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Silveira D, Prieto-Garcia JM, Boylan F, Estrada O, Fonseca-Bazzo YM, Jamal CM, Magalhães PO, Pereira EO, Tomczyk M, Heinrich M. COVID-19: Is There Evidence for the Use of Herbal Medicines as Adjuvant Symptomatic Therapy? Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:581840. [PMID: 33071794 PMCID: PMC7542597 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.581840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Current recommendations for the self-management of SARS-Cov-2 disease (COVID-19) include self-isolation, rest, hydration, and the use of NSAID in case of high fever only. It is expected that many patients will add other symptomatic/adjuvant treatments, such as herbal medicines. AIMS To provide a benefits/risks assessment of selected herbal medicines traditionally indicated for "respiratory diseases" within the current frame of the COVID-19 pandemic as an adjuvant treatment. METHOD The plant selection was primarily based on species listed by the WHO and EMA, but some other herbal remedies were considered due to their widespread use in respiratory conditions. Preclinical and clinical data on their efficacy and safety were collected from authoritative sources. The target population were adults with early and mild flu symptoms without underlying conditions. These were evaluated according to a modified PrOACT-URL method with paracetamol, ibuprofen, and codeine as reference drugs. The benefits/risks balance of the treatments was classified as positive, promising, negative, and unknown. RESULTS A total of 39 herbal medicines were identified as very likely to appeal to the COVID-19 patient. According to our method, the benefits/risks assessment of the herbal medicines was found to be positive in 5 cases (Althaea officinalis, Commiphora molmol, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Hedera helix, and Sambucus nigra), promising in 12 cases (Allium sativum, Andrographis paniculata, Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea purpurea, Eucalyptus globulus essential oil, Justicia pectoralis, Magnolia officinalis, Mikania glomerata, Pelargonium sidoides, Pimpinella anisum, Salix sp, Zingiber officinale), and unknown for the rest. On the same grounds, only ibuprofen resulted promising, but we could not find compelling evidence to endorse the use of paracetamol and/or codeine. CONCLUSIONS Our work suggests that several herbal medicines have safety margins superior to those of reference drugs and enough levels of evidence to start a clinical discussion about their potential use as adjuvants in the treatment of early/mild common flu in otherwise healthy adults within the context of COVID-19. While these herbal medicines will not cure or prevent the flu, they may both improve general patient well-being and offer them an opportunity to personalize the therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dâmaris Silveira
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
| | - Jose Maria Prieto-Garcia
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Fabio Boylan
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Omar Estrada
- Biophysics and Biochemistry Center, Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research, Caracas, Venezuela
| | | | | | | | - Edson Oliveira Pereira
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
| | - Michal Tomczyk
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
| | - Michael Heinrich
- Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, School of Pharmacy, University College of London, London, United Kingdom
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Madi YF, Choucry MA, El-Marasy SA, Meselhy MR, El-Kashoury ESA. UPLC-Orbitrap HRMS metabolic profiling of Cymbopogon citratus cultivated in Egypt; neuroprotective effect against AlCl 3-induced neurotoxicity in rats. JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2020; 259:112930. [PMID: 32376365 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.112930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) is commonly used in teas, soups and treat inflammatory-based ailments, vascular and nervous disorders. AIM OF THE STUDY The study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of Cymbopogon citratus leaves through scientific protocol. The effect of aqueous (AE) and ethanolic (EE) extracts was evaluated against AlCl3-induced