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

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

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

Iranian species of Verbascum: a review of botany, phytochemistry, and pharmacological effects

Verbascum is the biggest genus of the family Scrophulariaceae. This study reviews the botanical, phytochemical, and pharmacological characteristics of species of mullein growing in Iran. The information was obtained by searching in Iran’s flora and scientific articles, books published in search engines Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, and Web of Science. Therefore, according to the pharmaceutical traits and the ingredients’ properties extant in Verbascum spp. that are proved within the body of research on this subject, it can be also applied in the pharmacy industry, food industry, cosmetics, and healthcare. keywords: botanyingredientsMulleinpharmacological effectstraditional and modern medicine

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

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.</p