Role of herbal medicines in vitiligo treatment - current status and future perspectives

Vitiligo is a depigmentation disorder with complex causes. Nonetheless, recent progress has been made to unravel the pathophysiology of vitiligo. In this review, we provide an overview of the currently known herbal medicine for vitiligo treatment and also highlighted the herbs that have been used in clinical trials. In view of traditional uses, herbs such as Ammi visnaga L., Angelica sinensis, Eclipta alba L, Ginkgo biloba, Picrorhiza kurroa Royle Ex Benth, and Psoralea corylifolia L, have been highlighted. Enormous efforts in vitiligo drug discovery are currently needed. Interleukin-17 inhibition, tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibition, heat shock protein-70i (HSP70i) inhibition, keratinocyte turnover modulators, and regulatory T cells (Tregs) modulators have been discussed as promising new targets for vitiligo drug development. Thus, we strongly believe that this review may be useful for rationalize new herbal drug for vitiligo treatment

Bioassay-Guided Fractionation of the Active Constituent of Juniperus Chinensis

Deoxypodophyllotoxin, a lignan, was afforded from the bioassay-guided fractionation of the EtOAc soluble part of the leaves and twigs of Juniperus chinensis. The fractionation was directed by microtitration cytotoxicity assay employing human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cell line. The activity was visible by fixing and staining the cells and comparing the number of cell reduction by the active agent with the confluent controls. A judicious combination of chromatographic techniques was adopted in purifying the active compound from the crude complex. The structure of the isolated lignan was elucidated using spectroscopic techniques including ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV), infrared spectroscopy (IR), nuclear magnetic, resonance spectroscopy (¹H and ¹³C-NMR), mass spectroscopy (MS), and also by comparison with the literature.The cytotoxic concentration of deoxypodophyllotoxin which caused up to almost 100% reduction of HeLa cells was determined as 0.004 Jlg/ml. Cytotoxic activity of this lignan was further evaluated on different types of specific human organ tumour cell lines: KU8 12F (Chronic mylogeneous leukemia), TK-10 (Renal carcinoma), UACC-62 (Melanoma) as well as CEM-SS (T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia). All of the tumour cell lines studied were found to be susceptible to deoxypodophyllotoxin, nevertheless, the degree of susceptibilities was different between cell lines. Minimum effective concentration (MEC) with almost 1 00% reduction of the cells were observed in HeLa (0.004 µg/ml), TK-10 (0.01 µg/ml), UACC-62 (0.004 µg/ml) and CEM-SS (0.01 µg/ml). Whilst KU8 12F (0.04 µg/ml) inhibited only 50% the cell growth (ECso). Thus, the most sensitive cell l ines towards the treatment of the lignan were HeLa and UACC-62. Antimicrobial disc diffusion assay (Bauer et al., 1966) on deoxypodophyllotoxin was carried out employing gram positive bacteria (Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Flavobacterium meningosepticum, Slaphylloccus aureus, Micrococcus luleus, Chrysomollas leuteola and Aeromonas salmonella), and gram negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas paucinobilis, Pseudomonas capacia and Escherichia coli), and on yeast (Torulopsis glabrata, Crytococcus neoformans, Saccharomyces lipolytica, Candida albicans, Candida lipolytica and Candida inlermedia), and also a fungi (Aspergillus ochraceous). The growth of most of the organisms were inhibited by deoxypodophyllotoxin at the concentration of 10 mg/ml by producing a clearing zone with diameter ranging between 8 to 12 mm with the exception of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, P. paucinobilis, Aeromonas salmonella and Candida intermedia

Ichthyotoxic properties and essential oils of Syzygium malaccense (Myrtaceae)

The preliminary ichthyotoxic test on all parts of Syzygium malaccense (Myrtaceae) revealed that the leaves fraction was the most ichthyotoxic against tilapia-fish (Tilapia oreochromis). Three compounds, namely ursolic acid (1), β-sitosterol (2) and sitost-4-en-3-one (3), were isolated and their structures were elucidated with the aid of spectroscopic data and comparison with previously reported investigations. However none of these compounds gave any significant ichthyotoxicity. The volatile constituents of the leaves and fruit were determined by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS), with 180 and 203 compounds being identified in the aroma concentrates, respectively

Potency of selected berries, grapes and citrus fruit as neuroprotective agents

A healthy diet should nourish the brain with essential nutrients, including bioactive compounds, for normal brain functioning and to protect it from the negative effects of inflammation and oxidative stress. In this review, a concise summation of the protective effects of selected fruits, namely, berries, grapes, and citrus fruits, against neurological disorder is presented. The focus is on the neuroprotective potential of these fruits against neurodegenerative and mental disorders. The fruits selection was based on the vast reported pharmacological studies on their neuroprotection efficacies. Hence, the respective knowledge and limitations are discussed based on the biological and pharmacological evidence compiled from the previously reported laboratory, epidemiology, and intervention trials

Anti-inflammatory activity of Jatropha curcas extracts

The Jatropha curcas plant or locally known as “pokok jarak” has been widely used as remedies for various conditions including arthritis, gout, jaundice, wound and inflammation. In this study, the seed, leaves, stem and root of J. curcas plant were screened for anti-inflammatory (nitric oxide inhibition) and cytotoxic activities (MTT assay) by using RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. The highest anti-inflammatory activity was observed in the methanolic extract of root. However, root extract showed high inhibition towards RAW 264.7 cells growth due to it cytotoxicity. Further extraction procedure by using four solvents (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and water) with different polarities was conducted on the root sample. The hexane partition showed high anti-inflammatory activity, at the same time high cytotoxicity towards RAW 264.7 cells at 1 mg/mL. Analysis of this extract by GCMS showed the presence of high levels of terpenes and diterpenes which are known to possess cytotoxic activity. Fractionation process of the hexane partition using column chromatography gave five spots, where two spots (H-4 and H-5) showed anti-inflammatory activity and low cytotoxicity. The two spots showed the presence of hexadecanoic acid and octadecanoic acid by GCMS analysis. This finding suggests that these two compounds are responsible for producing the anti-inflammatory activity of the J. curcas root

