Pollen morphology and its taxonomic potential in some selected taxa of Caesalpiniaceae observed under light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Pollen micromorphology is not only used to check the functional and structural evolution in plants but also to solve the taxonomic problem related to the classification of plants. Therefore, keeping in view the significance of pollen traits, selected taxa of the subfamily Caesalpiniaceae was collected from different geographical regions of Pakistan. The species were then analyzed under both light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques to investigate the importance of micromorphological characters of pollen in the identification and classification of species. Great variation was recorded in equatorial shape, surface ornamentation, tectum, polar diameter, equatorial diameter, and exine thickness. However, little variation was observed in pollen type, polar shape, and fertility of pollen. The equatorial shape of five types was observed: prolate, prolate-spheroidal, spheroidal-subprolate, subspheroidal-prolate, and subspheroidal. Four types of surface ornamentation, psilate, granulate, clavate, and perforate, were recorded. Tectum of five types, intactate, reticulate regulate, medium reticulate, tactate, and striate, was observed. Sexine was thicker than nexine in all studied species. The largest polar diameter was observed in Caesalpinia pulcherrima 64.1 µm while the smallest in Parkinsonia aculeata 26.1 µm. The largest equatorial diameter was found in C. pulcherrima of 70.25 µm whereas the smallest in P. aculeata 27.57 µm. All the pollens analyzed were tricolporate. All studied species have a fertility ratio of more than 90%. A taxonomic key was developed to show the variation in pollen features and delimit species for the correct identification. In conclusion, the pollen traits were found useful to define species boundaries at various taxonomic ranks and will strengthen the taxonomy of this subfamily. Besides, this study also explored the palynological traits and their implication in the taxonomy of the subfamily Caesalpiniaceae.

Potential nephroprotective phytochemicals: Mechanism and future prospects.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Kidney disease (KD) is one of the serious health issues, which causes worrisome morbidity and economic burden. Therapeutic strategies are available however majority of them are associated with severe adverse effects and poor patient compliance and adherence. This explorative article was undertaken to provide a holistic review of known nephroprotective (NP) phytoconstituents along with their research-based evidences on mechanism, sources, and clinical trials that may play essential role in prevention and cure of KD. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present systematic review aimed to provide in-depth and better evidences of the global burden of KD, phytoconstituents as NP with emphasis on mechanism of action both in vitro and in vivo, their wide biological sources as well as their clinical efficacy in management of kidney disease and its related disorders. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Comprehensive information was searched systematically from electronic databases, namely, PubMed, Sciencedirect, Wiley, Scopus, Google scholar and Springer until February 2021 to find relevant data for publication on phytoconstituents with nephroprotective potential. RESULTS: In total, 24,327 articles were screened in first search for "phytoconstituents and medicinal plants for nephroprotection and kidney disorder". On the basis of exclusion and inclusion criteria, 24,091 were excluded. Only 236 papers were spotted to have superlative quality data, which is appropriate under titles and sub-titles of the present review. The phytoconstituents having multiple research evidence along with wide number of medicinal plants sources and mechanism reported for nephroprotection have been selected and reviewed. CONCLUSION: This review, based on pre-clinical and clinical data of NP phytoconstituents, provides scientific-basis for the rational discovery, development and utilization of these upcoming treatment practices. Further,-more clinical studies are warranted to improve the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic understanding of phytoconstituents. Also, more specific evaluation for natural sources is needed.

Analysis of polyphenols in Aegle marmelos leaf and ameliorative efficacy against diabetic mice through restoration of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory status.

The biomedical survey reports edible plant Aegle marmelos has been utilized for centuries by tribal communities in India as a dietary supplement for the management of diabetes. Herein, we have investigated cytotoxicity, cytoprotective and antidiabetic activity of characterized alkaloid-free hydroalcoholic extract of A. marmelos (AFEAM; 200 and 400 mg/kg). Identification of polyphenols and quantification of major compounds were done using UPLC-MS and HPTLC, respectively. AFEAM showed good cytocompatibility and cytoprotective potential against oxidative stress induced by hyperglycemia in HepG2 cells. The AFEAM intake had significantly ameliorated the serum blood glucose level, state of dyslipidemia, level of pro-inflammatory markers (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1ß), and antioxidant (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and malondialdehyde) status in diabetic mice. Histological examination of the treated groups showed amelioration of damaged pancreas, liver, and kidney tissues. Conclusively, AFEAM intake might be promising dietary supplements for prediabetics as well as an adjuvant to modern treatment in diabetics. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Different reports have been published on Aegle marmelos but as per our understanding till date, no study has been reported on the amelioration of diabetes due to alkaloid free hydroalcoholic extract of A. marmelos /polyphenolic content in the animal model. The result of this study indicated that A. marmelos supplementation effectively ameliorates diabetes through the restoration of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory status. This study has collated sufficient scientific evidence for the dietary application of A. marmelos in society especially for prediabetics, however, it can also be used as an adjuvant to modern treatments in diabetics.

