ABSTRACT
Teucrium polium L. is commonly used in folk medicine to treat hypertension and diabetes and to heal wounds. The present work aimed to evaluate the different biological activities of T. polium hydroalcoholic extract, its total phenol and flavonoid content, and its mineral elements. Results showed that T. polium extract showed significant antioxidant potential in 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay with IC50 equal to 8.68 µg/mL but with moderate activity in galvinoxyl assay with IC50 of 21.82 µg/mL and mild activity in the ß-carotene assay. It also showed a pronounced anti-hyperglycemic activity using α-amylase inhibitory assay (IC50 = 111.68 µg/mL) and exceeds that of acarbose. T. polium showed excellent activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with IC50 values of 28.69 and 4.93 µg/mL, respectively, postulating its promising anti-Alzheimer potential. The plant extract exhibited a strong anti-inflammatory effect with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) denaturation inhibitory potential estimated by 97.53% at 2 mg/mL, which was further confirmed by the in vivo carrageen-induced edema model. The extract revealed its richness in flavonoids and phenols, evidenced by its polyphenols content (36.35 ± 0.294 µg GAE/mg) and flavonoids (24.30 ± 0.44 µg QE/mg). It is rich in minerals necessary for human health, such as calcium, potassium, iron, sodium, magnesium, manganese and zinc. Molecular docking performed for previously identified compounds on human α-amylase, 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) and acetylcholine esterase confirmed the results. Thus, it can be concluded that T. polium can be a good candidate for alleviating many health-debilitating problems and can be highly beneficial in the pharmaceutical industry and medical research.
ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disease with considerable morbidity and mortality. Untreated or improperly-treated diabetes can be associated with several long-term complications that necessitate an effective way to manage diabetes. Due to the side effects of synthetic glucose-lowering agents, alternative therapeutic modalities such as medicinal plants have attracted notable attention. Teucrium polium L. is a medicinal herb with antioxidant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, hepatoprotective, and hypoglycemic properties. In vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted to characterize the anti-diabetic properties of Teucrium polium L. and its bioactive compounds. We conducted a literature study using Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar including the keywords "diabetes" and "Teucrium polium". We also scanned all the references cited by the retrieved articles. According to this review, Teucrium polium administration displayed anti-diabetic effects by targeting different mechanisms and pathways, such as enhancement of insulin secretion and insulin level, improvement of oxidative damage, regeneration of pancreatic β-cells, and promotion of glucose uptake in muscle tissues by increasing GLUT-4 translocation as well as inhibiting α-amylase activity. Although Teucrium polium has been widely regarded as a traditional method, the pharmacological studies on anti-diabetic effects are not sufficient, most studies are either in-vivo or in-vitro. The preclinical and clinical studies are further required to confirm the efficacy of Teucrium polium.
ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disease with considerable morbidity and mortality. Untreated or improperly-treated diabetes can be associated with several long-term complications that necessitate an effective way to manage diabetes. Due to the side effects of synthetic glucose-lowering agents, alternative therapeutic modalities such as medicinal plants have attracted notable attention. Teucrium polium L. is a medicinal herb with antioxidant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, hepatoprotective, and hypoglycemic properties. In vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted to characterize the anti-diabetic properties of Teucrium polium L. and its bioactive compounds. We conducted a literature study using Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar including the keywords 'diabetes' and 'Teucrium polium'. We also scanned all the references cited by the retrieved articles. According to this review, Teucrium polium administration displayed anti-diabetic effects by targeting different mechanisms and pathways, such as enhancement of insulin secretion and insulin level, improvement of oxidative damage, regeneration of pancreatic β-cells, and promotion of glucose uptake in muscle tissues by increasing GLUT-4 translocation as well as inhibiting α-amylase activity. Although Teucrium polium has been widely regarded as a traditional method, the pharmacological studies on anti-diabetic effects are not sufficient, most studies are either in-vivo or in-vitro. The preclinical and clinical studies are further required to confirm the efficacy of Teucrium polium.
ABSTRACT
Bacterial and fungal endophytes are widespread inhabitants inside plant tissues and have been shown to assist plant growth and health. However, little is known about plant growth-promoting endophytes (PGPE) of medicinal plants. Therefore, the aims of this study were to identify bacterial and fungal endophytes of Teucrium polium and to characterize plant growth-promoting (PGP) properties of these endophytes. Seven bacterial endophytes were isolated and identified as Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis, where five endophytic fungi were obtained and assigned to Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium crustosum. The isolated endophytes differentially produced indole acetic acid (IAA) and ammonia, and in addition to their enzymatic and antimicrobial activities, they exhibited variable capacity for phosphate solubilization. In order to investigate the effect of endophytes on plant growth, four representative endophytes and their consortiums were selected concerning to their potential ability to promote plant growth. The results indicated that microbial endophytes isolated from medicinal plants possessing a vital role to improve plant growth and could be used as inoculants to establish a sustainable crop production system.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Teucrium polium L. (TP) have been used in herbal medicine for different purposes such as antispasmodic, antidiabetic and lowering blood lipid. In the present study, the impact of aqueous-ethanol extract of TP on blood pressure, heart rate and intraventricular pressure was investigated in rabbit. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four NWZ rabbits weighed (2-3 kg) were randomly divided into four groups. In each experiment, two groups of six rabbits received jugular injection of either TP extract (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) or normal saline for blood pressure effects and two groups for intraventricular pressure. Then, blood pressure, heart rate and intraventricular pressure were measured via carotid cannula using pressure transducer connected to a power lab system, and the data were pooled from independent, single-blinded experiments for each group. RESULTS: Treatment with 80 mg/kg of TP extract significantly depressed the mean arterial blood pressure (12.5%, P< 0.05). However, there was no significant decrease in the 20 or 40 mg/kg dose or normal saline treatment group. Moreover, the extract increased (dp/dt)max (P<0.05), maximum left ventricular pressure (LVP(max)) (P<0.05) and decreased (dp/dt)min significantly (P<0.05), there was no meaningful effect on left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). CONCLUSION: The present results demonstrated the extract had no effect on the heart rate, but showed a positive inotropic on the heart and hypotensive effects. These data suggested that hypotensive effect may counterbalance by the inotropic effect of the extract.