@article {1786, title = {Ten Commonly Available Medicinal Plants in Malaysia with Potential Sun Protection Factor and Antioxidant Properties {\textendash} A Review}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {14}, year = {2022}, month = {April 2022}, pages = {444-455}, type = {Review Article}, chapter = {444}, abstract = {

Background: Malaysia has a diverse range of medicinal plants that utilized to make effective nutritional, folk medicine, and cosmetic preparations. Natural antioxidants obtained from medicinal plant extracts have recently gained popularity as protective ingredients in sunscreen formulations due to their safety, wide range of biological effects on skin, and environmental sustainability in absorbing Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and preventing skin damage. Prolonged exposure to UV rays may cause skin damages like sunburn, photoaging, erythema, edema, wrinkle, and skin cancer. Natural sunscreen products are becoming more popular among consumers who are becoming more aware of the risks of excessive UV and chemicals in beauty and personal care products. Objective: This review aimed to provide brief information about ten commonly available medicinal plants in Malaysia with potential sun protection factor and antioxidant properties. Methods: In the present review, the relevant literatures were an extensive search from various scientific database including Pubmed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect and Scopus. Ten commonly available medicinal plants in Malaysia such as Graptophyllum pictum, Moringa oleifera, Mangifera indica, Zanthoxylum rhetsa, Andrographis paniculata, Sonneratia caseolaris, Camellia sinensis, Morinda citrifolia, Nephelium lappaceum and Murraya koenigii were included based on its potential sun protection factor (SPF) and antioxidant properties. Results: All the ten medicinal plants reported in this review found to have potential antioxidant activities due to the presence of phenolic and flavonoid content in the extracts. All of these findings well correlated to their potential SPF. The M. indica extracts had the highest SPF value among the ten plant extracts reported in this review, with a value of >=30. This is considered high sun protection action. Extracts of A. paniculata, M. citrifolia, C. sinensis, and G. pictum have a moderate photoprotective effect (SPF value of >=15). Sun protection activity was low in M. oleifera and S. caseolaris (SPF value <= 2). Conclusion: The identification of natural antioxidant and photoprotective ingredients from medicinal plants has demonstrated as a potential natural sunscreen product in protecting UV radiation against damaging UV rays, and therefore recommended to utilize them to replace synthetic chemicals in cosmetics development in the future.

}, keywords = {Antioxidant, Medicinal plants, Sun protection factor, total flavonoid, Total phenol}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2022.14.57}, author = {Noor Diyana Ibrahim and Lay Jing Seow and Mahendran Sekar and Nur Najihah Izzati Mat Rani and Pei Teng Lum} } @article {1225, title = {Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activities of Strobilanthes kunthianus against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {12}, year = {2020}, month = {August 2020}, pages = {1143-1151}, type = {Research Article}, chapter = {1143}, abstract = {

Background: Strobilanthes kunthianus Nees T Anders (Neela kurinji) is a shrub in the grasslands of Nilgiris, Western Ghats in India. It is well known for many biological properties including antioxidant. However, there is no in-vivo antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities has been carried out previously on S. kunthianus. Objectives: The present study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities of methanolic flower extract of S. kunthianus (MFESK) against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatotoxicity in experimental rats. Materials and Methods: The Wistar rats were divided into six groups comprising six animals to each. Group I was served as normal control and group II as CCl4 treated. Both these groups were received sodium CMC (0.3\%, 5 ml/kg). Groups III, IV and V animals were treated with MFESK at different dose levels (100, 150 and 200 mg/kg). Group VI was treated with standard silymarin (100 mg/kg). All these treatments were given orally for eight consecutive days. On the 8th day of treatment, except the normal group I, all the other group of animals from III to VI were received CCl4 in liquid paraffin (1:1, 1 ml/kg, i.p., single dose) after 1 h of the vehicle. On the 9th day, the animals were anesthetized and blood was collected from the abdominal artery, then the serum was separated and used for the biochemical estimations. Serum marker enzymes such as ASAT, ALAT, ALP, TGL, CR, TP, TC, TB and albumin were measured using Ecoline kits by using autoanalyzer. Further, blood serum and the supernatant solution of homogenized liver and kidney were used for the estimation of antioxidant parameters such as CAT, SOD and TBARS by spectrophotometrically. Results: The administration of CCl4 caused a significant increase (P\<0.001) in the levels of ASAT, ALAT, ALP, TGL, TC, TB and TBARS and decrease in the levels of CR, TP, Albumin, CAT and SOD in serum. A significant (P\<0.001 and P\<0.01) restoration of these values towards the normal level was observed in all the three tested doses of MFESK. Similar results were observed for CAT, SOD and TBARS in both liver and kidney tissues. These results designated the strong antioxidant and hepatoprotective nature of MFESK. The histopathological investigation of liver and kidney tissues also confirmed the observed activities. Conclusion: These findings afford incitement for the development of a novel hepatoprotective herbal drugs.

