A Novel Network Pharmacology Strategy Based on the Universal Effectiveness-Common Mechanism of Medical Herbs Uncovers Therapeutic Targets in Traumatic Brain Injury.

Purpose: Many herbs can promote neurological recovery following traumatic brain injury (TBI). There must lie a shared mechanism behind the common effectiveness. We aimed to explore the key therapeutic targets for TBI based on the common effectiveness of the medicinal plants. Material and methods: The TBI-effective herbs were retrieved from the literature as imputes of network pharmacology. Then, the active ingredients in at least two herbs were screened out as common components. The hub targets of all active compounds were identified through Cytohubba. Next, AutoDock vina was used to rank the common compound-hub target interactions by molecular docking. A highly scored compound-target pair was selected for in vivo validation. Results: We enrolled sixteen TBI-effective medicinal herbs and screened out twenty-one common compounds, such as luteolin. Ten hub targets were recognized according to the topology of the protein-protein interaction network of targets, including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Molecular docking analysis suggested that luteolin could bind strongly to the active pocket of EGFR. Administration of luteolin or the selective EGFR inhibitor AZD3759 to TBI mice promoted the recovery of body weight and neurological function, reduced astrocyte activation and EGFR expression, decreased chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans deposition, and upregulated GAP43 levels in the cortex. The effects were similar to those when treated with the selective EGFR inhibitor. Conclusion: The common effectiveness-based, common target screening strategy suggests that inhibition of EGFR can be an effective therapy for TBI. This strategy can be applied to discover core targets and therapeutic compounds in other diseases.

Contribution of Sub-Saharan African medicinal plants to cancer research: Scientific basis 2013-2023.

Cancer incidence and mortality rates are increasing worldwide. Cancer treatment remains a real challenge for African countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where funding and resources are very limited. High costs, side effects and drug resistance associated with cancer treatment have encouraged scientists to invest in research into new herbal cancer drugs. In order to identify potential anticancer plants for drug development, this review aims to collect and summarize anticancer activities (in vitro/in vivo) and molecular mechanisms of sub-Saharan African medicinal plant extracts against cancer cell lines. Scientific databases such as ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and PubMed were used to search for research articles published from January 2013 to May 2023 on anticancer medicinal plants in sub-Saharan Africa. The data were analyzed to highlight the cytotoxicity and molecular mechanisms of action of these listed plants. A total of 85 research papers covering 204 medicinal plant species were selected for this review. These plants come from 57 families, the most dominant being the plants of the family Amaryllidaceae (16), Fabaceae (14), Annonaceae (10), Asteraceae (10). Plant extracts exert their anticancer activity mainly by inducing apoptosis and stopping the cell cycle of cancer cells. Several plant extracts from sub-Saharan Africa therefore have strong potential for the search for original anticancer phytochemicals. Chemoproteomics, multi-omics, genetic editing technology (CRISPR/Cas9), combined therapies and artificial intelligence tools are cutting edge emerging technologies that facilitate the discovery and structural understanding of anticancer molecules of medicinal plants, reveal their direct targets, explore their therapeutic uses and molecular bases.

A systematic approach for authentication of medicinal Patrinia species using an integration of morphological, chemical and molecular methods.

Four common Patrinia species, including P. heterophylla, P. monandra, P. scabiosifolia and P. villosa, have been documented as herbal medicines with various clinical applications, such as anti-cancer, anti-diarrhea and sedative. However, the authentication of medicinal Patrinia species poses a problem, particularly with the processed herbal materials. This study aimed to systematically authenticate the four medicinal Patrinia species in the market using morphological and chemical characterization, as well as DNA markers. We found the species identity authenticated by traditional morphologies were in good agreement with both chemical and molecular results. The four species showed species-specific patterns in chromatographic profiles with distinct chemical markers. We also revealed the power of complete chloroplast genomes in species authentication. The sequences of targeted loci, namely atpB, petA, rpl2-rpl23 and psaI-ycf4, contained informative nucleotides for the species differentiation. Our results also facilitate authentication of medicinal Patrinia species using new DNA barcoding markers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the application of morphology, chemical fingerprinting, complete chloroplast genomes and species-specific Insertion-Deletions (InDels) in differentiating Patrinia species. This study reported on the power of a systematic, multidisciplinary approach in authenticating medicinal Patrinia species.