Alzheimer's disease (AD) in rats. Metabolic profiling of the plant, isolation of bioactive compounds and standardization of the active fraction were investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS AE of Cymbopogon citratus leaves was prepared as per traditional method (infusion), EE was prepared by repeated maceration in 90% ethanol, bioactive fraction (BAEE) was obtained from EE and the active compounds thereof were obtained by column chromatography. Metabolic profiling of Cymbopogon citratus was performed by UPLC-Orbitrap HRMS and HPLC was used for standardization. AlCl3-induced Alzheimer's rats were used to assess neuroprotective effect of the extracts. Neuroprotective mechanism(s) of Cymbopogon citratus extracts was clarified through histopathological examination of brain tissues, estimation of AD biochemical markers, oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in brain homogenates. In addition, antioxidant (using DPPH assay) and anticholinesterase (using modified Ellman's method) activities were investigated. RESULTS AlCl3-treated rats (17 mg/kg/day) showed histopathological alteration in brain tissues together with elevated levels of Aβ, tau proteins, MDA, NF-kB and IL-6. However, treatment with AE and EE of Cymbopogon citratus leaves prevented the pathological changes and maintained the levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory markers. In addition, BAEE significantly inhibited acetylcholinesterase enzyme (2.11 ± 0.11 mg/ml) and exhibited a strong antioxidant activity (24.99 ± 0.00 μg/ml). UPLC-MS of Cymbopogon citratus leaves showed peaks for twenty-eight compounds, twenty-one of them were identified. Three flavonoids; isoorientin, isoschaftoside and luteolin-7-O-neohesperidoside were isolated from BAEE as major constituents. The powdered leaves of Cymbopogon citratus was found to contain remarkable amounts of caffeic acid (3.49 mg/g dry wt.) and isoorientin (7.37 mg/g dry wt.) as determined by HPLC. CONCLUSION Cymbopogon citratus ethanolic extract attenuates AlCl3-induced neurotoxicity in rats through inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammatory markers. This effect could possibly attributed, in part to its high content of phenolic acids and flavonoids. Accordingly, we recommend Cymbopogon citratus leaves for protection against AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasmine F Madi
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, 11562, Egypt.
| | - Mouchira A Choucry
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, 11562, Egypt; Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plants Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Heliopolis University, Cairo, 11361, Egypt.
| | - Salma A El-Marasy
- Pharmacology Department, National Research Centre, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
| | - Meselhy R Meselhy
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, 11562, Egypt.
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Recent Trends in the Application of Chromatographic Techniques in the Analysis of Luteolin and Its Derivatives. Biomolecules 2019; 9:biom9110731. [PMID: 31726801 PMCID: PMC6921003 DOI: 10.3390/biom9110731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Revised: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Luteolin is a flavonoid often found in various medicinal plants that exhibits multiple biological effects such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity. Commercially available medicinal plants and their preparations containing luteolin are often used in the treatment of hypertension, inflammatory diseases, and even cancer. However, to establish the quality of such preparations, appropriate analytical methods should be used. Therefore, the present paper provides the first comprehensive review of the current analytical methods that were developed and validated for the quantitative determination of luteolin and its C- and O-derivatives including orientin, isoorientin, luteolin 7-O-glucoside and others. It provides a systematic overview of chromatographic analytical techniques including thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), liquid chromatography (LC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC) and counter-current chromatography (CCC), as well as the conditions used in the determination of luteolin and its derivatives in plant material.
