An update on Ayurvedic herb Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy

Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy(C.pluricaulis)is a perennial herb that seems like morning glory.All parts of the herb are known to possess therapeutic benefits.The plant is used locally in Indian and Chinese medicine to cure various diseases.It is used in Ayurvedic formulation for chronic cough,sleeplessness,epilepsy,hallucinations,anxiety etc.Based on the comprehensive review of plant profile,pharmacognosy,phylochemistry,pharmacological and toxicological data on the C.pluricaulis,there will be more opportunities for the future research and development on the herb C.pluricaulis.Information on the C.pluricaulis was collected via electronic search(using Pub Med,SciFinder,Google Scholar and Web of Science)and library search for articles published in peer-reviewed journals.Furthermore,information also was obtained from some local books on ethnopharmacology.This paper covers the literature,primarily pharmacological,from 1985 to the end of 2012.The C.pluricaulis is an important indigenous medicine,which has a long medicinal application for liver disease,epileptic disease,microbial disease,cytotoxic and viral diseases,central nervous system(CNS)disease in Ayurvedic medicine,traditional Chinese medicine and other indigenous medical systems.The isolated metabolites and crude extract have exhibited a wide of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological effect,including CNS depression,anxiolytic,tranquillizing,antidepressant,antistress,neurodegenerative,antiamnesic,antioxidant,hypolipidemic,immunomodulatory,analgesic,antifungal,antibacterial,antidiabetic,antiulcer,anticatatonic,and cardiovascular activity.A chemical study of this plant was then initiated,which led to the isolation of carbohydrats,proteins,alkaloids,fatty acids,steroids,coumarins.flavanoids,and glycosides as active chemicals that bring about its biological effects.A scries of pharmacognostical studies of this plant show that it is a herb,its stem and leaves are hairy,more over it has two types of stomata,anisocytic and paracytic.A herb,C.pluricaulis has emerged as a good source of the traditional medicine for the treatment of liver disease,epileptic disease,microbial disease,cytotoxic and viral diseases,and CNS disease.Pharmacological results have validated the use of this species in traditional medicine.All the parts of the herb are known to possess therapeutic benefits.Expansion of research materials would provide more opportunities for the discovery of new bioactive principles from C.pluricaulis.

Neutralizing possibilities of whole virion and mRNA vaccine triggered antibodies of Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2 with receptor binding domains of spike proteins of Delta and Omicron strains

Mutations in the receptor binding domain(RBD)of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein have given birth to the new variants of concern viz.Delta and Omicron strain.As we are using vaccines which are either mRNA of spike protein of Wuhan strain or its whole virion vaccine,these vaccines will trigger antibodies to be able to bind with the epitopes of spike protein of Wuhan strain.There appears a need to study whether vaccine generated circulating neutralizing antibodies in vaccinated people are able to neutralize the receptor binding domain of spike protein of currently circulating Delta and Omicron strains as well.We need to address this contention in two phases:first to undertake docking studies of vaccine generated antibodies with Wuhan,Delta and Omicron strains and second to conduct the wet lab studies and observe antigen-antibody bindings employing Immunofluorescence and Cryo-Electron Microscopic studies.The present paper reports results of docking studies using bioinformatic softwares to provide the baseline information for wet lab studies.