A systematic review on nephron protective AYUSH drugs as constituents of NEERI-KFT (A traditional Indian polyherbal formulation) for the management of chronic kidney disease.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a major health problem characterized by kidney dysfunction with progressive segmental glomerulosclerosis to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Due to lack of scientific data and comprehensive reports, the current systematic review provides an inclusive understanding and prospective associated with phytopharmacology of NEERI-KFT in CKD. The data was collected from more than five databases such as Science Direct, Google Scholar, Elsevier, PubMed, Springer, ACS publication etc using keywords like CKD/Kidney disease, epidemiology/prevalence, modern therapies for CKD management, NEERI-KFT and its role in kidney disease. The study was performed based on scientific reports screened by experts according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The pre-clinical and clinical findings suggested that NEERI-KFT has promising effects as nephroprotective and considered safe and well effective in primary care of kidney against disease. Phytopharmacological evaluation of NEERI-KFT suggest that it exhibit substantial potential against oxidative and inflammatory stress induced apoptosis by exerting antioxidants, nephroprotective and immunomodulatory effects. Hence, it can be enlighten that NEERI-KFT have potential herbs which exerts significant antioxidants, nephroprotective and immunomodulatory effects in the patients associated with renal dysfunction or CKD thus improving altered renal architecture and renal physiology. Clinically, it is concluded that NEERI-KFT works kidney malfunction and cease ESRD progression or even reduce the number of dialysis.

Anticancer potential of andrographolide from Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees and its mechanisms of action.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Synthetic drugs used for cancer treatment have side effects that may be immunosupressive, can cause liver, kidney and cardiac toxicity, and infertility and ovarian failure, among others. Thus, herbal drugs could be used in the cancer treatment as an adjuvant therapy. Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees (AP) is one of the traditional herbs used in different alternative medicinal systems such as Ayurveda, Unani, Chinese, Malayi, Siddha, etc. for the treatment of various disorders and diseases including cancer. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of writing this review is to highlight the medicinal importance of AP and its main phytoconstituent andrographolide (AG). The main emphasis was given on the anticancer activity of AG, its proposed mechanisms of action, novel approaches used to improve its biopharmaceutical properties with the perspective of evidence-based research, and its development as an adjuvant therapy for cancer treatment in future. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Literature survey was conducted and research papers were retrieved from different databases such as Pubmed, Google Scholar, ACS, Wiley online library, ScienceDirect, Springer, and Scopus during 1970-2020. Research articles, review articles, and short communications, etc. were used for this purpose. The papers were selected on the basis of exclusion and inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Different anticancer mechanisms of AG have been reportedly proven such as cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, NF-κß inhibition, antiangiogenesis, cytokine inhibition, etc. whereas its pharmacokinetic properties showed its highly protein bound nature, Cyt P400 (CYP) inhibition, low aqueous solubility, poor oral bioavailability, etc. Different novel formulations of AG have been investigated to increase its bioavailability for better efficacy. CONCLUSION: This review can provide knowledge about the potential applicability of AP or AG as an adjuvant therapy in cancer treatment. Further research is needed before making any conclusion about the efficacy in humans as an adjuvant therapy in cancer.

Concepts and Quality Considerations in Unani System of Medicine.

Unani medicine, based largely on herbs, is practiced as a traditional system of medicine in the Indian subcontinent. It owes its origination to the Greek philosopher Hippocrates (460-377 BC) and his associates. However, it progressed and got established under the patronage of Persian and Arab empires and later came to the Indian sub-continent around the middle of the 14th century. Unani scholars have been of the view that every person has their own distinct temperament constituted from four basic humoral combinations. Temperament of an individual is supposed to be influenced by various intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as age and mental status of individual, local climate, and environmental conditions, etc. Treatment is applied through dietotherapy and/or pharmacotherapy consonant with the patient's temperament. Unani medicine believes in health promotion and manages the disease through various modes of treatment such as regimental therapy, dietotherapy, and pharmacotherapy. A variety of clinical studies have shown that Unani medicines are effective with minimal side effects. Standardization, quality control, and toxicity profiling of many herbal drugs and the validation of formulations mentioned in the Unani Pharmacopeia of India have been accomplished in the recent past. Despite the mounting benefits of this system in the management of human health, it remains under-utilized. This article elucidates the basic concepts and a brief history of Unani medicine and summarizes information about its quality control, as well as its contribution to the health sector in India.

