The phytochemical, pharmacological, and medicinal properties of Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels. A Review

Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels: A review of its phytochemical constituents and traditional uses

Various literatures recorded approximately 60 medicinal plants in Bangladesh that have antidiabetic properties. Of these medicinal plants, only 14–16 are found in traditional herbal markets and they are being randomly used to treat diabetes. Since diabetes mellitus increases reactive free radicals along with various complications in the body, antidiabetic plants that can potentially neutralize free radicals, may be of central interest to manage the disease. Present study compares functional bioactive components such as total phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanins contents and antioxidant potential of methanol extracts of antidiabetic medicinal plants that are common in traditional herbal markets. Among the 14 extracts, Syzygium cumini was very rich in total polyphenol content (294 mg gallic acid equivalent, GAE/g) followed by Swertia chirata (183 mg GAE/g) and Ficus racemosa (bark) (154 mg GAE/g). These three extracts also had elevated amount of flavonoids and anthocyanins. S. cumini showed very high DPPH and NO free radical scavenging activities with IC50 of 6.25 and 48.61 μg/mL respectively followed by S. chirata and F. racemosa (bark). S. cumini also showed very high reducing power and total antioxidant capacity followed by S. chirata and F. racemosa (bark). In addition, the study revealed strong correlation between phenolics and reducing power (r = 0.94). Hence, among the 14 extracts, S. cumini, S. chirata and F. racemosa (bark) are potential sources of antioxidant agents. Therefore, these three medicinal plants have diverse beneficial effects on physiological health and they might be the choice of plants to treat diabetes.

Traditional plants used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Sursagar constituency, Jodhpur, Rajasthan – An ethnomedicinal survey

A critical review of some fruit trees from the Myrtaceae family as promising sources for food applications with functional claims

Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disorder whose prevalence is rapidly increasing all over the world. According to WHO, diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death in 2030. Since long back, plants have been used to heal or combat illness and are the source of many modern medicines. In view of the above aspects, the present review provides information about the antidiabetic plants, available through literature source from various database. From the present study it is evident that most of the plants having anti-diabetic properties belong to the family Moraceae, Cucurbitaceae, Liliaceae, Anacardiaceae, Myrtaceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Asteraceae and many others. The hypoglycemic activities are contained in different parts of these plants like leaf, rhizomes, fruits, bark, seeds or other parts which differ from species to species. It is also evident from this review that the mode of action and dosage of administration differs from plant to plant.Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 17(1): 139-152, 2018 (June)

According to WHO international and national status, Central Nervous System (CNS) problems (neurological disorders: Alzheimers, dementia, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, neuroinfections, neurological disorders associated with malnutrition, pain associated with neurological disorders, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and traumatic brain injuries) are getting worse day by day because of lifestyle, environmental imbalance and genetic problems. In 2015 WHO reported that the prevalence of CNS problems is 27.8 in 1000 and 3 people in every 100 are facing any of these CNS problems. However, unfortunately, chemically synthesized drugs used to control these problems in patients poses side effects, and therefore we need natural neuroprotective agents to avoid such complications. Syzygium cumini is herbal, a medicinal plant with reported medicinal properties in various traditional and modern medicines. Plant phytochemicals from stem bark, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds of Syzygium cumini were using to treat many diseases in modern medicine also. So far, it is used mostly to treat diabetes mellitus, pain, inflammation, ulcers, and diarrhea, and in the recent studies, it was proven that Syzygium cuminicould be used as chemopreventive, radioprotective and antineoplastic. Although the therapeutic efficacy of SZ is studied well for many systemic diseases including diabetes, much needs to be explored on its role in neurological diseases. The phytochemicals present in different parts of SZ were showing evidence that it can show neuroprotection effectively. Those phytochemicals which were already studied as neuroprotection in them, a fine number of those phytochemicals are present in Syzygium cumini. It is intimating us that Syzygium cumini can be used as an effective neuroprotective natural medicine. In this review, we elaborated there may be a possibility of potentially effective treatment with different phytochemical that has the neuroprotective effect in one plant.

