Ethnopharmacology,chemical composition and functions of Cymbopogon citratus

Cymbopogon citratus in the gramineous family,also known as lemongrass(LG),is a perennial herb.LG,a drug and food homologous medicine,has a widely recorded medicinal value and food applications.To date,158 LG compounds have been reported,including terpenoids,flavonoids,phenolic acids.Pharmacological and clinical studies have indicated that LG has antibacterial,neuroprotective,hypoglycemic,hypotensive,anti-inflammatory,and anti-tumor effects.This article reviews LG in ethnopharmacology,chemical composition,pharmacology,food,medicine,and daily chemical applications to provide a basis for the subsequent development of food and medicine.

Advances in ethnopharmacology,phytochemistry and pharmacology of Erigerontis Herba and its Chinese medicine prescriptions

Erigerontis Herba(EH),the dried whole plant of Erigeron breviscapus,is well-known for circulating blood,activating meridians to alleviate pain,expelling wind,and clearing away cold.It has been extensively utilized in southern China for the treatment of stroke hemiplegia,chest stuffiness and pains,rheumatic arthralgia,headache,and toothache.This review focuses on the botany,ethnopharmacology,phytochemistry,pharmacology and toxicity of EH and its related prescriptions to offer new insights for prospective research of EH.Relevant information about EH was retrieved from ancient records and books,PubMed,China National Knowledge Infrastructure,Chinese Pharmacopoeia,Web of Science,Doctoral and Master’s Theses,and various electronic databases.EH is a member of Compositae family and is mainly grown in southern China.Traditional Chinese medicine records that EH has the effects of circulating blood and removing blood stasis,expelling wind,and removing cold,as well as relieving rigidity of muscle and relieving pain.By now,nearly 200 ingredients have been characterized from EH,including flavonoids,caffeoyls,aromatic acids,coumarins,pentacyclic terpenoids,volatile oil and other compounds.EH extracts,EH related prescriptions(Dengzhan Xixin injection,Dengzhan Shengmai capsules,etc.)or compounds(scutellarin,scutellarein,etc.)possessed obvious therapeutic effects of ischemic stroke,cerebral hemorrhage,myocardial infarction,Alzheimer’s disease,diabetes and its complications,gastric cancer,bone,and joint degenerative diseases.Scutellarin,the major active compound of EH,has been used as a quality marker.And no obvious toxicity of EH has been reported.According to its traditional applications,ethnopharmacology,phytochemistry,pharmacology,and toxicity,EH was applied as a valuable herb for clinical application in food and medicine fields.While several compounds have been shown to possess diverse biological activities,the underlying mechanisms of their actions remain elusive.To fully exploit the medicinal potential of EH,further studies on understanding the effective material basis and mechanisms are warranted.

A review of selected parasitic plants in Nigeria:converting harms to benefits

Parasitic plants are challenging to agricultural crops and forestry development,which are sources of major revenues in several countries,including Nigeria.Nevertheless,parasitic plants are important to human society as they have an abundance of bioactive compounds with pharmacological relevance.Thus,it becomes expedient to know the benefits of these plants and potential means of management.This review discusses four selected parasitic plants in Nigeria,namely Viscum album,Striga hermonthica,Tapinanthus bangwensis and Cuscuta campestris.Relevant information about their pharmacological relevance and biocontrol was obtained from credible databases,including the National Library of Medicine,SCOPUS,and Google Scholar.The review showed that all four plants have been extensively studied for their antioxidant and antitumor properties.Also,antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities are common pharmacological values among parasitic plants.These are largely due to the presence of abundant beneficial classes of phytocompounds.Furthermore,there is an increasing number of biocontrol studies on the use of microorganisms,such as Phaeobotryosphaeria visci,Sphaeropsis visci,Pandoraea pulminicol,Colletotrichum gloeosporioides,and Fusarium oxysporum in controlling and managing these seemingly disastrous plants.It is hoped that this review will spur further studies into the conservation and proper management of parasitic plants using strategically developed biocontrol.

Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Applications of Radix Astragali

Radix Astragali(RA),a traditional Chinese medicine from the dried root of Astragalus species,is widely distributed throughout the temperate regions of the world.The major bioactive constituents of RA are triterpene glycosides,flavonoids,saponins,and alkaloids,and these compounds mostly exert pharmacological activities on the cardiovascular,immune,respiratory,and hepatic systems.This review summarizes the recent studies on RA and provides a comprehensive summary regarding the status of resources,ethnopharmacology,phytochemistry,pharmacology,toxicology,clinical application,and patent release of RA.We hope this review can provide a guidance for further development of therapeutic agents from RA.

