Potential use of the Asteraceae family as a cure for diabetes: A review of ethnopharmacology to modern day drug and nutraceuticals developments

The diabetes-associated mortality rate is increasing annually, along with the severity of its accompanying disorders that impair human health. Worldwide, several medicinal plants are frequently urged for the management of diabetes. Reports are available on the use of medicinal plants by traditional healers for their blood-sugar-lowering effects, along with scientific evidence to support such claims. The Asteraceae family is one of the most diverse flowering plants, with about 1,690 genera and 32,000 species. Since ancient times, people have consumed various herbs of the Asteraceae family as food and employed them as medicine. Despite the wide variety of members within the family, most of them are rich in naturally occurring polysaccharides that possess potent prebiotic effects, which trigger their use as potential nutraceuticals. This review provides detailed information on the reported Asteraceae plants traditionally used as antidiabetic agents, with a major focus on the plants of this family that are known to exert antioxidant, hepatoprotective, vasodilation, and wound healing effects, which further action for the prevention of major diseases like cardiovascular disease (CVD), liver cirrhosis, and diabetes mellitus (DM). Moreover, this review highlights the potential of Asteraceae plants to counteract diabetic conditions when used as food and nutraceuticals. The information documented in this review article can serve as a pioneer for developing research initiatives directed at the exploration of Asteraceae and, at the forefront, the development of a botanical drug for the treatment of DM

Antimicrobial Peptides Derived From Insects Offer a Novel Therapeutic Option to Combat Biofilm: A Review

Biofilms form a complex layer with defined structures, that attach on biotic or abiotic surfaces, are tough to eradicate and tend to cause some resistance against most antibiotics. Several studies confirmed that biofilm-producing bacteria exhibit higher resistance compared to the planktonic form of the same species. Antibiotic resistance factors are well understood in planktonic bacteria which is not so in case of biofilm producing forms. This may be due to the lack of available drugs with known resistance mechanisms for biofilms. Existing antibiotics cannot eradicate most biofilms, especially of ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species). Insects produce complex and diverse set of chemicals for survival and defense. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), produced by most insects, generally have a broad spectrum of activity and the potential to bypass the resistance mechanisms of classical antibiotics. Besides, AMPs may well act synergistically with classical antibiotics for a double-pronged attack on infections. Thus, AMPs could be promising alternatives to overcome medically important biofilms, decrease the possibility of acquired resistance and treatment of multidrug-resistant pathogens including ESKAPE. The present review focuses on insect-derived AMPs with special reference to anti-biofilm-based strategies. It covers the AMP composition, pathways and mechanisms of action, the formation of biofilms, impact of biofilms on human diseases, current strategies as well as therapeutic options to combat biofilm with antimicrobial peptides from insects. In addition, the review also illustrates the importance of bioinformatics tools and molecular docking studies to boost the importance of select bioactive peptides those can be developed as drugs, as well as suggestions for further basic and clinical research

Isolation of Antimicrobial Compounds From Cnestis ferruginea Vahl ex. DC (Connaraceae) Leaves Through Bioassay-Guided Fractionation

Different parts of Cnestis ferruginea are used in traditional African medicine for treating infectious diseases such as dysentery, bronchitis, eye troubles, conjunctivitis, sinusitis, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Despite its long traditional use in the treatment of infections, this plant is not well studied for its in vitro antimicrobial properties. Therefore, the present study aims to establish the antimicrobial activity profile of extracts from this plant, as well as to isolate and evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the most abundant bioactive compound in C. ferruginea leaves through bioassay-guided purification, using Staphylococcus aureus as a target organism. Although both methanol and water extracts of the plant leaves proved active against S. aureus, a water extract was pursued, and subjected further to liquid-liquid partitioning (ethyl acetate, butanol, and water). The ethyl acetate fraction was found to be the most potent and was subjected to silica gel chromatography. In total, 250 fractions were obtained, and those with similar TLC profiles were clustered into 22 major groups, of which pooled fraction-F6 (83 mg) was the most potent. Additional purification by HPLC resulted in two active peaks, which were identified, using a combination of NMR and mass spectrometry, as hydroquinone and caffeic acid methyl ester. Their antimicrobial activity was confirmed using a microdilution protocol on S. aureus, where hydroquinone had a stronger activity (MIC50 = 63 μg/mL) compared to caffeic acid methyl ester (>200 μg/mL). Traditionally this plant is used as an aqueous preparation to treat many infections, and the present study also demonstrated antimicrobial activity in the aqueous extract, which appears due mainly to two major water-soluble compounds isolated through bioassay-guided purification. This supports the clinical use of the aqueous extract of C. ferruginea leaves as a phytotherapeutic for bacterial infections

Antimicrobial efficacy of potential plants used in the indigenous preparation of traditional rice beverage “Handia”

The context andpurpose of the study: To explore the available plants usedfor starter preparation of Handia, their ethnomedicinal uses and to screenphytochemical constituents for antibacterial activity against enteric pathogens.The main findings:Semi-structured interview was carried out with 24 informants (mean age 46,male) from 24 locations. Qualitative phytochemicalanalysis, agar cup assay, micro-dilution method for MIC and MBC were followed tostudy antibacterial properties against eight enteric pathogens. Ethanol extracts of the plants contain abundant alkaloids,flavonoids, carbohydrate, protein and amino acids, saponins, tannin and phenolic compounds. With theexception of Aspargus racemosus (root), Cissampelos pareira (leaf), Dioscorea sp. (tuber), Rauwolfia serpentina (leaf) extracts, all otherplants exhibited antibacterial activity by agar cup method. The zone ofinhibition was found maximum against Staphylococcusaureus followed by Shigella sonnei and S. flexneri. The MIC result ranged from 125 to 1000 µg/ml (w/v) with the lowestagainst S. aureus (125, 156, 250µg/ml) followed by S. sonnei (156,250, 312, 500, 625 µg/ml). MBC test validate that in between 1000-2500 µg/ml(w/v) concentrations, most of test bacteria were killed due to broad spectrumactivity. Brief summary andpotential implications: The study establishes thatthe traditional knowledge of Handia preparation using different plant parts will be a useful leadfor phytochemist and pharmacologists for further study

