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Phytomedicine: An ancient approach turning into future potential source of therapeutics
Abstract and Figures
Phytomedicine obtained from herbal sources are in great demand in the developed world as they are able to cure many infectious diseases. These plant based drugs provide outstanding contribution to modern therapeutics. The natural medicine are attracting renewed attention from both practical and scientific view points, but the mode of action of folk herbal medicines and related products from nature is even more complex than mechanistic clarification of a single bioactive factor. They have proved their efficacy for primary health care because of their safety and lesser side effects. They also offer therapeutics for age-related disorders like memory loss, osteoporosis, immune disorders, etc. The new-found popularity is due to their almost miraculous success with cases which were given up as hopeless by the allopathic doctors as their side-effect free treatment. The integration of phytomedicine into the health system should be developed in such a way to bring harmony between the traditional and modern system of health care with minimum threat to each other. The present review deals with impact and present scenario of phytomedicine in the society.
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... Phytomedicine is a mixture of traditional medicine that utilizes plant extracts for the treatment of several health conditions [5,6]. Plant extracts are rich in naturally occurring bioactive phytochemicals, such as essential oils, flavonoids and alkaloids. ...
Background
Integrating phytomedicine with glass ionomer cements (GICs) offers a promising avenue for improving dental restoratives. This review comprehensively discusses the incorporation of plant extracts and derivatives into GICs to enhance their antimicrobial, mechanical, and aesthetic properties.
Main text
The addition of plant extracts, such as propolis, miswak, and grape seed, and the respective disinfecting derivatives of gallic acid, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, and curcumin improved both the antibacterial and mechanical properties of GICs. Furthermore, the incorporation of these derivatives is in line with current practices, which emphasize the use of natural products to minimize the use of synthetic preservatives in dental applications. In addition, this review discussed the role of these plant extracts in the green synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs), providing insights into how these sustainable approaches can fill existing gaps in dental material technology. This intersection of plant-based compounds and nanotechnology not only paves the way for innovative dental materials but also supports the broader movement toward sustainable practices in dentistry. This review revealed that the incorporation of plant extracts may significantly improve the antimicrobial properties of GICs and maintain or slightly improve their mechanical properties; however, the disparate methodologies and extraction concentrations used in these studies call for further standardized research.
Conclusion
This review highlights the potential of phytomedicine to optimize the performance of GICs in clinical settings and calls for further research to establish the most effective formulations.
... About 25% of U.S. medications incorporate plant-based components. Plantbased active medicinal ingredients and phytochemicals with anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and proapoptotic properties are scarce in the pharmaceutical industry [42]. Oncology uses several plant-derived substances for prevention and treatment. ...
... Developing novel strategies to improve these chemicals' availability and absorption within the body is necessary to meet this problem. Furthermore, much research is required to clarify and appropriately manage the possible interactions between phytomedicines and conventional pharmaceuticals [57]. Cultural prejudices and the various legal systems around the world could make it difficult for phytomedicine to become widely accepted, necessitating coordinated efforts to close these gaps. ...
Carbon nanodots (CNDs) have garnered significant attention as viable drug delivery vehicles in recent years, especially in the field of phytomedicine. Although there is much promise for therapeutic applications with phytomedicine, its effectiveness is frequently restricted by its low solubility, stability, and bioavailability. This paper offers a thorough synopsis of the developing field of phytomedicine drug delivery based on CND. It explores CND synthesis processes, surface functionalization strategies, and structural and optical characteristics. Additionally, the advantages and difficulties of phytomedicine are examined, with a focus on the contribution of drug delivery methods to the increased effectiveness of phytomedicine. The applications of CNDs in drug delivery are also included in the review, along with the mechanisms that underlie their improved drug delivery capabilities. Additionally, it looks at controlled-release methods, stability augmentation, and phytomedicine-loading tactics onto CNDs. The potential of polymeric carbon nanodots in drug delivery is also covered, along with difficulties and prospective directions going forward, such as resolving toxicity and biocompatibility issues. In summary, the present review highlights the encouraging contribution of CNDs to the field of drug delivery, specifically in enhancing the potential of phytomedicine for therapeutic purposes.
... About 25% of U.S. medications incorporate plant-based components. Plantbased active medicinal ingredients and phytochemicals with anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and proapoptotic properties are scarce in the pharmaceutical industry [42]. Oncology uses several plant-derived substances for prevention and treatment. ...
