Plumbagin, a Natural Compound with Several Biological Effects and Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Phytochemicals from various medicinal plants are well known for their antioxidant properties and anti-cancer effects. Many of these bioactive compounds or natural products have demonstrated effects against inflammation, while some showed a role that is only approximately described as anti-inflammatory. In particular, naphthoquinones are naturally-occurring compounds with different pharmacological activities and allow easy scaffold modification for drug design approaches. Among this class of compounds, Plumbagin, a plant-derived product, has shown interesting counteracting effects in many inflammation models. However, scientific knowledge about the beneficial effect of Plumbagin should be comprehensively reported before candidating this natural molecule into a future drug against specific human diseases. In this review, the most relevant mechanisms in which Plumbagin plays a role in the process of inflammation were summarized. Other relevant bioactive effects were reviewed to provide a complete and compact scenario of Plumbagin's potential therapeutic significance.

Structural Insights and Pharmaceutical Relevance of Plumbagin in Parasitic Disorders: A Comprehensive Review

Recently, natural products have been became the center of attraction for the scientific society and exploration of their biologically abilities is proceeding continuously. In search for novel antiparasitic agents with an objective of protecting humans from parasitic infections, the present work was focused on naphthoquinones possessing antiparasitic activity. Among naphthoquinones, plumbagin is one of the secondary metabolites exhibiting diverse biological properties such as antibacterial, antimalarial, antiinflammatory, insecticidal and antiparasitic. Plumbagin is reported to have antischistosomiasis, anti-haemonchosis, anti-fascioliasis, antiotoacariasis, anti-leishmaniasis, antimalaria, antiallergic and anthelmintic activities. Besides, various methods of extraction of plumbagin from different methods, their effectiveness against different parasites, and the structure-activity relationship reported by different researchers. This work highlight on recent advancements in the phytochemistry of plumbagin, studies associated with various biological activities. The structure-activity relationship studies have also been summarized. To conclude, present review could be beneficial for the scientific community to get better insight into medicinal research of plumbagin and may provide a new horizon for the rational design of plumbagin based compounds.

Schistosomiasis prevention option: toxicological evaluation of Vernonia amygdalina on the tissues of Bulinus truncatus at different pH conditions

Research into, and the use of plant products in the control of vectors of pathogens is being revived and seriously considered as an alternative or complete replacement for the classical synthetic agents. The study was designed to investigate toxicological assessment of the aqueous leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina on mortality and tissue level damages of the freshwater snail Bulinus truncatus at different pH levels. The effects of the extract on total protein concentration and activities of acetylcholinesterase, acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase in the tissues of the snail were assayed using standard methods. Compared to the control (snail group not treated with the extract of V. amygdalina), there were significant (p < 0.05) reductions in the total protein concentrations and acetylcholinesterase activity in the snails' tissues of the treated groups (0.20 mg/L, 0.40 mg/L and 1.00 mg/L) at all the pH conditions (3.5, 7.0 and 10.5). The reverse of this trend followed in the case of acid and alkaline phosphatases’ activities. The study provides a substantial possibility of exploiting local indigenous plant resources such as V. amygdalina for control of freshwater snails and monitor water pollution. The study also raised a possibility of the locals living around freshwater bodies prone to trematode borne diseases to reflexively control freshwater snail population by just squeeze-washing their V. amygdalina around the river banks.

Up and down-regulation of mRNA in the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of Plumbagin in HepG2/C3A

Studies that evaluated the mechanisms of action of Plumbagin (PLB) and its toxicity may contribute to future therapeutic applications of this compound. We investigate biomarker important in the mechanisms of action correlate the expression of mRNA with the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of PLB on HepG2/C3A. In the analysis of cytotoxicity, PLB decreased cell viability and membrane integrity at concentrations ≥ 15μM. Xenobiotic-metabolizing system showed strong mRNA induction of CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP3A4, suggesting extensive metabolization. PLB induced apoptosis and an increase in the mRNA expression of genes BBC3, CASP3, and CASP8. At a concentration of 15μM, there was a reduction in the expression of PARP1 mRNA and an increase in the expression of BECN1 mRNA, suggesting that PLB may also induce cell death by autophagy. PLB induced an arrest at the G2/M phase due to DNA damage, as observed in the comet assay. This damage is associated with the increased mRNA expression of genes p21, GADD45A, and H2AFX and with changes in the expression of proteins H2AX, p21, p53, Chk1, and Chk2. These results allow a better understanding of the cellular action of PLB and of its toxicity, thereby contributing to the development of PLB-based drugs, with markers of mRNA expression possibly playing a role as indicators for monitoring toxicity in human cells.

