The importance of method validation in herbal drug research

The Dawn till Dusk of phytopharmaceuticals

Herbal products and their formulations have a large market at the global level. A significant portion of the worldwide population relies upon herbal treatment. Their apparent non-toxic and cost-effective nature appeals to the population and drives researchers to pursue them for drug development. However, due to the lack of scientific evidence, their conventional preparation, poor regulation and control make these an unseen threat to the people. There has been a long-standing argument that allopathic medicines are better than herbal medicines due to their specificity and precision. To compete with modern medicines, a concept of science-based phytopharmaceutical drugs was introduced through a draft amendment notified to the Drugs and Cosmetics 1940 and Rules 1945. The amendment has introduced a definition for botanicals and their scientific evaluation for quality safety and efficacy by the Central Drugs Standard and Control Organization (CDSCO) office as a marketing authorization requirement. The present article discusses the advantages and challenges faced in the development of phytopharmaceuticals, and how they differ from dietary supplements and herbal drugs. It also gives consolidated information on Phytopharmaceuticals and their regulatory and Pharmacopoeial status with an exemplary PPI monograph - Aegle marmelos. The plant selection was done based on extensive research using the PRISMA approach. A detailed view of the opportunities and challenges provided by phytopharmaceuticals is explained in the present review.

How can meta-research be used to evaluate and improve the quality of research in the field of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine?

The field of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCIM) has garnered increasing attention due to its holistic approach to health and well-being. While the quantity of published research about TCIM has increased exponentially, critics have argued that the field faces challenges related to methodological rigour, reproducibility, and overall quality. This article proposes meta-research as one approach to evaluating and improving the quality of TCIM research. Meta-research, also known as research about research, can be defined as "the study of research itself: its methods, reporting, reproducibility, evaluation, and incentives". By systematically evaluating methodological rigour, identifying biases, and promoting transparency, meta-research can enhance the reliability and credibility of TCIM research. Specific topics of interest that are discussed in this article include the following: 1) study design and research methodology, 2) reporting of research, 3) research ethics, integrity, and misconduct, 4) replicability and reproducibility, 5) peer review and journal editorial practices, 6) research funding: grants and awards, and 7) hiring, promotion, and tenure. For each topic, we provide case examples to illustrate meta-research applications in TCIM. We argue that meta-research initiatives can contribute to maintaining public trust, safeguarding research integrity, and advancing evidence based TCIM practice, while challenges include navigating methodological complexities, biases, and disparities in funding and academic recognition. Future directions involve tailored research methodologies, interdisciplinary collaboration, policy implications, and capacity building in meta-research.

Seriphidium herba-alba (Asso): A comprehensive study of essential oils, extracts, and their antimicrobial properties

Seriphidium herba-alba (Asso), a plant celebrated for its therapeutic qualities, is widely used in traditional medicinal practices throughout the Middle East and North Africa. In a detailed study of Seriphidium herba-alba (Asso), essential oils and extracts were analyzed for their chemical composition and antimicrobial properties. The essential oil, characterized using mass spectrometry and retention index methods, revealed a complex blend of 52 compounds, with santolina alcohol, α-thujone, β-thujone, and chrysanthenone as major constituents. Extraction yields varied significantly, depending on the plant part and method used; notably, methanol soaking of aerial parts yielded the most extract at 17.75%. The antimicrobial analysis showed that the extracts had selective antibacterial activity, particularly against Staphylococcus aureus, and broad-spectrum antifungal activity against organisms such as Candida albicans and Aspergillus spp. The methanol-soaked extract demonstrated the strongest antimicrobial properties, indicating its potential as a natural antimicrobial source. This study not only underscores the therapeutic potential of Seriphidium herba-alba (Asso) in pharmaceutical applications but also sets a foundation for future research focused on isolating specific bioactive compounds and in vivo testing.

