composition; the convergence of its traditional uses and modern pharmacological findings suggests promising avenues for future research, especially in drug development and understanding its mechanism of action in various ailments.

Scientific validation of the antimicrobial and antiproliferative potential of Clerodendrum serratum (L.) Moon, its phytoconstituents and their biosafety by acute oral toxicity study.

The screening of aqueous extract of Clerodendrum serratum revealed its broad-spectrum antimicrobial potential against Gram positive, Gram negative bacteria, and yeast. Optimizing the extraction strategies, revealed 15% concentration of aqueous extract prepared at 40 °C by extracting for 40 min, as optimum parameters and its statistical optimization by Box-Behnken design led to 1.16-1.35 folds enhancement in activity. Organic solvent extraction further improved the activity where methanol proved to be the best organic extractant which was effective against all the 13 pathogens tested with inhibition zone ranging from 14 to 32 mm. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) study endorsed the methanolic extract to be the best organic extractant, as it showed the lowest MIC (0.5-10 mg/ml) in comparison to aqueous extract (1-10 mg/ml) as well as Partially Purified Phytoconstituents i.e., flavonoids (1-5 mg/ml), diterpenes (5-10 mg/ml) and cardiac glycosides (5-10 mg/ml). All these were found to be biosafe in both In-vitro (Ames and MTT assay) and In-vivo toxicity studies. Acute oral toxicity testing of flavonoids (2000 mg/ml) on Wistar rats did not reveal any significant change in relative organ weight, biochemical, hematological parameters and organs' architecture in comparison to control. Antiproliferative potential of flavonoids against human cancerous cell lines i.e., HeLa, HCT-15, and U87-MG, further increase the importance of this plant as a promising candidate for drug development. The overall study justified the medicinal importance of this plant.

Major Phytoconstituents of Prunus cerasoides Responsible for Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Potential Against Some Reference Strains of Pathogenic Bacteria and Clinical Isolates of MRSA.

Prunus cerasoides is a traditionally well known for human health in various ways and particularly its bark is reported to possess high therapeutic applications in wound healing, foot and mouth disease, and indigestion etc. But there is scanty literature available on its systematic studies and phytoconstituents responsible for antimicrobial activity so the work is proposed. The main aim of this study is to reveal the phytoconstituents responsible for antimicrobial and antibiofilm action to demonstrate the effectiveness of such compounds by extrapolating the data using clinical isolates of pathogenic bacteria. In the present study, evaluation of P. cerasoides organic extract and phytoconstituents for their antimicrobial and antibiofilm potential against reference microbial strains was carried out. Antimicrobial potential was carried out using agar diffusion assay and biosafety of organic extract and its phytoconstituents was evaluated by MTT and Ames mutagenicity assay. Ethyl acetate was found to be the best organic extractant, where Klebsiella pneumoniae 1 (39.5 mm) and Staphylococcus aureus (22.5 mm) were the most sensitive microorganisms, respectively. Among the major phytoconstituents, flavonoids (14.5-33.5mm), diterpenes (14-28.7 mm), and cardiac glycosides (11.5-20.5mm) exhibited broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Ethyl acetate extract showed better potency with lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (0.1-10 mg/ml) than the most active partially purified phytoconstituents (0.5-10 mg/ml). Total activity potency for ethyl acetate extract ranged from 26.66-2666 ml/g and for flavonoids, it was 41-410 ml/g, thus considered as highly potent and bactericidal in nature as evidenced from VCC study. The major bioactive compounds were found to be biosafe. The most active phytoconstituents were found to have antibiofilm potential, as well as effective against clinical isolates of MRSA, thus, the findings indicate that P. cerasoides stem bark could be a potential source for development of broad-spectrum drugs against multidrug-resistant bugs.

In Vitro Evaluation and Statistical Optimization of Antimicrobial Activity of Prunus cerasoides Stem Bark.

Nature is a generous source of compounds with the potential for prevention of infections. Antimicrobial screening of aqueous extract from bark of wild Himalayan cherry (Prunus cerasoides) was carried out against various pathogenic microorganisms with inhibition zone ranging from 19 to 24 mm. An optimization strategy, which included classical method and statistical method (RSM), was applied to optimize the effect of process variables. Fifteen percent plant material extracted at 40 °C for 60 min and at its natural pH (4.5) exhibited best antimicrobial activity with an average zone of inhibition ranging from 19 to 29 mm. Statistical optimization using RSM further enhanced the activity by 1.09-1.24 folds. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the aqueous extract against different microorganism ranged from 1 to 10 mg/ml. The aqueous extract was found to be reasonably thermostable at boiling temperature for 1 h. Viable cell count (VCC) studies of the extract showed it to be bactericidal in nature. Further, the aqueous extract was found to be neither cytotoxic nor mutagenic, when evaluated by MTT assay and Ames mutagenicity test. The results suggest that the aqueous extract of P. cerasoides could be a potential source to obtain new antimicrobials and effective herbal medicines to combat the problem of ever emerging microbial resistance.