Role Of Natural Products Research Articles

The role of natural products from medicinal plants against COVID-19: traditional medicine practice in Tanzania

BackgroundPandemic COVID-19 is a dangerous disease caused by a new coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). There is non-reliable drug or vaccine available to combat for SARS-CoV-2. More efforts to search for antiviral agents against COVID-19 are obligatory, whereas phytochemicals are potent solution. Thus, this study involved phytochemical screening and examining medicinal plants used to combat COVID-19 in Tanzania. MethodsThe plant materials were collected from practitioners. The plant extracts were then subjected for qualitative phytochemical screening so as to identify the nature of secondary metabolites. ResultsEucalyptus species, pepper, berries, ginger, garlic, onions and lemon were identified as commonly plants used. The flavonoids, tannins, fatty acids, steroids, terpenoids, and saponins were identified through phytochemical screening. Identified natural phytocompounds revealed to be potential in exhibiting antiviral activities by disrupting the viral life cycle including viral entrance, replication, assembly, and discharge, as well as virus-specific host targets. Thus, this prompt increasing of pharmaceutical industry focused on phytochemical extracts from medicinal plants, and aromatic herbs in the hopes of discovering lead compounds, with purposeful to antiviral medications. ConclusionThe medicinal plants and phytocompounds revealed to have significant role due to their substantial antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses. The noted natural products inspire collective efforts in determination and gathering funds to support scientific researchers to investigate more phytochemicals from medicinal plants for development of antiviral drug against COVID-19.

The Role of Natural Products in Treatment of Depressive Disorder.

Depressive disorder is one of the most common psychiatric syndromes that, if left untreated, can cause many disturbances in a person's life. Numerous factors are involved in depression, including inflammation, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), GABAergic system, hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) Axis, monoamine neurotransmitters (serotonin (5-HT), noradrenaline, and dopamine). Common treatments for depression are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, but these drugs have several side effects such as anxiety, diarrhea, constipation, weight loss, and sexual dysfunctions. These agents only reduce the symptoms and temporarily reduce the rate of cognitive impairment associated with depression. As a result, extensive research has recently been conducted on the potential use of antidepressant and sedative herbs. According to the available data, herbs used in traditional medicine can be significantly effective in reducing depression, depressive symptoms and improving patients' performance. The present study provides a summary of biomarkers and therapeutic goals of depression and shows that natural products such as saffron or genipin have antidepressant effects. Some of the useful natural products and their mechanisms were evaluated. Data on various herbs and natural isolated compounds reported to prevent and reduce depressive symptoms is also discussed.

Role of Natural Products in Treatment of Covid-19

Role of Natural Products in Treatment of Covid-19

Narrative review of the mechanism of natural products and scar formation in wound repair.

Background and ObjectiveWound healing is a complex and multifactorial response to the disruption of the normal anatomy and function of skin tissue, which mainly includes four progressive stages: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodeling. Wound healing is a complex process, and multiple conditions can lead to impaired wound healing and, consequently, scar formation. Natural products discovered and applied for a long time have always been the source of new drugs. With the deepening of research, the role of natural products in promoting wound repair has gradually been a focus. Some natural products and compound drugs are effective in promoting skin wound healing and in reducing adverse reactions after wound healing.MethodsThis article reviews the mechanism of natural products and some compound drugs in healing skin wounds from the following aspects: related cellular effects during wound repair and scar formation, regulation of growth factors, extracellular matrix (ECM), and collagen metabolism.Key Content and FindingsProteolysis by proteolytic enzymes, such as plasmin, matrix metalloproteinases, and their activators and inhibitors, plays a critical role in wound repair. Some keratinocytes often express some matrix metalloproteinases and plasminogen activators, thus promoting the hydrolysis of components such as fibrin in blood clots to facilitate migration.ConclusionsIn this paper, we review recent studies on the role and mechanism of some natural products on scar formation found in wound repair. We aim to provide a basis for the in-depth study of the intrinsic mechanism of natural products in repairing wounds and a reference for further development of drugs for wound repair with better efficacy and fewer side effects.

