Subhash Chandra Mandal

• Professor at Jadavpur University

Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) masters cellular proteostasis under stress by upregulating the expression of molecular chaperones that help refold or degrade the misfolded proteins. HSF1 activation involves a monomer-to-oligomer transition and binding to its recognition sequence, the heat shock elements (HSEs) on its target gene promoters. HSF1 activity...

Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects millions worldwide, with no efficient therapy currently available. A major cause of the initiation and progression of this degenerative disease is the dysfunctional cellular protein quality control system (PQC), leading to the accumulation of toxic protein aggregates in neurons. We previously reported azadiradione (...

Naringin (NAR), a citrus flavonoid has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiviral, antiadipogenic, and cardioprotective qualities. However, because of its poor aqueous solubility, therapeutic applications of NAR are limited. The present research involves development of nanocarriers of NAR using biocompatible natural polymer chito...

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing global health concern due to its potential to progress into severe liver diseases. Targeting the bile acid receptor FXR has emerged as a promising strategy for managing NAFLD. Building upon our previous research on FXR partial agonism, the present study investigates a series of 1,3,4-trisubstit...

Traditional nutraceutical therapy is a promising approach in the management of inflammatory disorders. Fenugreek, bottle gourd, and betel leaf are rich sources of polyphenolic secondary metabolites. They are abundantly found in the Indian subcontinent for the preparation of healthy traditional functional food. Traditional evidence recommended that...

The healthcare industry is entering a new era of efficiency and personalisation because of the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), which has completely transformed medical research and development. With the use of machine learning and deep learning algorithms, artificial intelligence has had a particularly significant impact on drug discov...

The advancements in the therapeutic world have increased the average life expectancy of man, thereby causing an increase in the prevalence of degenerative disorders, especially Alzheimer’s disease. Oxidative stress, mutation in presenilin (PSEN) genes (PSEN1 and PSEN2), inflammation, mitochondrial and neurovascular dysfunction, and calcium dysregul...

Human soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), a dual-functioning homodimeric enzyme with hydrolase and phosphatase activities, is known for its pivotal role in the hydrolysis of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids. Inhibitors targeting sEH have shown promising potential in the treatment of various life-threatening diseases. In this study, we employed a range of in...

(1) Background: To assess the genetic makeup among the agro-economically important members of Euphorbiaceae, the present study was conducted to identify and characterize high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and their comparative distribution in exonic and intronic regions from the publicly available expressed sequence tags (EST...

Infertility is a universal health problem affecting 15% of couples, out of which 20–30% cases are due to male infertility. The leading causes of male infertility include hormonal defects, physical reasons, sexual problems, hazardous environment, stressful lifestyle, genetic factors, epigenetic factors, and oxidative stress. Various physiological fu...

Proper regulation of cellular protein quality control is crucial for cellular health. It appears that the protein quality control machinery is subjected to distinct regulation in different cellular contexts such as in somatic cells and in germ cells. Heat shock factors (HSFs) play critical role in the control of quality of cellular proteins through...

Detailed Standardisation of crude drugs

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has emerged as one of the biggest global health issues. Spike protein (S) and nucleoprotein (N), the major immunogenic components of SARS-CoV-2, have been shown to be involved in the attachment and replication of the virus...

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Renal disease is a significant public health concern that affects people all over the world. The main limitations of conventional therapy are the adverse reaction on human health and the expensive cost of drugs. Indeed, it is necessary to develop new therapeutic strategies that are less expensive and have fewer side...

Herbal medicines have been in use since ancient times for the management of many complex diseases. The efficacy of herbal extracts depends largely on the biological actions of individual active principles at molecular levels. In recent times, investigative studies have been taken up to validate the safety and clinical efficacy of individual herbal...

Herbal biopolysaccharides are being extracted from various herbal resources like leaves, stems, rhizomes, corms, roots, pods, flowers, fruits, seeds, exudates, etc. Some of the potential benefits of the use of herbal polysaccharides include easy and economic processing, abundant, and sustainable availability from the nature, solubility, swelling ab...

Since ancient times, humans across diverse cultures have shown keen interest in traditional herbal products which enhance sexual abilities, pleasure and libido, and improve sexual functions and potency. Herbal aphrodisiacs have been claimed to possess antistress as well as adaptogenic properties that assist in combating disease-associated stress an...

The demand for medicinal plants and their products for medicinal and nonmedicinal uses has increased many folds since last 2–3 decades. The increased demand has put enormous pressure on the natural resources, and has made the world think and act for the sustainability of medicinal plants as well as the environment. Various approaches viz., good cul...

Plant-based therapy has been used and accepted globally for a plethora of human ailments. While the basis of acceptance of herbal drugs lies in its safety profile, recent research in the field of complicated diseases has led to the fact that herbal biomolecules are equally potent for the treatment of such diseases in both acute and chronic cases. B...

