Abstract
Anemia, characterized by a decrease of the hemoglobin level in the blood and a reduction in carrying capacity of oxygen, is a major public health problem which affects people of all ages. The methods used to treat anemia are blood transfusion and oral administration of iron-based supplements, but these treatments are associated with a number of side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, constipation, and stomach pain, which limit its long-term use. In addition, oral iron supplements are poorly absorbed in the intestinal tract, due to overexpression of hepcidin, a peptide hormone that plays a central role in iron homeostasis. In this review, we conducted an analysis of the literature on biologically active compounds and plant extracts used in the treatment of various types of anemia. The purpose of this review is to provide up-to-date information on the use of these compounds and plant extracts, in order to explore their therapeutic potential. The advantage of using them is that they are available from natural resources and can be used as main, alternative, or adjuvant therapies in many diseases, such as various types of anemia.
Highlights
About 2.2% of the total amount of iron in the body is found in a labile reserve, which forms reactive oxygen species through the Fenton reaction that forms complexes with a class of drugs known as chelators
Oral iron supplements are poorly absorbed in the intestinal tract, due to overexpression of hepcidin, a peptide hormone that plays a central role in iron homeostasis [28]
The purpose of this review is to provide up-to-date information on the use of these compounds and plant extracts, in order to explore their therapeutic potential
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Anemia affects 41.8% of pregnant women and 47.4% of preschool children [5] It has negative effects on health and development, including neonatal and perinatal mortality, low birth weight [6], premature birth [7,8], and developmental delays of the children [9]. In the regenerative form, anemia is characterized by an elevated level of erythropoietin in response to decreased Hb and generally reflects a loss of erythrocytes, caused by bleeding or hemolysis. Oral administration of iron-based supplements is an effective and, at the same time, inexpensive method used to treat patients with iron deficiency anemia This method of treatment is associated with a number of side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, constipation, and stomach pain, which limits its long-term use. The advantage of using them is that they are available from natural resources and can be used as main, alternative, or adjuvant therapies in many diseases, such as various types of anemia
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