Subject index volume 44 (1944)

Diabetes mellitus (DM), a complicated metabolic disorder, is prevalent across the globe particularly in the rural communities. The indigenous communities of the developing countries mostly rely on the traditional recipes based on plants to treat this ailment. A systematic literature survey on such herbal therapies (HTs) can provide firsthand information for drug discovery program. An attempt has been made to overview literature along with ethnobotanical survey of antidiabetic recipes from Pakistan that may be used for the development of new hypoglycemic agents. A total of 209 antidiabetic plants that belonged to 74 families are documented. Of them, 182 species are used individually and 27 species in herbal mixtures. Astragalus gummifer, Lactuca sativa, and Santalum album are recorded first time for their antidiabetic potential in the herbal mixtures. Besides, 38 species such as Adiantum incisum, Alnus nitida, Andrachne cordifolia, Artemisia roxburghiana, Berberis brandisiana, Capparis cartilaginea, Caryopteris odorata, Centaurea iberica, Chrysanthemum indicum, Cleome scaposa, Convolvulus prostratus, Cuscuta campestris, Euphorbia helioscopia, Farsetia hamiltonii, Ferula narthex, Ficus virens, Fragaria indica, Gentianodes tianschanica, Hedera nepalensis, Kickxia ramosissima, Limeum indicum, Malva neglecta, Mentha longifolia, Onosma echioides, Opuntia monacantha, Oxalis corniculata, Papaver somniferum, Prunus amygdalus, P. persica, Pyrus malus, Salix babylonica, Stellaria media, Tamarix aphylla, Tanacetum artemisioides, Taraxacum officinale, Tylophora hirsuta, Ziziphus oxyphylla, and Z. spinosa are ethnobotanically used to treat diabetes, which are required to be scientifically evaluated for in vitro and in vivo antidiabetic activity. The most frequently quoted species in treating diabetes were Syzygium cumini, Allium sativum, Momordica charantia, Ficus benghalensis, Justicia adhatoda, Citrullus colocynthis, Ziziphus sativa, Allium cepa, Caralluma edulis, Rhazya stricta, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Grewia asiatica, and Olea ferruginea. In addition to the published data, this chapter described six novel antidiabetic herbal compounds/formulations which are used by traditional health practitioners (THPs) for the treatment of DM in the country. Leaves were the most used plant parts (78%), followed by fruits, seeds, whole plant, and roots. This ethnobotanical knowledge can provide candidate antidiabetic agent for the novel hypoglycemic drugs in future. Based on the frequency of citation, it is recommended that pharmacological studies and clinical trials should be conducted on those species for which such information is lacking.

There is a great diversity of plants which are grown in the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil that produce small, colorful, edible fruit that are used in empiric mode to treat several diseases, such as diabetes, as fruits are a rich source of dietary phenolic antioxidants. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory activity of methanolic fruit extracts from the Myrtaceae family - Psidium cattleianum (araçá), Syzygium cumini (jambolão), Campomanesia xanthocarpa (guabiroba), Eugenia uniflora (pitanga) and Eugenia pyriformis (uvaia) - against α-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase (maltose and sucrose). The antioxidant activities were evaluated using two different in vitro assays: the 2,2’-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS) test and the 2,2’-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test. The extracts of P. cattleianum, S. cumini, E. pyriformis inhibited α-amylase activity between 13% and 60% (p<0.05). The extracts of P. cattleianum also inhibited α-glucosidase activity with either maltose or sucrose as substrate between 15% and 61% (p<0.05). Additionally, these fruits are rich in phenolic compounds with antioxidant activities.