Ethnobotanical study of Zhuang medicinal herbs of Ardisia: variety systematization, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, clinical application, and toxicity.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to systematize the Zhuang medicinal herbs of Ardisia (ZMHA) in China, to clarify the traditional use in Zhuang medicine and the dynamics of international research on phytochemistry, pharmacology, clinical application, and toxicity. KEY FINDINGS: There are 25 species of ZMHA, approximately 938 compounds from the different part, including triterpenoids, phenolics, volatile oils, etc. Pharmacological activity studies have also shown that this genus has anti-tumour, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, etc., and significant effects on respiratory, digestive, urinary, and musculoskeletal system diseases without toxic side effects. SUMMARY: The Ardisia has a medicinal history of nearly a thousand years, mainly for treating diseases of the injuries, musculoskeletal, and symptomatic system in Zhuang medicine. Some plants, such as A. crenata, A. gigantifolia, and A. japonica, are also commonly used in folk Zhuang medicine formulas, to treat musculoskeletal, injury, respiratory, and urinate systems disease. These diseases are related to inflammation. These could provide a new direction for future new drug development research. Therefore, species identification and resource investigation should be strengthened, and conducted in vitro mechanism, in vivo pharmacology, clinical efficacy, and toxicology studies and establish a perfect quality standard system.

Leaf extracts of eight selected southern African medicinal plants modulate pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages.

This study investigates the anti-inflammatory properties of extracts prepared from the leaves of eight southern African medicinal plants used traditionally to treat inflammation and pain. The inhibitory effect of aqueous and ethanol extracts on the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines was determined in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated and unstimulated RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. The levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2 release were determined using cytokine multiplex-bead assays. The ethanol extracts of Melianthus comosus Vahl (commonly known as honey flower), Tetradenia riparia (Hochst.) Codd (misty plume bush) and Warburgia salutaris (G. Bertol.) Chiov. (pepper-bark tree), demonstrated the most significant inhibitory activity, with over 50-fold inhibition of IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The aqueous extract of M. comosus also significantly inhibited the secretion of all the tested cytokines and chemokines. Phytochemical investigation of M. comosus ethanol leaf extract using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) led to the detection of crassolide, deoxylimonoic acid D-ring-lactone, 2-hydroxynonanoic acid and 5-noniloxytryptamine. To the best of our knowledge, the cytokine inhibition properties of most of the medicinal plants screened in this study are reported for the first time. Our results support the use of southern African medicinal plants as anti-inflammatory remedies and provide an insight into the immunomodulatory mechanisms of action.

Molecular docking of bioactive compounds extracted and purified from selected medicinal plant species against covid-19 proteins and in vitro evaluation.

Bioactive compounds are secondary metabolites of plants. They offer diverse pharmacological properties. Peganum harmala is reported to have pharmaceutical effects like insecticidal, antitumor, curing malaria, anti-spasmodic, vasorelaxant, antihistaminic effect. Rosa brunonii has medicinal importance in its flower and fruits effective against different diseases and juice of leaf is reported to be applied externally to cure wounds and cuts. Dryopteris ramosa aqueous leaf extract is used to treat stomach ulcers and stomachaches. Each of these three medicinal plants have been indicated to have anticancer, antiviral, antioxidant, cytotoxic and antifungal effects but efficacy of their bioactive compounds remained unexplored. Study was aimed to explore In-vitro and In-silico anticancer, antiviral, antioxidant, cytotoxic and antifungal effects of bioactive compounds of above three medicinal plants. DPPH and ABTS assay were applied for assessment of antioxidant properties of compounds. Antibacterial properties of compounds were checked by agar well diffusion method. Brine shrimp lethality assay was performed to check cytotoxic effect of compounds. Molecular docking was conducted to investigate the binding efficacy between isolated compounds and targeted proteins. The compound isomangiferrin and tiliroside presented strong antioxidant potential 78.32% (± 0.213) and 77.77% (± 0.211) respectively in DPPH assay while harmaline showed 80.71% (± 0.072) at 200 µg/mL in ABTS assay. The compound harmine, harmaline and PH-HM 17 exhibited highest zone of inhibition 22 mm, 23 mm, 22 mm respectively against Xanthomonas while Irriflophenone-3-C-ß- D-glucopyranoside showed maximum zone of inhibition 34 mm against E. coli. The compound isomangiferrin and vasicine contained strong antibacterial activity 32 mm and 22 mm respectively against S. aureus. The compound mangiferrin, astragalin, tiliroside, quercitin-3-O-rhamnoside showed maximum inhibitory zone 32 mm, 26 mm, 24 mm and 22 mm respectively against Klebsiella pneumoniae. Highest cytotoxic effect was observed by compound tiliroside i.e. 95% with LD50 value 73.59 µg/mL. The compound tiliroside showed the best binding mode of interaction to all targeted proteins presenting maximum hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. The binding affinity of tiliroside was - 17.9, - 14.9, - 14.6, - 13.8, - 12.8 against different proteins 6VAR, 5C5S, IEA3, 2XV7 and 6LUS respectively. Bioactive compounds are significant natural antioxidants, which could help to prevent the progression of various diseases caused by free radicals. Based on molecular docking we have concluded that phytochemicals can have better anticancer and antiviral potential.

