Antimicrobial Activity and Phytochemical Screening of Sarcocolla Gum Resin

Concept of Unani Jali (detergents/cleansers) drugs and its scientific validation: scope for new opportunities in dermatological pharmacotherapeutics

OBJECTIVES

The use of detergent-action drugs in traditional Unani therapeutic intervention has been a long-standing Unani medicinal practice. The key aim of the article is to provide thorough information on the novel, unexplored idea of Unani Jali (detergent/cleansers) drugs for the treatment of skin ailments, as well as to identify medicinal plants that have detergent action and correlate these findings with scientific studies that may support evidence for the drug's detergent effect.

CONTENT

The ethnobotanical classical literature of Unani medicine was investigated in order to have a comprehensive insight of Unani detergents/cleansers. Scientific studies were carried from databases including PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and google Scholar, among others. More than fifty exclusive plant, mineral, and animal-based detergents are found specifically for skin disorders in Unani therapy. These drugs basically evacuate impurities from the body's excretory system and and have been found to have keratolytic and debris-peeling effects, as well as the ability to maintain skin tone consistency. Unani Jali drugs have also been found to have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, analgesic, and tonic properties, suggesting its usefulness holistically.

SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK

Based on phyto constituents, prospective therapeutic response, and scientific data, this review proposes that Unani Jali drugs could be a safe and promising therapeutic option for dermatological illnesses such as vitiligo, acne, dermatitis, psoriasis, and skin sensitivity.

Mechanistic support of traditional Persian medicine for the treatment of acne vulgaris: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Acne vulgaris is one of the most prevalent skin diseases, which also contributes to many psychological problems. Despite the recent progress in the treatment of acne vulgaris, the necessity for discovering more effective solutions has motivated many lines of research on natural and medicinal plants. The Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) introduced some plants and remedies for acne treatment. Given the universal welcome for herbal medicine, this review was performed to formally assess the evidence for herbal medicines for acne vulgaris in TPM.

METHODS

The medicinal plants used in this study for treating acne vulgaris were selected based on common references to the plants in five famous textbooks of TPM from different time periods. Then, the anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects of these medicinal plants were investigated according to the recent literature available in five electronic databases including Scopus, Web of Sciences, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct.

RESULTS

Twenty-one herbs were commonly references in traditional TPM texts as helpful for topical treatment of acne vulgaris. The data collected from the electronic databases demonstrated most of these plants (eg, Astragalus sarcocolla, Ficus carica, and Hordeum vulgare) have both anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial mechanisms, which may assist to treat acne vulgaris.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review demonstrated many medicinal plants recommended by TPM books have therapeutic potential for acne vulgaris via multiple mechanisms.

In-vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial studies of ethanolic plant extracts of P. granatum, O. stamineus, A. bilimbi, M. nigra, and E. longifolia

BACKGROUND

Acne is a serious skin problem that affects mostly adolescents. The topical and systematic therapies are effective but could lead to several side effects and the emergence of antibacterial resistance of the acne-causing bacteria. Plant resources have been used as traditional medicine for centuries and can be the alternative therapies for acne treatment. Antioxidants are compounds that can prevent or delay the oxidation of substrates when present in low concentrations. Antioxidants are usually involved in several mechanisms of action, including the inhibition of free radical generation, enhancement of the scavenging capacity against free radicals, and reducing power.

METHODS

In this study, three antioxidant assays, DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP were used to evaluate the antioxidant properties of the ethanolic extracts of five plant extracts (A. bilimbi, M. nigra, O. stamineus, P. granatum, and E. longifolia). Furthermore, the study aimed to identify the most potent plant extracts and their combination which could provide better antibacterial activities against acne-causing bacteria. Ethanolic extracts of A. bilimbi, O. stamineus, M. nigra, P. granatum, and E. longifolia were prepared by the Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE) technique. Their phytochemical contents were screened using several biochemical tests and GC-MS analysis.

RESULTS

The study found that only the extracts of P. granatum and O. stamineus exhibited good antioxidant activity using DPPH assay (82.37% and 81.72% μg/mL respectively) and in ABTS assay (87.25% and 88.85% μg/mL respectively); their observed FRAP values were 115.1667 ± 5.6182 and 41.3860 ± 2.4583 μg/mL, respectively. The preliminary antibacterial screening using the disc diffusion method showed that P. granatum and O. stamineus were the most potent extracts; hence, both extracts were combined at the ratios of 1:1, 1:2, and 2:1 to a total concentration of 400 mg/mL.

DISCUSSION

The antibacterial efficacy of the mixture was studied using the disc diffusion method and the MIC value was determined. Both S. aureus and S. epidermidis were sensitive to all the individual and combined extracts but C. acnes was resistant to all of them.

CONCLUSION

The antibacterial activity of the combined extracts against S. aureus showed a synergistic effect at the ratio of 2:1 with the inhibitory zone diameter of 18.00 ± 1.00 mm and MIC value of 12.5 mg/mL; however, antagonistic effects were observed against S. epidermidis while no effect was noted against C. acnes. Therefore, all the selected plant extracts exhibited antibacterial activities against certain bacteria and their effects may be enhanced by combining the plant extracts.