Pharmacology Of Natural Products Research Articles

Ascorbic Acid in Cancer Chemoprevention: Translational Perspectives and Efficacy

Chemoprevention, which is referred to as the use of nontoxic natural or synthetic chemicals to intervene in multistage carcinogenesis has since decades attracted a considerable interest in plant-derived chemical constituents often termed as "phytochemicals" or sometimes as "Nutraceuticals" in case they are derived from dietary sources. A comprehensive search of the literature show that such an interest in natural product pharmacology has surged in the last 25 years and particularly risen at exponential rates since the last one decade. Phytochemicals such as curcumin (from spice turmeric), resveratrol (from red wine) and genistein (from soy) share the major efforts as indicated by overwhelming publications, despite skepticism concerning their bioavailability. Ascorbic acid (AA), the popular anti-oxidant in fruits and vegetables, has even a longer historical perspective than these dietary agents as for more than 35 years; there had been lingering questions about the efficacy of AA in cancer therapy. The footprints of AA from "scurvy" to "cancer" though complex seems to carry potential provided the puzzle could be set right. The use of AA in cancer treatment has been debated extensively as evident from the literature but surprisingly the complementing early phase bench work on the mechanistic studies for anticancer action was rather retarded. Proposed mechanisms of action for AA in the prevention and treatment of cancer includes antioxidant as well as pro-oxidant properties, stimulation of the immune system, altering carcinogen metabolism, enhancement of collagen synthesis necessary for tumor encapsulation and interference with cancer cell signaling. The observation that the intravenous administration of AA enhances its bioavailability to the extent of deriving pharmacological benefits against cancer has in recent years partially supported the clinical plausibility (efficacy) of AA towards realizing its translational advantage. Here, we provide an overview of AA with regard to its potential in the management of cancer disease.

Natural Products from Ethnodirected Studies: Revisiting the Ethnobiology of the Zombie Poison

Wade Davis's study of Haitian “zombification” in the 1980s was a landmark in ethnobiological research. His research was an attempt to trace the origins of reports of “undead” Haitians, focusing on the preparation of the zombification poison. Starting with this influential ethnopharmacological research, this study examines advances in the pharmacology of natural products, focusing especially on those of animal-derived products. Ethnopharmacological, pharmacological, and chemical aspects are considered. We also update information on the animal species that reportedly constitute the zombie poison. Several components of the zombie powder are not unique to Haiti and are used as remedies in traditional medicine worldwide. This paper emphasizes the medicinal potential of products from zootherapy. These biological products are promising sources for the development of new drugs.

Defining pharmacology of natural products in the 21st century - challenge on multiple fronts

Natural products are of significant interest to us in many ways. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the foods we eat are all natural products. Many drug products and toxins are also “natural”. Natural product sciences now face challenges at many fronts. At a global and economical level, biodiversity is dimin-ishing everyday as the rain forest gives away to farmland and the coral reef is destroyed by pollution. As a result, many potentially valuable natural products are lost forever before we even know their very existence. An immediate implica-tion beyond the direct loss is that we have less natural products to “copy” from. We pharmacolo-gists may not have the power to change the world, but we can certainly contribute. At a social level, natural products are generally perceived as safe and largely devoid of side effects. This belief has been taken advantage of to promote “natural health products”. Beneficial effects of some are substantiated, but the only benefit of great many is only psychological. Some even created much damage to the believers. Aristolochic acid nephropathy is but only one example. Pharmacologists can, and are obliged to educate the public. At a scientific level, pharmacologists who are interested in natural products also face many challenges. First, rapid advances in related scientific disciplines (e.g. molecular biology, immunology) made us look like dino-saurs. We need to learn new concepts and technologies, and more importantly, to incorporate what we learn in our re-search. Second, modern chemistry and material sciences have blurred the boundary between natural products and synthetic materials. A great many of substances are neither natural nor purely man-made. We need to venture out of our comfort zones to embrace such great opportunities. Third, the use of natural products by human beings to combat diseases and promote health has never been with sin-gle known chemical identity until very recently. Many substances/recipes are known to have solid impact on human health; some have been validated by good clinical practice. Acceptance of application for herbal medications with multi-ple ingredients by the US FDA signals to the world a change of attitude towards acknowledging “good clinical observation”. This change probably also reflects a much more fundamental issue: the human body is a very complex organism. Very few diseases could be traced to a single cause. Multiple causes and pathological changes un-der most diseases call for intervention at multiple sites. One commonly encountered phenomenon in this area is the loss of biological activity in search of the “active compound”. Some, and probably most, are due to technical reasons, but we need to consider the alternative: 1 + 1 may be much more than 2. It is a general policy that studies accepted by this journal must be of known chemical entity or entities. This policy is needed to ensure the scientific quality but creates a set of problems. Frankly, we do not have a clear strategy to deal with this dilemma. Last but not least, we also face challenges at a practical level. First, many natural products with biological activity have poor solubility in water. As a result, research on these natural products is often difficult. Second, natural products are often limited in supply. Semi or total synthesis is a discipline that attempts to address this issue. Third, many natu-ral compounds with biological activity have complex chemical structures. Considering the almost infinite combination of chemical modifications, investigating the structure-activity relationship is tremendously time- and resource-consuming. Great challenges are often synonymous to great opportunities. The creation of this journal is a testimony to our collective effort in rising up to the challenges and turn opportunities to advances. We welcome submission of schol-arly manuscripts that may advance the pharmacology of natural sciences from every possible angle.