The Extraction, Determination, and Bioactivity of Curcumenol: A Comprehensive Review

Curcuma wenyujin is a member of the Curcuma zedoaria (zedoary, Zingiberaceae) family, which has a long history in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) due to its abundant biologically active constituents. Curcumenol, a component of Curcuma wenyujin, has several biological activities. At present, despite different pharmacological activities being reported, the clinical usage of curcumenol remains under investigation. To further determine the characteristics of curcumenol, the extraction, determination, and bioactivity of the compound are summarized in this review. Existing research has reported that curcumenol exerts different pharmacological effects in regard to a variety of diseases, including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-bactericidal, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancer activity, and also ameliorates osteoporosis. This review of curcumenol provides a theoretical basis for further research and clinical applications.

Regulation and standardization of herbal drugs: Current status, limitation, challenge's and future prospective

Herbal drugs (HD) or traditional drugs have been used worldwide for centuries, especially in the developing countries. Global market of HD reaches billion of USD annually and increases every year. For ensuring the safety and efficacy of HD, the Drug Agency/Authority issues regulations for the registration & application of new HD, their manufacturing processes, controlling and monitoring in the market. The efficacy and safety of HD depend on their whole chemical contents. Quality assessment of HD should be performed using standardization methods according to the current Pharmacopoeias or Materia Medica. Unfortunately, the official methods of the compendia cannot be applied for evaluation of mixed herbs and their preparations.; HD's producers should develop, validate, and standardize the method for the quality assessment of their own specific products. Therefore, assuring the safety and efficacy of HD remains a challenging task due to the complex nature of HD, that typically consist of many constituents of herbs/extracts whose quality may vary among different sources of materials. This present review will describe, compare, and discuss the regulations and standardization methods of HD from US, EU countries, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia. The official standardization methods of HD, their current criteria, limitations, challenge and future prospective will be described and discussed. Official methods for quality assessment of HD should be state of the art, fast, low-cost, accurate and precise, and could be used for evaluation of all kinds of HD.

HPLC method for quantifying verbascoside in Stizophyllum perforatum and assessment of verbascoside acute toxicity and antileishmanial activity

We report the chemical composition of the crude leaf extracts obtained from Stizophyllum perforatum (Cham.) Miers (Bignoniaceae), a simple high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method based on mangiferin as an internal standard to quantify verbascoside, and the verbascoside acute oral toxicity and antileishmanial activity. HPLC-high-resolution mass spectrometry-DAD (HPLC-HRMS-DAD) analyses of the crude ethanol S. perforatum leaf extracts (CE-1 and CE-2) revealed that verbascoside was the major constituent in both extracts. CE-1 was purified, and verbascoside and casticin, among other compounds, were isolated. The developed HPLC-DAD method was validated and met the required standards. Investigation of the CE-2 acute toxicity indicated a lethal dose (LD50) greater than 2,000 mg/kg of body weight. Both CE-1 and CE-2 exhibited antileishmanial activity. The isolated compounds, verbascoside and casticin, also displayed antileishmanial activity with effective concentrations (IC50) of 6.23 and 24.20 µM against promastigote forms and 3.71 and 18.97 µM against amastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis, respectively, but they were not cytotoxic to J774A.1 macrophages. Scanning electron microscopy of the L. amazonensis promastigotes showed that the parasites became more rounded and that their plasma membrane was altered in the presence of verbascoside. Additionally, transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that vacuoles emerged, lipids accumulated, kinetoplast size increased, and interstitial extravasation occurred in L. amazonensis promastigotes exposed to verbascoside. These findings suggest that S. perforatum is a promising candidate for further in vivo investigations against L. amazonensis.

Phytochemical profile analysis by LC-ESI-MSn and LC-HR-ESI-MS and validated HPLC method for quantification of rutin in herbal drug and products from leaves of Croton blanchetianus

Phytochemical analysis of Croton blanchetianus leaves was performed by. After that, a high performance liquid chromatography method was developed and validated for the determination of rutin in herbal drug and products of C. blanchetianus. The separation was achieved on a C18 column, and the mobile phase was composed of ultrapure water and methanol (acidified with trifluoroacetic acid) with a gradient of 0.8 ml/min. The method was validated following international guidelines. The chemical analysis revealed the presence of flavonoids. Among them rutin was used as the standard for validation. In the HPLC the presence of rutin was observed at 24.7 min. The method was robust, with no significant variations, and linear in the range evaluated with R2  > 0.99. Regarding the matrix effect, it was possible to prove the absence of interference of the constituents in the herbal drug. The precision was determined with a relative standard deviation of <1.34%. The recovery results were achieved between 89.29 and 101.21%. Furthermore, with partial validation, the method was proved to be suitable for the liquid extract, dry extract and effervescent granules. Therefore, this study demonstrated that the method is effective for the quality control analysis of C. blanchetianus leaves and products.

