A Review on Therapeutic Potential of Natural Phytocompounds for Stroke.

Stroke is a serious condition that results from an occlusion of blood vessels that leads to brain damage. Globally, it is the second highest cause of death, and deaths from strokes are higher in older people than in the young. There is a higher rate of cases in urban areas compared to rural due to lifestyle, food, and pollution. There is no effective single medicine for the treatment of stroke due to the multiple causes of strokes. Thrombolytic agents, such as alteplase, are the main treatment for thrombolysis, while multiple types of surgeries, such ascraniotomy, thrombectomy, carotid endarterectomy, and hydrocephalus, can be performed for various forms of stroke. In this review, we discuss some promising phytocompounds, such as flavone C-glycoside (apigenin-8-C-ß-D-glucopyranoside), eriodictyol, rosamirinic acid, 6″-O-succinylapigenin, and allicin, that show effectiveness against stroke. Future study paths are given, as well as suggestions for expanding the use of medicinal plants and their formulations for stroke prevention.

Myrrhanone B and Myrrhanol B from resin of Commipohora mukul exhibit hepatoprotective effects in-vivo.

Despite a large number of liver disorders, clinically useful drugs are scarce. Moreover, the available therapies are facing the challenges of efficacy and safety. Commipohora mukul has been used in folk medicine globally for millennia for the treatment of several ailments. The current study was designed to evaluate the possible hepatoprotective activity of Myrrhanone B (MN) and Myrrhanol B (ML) isolated from C. mukul using an animal model. The animals (Swiss albino mice) were segregated into seven groups, each comprising six mice. The first group was treated with normal saline at a dose of 1 ML/kg daily intraperitoneally (i.p.) for one week. The second group was treated with acetaminophen (APAP) (250 mg/kg, i.p.), it was taken as a negative control. Group 3 was used as a positive control (treated with Silymarin (100 mg/kg, i.p.)). While groups 4-7 were used as experimental groups (termed as groups II to IV), which were treated with ML and MN at a dose of 0.6 mg/kg, and 1.2 mg/kg (i.p.) for one week. Subsequently, blood serum and liver tissue samples were collected for biochemical and histopathological analysis. Both compounds significantly improved the levels of liver biomarkers including aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and alanine transaminase (ALT) as compared to the normal saline-treated group in APAP-induced hepatotoxic mice. Moreover, both compounds significantly modulated the expression of oxidative biomarkers including superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione (GSH), and catalase (CAT) at the same doses. Additionally, ML and MN showed a remarkable improvement in histological changes with only mild inflammation, mild hemorrhage, no necrosis, and no pyknosis as compared to the control groups. In conclusion, MN and ML exhibited significant hepatoprotective effects in the animal model used in this study.

Search for safer and potent natural inhibitors of Parkinson's disease.

After Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease (PD) has taken second place in becoming one of the most commonly occurring neurological diseases being responsible for a number of disabling motor symptoms ranging from bradykinesia, akinesia, tremors to rigidity, that mostly targets the elderly population and severely disrupts their quality of life. The true underlying pathology of PD yet remains a mystery, however, recent advances in the field have pointed towards the production of α-synuclein aggregates, oxidative stress, and an imbalance between levels of acetylcholine and dopamine neurotransmitters in the brain that have been shown to result in loss of coordinated movement. Current treatments of PD include the gold standard dopamine precursor L-dopa, dopamine agonists pergolide and bromocriptine, catechol-o-methyl transferases inhibitors, entacapone and tolcapone and monoamine oxidase inhibitors such as Selegine and Rasagiline amongst several other drugs. While these drugs are successful in treating motor symptoms of the disease, they do so with a plethora of side effects that are especially debilitating to the elderly. In the recent years, a considerable amount of attention has been shifted towards phytocompounds such as flavonoids and green tea catechins due to promising experimental results. In this review, we have compiled phytocompounds that have shown potent activity against some of the most important targets for antiparkinsonian therapy. These compounds have exhibited activities that transcend the limits of simply attenuating mitochondrial oxidative stress and have opened doors to the discovery of novel lead compounds for newer, efficacious antiparkinsonian therapies with wider therapeutic windows.

