Archana N. Sah

Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Dementia Therapy and Significance of Natural Products and Herbal Drugs

Dementia is a clinical syndrome wherein gradual decline of mental and cognitive capabilities of an afflicted person takes place. Dementia is associated with various risk factors and conditions such as insufficient cerebral blood supply, toxin exposure, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative damage, and often coexisting with some neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimers disease (AD), Huntingtons disease (HD), and Parkinsons disease (PD). Although there are well-established (semi-)synthetic drugs currently used for the management of AD and AD-associated dementia, most of them have several adverse effects. Thus, traditional medicine provides various plant-derived lead molecules that may be useful for further medical research. Herein we review the worldwide use of ethnomedicinal plants in dementia treatment. We have explored a number of recognized databases by using keywords and phrases such as “dementia”, “Alzheimers,” “traditional medicine,” “ethnopharmacology,” “ethnobotany,” “herbs,” “medicinal plants” or other relevant terms, and summarized 90 medicinal plants that are traditionally used to treat dementia. Moreover, we highlight five medicinal plants or plant genera of prime importance and discuss the physiological effects, as well as the mechanism of action of their major bioactive compounds. Furthermore, the link between mitochondrial dysfunction and dementia is also discussed. We conclude that several drugs of plant origin may serve as promising therapeutics for the treatment of dementia, however, pivotal evidence for their therapeutic efficacy in advanced clinical studies is still lacking.

Volatile Constituents of Leaf and Seed Essential Oil of Coriandrum sativum L

Abstract The leaf and seed essential oils of Coriandrum sativum L. (family: Apiaceae) grown in tarai region of Uttarakhand, India were analyzed and compared by capillary GC and GC-MS. The analysis led to the identification of 88 constituents forming 93.55 % to 98.90 % of the total oil compositions. The major components in seed essential oil were monoterpenoids (90.18 %) represented by 74.01 % of oxygenated and 16.17 % of monoterpene hydrocarbons. Linalool (55.42 %), geranial (6.33 %), myrcene (5.53 %), α-humulene (5.29 %) and 1,8-cineole (3.30 %) were the major constituents of seed oil. On the contrary, aliphatic compounds (90.20 %), mainly comprised of C8-C16 aldehydes and alcohols, predominate in leaf essential oil of C. sativum. The major constituents identified were (E)-2-decenal (18.02 %), decanal (14.36 %), dec-9-en-1-ol (11.66 %), (E)-2-dodecenal (8.72 %), n-tetradecanol (6.09 %), dodecanal (5.81%) and decanol (5.77 %). Comparison of the oil composition of seed and leaf oil showed sharp qualitative and quantitative variation in their essential oil constituents.

Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part II. Highly Used Plant Species from Acanthaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Combretaceae, and Fabaceae Families

In many developing countries, jaundice is the common symptom of hepatic diseases which are a major cause of mortality. The use of natural product-based therapies is very popular for such hepatic disorders. A great number of medicinal plants have been utilized for this purpose and some facilitated the discovery of active compounds which helped the development of new synthetic drugs against jaundice. However, more epidemiological studies and clinical trials are required for the practical implementation of the plant pharmacotherapy of jaundice. The focus of this second part of our review is on several of the most prominent plants used against jaundice identified in the analysis performed in the first part of the review viz. Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees, Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn., Terminalia chebula Retz., Glycyrrhiza glabra L. and some species of genus Phyllanthus. Furthermore, we discuss their physiological effects, biologically active ingredients, and the potential mechanisms of action. Some of the most important active ingredients were silybin (also recommended by German commission), phyllanthin and andrographolide, whose action leads to bilirubin reduction and normalization of the levels of relevant serum enzymes indicative for the pathophysiological status of the liver.

Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part I

Jaundice is a very common symptom especially in the developing countries. It is associated with several hepatic diseases which are still major causes of death. There are many different approaches to jaundice treatment and the growing number of ethnomedicinal studies shows the plant pharmacology as very promising direction. Many medicinal plants are used for the treatment of jaundice, however a comprehensive review on this subject has not been published. The use of medicinal plants in drug discovery is highly emphasized (based on their traditional and safe uses in different folk medicine systems from ancient times). Many sophisticated analytical techniques are emerging in the pharmaceutical field to validate and discover new biologically active chemical entities derived from plants. Here, we aim to classify and categorize medicinal plants relevant for the treatment of jaundice according to their origin, geographical location, and usage. Our search included various databases like Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar. Keywords and phrases used for these searches included: “jaundice,” “hyperbilirubinemia,” “serum glutamate,” “bilirubin,” “Ayurveda.” The first part of the review focuses on the variety of medicinal plant used for the treatment of jaundice (a total of 207 medicinal plants). In the second part, possible mechanisms of action of biologically active secondary metabolites of plants from five families for jaundice treatment are discussed.