Anti-Shigella and antioxidant-based screening of some Cameroonian medicinal plants, UHPLC-LIT-MS/MS fingerprints, and prediction of pharmacokinetic and drug-likeness properties of identified chemicals.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Shigella infection is a public health problem responsible for approximately 700,000 deaths annually. The management of this disease is impaired by the emergence of multidrug-resistant Shigella species, highlighting the urgent need to search for alternative treatment options. In this regard, investigating medicinal plants traditionally used for the treatment of dysentery, diarrheal infections, and/or associated symptoms in endemic regions might provide an opportunity to identify phytochemicals that could be further used as a basis for the development of future anti-shigella drug candidates. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study was designed to investigate the anti-shigella and antioxidant-based ethnopharmacological potency of some Cameroonian medicinal plants with an emphasis on pharmacokinetic properties of the identified chemical pharmacophore. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Briefly, plant species were selected and collected based on their ethnopharmacological uses and information reported in the literature. Crude aqueous, ethanolic, methanolic, and hydroethanolic (30:70, v/v) extracts from these plants were prepared and then screened for their anti-Shigella activity against four Shigella strains and cytotoxicity against Vero and Raw cell lines using microdilution and resazurin-based methods, respectively. The antioxidant activities of potent extracts were evaluated using DPPH, ABTS, NO, and FRAP scavenging assays. The chemical profile of potent extracts was performed using the UHPLC-LIT-MS/MS and the pharmacokinetic properties, druglikeness, and likely molecular targets of the chemical scaffolds identified were predicted using SwissADME and SwissTargetPredictor. RESULTS: Thirty-nine (39) plants belonging to 26 plant families were harvested. Out of the 228 extracts tested, 18 extracts originating from 6 plants (15.38 %) were active (MICs 250-1000 µg/mL) and nontoxic toward Vero (CC50 129.25-684.55 µg/mL) and Raw cell lines (CC50 336.20 to >1000 µg/mL). Six potent extracts from the two plants exhibited moderate to potent DPPH (SC50 8.870-54.410 µg/mL), ABTS (SC50 12.020-27.36 µg/mL), and NO (SC50 0.02-195.85 µg/mL) scavenging activities. Later, these extracts showed interesting ferric iron-reducing power (1.28-12.14 µg equivalent NH2OH/g of extract). The shortest onset of action time (4 and 6 h) observed following inhibition kinetics studies was observed with extracts BFSHE, PMSE, and PMSM. The UHPLC-LIT-MS/MS and some databases (Mass Spectral Library (NIST 14), Human Metabolome Database (HMD), MassBank, SuperNatural 3.0, The Food Database (FooDB), and Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI)) allowed the annotation of 18 and 17 metabolites in the extracts from stem bark of P. macrophylla and B. ferruginea respectively. Pharmacokinetic prediction of these chemicals showed that compound 6 (4,6a-bis(Hydroxymethyl)-9a-methyl-3-oxo-1a,1b,3,5,6,6a,7a,9a-octahydrobis (oxireno)[2',3':5,6; 2″,3'':9,10]cyclodeca[1,2-b]furan-5-yl methacrylate), compound 8 (Corynoxeine), and compounds 35 (Stachybotrydial acetate) demonstrated acceptable druglike and pharmacokinetic properties and might act through inhibition of kinase, transferase, protease, oxidoreductase, and family AG protein-linked receptors. CONCLUSION: The findings from this investigation demonstrated that Cameroonian medicinal plants are suitable reservoirs of anti-Shigella and antioxidant agents with good drug candidate properties.

Comparative phytochemical study of methanolic and ethanolic extracts of Thymus linearis and their antibacterial and antioxidant potential.