The Anatomy of Spontaneously Reported Dietary Supplement Adverse Events and a Standardized Process to Score and Interpret Collected Events

Enforcement of the 2006 Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act (DSNDCPA) began in December 2007. FDA published guidance documents regarding compliance and reporting of “serious” events but there has been no guidance on how “serious” and “non-serious” reported events are being evaluated by FDA or others so as to insure that products are meeting expectations of safety, warranting consumer confidence. Experience to date demonstrates a high variability in quality and integrity of reported incidents and there is no recognized method regarding scoring of events by experts so as to assess potential associations between alleged adverse events and product use. Without such a scoring and evaluation system, collected data represents unconfirmed allegations of product use and injury, rendering benchmarking between and across product lines an exercise in futility. The SafetyCall International Poison Center, an academically affiliated, multidisciplinary, triple licensed medical practice composed of clinicians with specific expertise in clinical medicine and toxicology, natural product pharmacology and consumer product safety has designed a system to score spontaneously reported adverse incidents involving botanicals containing dietary supplements. Using six common parameters to gauge association including expectedness, temporality, biologic plausibility, de-challenge, re-challenge, and consideration of confounding variables, a standardized scoring system has been developed. The system was successfully piloted with a proprietary blend dietary supplement and provides a means for manufacturers to benchmark their product safety experience. Description and application of the scoring system will be presented along with representative scoring of actual adverse events represented in the new FDA adverse event database.

7th Southest Asian Western Pacific Regional Meeting of Pharmacologists Pharmacology of Natural Products

Symposium PapersCardiovascular protection by ginsenosides and their nitric oxide releasing action X ChenProbing excitation‐contraction coupling in trachealis smooth muscle with the mycotoxin cyclopiazonic acid D Amoako, Y Quian, C‐Y Kwan and J‐P BourreauAntihypertensive effects of DL‐tetrahydropalmatine: An active principle isolated from Corydalis MT Lin, FY Chueh, MT Hsieh and CF ChenA family of novel actin‐inhibiting marine toxins S‐Y Saito and H KarakiIn vitro inhibitory effects of chebulinic acid on the contractile responses of cardiovascular muscles Y‐Y Guan, C‐Y Kwan, F‐L Hsu and J‐T ChengTetrandrine as a calcium antagonist H Takemura, K Imoto, H Ohshika and C‐ Y Kwan

Saponins: Chemistry and Pharmacology of Natural Products By K. Hostettman and A. Marston (Lausanne University, Switzerland). Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, U.K. 1995. xii + 548 pp. $120.00. ISBN 0-521-32970-1.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVBook ReviewNEXTSaponins: Chemistry and Pharmacology of Natural Products By K. Hostettman and A. Marston (Lausanne University, Switzerland). Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, U.K. 1995. xii + 548 pp. $120.00. ISBN 0-521-32970-1.George R. WallerView Author Information Oklahoma State UniversityCite this: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1996, 118, 35, 8509Publication Date (Web):September 4, 1996Publication History Published online4 September 1996Published inissue 1 January 1996https://doi.org/10.1021/ja9553056Copyright © 1996 American Chemical SocietyRIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views497Altmetric-Citations2LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit Read OnlinePDF (46 KB) Get e-AlertsSUBJECTS:Carbohydrates,Chemical structure,Steroids,Triterpenes Get e-Alerts

Plant Lectins. Chemistry and Pharmacology of Natural Products. Arpad Pusztai

Previous articleNext article No AccessNew Biological BooksPlant Lectins. Chemistry and Pharmacology of Natural Products. Arpad Pusztai Irvin E. LienerIrvin E. Liener Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Quarterly Review of Biology Volume 68, Number 2Jun., 1993 Published in association with Stony Brook University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/418092 Copyright 1993 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Opening of the First Brazil and China Symposium of Chemistry and Pharmacology of Natural Products

Opening of the First Brazil and China Symposium of Chemistry and Pharmacology of Natural Products

Brazilian-Sino symposium on chemistry and pharmacology of natural products

Brazilian-Sino symposium on chemistry and pharmacology of natural products

Natural product pharmacology: strategies in search of leads for new drug designs

The relationship between man and plants has been very close throughout the development of civilization. Virtually every pharmacological class of drug includes a natural product prototype. This article considers the major pharmacological strategies that have been employed recently in the discovery of biologically-active compounds of potential clinical value from medicinal plants.

Uterine relaxant properties of Viburnum.

MANY drugs used by North American Indians are known to have been incorporated into therapeutics as practised by the physicians of frontier America. One result of this was the number of native plant drugs which appeared in the nineteenth century editions of the U.S. Pharmacopeia. Our interest in the chemistry and pharmacology of natural products and in the investigation of the efficacy of these, mostly discarded, plant remedies has directed our attention to the genus Viburnum. Several species have been mentioned repeatedly as uterine relaxants and general antispasmodics. Those most commonly cited are V. opulus (Cramp Bark) and V. prunifolium (Black Haw) which are still listed in the United States Dispensatory1. These varieties have also been the subject of some attempts at fractionation2–14, but there has been much controversy about the real effects of drugs prepared from these plants. For a number of reasons15, it is currently thought that no evidence exists which confirms their reputed biological activity.