Ethnopharmacological relevance Ervatamia coronaria, a popular garden plant in India and some other parts of the world is known traditionally for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. The molecular bases of these functions remain poorly understood. Aim of the study Efficacies of the existing therapies for colorectal cancer (CRC) are lim...

SARS-CoV-2 virus is the causative agent of COVID-19 pandemic which has led to a massive health crisis needing in-depth understanding of the disease including its clinical pathology, diagnosis, and immune response, which can be used for designing an effective therapy against this virus. Treatment modalities based on plants or plant-derived compounds...

Para-coumaric acid (p-CA) is a plant derived secondary metabolite belonging to the phenolic compounds. It is widely distributed in the plant kingdom and found mainly in fruits, vegetables, and cereals. Various in vivo and in vitro studies have revealed its scavenging and antioxidative properties in the reduction of oxidative stress and inflammatory...

Objectives: Zingiber officinale Linn. is a rhizome commonly consumed as a culinary purpose, medicine or spice in India. The aim of this study was to evaluate potent anticancer leads from ginger rhizome peel. Methods: Cytotoxicity study was carried out by using brine shrimp, Antimitotic study was carried out through onion root method, Anti-prolifera...

COVID-19 caused by a positive-sense single stranded RNA virus named as severe acute respiratory syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) triggered the global pandemic. This virus has infected about 10.37 Crores and taken lives of 2.24 Crores people of 213 countries to date. To cope-up this emergency clinical trials are undergoing with some existing drug...

Background Heat shock response (HSR), a component of cellular protein quality control mechanisms, is defective in different neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Forced upregulation of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), an HSR master regulator, showed therapeutic promise in PD models. Many of the reported small-molecule HSF1 activ...

Evidenced-based traditional plants are believed to be a prospective and alternative source of safe and effective drug development both in developed and developing countries for fruitful remedy against acute and chronic diseases, as because mainline allopathic medicines demonstrate versatile untoward effect and become ineffective in the treatment of...

Mushrooms degrade matter to produce metabolite for sustaining life. For degradation they produce enzymes and certain metabolites. Both the enzymes and the metabolites are of use for human. The metabolites have medicinal applications. The traditional use and the scientific work on some traditionally used medicinal mushrooms have been discussed here....

Plants are being used for disease treatment, prevention, cure, and many other medicinal purposes long before the prehistoric era as traditional medicines. The use of natural products for the discovery of many novel drugs has been increasing over the globe. Along with terrestrial plants, marine plant species too have a role in drug discovery and ser...

Bryophytes are group of non-vascular, amphibian members of plant kingdom having huge diversity in India with about 2489 taxa comprising of 1786 species. This plant group is subdivided into three phylogenetic lineages namely Hepaticopsida, Anthocerotopsida and Bryopsida that are distributed throughout India mostly in moist, highly elevated pollution...

The demand for traditional medicines, herbal health products, herbal pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, food supplements and herbal cosmetics etc. is increasing globally due to the growing recognition of these products as mainly non-toxic, having lesser side effects, better compatibility with physiological flora, and availability at affordable prices...

Tannins, the polyphenolic polymers, both in their hydrolyzable and condensed forms possess high molecular weight and being there with immense number of phenolic hydroxyl groups imparts these tannins their potentiality in forming complexes with proteins. Throughout the world, both forms of tannins are broadly distributed in shrubs, legumes, forage t...

Herbal medicines including the scholarly Bhutanese Sowa Rigpa medicine (BSM) contribute significantly to primary health care services and play a considerable part in modern drug discovery. BSM, which was integrated with modern health care system in 1967, currently uses more than 200 species of medicinal plants including three closely related member...

Background and Introduction Sesquiterpene lactones are a class of secondary metabolite that consist of sesquiterpenoids and lactone ring as pharmacophore moiety. Large group of bio-active secondary metabolites as phytopharmaceuticals belong to this category. Asteraceae family based medicinal plants, from which more than 5,000 sesquiterpene lactones...

The naturally occurring phytochemicals produced by plants are biologically sound and integrated to lower the threat of various human diseases. The history of the use of phytochemicals as conventional medicine or functional food is, perhaps, as old as the history of man. Secondary metabolites are not crucial for the development of the plant and thei...

Introduction: Vitex negundo (Linn.) is commonly used in folk medicines and widely distributed in India, especially in moist places. However, all parts of V. negundo are used to treat different pathophysiology, but leaves are strongly effective for medicinal uses. The aim of this study is to compare the anti-inflammatory potential of the methanolic...