Thymus linearis (Thyme) is a medicinal plant widely distributed throughout Asia. Various parts of thyme are utilized for diverse medicinal purposes, including its use as a tonic and diuretic, for cough relief, as a flavoring agent, in treating dysentery, and for alleviating stomach disorders. Numerous studies have been conducted to explore the unexploited potential of thyme. Thyme was collected from the northern region of Pakistan, and sun-mediated extraction was conducted. Phytochemical analysis, utilizing GC-MS, revealed numerous bioactive phytochemical constituents with disease-preventing roles, including detoxifying agents, antioxidants, anticancer compounds, dietary fiber, neuropharmacological agents, and immunity-potentiating agents, in the methanolic and ethanolic (14 days) extracts of the flower, leaf, and stem. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay results indicated that the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of the stem exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, reaching up to 67.34% and 62.73%, respectively, while the values for the flower and leaf extracts (both methanol and ethanol) were around 60%. The IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration) values were also calculated for all the samples, ranging between 7 and 9 µg/mL. Positive antibacterial and antifungal effects against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli, as well as Aspergillus niger (fungi), were observed only in the extracts of the flower (both methanol and ethanol). The sun-mediated technique was used for extraction for the first time in this study. Therefore, this study introduces a novel approach to the extraction of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants, ultimately contributing to the development of herbal drugs with more convenient and cost-effective methods.

IMP: bridging the gap for medicinal plant genomics.

Medicinal plants have garnered significant attention in ethnomedicine and traditional medicine due to their potential antitumor, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Recent advancements in genome sequencing and synthetic biology have revitalized interest in natural products. Despite the availability of sequenced genomes and transcriptomes of these plants, the absence of publicly accessible gene annotations and tabular formatted gene expression data has hindered their effective utilization. To address this pressing issue, we have developed IMP (Integrated Medicinal Plantomics), a freely accessible platform at https://www.bic.ac.cn/IMP. IMP curated a total of 8 565 672 genes for 84 high-quality genome assemblies, and 2156 transcriptome sequencing samples encompassing various organs, tissues, developmental stages and stimulations. With the integrated 10 analysis modules, users could simply examine gene annotations, sequences, functions, distributions and expressions in IMP in a one-stop mode. We firmly believe that IMP will play a vital role in enhancing the understanding of molecular metabolic pathways in medicinal plants or plants with medicinal benefits, thereby driving advancements in synthetic biology, and facilitating the exploration of natural sources for valuable chemical constituents like drug discovery and drug production.

Phytochemical screening, antioxidant analyses, and in vitro and in vivo antimalarial activities of herbal medicinal plant - Rotheca serrata (L.) Steane & Mabb.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Malaria is a major global health concern that is presently challenged by the emergence of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) resistance to mainstay artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). Hence, the discovery of novel and effective antimalarial drugs is pivotal to treating and controlling malaria. For many years, traditional plant-based herbal medicines have been employed in the treatment of various illnesses. Rotheca serrata (L.) Steane & Mabb. belongs to the Lamiaceae family that has been traditionally used to treat, cure, and prevent numerous diseases including malaria. AIM: The present investigation sought to assess the phytoconstituents, antioxidant, cytotoxicity, antimalarial activities of Rotheca serrata extract and its fractions. The in vitro antiplasmodial activity was assessed in chloroquine-sensitive Pf3D7 and artemisinin-resistant PfCam3.IR539T cultures, and the in vivo antimalarial activity was analyzed in Plasmodium berghei (Pb) ANKA strain-infected BALB/c mouse model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The fresh leaves of Rotheca serrata were extracted in methanol (RsMeOH crude leaf extract). A portion of the extract was used to prepare successive solvent fractions using ethyl acetate (RsEA) and hexane (RsHex). The in vitro antiplasmodial activity was evaluated using [3H]-hypoxanthine incorporation assays against Pf3D7 and PfCam3.IR539T cultures. In vitro cytotoxicity study on HeLa, HEK-293T, and MCF-7 cell lines was carried out using MTT assay. The human red blood cells (RBCs) were used to perform the hemolysis assays. In vitro antioxidant studies and detailed phytochemical analysis were performed using GC-MS and FTIR. The four-day Rane's test was performed to evaluate the in vivo antimalarial activity against Pb ANKA strain-infected mice. RESULTS: Phytochemical quantification of Rotheca serrata extract (RsMeOH) and its fractions (RsEA and RsHex) revealed that RsMeOH crude extract and RsEA fraction had higher contents of total phenol and flavonoid than RsHex fraction. The RsEA fraction showed potent in vitro antiplasmodial activity against Pf3D7 and PfCam3.IR539T with IC50 values of 9.24 ± 0.52 µg/mL and 17.41 ± 0.43 µg/mL, respectively. The RsMeOH crude extract exhibited moderate antiplasmodial activity while the RsHex fraction showed the least antiplasmodial activity. The GC-MS and FTIR analysis of RsMeOH and RsEA revealed the presence of triterpenes, phenols, and hydrocarbons as major constituents. The RsMeOH crude extract was non-hemolytic and non-cytotoxic to HeLa, HEK-293T, and MCF-7 cell lines. The in vivo studies showed that a 1200 mg/kg dose of RsMeOH crude extract could significantly suppress parasitemia by ∼63% and prolong the survival of treated mice by ∼10 days. The in vivo antiplasmodial activity of RsMeOH was better than the RsEA fraction. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrated that traditionally used herbal medicinal plants like R. serrata provide a platform for the identification and isolation of potent bioactive phytochemicals that in turn can promote the antimalarial drug research. RsMeOH crude extract and RsEA fraction showed antiplasmodial, antimalarial and antioxidant activities. Chemical fingerprinting analysis suggested the presence of bioactive phytocompounds that are known for their antimalarial effects. Further detailed investigations on RsMeOH crude extract and RsEA fraction would be needed for the identification of the entire repertoire of the active antimalarial components with potent pharmaceutical and therapeutic values.

