Emilia Sonchifolia -A Critical and Comprehensive Review of its Diverse Medicinal Potential and Future as Therapeutic

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INTRODUCTION
Plants are an affluent resource of natural products.They outline significant elements of ingredients in virtually all systems of therapeutics.Pharmaceutical industries encourage the search for new phytochemicals and massive research in this area, especially on plants collected from rainforests and other places for their impending medicinal values.The modern allopathic system of medicine is also based on plants and herbs.Medicinal plants are germane in both developing and developed nations of the world as the basis of drugs or herbal extracts for several chemotherapeutic purposes, which persists in playing a dominant role in the conservation of human health ever since antiquities. 1,2Over 50% of all advanced clinical drugs are of natural product origin, and natural products play a crucial role in drug development programs of the pharmaceutical industry.In the furtherance of this stratagem of new drug discovery, we have deliberately looked after several parts of the plant for their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor activity, and antioxidant properties against other disease-causing conditions.Gayathri (2012) 3 presented that current clinical drugs of natural products play a significant role in pharmaceutical industries; chemicals naturally in plants are converted traditionally and medicinally into substances that control human fertility.Some secondary compounds fashioned by plants could be very effective against parasites and pathogens, such as pawpaw, mango, citrus, and Emilia sonchifolia. 4ilia sonchifolia is an herbaceous plant that gets taller to about 10 -40cm in height with simple lyrate-pinnate leaves with a wide terminal lobe and purplish flowers with corymbose heads. 5The fruits are oblong and have many seeds in them.Advanced ripe fruits are formed between August to October; the flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated; the plant is pantropic and perhaps instigated from South Asia. 6Emilia sonchifolia (Lin.) is a shaggy annual herb disseminated primarily in Asian countries. 7The plant can be found in wastelands and open fields. 5It has been used as an imperative medicinal plant in tropical and subtropical countries comprising the South-South region of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.Globally, a ballpark of 3.3 billion people was at risk of malaria in 2011, with populations living in sub-Saharan Africa having the highest menace of obtaining malaria. 8It has also been annotated to possess antifever activities, 9,10 antimicrobial activity, 11 analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities; [12][13][14] anticancer activities; [15][16][17] antioxidant activities; [18][19][20][21] antidiabetic; 22 anti-cataract activities [23][24][25][26] anticonvulsant activity 27 and antinociceptive effect. 28Compounds akin to similar, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, palmitic acid, and honey acid were attained from the whole plant of E. Sonchifolia. 29Modest pyrrolizidine alkaloids, senkirkine, and drones were also reported from the aerial parts of this plant. 5is plant is one of Kerala's ten sacred flowers, identified as 'Dasapushpam,' mainly employed in Ayurveda.Injuries to the skin or other body tissues are known as wounds; punctured skin, cuts, scratches, and scrapes are among them.In India, tribals and folklore traditions use a variety of herbs and plant extracts to cure wounds. 8To treat wounds, plants/active constituents obtained from plants must be discovered and formulated, and a number of plant medications are now being researched in this regard. 30Plants offer many potentials in wound healing, which is the body's natural response to tissue damage (Smitharani et al., 2017).Healing results from a complicated chain of cellular activities that leads to the restoration of health. 5The herb can cure fevers and tonsillitis, and the juice; these to treat infections in the eyes, Cough, bronchial trouble, piles, worm infections, diarrhea, edema, and diabetics people with diabetes from the plant.

ABSTRACT
Emilia sonchifolia (L.) DC, it belongs to the family Asteraceae or Compositae, is conventionally used in ethnomedicine, and acquires various medicinal properties.This plant has been regarded as one of the widespread traditional vegetable salads in Malaysia, Bangladesh, and India.In addendum to its avail as a vegetable, the plant has been documented with several medicinal benefits in the extravagance of night blindness, epilepsy, malaria, asthma, burns, breast abscesses, and inflammatory diseases.On scrutinization of their pharmacological properties, it has been revealed that they possess numerous notable biological properties such as antimicrobial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antianxiety, and anticataract, as well as anticonvulsant activities.Concrete evidence suggests the presence of potential phytochemicals in this plant with a wide range of unknown applications.reported that the phytochemical compounds present in E. sonchifolia displayed alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, terpenes, and cardiac glycosides at varying degrees of lowly, moderately, and highly present (Table 1).