The health benefits of mushrooms find their place in the ancient texts of Greek, Roman, Chinese, and in Ayurveda. Exploration and validation of the history and ethnic knowledge of the use of mushrooms have been a basis for a number of novel bioactive agents which may serve as leads for drug discovery. Mushrooms are significantly nutritious since th...

Since the ancient period, the medicinal plants have been used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Recently, it has gained extreme research importance for their nutraceuticals values. It has been confirmed by WHO that herbal medicines serve the health needs of about 80% of World’s population; especially for millions of people in the vast rura...

The original version of Chapter 9 was inadvertently published with incorrect author name “Harun Al Rashid” instead of “Md. Harun Al Rashid”. The chapter has been updated.

Plant terpenoids are utilized generally for their aromatic behaviour. They act as conventional herbal remedies and are under research for antineoplastic activity, antibacterial activity, anti-diabetic activity, anti-inflammatory activity, anti-platelet aggregate activity, antiviral activity, antioxidative activity, antiallergic, antihypertensive ac...

Nyctanthes arbortristis Linn (Oleaceae) is one of the well known medicinal plant widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of asthma. Present work was undertaken to check potential of the plant bark in the treatment of asthma. Petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol and aqueous extracts of N. arbortristis bark (50 and 100 mg/kg, i....

Lantana camara Linn. (Verbenaceae) has been widely used as medicine in Ayurvedic system. It is recommended as vulerary, diaphoretic, carminative and antispasmodic. The chemical constituents reported from this plant belongs to different classes such as tannins, resins, sesquiterpines, anthocyanins, flavonoids, fixed oils, enzymes like oxidase, amyla...

Punica granatum Linn (Punicaceae) is commonly known as "Dalimb" in Marathi. P. granatum is a dark greenish large deciduous shrub or small tree, about 5-10 m high. In Pharmacognostic study of flower buds of P. granatum, macroscopy, microscopy, physical parameters and extractive values were studied. Flowers are 3.8-5 cm long and as much across, mostl...

The present study deals with the amelioration by Delonix regia aerial parts extract against hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), which was evaluated in terms of serum marker enzymes like aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, albumine, total protein, direct bilirubine and total bilirubine. Thes...

This study was designed to test CNS depressant activity of aerial parts of plant Abutilon indicum L. (Malvaceae) as it is used traditionally in depression. The A. indicum herb cultivated throughout tropical India and Ceylon. It contains various chemical constituents as alkaloids, leucoanthocyanins, flavonoids, sterols, triterpenoids, saponins and c...

Background: Zika is a worldwide pandemic dreadful viral transmission through Aedes mosquito vector. It significantly causes fever, joint pain or rash, and conjunctivitis. Pregnant mothers suffering from Zika viral infection may have fetal abnormalities due to severe neurological problems, characterized by microcephaly along with Guillain-Barré syn...

Objective: The current study evaluates the antioxidant and cytotoxic prospective of the leaves from Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. (D. melanoxylon).Methods: Qualitative phytochemical analysis of the samples from D. melanoxylon was carried out for the detection of secondary metabolites. Total content of flavonoids, phenolics, triterpenoids, and tannins...

Diabetes mellitus, characterized by hyperglycemia, is growing at an alarming rate. Tea is the most consumed beverages; it is next only to water. The chief chemical components of tea leaves are polyphenols (catechins and flavonoids), alkaloids (caffeine, theophylline, theobromine), polysaccharides, volatile oils, amino acids, lipids, vitamins (e.g....

Ichnocarpus frutescens root derived phyto-steroids defends inflammation and algesia by pulling down the pro-inflammatory and nociceptive pain mediators: an in-vitro and in-vivo appraisal, Steroids (2018), doi: https://doi. ABSTRACT Ichnocarpus frutescens, a climber plant, is distributed all over India. As its different parts are used as anti-inflam...

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by expansion of CAG repeats in the coding area of huntingtin gene. In the HD brain, mutant huntingtin protein goes through proteolysis, and its amino-terminal portion consisting of polyglutamine repeats accumulate as inclusions that result in progressiv...

Objective: Senna surattensis is a shrub plant which has been known for its diverse biological and pharmacological properties. This study is aimed to evaluate the antidiabetic activity of ethanolic extracts of S. surattensis (EESS) leaves in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.Methods: Experimental diabetes was induced by injection of a single dose of all...

Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. (D. melanoxylon) belongs to the family Ebenaceae and its leaves are very well known for making beedi throughout the World. The current study estimated the comparative extraction technique and its in-vitro antidiabetic prospective of the leaves of D. melanoxylon. Qualitative phytochemicals analysis of the samples from D....

Psychological stress is the most prevalent issue in today's life, affecting millions of people worldwide in terms of productivity and quality of life. Chronic mental stress leading to sustained elevated levels of cortisol, a stress biomarker, is detrimental for the body and a causative factor for chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension...