Colon cancer typically affects older adults, though it can happen at any age. Colon cancer, also known as Caco-2, is caused by multiple epigenetic alterations and involves unregulated proliferation, differentiation, and invasion of neighboring tissues. Colon cancer patients have had surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy. This study investigates a new experimental method using inexpensive and environmentally friendly Egyptian plant extracts. DMSO-dissolved ginger, garlic, cinnamon, and chamomile were employed in this investigation. HPLC and GC-MS were used to analyze plant extracts. These extracts were tested for colon cancer efficacy using various methods. These methods included Caco-2 cells, MTT test, Annexin V-FITC flow cytometry, qRT-PCR, and ELISA. Garlic and ginger were found to be cytotoxic to Caco-2 cells. Compared to cinnamon and chamomile extracts, garlic and ginger have boosted LDH synthesis significantly. Garlic and ginger also altered autophagy genes (Bectin1, Atg5, PTEN) and Caspase-3 expression pathways on proapoptotic signaling. Garlic and ginger increased cleaved PTEN and caspase-3 and decreased Atg5 and Bectin1. Ginger and garlic caused extrinsic apoptosis and prevented Atg5 and Bectin1 phosphorylation. The average IL-8 and IL-6 levels increased significantly after 24 hours, according to ELISA. In conclusion, garlic and ginger extracts modify pro-inflammatory cytokines. Alternative herbal remedies like garlic and ginger may be effective and safe colon cancer treatments.
... The increasing prevalence of these conditions has heightened the search for natural remedies that can offer effective therapeutic interventions with minimal side effects. In this context, plants and their bioactive compounds have garnered signi cant attention due to their historical use in traditional medicine and their potential in modern therapeutics (Pandey et al. 2011). ...
Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Tabernaemontana divaricata ( T. divaricata ) and Mangifera indica ( M. indica ) are plants traditionally used in Ayurvedic medicine for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. T. divaricata is known for its analgesic and wound-healing effects, while M. indica is celebrated for its role in managing inflammation and oxidative stress. Aim of the Study: The study aimed to evaluate the synergistic effects of combined hydroalcoholic extracts from T. divaricata and M. indica leaves, focusing on their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Materials and Methods The leaves were collected, authenticated, and subjected to hydroalcoholic extraction. The extracts were then combined in various ratios and analyzed for phytochemical content. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using the DPPH assay, while anti-inflammatory effects were assessed through the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model. Results The combined extracts exhibited significantly enhanced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities compared to the individual extracts. The most potent combination, a 2:1 ratio of M. indica to T. divaricata , showed the highest DPPH inhibition (94.37%) and maximum edema reduction in the animal model. Conclusion The combination of T. divaricata and M. indica extracts offers a synergistic therapeutic potential, enhancing both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, which supports their traditional use and suggests potential for developing new natural therapeutics.
... From a practical and scientific standpoint, ethnomedicinal knowledge and plants are receiving more attention in the field of alternative therapeutics. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated over many years, but the mechanism of folk remedies and natural products is much more intricate than the automatous explanation of a single bioactive component due to the use of partly fractionated extracts in most of the experimental studies (Pandey et al. 2011). The contemporary perspective on alternative medications is founded on the usage of traditional medicinal plant and natural products, their ecology, and traditional beliefs in human communities. ...
The use of traditional medicinal herbs relies on the indigenous knowledge, skills, customs, and beliefs of different cultures to uphold general wellness and prevent and treat ailments. Despite the development of modern medical facilities and the expansion of the healthcare system, a sizeable portion of the population from developing countries seeks out traditional medicines for various physical and mental health problems. Over the last few decades, a growing belief in traditional medicine, which has fewer side effects than allopathic medicine, has led to a resurgence of interest in medicinal plants. The WHO (World Health Organization) has also acknowledged the values and utility of medicinal plants from an ethnomedical perspective. The phytoconstituents in plants make them viable candidates for commercial manufacturing, and thus the majority of medicines prescribed globally are derived from plants. Surprisingly, for affordability and availability, herbs are still frequently chosen over pharmaceuticals in the healthcare system of most of the Asian countries including India. Herbal treatments have a long history in India, where they are important aspects of the regional indigenous traditions. Scientific evidence, however, has validated the traditional uses of several herbs as medicines for treating serious health problems including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders, ensuring their patient-friendly attributes and therapeutic potential. Since ethnomedicinal research is crucial for the discovery of novel medications from indigenous medicinal plants, it serves as the cornerstone of the pharmaceutical industry. But as a result of several factors related to urbanization and globalization, ethnomedicinal expertise has been slowly vanishing. To restore the virtues of ethnomedicine for the welfare of human society, it is therefore necessary to investigate, identify, and record traditional medicinal herbs. The current chapter intends to emphasize the ethnomedicinal advantages of medicinal plant resources and to grasp the prospects and challenges for the development of a promising base on plant-based therapies.