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Chen Z, Ye X, Qingkui G, Wenliang Q, Wen Z, Ning W, Min Z. Anticancer activity of green synthesised AgNPs from Cymbopogon citratus (LG) against lung carcinoma cell line A549. IET Nanobiotechnol 2019; 13:178-182. [PMID: 31051448 PMCID: PMC8676479 DOI: 10.1049/iet-nbt.2018.5145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2018] [Revised: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 12/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study is designed to analyse the antibacterial and anticancer effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesised from the Cymbopogon citratus, (lemongrass) (LG-AgNPs), which is widely used in ayurvedic drugs for treating various diseases. The LG-AgNPs were synthesised and characterised using ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. The characterised LG-AgNPs was subjected to antimicrobial analysis by disc diffusion method against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity and anticancer activity of the LG-AgNPs were assessed with lung alveolar carcinoma cell line A549. Results depict that UV-visible spectra of LG-AgNPs showed strong absorption peak at 435 nm. The XRD study exposed LG-AgNPs crystals, which confirmed with TEM analysis exhibiting particle size ranging between 17 and 25.8 nm. The FTIR spectra recorded peaks at 3347, 2126, 1639, 659, 598 and 553 cm-1. The zone of inhibition study proves the LG-AgNPs possessed both antibacterial and antifungal activities. 3-(4, 5-dimethyl thiazoyl-2-yl)-(2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) results show the cytotoxicity effect of LG-AgNPs in lung cancer cells. It also inhibited the cell migration and invasion at the dose of 25 µg ml-1 by increasing the apoptotic gene expression. The results reveal LG-AgNPs possess anticancer activities, proposing that it may be an alternative drug for allopathic drugs with lots of side effects used in lung cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhu Chen
- Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1111 XianXia Road, Shanghai 200336, People's Republic of China
| | - Xu Ye
- Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1111 XianXia Road, Shanghai 200336, People's Republic of China
| | - Guo Qingkui
- Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1111 XianXia Road, Shanghai 200336, People's Republic of China
| | - Qian Wenliang
- Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1111 XianXia Road, Shanghai 200336, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhao Wen
- Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1111 XianXia Road, Shanghai 200336, People's Republic of China
| | - Wang Ning
- Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1111 XianXia Road, Shanghai 200336, People's Republic of China.
| | - Zheng Min
- Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1111 XianXia Road, Shanghai 200336, People's Republic of China
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Costa G, Ferreira JP, Vitorino C, Pina ME, Sousa JJ, Figueiredo IV, Batista MT. Polyphenols from Cymbopogon citratus leaves as topical anti-inflammatory agents. JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2016; 178:222-228. [PMID: 26702504 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2015.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2015] [Revised: 12/09/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE A variety of plant polyphenols have been reported to have anti-inflammatory, frequently associated with erythema, edema, hyperplasia, skin photoaging and photocarcinogenesis. Cymbopogon citratus (DC). Stapf (Poaceae) is a worldwide known medicinal plant, used in traditional medicine in inflammation-related conditions. AIM OF THE STUDY In this work, the anti-inflammatory potential of C. citratus infusion (CcI) and its polyphenols as topical agents was evaluated in vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODS The plant extract was prepared and its fractioning led two polyphenol-rich fractions: flavonoids fraction (CcF) and tannins fraction (CcT). An oil/water emulsion was developed with each active (CcI, CcF+CcT and diclofenac), pH and texture having been evaluated. Release tests were further performed using static Franz diffusion cells and all collected samples were monitored by HPLC-PDA. In vivo topical anti-inflammatory activity evaluation was performed by the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model. RESULTS The texture analysis revealed statistically significant differences for all tested parameters to CcF+CcT, supporting its topical application. Release experiments lead to the detection of the phenolic compounds from each sample in the receptor medium and the six major flavonoids were quantified, by HPLC-PDA: carlinoside, isoorientin, cynaroside, luteolin 7-O-neohesperidoside, kurilesin A and cassiaoccidentalin B. The CcF+CcT formulation prompted to the higher release rate for all these flavonoids. CcI4%, CcI1% and CcF+CcT exhibited an edema reduction of 43.18, 29.55 and 59.09%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight that CcI, containing luteolin 7-O-neohesperidoside, cassiaoccidentalin B, carlinoside, cynaroside and tannins have a potential anti-inflammatory topical activity, suggesting their promising application in the treatment of skin inflammatory pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo Costa
- Center for Pharmaceutical Studies, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Portugal; Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - João Pinto Ferreira
- Center for Pharmaceutical Studies, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Portugal; Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Carla Vitorino
- Center for Pharmaceutical Studies, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Portugal; Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Maria Eugénia Pina
- CIEPQPF, Research Center for Chemical Processes Engineering and Forest Products, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - João José Sousa
- Center for Pharmaceutical Studies, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Portugal; Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Isabel Vitória Figueiredo
- Center for Pharmaceutical Studies, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Portugal; Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Maria Teresa Batista
- Center for Pharmaceutical Studies, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Portugal; Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal
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