Aporphine and amide alkaloids from Illigera parviflora.

Three undescribed alkaloids (+)-9-hydroxy-N-acetylnordicentrine (1), illigeparvinine (2), and deca-(2E,4Z)-2,4-dienoic acid 4-hydroxy-2-phenethyl amide (3), along with 19 known analogues (4-22), were isolated from the ethnic medicinal plant Illigera parviflora. Their structures were established using NMR, MS, and other spectroscopic analyses as well as X-ray diffraction. Moderate inhibition of human gastric carcinoma (MGC-803) and breast adenocarcinoma (T-47D) cell lines proliferation was observed for actinodaphnine (4) with IC50 values of 28.74 and 11.65 µM, respectively. These findings contribute new anticancer potential compounds and expand the chemical diversity known from the valuable traditional medicinal plant I. parviflora.

Investigation of Heavy Metal Analysis on Medicinal Plants Used for the Treatment of Skin Cancer by Traditional Practitioners in Pretoria.

The use of medicinal plants for the treatment of diseases, including cancer, is acknowledged and accepted in many African nations. Heavy metal contamination of plant materials poses a potential health risk, particularly for populations that are already vulnerable. This study determines the levels of heavy metals in medicinal plant samples used for treatment of skin cancer and evaluate the health risk caused by heavy metals to the adult population in Pretoria, South Africa using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concentrations of metals were as follows; As (<0.2 - 1.04±0.026), Cd (0.02 ±0.00026 - 0.167±0.006), Pb (0.38 ±0.01 - 2.27±0.05), Cr (5.31±0.21- 26.9 ±3.96) mg/kg, and Hg which were lesser than 0.02 mg/kg. The mean concentrations of all analyzed heavy metals are above permissible limit except for Hg which are lower than the permissible limit. The Hazard Quotient (THQ) was less than 1 for all the heavy metals, suggesting that there are no obvious non-carcinogenic health risks associated with the consumption of these medicinal plants for now even though the prolonged use may result in health risks. The ingestion route was identified as the primary contributor to the overall risk by the health index (HI) values in the present study, which were more than 1, indicating that the combined effects of the heavy metal contaminants present in a particular herbal preparation pose health risk in the long term. Our findings support the need for close monitoring of potential heavy metal concentrations in medicinal plants given to patients from herbal shops.

Tapirira guianensis is Selectively Cytotoxic, Induces Apoptosis to the Glioblastoma and Decreases Tumor Growth and Angiogenesis in vivo.