TLC-Bioautographic Evaluation for High-Throughput Screening and Identification of Free Radical Scavenging and Antidiabetic Compounds from Traditional Unani Medicinal Plant: Citrullus colocynthis Schrad.

BACKGROUND: Interest in the antioxidant and antidiabetic activity of natural products are growing vastly in the modern world. Thin layer chromatography-bioautography-mass spectroscopy (TLC-bioautography-MS) plays an important role in chemico-biological screening of natural sources. TLC combined with 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical, α-amylase and α-glucosidase bioassay were used to evaluate antioxidant and antidiabetic activities, respectively, in different extracts of Citrullus colocynthis (Hanzal), a well-known traditional Indian Unani medicinal plant. OBJECTIVE: To develop a TLC-bioautographic-MS method for DPPH, α-amylase, and glucosidase inhibitors in different extract of C. colocynthis fruits. METHOD: Fruits of C. colocynthis were successively extracted with toluene, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water. TLC solvents were developed, and bioautographic-MS analysis was carried out to identify the antioxidant and antidiabetic compounds. RESULTS: HPTLC fingerprinting analysis showed maximum numbers of band separated in dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extracts of C. colocynthis, fourteen and thirteen at 254 and 366 nm, respectively. Whereas six and five separated bands were observed in toluene extract at 254 and 366 nm, respectively showed minimum numbers of metabolites. Based on TLC-bioautography-MS, maximum number of antioxidant compounds were identified in dichloromethane extract. Except aqueous extract of C. colocynthis, all the extracts have shown antidiabetic activity. On the other hand, there were no antioxidant compounds in methanolic extract of C. colocynthis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study reveal that TLC-bioautography-MS-guided strategy used to identify antioxidant and antidiabetic compounds of C. colocynthis is very useful technique for high-throughput screening of bioactive compounds. HIGHLIGHTS: TLC-MS bioautography is a simple and fast to enables bioactive compounds present in extracts.

Indian Medicinal Plants and Formulations and Their Potential Against COVID-19-Preclinical and Clinical Research.

The cases of COVID-19 are still increasing day-by-day worldwide, even after a year of its first occurrence in Wuhan city of China. The spreading of SARS-CoV-2 infection is very fast and different from other SARS-CoV infections possibly due to structural differences in S proteins. The patients with severe diseases may die due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by systemic inflammatory reactions due to the excessive release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by the immune effector cells. In India too, it is spreading very rapidly, although the case fatality rate is below 1.50% (https://www.statista.com), which is markedly less than in other countries, despite the dense population and minimal health infrastructure in rural areas. This may be due to the routine use of many immunomodulator medicinal plants and traditional AYUSH formulations by the Indian people. This communication reviews the AYUSH recommended formulations and their ingredients, routinely used medicinal plants and formulations by Indian population as well as other promising Indian medicinal plants, which can be tested against COVID-19. Special emphasis is placed on Indian medicinal plants reported for antiviral, immunomodulatory and anti-allergic/anti-inflammatory activities and they are categorized for prioritization in research on the basis of earlier reports. The traditional AYUSH medicines currently under clinical trials against COVID-19 are also discussed as well as furtherance of pre-clinical and clinical testing of the potential traditional medicines against COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2. The results of the clinical studies on AYUSH drugs will guide the policymakers from the AYUSH systems of medicines to maneuver their policies for public health, provide information to the global scientific community and could form a platform for collaborative studies at national and global levels. It is thereby suggested that promising AYUSH formulations and Indian medicinal plants must be investigated on a priority basis to solve the current crisis.

