Nutraceuticals: A Promising Approach Towards Diabetic Neuropathy.

BACKGROUND: Various nutraceuticals from different sources have various beneficial actions and have been reported for many years. The important findings from the research conducted using various nutraceuticals exhibiting significant physiological and pharmacological activities have been summarized. METHODS: An extensive investigation of literature was done using several worldwide electronic scientific databases like PUBMED, SCOPUS, Science Direct, Google Scholar, etc. The entire manuscript is available in the English language that is used for our various compounds of interest. These databases were thoroughly reviewed and summarized. RESULTS: Nutraceuticals obtained from various sources play a vital role in the management of peripheral neuropathy associated with diabetes. Treatment with nutraceuticals has been beneficial as an alternative in preventing the progression. In particular, in vitro and in vivo studies have revealed that a variety of nutraceuticals have significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may inhibit the early diabetes-driven molecular mechanisms that induce DPN. CONCLUSION: Nutraceuticals obtained from different sources like a plant, an animal, and marine have been properly utilized for the safety of health. In our opinion, this review could be of great interest to clinicians, as it offers a complementary perspective on the management of DPN. Trials with a well-defined patient and symptom selection have shown robust pharmacological design as pivotal points to let these promising compounds become better accepted by the medical community.

Anti-inflammatory and ulcerogenic activity of newer phytoisolates of Swertia alata C.B. Clarke.

The present study was intended to evaluate the in vitro (COX-1/COX-2) and in vivo anti-inflammatory and ulcerogenic activity of newer phytoconstituents isolated from the aerial parts of Swertia alata C.B. Clarke (Gentianaceae). For isolation of newer phytoconstituents, the ethanolic extract of aerial parts of S. alata was subjected to column chromatography using mixture of petroleum ether and chloroform in various concentrations, which yielded two phytoisolates characterised as nonacosyl triacontanoate (SA-3) and 8-O-glucpyranosyl-(2-acetyl)-1,3-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-xanthone (SA-9). Identification of compounds was based on melting point, UV, FTIR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and mass spectrometric data. The isolates were screened for in vitro COX-1/COX-2 inhibitory activity, in vivo anti-inflammatory and ulcerogenic activity. Among the two compounds, SA-3 was found to be more effective than SA-9. The ulcerogenic study revealed significant gastric tolerance of SA-3 and SA-9 in comparison to indomethacin.

Nanophytomedicine Based Novel Therapeutic Strategies in Liver Cancer.

Liver cancer is the fifth (6.3% of all cancers i.e., 548,000 cases/year) and ninth (2.8% of all cancers i.e., 244,000 cases/year) most prevalent cancer worldwide in men and women, respectively. Although multiple choices of therapies are offered for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) like liver resection or transplant, radiofrequency ablation, transarterial chemoembolization, radioembolization, and systemic targeted agent, by the time of diagnosis, most of the cases of HCC are in an advanced stage, which renders therapies like liver transplant or resection and local ablation impractical; and targeted therapy has its shortcomings like general toxicity, imprecise selectivity, several adversative reactions, and resistance development. Therefore, novel drugs with specificity and selectivity are needed to provide the potential therapeutic response. Various researches have shown the potential of phytomedicines in liver cancer by modulating cell growth, invasion, metastasis, and apoptosis. However, their therapeutic potential is held up by their unfavorable properties like stability, poor water solubility, low absorption, and quick metabolism. Nonetheless, the advancement of nanotechnology-based innovative nanocarrier formulations has improved the phytomedicines' profile to be used in the treatment of liver cancer. Nanocarriers not only improve the solubility and stability of phytomedicines but also extend their residence in plasma and accomplish specificity. In this review, we summarize the advancements introduced by nanotechnology in the treatment of liver cancer. In particular, we discuss quite a few applications of nanophytomedicines like curcumin, quercetin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, berberine, apigenin, triptolide, and resveratrol in liver cancer treatment.

Simultaneous HPTLC analysis and in vitro antileishmanic activity of various secondary metabolites in extract of the traditional medicinal herb Artabotrys hexapetalus (L.f.).

BACKGROUND: Artabotrys hexapetalus [(L.F) Bhandari] a medicinal plant is commonly known as 'Hari Champa' and its roots and fruits are used for treating malaria and scrofula, respectively. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work was to develop a sensitive, fast and reproducible high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for simultaneous analysis of quercetin and apigenin in various extracts of Artabotrys hexapetalus (L. f.) Bhandari (Family Annonaceae) and further to assess antileishmanic effects of different extracts of A. hexapetalus against Leishmania donovani. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Metabolic fingerprinting was developed using HPTLC with quantification of markers (quercetin and apigenin). The method was validated for linearity, specificity, precision, accuracy and robustness. Among the different combinations of mobile phases used, best separation was achieved in toluene:ethyl acetate:formic acid (6.5:3:0.5, v/v/v). Densitometric scanning of the plates directly at 254 nm was used for analysis of quercetin as well as apigenin. The concentration-response curve was plotted and IC50 values were determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay. RESULTS: Compact bands for quercetin and apigenin were obtained at Rf 0.52 ± 0.001 and 0.73 ± 0.002, linearity were found satisfactory for quercetin and apigenin. Linearity range for quercetin and apigenin were 100-1000 ng/spot and 100-2000 ng/spot, respectively, with r 2 = 0.996 ± 0.002 and 0.993 ± 0.003, limit of detection (15.56 and 13.78 ng/spot), limit of quantification (51.8 and 45.94 ng/spot), recovery (98.7%-99.7% and 96.8%-98.8%) and precision with %RSD <2%. Various dried extracts were found to contain quercetin in the range of 0.35%-4.26% (w/w) and apigenin in the range of 0.64%-8.46% (w/w). Cytotoxicity assay of extracts over promastigotes showed that petroleum ether extract was found to be most cytotoxic (IC50 30.28 ± 1.06 µg/mL) after 96 h in comparison to other extracts. The finding of this study indicates that this plant is effective against L. donovani in vitro. CONCLUSION: The present HPTLC method is being reported for the first time and can be used for routine quality control. The petroleum ether extract of A. hexapetalus displayed potent antileishmanial activity and can be further explored for the development of antileishmanial treatment regimen.

Preclinical screening methods in cancer.

Cancer, a group of diseases of unregulated cell proliferation, is a leading cause of death worldwide. More than 80% of compounds which have shown promising effects in preclinical studies could not get through Phase II of clinical trials. Such high attrition rate is due to improper or selective use of preclinical modalities in anticancer drug screening. The various preclinical screening methods available such as in vitro human cancer cell lines, in vivo tumor xenograft model, or genetically engineered mouse model have their respective pros and cons. Scrupulous use of these preclinical screening methods vis-à-vis efficacy of potential anticancer compound with diverse mechanism of action can help in bringing down the rate of failure of anticancer compound at clinical phase. This article provides an insight into the various preclinical methods used in anticancer studies along with their advantages and disadvantages.