Identification of anti-inflammatory compound/compounds in hexane fraction of Jatropha curcas root extract

Jatropha curcas is a medicinal plant with many therapeutic properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-malaria, anti-cancer and antioxidant. The root extract has been shown to possess high anti-inflammatory activity. Previously, the compounds responsible for this activity have not been fully elucidated. Two fractions (Fraction 1 and Fraction 2) obtained from a preparative HPLC of the root extract showed significant anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities in RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells with Fraction 1 giving higher nitric oxide (NO) inhibition compared to Fraction 2 and L-NAME. Further purification steps involving column chromatography, thin layer chromatography and analytical HPLC of Fraction 1 produced two fractions labeled as Fraction A and Fraction B. Both fractions showed anti-inflammatory activity without cytotoxic activity in RAW 264.7 cells. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis showed that Fraction A contained a group of 18 carbon fatty acid compounds consisting of 2 oxooctadecanoic acids; 15, 16 dihydroxy 9Z, 12Z octadecadienoic acid; octadecadienoic isomer and 15,16 dihydroxy 9Z, 12Z octadecadienoic acid, 15S, 16S. The 18-carbon fatty acid structure was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectral data. The IC₅₀ value of compounds in Fraction A for anti-inflammatory activity in RAW 264.7 cell line was 434.8±0.75 µg/mL. From the analysis, it can be concluded that Fraction A can be classified under 18 carbon long chain fatty acid group based on LC MS/MS and NMR analysis. This active compound shows an inhibition towards NO activity

Metabolomics approach in pharmacognosy

This chapter introduces readers to metabolomics as a new tool in pharmacognosy research. The escalating cost of medicine and health care services warrant the development of new ways and approaches in remedying the problem. Application of metabolomics approach in various aspects of pharmacognosy research may assist in reducing the cost of drug discovery and development.Metabolomics is a holistic approach in understanding biological processes at a system level. It incorporates an extensive use of instrumentation (especially spectroscopy) and statistical methods. The tool has been successfully tested in solving numerous problems from diverse fields, and offers good promises of its benefits and potential use. This chapter discusses to the basic understanding and procedures in metabolomics, including sample selection, collection, data acquisition, and data analysis. Relevant topics to pharmacognosy are also discussed to expose readers to some examples of the investigations involving metabolomics

Bactericidal efficacy of selected medicinal plant crude extracts and their fractions against common fish pathogens

The emergence of new diseases and the increased use of antibiotics have led to the development of resistant bacterial strains. Thus, there is greater attention to seek new antibacterial agents from the natural sources for combating fish diseases in the aquaculture industry. The present study evaluated the bactericidal efficacy of crude methanolic and aqueous extracts from Polygonum chinense, Syzygium polyanthum, Premna foetida, Pimenta dioica, Brucea javanica, Vitex negundo, Alpinia conchigera and Clinacanthus nutans against Vibrio harveyi, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Aeromonas hydrophila using disc diffusion method. The results showed that methanolic extracts of P. dioica, P. foetida and P. chinense, and aqueous extracts of P. dioica and S. polyanthum showed moderate to strong activity (10.8 to 17.2 mm) against all the tested bacteria. These five potential crude extracts were fractionated using liquid-liquid extraction method to obtain the methanol, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions. Among the fractions, ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest activity against all tested bacteria, with minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values between 0.625 and 10.000 mg/mL. In addition, the five potential crude extracts had low to moderate toxicity with LC50 >100 μg/mL using brine shrimp cytotoxicity assays. The results of this study indicated that methanolic extracts of P. chinense and P. foetida that showed high bactericidal activity and low toxicity could be good potentials for use in fish culture

In silico analysis of Mentha pipertia (phyto-constituents) as HMG coa reductase and squalene synthase inhibitors

Mentha piperita has been well known for its hypolipidemic activity. This prompted the present study to be carried out on a selected 12 phyto-constituents of Mentha piperita which are naringin, eriodictyol, eriodictyol 7-glucuronide, eriocitrin, hesperidin, isorohifolin, luteolin 7-glucoside, diosmin, rosmarinic acid, piperitoside, menthoside and caffeic acid. These phyto-constituents were evaluated on the docking behaviour of HMG CoA reductase (HMGR) and Squalene synthase (SQS) using Discovery Studio Version 3.1. In addition, molecular physicochemical, drug-likeness, ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity) and TOPKAT (Toxicity Prediction by Komputer Assisted Technology) analyses were done. The molecular physicochemical analysis revealed that eriodictyol, rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid (3 ligands) complied with Lipinski’s rule of five. ADMET analysis showed that eriodictyol and caffeic acid exhibited good intestinal absorption property. Docking studies and binding free energy calculations revealed that menthoside (-70.0 kcal/mol) and piperitoside (-65.32 kcal/mol) exhibited the maximum interaction energy with HMGR and SQS respectively. Caffeic acid exhibited very least binding energy irrespective of its target protein. Caffeic acid showed interaction with Leu546 and Gln212 amino acid residue of HMGR and SQS. Hence, the results of this present study exhibited the potential of these twelve ligands as hypolipidemic agents