Universal names of
Hardly a few components have been reported from this plant.The aerial parts were provided with two pyrrolizidine alkaloids, recognized as senkirkine and doronine. 26Senkirkine and doronine, pyrrolizidine alkaloids are und in the aerial portion, and vitamins like riboflavin and niacin are also present. 32In humans, phenobarbitone is a wellknown anticonvulsant medication used to treat all types of epilepsy (particularly status epilepsy at 10-20 mg/kg), except absence seizures. 23

Medical benefits of the Emilia sonchifolia in ethnomedicine
Ethnomedical reports from Asian countries emphasize the traditional and folklore medical aspects of Emilia sonchifolia.In Malaysia, the plant was generally acknowledged as 'Setumbakmerah' and considered one of the prevalent ingredients of traditional vegetable salads 'Ulam.'The flowers are fried with batter, and the leaves are eaten raw and are reported to possess antioxidant properties. 36The leaves are suitable for eating and utilized as a traditional salad in Bangladesh. 37The plant's fresh stem and leaves are eaten as a salad or cooked vegetable in India.It is considered one of the "Ten Sacred Flowers" of Kerala state in India, which the traditional healers primarily use in healing cancer and other malignant conditions. 38The Plant is acknowledged in ethnomedicine to occupy medicinal benefits in treating diarrhea, night blindness and sore throat, 39 rashes, measles, inflammatory diseases, and eye and ear ailments, 34 gastrointestinal cancers, malaria and also used for the treatment of dysentery.Decoction of E. sonchifolia is employed as a bowel compliant and febrifuge in infantile tympanites.A distinctive section of the plant E. sonchifolia was utilized in the therapeutics of diseases such as inflammation, asthma, intermittent fever, ophthalmia, breast cancer, wounds, and cuts; some of the diseases like sore throat, eye inflammation, and night blindness can be cured by leaf extract of the E. sonchifolia plant. 40The liquid extract of the aerial part of the plant has been known for its antinociceptive property.Anti-anxiety, hepatoprotective, anti-cataract, and anti-convulsant properties have also been documented for the plant.Tribes use the juice of a whole crushing plant to make medicine. 41The existence of analgesic principles obtained by the chemical elements of the extracts functioning with the prostaglandin pathways could explain the considerable pain reduction of plant extracts.

Anti-inflammatory activity
Inflammation is a complex protective response of the body, to various external stimuli, such as allergens and injury to any part of the body.A wide range of ailments such as allergies, cardiovascular issues, gastrointestinal disturbances, metabolic syndrome, autoimmune diseases, and cancers are primarily brought on by uncontrolled inflammatory responses.The conditions put a significant cost risk on both people and society. 42eroids, nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs, and immunosuppressants are just examples of the many pharmaceuticals available for regulating and reducing inflammatory episodes; nevertheless, they are all known to have negative consequences.While in reality, we strive to use the minimum amount of medication necessary to get better efficacy and minimum side effects. 43e action of Cyclooxygenase inhibition is necessary for the creation of prostaglandins, which mediate the inflammatory response (COX).In order to find new anti-inflammatory drugs, suppression of COX isoforms (COX-1 and COX2) is therefore being researched.Doronine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid found in Emilia sonchifolia, binds to COX-2 in molecular docking studies, suggesting that it may be an alternative to currently available anti-inflammatory medications. 44