Eugenia jambolana and Aegle marmelos are used extensively in the indigenous system of medicine as an anti-diabetic agent. The current investigation focuses on the serum insulin augmentation, anti-hyperglycemic and anti-hyperlipidemic property of a combined aqueous extracts of E. jambolana and A. marmelos (EA) on alloxan induced diabetic rats. The diabetes induced animals were fed with plant extracts at the increasing dosage of 200, 300 and 400 mg of body wt. The combined plant extracts administrated animals revealed a significant (P < 0.001) increment of serum insulin levels, higher reduction in hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia when compared to the diabetic control rats (P < 0.001). The histological studies of the endocrine region of pancreas of diabetic animals revealed that shrinkage of β cells of islets of langerhans. The combined plant extracts treated animals revealed restoration of β-cells. The restoration of β cells was evident at higher dose level that is, 400 mg/by wt extracts fed groups. Key words: Eugenia jambolana, Aegle marmelos, alloxan, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia.

Ziziphus nummularia, a small bush of the Rhamnaceae family, has been widely used in traditional folk medicine, is rich in bioactive molecules, and has many reported pharmacological and therapeutic properties. Objective: To gather the current knowledge related to the medicinal characteristics of Z. nummularia. Specifically, its phytochemical contents and pharmacological activities in the treatment of various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, are discussed. Methods: Major scientific literature databases, including PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, SciFinder, Chemical s, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants s, Henriette’s Herbal Homepage, Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases, were searched to retrieve articles related to the review subject. General web searches using Google and Google scholar were also utilized. The search period covered articles published between 1980 and the end of October 2021.The search used the keywords ‘Ziziphus nummularia’, AND (‘phytochemical content’, ‘pharmacological properties, or activities, or effects, or roles’, ‘anti-inflammatory’, ‘anti-drought’, ‘anti-thermal’, ‘anthelmintic’, ‘antidiabetic’,’ anticancer’, ‘anticholinesterase’, ‘antimicrobial’, ‘sedative’, ‘antipyretic’, ‘analgesic’, or ‘gastrointestinal’). Results: This plant is rich in characteristic alkaloids, especially cyclopeptide alkaloids such as nummularine-M. Other phytochemicals, including flavonoids, saponins, glycosides, tannins, and phenolic compounds, are also present. These phytochemicals are responsible for the reported pharmacological properties of Z. nummularia, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anthelmintic, antidiabetic, anticancer, analgesic, and gastrointestinal activities. In addition, Z. nummularia has anti-drought and anti-thermal characteristics. Conclusion: Research into the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Z. nummularia has demonstrated that this plant is a rich source of novel bioactive compounds. So far, Z. nummularia has shown a varied pharmacological profile (antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and cardioprotective), warranting further research to uncover the therapeutic potential of the bioactives of this plant. Taken together, Z. nummularia may represent a new potential target for the discovery of new drug leads.

Diabetes mellitus is one of the common metabolic disorders acquiring around 9.3% of adults worldwide in 2019.Since long back herbal medicines have been the highly esteemed source of medicine therefore, they have become a growing part of modern, high-tech medicine. In view of the above aspects the present review provides profiles of plants (65 species) with hypoglycemic properties, available through literature source from various database with proper categorization according to the parts used, mode of reduction in blood glucose (insulin mimetic or insulin secretagogues activity) and activephytoconstituents having insulin mimetics activity. The treatment of diabetes is mainly based on the long-term use of pharmacological agents, often expensive and causing unpleasant side effects. There is an alarming increase in the number of pharmaceuticals taken in Europe. The aim of this paper is to concisely collect information concerning the few antidiabetic or hypoglycemic raw plant materials that are present in the consciousness of Indian and relatively easily accessible to them on the market and sometimes even grown on Indian plantations.The following raw materials are discussed in this mini-reviewBoerhaavia diffusa Linn. (Nyctaginaceae),Annona squamosa Linn. (Annonaceae),Bougainvillea spectabilis Linn. (Nyctaginaceae),Cassia kleinii Wight &amp; Arn. (Caesalpiniaceae),Coscinium fenestratum Colebr. (Menispermaceae),Ficus hispida Linn. (Moraceae),Murraya koenigii Linn. (Rutaceae),White Mulberry (Morus alba L.), Acacia arabica: (Babhul), Aegle marmelos: (Bengal Quince, Bel or Bilva), Allium cepa: (onion), Allium sativum: (garlic), Aloe vera and Aloe barbadensis, Azadirachta indica: (Neem), Eugenia jambolana: (Indian gooseberry, jamun), Mangifera indica: (Mango), Momordica charantia: (bitter gourd), Ocimum sanctum: (holy basil).