Phytochemistry and Ethnopharmacology of Epimedium L. Species

Epimedii Folium, a famous Chinese materia medica, is botanically originated from Epimedium L. species. Here Epimedium L. species were reviewed in phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology, ADME （absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion）, and processing. They have been proven to possess the efficacy on anti-osteoporosis, antitumor, and treating sexual dysfunction in traditional Chinese medicines. More than 270 compounds have been isolated from the plants of Epimedium L., some of which could be metabolized into a series of metabolites after oral absorption by the active enzymes and intestinal microflora leading to various bioactivities. Polyglucosides （epimendins A-C） and the coresponding oligoglycosides （icariin and baohuoside I） play important roles in clinical application.

Genus llex L.: Phytochemistry, Ethnopharmacology, and Pharmacology

The genus Ilex L. has been used as remedies in traditional Chinese medicine in Aquifoliaceae and beverages for thousands of years due to abundant pharmaceutical bioactivities. There are 600 species in genus IlexL. containing various compounds such as terpenoids, saponins, glycosides, etc. Three species, L cornuta, I. chinensis, and L rotunda have been admitted in Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2015 to treat dyspepsia, stomatitis, and hyperactivity cough and protect the liver and kidney. Recent studies showed that several species have been daily drunk to promote human health and prevent cardiovascular diseases in the folk. Here we reviewed the genus Ilex L. in phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology, and pharmacology.

Overview of Taiwan's Indigenous Ethnopharmacology in the Perspective of Traditional Knowledge Protection

Ethnopharmacology, the study of ethnic use of drugs, opens up the crucial gateway to understanding and promoting traditional medicine in the new age. Taiwan is a unique region where traditional medicine and herbal therapeutics have been benefiting its people of multiple races for centuries. This article overviews Taiwan＇s indigenous traditional medicine and the emerging status of ethnopharmacology study, and outlines the globa~ scenario of the inheritance and development of traditional medicine. In such a scope of knowledge protection, this article particularly highlights the challenges with bioprospecting and biopiracy, and summarizes the current measures for protection of traditional knowledge in Taiwan. Finally, based upon these analyses, we propose rational strategies for promoting Taiwan＇s ethnopharmacology, from multiple angles of resource, economy, policy and law. We conclude that four measures, namely （1） protecting the natural environment of biodiversity, （2） avoiding unnecessary conflicts caused by bioprospecting and biopiracy, （3） strengthening the international collaboration, and （4） upgrading the legal system of traditional intelligence, would be the right paths for Taiwan to protect its invaluable heritage of traditional medicine and the knowledge of ethnoDharmacoloov therein.

Ethnopharmacology,phytochemistry and cytotoxicity of emerging biotechnological tool:Mayapple(Podophyllum hexandrum L.:Berberidaceae)

Podophyllum hexandrum is a perennial herb and a valuable medicinal plant.Its common name is mayapple and is native to the lower elevations in and surrounding the Himalayan area of Pakistan.It has been used through the ages and in modern time as an intestinal purgative,inhibitor of tumor growth and salve for necrotic and infected wounds.Many important secondary metabolites have been reported to be extracted from the plant among which the most important one is podophyllotoxin as it possesses antitumor property which is used for the treatment of testicular cancer as well as lung cancer.The plant is very badly overexploited which causes decline in the frequency of this species in the past few years.It needs immediate attention for conservation by improving propagation techniques.This article reviews briefly the medicinal,phytochemical,pharmacological and conservation-related aspects of the plant.

11th ISE Congress 2010 Entitled Continuity and Change in Ethnopharmacology:Transdisciplinary Science for Our Future-In Memoriam of Prof. NINA Etkin(1948-2009)

The ISE’s first congress took place about 20 years ago (Strasbourg 1990).This year the Journal of Ethnopharmacology,the official journal of the International Society

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY AND MALARIA IN AFRICA

According to the last World Malaria Report,there were 584000 deaths from the recorded 198 million malaria cases worldwide in 2013.The disease caused an estimated 437 000African children to die before their fifth birthday,still in2013.Malaria is caused by a parasite,Plasmodium sp.and transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes.The problem of parasite resistance towards common available

The“Top 50 High Impact Researches of Traditional Medicine”published in 2021

In recent years,significant progress has been achieved in both basic and clinical research within the field of traditional medicine,garnering increasing attention worldwide.To further promote a high-quality and international development of traditional medicine,the editorial board of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine provided a collection of the“Top 50 High-impact Researches of Traditional Medicine”published in 2021 through objective indicators and a strict selection process.The findings of the selected articles have a significant academic influence and possess considerable academic value both nationally and internationally.The selected articles cover a wide range of topics,including clinical research,acupuncture,pharmacology,chemistry,biosynthesis,medicinal plant resources,and new formulation and drug delivery system research on traditional medicine.Therefore,this article outlines the selection process of the top 50 high-impact research articles,analyzes their research characteristics,and provides a brief summary of their new findings and perspectives in the field of traditional medicine.