Antimicrobial activity
In several previous investigations, the antimicrobial activities of E. sonchifolia root extracts against the test microorganisms were qualitatively assessed by a zone of inhibition and minimum inhibitory concentration.The results were compared with the standard drugs, oxacillin and tetracycline, for bacteria and fungi, respectively (Table 2).
Emila sonchifolia root extract had significant activity against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Streptococcus faecalis, and Salmonella typhi, as well as the fungal species Mucor racemosus and Aspergillus niger root extract had moderate activity against Salmonella typhi, Mucor racemosus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. 40The specificity of bacterial and fungal strains may explain the varying degrees of inhibitory activity of methanolic extract of the root of the investigated species.Phytochemicals with adequate antibacterial effectiveness are expected to treat microbial illnesses. 32Various species in the Asteraceae family have been observed to have a superior inhibitory impact against bacteria and fungi, even at low concentrations. 40ey have been utilized from the beginning of time and are mentioned in Ayurvedic texts such as Vaidya Manorama and Arogya kalpadruma.Herbal preparations of whole plants or their various sections, as well as polyherbal combinations, can renew the body and cure various ailments, and are used in many Ayurvedic formulations.
These results were similar to that of Nwadinigwe and Alfreda (2011), 35 who also recorded that 100mg/mL of stem extract of Bryophyllum pinnatum had significantly inhibited the growth of these bacteria.Nevertheless, the inhibitory activity of the methanol extract of the root part of E. sonchifolia was also significantly higher against the other bacteria and fungi tested.7][48][49] Antimicrobial properties of cytotoxic and aqueous extract, anti-Dalton′s lymphoma ascites (DLA), and anti-Ehrlich ascitic carcinoma (EAC)) properties of alcohol-based extracts are noted.

Antioxidant activity
The antioxidant defense mechanism covers the unavoidable generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a biological system and the oxidative damage.At the same time production of ROS can be imperative in various cellular processes (e.g., defense against infection, cellular signaling); the poise of ROS is more often connected with damage to cellular components such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. 50Humans have advanced highly complex antioxidant systems (enzymatic and nonenzymatic), which work synergistically, and an amalgamation with each other to safeguard the cells and organ systems of the body against free radical damage.The antioxidants can be endogenous or acquired exogenously, as a part of a diet, or as dietary supplements.Some dietary compounds that do not counterbalance free radicals but augment endogenous activity may also be classified as antioxidants.The most effective enzymatic antioxidants involve SOD, CAT, and GPx.Nonenzymatic antioxidants include vitamins E and C, thiol antioxidants (glutathione, thioredoxin, and lipoic acid), melatonin, carotenoids, natural flavonoids, and other compounds.
Plants have enlarged various systems to protect themselves against oxidative stress.Antioxidative enzymes play a significant role in this kind of protection.The most commonly studied is SOD, which indulges in the first line of defense. 51The majorly important enzymes protecting plants from oxidative stress belong to a family of diverse SODs. 52SOD is positioned in several cell compartments and catalyzes the disproportionation of two O 2 _ radicals to H 2 O 2 and O 2 . 53CAT is a principal H 2 O 2 scavenging enzyme and is mainly associated with removing hydrogen peroxide in peroxisomes, thus defending the cells against oxidative stress. 54AO is principally located in chloroplast and cytosol, and it is the key enzyme of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle that utilizes ascorbate as a reducing substrate for H 2 O 2 detoxification.AO uses two molecules of ascorbate to reduce H 2 O 2 to H 2 O, with the coexistent generation of two molecules of dehydroascorbate.In the aqueous extract of E. sonchifolia, studies reported that it works similarly to phenobarbitone, and the presence of flavonoid metabolites could explain the superiority of E. sonchifolia extracts in scavenging free radicals. 34Antioxidant activity was higher in glycosides with more hydroxyl groups than in kaempferol. 30As a result, the greater rutin and quercetin concentration in E. sonchifolia plants may have contributed to their more excellent antioxidant activity, which counterbalanced unfavorable influences and protected them from oxidative damage. 25