}, keywords = {Antioxidant, Carbon tetrachloride, Hepatoprotective, Hepatotoxicity, Liver disease, Strobilanthes kunthianus}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2020.12.161}, author = {Geetha Balasubramaniam and Mahendran Sekar and Maithili Varadarajan and Shrishailappa Badami} } @article {1224, title = {Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activities of Strobilanthes kunthianus against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {12}, year = {2020}, month = {August 2020}, pages = {1143-1151}, type = {Research Article}, chapter = {1143}, abstract = {

Background: Strobilanthes kunthianus Nees T Anders (Neela kurinji) is a shrub in the grasslands of Nilgiris, Western Ghats in India. It is well known for many biological properties including antioxidant. However, there is no in-vivo antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities has been carried out previously on S. kunthianus. Objectives: The present study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities of methanolic flower extract of S. kunthianus (MFESK) against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatotoxicity in experimental rats. Materials and Methods: The Wistar rats were divided into six groups comprising six animals to each. Group I was served as normal control and group II as CCl4 treated. Both these groups were received sodium CMC (0.3\%, 5 ml/kg). Groups III, IV and V animals were treated with MFESK at different dose levels (100, 150 and 200 mg/kg). Group VI was treated with standard silymarin (100 mg/kg). All these treatments were given orally for eight consecutive days. On the 8th day of treatment, except the normal group I, all the other group of animals from III to VI were received CCl4 in liquid paraffin (1:1, 1 ml/kg, i.p., single dose) after 1 h of the vehicle. On the 9th day, the animals were anesthetized and blood was collected from the abdominal artery, then the serum was separated and used for the biochemical estimations. Serum marker enzymes such as ASAT, ALAT, ALP, TGL, CR, TP, TC, TB and albumin were measured using Ecoline kits by using autoanalyzer. Further, blood serum and the supernatant solution of homogenized liver and kidney were used for the estimation of antioxidant parameters such as CAT, SOD and TBARS by spectrophotometrically. Results: The administration of CCl4 caused a significant increase (P\<0.001) in the levels of ASAT, ALAT, ALP, TGL, TC, TB and TBARS and decrease in the levels of CR, TP, Albumin, CAT and SOD in serum. A significant (P\<0.001 and P\<0.01) restoration of these values towards the normal level was observed in all the three tested doses of MFESK. Similar results were observed for CAT, SOD and TBARS in both liver and kidney tissues. These results designated the strong antioxidant and hepatoprotective nature of MFESK. The histopathological investigation of liver and kidney tissues also confirmed the observed activities. Conclusion: These findings afford incitement for the development of a novel hepatoprotective herbal drugs.

}, keywords = {Antioxidant, Carbon tetrachloride, Hepatoprotective, Hepatotoxicity, Liver disease, Strobilanthes kunthianus}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2020.12.161}, author = {Geetha Balasubramaniam and Mahendran Sekar and Maithili Varadarajan and Shrishailappa Badami} } @article {1310, title = {Isolation and Structural Characterization of Phytoconstituents from Strobilanthes kunthianus}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {12}, year = {2020}, month = {November 2020}, pages = {1605-1611}, type = {Research Article}, chapter = {1605}, abstract = {

Background: Strobilanthes kunthianus T Anders (Neela kurinji) is well known for its medicinal properties and reported to possess many biological activities. However, so far there is no phytoconstituents are isolated and reported in S. kunthianus. Objective: The present study aimed to isolate and characterize the chemical constituents present in various parts of S. kunthianus. Methods: The successive petroleum ether root and stem extracts, chloroform stem extract, macerated and crude methanol flower extracts were subjected to column chromatography for the isolation of constituents. All the isolated compounds were characterized based on their physical and spectral data analysis. Results: Ten compounds were isolated and being reported for the first time from S. kunthianus. Except lupeol (1 and 2), betulin (3), α-amyrin (5) and β-sitosterol (7), other five compounds including of 3,5-bis-(dimethylcarbamoyl)methyl)-4-(11- cyclohexylundecyl)-4-heptyl-N1,N1,N7,N7 tetramethylheptanediamide (4), 4-amino-tetrahydro- 2H-pyran-3,5-diol (6), 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methyl-4-((E)-3,6-dimethylundec-4-enyl)cyclohexyl propionate (8), flavone glycoside (9) and decahydro-1,1,4a,8-tetramethylphenanthren- 2(1H,3H,4bH)-one (10), isolated from S. kunthianus were novel. Conclusion: The novel compounds need to be further investigated for ascertain pharmacological activities which will be useful for further drug development.