Application of Chromatographic and Spectroscopic-Based Methods for Analysis of Omega-3 (ω-3 FAs) and Omega-6 (ω-6 FAs) Fatty Acids in Marine Natural Products

Omega-3 fatty acids v(ω-3 FAs) such as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and omega-6 fatty acids (ω-6 FAs) such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid are important fatty acids responsible for positive effects on human health. The main sources of ω-3 FAs and ω-6 FAs are marine-based products, especially fish oils. Some food, supplements, and pharmaceutical products would include fish oils as a source of ω-3 FAs and ω-6 FAs; therefore, the quality assurance of these products is highly required. Some analytical methods mainly based on spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques have been reported. Molecular spectroscopy such as Infrared and Raman parallel to chemometrics has been successfully applied for quantitative analysis of individual and total ω-3 FAs and ω-6 FAs. This spectroscopic technique is typically applied as the alternative method to official methods applying chromatographic methods. Due to the capability to provide the separation of ω-3 FAs and ω-6 FAs from other components in the products, gas and liquid chromatography along with sophisticated detectors such as mass spectrometers are ideal analytical methods offering sensitive and specific results that are suitable for routine quality control.

Sinapis Semen: A review on phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicity, analytical methods and pharmacokinetics

Sinapis Semen (SS), the dried mature seed of Sinapis alba L. and Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. et Coss., is one of the traditional Chinese medicinal materials with a wide range of pharmacological effects being used for asthma, cough and many other ailments. SS is also widely used in food agriculture, medicine and other industries in North America and South Asia. More recently, the research on SS has gradually intensified and increased. However, there is no systematic review of SS. In this review, through literature exploration and analysis, the research advance on phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicity, analytical methods and pharmacokinetics of SS was aggregated initially. Total 144 compounds have been isolated and identified from SS. Among them, glucosinolates and their hydrolysates and volatile oils are the main active ingredients and important chemical classification markers. SS has a wide range of pharmacological effects, especially in cough suppressing, asthma calming, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, cardiovascular protective, inhibiting androgenic effects, anti-tumor, and skin permeation promoting effects. Sinapine and sinapic acid are the main active ingredients of SS for its medicinal effects. However, SS has a strong skin irritation, presumably related to the time of application, the method of processing, and original medicinal plants. This review will provide useful data for the follow-up research and safe and reasonable clinical application of SS.

Advances in Fingerprint Analysis for Standardization and Quality Control of Herbal Medicines

Herbal drugs or herbal medicines (HMs) have a long-standing history as natural remedies for preventing and curing diseases. HMs have garnered greater interest during the past decades due to their broad, synergistic actions on the physiological systems and relatively lower incidence of adverse events, compared to synthetic drugs. However, assuring reproducible quality, efficacy, and safety from herbal drugs remains a challenging task. HMs typically consist of many constituents whose presence and quantity may vary among different sources of materials. Fingerprint analysis has emerged as a very useful technique to assess the quality of herbal drug materials and formulations for establishing standardized herbal products. Rather than using a single or two marker(s), fingerprinting techniques take great consideration of the complexity of herbal drugs by evaluating the whole chemical profile and extracting a common pattern to be set as a criterion for assessing the individual material or formulation. In this review, we described and assessed various fingerprinting techniques reported to date, which are applicable to the standardization and quality control of HMs. We also evaluated the application of multivariate data analysis or chemometrics in assisting the analysis of the complex datasets from the determination of HMs. To ensure that these methods yield reliable results, we reviewed the validation status of the methods and provided perspectives on those. Finally, we concluded by highlighting major accomplishments and presenting a gap analysis between the existing techniques and what is needed to continue moving forward.