Multiple Myeloma: Challenges Encountered and Future Options for Better Treatment.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant hematological disease. The disease is characterized by the clonal proliferation of malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow. MM accounts for 1.3% of all malignancies and has been increasing in incidence all over the world. Various genetic abnormalities, mutations, and translocation, including epigenetic modifications, are known to contribute to the disease’s pathophysiology. The prognosis is good if detected early, or else the outcome is very bad if distant metastasis has already occurred. Conventional treatment with drugs poses a challenge when there is drug resistance. In the present review, we discuss multiple myeloma and its treatment, drug resistance, the molecular basis of epigenetic regulation, the role of natural products in epigenetic regulators, diet, physical activity, addiction, and environmental pollutants, which may be beneficial for clinicians and researchers.

The Role of Natural Products on Diabetes Mellitus Treatment: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

The present study was carried out to relate the role of natural products in the metabolism of an increasingly prevalent disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus. At present, in addition to the pharmacological resources, an attempt is being made to treat diabetes mellitus with natural products. We carried out a systematic review of studies focusing on the role of natural products on diabetes mellitus treatment. The bibliographic search was done through Medline (Pubmed) and Web of Science. From 193 records, the title and summary of each were examined according to the criteria and whether they met the selection criteria. A total of 15 articles were included; after reviewing the literature, it is apparent that the concept of natural products is ambiguous as no clear boundary has been established between what is natural and what is synthetic, therefore we feel that a more explicit definition of the concept of “natural product” is needed. Gut microbiota is a promising therapeutic target in the treatment of diabetes. Therefore, it would be necessary to work on the relationship between the microbiome and the benefits in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Treatment based solely on these natural products is not currently recommended as more studies are needed.

Advances in the role of natural products in human gene expression.

Natural products (NPs), especially those from traditional herbal medicines, can evidently modulate human gene expression at multiple levels, leading to a wide diversity of bioactivities. Although numerous bio-functions of NPs for human body have been found, there is little understanding about how NPs achieve it, as less attention was drawn to the definite mechnism by which NPs regulate gene expression. Furthermore, based on the rapidly advancing knowledge of mechanisms for gene regulation in recent years, newly-understood mechanisms, such as post-transcriptional regulation, are found to be involved in NP-elicited bio-effects, providing a new perspective on understanding the role of NPs in gene expression. Therefore, in the current review, we summarize the function of NPs in gene expression from the perspectives of transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational regulation, which will reinforce the understanding of NP-induced effects in gene expression and facilitate the exploration of more NPs with potential therapeutic effects.

Ролята на интерактивния бинарен урок в обучението по български език като чужд

The conducting of an experiment on the role of the binary interactive lesson with the participation of a research associate from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) has an extremely important part in the learning process. The lesson is about getting to know the role of the natural products in our health. The main objectives of this interactive binary lesson are: expanding and improving of the grammatical knowledge and development of specialized language skills in Bulgarian of our medical students by including them in innovative formats to increase their communicative competence; introduction of pseudo-communicative tasks with particular speech actions, repetition of phrases and creation of own short dialogues, communicative exercises for building complete and bigger dialogues and narrative texts; utilizing teamwork for creating situational compositions, transformations and psychological testing for measuring the parameters of readiness for working in a team, mutual respect, trust, mutual assistance, responsibility in a multicultural environment. In this manuscript we offer the specifics of an interactive lesson about the role of natural products and health realized with foreign students. We specify the opportunities for language acquisition orally and in writing in accordance with the indicated levels of competence of the European Language Framework. We take into account the possibilities for the application of interactive in parallel with the traditional methods and tools of work, so as to achieve the development of creative thinking in a foreign language for students, as well as the improvement of communicative skills for professional realization.

Osteoarthritis complications and the recent therapeutic approaches.

The accelerated prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) disease worldwide and the lack of convenient management led to the frequent search for unprecedented and specific treatment approaches. OA patients usually suffer from many annoying complications that negatively influence their quality of life, especially in the elderly. Articular erosions may lead eventually to the loss of joint function as a whole which occurs over time according to the risk factors presented in each case and the grade of the disease. Conventional therapies are advancing, showing most appropriate results but still greatly associated with many adverse effects and have restricted curative actions as well. Hence, novel management tools are usually required. In this review, we summarized the recent approaches in OA treatment and the role of natural products, dietary supplements and nanogold application in OA treatment to provide new research tracks for more therapeutic opportunities to those who are in care in this field.

Research progress of indole compounds with potential antidiabetic activity.