Across diverse cultures, herbal remedies have been used to alleviate oral discomfort and maintain dental hygiene. This review presents studies on herbal remedies with remarkable antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, anticaries, analgesic, and healing properties. The manuscripts demonstrate the depth of scientific inquiry into herbal remedies used for the management of various oral and dental health conditions. These include gingivitis, oral ulcers, mucositis, periodontitis, oral pathogens, carcinoma, xerostomia, and dental caries. Researchers have investigated the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of plant-derived compounds and their extracts evaluated their interactions with oral pathogens and inflammatory processes. The convergence of traditional knowledge and rigorous scientific investigation offers a compelling narrative, fostering a deeper understanding of herbal remedies as viable alternatives to conventional dental interventions. This work has the potential to provide patients with access to gentle, yet effective solutions, and simultaneously offer dental health professionals the opportunity to enrich their knowledge, and ability to provide personalized, holistic care. This review highlights the symbiotic relationship between herbal medicine and scientific understanding, emphasizing the importance of disseminating this knowledge to benefit both practitioners and patients, enabling evidence-based decision-making in dental care. The exploration of herbal remedies offers a promising alternative, potentially mitigating some of these side effects while promoting oral health in a more natural and holistic manner.
Thymus serpyllum L., often known as wild thyme, has been used since ancient times due to its multifaceted culinary and medicinal attributes. It is usually utilized in folk medicine to manage different health issues. This work aimed to investigate the chemical composition and biological characteristics of T. serpyllum essential oil (EO), including its antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory capabilities. Moreover, we have prompted an in-silico simulation to reveal the underlying mode of action of these properties. The chemical characterization of T. serpyllum (EO) by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) indicated sabinene (17.33%), terpinen-4-ol (11.73%), phellandral (13.18%), and thymol (10.54%) as main components. The antimicrobial screening utilized the disc-diffusion technique, MIC, and MBC assays. The disc-diffusion test’s results revealed significant anti-Candida activity and notable antibacterial efficacy. The MIC and MBC tests showed that T. serpyllum EO effectively stops bacterial growth, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains and Candida strains. The tolerance level ratio demonstrated that this EO exhibits bactericidal and fungicidal effects on all tested bacteria and Candida strains. Also, T. serpyllum EO presented effective inhibitory activity against the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzyme (IC50 = 744.19 ± 0.1 µg/mL) (p < 0.05). It also effectively affected FRAP, β-carotene, DPPH, and ABTS radicals. In light of these findings, T. serpyllum holds promise for diverse applications across pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and the food industry. However, further research and collaboration between traditional knowledge and modern medicine are crucial to fully realizing its potential benefits in these fields.
Background:
Moringa oleifera and Tinospora cordifolia is extensively used as an ingredient of food and in traditional medicine for the management of a variety of diseases.
Material and methods:
The extracts of leaf of Moringa oleifera and stem of Tinospora cordifolia were assessed to examine their ability to inhibit the oxidative DNA damage (by DNA protection assay), cytoprotective and genoprotective potential (by Comet assay) in V79 cells individually and in combinations.
Result:
It was found that these extracts could significantly inhibit the OH-dependent damage of pUC18 plasmid DNA. M. oleifera extract (160 and 320 μg/mL) and Tinospora cordifolia extract (640, 1,280 and 2,560 μg/mL) individually showed higher DNA protection activity. M. oleifera (1,280 μg/mL) combined with Tinospora cordifolia (640 μg/mL) showed best cytoprotective and genoprotective activities among different concentration combinations and various concentrations of individual plants in V79 cell line against hydrogen peroxide induced cytotoxicity and genotoxicity.
Conclusion:
This study demonstrates the cytoprotective and genoprotective activity of M. oleifera and Tinospora cordifolia individually or in combination.
In Venezuela, the commerce of medicinal plants presents different strengths and risks, among them stands out as a head corner stone, the diversity of species that enriches and supplies the offer/demand of this market. In this sense, many ethnobotanical studies realized in different locations have showed that traditionally local communities resort to a wide range of medicinal plants as a source of primary medication. Although there is an extensive use of plants as therapeutical agents, the main weakness of this market is the absence of a regulatory code specifically related to the extraction, use and trade of medicinal plants. This limits the expansion and consolidation nationwide of this productive sector. Following this order of ideas as aim of this research essay a revision of the current situation of this economical activity, as well as an overview of the registration process for a phytomedicine in our country, was made. © 2009 Boletín Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Plantas Medicinales y Aromáticas.
