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Pharmaceuticals
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Herbal Products: Development and Innovation
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Herbal Products: Development and Innovation

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 24106

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yris Maria Fonseca-Bazzo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Health Sciences Faculty, University of Brasilia, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília CEP 70910-900, Brazil
Interests: natural products; antioxidants; anti-inflammatory; quality control; and herbal medicine legislation
Dr. Omar Enrique Estrada Semprun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Health Sciences Faculty, University of Brasilia, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília CEP 70910-900, Brazil
Interests: phytochemistry; pharmacology; NMR spectrometry
Dr. Leonardo Luiz Borges

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratório de Biotecnologia, Campus Central, Universidade Estadual de Goiás, Anápolis 75132-903, GO, Brazil
Interests: statistics; natural products; essential oils; in silico tools

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

People have relied upon herbal medicines to take care of their health since ancient times, and the interest in herbal products and the global market continues to grown each year. Several studies in ethnobotanical, pharmacological, and phytochemical areas have been conducted, but there is still much to explore, especially regarding the development of herbal products. Aside from pharmacological validation, herbal product development requires studies on all production processes.  These studies include plant cultivation, the extraction process, formulation development, the definition of quality control parameters, and clinical assays. Therefore, in this Special Issue, we invite researchers to share their findings on all aspects of development and innovation in herbal products, such as quality control, the standardization of extracts, clinical assays, and regulatory issues related to medicinal plants, functional foods, and dietary supplements.

Dr. Yris Maria Fonseca-Bazzo
Dr. Omar Enrique Estrada Semprun
Dr. Leonardo Luiz Borges
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • herbal medicine
  • dietary supplements
  • functional food
  • quality control
  • herbal medicine legislation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 6173 KiB  
Article
Enteric-Coated Cologrit Tablet Exhibit Robust Anti-Inflammatory Response in Ulcerative Colitis-like In-Vitro Models by Attuning NFκB-Centric Signaling Axis
by Acharya Balkrishna, Rani Singh, Vivek Gohel, Sagar Arora, Rishabh Dev, Kunal Bhattacharya and Anurag Varshney
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(1), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16010063 - 31 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 8927
Abstract
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects the patients’ colorectal area culminating in an inflamed ‘leaky gut.’ The majority of UC treatments only provide temporary respite leading to its relapse. Therefore, this study investigated the efficacy of the enteric-coated ‘Cologrit’ [...] Read more.
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects the patients’ colorectal area culminating in an inflamed ‘leaky gut.’ The majority of UC treatments only provide temporary respite leading to its relapse. Therefore, this study investigated the efficacy of the enteric-coated ‘Cologrit’ (EC) tablet in alleviating UC-like inflammation. Cologrit is formulated using polyherbal extracts that have anti-inflammatory qualities according to ancient Ayurveda scriptures. Phytochemical profiling revealed the presence of gallic acid, rutin, ellagic acid, and imperatorin in Cologrit formulation. Cologrit treatment decreased inflammation in LPS-induced transformed THP-1 macrophages, and TNF-α-stimulated human colorectal (HT-29) cells through the modulation of NFκB activity, IL-6 production, and NFκB, IL-1β, IL-8, and CXCL5 mRNA expression levels. Cologrit also lessened human monocytic (U937) cell adhesion to HT29 cells. Methacrylic acid-ethylacrylate copolymer-coating of the enteric Cologrit tablets (EC) supported their dissolution, and the release of phytochemicals in the small intestine pH 7.0 environment in a simulated gastrointestinal digestion model. Small intestine EC digestae effectively abridged dextran sodium sulfate (2.5% w/v)-induced cell viability loss and oxidative stress in human colon epithelial Caco-2 cells. In conclusion, the enteric-coated Cologrit tablets demonstrated good small intestine-specific phytochemical delivery capability, and decreased UC-like inflammation, and oxidative stress through the regulation of TNF-α/NFκB/IL6 signaling axis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Herbal Products: Development and Innovation)
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11 pages, 2601 KiB  
Article
Acute and Reproductive Toxicity Evaluation of Ormona® SI and Ormona® RC—Two New Nutraceuticals with Geranylgeraniol, Tocotrienols, Anthocyanins, and Isoflavones—In Adult Zebrafish
by Clarice Flexa da Rocha, Camila de Nazaré Nunes Flexa, Gisele Custodio de Souza, Arlindo César Matias Pereira, Helison de Oliveira Carvalho, Aline Lopes do Nascimento, Natasha Juliana Perdigão de Jesus Vasconcelos, Heitor Ribeiro da Silva and José Carlos Tavares Carvalho
Pharmaceuticals 2022, 15(11), 1434; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph15111434 - 19 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1916
Abstract
The zebrafish is a popular organism to test the toxicity of compounds. Here, we evaluate the acute and reproductive toxicity of Ormona SI® (OSI) and RC® (ORC), two herbal products developed for menopausal women with tocotrienols, geranylgeraniol, isoflavones, and anthocyanins. The [...] Read more.
The zebrafish is a popular organism to test the toxicity of compounds. Here, we evaluate the acute and reproductive toxicity of Ormona SI® (OSI) and RC® (ORC), two herbal products developed for menopausal women with tocotrienols, geranylgeraniol, isoflavones, and anthocyanins. The acute toxicity was evaluated by behavioral alterations, lethality, and tissue changes (intestine, liver, kidney) after oral treatment with high product doses (500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg). The reproductive toxicity was evaluated after 21 days of oral treatment with OSI and ORC at 200 mg/kg. Our results show that the LD50 could not be assessed due to the low mortality rate even with the highest dose; the behavioral alterations were not different from those of the group treated only with the vehicle (2% DMSO). The tissue changes were minor in OSI and more severe in ORC at the highest (2000 mg/kg) dose, while no tissue abnormality was observed at 500 mg/kg. In the reproductive assessment, continuous treatment could decrease the maturation of the reproductive cells, which also significantly decreases the egg spawning. This effect was attributed to the estrogenic activity of the isoflavones. In conclusion, the acute toxicity analysis shows that the products did not elicit lethal or sublethal effects observed in the model when used up to 500 mg/kg. Regarding the reproductive toxicity, decreased fertility was observed, which was expected due to the presence of isoflavones (phytoestrogens). Considering that the product is intended for menopausal and postmenopausal women, the presence of isoflavones is beneficial. Further studies should be performed to corroborate these results in mammals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Herbal Products: Development and Innovation)
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21 pages, 8176 KiB  
Article
Green Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Annona glabra and Annona squamosa Extracts with Antimicrobial, Anticancer, Apoptosis Potentials, Assisted by In Silico Modeling, and Metabolic Profiling
by Fatma A. Mokhtar, Nabil M. Selim, Seham S. Elhawary, Soha R. Abd El Hadi, Mona H. Hetta, Marzough A. Albalawi, Ali A. Shati, Mohammad Y. Alfaifi, Serag Eldin I. Elbehairi, Lamiaa I. Fahmy and Rana M. Ibrahim
Pharmaceuticals 2022, 15(11), 1354; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph15111354 - 2 Nov 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2902
Abstract
Annona glabra L. (AngTE) and Annona squamosa L. (AnsTE) fruits have been widely used in cancer treatment. Accordingly, their extracts were used to synthesize silver nanoparticles via a biogenic route (Ang-AgNPs) and (Ans-AgNPs), respectively. Chemical profiling was established using UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. All species were [...] Read more.
Annona glabra L. (AngTE) and Annona squamosa L. (AnsTE) fruits have been widely used in cancer treatment. Accordingly, their extracts were used to synthesize silver nanoparticles via a biogenic route (Ang-AgNPs) and (Ans-AgNPs), respectively. Chemical profiling was established using UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. All species were tested for anticancer activity against human cervical cancer cells (HeLa), prostate adenocarcinoma metastatic (PC3), and ovary adenocarcinoma (SKOV3) using sulphorhodamine B assay. Apoptosis was determined using Annexin flow cytometry along with cell cycle analysis and supported by a molecular docking. The antibacterial and synergistic effect when combined with gentamicin were evaluated. A total of 114 compounds were tentatively identified, mainly acetogenins and ent-kaurane diterpenes. AnsTE and Ans-AgNPs had the most potent cytotoxicity on HeLa and SKOV3 cells, inducing a significant apoptotic effect against all tumor cells. The AnsTE and Ans-AgNPs significantly arrested PC3, SKOV3, and HeLa cells in the S phase. The nanoparticles demonstrated greater antibacterial and antifungal activities, as well as a synergistic effect with gentamicin against P. aeruginosa and E. coli. Finally, a molecular docking was attempted to investigate the binding mode of the identified compounds in Bcl-2 proteins’ receptor, implying that the fruits and their nanoparticles are excellent candidates for treating skin infections in patients with ovarian or prostatic cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Herbal Products: Development and Innovation)
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Review