Ethnopharmacological Assessment of Medicinal Plants Used in the Management of Livestock Ailments by Resource-Limited Farmers in the Eastern Cape Province

Medicinal plants play a major role in meeting people’s medical and health needs, especially in developing countries. However, due to a lack of access to modern veterinary facilities, poor visibility of animal health personnel, and high prices of orthodox medicines, most farmers rely on traditional healers and the administration of medicinal plants to treat livestock ailments. The present study was conducted to document Ethnopharmacological knowledge of medicinal plants used to manage livestock ailments in three rural communities of the Eastern Cape. This study was carried out in three rural communities between July 2009 and February 2010. Data were collected by administering pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires and participative field observations. For the interviews, a sample of 48 knowledgeable respondents was purposively selected. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, determination of information consensus factor, and fidelity level. A total of 12 medicinal plants belonging to 9 families were used by local people to cure different ailments. A high number of medicinal plants were claimed by males compared to females. Roots and barks were the major plant parts used, and the least were leaves (27.3%). Six plants were used to treat diarrhea and fertility, five plants to treat wounds, and two plants to treat scabs. This study has shown that Eastern Cape flora is rich with various plants which could be used to replace orthodox drugs. Further studies are needed to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations, biological activities, and toxicities and characterize the plant’s chemical compounds.

Pharmacological properties of Datura stramonium L. as a potential medicinal tree:An overview

India has a great wealth of various naturally occurring plant drugs which have great potential pharmacological activities.Datura stramonium(D.stramonium is one of the widely well known folklore medicinal herbs.The troublesome weed,D.stramonium is a plant with both poisonous and medicinal preperties and has been proven to have great pharmacological potential with a great utility real usage in folklore medicine.D.stromonium has been scientifically proven to contain alkaloids,tannins,carbohydrates and proteins.This plant has contributed various pharmacological actions in the scientific field of Indian systems of medicines like analgesic and antiasthmatic activities.The present paper presents an exclusive review work on the ethnomedical,phytochemical,pharmacological activities of this plant.

The Genus Solanum:An Ethnopharmacological,Phytochemical and Biological Properties Review

Over the past 30 years,the genus Solanum has received considerable attention in chemical and biological studies.Solanum is the largest genus in the family Solanaceae,comprising of about 2000 species distributed in the subtropical and tropical regions of Africa,Australia,and parts of Asia,e.g.,China,India and Japan.Many of them are economically signifcant species.Previous phytochemical investigations on Solanum species led to the identifcation of steroidal saponins,steroidal alkaloids,terpenes,favonoids,lignans,sterols,phenolic comopunds,coumarins,amongst other compounds.Many species belonging to this genus present huge range of pharmacological activities such as cytotoxicity to diferent tumors as breast cancer(4T1 and EMT),colorectal cancer(HCT116,HT29,and SW480),and prostate cancer(DU145)cell lines.The biological activities have been attributed to a number of steroidal saponins,steroidal alkaloids and phenols.This review features 65 phytochemically studied species of Solanum between 1990 and 2018,fetched from SciFinder,Pubmed,ScienceDirect,Wikipedia and Baidu,using“Solanum”and the species’names as search terms(“all felds”).

Traditional usage,phytochemistry and pharmacology of Croton sylvaticus Hochst.ex C.Krauss

Croton sylvaticus(C. sylvaticus) is widely used as herbal medicine by the indigenous people of tropical Africa. The potential of C. sylvaticus as herbal medicine,the phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of its parts used as herbal medicines are reviewed. The extensive literature survey revealed that C. sylvaticus is traditionally used to treat or manage at least 24 human and animal diseases and ailments. The species is used as herbal medicine for diseases and ailments such as abdominal pains,boils,fever,inflammation,malaria,rheumatism,swellings and tuberculosis and as ethnoveterinary medicine. Multiple classes of phytochemicals such as alkaloids,anthraquinones,essential oils,flavonoids,lignan,phenolics,sterols,tannins and terpenoids have been isolated from the species. Scientific studies on C. sylvaticus indicate that it has a wide range of pharmacological activities which include antibacterial,antifungal,anti-inflammatory,antioxidant,larvicidal and effects on the central nervous system. Although studies have confirmed that C. sylvaticus has a wide range of bioactives,further research on the exact bioactive molecules and mechanisms of action are required.