Potential therapeutic natural products against Alzheimer's disease with Reference of Acetylcholinesterase.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), is the most common type of dementia primarily affecting the later years of life. Its prevalence is likely to increase in any aging population and will be a major burden on healthcare system by the mid of the century. Despite scientific and technological breakthroughs in the last 50 years, that have expanded our understanding of the disease on a system, cellular and molecular level, therapies that could stop or slow the progression of the disease are still unavailable. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has approved acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors (donepezil, galantamine, tacrine and rivastigmine) and glutamate receptor antagonist (memantine) for the treatment of AD. In this review we summarize the studies reporting phytocompounds and extracts from medicinal plants that show AChE inhibitory activities and could be of potential benefit in AD. Future research directions are suggested and recommendations made to expand the use of medicinal plants and their formulations to prevent, mitigate and treat AD.

Multiple pathways are responsible for anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular activities of Hordeum vulgare L.

BACKGROUND: Hordeum vulgare L. (HV or barley) is used by traditional healers to treat various inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, without the knowledge of pharmacologic rationale behind its actions. This study was designed to explore the potential scientific mechanism(s) that could explain the use of Hordeum vulgare in traditional medicine as a treatment for various inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases. METHODS: A crude extract and its three fractions were prepared from HV and screened for the inhibition of platelet aggregation and various metabolites of cyclooxygenase (COX), lipoxygenase (LOX) pathways of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism as well as for its effects on certain antioxidant enzymes. Platelet aggregation was monitored using turbidometric principle, AA metabolism through radioimmunoassay and antioxidant enzymes by commercial kits using spectrophotometer. RESULTS: Results show that HV exhibited activities against all human platelet agonists used except adenine diphosphate, and inhibited both COX and LOX pathways of AA metabolism. It also elevated the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). However, these activities were distributed in various fractions of HV. Aqueous fraction was most potent in elevating SOD activity; chloroform fraction had concentrated compounds responsible for COX inhibition while n-hexane seems to possess compounds responsible for LOX inhibition as well as the only fraction enhancing the activity of GPx. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest the likely mechanisms responsible for observed anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular effects of HV in traditional medicine.

Pharmacological basis of the use of Acortus calamus L. in inflammatory diseases and underlying signal transduction pathways / Bases farmacológicas del uso de Acorus calamus L. en enfermedades inflamatorias y las vías de transducción de señales subyacentes

Acorus calamus L. is used as anti-inflammatory remedy in traditional system of medicine in Pakistan and India. This study was designed to explore the anti-inflammatory mechanism of Acorus calamus L. and its underlying signaling pathways. Aqueous, butanolic and n-hexane fractions of Acorus calamus were tested against cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) mediated eicosanoids production by arachidonic acid (AA). Butanolic fraction of Acorus calamus, but not the aqueous and n-hexane fractions, inhibited the COX mediated production of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and liopxygenase product 1 (LP1) -a metabolite of LOX pathway. 12-(hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid) HETE- another product of the LOX pathway was unaffected by all three fractions. Butanolic fraction of Acorus calamus showed strong inhibition against AA-induced platelet aggregation. Investigation of the underlying signaling pathways revealed that butanolic fraction inhibited phospholipase C (PLC) pathway in platelets, most probably acting on protein kinase C (PKC). Aqueous and n-hexane fractions of Acorus calamus were not effective against any platelet agonist. This study shows that butanolic fraction of Acorus calamus possesses components that inhibit AA metabolism and platelet aggregation through multiple pathways.

