Heterocyclic Drugs from Plants
Rohit Dutt, Anil K. Sharma, Raj K. Keservani, Vandana Garg in Promising Drug Molecules of Natural Origin, 2020
Amiodarone (Figure 8.17), also calledNexterone, is an antiarrhythmic medication for arrhythmias, mainly for atrial fibrillation (Amiodarone: Guidelines for Use and Monitoring, 2003). It was extracted from Ammi visnaga (or khella), a flowering plant belongs to the carrot family having the active ingredient khellin (Bhagavathula, 2015). Ammi visnaga is an ancient Egyptian medicinal plant and the tea made from it was being used traditionally to treat several ailments, e.g., asthma, angina, and kidney stone (Bhagavathula, 2015). Khellin (C14H12O5) itself is a vasodilator that also has bronchodilatory activity. Amiodarone regularizes the heart’s electrical impulses (Amiodarone: Guidelines for Use and Monitoring, 2003). Many investigations were reported to validate amiodarone in several arrhythmias. The experiments concluded amiodarone as a safe and efficacious antiar-rhythmic drug (Auer et al., 2002). In comparison to other antiarrhythmic drugs, amiodarone has higher level of tolerance, reduced noncardiac toxicity, and consequently fewer side effects.
Apiaceae Plants Growing in the East
Mahendra Rai, Shandesh Bhattarai, Chistiane M. Feitosa in Ethnopharmacology of Wild Plants, 2021
Ammi visnaga L. (Visnaga daucoides Gaertn), commonly known as the toothpick plant and “khella or khella baladi” in Arabic, is a short annual or biennial plant indigenous to the Mediterranean region of North Africa, Asia, and Europe (Chevalier 1996). Ammi majus L. is indigenous to Egypt growing in the Nile Valley, but is also found in some Mediterranean countries, West Africa and parts of Iran. It is commonly known as Bishop’s weed and “khella shaitani” in Arabic. Even though these herbs are the lesser known members of family Apiaceae, nevertheless, their medicinal properties that go back to ancient times make them appreciated wonders of this plant family.
Plant Diversity and Ethnobotanical Perspective of Odisha
Jayanta Kumar Patra, Gitishree Das, Sanjeet Kumar, Hrudayanath Thatoi in Ethnopharmacology and Biodiversity of Medicinal Plants, 2019
Bioactive compounds of plant origin plays significant role in immune-modulation, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory conditions and more commonly used as anti-malarial, anti-microbial, anti-obesity and anti-neoplastic agents. The compounds withanolides from Withania somnifera, berberine from Berberis aristata, guggulsterone from Commiphora mukul (guggul) (Shishodia and Aggarwal, 2004) and nimbidin from neem (Azadirachta indica) (Gupta et al., 1977) act as anti-inflammatory while thevetin A, B, peruvoside from Thevetia neriifolia are potent cardiac glycoside (Bose et al., 1999). The reserpine from Rauwolfia serpentine was first tested in India for anti-hypertensive activity. The Terminalia arjuna bark has been used for treatment of angina. Garcinia cambogia have hydroxycitric acid which is used as an anti-obesity agent (Heymsfield et al., 1998). Naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids isolated from leaves of Anastrocladus heyneanus particularly anastrocladidine, ancistrocladidine, ancistrocladinium B and ancistrotanzanine have been shown to exhibit significant antiplasmodial activity (Bringmann et al., 2004). Withania somnifera and the steroidal alkaloid solasodine from Solanum nigrum, are used as immunomodulators (Sarma and Khosa, 1994). Plant-derived khellin compound from Ammi visnaga (toothpick plant) act as a lead molecule in asthma and allergy drugs. Galantamine is mainly used against Alzheimer’s disease was derived from Galanthus caucasicus (commonly called Snowdrop) (Tsakadze et al., 1969). Strychnos nux-vomica L., an important wild medicinal plant from Odisha possesses a wide range of antimicrobial activity against potential human pathogens (Dwibedy et al., 2015).
Application of the Mannich reaction in the structural modification of natural products
Published in Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry, 2023
Miao-Xia Pu, Hong-Yan Guo, Zhe-Shan Quan, Xiaoting Li, Qing-Kun Shen
Natural products constitute a treasury for drug development and have always been valuable sources in drug design. Pharmaceutical researchers are often inspired by natural product molecules with specific reactive backbones, reactive groups, and excellent biological activities. For example, khellin from Ammi visnaga (L) Lamk led to the development of chromolyn (in the form of sodium chromoglycate) as a bronchodilator and galegine from Galega officinalis L, which is a model for the synthesis of metformin and other bisguanidine-type antidiabetic drugs1. In addition, data analysis has shown that a considerable number of drugs approved by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) since 1939 contain natural product fragments. The natural product database contains 210,213 natural products. This demonstrates the importance of natural products for drug research. Therefore, the structural modifications of natural products are of great significance.
The predictive utility of the plant phylogeny in identifying sources of cardiovascular drugs
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2018
Emily Guzman, Jeanmaire Molina
Traditional medicine has paved the way for the development of modern cardiovascular (CV) drugs including aspirin, digoxin, amiodarone and reserpine (Mashour et al. 1998; Fabricant and Farnsworth 2001; Li et al. 2015). Aspirin, currently used as an analgesic and anticoagulant, was developed by Bayer in the 1890s (Norn et al. 2009) from the natural product, salicin found in the bark of white willow, Salix alba L. (Salicaceae). However, its antithrombotic potential was not appreciated until 1950s. Aspirin therapy has been shown to significantly reduce vascular mortality by 23% (Almony et al. 1996). Digitalis purpurea L. (Plantaginaceae), commonly known as foxglove, is the source of the cardiac glycoside digoxin, which is prescribed for patients with congestive heart failure (Campbell and MacDonald 2003). William Withering, an 18th c. English physician, learned the use of foxglove from a folk herbalist, and determined its clinical effects particularly in treating dropsy (oedema) through its action of increasing the intensity of cardiac contractions (Krikler 1985). Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam. (Apiaceae), an ancient Egyptian medicinal plant, was found to have cardioactive properties resulting in the development of the anti-arrhythmia drug, amiodarone, in the 1960s from khellin, the plant’s active natural product (Bhagavathula et al. 2015). In India, the root of Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz (Apocynaceae) has long been used for psychosis and as a sedative (Mashour et al. 1998; Rätsch 2005). The indole alkaloid reserpine was isolated from the root, and since 1950s has been used to reduce blood pressure (Lobay 2015). These examples highlight the importance of traditional medicine in drug discovery, with 80% of 122 compounds used globally as drugs having ethnomedicinal origins (Fabricant and Farnsworth 2001).
Development of piperine nanoemulsions: an alternative topical application for hypopigmentation
Published in Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, 2022
Burcu Ozkan, Ebru Altuntas, Rabia Cakir Koc, Yasemin Budama-Kilinc
Psoralens from Psoralea corylifolia L. in PUVA (psoralen and UVA) and khellin from Ammi visnaga L. in KUVA (khellin and UVA) are also used as traditional herbal treatments for vitiligo [11]. However, since the aforementioned herbal treatments with UVA are associated with skin cancer, treatment with phytoconstituents that do not require activation by UV radiation would be more advantageous. Therefore, it is a rational way to obtain new treatment agents for vitiligo by systematically screening other traditionally used herbs [12].
Related Knowledge Centers
- Angina
- Calcium Oxalate
- Chemical Compound
- Diuretic
- Khellin
- Ammi Majus
- Tea
- Herbal Medicine
- Kidney Stone Disease
- Side Effect