}, keywords = {Column chromatography, Flavone glycoside, Neela kurinji, Phytoconstituents, Strobilanthes kunthianus}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2020.12.220}, author = {Geetha Balasubramaniam and Mahendran Sekar and Subban Ravi and Shrishailappa Badami} } @article {1291, title = {Lutein: A Comprehensive Review on its Chemical, Biological Activities and Therapeutic Potentials}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {12}, year = {2020}, month = {November 2020}, pages = {1769-1778}, type = {Review Article}, chapter = {1769}, abstract = {

Background: Lutein is a naturally occurring carotenoid found in high amounts in flowers, grains, fruits and green vegetables with green leaves include spinach, kale and carrots. The market for lutein encompasses pharmaceutical, dietary supplement, food, animal and fish feed industries. Objective: The present review aimed to provide an updated and comprehensive analysis of lutein, including its chemistry, biological properties and therapeutic potentials. Methods: Relevant literatures were collected from several scientific databases, include Google Scholar, Pubmed and ScienceDirect between 2000 to till date. Following a detailed inclusion and exclusion screening process, the information obtained was summarized. Results: Information on the sources, chemistry and biological properties including antioxidant, anti-arthrisits, antiinflammatory, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, anti-cataract, antidiabetic, anticancer and bone remodelling activities, as well as food industry processing for lutein were tabled. Lutein can be considered powerful antioxidants along with multifaceted molecular targets, such as NF-ҡB, PI3K/Akt, Nrf-2, HO-1 and SIRT-1 signaling pathways in various pathological conditions. Conclusion: The present review observe the chemical, pharmacological properties, in addition to the therapeutic potentials of lutein. It is hoped that the information can provide a good reference to aid in the development and utilization of lutein in phytopharmaceuticals and food industries.

}, keywords = {Antioxidant, Inflammatory cytokines, Lutein, Molecular targets, Pharmacology, Transcription factors}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2020.12.239}, author = {Nurul Iman Nurul Fuad and Mahendran Sekar and Siew Hua Gan and Pei Teng Lum and Jaishree Vaijanathappa and Subban Ravi} } @article {1197, title = {Molecules of Interest {\textendash} Karanjin {\textendash} A Review}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {12}, year = {2020}, month = {June 2020}, pages = {938-945}, type = {Review Article}, chapter = {938}, abstract = {

Background: At the present time, several plants are largely contributing to the medical field due to its valuable use. Scientific evidence generated with their special inherent compounds gave more confidence to the scientific community. Pongamia pinnata (Linn.) is an Indian native plant and well exploited in Ayurvedic medicinal system. Concurrently, a few pieces of scientific research have been done to prove the therapeutic activity of this medicinal plant. The medicinal properties of this plant are most likely due to its principal active compound, karanjin. As a molecule of interest, karanjin is an antioxidant and also exerts other biological benefits. Karanjin has also been recognized to be used in agricultural and environmental management other than medicinal purposes. Objectives: This review aimed to provide a brief information on the chemical and biological properties of karanjin along with its traditional uses. It is also discusses the scientific evidences available for its various biological properties. Materials and Methods: Various databases such as Google, Google Scholar Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed had been searched and the data was obtained. Results: The chemistry and reported biological properties of karanjin were highlighted. Karanjin revealed antidiabetic, anticancer, antioxidant, gastroprotective, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s activities, and thus has several possible applications in clinical research. Conclusion: Therefore, further research may help in exploiting its properties and emergent phytopharmaceuticals based on it.

}, keywords = {Chemistry, Flavonoid, Karanja, Karanjin, Pharmacology, Pongam oil tree, Pongamia pinnata}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2020.12.133}, author = {Aina Akmal Mohd Noor and Siti Nurul Najiha Othman and Pei Teng Lum and Shankar Mani and Mohd Farooq Shaikh and Mahendran Sekar} } @article {1170, title = {Pharmacognostical, Physicochemical and Phytochemical Evaluation of Strobilanthes kunthianus (Acanthaceae)}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {12}, year = {2020}, month = {June 2020}, pages = {731-741}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {731}, abstract = {

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate pharmacognostical, physicochemical and phytochemical evaluation of various parts of Strobilanthes kunthianus. Methods: Macroscopical, microscopical, physico-chemical and phytochemical evaluations of leaves, stem, root and flowers of S. kunthianus were investigated. The paraffin embedded specimens were sectioned with the help of Rotary Microtome. The thickness of the sections was 10-12 μm and dewaxing was done by customary procedure. The sections were stained with toluidine blue for microscopical analysis. The preliminary phytochemical study was carried out for various extracts of S. kunthianus using standard procedure. Results: In the pharmacognostical, physicochemical and phytochemical studies, in an attempt to standardize the leaves, stem and root of S. kunthianus have been shown that will be definitely useful to the future researchers for the identification of the plant. Conclusion: These studies offer referential evidence for accurate identification and standardization of S. kunthianus.

