Several plant extracts and PHYTOCONSTITUENTS, despite having excellent bioactivity in vitro, demonstrate less or no in vivo actions due to their poor lipid solubility or improper molecular size or destruction in gut. Drug delivery system for polyphenolic PHYTOCONSTITUENTS (phytosomes) was prepared by complexing polyphenolic PHYTOCONSTITUENTS with phospholipid mainly phosphatidylcholine which bind components to each other on a molecular level. Bioavailability is enhanced due to their capacity to cross the lipid rich bio-membranes and to protect the valuable components of the herbal extract from destruction by digestive secretions and gut bacteria. Phytosomes have the capacity to deliver the standardized plant extracts and PHYTOCONSTITUENTS through several routes of drug administration. Only a few natural drugs have been formulated and are available in the market as phytosomes. With wide range of applications of phytosomes numerous studies are undergoing and lots more is expected in the forthcoming years. The techniques used for such formulations are patentable and highly profitable.

The term “medicinal” as applied to a plant indicates that it contains a substance or substances which modulate beneficially the physiology of sick mammals. Thousands of species of higher plants have been used by man for that purpose. Modern techniques have revealed the enormous variety and complexity of so-called secondary plant chemicals, i.e., those which do not occur in all species, but which are restricted in distribution to certain plant groups. Thousands of new structures have been isolated, most beyond the imagination of the most inventive chemist. Advances in evaluating biological activities enabled to explain the rationale of using many plants in traditional systems of medicine. Nowadays, many evidence-based bioactive phytochemicals are ingredients of many pharmaceutical preparations intended for curing a wide range of diseases. Examples of plant-derived drugs with evidenced biological activities will be presented. In addition, the lecture sheds light upon the significance of phytochemicals in disease prevention and their value as “Nutraceuticals” or “Functional Foods”.

Recently, we read the article entitled “ PHYTOCONSTITUENTS of the Gynura procumbens ethanol leaf extract and its fractions, and their effects on viability of macrophages” with many interest that has been published online in Journal of Herbmed Pharmacology (1). The paper has pointed out that Gynura procumbens (GP) with numerous beneficial pharmacological activities could be used as an adjuvant in inducing promising proliferation activity of macrophages (RAW264. 7 cells). . . .

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the PHYTOCONSTITUENTS and various bioactivities of Pleiogynium timorense bark as a step towards the production of a new drug from natural origin to overcome the complications of the synthetic drugs. Methods: The phenolic compounds were isolated and identified by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods as ultra violet (UV) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. The isolated compounds, as well as 70% methanol extract of P. timorense bark were tested for cytotoxicity against human colon carcinoma (HCT 116), human hepatocellular liver carcinoma (HepG2), normal melanocytes (HFB-4) and human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines. In addition, the methanol extract was evaluated for renal protective, hepatoprotective, antioxidant and antihyperglycaemic activities. Results: Seven phenolic compounds were isolated from the bark of the plant for the first time which were identified as; pyrogallol, catechin, gallic acid, kaempferol, quercetin, rutin and quercetrin. Moreover, the methanol extract of the bark showed a promising cytotoxic effect against HepG2 cell line more than that of the isolated compounds comparing with doxorubicin (a positive control), where catechin and gallic acid showed moderate effects. In addition, the methanol extract showed potent antioxidant, hepatorenal protective and antihyperglycaemic effects. Conclusion: Pleiogynium timorense extract possesses a potent cytotoxic effect against HepG2 cell line and significant antioxidant, hepatorenal protective and antihyperglycaemic effects.

We appreciate the constructive comments by Mohsen and Mozafar in our paper which appeared to have insufficient accuracy in analyzing the compounds present in Gynura procumbens in regards to their molecular weights. Regretfully, we admit our mistake as the m/z stated in our published paper were mistakenly presented as unprocessed data, which were the m/z with the adducts ion. ...

Traditional plants have huge demand as medicines to treat a wide range of illnesses. Tylophora is an important genus of medicinal plant in India, used to treat asthma and other ailments. The plants of this genus have been studied in vivo and in vitro for various pharmacological properties. In this article, we have given information regarding ethnomedicinal importance, phytochemistry and pharmacological uses of 18 species of Tylophora. Comprehensive information regarding different species of Tylophora were collected using different keywords in various electronic databases such as ACS, Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, SciFinder, Web of Science, Springer Link, library search, J gate, Wiley, Semantic Scholar and ResearchGate since 1960 to 2023. Additionally, data was collected from some textbooks and chapters like Flora of India and Indian medicinal plants. This article highlights the traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activities of the few studied taxa of Tylophora that would serve as a reference for pharmaceutical research. More than 100 compounds have been isolated from selected species of the genus Tylophora. Among them, phenanthroindolizidine alkaloids have received the most attention and are the most abundant active constituents of the plant. Other types of active components of genus Tylophora include C21 glycosides, secoiridoids, triterpenes, and furano alkaloids. These compounds have shown a variety of therapeutic activities like antiasthmatic, antitumour, antimicrobial, antidiabetic and antiallergic properties. This review can be an important scientific resource for further research.

Coronavirus has created apandemic worldwide. COVID is a type of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome affecting numerous people. It is the most prevailing deadly situation in the world. India crossed over 19 lakh cases with almost nearer to 40,000 deaths. In Tamil Nadu, an ancient Siddha system of medicine gave us hope through PHYTOCONSTITUENTS against the coronavirus. This work compares the potentiality among herbal constituents of kabasura kudineer. Siddha formulation, kabasura kudineer comprises the herbal composition of 15 plant drugs. The major 25 PHYTOCONSTITUENTS of herbal plants were chosen and predicted for their necessary molecular properties. All the ligands were docked with the main protease of COVID-19 (PDB ID 6LU7) using Autodock 4.2. The binding interactions were viewed in Biovia Discovery Studio. Also, allopathy drugs Hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir, and Favipiravir were docked for comparison. The interactions were explained comparatively. Validation of docking was also done with the N3 ligand. About 16 ligands passed the Lipinski rule of five. All the ligands showed good binding energies in the range of -5.01 and -11.41 kcal/mol. The inhibition constants resulted in the range of 6.62-561.49 µm. The constituents andrographolide(3A), carvacrol(5A), piperine (8A), anethole(9A), 8-gingerol(14A), and eugenol(10A) from Andrographispaniculata, coleus amboinicus, piper longum, Sussurealappa, Zingiberofficianale, Syzygiumaromaticum, respectively, were analyzed to be potential inhibitors of 6LU7 enzyme. The PHYTOCONSTITUENTS of the herbal plant drugs were analyzed to be effective in inhibiting the viral protease to prevent replication and maturation of the virus in the host. Therefore, herbal medicine, kabasura kudineer was significant against corona viral infection.