Curculigo pilosa is commonly used for herbal preparations as a purgative and also in the management and treatment of hernia, infertility and gonorrhea in Southwestern Nigeria. Owing to reported resistance of Candida albicans to toxic expensive anticandidal agents such as azoles and its implication for promoting opportunistic fungal infections of immunosuppressed patients, the anticandidal activity of C. pilosa was studied. The phytochemical screening of its powdered rhizomes was done using standard procedure. The extracts and essential oil were prepared using Soxhlet and Clavenger-type apparatus respectively. Ten C. albicans isolates from vagina cotton swabs were obtained from three hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria. The isolates were tested against extracts and essential oil for any anticandidal activity using agar-well diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using broth dilution method. The phytochemicals found in C. pilosa were alkaloids, saponins, tannins, cardenolides and traces of anthraquinones. The ethanol extracts (500 mg/ml) and undiluted essential oil exhibited anticandidal activity while the water extract (1000 mg/ml) was inactive against isolates. The MIC exhibited by the ethanol extract against the tested isolates range between 0.020 and 1.500 mg/ml. The isolation and identification of the active compounds of C. pilosa could lead to the discovery of anticandidal phytomedicine.
From the ethanolic extract of the leaves of Alchornea cordifolia (Schumach. and Thonn.) Mull. Arg,, 5-methyl 4 ' -propenoxy anthocyanidines 7-O-�-D - diglucopyranoside was isolated. The structure was elucidated using NMR spectroscopy in combination with IR and MS spectral data. Antibacterial studies showed that the isolated compound successfully inhibited Pseudomonas aerguinosa, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pueumonia and Staphylococcus aureus . This result authenticates the use of the plant in phytomedicine for disease prevention and treatment of infections.
Medicinal plants have played a key role in the world health care with about 80% of Africans depending on phytomedicine, which has shown a wide range of uses in the treatment of diseases especially priority diseases of Africa such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, sickle-cell anemia, diabetes and hypertension. These medicinal plants have more beneficial effect than their synthetic counterparts through being safer, acceptable, affordable, culturally compatible and suitable for chronic treatments. Some African phytomedicines are well known in the international market and so supply economic benefit for the producing countries. The use of phytomedicine should be integrated into the health agenda since effective health care cannot be achieved in Africa by using orthodox medicine alone. This can be achieved by adopting the WHO memorandum and guidelines for the institutionalization of phytomedicine into the health sector. Although there are some problems limiting the development of phytomedicine, such as lack of standardization, efficacy and quality control of plants used, extinction of some plant species, lack of funds and others, if these problems can be fully addressed, this will help in the future development and harmonization of phytomedicines.
Discovery and development of new therapeutic agents is a continuing process. In spite of the fact that, at present, we have at our command a formidable array of modern drugs1, the need to discover and invent new agents is genuine and urgent. It has been estimated2 that satisfactory therapy is available only for about one-third of all presently known human ailments, and several diseases, such as cancer, AIDS, senile dementia, auto-immune diseases, to mention just a few, continue to evade reasonable solution. In addition, in the case of infective diseases, causative organisms continue to develop strains refractory to the medicinal agents, to which they were susceptible earlier. It is being predicted3 that, due to several other reasons including global warming, infectious diseases may become one of the main scourges of mankind in the near future. Thus, fight against disease must be carried on relentlessly. And, therapeutic agents constitute a very vital ingredient.
A method has been presented for the separation and identification of 63 alkaloids reported as having been isolated from Catharanthus species of plants. Included are silica gel G thin-layer chromatography RF values using three different solvent systems as well as the chromogenic characteristics for each following application of a ceric ammonium sulfate alkaloid detecting reagent. Using a reference alkaloid on each thin-layer plate, the RF values obtained for alkaloids being chromatographed were demonstrated to be reproducible when the reference alkaloid RF remained within pre-set limits. A combination of RF values and the chromogenic response of each alkaloid to the ceric ammonium sulfate reagent serves to resolve and identify all but 13 of the 63 alkaloids.
In the present study, a polyherbal formulation was investigated for its effect on memory and learning. In Elevated Plus maze and Shock-avoidance test Bacopamine (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) was administered for eight consecutive days to young adult mice of either sex and rats respectively. Significant improvement in learning and memory was observed with animals treated with Bacopamine as compared to control. We also investigated the effect of Bacopamine on 5 days performance of mice in Morris Water maze. Oral daily treatment with Bacopamine (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly improved memory and learning. Piracetam (100 mg/kg, p.o.) was used as a positive standard. These results are suggestive of Bacopamine providing excellent cognition enhancement.