Glioblastoma is the most frequent primary malignant brain tumor without effective treatment, which makes this work extremely relevant. The study of the bioactive compounds from medicinal plants plays an important role in the discovery of new drugs.This research investigated the constituents of Tapirira guianensis and its antitumor potential (in vitro and in vivo) in glioblastoma. The T. guianensis extracts were characterized by mass spectrometry. The ethyl acetate partition (01ID) and its fractions 01ID-F2 and 01ID-F4 from T. guianensis showed potential antitumor treatment evidenced by selective cytotoxicity for GAMG with IC50 14.1 µg/mL, 83.07 µg/mL, 59.27 µg/mL and U251 with IC50 25.92 µg/mL, 37.3 µg/mL and 18.84 µg/mL. Fractions 01ID-F2 and 01ID-F4 were 10 times more selective when compared to TMZ and 01ID for the two evaluated cell lines. T. guianensis also reduced matrix metalloproteinases 2 - 01ID-F2 (21.84%), 01ID-F4 (29.6%) and 9 - 01ID-F4 (73.42%), ID-F4 (53.84%) activities, and induced apoptosis mainly through the extrinsic pathway. Furthermore, all treatments significantly reduced tumor size (01ID p < 0,01, 01ID-F2 p < 0,01 and 01ID-F4 p < 0,0001) and caused blood vessels to shrink in vivo. The present findings highlight that T. guianensis exhibits considerable antitumor potential in preclinical studies of glioblastoma. This ability may be related to the phenolic compounds and sesquiterpene derivatives identified in the extracts. This study deserves further in vivo research, followed by clinical investigation.

Metabolomics-based investigation of the chemical composition changes in Mongolian medicinal plant Euphorbia pekinensis before and after processing with Chebulae Fructus.

Euphorbia pekinensis (EP), known for its diuretic properties, is clinically utilized for treating conditions such as edema and malignant tumors. However, in its raw form, Euphorbia pekinensis is toxic, and oral administration of this crude medicine can lead to gastrointestinal stimulation, resulting in abdominal pain and diarrhea. In Mongolian medicine's ethnomedicinal system, a distinctive processing method called "Chebulae Fructus processing" is employed. Chebulae Fructus is used to mitigate the toxicity of EP and alleviate its purgative effects. Nevertheless, the detoxification mechanism associated with this processing method remains unexplored. It is hypothesized that processing with Chebulae Fructus may alter the chemical composition of EP, and the residual components of Chebulae Fructus within processed Chinese medicine might exhibit pharmacological antagonistic effects, thereby achieving the purpose of processing and reducing toxicity. To investigate this further, a combination of UPLC-QTOF-MS-based metabolomics technology and multivariate statistical analysis was employed to analyze and compare the chemical composition of raw and processed EP. Differential variables contributing to group separation were identified based on specific criteria, including VIP (Variable Importance in Projection) values of ≥ 1 in PLS-DA models, p-values < 0.05, and fold changes (FC) > 1.2 or < 0.8. The resulting differentially expressed features were then identified through database matching, literature review, or manual annotation. In total, 47 components were identified from the PEP samples in both positive and negative ionization modes, primarily belonging to flavonoids, terpenoids, organic acids, glycosides, and fatty acids. Among the raw EP group and PEP S4 group, 10 differential compounds were identified. Notably, one toxic terpene and one phenylpropanoid from EP were downregulated, while two bioactive components from Chebulae Fructus were upregulated in the processed group. The possible conversion reactions of these two processing Q-markers were also elucidated. The characteristic processing with Chebulae Fructus resulted in a change in the composition of this Mongolian medicine EP. Furthermore, this study provides a scientific foundation for optimizing the processing technology of EP and offers insights into the processing of other ethnomedicines with toxic properties.

The Importance of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Intervention and Treatment of HIV while Considering its Safety and Efficacy.

Natural products have been considered a potential resource for the development of novel therapeutic agents, since time immemorial. It is an opportunity to discover cost-effective and safe drugs at the earliest, with the goal to hit specific targets in the HIV life cycle. Natural products with inhibitory activity against human immunodeficiency virus are terpenes, coumarins, flavonoids, curcumin, proteins, such as lectins, laccases, bromotyrosines, and ribosome-inactivating proteins. Terpenes inhibit virus fusion, lectins and flavonoids have an inhibitory impact on viral binding, curcumin and flavonoids inhibit viral DNA integration. The most important medicinal plants which have been used in traditional Chinese medicinal sciences with anti-HIV properties are Convallaria majalis, Digitalis lanata, Cassia fistula, Croton macrostachyus, Dodonaea angustifolia, Ganoderma lucidum, Trametes versicolor, Coriolus versicolor, Cordyceps sinensis, Gardenia jasminoides, Morus alba, Scutellaria baicalensis, Ophiopogon japonicus, Platycodon grandiflorus, Fritillaria thunbergii, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Trichosanthes kirilowii, Citrus reticulata, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Rheum officinale, Poria cocos, Rheum palmatum, Astragalus membranaceus, Morinda citrifolia, Potentilla kleiniana, Artemisia capillaris, Sargassum fusiforme, Piperis longi fructus, Stellera chamaejasme, Curcumae rhizoma, Dalbergia odorifera lignum, Arisaematis Rhizoma preparatum, and Phellodendron amurense. The information provided is gathered from randomized control experiments, review articles, and analytical studies and observations, which are obtained from different literature sources, such as Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct from July 2000 to August 2023. The aim of this review article is to survey and introduce important medicinal plants and herbs that have been used for the treatment of HIV, especially the medicinal plants that are common in traditional Chinese medicine, as research to date is limited, and more evidence is required to confirm TCM,s efficacy.