Syzgium cumini (Indian jamun) is a fruit consumed by all sections of people in India. It is cheaply available and has certain medicinal properties too. The study was aimed at enchancement of its active constituents without altering its pharmacological properties. Ultra-violent (UV) irradiation is used as it provides the enhancement and sterilization at the same time. The test batch having been irradiated with UV showed higher proportion of active constituents than the control batch which was not irradiated. The control and test samples when subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis showed distinct variation in a number of characteristic peaks confirming the physical results that were obtained. Charateristic peaks obtained for the test sample, 11.31 and 95.43, demonstrate the demarcation required. The physical characteristics of the test sample were intact with organoleptic properties in line with the control sample. UV irradiation method proves to be an easy, inexpensive and beneficial way to enhance the active constituents of Syzgium cumini(Indian jamun). This method when implemented in large scale will largely benefit the farmer, trader and the consumer. Key words: Active constituents, irradiation, Syzgium cumini, ultra-violent (UV), gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS).

Syzygium cumini, also called Jamun, or black plum, is an excellent source of bioactive components such as flavonoids, polyphenols, antioxidants, iron, and vitamin C. The Jamun tree is a tropical evergreen blooming plant and is an important medicinal plant from the Myrtaceae family that has been used for a long time in Indian and other traditional medicines across the world. Jamun is mainly cultivated in Asian countries such as Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Since ancient medicine, it has been utilized to treat a variety of diseases and physiological conditions. Currently, it is mostly used as a medication to treat various metabolic issues, including diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, obesity, etc. Therefore, Jamun could serve a beneficial role against metabolic syndrome (MS). In this work, the latest available scientific literature on Jamun was collected and the clinical trials investigating its effect on diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and hyperlipidemia were analyzed to find out how Jamun could improve the symptoms and biomarkers of MS. Overall, the results of this study found a significant association of Jamun with the prevention and treatment of these biomarkers of MS. In many studies, Jamun showed pharmacological modifications not only in MS but in many other diseases as well. Currently, its utilization as a folk medicine for the treatment of patients with MS is widely acknowledged. Hence, the findings of a large number of clinical studies confirmed the ameliorating effects of Jamun against MS due to its antioxidation, antidiabetic, anti-inflammation anticarcinogenic, and hyperlipidemic effects. More research is still needed to determine and identify the Jamun compounds and to elucidate their mechanisms of action that are responsible for these astounding bioactive properties and health benefits.

Somatic embryogenesis serves as an effective alternative system for in vitro cultivation of endangered plants (Syzygium cumini), as it allows for the propagation of plants under a controlled environment. So produce hundreds of embryos that can be used as artificial seeds. Somatic embryos of Syzygium cumini, family Myrtaceae, were induced from the calli of a sterile leaf explant in Murashige and Skoog's medium with 6 ppm 2,4-D. After the transfer of the developed calli into liquid media supplemented with the same concentration of growth regulator, all three embryonic stages (globular, heart and torpedo) were observed after 6 weeks. Liquid media with growth regulators appeared to enhance the development to torpedo-stage embryos, especially at six weeks of age cultures. 12 weeks after the transfer of the callus into liquid media, flasks containing predominantly one microscopic stage were pooled and plated on fresh solid media lacking a growth regulator, where the embryogenic calli germinated showing shoots and aerial parts. Embryogenesis production protocol is considered a good tool to save plants from extinction, especially in Syzygium cumini which is a very important anti-diabetic drug.