New types of antidiabetic agents are continually needed with diabetes becoming the epidemic in the world. Indole alkaloids play an important role in natural products owing to their variable structures and versatile biological activities like anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities, which are a promising source of novel antidiabetic drugs discovery. The synthesized indole derivatives possess similar properties to natural indole alkaloids. In the last two decades, more and more indole derivatives have been designed and synthesized for searching their bioactivities. This present review describes comprehensive structures of indole compounds with the potential antidiabetic activity including natural indole alkaloids and the synthetic indole derivatives based on the structure classification, summarizes their approaches isolated from natural sources or by synthetic methods, and discusses the antidiabetic effects and the mechanisms of action. Furthermore, this review also provides briefly synthetic procedures of some important indole derivatives.

Prospects and Challenges of Developing Plant-Derived Snake Antivenin Natural Products: A Focus on West Africa.

Snakebite envenomation (SBE) is an important public health issue that is now receiving renewed attention following its reclassification as a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD). Most incidences occur in rural areas of resource-limited countries, as such, timely and appropriate medical care for SBE is often inaccessible. The administration of anti-snake venom serum (ASV) is the only effective definitive treatment of SBE, but treatment failure to available ASVs is not uncommon. Emerging evidence highlights the potential of small-molecule compounds as inhibitors against toxins of snake venom. This presents an encouraging prospect to develop an alternative therapeutic option for the treatment SBE, that may be amenable for use at the point of care in resource-constraint settings. In view of the pivotal role of natural products in modern drug discovery programmes, there is considerable interest in ethno-pharmacological mining of medicinal plants and plant-derived medicinal compounds toward developing novel snake venom-neutralising therapeutics. In this review, we compile a collection of medicinal plants used in the treatment of SBE in West Africa and highlight their promise as potential botanical drugs or as sources of novel small-molecule compounds for the treatment of SBE. The challenges that must be surmounted to bring this to fruition including the need for (sub) regional collaboration have been discussed.

The cytotoxic effect of Baeckea frustescens extracts in eliminating hypoxic breast cancer cells

BackgroundAdaptive metabolic response towards a low oxygen environment is essential to maintain rapid tumour proliferation and progression. The vascular network that surrounds the tumour develops an intermittent hypoxic condition and stimulates hypoxia-inducing factors. Baeckea frutescens is used in traditional medicine and known to possess antibacterial and cytoprotective properties. In this study, the cytotoxic effect of B. frutescens leaves and branches extracts against hypoxic human breast cancer (MCF-7) was investigated.MethodThe extracts were prepared using Soxhlet apparatus for ethanol and hexane extracts while the water extracts were freeze-dried. In vitro cytotoxic activities of B. frutescens extracts of various concentrations (20 to 160 μg/mL) at 24, 48, and 72 hours time points were studied using MTT in chemically induced hypoxic condition and in 3-dimensional in vitro cell culture system. An initial characterisation of B. frutescens extracts was carried out using Fourier-transform Infrared- Attenuated Total Reflection (FTIR-ATR) to determine the presence of functional groups.ResultsAll leaf extracts except for water showed IC50 values ranging from 23 -158 μg/mL. Hexane extract showed the lowest IC50 value (23 μg/mL), indicating its potent cytotoxic activity. Among the branch extracts, only the 70% ethanolic extract (B70) showed an IC50 value. The hexane leaf extract tested on 3- dimensional cultured cells showed an IC50 value of 17.2 μg/mL. The FTIR-ATR spectroscopy analysis identified various characteristic peak values with different functional groups such as alcohol, alkenes, alkynes, carbonyl, aromatic rings, ethers, ester, and carboxylic acids. Interestingly, the FTIR-ATR spectra report a complex and unique profile of the hexane extract, which warrants further investigation.ConclusionAdaptation of tumour cells to hypoxia significantly contributes to the aggressiveness and chemoresistance of different tumours. The identification of B. frutescens and its possible role in eliminating breast cancer cells in hypoxic conditions defines a new role of natural product that can be utilised as an effective agent that regulates metabolic reprogramming in breast cancer.

Structure Simplification of Natural Products as a Lead Generation Approach in Agrochemical Discovery.

Natural products (NPs) have a long history as sources of compounds for crop protection. Perhaps a more important role for NPs has been as models and inspiration for the discovery and development of synthetic crop protection compounds. NPs and their synthetic mimics account for 18% of all crop protection compounds, whereas another 38% of all crop protection compounds have a NP that could have served as a model. Because NPs are often complex molecules, have limited availability, or possess structural features that constrain their suitability for use in agricultural settings, a key element in NP-inspired compounds is the simplification of the NP structure to provide a synthetically accessible molecule that possesses the physicochemical properties needed for use in crop protection. Herein we review a series of examples of NP mimics that demonstrate the structural or synthetic simplification of NPs as a guide for the discovery of future NP-inspired agrochemicals focused on fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides.

