Global uses of traditional herbs for hepatic diseases and other pharmacological actions: A comprehensive review.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the 7th most common cancer and the 3rd leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. It is resistant to the majority of chemotherapeutics and has a dismal prognosis. Hepatocellular carcinoma is a prevalent complication of chronic liver disease (CLD) in India. Primary liver cancer is the 6th most common cancer worldwide and the 4th most prevalent cause of cancer-related death. In 2018, it affected 841,000 people and caused 782,000 deaths around the world. Thus, research into the tumor cycle and its prevention through suitable herbal (Unani/Ayurvedic) medication is critical for reducing the impact of primary liver cancer. Treatment options for end-stage liver cancer are limited, necessitating costly liver transplantation, which is unavailable in most countries. Here, we present the results of a comprehensive literature survey to determine the benefits of using various herbs with liver protective and antioxidant properties. This information will be useful to researchers working on liver carcinoma and free radical scavenging, both of which are important in curbing potential carcinogens.

Strategies in synthetic design and structure-activity relationship studies of novel heterocyclic scaffolds as aldose reductase-2 inhibitors.

Heterocyclic scaffolds of natural as well as synthetic origin provide almost all categories of drugs exhibiting a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as antibiotics, antidiabetic and anticancer agents, and so on. Under normal homeostasis, aldose reductase 2 (ALR2) regulates vital metabolic functions; however, in pathological conditions like diabetes, ALR2 is unable to function and leads to secondary diabetic complications. ALR2 inhibitors are a novel target for the treatment of retinopathy (cataract) influenced by diabetes. Epalrestat (stat), an ALR2 inhibitor, is the only drug candidate that was approved in the last four decades; the other drugs from the stat class were retracted after clinical trial studies due to untoward iatrogenic effects. The present study summarizes the recent development (2014 and onwards) of this pharmacologically active ALR2 heterocyclic scaffold and illustrates the rationale behind the design, structure-activity relationships, and biological studies performed on these molecules. The aim of the current review is to pave a straight path for medicinal chemists and chemical biologists, and, in general, to the drug discovery scientists to facilitate the synthesis and development of novel ALR2 inhibitors that may serve as lead molecules for the treatment of diseases related to the ALR2 enzyme.