Herbal medicines have been widely used since ancient times for the treatment of various ailments, and are now gaining popularity worldwide as complementary or alternative treatments for a variety of diseases. Since herbal medicines are regarded as safe, they are often coadministered with many prescribed drugs, and thereby arises the potential of he...

The plant Euphorbia tirucalli Linn has been successfully used as a tribal folk medicine in India and Africa for the management of acute inflammatory, arthritic, nociceptive pain and asthmatic symptoms. The present study was conducted to assess the anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-asthmatic and anti-arthritic role of the total steroid and terpenoi...

Introduction: Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. is traditionally used medicinal plant. Previously, we confirmed the better antiproliferative and antidiabetic activity of ethyl acetate fractions (EAF) obtained from D. Melanoxylon. To assessment the hypothesis if nanoparticle-encapsulated fraction could progress bioactivity. Materials and Methods: We prepa...

Neurodegeneration due to ischemic brain injury is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. It is a complex pathological process and involves oxidative stress, disrupted membrane function leading to anoxic depolarization, neurotransmitter release, and apoptosis leading to neuronal loss. The benefits of thrombolytic therapy are not complete. Res...

Plants contain a galaxy of phytoconstituents which accounts for their remedial worth. This plant has been used expansively for its medicinal value all over the world. Different plant parts have been used for its different pharmacological screening, including cancer therapy and leaves can be wrapped to create the " beedi " filled with tobacco which...

Aggregation of proteins with the expansion of polyglutamine tracts in the brain underlies progressive genetic neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) like Huntington’s disease and spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA). An insensitive cellular proteotoxic stress response to non-native protein oligomers is common in such conditions. Indeed, upregulation of heat sho...

Thin layer chromatography was performed to identify the potent phytomarkers such as gallic acid, lawsone and p-coumaric acid in petroleum ether extract of W.volubilis. In vitro antioxidant properties of petroleum ether extract of Wattakaka volubilis (W.volubilis) were evaluated through DPPH, nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical scav...

Hepatoprotective activity of the methanol extract of Litsea glutinosa (MELG) was investigated by inducing hepatotoxicity with CCl4 and paracetamol in rats. Increased levels of biochemical parameters like aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, bilirubin and alkaline phophatase in serum, along with reduced activity of catalase and super oxide...

The major challenges of conventional extraction are longer extraction time, requirement of highly pure and costly solvent, evaporation of the solvent, low extraction selectivity and thermal degradation of thermo labile compounds. To overcome these shortcomings of conventional extraction methods, new and promising extraction techniques like ultrasou...

Various phytochemical tests are available to enable the presence of a particular chemical group to be detected in an extract. Most of these tests are based on color reaction or precipitation in response to the presence of a particular chemical or reagent. An important point should be noted that although these phytochemical tests give an indication...

Dereplication forms an integral part of the early stages of natural product drug discovery process, where there is a never-ending urge to focus on the rapid identification of novel, biologically active metabolites from natural sources. In this chapter, we have described in detail several strategies employed in dereplication study and the various st...

Before the beginning of the twentieth century, the discovery of drug entities for the treatment of human diseases was mainly a matter of “hit or miss” use in humans, based on folklore claims. Many of our earliest therapeutic remedies were derived from plants or plant extracts that had been administered to ailing patients (e.g., quinine from cinchon...

It is quite likely that the knowledge of herbal remedies in traditional cultures throughout the world must have developed through trial and error over many centuries, and that the most important information on cures of ailments was cautiously passed on orally from one generation to another. For the first time, the subject Pharmacognosy was defined...

Diseases associated with chronic inflammatory pathology claim a major share of worldwide deaths each year. A principal reason behind the huge number of casualties are associated with mild or unnoticed symptoms for long period of time since the outset, and that specific treatment options for these diseases have not yet emerged. Current anti-inflamma...

Some natural anticancer compounds derived from natural product and their optimal potential are limited due to lack of solubility in aqueous solvent, degradation at alkaline pH and poor tissue absorption. In order to enhance their activity and improve their bioavailability, this chapter describes about designed bioactive loaded nanoparticles deliver...

The advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly reduced the incidence of AIDS related death; however HIV-1 infection still leads to a lifelong debilitating disease. This, along with chronic toxicities associated with prolonged use of antiretroviral result in a decline in the quality of life of HIV-1 individuals. Here we discuss alterna...

Lawsone (1,4 naphthoquinone) is a non redox cycling compound that can be catalyzed by DT diaphorase (DTD) into 1,2,4-trihydroxynaphthalene (THN), which can generate reactive oxygen species by auto oxidation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of the phytomarker 1,4 naphthoquinone and its metabolite THN by using the molecular doc...