[Effect of soil moisture on efficacy to eliminate dampness and relieve jaundice and flavonoid content of Sedum sarmentosum].

The growth environment of medicinal plants plays an important role in the formation of their medicinal quality. However, there is a lack of combined analysis studying the close relationship between the growth environment, chemical components, and related biological activities of medicinal plants. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of different soil moisture treatments on the efficacy to eliminate dampness and relieve jaundice and the flavonoid content of Sedum sarmentosum, and explored their correlation. The flavonoid content in the decoction of S. sarmentosum growing under field conditions with soil moisture levels of 35%-40%(T1), 55%-60%(T2), 75%-80%(T3), and 95%-100%(T4) was compared. The effects of these treatments on liver function parameters, liver inflammation, and oxidative damage in mice with dampness-heat jaundice were evaluated, and the correlation between pharmacological indicators and flavonoid content was analyzed. The results showed that the total flavonoid and total phenolic acid content in the decoction of S. sarmentosum were highest in the T1 treatment, followed by the T3 treatment. The content of quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin was highest in the T2, T1, and T3 treatments, respectively. Among the different moisture treatments, the T3 group of S. sarmentosum effectively reduced the levels of serum ALT, AKP, TBIL, DBIL, TBA, as well as hepatic TNF-α and IL-6 in mice with jaundice, followed by T2 treatment, especially in reducing AST level. The T4 treatment had the poorest effect. Correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between AST, ALT, AKP levels in mice and the total content of quercetin and the three flavonoids. MDA showed a significant negative correlation with the total flavonoid content and kaempferol. TNF-α exhibited a significant negative correlation with the content of isorhamnetin. In conclusion, S. sarmentosum growing under field conditions with a soil moisture level of 75%-80% exhibited the best efficacy to eliminate dampness and relieve jaundice. This study provides insights for optimizing the cultivation mode of medicinal plants guided by pharmacological experiments.

Preliminary Evaluation of Wound Healing Potential of Leonurus japonicus Houtt. Extracts.

Leonurus japonicus Houtt. is a medicinal plant popular in Brazil as "rubim", used in local folk medicine for several applications as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, and antimicrobial phytomedicine. The traditional use for wound healing is related; however, few studies have evaluated the wound healing activity. Thus, this study aimed to analyse the popular indication of the hydroalcoholic and aqueous extracts of L. japonicus aerial parts in a rat wound healing model. The initial chemical characterization was performed using flavonoid quantification and complemented with mass spectroscopy/chemometrics analysis. The wound's lesion contraction and tissue regeneration (histological study stained with hematoxylin-eosin and picrosirius) were determined. Hydroalcoholic and aqueous extracts presented high flavonoid content, and mass spectrometry analysis of the extracts demonstrated the presence of compounds with a mass between 100-650, reinforcing the presence of polyphenolic constituents. The extracts of L. japonicus improve various wound healing phases, like inflammatory modulation, wound contraction, and collagen synthesis, resulting in faster healing in rats. These effects could be related to the extracts' polyphenolic compounds.

[Discovery, isolation and structural identification of alkaloid glycosides in six traditional Chinese medicine such as Coptis chinensis].