}, keywords = {Pharmacognostic standardization, Physico-chemical evaluation, Phytochemical analysis, Strobilanthes kunthianus}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2020.12.106}, author = {Geetha Balasubramaniam and Mahendran Sekar and Shrishailappa Badami} } @article {1211, title = {Protective Effect of Natural Products against Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiotoxicity: A Review}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {12}, year = {2020}, month = {August 2020}, pages = {1180-1189}, type = {Review Article}, chapter = {1180}, abstract = {

Background: Cancer is one of the diseases with high mortality rate recorded each year across the world. Its mainstay treatment is chemotherapy although they are largely toxic, causing severe adverse reactions including cardiotoxicity, nephrotoxicity and genotoxicity. Cardiotoxicity is unique to certain chemotherapeutic agents and occur via several mechanisms. It has been hypothesized that co-administration of natural products which may be cardioprotectant, together with chemotherapy can alleviate cardiotoxicity-induced by chemotherapy. Objectives: This review aimed to provide a brief information about the protective effect of natural products against chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity Methods: To complete this review, relevant literatures were searched from several scientific databases including Google, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science and Pubmed. Results: In this paper, we have reviewed ten natural products (curcumin, mangiferin, naringenin, quercetin, 6-gingerol, lycopene, resveratrol, apigenin, proanthocyanidins and indole-3-carbinol), which have major influences in attenuating chemotherapy-drug induced cardiotoxicity. Apart from the cardioprotective effects, they tend to confer some synergistic effects with chemotherapeutic agents and therefore have the potential to be used as an adjunct. Conclusion: Though a panel of natural products demonstrate protective effects against cardiotoxicity in cells and animal models, their therapeutic potentials for clinical needs further investigation.

}, keywords = {Anticancer drugs, Cardioprotective, Cardiotoxicity, Chemotherapy, Natural products}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2020.12.166}, author = {Siti Nurul Najiha Othman and Pei Teng Lum and Siew Hua Gan and Shankar Mani and Mahendran Sekar} } @article {1292, title = {Resveratrol: Latest Scientific Evidences of its Chemical, Biological Activities and Therapeutic Potentials}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {12}, year = {2020}, month = {November 2020}, pages = {1779-1791}, type = {Review Article}, chapter = {1779}, abstract = {

Background: Resveratrol is a non-flavonoid polyphenol possesses many biological properties with great potential to develop into various products. In order to cure a wide variety of diseases, resveratrol has attracted a great deal of attention for medicinal purposes. Objective: The present review aimed to provide a comprehensive literature summary of latest scientific evidences on the chemistry, biological properties and therapeutic potentials of resveratrol. Methods: To complete this review, relevant literatures were collected from several scientific databases, including Google Scholar, Pubmed and ScienceDirect, using keywords {\textquotedblleft}source{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}chemistry{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}bioavailability{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}pharmacokinetics{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}isolation{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}anticancer{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}analgesic{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}antiinflammatory{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}antidiabetic{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}nephroprotective activity{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}neuroprotective activity{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}antiobesity{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}cardioprotective effects{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}antioxidant{\textquotedblright}, {\textquotedblleft}anti-aging{\textquotedblright} with resveratrol. After a detailed screening process for inclusion and exclusion, the information obtained was summarised. Results: The information on the source, chemistry, bioavailability, biological and therapeutic potentials of resveratrol were tabled. In various pathological conditions, resveratrol can be considered as powerful antioxidants along with multidimensional molecular targets such as NF-ҡB, MAPK, AMPK, SIRT-1, Nrf-2, m-TOR, PI3K/Akt and PPAR-γ signaling pathways. Conclusion: Based on the existing knowledge, we may believe that resveratrol has a significant therapeutic potential for the treatment of various diseases. To accelerate the development and utilization of resveratrol as promising products, in-depth studies should be focused on exploiting its properties and developing phytopharmaceuticals.

}, keywords = {Bioavailability, Inflammatory cytokines, Molecular targets, Pharmacology, Resveratrol, Toxicity}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2020.12.240}, author = {Nur Mursyida Saad and Mahendran Sekar and Siew Hua Gan and Pei Teng Lum and Jaishree Vaijanathappa and Subban Ravi} }