The Promising Role of Natural Products in Drug Discovery

The Promising Role of Natural Products in Drug Discovery

The Role of Natural Products in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Current Knowledge of Basic In Vitro and In Vivo Research.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder affecting a vast variety of the population. The onset of RA as well as the development of systematic immunization is affected by both genetic and environmental risk factors. This review aims to point out the role of natural products in the management of RA, focusing on the reports of basic research (in vitro and animal studies) emphasizing the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties considered in the field of RA. A systematic screening of the relevant literature was carried out on PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus with the following criteria: publication date, 2015–2020; language, English; study design, in vitro or animal models; and the investigation of one or several natural products in the context of RA, including, when available, the molecular mechanisms implicated. A total of 211 papers were initially obtained and screened. In vitro and animal studies referring to 20 natural products and 15 pure compounds were ultimately included in this review. The outcomes of this work provide an overview of the methods employed in basic research over the past five years, with emphasis on the limitations presented, while demonstrating the potential benefits of utilizing natural products in the management of RA as supported by in vitro and animal studies.

Diabetes and Cancer: Metabolic Association, Therapeutic Challenges, and the Role of Natural Products.

Cancer is considered the second leading cause of death worldwide and in 2018 it was responsible for approximately 9.6 million deaths. Globally, about one in six deaths are caused by cancer. A strong correlation was found between diabetes mellitus and carcinogenesis with the most evident correlation was with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Research has proven that elevated blood glucose levels take part in cell proliferation and cancer cell progression. However, limited studies were conducted to evaluate the efficiency of conventional therapies in diabetic cancer patients. In this review, the correlation between cancer and diabetes will be discussed and the mechanisms by which the two diseases interact with each other, as well as the therapeutics challenges in treating patients with diabetes and cancer with possible solutions to overcome these challenges. Natural products targeting both diseases were discussed with detailed mechanisms of action. This review will provide a solid base for researchers and physicians to test natural products as adjuvant alternative therapies to treat cancer in diabetic patients.

Regioselective Three-Component Synthesis of Vicinal Diamines via 1,2-Diamination of Styrenes.

The vicinal diamine motif plays a significant role in natural products, drug design, and organic synthesis, and development of synthetic methods for the synthesis of diamines is a long-standing interest. Herein, we report a regioselective intermolecular three-component vicinal diamination of styrenes with acetonitrile and azodicarboxylates. The diamination products can be produced in moderate to excellent yields via the Ritter reaction. Synthetic applications and theoretical studies of this reaction have been conducted.

Role of Natural Products in the Treatment of Obesity: Nanotechnological Perspectives.

Obesity is a major disorder characterized by excessive fat in the body. Various factors responsible for obesity are dietary, lifestyle, genetic, and environmental factors. The last two decades witnessed an enormous increase in obesity and its comorbidities among people worldwide, thus making it the fifth major cause of human death. As per the recent report of WHO, a total of 38 million children (age < 5 years) were overweight or obese in 2019, and according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, almost 1 in 4 people are obese. For the treatment of obesity, various synthetic drugs are available but on the other side, these are associated with severe adverse effects. To overcome this problem and in the view of the current situation, researchers emphasize more on the development of natural products for the management of obesity. Primary and secondary metabolites like polyphenols, alkaloids, saponins, and flavonoids derived from various plants worldwide are used to develop a formulation for the management of obesity. The phytoconstituents exert their action by suppressing the proliferation of adipocytes, inducing apoptosis of adipocytes, inhibiting lipogenesis, activating lipases, stimulating fatty acid β-oxidation, diminishing inflammatory responses, or conquering oxidative stress. This review also highlights the importance of the nanoencapsulation technique which enhances the efficacy of phytoconstituents by improving solubility, stability, and bioavailability to fight against obesity and comorbidity.