Ethnobotany and phytopharmacology of Pinus roxburghii Sargent:a plant review

Traditional medicine is a blend of information gathered over generations from various communities and cultures. Pinus roxburghii Sargent （Pinaceae） commonly known as ＂chir pine＂ is widely used in traditional and folkloric systems of medicine. The all parts of the plant are believed to possess medicinal qualities in Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine. In these traditional systems of medicine, the plant is used to heal many diseases, including afflictions of the eyes, ears, throat, blood, and skin. The plant parts are rich in various bioactive compounds such as a-pinene, abietic acid, quercetin and xanthone. Resin acids and flavanoid form a major portion of these bioactive compounds. This review presents examples of traditional medicinal uses for P. roxburghii, and subsequently explores the current understanding of the chemical, pharmacological, and biochemical properties of the extracts and the main active constituents found in each tissue of the plant. Clinical trial information is also included where available. Careful evaluation of these data may be helpful for scientists and researchers to discover and evaluate the specific chemical entities responsible for the traditional medicinal uses of P. roxburghii.

Euclea undulata Thunb.:Review of its botany,ethnomedicinal uses,phytochemistry and biological activities

Euclea undulata(E. undulata) is traditionally used for the treatment of body pains, chest complaints, cough, diabetes, diarrhoea, headaches, heart diseases and toothaches in southern Africa. This study was aimed at reviewing the botany, ethnopharmacology and biological activities of E. undulata in southern Africa. Results presented in this study are based on review of literature using search engines such as Science Direct, Springerlink,Scopus, Pub Med, Web of Science, Bio Med Central and Google Scholar. Herbal medicine is prepared from the decoctions of the roots, bark and leaves, and extracts of these plant parts have demonstrated anticholinesterase, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antimycobacterial, antiplasmodial, antioxidant and hypoglycaemic activities. Multiple classes of phytochemical compounds such alkaloids, diterpenes, fatty acids, flavonoids, glycosides, naphthoquinones, phenolics, phytosterols, reducing sugars, saponins and tannins have been isolated from the species. E. undulata has a lot of potential as herbal medicine in tropical Africa, and advanced research is required aimed at correlating its medicinal uses with the phytochemistry and pharmacological properties.

Ethnopharmacological Survey of Plants Used for the Treatment of Stomach,Diabetes,and Ophthalmic Diseases in Sudhan Gali,Kashmir,Pakistan

The present paper represents the ethnopharmacological survey of Sudhan Gali,Kashmir,Pakistan.The study revealed that 12 plant species belonging to 11 families were used for the treatment of stomach,diabetes and ophthalmic diseases by the local people in Sudhan Gali.Achillea millefolium,Aconitum heterophyllum,Berberis lycium,Polygonum amplexicaule,Mentha longifolia,Paeonia emodi,Plantago lanceolata were locally used for stomach related problems treatment;Berberis lycium,Skimmia lareola,Solanum dulcamara for diabetes and Geranium wallichianum,Artemisia vulgaris,Solanum dulcamara,and Corydalis crassifolia used for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases.Two species Berberis lycium and Solanum dulcamara have multipurpose value.Former is used to treat stomach as well as diabetes while latter is used to treat not only to diabetes but also ophthalmic diseases.According to IUCN categories,out of these 12 plant species collected and marketed,Polygonum amplexicaule and Paeonia emodi are endangered,Aconitum heterophyllum;Berberis lycium species are vulnerable while Plantago lanceolata and Skimmia lareola species are rare.The availability of these medicinal plants has decreased during the past 20 years and these are facing a drastic biotic pressure due to their extensive usage and non-scientific methods of collection.It is quite evident that these valuable native medicinal plants species are going to decline in number and ultimately will become extinct if no timely proper conservation strategies are adopted.

Trichosanthes dioica Roxb.: A vegetable with diverse pharmacological properties

Trichosanthes dioica Roxb.is a climber of the Cucurbitaceae family mainly found in tropical Asia.The fruit is widely consumed as a vegetable and different parts of this plant are used in the traditional medicine to treat various types of human ailments.In this review,we critically analyzed and presented the scientific studies on T.dioica available in three electronic databases viz.PubMed,Web of Science and Google Scholar.Our aim was to find the scientific basis of the traditional use to understand the plant’s potential in therapy.Studies have found promising antihyperglycemic,antihyperlipidemic,antitumor,cytotoxic,arsenic poisoning ameliorative,anti-inflammatory,antidiarrheal,and varieties of pharmacological activities of T.dioica.Different types of bioactive compounds have been identified and isolated from T.dioica including peptides namely trichosanthin and lectin;a number of triterpenes like cucurbitacin B,euphol,α-amyrin,-amyrin,lupeol,taraxerol,betulin,and karounidiol;sterols,steroidal saponin,tannin,flavonoids etc.T.dioica contains a number of well-known bioactive phytochemicals and the plant has shown an array of pharmacological activities in vivo.This review will expand our understanding of the therapeutic potential of T.dioica and their phytochemical basis which may help in further research on this species.