Inhibition of immediate allergic reactions by ethanol extract from Plumbago zeylanica stems

The antiallergic properties of the 70% ethanol extract from Plumbago zeylanica stems (EPZ) were investigated in the present study. The extract (500, 1000 mg/kg, p.o.) dose-dependently inhibited systemic anaphylactic shock induced by compound 48/80 in mice, reduced homologous passive cutaneous anaphylaxis and skin reactions induced by histamine or serotonin in rats, significant differences were observed at the dose of 1000 mg/kg. In vitro, EPZ (5, 20, 50 microg/ml) concentration-dependently reduced histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells caused by compound 48/80 and antigen. EPZ (50 microg/ml) markedly increased intracellular cAMP content of rat mast cells. These findings demonstrate that EPZ inhibits mast cell-dependent immediate allergic reactions, which is probably mediated by reducing the release of mediators such as histamine from mast cells via elevating intracellular cAMP level and weakening the inflammatory action of mediators.

Hepatotoxicity of the Methanol Extract of Carica papaya. (Paw-Paw) Seeds in Wistar Rats

Activity of Carica papaya. Linn. (commonly known as paw-paw.) seed extract in liver physiology of albino (Wistar) rats was studied. The MeOH extract of C. papaya. seeds were Soxhlet extracted. Tolerated doses of C. papaya. were estimated in acute toxicity studies and administered orally, single or repeated doses, for 30 days to adult male rats weighing between 190 and 200 g, which were divided into four groups of five rats per group. Group 1 received 10 mg/kg; group 2 received 50 mg/kg; group 3 received 200 mg/kg; group 4 received normal saline (1 ml/rat) as control. Twenty-four hours after treatments, the animals of all groups were sacrificed and blood samples collected by heart puncture into centrifugal tubes. The blood samples were allowed to coagulate before centrifuged at 400 rpm at 4°C for 15 min to separate the serum for enzyme assays. A portion of liver was cut off and fixed in 10% normal saline. The result showed that C. papaya. seed extract treatments caused elevation of rat serum levels of acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and aspartate amino transferase (AST). Also revealed was mild to severe metaplasia of hepatocytes in a dose-related manner as well as proliferation of Kupfer cells and hepatic cells cirrhosis. These biochemical and pathological changes indicated liver cell damage and malfunction. These results, therefore, suggest that seeds of C. papaya. should be used in herbal medicine with care to avoid toxicity.

Stimulation of protein biosynthesis in rat hepatocytes by extracts of Momordica charantia

The in vivo effect of the administration of extracts of Momordica charantia on certain biochemical parameters of Sprague-Dawley rats was investigated. It was observed that there was an increase in muscle and liver protein levels, while there was a reduction in the levels of brain protein, muscle and liver glycogen. The activities of plasma L-alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase were reduced. The L-aspartate transaminase and adenosine triphosphatase activities were slightly elevated in whole plant extract treated rats while the L-aspartate transaminase was unaffected by the ethanol extract but reduced the adenosine triphosphatase activity.

Effects of isosaline extracts of tetrapleura tetrapetra and olax subscorpioides on certain biochemical parameters of albino rats

The effects of isosaline extracts of Tetrapleura tetrapetra and Olax subscorpioides were investigated in albino rats. The treatment of rats with these extracts resulted in an increase in the activities of serum alanine aminotransferase, liver aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase. The extract of Tetrapleura tetrapetra caused a significant increase in blood glucose and liver glycogen levels while the extract of Olax subscorpioides caused a slight reduction but not statistically significant in the levels of blood glucose and liver glycogen. Both extracts exhibited a significant reduction of protein in the livers of treated rats.

An investigation into the biochemical basis of the observed hyperglycaemia in rats treated with ethanol root extract of plumbago zeylanica

The effects of the ethanol extract of the root of Plumbago zeylanica on key enzymes of glycolysis and other biochemical parameters were studied in the rat. The results show that thigh muscle hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase activities were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) by 12.07%, 51.02%, 24.32% and 25.16% respectively in rats treated with the ethanol extract of Plumbago zeylanica when compared with the controls. Serum pyruvate and lactate were significantly lowered in the experimental rats by 23.64% and 46.29%, respectively. The difference between the supernatant protein means was not statistically different (p > 0.05) suggesting the preservation of protein synthesis in the muscle of the extract-treated rats. The reduction in the activities of the key enzymes of glycolysis and its end-products suggests a reduction in flux across the glycolytic pathway in the extract-treated rats. This may be a result of impaired delivery to, and utilization of, glucose by the peripheral tissue, thus substantiating the reported hyperglycaemia in the extract-treated rats.