Chemical Characteristics and Applications of Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of Chronic Diseases

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (17 June 2023) | Viewed by 3263

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Cellular Biology Department, School of Science, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City 04511, Mexico
Interests: type 2 diabetes; medicinal plants; metabolism; natural products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Medicinal plants have been a resource for healing in local communities around the world for thousands of years. Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 88% of all countries use traditional medicine, and 85% of the world’s population relies on medicinal plants for primary healthcare. In addition to the development of new drugs, understanding the action mechanisms of plants based on their phytochemical characterization, especially those that are used in traditional preparations, is essential for the progress of plant science. On the other hand, worldwide, we have an aging population among whom an increasing number are suffering from chronic diseases, many of them associated with the modern lifestyles (sedentarism and bad nutrition) or with the process itself. Conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, arthritis, asthma, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, some kinds of cancer, chronic inflammation processes, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic kidney of liver diseases, and so on are impacting local communities, and thus, traditional medicine is used in attempts to provide relief. Although it is well-known that many of these conditions cannot be cured, in many cases, the symptoms can be diminished, providing a better life quality for the patient. With this Special Issue, we encourage scholars all around the world, especially those involved with different traditional systems such as Chinese, Hindu, Persian, Latin American, African, etc., and working on chronic diseases, to contribute to plant science knowledge used to treat them.

Please note that the identification of the study material must be well-described; all species must be fully validated using an international accepted database; the link to traditional use must be clear and well-described; and the background of the chronic disease must be clear.

Dr. Adolfo Andrade Cetto
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • medicinal plants
  • natural products
  • chronic diseases
  • phytochemistry

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

22 pages, 1704 KiB  
Review
Diabetes-Related Mechanisms of Action Involved in the Therapeutic Effect of Croton Species: A Systematic Review
by Fernanda Artemisa Espinoza-Hernández, Angelina Daniela Moreno-Vargas and Adolfo Andrade-Cetto
Plants 2023, 12(10), 2014; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12102014 - 18 May 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2666
Abstract
Over the years, ethnopharmacological and phytochemical investigations have been conducted to understand the potential effects of the Croton genus on several diseases. It has been revealed that these terpenoid-rich species traditionally used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, heal wounds, and relieve pain have a [...] Read more.
Over the years, ethnopharmacological and phytochemical investigations have been conducted to understand the potential effects of the Croton genus on several diseases. It has been revealed that these terpenoid-rich species traditionally used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, heal wounds, and relieve pain have a wide range of therapeutic effects; however, those used to treat diabetes, as well as their action mechanisms, have not been reviewed so far. Therefore, the main objective of this review was to compile all Croton species that have shown pharmacological effects against diabetes and describe their action mechanisms. Through a search of the literature, 17 species with hypoglycemic, antihyperglycemic, antilipidemic, antihypertensive, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects were found. Among the mechanisms by which they exerted these effects were the inhibition of α-glucosidases, the promotion of insulin secretion, and the increase in glucose uptake. Interestingly, it was found that some of them may have antihyperglycemic properties, although there were no ethnopharmacological reports that support their traditional use. Moreover, others only presented studies on their hypoglycemic effect in fasting, so further works are encouraged to describe the mechanisms involved in lowering fasting blood glucose levels, such as hepatic glucose production, especially for C. cajucara, C. cuneatus, C. gratissimus var. gratissimus, C. guatemalensis, and C. membranaceus. It is expected that this review contributes to the plant science knowledge of the genus, and it can be used in future references on the identification and development of new molecules/phytomedicines that help in the treatment of diabetes. Full article
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