Erythropoietic and hepatoprotective activity
The reports from the hematological studies by Edagha et al. (2014)  55 signify that experimental animals treated with E. sonchifolia (650 mg/ kg.B.wt.) revealed reduced hemolytic activity compared with normal control animals.They have also reported that this activity might be due to saponins in the plant extract.Saponins enhance the hemolysis of RBC by augmenting the water transport by the water channel aquaporin rather than acting on the lipid phase. 56It proceeds to owe to structural changes in the membrane of RBC by instigating a decrease in the level of cholesterol which therefore influences the susceptibility of the RBC membrane. 57vertheless, flavonoid has been recognized in vitro studies to have antidiarrheal and antioxidant activity, 58 anti-allergic, antiinflammatory, 59 antimicrobial (antibacterial), 60 anti-cancer, 61 antiviral and antifungal. 60Consequently, there emerges a dynamic interplay of both agonistic and synergistic effects from the extract.Alkaloid is also affluently present in the extract, and most plants contain various alkaloids.Their mixture is extracted first, and then particular alkaloids are separated. 51Various alkaloids are still utilized in medicine, regularly in the form of salts, containing the following: Quinine as antipyretics, antimalarial; Morphine as an analgesic; Reserpine as antihypertensive; Codeine as cough medicine, analgesic; Ergot alkaloids as a sympathomimetic, vasodilator, antihypertensive; Caffeine as Stimulant, diuretic, Adenosine receptor antagonist recent to indicate.Although, most of the recognized functions of alkaloids are related to protection. 62cording to the research, E. sonchifolia can improve immunological parameters, induce stem cell proliferation and differentiation, and increase antibody responses in a well-controlled manner, all of which could be mediated by numerous cytokine molecules. 63Studies have declared that the plant's immunomodulatory activity was due to a combination of humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. 64urthermore, the extract increases CTL activity in tumor-bearing animals, implying increased participation of the cell-mediated immune system in tumor defense. 64As a result, the plant has the potential to operate as a nontoxic immunomodulator; in comparison to the untreated group of rats, E. sonchifolia as an immunomodulator does not seem to boost immunity but instead delivers a stimulated and optimized immunological response.Clinical research provides significant scientific support for its traditional and conventional therapeutic usefulness in treating various diseases by controlling the body's defense mechanism against pathological symptoms.Furthermore, the plant's immunopharmacological capabilities could be owing to the synergistic action of multiple active components or to the unique activity of certain chemicals that are abundant in the plant. 65ntiviral, antitumor activity, and gastrointestinal disorders Yadava and Raj (2012) 35 described the antiviral activity of isolated flavones glycoside 3,7,3'4'-tetrahydroflavone-3-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-3)-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-4)-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside against Japenese Encephalitis virus in vitro (Vero cells).The compound revealed 50% antiviral activity at 62.5µg/ml.Cibin et al. (2006)  12 informed the antioxidant and antitumor properties of the flavonoid fraction secluded from the whole plant of E. sonchifolia.The capability of the flavonoid fraction to restrain Cu 2+ provoked lipoprotein oxidation in human serum, and superoxide production was measured to evaluate the antioxidant property compared to Quercetin.The results exposed the potent antioxidant and anticancer effects of the flavonoids that exist in the plant.A study examined apoptosis induction and molecular mechanisms in human colorectal cancer cells treated with the methanol extract in vitro.The extract persuaded cell growth inhibition in a concentration and time-dependent manner, insinuating that both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways may be engrossed in extract-provoked apoptotic death in the cancer cells.
Emilia sonchifolia has been initiated to be very effective in treating gastrointestinal disorders, especially diarrhea and dysentery. 66In Africa, Emilia sonchifolia leaves have been used for the preparation of herbal tea and are widely used as a folklore medicine for treating dysentery.Essien et al. (2009)  67 reported that the roots of this plant exhibit an anti-diarrhoeal effect, and also the flower buds could alleviate the pain caused due to oral tooth decay.A wide range of flavonoids, terpenes, and alkaloids contribute to these effects, and further investigations are needed to strongly substantiate the role of these compounds on the mode of action.

CONCLUSION
The phytochemical assessment of Emilia sonchifolia displayed a broad range of chemical ingredients that are conscientious for their promising multidimensional pharmacological activities, such as antimicrobial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, antianxiety, and other several activities.Nevertheless, the primary concern was the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids because the plant has been considered edible and principally used as a central component in salads in various Asian countries and other countries.Molecular docking studies of pyrrolizidine alkaloids like senkirkine and doronine in Emilia sonchifolia demonstrate promising inhibitory effects on cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) is a critical enzyme in inflammation. 44Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are considered hepatotoxic in the increased dose and could result in hepatic damage, and toxicity signs result from impaired liver function.Hence further investigations are necessary to study the plant's toxicity in detail before its usage in ethnomedicine and rationalize its use as a health food.This review gives a clear picture of its traditional usage and other plant activities before its implementation in ethnomedicine.

Figure 2 :
Figure 2: Major phytochemical compounds present in the seeds of Emilia sonchifolia DC.