Pathophysiology and Urinary System Cancer: An Overview of the most important Herbal Plants and Natural Antioxidants on Kidney and Bladder Disorders

Abstract

After diabetes and hypertension, urinary tract and kidney diseases and glomerulonephritis are a major cause of chronic kidney disease in developed countries. The use of medicinal plants can assist in the treatment and prevention of cancers and disorders of the urinary system and the kidneys, and various infections in the body due to the presence of antioxidant compounds, bioactive compounds, phenols, flavonoids, etc. These plants play the role of traditional medicine in the treatment and prevention of kidney diseases, kidney cancer, and other disorders of the urinary system. Some of the most important medicinal plants were addressed in this review for their effectiveness and mechanisms of actions. Based on the results obtained from the review of a number of articles indexed in certain databases such as Institute for Scientific Information, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, etc., a number of plants have been reported to be effective in the treatment and prevention of urinary tract disorders and bladder and kidney cancers, including Equisetum arvense, Cornus mas L., Gynostemma pentaphyllum, Lycium barbarum, Camellia sinensis, Panax ginseng, Liriope muscari, Nigella sativa Linn, Abelmoschus manihot, Astragalus membranaceus, Tripterygium wilfordii, Zingiber zerumbet, Pistacia vera, Terminalia chebula Retz, Paeonia lactiflorapall, Cornus officinalis, Senna auriculata, Terminalia, Chebula, Opuntia megacantha, and Punica granatum. Pharmacological studies have addressed the therapeutic effects of medicinal plants, their clinical effects, and the use of their active ingredients for the production of natural, useful drugs. The phytochemical studies on these plants have shown that the most important compounds of these plants include total flavonoids and phenolics, steroids, quercetin, terchebi, luteolin, tannic acid, luteic acid, terflavin B, tannins, etc. Due to the active ingredients and active flavonoids of these plants, they can be used in the production of natural drugs that are effective on urinary tract (kidney and bladder) disorders and cancers, and reduce the pain and suffering of the patients.