Phytochemical, Antioxidant and Antidepressant Evaluation of Ocimum basilicum, O. tenuiflorum, O. kilimandscharicum Grown in India

Abstract Ocimum is used in traditional medicine, as a culinary herb and a well known source of flavouring principle. The antioxidant activity in three Ocimum taxa viz. O. basilicum, O. tenuiflorum, O. kilimandscharicum was determined by DPPH free radical scavenging ability and reducing power assay. Total phenolic, flavonoids and tannins were determined using spectrophotometric technique and comparative antidepressant activity was evaluated using forced swim test. It was observed that all the three species of Ocimum found in western Himalayan region show significant antioxidant and antidepressant activities, however the O. kilimandscharicum was found to have highest antioxidant and antidepressant activity.

Study on Chemotypic Variations in Essential Oil of Cinnamomum tamala (Buch.-Ham.) Nees et Eberm. and their Antibacterial and Antioxidant Potential

Abstract The essential oil compositions of fresh, shade and sun dried leaves of two chemotypes of Cinnamomum tamala (Buch.-Ham.) Nees et Eberm. were analyzed and compared using capillary GC and GCMS.The analysis led to the identification of 82 constituents forming 94.9 % to 98.7 % of the total oil compositions dominated by phenyl propanoids (59.9 %-88.4 %). The fresh and dried leaf essential oil of chemotype-I was dominated by (E)-cinnamaldehyde (82.1 %-86.1 %), linalool (4.4 %-6.7 %), (E)-cinnamyl acetate (0.9 %-4.0 %) and benzaldehyde (1.6 %-1.7 %) as major constituents. While the leaf essential oil of chemotype-II of C. tamala; also dominated by phenyl propanoids, was mainly represented by eugenol (56.9 %-60.4 %) and methyl eugenol (2.3 %-2.5 %). Other constituents identified were germacren D-4-ol (6.0 %-6.8 %), limonene (5.0 %6.2 %), α-selinene (3.4 %-3.6 %), δ-2-carene (3.0 %-3.6 %) and p-cymene (2.7 %-3.3 %). The essential oils were screened for their possible antagonistic activity against six bacterial strains viz. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis. The results of antibacterial activity showed that the essential oils of both chemotypes of C. tamala showed strong activities against most of the tested pathogens, based on the zone of inhibition and MIC values. The antioxidant activity of fresh leaf oils of both chemotypes of C. tamala were also tested by DPPH radical scavenging system.

Comparative Volatile Oil Composition of Three Ocimum Species from Western Himalaya

Abstract The three Ocimum species viz. Ocimum tenuiflorum L, O. basilicum L. and O. kilimandsharicum Guerke were analyzed for their oil composition by GC and GC-MS techniques. A total of 45 compounds were identified accounting for 89.9-96.3% of the oil compositions. The essential oil of O. tenuiflorum L. was represented by eugenol (23.6%), β-bisabolene (16.1%), α-humulene (14.0%), methyl chavicol (10.5%), 1,8-cineole (10.3%), and (Z)-β-ocimene (8.0%) as the main component. O. basilicum essential oil mainly contained methyl chavicol (52.0%) and linalool (38.8%) as major constituents; while O. kilimandscharicum essential oil was dominated by camphor (44.3%), limonene (11.0%), 1,8-cineole (10.7%) and camphene (5.9%).

HPTLC Fingerprinting of Swertia chirayita (Roxb. ex Fleming) Karsten from High Altitude Area of Western Himalaya

Abstract To establish the fingerprint profile of Swertia chirayita (Roxb. ex Fleming) Karsten from the high altitude area of the western Himalaya using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) technique. Dried and powdered plant material of S. chirayita was successively extracted with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and methanol in the order of increasing polarity. The extracts so obtained were subjected to qualitative phytochemical screening and based on the presence and/or absence of phytochemical constituents, HPTLC fingerprinting analysis of ethyl acetate and methanol extract were carried out using CAMAG HPTLC system. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the extracts showed the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolics, flavonoids, carbohydrates, glycosides, tannins, saponins and lipids in various extracts. Methanol and ethyl acetate extracts contained the maximum number of phytochemicals. HPTLC phytochemical fingerprinting led to the detection of altogether 21 compounds in ethyl acetate and methanol extracts. However, greater numbers of compounds were detected in methanol extracts as compared to ethyl acetate extract. The chromatographic fingerprinting revealed the presence and variation in the phytochemical constituents with change in the polarity of the solvents. Further studies are required for the quantification of the compounds in various extracts and evaluation of their medicinal activities.