A pharmacological and toxicological biochemical study of cardiovascular regulatory effects of hibiscus, corn silk, marjoram, and chamomile

Hypertension is one of the most typical causes of morbidity and mortality. The present study investigated the possible antihypertensive cardiovascular effects of an herbal mixture extract of Hibiscus, Corn silk, Marjoram, and Chamomile. HPLC analysis of the water extract prepared from the aerial parts of four plants and their mixture was done to detect the most predominant compounds. A safety study was done prior to the efficacy study to determine the dose and ensure the extract's safety in female rats. Hypertension was induced in ovariectomized and non-ovariectomized rats by oral administration of 50 mg/kg of LName for 30 days; the hypertensive rats were classified into non-ovariectomized and ovariectomized untreated groups, treated groups with high and low doses of the mixture(150,300 mg/kg) given to ovariectomized and non-ovariectomized hypertensive groups and a standard group treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. The untreated group showed significant elevation of blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, triglycerides, malondialdehyde, cyclic adenosine monophosphate, angiotensin-converting enzyme, C-reactive protein, and significantly lowered reduced glutathione, high-density lipoprotein, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Treatment significantly counteracted the effects of L Name. The mixture provides a promising natural cardiovascular regulating supplement owing to its high contents of flavonoids.

An overview on medicinal plants used for combating coronavirus: Current potentials and challenges

Worldwide, Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic crisis, causing many morbidities, mortality, and devastating impact on economies, so the current outbreak of the CoV-2 is a major concern for global health. The infection spread quickly and caused chaos in many countries around the world. The slow discovery of CoV-2 and the limited treatment options are among the main challenges. Therefore, the development of a drug that is safe and effective against CoV-2 is urgently needed. The present overview briefly summarizes CoV-2 drug targets ex: RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), papain-like protease (PLpro), 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro), transmembrane serine protease enzymes (TMPRSS2), angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), structural protein (N, S, E, and M), and virulence factors (NSP1, ORF7a, and NSP3c) for which drug design perspective can be considered. In addition, summarize all anti-COVID-19 medicinal plants and phytocompounds and their mechanisms of action to be used as a guide for further studies.

Corrigendum to "Biochemical and pharmacological prospects of citrus sinensis peel" [Heliyon 8, (8), (August 2022), e09979]

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09979.].

Biochemical and pharmacological prospects of Citrus sinensis peel

Gastric ulcer and hepatotoxicity due to irrational drug overuse are two of the most serious conditions associated with inflammation and oxidative stress that affect the digestive system. This study aimed to experimentally evaluate the hepatoprotective/gastroprotective effects of aqueous and butanol citrus peel extracts and hesperidin in rat models of ulcer and hepatotoxicity. Acute toxicity study was performed for determining the safe dose of citrus extracts to analyze efficacy. In the experiments on hepatoprotective and gastroprotective effects, rats were classified into nine groups in each experiment: (1) negative control, (2) positive control hepatotoxic model with paracetamol (640 mg/kg)/gastric ulcer model:ethanol 70% (1 ml), (3)reference hepatoprotective:silymarin (25 mg/kg)/gastroprotective:ranitidine (50 mg/kg), and (4-9) groups treated for 2 weeks before induction of each disease with either citrus aqueous or butanol extracts or hesperidin (125-250 mg/kg). Drugs, ethanol, or tested compounds were administered orally. The levels of biochemical parameters, such as AST, ALT, NO, MDA, CRP, and ILβ6, were significantly reduced, but CAT level was increased. Postmortem examination of liver and stomach tissues of treated animals revealed marked improvement compared with positive control animals. Hesperidin exerted the best hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and gastroprotective effects, followed by butanol and then aqueous citrus peel extracts.

Exploiting Citrus aurantium seeds and their secondary metabolites in the management of Alzheimer disease

Fruit by-products are considered nature’s golden gift for human health and a good starting point to discover new drugs depending on the fact that they contain millions of bio-active compounds that are responsible for therapeutic activities. In this context, the main goal of this study is to recycle Citrus aurantium (C. aurantium) seeds to produce pharmaceutical molecules to be used in the prevention of the progressive neurological damage associated with Alzheimer disease (AD). Donepezil (0.75 mg/kg), hesperidin (125 and 250 mg/kg) and limonoids (50 and 100 mg/kg) were used for treatment of rats for 2 weeks prior to concomitant administration of AlCl₃ for three successive weeks. Protection against cognitive deterioration was observed among study group with insignificant difference from normal control group and significant difference from positive control group in the Y-Maze test. On the other hand, treatment with both doses of hesperidin (125 and 250 mg/kg) and high dose of limonoids only (100 mg/kg) produced improvement in psychological state, observed by significant increase in ambulation frequency in comparison to positive control group, however it was not as frequent as normal group, as it was significantly less than normal group in the open field test. Regarding acetylcholine esterase (AChE) and beta-amyloid (β amyloid) levels, the effect of limonoids low dose was the best as it didn’t have a significant effect when compared to normal control, also hesperidin in both doses showed insignificant effects on β amyloid levels when compared to normal control group. Our results encourage the use of C. aurantium seeds which are wasted in huge amounts, as Alzheimer prophylactic food additives.