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used to treat skin diseases in northern Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Skin diseases are a major health concern especially in association with human immune deficiency syndrome and acquired an immune deficiency. The aim of this study was to document the ethnomedicinal information of plants used to treat skin diseases in Northern Pakistan. This is the first quantitative ethnobotanical study of therapeutic herbs utilized by the indigenous people of Northern Pakistan for skin diseases. METHODS: Interviews were taken to obtain information from 180 participants. Quantitative methods including fidelity level (FL), Frequency of citation (FC), Use-value (UV), Jaccard indices (JI), Family importance value (FIV), Relative frequency of citation (RFC) and Chi-square test were applied. Medicinal plants uses are also compared with 50 national and international publications. RESULTS: In this study, we recorded 106 plant species belonged to 56 floral families for treatment of skin ailments. The dominant life form reported was herb while the preferred method of utilization was powder, along with leaf as the most used plant part. RFC ranges from 0.07 to 0.25% whereas the highest FIV was recorded for family Pteridaceae. FL values range from 36.8 to 100%. The study reported 88% of new plant reports for the treatment of skin diseases. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed the importance of several plants used to treat skin diseases by the local communities of Northern Pakistan. The available literature supported the evidence of plant dermatological properties. Plants having high UV and RFC can be considered for further scientific analysis. There is dire need to create awareness among local, government and scientific communities for the preservation of medicinal species and ethnomedicinal knowledge in Northern Pakistan.

Effect of piperine on pharmacokinetics of sodium valproate in plasma samples of rats using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method.

UNLABELLED: Piperine (PIP) is used as anticonvulsant in traditional Chinese medicine. Co-administration of low-dose sodium valproate with PIP has been regarded to have potential anticonvulsant activity. AIM: This study was intended to investigate the effect of PIP on the pharmacokinetics of sodium valproate (SVP) in the plasma samples of rats using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The plasma samples obtained after oral administration of SVP, 150 mg/kg and SVP, 150 mg/kg + PIP, and 5 mg/kg to male Wistar rats were used to quantify the concentrations in plasma using GC-MS method. RESULTS: A simple and accurate method developed in-house was applied for the analysis of plasma samples of Wistar rats after oral administration of SVP and PIP + sodium valproate, respectively. The pharmacokinetic parameters reported 14.8-fold increase in plasma concentration (maximum observed concentration in the concentration-time profile), 4.6-fold increase in area under the curve and slightly prolonged time to reach that concentration (1 h) of SVP in presence of PIP. CONCLUSION: The study reaffirms the bioenhancing effect of PIP suggesting possibility of dose reduction of SVP while co-adminstering with PIP.

Challenges and guidelines for clinical trial of herbal drugs.

World Health Organization (WHO) has defined herbal medicines as finished labeled medicinal product that contain an active ingredient, aerial, or underground parts of the plant or other plant material or combinations. According to a report of WHO, about 80% of the world population is reported to rely on traditional medicine for their primary health care needs. Even in the developed countries, complementary or alternative medicine is gaining popularity. A report of a global survey on national policy on traditional medicine and regulation of herbal medicines indicated that about 50 countries including China, Japan, and Germany already have their national policy and laws on regulations of traditional medicines. Herbal drugs possess a long history of its use and better patient tolerance. These are cheaper and easily available in countries like India due to rich agro culture conditions. However, reckless utilization of resources threatens the sustainability of several plant species. Traditional medicines are governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules of 1945. In 1959, the Government of India amended the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to include drugs that are derived from traditional Indian medicine. In 1993, the guidelines for the safety and efficacy of herbal medicines developed by an expert committee directed that the procedures laid down by the office of the Drug Controller General of India for allopathic drugs should be followed for all traditional and herbal products to enter into clinical trials for any therapeutic condition. However, there are certain loop holes in the clinical trials of herbal drugs as the lack of stringent bylaws and regulations. Hence, a deep insight of important challenges and major regulatory guidelines for clinical trial of herbal drugs and botanicals is discussed in the present communication. There is lack of scientific evidence to evaluate safety and efficacy of herbal drugs. The quality of the trial drug has to be tested for batch-to-batch uniformity of the active constituents. It is very difficult to have active and control groups with identical color, smell and taste of the herbal drug, which cannot be imitated while manufacturing a placebo. These challenges can be reduced or overcome by applying most recent methodologies and guidelines for clinical trials. Since the quality control of herbal medicines is complicated and difficult, relevant and appropriate requirements should be established for the assessment of safety and efficacy for different categorized herbal medicines to reduce cost and expenditure. And, efforts should be made for the integration of traditional medicine into national healthcare systems. Different challenges and regulatory guidelines discussed for the clinical trial of herbal drugs will be useful for various industries for considering it before going ahead for clinical trial of their product.