Acorus calamus L. se utiliza como remedio anti-inflamatorio en el sistema tradicional de la medicina en Pakistán y la India. Este estudio fue diseñado para explorar el mecanismo anti-inflamatorio de Acorus calamus L. y sus vías de señalización subyacentes. Fracciones acuosa, butanólica y de n-hexano de Acorus calamus se ensayaron frente a la ciclooxigenasa (COX) y de la lipoxigenasa (LOX) mediada por la producción de eicosanoides por el ácido araquidónico (AA). La fracción butanólica de Acorus calamus, pero no las fracciones acuosas y de n-hexano, inhibieron la producción de COX mediada por tromboxano B2 (TXB2) y el producto lipoxigenasa 1 (LP1) - un metabolito de la vía de LOX, 12 - (ácido hidroxieicosatetraenoico) HETE - otro producto de la ruta de LOX no fue afectado por las tres fracciones. La fracción butanólica de Acorus calamus mostró una fuerte inhibición contra la agregación plaquetaria inducida por AA. La investigación de las vías de señalización subyacentes reveló que la fracción butanólica inhibió la fosfolipasa C (PLC) y la vía en las plaquetas, probablemente actuando sobre la proteína quinasa C (PKC). Fracciones acuosas y de n - hexano de Acorus calamus no fueron eficaces contra ningún agonista de plaquetas. Este estudio muestra que la fracción butanólica de Acorus calamus posee componentes que inhiben el metabolismo del AA y la agregación plaquetaria a través de múltiples vías.

Report: Platelet aggregation inhibition activity of selected legumes of Pakistan.

The current study was designed to explore the platelet aggregation activity of methanolic extracts of green gram, lentil, mash bean and soya bean. The extracts dose-dependently inhibited platelet aggregation initiated by arachidonic acid (AA) and platelet activating factor (PAF). Extract of green gram was effective only against AA mediated activity while mash bean and soya bean extracts were effective against both AA and PAF mediated activity. But lentil extract has no activity. The order of activity based on IC(50) value is, Mash bean > Soya bean > Green gram. This preliminary result suggests that legume seed extract may be taken as a candidate lead natural compound to be considered in the search for natural products with beneficial effects on aberrant platelet activation mediated cardiovascular disorders.

Platelet aggregation and anti-inflammatory effects of garden pea, Desi chickpea and Kabuli chickpea.

Inflammation is the natural body defense mechanism for the removal of injurious agents, necrosed cells and tissues from the body. This study was aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and platelet aggregation effects of three medicinal plants of Pakistan. Methanolic extract of garden pea inhibited arachidonic acid (AA)-induced platelet aggregation (IC50 = 35 microg/mL) and platelet activating factor (PAF)-induced platelet aggregation (IC50 = 38 microg/mL) in a dose dependent fashion. Methanolic extract of Desi chickpea inhibited arachidonic acid (AA) induced platelet aggregation (IC50 value = AA = 46 microg/mL) in dose dependent fashion while was found not active against PAF-induced platelet aggregation. Methanolic extract of Kabuli chickpea was found not active against both arachidonic acid (AA)-induced platelet aggregation and PAF-induced platelet aggregation. The best potential to inhibit in vitro COX-2 activity showed garden pea (Pisum sativum: the synthesis of PGE2 reduced by 92% in comparison with untreated control wells) followed by Desi chickpea (Cicer arietinum var; 87% inhibition) and Kabuli chickpea extracts (Cicer arietinum var: 65% inhibition). All extracts were tested at concentration 20 microg/mL. in COX-2 assay. The results indicate that if the same were happening in vito, Garden pea, Desi chickpea and Kabuli chickpea could be useful as natural antithrombotic anti-inflammatory materials.

Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-platelet activities of the methanolic extract of Acacia modesta leaves.

The current study was aimed to evaluate Acacia modesta for analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-platelet activities. The analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects were assessed in rodents using acetic acid and formalin-induced nociception, hot plate and carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema tests. The intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of the methanolic extract (50 and 100 mg/kg) produced significant inhibition (P\0.01) of the acetic acid-induced writhing in mice and suppressed formalin-induced licking response of animals in both phases of the test. In the hot plate assay the plant extract (100 mg/kg) increased pain threshold of mice. Naloxone (5 mg/kg i.p.) partially reversed the analgesic effect of the extract in formalin and hot plate tests.A. modesta (100 and 200 mg/kg i.p.) exhibited sedative effect in barbiturate-induced hypnosis test similar to that produced by diazepam (10 mg/kg i.p.). The plant extract(50-200 mg/kg i.p.) produced marked anti-inflammatory effect in carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema assay comparable to diclofenac and produced a dose-dependent(0.5-2.5 mg/mL) inhibitory effect against arachidonic acid induced platelet aggregation. These data suggest that A. modesta possesses peripheral analgesic and antiinflammatory properties, with analgesic effects partially associated with the opioid system.