Role of natural products in alleviation of rheumatoid arthritis-A review.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RHA) is one of the most prevalent complex, chronic, inflammatory diseases, manifested by elevated oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers. Prolonged administration of NSAIDs, steroids, and DMARDs, used in the treatment of RHA, is associated with deleterious side effects. This necessitates the urge of new and safe approaches for RHA management, based on the complementary and alternative system of medicine. Documented evidences have suggested that supplementation with nutritional, dietary, and herbal components; can play a crucial role as an adjuvant, in the alleviation of the RHA symptoms, through their influence on the pathological inflammatory processes. Dietary phenolic compounds, flavonoids, carotenoids, and alkaloids with their ability to modulate prooxidant and pro-inflammatory pathways, have been effective in delaying the arthritic disease progression. Moreover, in scientific explorations, herbs containing phenolic compounds, alkaloids, carotenoids flavonoids, spices such as ginger, turmeric, Ayurvedic formulations, different diets such as Mediterranean diet, vegan diet, beverages, and oils such as sesame oil, rice bran oil, vitamins, and probiotics are proven to modulate the action of inflammatory molecules, involved in RHA pathology. Subsequently, the purpose of this review article is to summarize various in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies in RHA, which have documented remarkable insights into the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, and immunomodulatory, bone erosion preventing properties of dietary, nutritional, and herbal components with the focus on their molecular level mechanisms involved in RHA. Even though major findings were derived from in vitro studies, several in vivo and clinical studies have established the use of diet, herbal, and nutritional management in RHA treatment. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Thickening of the synovial membrane, bone erosion, and cartilage destruction is known to trigger rheumatoid arthritis causing inflammation and pain in bone joints. Continuous intake of NSAIDs, steroids, and DMARD therapy are associated with detrimental side effects. These side effects can be overcome by the use of dietary, nutritional, and herbal interventions based on the complementary and alternative therapy. This concept portrays the food components and other natural components having the potential to promote health, improve general well-being, and reduce the risk of RHA.

Abstract PS19-28: Thymoquinone and tamoxifen co-treatment synergistically inhibit proliferation, invasion and induce apoptosis in human breast cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo

Abstract Epidemiological studies and experimental analysis indicate that dietary factors influence thedevelopment of breast cancer, suggesting the role of natural products as modifying factors againstbreast cancer. Thymoquinone (TQ) (a dietary phytochemical compound) the main active ingredientof the volatile oil of black seed (Nigella sativa) has been used to be safe when administered to awide variety of normal cells. In addition, Tamoxifen (TAM), a nonsteroidal triphenylethylene derivateand selective ER modulator, has been used as a single agent in the treatment of ER positive breastcancer.In the present study, we report the possible chemo-sensitizing effect of TQ as a promisingconventional chemotherapeutic agent, using a panel of human breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7, ZR-75-1, T-47D and BT-20 respectively in vitro and in vivo.Our data revealed that TQ, TAM or combined treatments significantly inhibited cell viability of MCF-7, T-47D, ZR-75-1 but slightly of BT-20 cell lines consistently with down-regulation of signaltransducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT 3), mTOR, cyclin D1, oncogenic β-catenin,signaling a specific transcription factor and PPAR-gamma in a dose dependent manner. Mostimportantly, combined treatment enhanced inhibition of cell viability, DNA fragmentation andapoptosis induction through Caspase-3 activation and Bcl-2 down regulation in all tested cell linesbut this effect was limited in BT-20 cells compared to controls. Moreover, our data was supported bymicroscopic examination using electron scanning microscopy that revealed many apoptoticalterations after combined treatment compared to each TQ or TAM. Furthermore, confocalfluorescence microscopy examination revealed that only combined treatment showed a significantinhibition of filopodia formation as a sign of invasion inhibition in both BT-20 and MCF-7 humanbreast cancer cell lines. In vivo, tumor xenotransplants of human ZR-75-1 cells revealed that onlycombined treatment showed a significant regression in tumor size by 53% after 72h and enhancedE-cadherin expression as analyzed by immunohistochemistry and confocal fluorescencemicroscopy.Taken together, our findings provide strong in vitro and in vivo molecular evidences in support ofour hypothesis that Thymoquinone synchronized as chemo-preventive agent with Tamoxifen to inhibithuman breast cancer cell lines proliferation, invasion and induce apoptosis that might have a potentialimplication in breast cancer prevention and treatment. Citation Format: Islam Yahiya, Heba Helmy, Ahmed Sultan. Thymoquinone and tamoxifen co-treatment synergistically inhibit proliferation, invasion and induce apoptosis in human breast cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS19-28.