Medicinal plants: Past history and future perspective

Human societies have been in close contact with their environments since the beginning of their formation and used the ingredients of the environment to obtain food and medicine. Awareness and application of plants to prepare food and medicine have been realized through trial and error, and gradually human became able to meet his needs from his surroundings. Information about medicinal plants has long been transmitted gradually and from generation to generation, a human knowledge has gradually become complete with the formation of civilizations and the provision of more facilities. Medicinal plants are used as a medical resource in almost all cultures. Ensuring the safety, quality and effectiveness of medicinal plants and herbal drugs very recently became a key issue in industrialized and developing countries. By standardizing and evaluating the health of active plant-derived compounds, herbal drugs can help the emergence of a new era of the healthcare system to treat human diseases in the future. Awareness of traditional knowledge and medicinal plants can play a key role in the exploitation and discovery of natural plant resources. In order to maintain this knowledge, comprehensive approach and collaboration are needed to maintain historical records on medicinal plants and use these resources in favour of human beings, before they are destroyed forever. Therefore, this review was conducted to investigate and describe the process of using medicinal plants throughout history. This review focuses on the recent various important challenges in quality evaluation of medicinal plants in the authenticity, efficacy, toxicity and consistenc

Development and optimization of the new ultrasonic-infrared-vacuum dryer in drying Kelussia odoratissima and its comparison with conventional methods

Among the post-harvest processing of medicinal plants, drying is an important and influential process. Given the numerous applications of medicinal plants, especially Kelussia odoratissima, in the food and pharmaceutical industries, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of the ultrasound-infrared radiation-vacuum method with conventional drying methods on the drying time, the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity of K. odoratissima. ANOVA result showed that the effects of drying methods, drying temperature and their interaction effect on phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant content were significant at 1% probability level. In the ultrasound-IR-vacuum method, by increasing temperature from 40 °C to 80 °C, the TFC increased by 35%. The highest antioxidant capacity was obtained for dry shade treatment, followed by dry sun treatment and three temperatures, i.e., 40 °C, 60 °C and 80 °C, in the combined method. The proposed optimal temperatures for the hot air, IR, and ultrasonic drying, were 63 °C, 66 °C and 71 °C, respectivel

Synthesis, structure and photophysical properties of binuclear methylplatinum complexes containing cyclometalating 2-phenylpyridine or benzo{h}quinoline ligands: a comparison of intramolecular Pt–Pt and π–π interactions

The binuclear cyclometalated complexes [Pt2Me2(ppy)2(μ-dppm)], 1a, and [Pt2Me2(bhq)2(μ-dppm)], 1b, in which ppy = 2-phenylpyridyl, bhq = benzo{h}quinoline and dppm = bis(diphenylphosphino)methane, were synthesized by the reaction of [PtMe(SMe2)(ppy)] or [PtMe(SMe2)(bhq)] with 1/2 equiv of dppm at room temperature, respectively. Complexes 1a and 1b were fully characterized by multinuclear (1H, 31P, 13C, and 195Pt) NMR spectroscopy and were further identified by single crystal X-ray structure determination. A comparison of the intramolecular Pt–Pt and π–π interactions in complexes 1a and 1b has been made on the basis of data on crystal structures and wave functions analysis. The binuclear complexes 1a and 1b are luminescent in the solid state, and showing relatively intense orange–red emissions stemming from 3MMLCT excited states. The reaction of complex 1b with excess MeI gave the binuclear cyclometalated Pt(IV)–Pt(IV) complex [Pt2Me4(bhq)2(μ-I)2], 2. Crystal structure of complex 2 shows intermolecular C–H⋯I and C–H⋯π interactions in solid state

