A review on network pharmacology based phytotherapy in treating diabetes- An environmental perspective.

Diabetes has become common lifestyle disorder associated with obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Environmental factors like physical inactivity, polluted surroundings and unhealthy dieting also plays a vital role in diabetes pathogenesis. As the current anti-diabetic drugs possess unprecedented side effects, traditional herbal medicine can be used an alternative therapy. The paramount challenge with the herbal formulation usage is the lack of standardized procedure, entangled with little knowledge on drug safety and mechanism of drug action. Heavy metal contamination is a major environmental hazard where plants tend to accumulate toxic metals like nickel, chromium and lead through industrial and agricultural activities. It becomes inappropriate to use these plants for phytotherapy as it may affect the human health on long term consumption. This review discuss about the environmental risk factors related to diabetes and better implication of medicinal plants in anti-diabetic therapy using network pharmacology. It is an in silico analytical tool that helps to unravel the multi-targeted action of herbal formulations rich in secondary metabolites. Also, a special focus is attempted to pool the databases regarding the medicinal plants for diabetes and associated diseases, their bioactive compounds, possible diabetic targets, drug-target interaction and toxicology reports that may open an aisle in safer, effective and toxicity-free drug discovery.

An overview on the role of plant-derived tannins for the treatment of lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death globally. Despite many advanced approaches to treat cancer, they are often ineffective due to resistance to classical anti-cancer drugs and distant metastases. Currently, alternative medicinal agents derived from plants are the major interest due to high bioavailability and fewer adverse effects. Tannins are polyphenolic compounds existing as specialized products in a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Many tannins have been found to possess protective properties, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, and so on. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge addressing the anti-cancer effects of dietary tannins and their underlying molecular mechanisms. In vivo and in vitro studies provide evidences that anti-cancer effects of various tannins are predominantly mediated through negative regulation of transcription factors, growth factors, receptor kinases, and many oncogenic molecules. In addition, we also discussed the absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) properties of tannins, clinical trial results as well as our perspective on future research with tannins.

Therapeutic potential of plant-derived tannins in non-malignant respiratory diseases.

Respiratory diseases are the major cause of human illness and death around the world. Despite advances in detection and treatment, very few classes of safe and effective therapy have been introduced to date. At present, phytochemicals are getting more attention because of their diverse beneficial activities and minimal toxicity. Tannins are polyphenolic secondary metabolites with high molecular weights, which are naturally present in a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and leguminous seeds. Many tannins are endowed with well-recognized protective properties, such as anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, and many others. This review summarizes a large body of experimental evidence implicating that tannins are helpful in tackling a wide range of non-malignant respiratory diseases including acute lung injury (ALI), pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, pulmonary hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mechanistic pathways by which various classes of tannins execute their beneficial effects are discussed. In addition, clinical trials and our perspective on future research with tannins are also reviewed.

Angiogenic evaluation of ginsenoside Rg 1 from Panax ginseng in fluorescent transgenic mice.

BACKGROUND: Evaluation of angiogenesis-inducing compounds is essential in tissue engineering to develop biological substitutes for the repair or regeneration of tissue function. In this report, we evaluated the angiogenic ability of ginsenoside Rg 1 from Panax ginseng, in Matrigel implanted on fluorescent transgenic mice. METHODS: The in vitro proliferation ability of each test agent was estimated by MTS assay. The Matrigel loaded with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) or Rg 1 and Matrigel alone were implanted on fluorescent transgenic mice and were retrieved at 1, 4, 6 and 8 weeks after implantation to measure various conventional markers for angiogenesis including neo-vascular density and hemoglobin content. Additionally, the functional neo-vasculature in the implanted Matrigel was visualized using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). RESULTS: The in vitro results indicated that the stimulating effect of Rg 1 on HUVECs proliferation remained unchanged after dissolved for 30 days in culture medium at 37 degrees C when compared with the effect of bFGF. One week after implantation in transgenic mice, bFGF or Rg 1 mixed in Matrigel plug significantly enhanced angiogenesis; however, at 6 weeks a significant decrease in angiogenic effect was observed in Matrigel with bFGF, but not in Matrigel with Rg 1. The neo-vessels structure was visualized in three dimensions (3D) by CLSM and the results were in agreement with other conventional measurements for angiogenesis. CONCLUSION: These findings confirm that Rg 1 could be used in tissue tissue-engineering applications and that the fluorescent transgenic mice can be a useful experimental model for studying angiogenesis.

Beneficial effects of aloe vera leaf gel extract on lipid profile status in rats with streptozotocin diabetes.

The effect of diabetes mellitus on lipid metabolism is well established. The association of hyperglycaemia with an alteration of lipid parameters presents a major risk for cardiovascular complications in diabetes. Many secondary plant metabolites have been reported to possess lipid-lowering properties. The present study was designed to examine the potential anti-hyperlipidaemic efficacy of the ethanolic extract from Aloe vera leaf gel in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. 2. Oral administration of Aloe vera gel extract at a dose of 300 mg/kg bodyweight per day to STZ-induced diabetic rats for a period of 21 days resulted in a significant reduction in fasting blood glucose, hepatic transaminases (aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase), plasma and tissue (liver and kidney) cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids and phospholipids and a significant improvement in plasma insulin. 3. In addition, the decreased plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and increased plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein-and very low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in diabetic rats were restored to near normal levels following treatment with the extract. 4. The fatty acid composition of the liver and kidney was analysed by gas chromatography. The altered fatty acid composition in the liver and kidney of diabetic rats was restored following treatment with the extract. 5. Thus, the results of the present study provide a scientific rationale for the use of Aloe vera as an antidiabetic agent.

Antioxidant effect of Aloe vera gel extract in streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats.

In the present study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the presence of antioxidant property in the alcoholic extract of Aloe vera leaf gel. Oral administration of Aloe vera gel extract at a concentration of 300 mg/kg to diabetic rats significantly decreased the levels of blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin and increased hemoglobin. The increased levels of lipid peroxidation and hydroperoxides in tissues of diabetic rats were reverted back to near normal levels after the treatment with gel extract. The extract treatment also resulted in a significant increase in reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase in the liver and kidney of diabetic rats. These results clearly show the antioxidant property of Aloe vera gel extract. The extract was also more effective than glibenclamide in restoring the values of these parameters.