Therapeutic potential of Curcuma longa, the golden spice of India, in drug discovery for ophthalmic diseases

Simplex lattice design for optimization of the mass ratio of Curcuma longa L., Curcuma zedoaria (Christm.) Roscoe and Curcuma aromatica Salisb. to maximize curcuminoids content and antioxidant activity

The aim of this work was to optimize the mass ratio of three Curcuma plants' rhizomes to obtain the highest curcuminoid content and antioxidant activity using the simplex lattice design. The selected Curcuma plants were C. longa, C. zedoaria and C. aromatica. The simplex lattice design was applied in the work. The individual curcuminoids (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bis-demethoxycurcumin) and total curcuminoid content were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Curcuma longa alone provided the highest content of bis-demethoxycurcumin and demethoxycurcumin. A mixture of C. longa and C. aromatica in the mass ratio of 72:28 % provided the highest curcumin content. The results showed that C. longa alone exhibited the highest antioxidant activity.

Chemical constituents and biological research on plants in the genus Curcuma

Curcuma, a valuable genus in the family Zingiberaceae, includes approximately 110 species. These plants are native to Southeast Asia and are extensively cultivated in India, China, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Peru, Australia, and the West Indies. The plants have long been used in folk medicine to treat stomach ailments, stimulate digestion, and protect the digestive organs, including the intestines, stomach, and liver. In recent years, substantial progress has been achieved in investigations regarding the chemical and pharmacological properties, as well as in clinical trials of certain Curcuma species. This review comprehensively summarizes the current knowledge on the chemistry and briefly discusses the biological activities of Curcuma species. A total of 720 compounds, including 102 diphenylalkanoids, 19 phenylpropene derivatives, 529 terpenoids, 15 flavonoids, 7 steroids, 3 alkaloids, and 44 compounds of other types isolated or identified from 32 species, have been phytochemically investigated. The biological activities of plant extracts and pure compounds are classified into 15 groups in detail, with emphasis on anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities.

Current application of phytocompound-based nanocosmeceuticals for beauty and skin therapy

Phytocompounds have been used in cosmeceuticals for decades and have shown potential for beauty applications, including sunscreen, moisturizing and antiaging, and skin-based therapy. The major concerns in the usage of phyto-based cosmeceuticals are lower penetration and high compound instability of various cosmetic products for sustained and enhanced compound delivery to the beauty-based skin therapy. To overcome these disadvantages, nanosized delivery technologies are currently in use for sustained and enhanced delivery of phyto-derived bioactive compounds in cosmeceutical sectors and products. Nanosizing of phytocompounds enhances the aseptic feel in various cosmeceutical products with sustained delivery and enhanced skin protecting activities. Solid lipid nanoparticles, transfersomes, ethosomes, nanostructured lipid carriers, fullerenes, and carbon nanotubes are some of the emerging nanotechnologies currently in use for their enhanced delivery of phytocompounds in skin care. Aloe vera, curcumin, resveratrol, quercetin, vitamins C and E, genistein, and green tea catechins were successfully nanosized using various delivery technologies and incorporated in various gels, lotions, and creams for skin, lip, and hair care for their sustained effects. However, certain delivery agents such as carbon nanotubes need to be studied for their roles in toxicity. This review broadly focuses on the usage of phytocompounds in various cosmeceutical products, nanodelivery technologies used in the delivery of phytocompounds to various cosmeceuticals, and various nanosized phytocompounds used in the development of novel nanocosmeceuticals to enhance skin-based therapy.

Bactericidal activity of selected medicinal plants against multidrug resistant bacterial strains from clinical isolates

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the antibacterial effect of Curcuma longa (C. longa), Zingiber officinale (Z. officinale) and Tinospora cordifolia (T. cordifolia) against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Proteus mirabilis of clinical origin.

METHODS

The antimicrobial efficacy of said medicinal plants and establishment of multidrug resistant character of these bacteria were carried out using disc diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) methods.

RESULTS

The results of MIC and MBC showed that these clinical bacterial isolates were phenotypically multidrug resistant against standard antibiotics (>500 μg/mL). Compared to standard antibiotics, C. longa, Z. officinale and T. cordifolia were more effective in killing these microbes as evident from MIC and MBC values (5 to 125 μg/mL). Moreover, C. longa had highest antibacterial efficacy compared to Z. officinale and T. cordifolia.

CONCLUSIONS

The result thus obtained suggests that bioactive principles of these plants can be used particularly against these multidrug resistant bacteria of clinical origin.