Battle between plants as antioxidants with free radicals in human body

Free radicals are constructed by natural physiological activities in the human cells as well as in the environment. They may be produced as a result of diet, smoking, exercise, inflammation, exposure to sunlight, air pollutants, stress, alcohol and drugs. Imbalanced redox status may lead to cellular oxidative stress, which can damage the cells of the body, resulting in an incidence of various diseases. If the endogenous antioxidants do not stop the production of reactive metabolites, they will be needed to bring about a balance in redox status. Natural antioxidants, for example plants, play an important part in this context. This paper seeks to report the available evidence about oxidative stress and the application of plants as antioxidant agents to fight free radicals in the human body. For this purpose, to better understand oxidative stress, the principles of free radical production, the role of free radicals in diseases, antioxidant defense mechanisms, and the role of herbs and diet in oxidative stress are discussed. Keywords: Free radicals, Antioxidant, Plant, Human health, Oxidative stres

Quantification of caffeic acid content in 4 species of mullein (Verbascum sp.) ecotypes from southwest Iran

Background and objectives: The Verbascum genus is the largest genus of Scrophulariaceae family which has extensive natural habitat in southwest of Iran. Phenolic acids are one of the most important chemical compounds that have different biological activities including anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-tumor and antioxidant. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of caffeic acid quantification of 4 species of Verbascum sp. ecotypes from southwest Iran. Methods: Nine ecotypes of the 4 species (V. macrophyllus, V. pseudo- digitalis, V. sinatum, V. songaricum) were collected from the southwest of Iran. Quantification of caffeic acid contentusing reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with UV PDA 2800 detector, a C18 column with dimensions of 250×4.6 mm was performed. Results: The results showed that Verbascum sp. contained caffeic acid compound and there was a difference among species and ecotypes. The results showed the highest and lowest content of caffeic acid obtained from the V. sinatum species and ecotype Sepidan (7.76 μg/mg extract) and V. songaricum species and ecotype Farokhshahr (0.54 μg/mg extract), respectively. Conclusion: The results revealed a high level of variation in caffeic acid among Verbascum sp. which was affected by habitat and climatic. The pattern of habitats of suitable ecotypes superior in terms of composition to should be selected and used for breeding and cropping mullein

Medicinal plants: Past history and future perspective

Human societies have been in close contact with their environments since the beginning of their formation and used the ingredients of the environment to obtain food and medicine. Awareness and application of plants to prepare food and medicine have been realized through trial and error, and gradually human became able to meet his needs from his surroundings. Information about medicinal plants has long been transmitted gradually and from generation to generation, a human knowledge has gradually become complete with the formation of civilizations and the provision of more facilities. Medicinal plants are used as a medical resource in almost all cultures. Ensuring the safety, quality and effectiveness of medicinal plants and herbal drugs very recently became a key issue in industrialized and developing countries. By standardizing and evaluating the health of active plant-derived compounds, herbal drugs can help the emergence of a new era of the healthcare system to treat human diseases in the future. Awareness of traditional knowledge and medicinal plants can play a key role in the exploitation and discovery of natural plant resources. In order to maintain this knowledge, comprehensive approach and collaboration are needed to maintain historical records on medicinal plants and use these resources in favour of human beings, before they are destroyed forever. Therefore, this review was conducted to investigate and describe the process of using medicinal plants throughout history. This review focuses on the recent various important challenges in quality evaluation of medicinal plants in the authenticity, efficacy, toxicity and consistency

PHENOLIC PROFILE, CHEMICAL RELATIONSHIP AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF IRANIAN VERBASCUM SPECIES

Hydro-ethanolic extracts of flowers from four Verbascum species were evaluated for the phenolic content, composition, and antioxidant activity using Folin-Ciocalteu assay, HPLC-DAD analysis, and DPPH assay, respectively. The highest flavonoid content was detected in V. sinuatum extract from Khoramabad (19.91 mg RE/g DW). The extract of V. pseudo-digitalis from Maymand yielded the highest amount of total phenols, together with the highest apigenin and luteolin levels (55.62 mg GAE/g DW, 12.18 and 88.13 mu g/mg DW, respectively), while that of V. songaricum from Ardekan showed the highest naringin content (12.44 mu g/mg DW). The extract of V. songaricum from Shirmard exhibited the highest quercetin and rutin levels (1.0 and 24.24 mu g/mg DW, respectively), whereas that of V. sinuatum from Ardekan had the highest caffeic acid content (7.78 mu g/mg DW). The antioxidant activity of Verbascum samples showed IC50 values from 45.12 to 226.62 mu g/mL