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24 pages, 3551 KiB  
Review
Terminalia arjuna, a Cardioprotective Herbal Medicine–Relevancy in the Modern Era of Pharmaceuticals and Green Nanomedicine—A Review
by Purnimajayasree Ramesh and Arunkumar Palaniappan
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(1), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16010126 - 13 Jan 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 7815
Abstract
Herbal medicines were the main source of therapeutic agents in the ancestral era. Terminalia arjuna (TA) is one such medicinal plant widely known for its several medicinal properties, especially its cardiovascular properties. They have several phytochemicals, such as flavonoids, polyphenols, triterpenoids, tannins, glycosides, [...] Read more.
Herbal medicines were the main source of therapeutic agents in the ancestral era. Terminalia arjuna (TA) is one such medicinal plant widely known for its several medicinal properties, especially its cardiovascular properties. They have several phytochemicals, such as flavonoids, polyphenols, triterpenoids, tannins, glycosides, and several minerals, proteins, and others that are responsible for the above-mentioned medicinal properties. In this review, we have first elaborated on the various processes and their parameters for the efficient extraction of relevant phytochemicals from TA extracts. Secondly, the mechanisms behind the various medicinal properties of TA extracts are explained. We have also highlighted the role of TA extracts on the green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles, especially silver and gold nanoparticles, with an elucidation on the mechanisms behind the synthesis of nanoparticles. Finally, TA extracts-based polymeric formulations are discussed with limitations and future perspectives. We believe that this review could help researchers understand the importance of a well-known cardioprotective medicinal plant, TA, and its biomedical properties, as well as their role in green nanotechnology and various formulations explored for encapsulating them. This review will help researchers design better and greener nanomedicines as well as better formulations to improve the stability and bioavailability of TA extracts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Herbal Products: Development and Innovation)
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