Antiulcer Activity of Indigenous Plant Operculina turpethum Linn

Drug Delivery of Natural Products Through Nanocarriers for Effective Breast Cancer Therapy: A Comprehensive Review of Literature

Despite recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer (BC), it remains a global health issue affecting millions of women annually. Poor prognosis in BC patients is often linked to drug resistance as well as the lack of effective therapeutic options for metastatic and triple-negative BC. In response to these unmet needs, extensive research efforts have been devoted to exploring the anti-BC potentials of natural products owing to their multi-target mechanisms of action and good safety profiles. Various medicinal plant extracts/essential oils and natural bioactive compounds have demonstrated anti-cancer activities in preclinical BC models. Despite the promising preclinical results, however, the clinical translation of natural products has often been hindered by their poor stability, aqueous solubility and bioavailability. There have been attempts to overcome these limitations, particularly via the use of nano-based drug delivery systems (NDDSs). This review highlights the tumour targeting mechanisms of NDDSs, the advantages and disadvantages of the major classes of NDDSs and their current clinical status in BC treatment. Besides, it also discusses the proposed anti-BC mechanisms and nanoformulations of nine medicinal plants' extracts/essential oils and nine natural bioactive compounds; selected via the screening of various scientific databases, including PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar, based on the following keywords: "Natural Product AND Nanoparticle AND Breast Cancer". Overall, these nanoformulations exhibit improved anti-cancer efficacy against preclinical BC models, with some demonstrating biocompatibility with normal cell lines and mouse models. Further clinical studies are, however, warranted to ascertain their efficacy and biocompatibility in humans.

De novo transcriptome and tissue specific expression analysis of genes associated with biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in Operculina turpethum (L.)

This study reported the first-ever de novo transcriptome analysis of Operculina turpethum, a high valued endangered medicinal plant, using the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. The de novo assembly generated a total of 64,259 unigenes and 20,870 CDS (coding sequence) with a mean length of 449 bp and 571 bp respectively. Further, 20,218 and 16,458 unigenes showed significant similarity with identified proteins of NR (non-redundant) and UniProt database respectively. The homology search carried out against publicly available database found the best match with Ipomoea nil sequences (82.6%). The KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway analysis identified 6538 unigenes functionally assigned to 378 modules with phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway as the most enriched among the secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathway followed by terpenoid biosynthesis. A total of 17,444 DEGs were identified among which majority of the DEGs (Differentially Expressed Gene) involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis were found to be significantly upregulated in stem as compared to root tissues. The qRT-PCR validation of 9 unigenes involved in phenylpropanoid and terpenoid biosynthesis also showed a similar expression pattern. This finding suggests that stem tissues, rather than root tissues, could be used to prevent uprooting of O. turpethum in the wild, paving the way for the plant's effective conservation. Moreover, the study formed a valuable repository of genetic information which will provide a baseline for further molecular research.

Operculina turpethum (Linn.) Silva Manso as a Medicinal Plant Species: A Review on Bioactive Components and Pharmacological Properties

Operculina turpethum (Linn.) (OT) Silva Manso belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. This review incorporates literature for the phytochemical and pharmacological profile of OT herb. Exhaustive literature survey was done using all the details on phytochemistry and pharmacology of OT available. This herb was found to be a potent source of bioactive compounds such as α- and β-turpethein, turpethinic acids (A, B, C, D, and E), coumarins, cycloartenol, lanosta-5-ene, 24-methylene-δ-5-lanosterol, α- and β-rhamnose, β-sitosterol, lupeol, scopoletin, betulin, acrylamide, stigma-5,22dien-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, β-sitosterol-β-D-glucoside (H-1), 22,23-dihydro-α-spinosterol-β-D-glucoside (H-2), and salicylic acid (CH-2), which are useful in fevers, edema, ascites, anorexia, constipation, hepatosplenomegaly, hemorrhoids, cervical lymphadenitis, fistulas, constipation, chronic gout, fever, bronchitis, ulcers, hemorrhoids, tumors, obesity, jaundice, herpes, induce lacrimation, and other skin disorders. From the aerial parts of OT, four new dammarane-type saponins that are operculinosides A-D (1-4) were isolated that showed particular hepatoprotective activities. All the compounds are reported to possess pharmacological properties such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, hepatoprotective, anti-arthritic, ulcer protective, antidiarrheal, antidiabetic, and cytotoxic properties.

Preliminary evaluation of hepatoprotective potential of the polyherbal formulation

Aim:

The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of the polyherbal formulation (PHF)containing Cajanus cajan (L.)Millsp., Lawsonia inermis L. Linn, Mimosa pudica L., Uraria picta (Jacq.)DC. and Operculina turpethum (L.)Silva Manso on carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)induced acute liver damage in albino rats.

Materials and Methods:

The groups of animals were administered with PHF at the doses 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg b.w. (per oral [p.o.])once in a day for 7 days and at day 6th and 7th the animals were administrated with Carbon tetrachloride (1.0 mL/kg b.w. 50% v/v with olive oil,; p.o.). The effect of PHF on serum glutamine pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), serum glutamine oxaloacetate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase (ALP)and total bilirubin were determined in CCl₄ - induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Further, the effects of PHF on glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD)level and lipid peroxidation (LPO)activity were also investigated.

Results:

The results demonstrated that PHF (400 mg/kg b.w.)significantly reduces the CCl₄ induced increase in level of serum SGPT, serum ALP and total bilirubin. PHF (400 mg/kg b.w.)prevents the depletion level of GSH and decrease in the activity of SOD in CCl₄ -induced liver injury in rats. In addition, PHF also showed a significant decrease in the LPO levels signifying the potent antioxidant activity.

Conclusion:

All our findings suggest that PHF could protect the liver cells from CCl₄ - induced liver damages and the mechanism may be through the anti-oxidative effect of PHF.