Alkaloids are important active ingredients occurring in many traditional Chinese medicines, and alkaloid glycosides are one of their existence forms. The introduction of saccharide units improves the water solubility of alkaloid glycosides thus presenting better biological activity.Because of the low content in plants, alkaloid glycosides have been not comprehensively studied. In this study, ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight-tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) was employed to identify and analyze the alkaloid glycosides in Coptis chinensis, Phellodendron chinense, Menispermum dauricum, Sinomenium acutum, Tinospora sagittata and Stephania tetrandra. The results showed that except Tinospora sagittata, the other five herbal medicines contained alkaloid glycosides. Furthermore, the alkaloid glycosides in each herbal medicine were identified based on UV absorption spectra, quasimolecular ion peaks in MS, fragment ions information in the MS/MS, and previous literature reports. A total of 42 alkaloid glycosides were identified. More alkaloid glycosides were identified in C. chinensis and Menispermum dauricum, and eleven in C. chinensis were potential new compounds. Furthermore, the alkaloid glycosides in the water extract of C. chinensis were coarsely se-parated by macroporous adsorption resin, purified by column chromatography with D151 cation exchange resin, ODS and MCI, combined with semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography. Two new alkaloid glycosides were obtained, and their structures were identified by mass spectrometry and NMR data as(S)-7-hydroxy-1-(p-hydroxybenzyl)-2,2-N,N-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-6-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside and(S)-N-methyltetrahydropalmatubine-9-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside, respectively. This study is of great significance for enriching the information about the chemical composition and the in-depth development of C. chinensis. Meanwhile, it can provide a reference for rapid identification and isolation of alkaloid glycosides from other Chinese herbal medicines.

Phytochemical Content and Antidiabetic Properties of Most Commonly Used Antidiabetic Medicinal Plants of Kenya.

Traditional medicinal plants have been used for decades in folk medicines in the treatment and management of several ailments and diseases including diabetes, pain, ulcers, cancers, and wounds, among others. This study focused on the phytochemical and antidiabetic activity of the commonly used antidiabetic medicinal species in Kenya. Phytochemical profiling of these species revealed flavonoids and terpenoids as the major chemical classes reported which have been linked with strong biological activities against the aforementioned diseases, among others. However, out of the selected twenty-two species, many of the natural product isolation studies have focused on only a few species, as highlighted in the study. All of the examined crude extracts from thirteen antidiabetic species demonstrated strong antidiabetic activities by inhibiting α-glucosidase and α-amylase among other mechanisms, while nine are yet to be evaluated for their antidiabetic activities. Isolated compounds S-Methylcysteine sulfoxide, quercetin, alliuocide G, 2-(3,4-Dihydroxybenzoyl)-2,4,6-trihydroxy-3 (2H)-benzofuranone, Luteolin-7-O-D-glucopyranoside, quercetin, 1,3,11α-Trihydroxy-9-(3,5,7-trihydroxy-4H-1-benzopyran-7-on-2-yl)-5α-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-5,6,11-hexahydro-5,6,11-trioxanaphthacene-12-one and [1,3,11α-Trihydroxy-9-(3,5,7-trihydroxy-4H-1-benzopyran-7-on-2-yl)-5α-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-5,6,11-hexahydro-5,6,11-trioxanaphthacene-12-one]-4'-O-D-gluco-pyranoside from Allium cepa have been found to exhibit significant antidiabetic activities. With the huge number of adults living with diabetes in Kenya and the available treatment methods being expensive yet not so effective, this study highlights alternative remedies by documenting the commonly used antidiabetic medicinal plants. Further, the study supports the antidiabetic use of these plants with the existing pharmacological profiles and highlights research study gaps. Therefore, it is urgent to conduct natural products isolation work on the selected antidiabetic species commonly used in Kenya and evaluate their antidiabetic activities, both in vitro and in vivo, to validate their antidiabetic use and come up with new antidiabetic drugs.

Natural Products and Biological Activities of Plants from Genus Morus: 2011-2023.

Species of genus Morus (family Moraceae) have been used as traditional medicinal and edible resources since ancient times. Genus Morus has been acknowledged as a promising resource for the exploration of novel compounds with various bioactivities. Phytochemical investigations of the genus have led to the discovery of more than approximately 453 natural products from 2011 to 2023, mainly including flavonoids, Diels-Alder adducts, 2-arylbenzfuran, alkaloids and stilbenes. Bioactive constituents and extracts of this genus displayed a wide range of impressive biological properties including antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer, hepatoprotective, renoprotective, and some other activities. Herein, the research progress of this genus Morus from 2011 to 2023 on phytochemistry and pharmacology are systematically presented and discussed for the first time. This current review provides the easiest access to the information on genus Morus for readers and researchers in view of enhancing the continuity on research done on this genus.