Antiparasitic activity in Asteraceae with special attention to ethnobotanical use by the tribes of Odisha, India

The purpose of this review is to survey the antiparasitic plants of the Asteraceae family and their applicability in the treatment of parasites. This review is divided into three major parts: (a) literature on traditional uses of Asteraceae plants for the treatment of parasites; (b) description of the major classes of chemical compounds from Asteraceae and their antiparasitic effects; and (c) antiparasitic activity with special reference to flavonoids and terpenoids. This review provides detailed information on the reported Asteraceae plant extracts found throughout the world and on isolated secondary metabolites that can inhibit protozoan parasites such as Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, Leishmania, and intestinal worms. Additionally, special attention is given to the Asteraceae plants of Odisha, used by the tribes of the area as antiparasitics. These plants are compared to the same plants used traditionally in other regions. Finally, we provide information on which plants identified in Odisha, India and related compounds show promise for the development of new drugs against parasitic diseases. For most of the plants discussed in this review, the active compounds still need to be isolated and tested further.status: publishe

Antiparasitic activity in Asteraceae with special attention to ethnobotanical use by the tribes of Odisha, India

The purpose of this review is to survey the antiparasitic plants of the Asteraceae family and their applicability in the treatment of parasites. This review is divided into three major parts: (a) literature on traditional uses of Asteraceae plants for the treatment of parasites; (b) description of the major classes of chemical compounds from Asteraceae and their antiparasitic effects; and (c) antiparasitic activity with special reference to flavonoids and terpenoids. This review provides detailed information on the reported Asteraceae plant extracts found throughout the world and on isolated secondary metabolites that can inhibit protozoan parasites such as Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, Leishmania, and intestinal worms. Additionally, special attention is given to the Asteraceae plants of Odisha, used by the tribes of the area as antiparasitics. These plants are compared to the same plants used traditionally in other regions. Finally, we provide information on which plants identified in Odisha, India and related compounds show promise for the development of new drugs against parasitic diseases. For most of the plants discussed in this review, the active compounds still need to be isolated and tested further

Plant-Based Natural Products for the Discovery and Development of Novel Anthelmintics against Nematodes

Intestinal parasitic nematodes infect approximately two billion people worldwide. In the absence of vaccines for human intestinal nematodes, control of infections currently relies mainly on chemotherapy, but resistance is an increasing problem. Thus, there is an urgent need for the discovery and development of new anthelmintic drugs, especially ones with novel mechanisms of action. Medicinal plants hold great promise as a source of effective treatments, including anthelmintic therapy. They have been used traditionally for centuries and are mostly safe (if not, their toxicity is well-known). However, in most medicinal plants the compounds active against nematodes have not been identified thus far. The free-living nematode C. elegans was demonstrated to be an excellent model system for the discovery of new anthelmintics and for characterizing their mechanism of action or resistance. The compounds discussed in this review are of botanical origin and were published since 2002. Most of them need further studies of their toxicity, mechanisms and structure-activity relationship to assess more fully their potential as drugs

Oral bacterial flora of Indian cobra (Naja naja) and their antibiotic susceptibilities

Objectives: The objective of the present work was to examine the bacterial flora associated with the oral cavity of Indian cobra and to study their antibiogram. Methods: Oral swabs, collected from six healthy (4 males and 2 females) adult cobra, were subjected to microbiological examination through differential media. A total of 74 isolates which demonstrated noticeable colony characters were studied with different biochemical tests. The strains that showed distinctive colonies, morphology and biochemical parameters were additionally subjected to phylogenetic characterization using 16S rRNA gene sequences. Further, the isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing using ICOSA-20-plus and ICOSA-20-minus. Results: Microscopic examination of the oral cavity of Indian cobra revealed the dominance of Gram-negative bacteria over Gram-positive. The oral microflora constituted of bacteria such as Salmonella sp. (S. typhi, S. paratyphi A); Pseudomonas sp. (P. aeruginosa, P. fluorescence); Proteus sp. (P. mirabilis, P. penneri, P. vulgaris); E. coli; Morganella sp.; Citrobacter sp. (C. diversus, C. freundii); Aeromonas sp. (A. hydrophila, A. salmonicida); Enterobacter sp. (E. aerogens); Acinetobacter sp. (A. baumannii); Neisseria sp.; Serratia sp.; Bacillus sp. (B. cereus, B. megatarium, B. atrophaeus and B. weihenstephanensis); Enterococcus sp. (E. faecalis, E. faecium); Staphylococcus sp. (S. aureus, S. epidermidis); Alcaligenes sp.; Chryseobacterium sp. and Micrococcus sp. Most of the isolates were resistant towards antibiotics such as Penicillin, Cefpodoxime, Amoxyclav, Co-Trimoxazole, Ticarcillin, Erythromycin and Nalidixic acid while sensitive towards Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin, Ofloxacin, Sparfloxacin, Tobromycin, Ceftriaxone, Tetracycline, Novobiocin and Imipenem. Conclusions: The secondary complications of the snake bite victims should be managed with appropriate antibiotics after proper examination of the bacterial flora from the wound sites