Magnolin is a naturally occurring, multi-bioactive lignan molecule with inherent anticancer effects. This study aims to summarize the botanical origins and anticancer properties of magnolin. For this, a recent (as of March 2023) literature review was conducted using various academic search engines, including PubMed, Springer Link, Wiley Online, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. All the currently available information about this phytochemical and its role in various cancer types has been gathered and investigated. Magnolin is a compound found in many different plants. It has been demonstrated to have anticancer activity in numerous experimental models by inhibiting the cell cycle (G1 and G2/M phase); inducing apoptosis; and causing antiinvasion, antimetastasis, and antiproliferative effects via the modulation of several pathways. In conclusion, magnolin showed robust anticancer activity against many cancer cell lines by altering several cancer signaling pathways in various non- and pre-clinical experimental models, making it a promising plant-derived chemotherapeutic option for further clinical research.

Sedatives promote calmness or sleepiness during surgery or severely stressful events. In addition, depression is a mental health issue that negatively affects emotional well-being. A group of drugs called anti-depressants is used to treat major depressive illnesses. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effects of quercetin (QUR) and linalool (LIN) on thiopental sodium (TS)-induced sleeping mice and to investigate the combined effects of these compounds using a conventional co-treatment strategy and in silico studies. For this, the TS-induced sleeping mice were monitored to compare the occurrence, latency, and duration of the sleep-in response to QUR (10, 25, 50 mg/kg), LIN (10, 25, 50 mg/kg), and diazepam (DZP, 3 mg/kg, i.p.). Moreover, an in silico investigation was undertaken to assess this study’s putative modulatory sedation mechanism. For this, we observed the ability of test and standard medications to interact with various gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABA_A) subunits. Results revealed that QUR and LIN cause dose-dependent antidepressant-like and sedative-like effects in animals, respectively. In addition, QUR-50 mg/kg and LIN-50 mg/kg and/or DZP-3 mg/kg combined were associated with an increased latency period and reduced sleeping times in animals. Results of the in silico studies demonstrated that QUR has better binding interaction with GABA_A α3, β1, and γ2 subunits when compared with DZP, whereas LIN showed moderate affinity with the GABA_A receptor. Taken together, the sleep duration of LIN and DZP is opposed by QUR in TS-induced sleeping mice, suggesting that QUR may be responsible for providing sedation-antagonizing effects through the GABAergic interaction pathway.

Due to the increasing rate of cancer and the undesirable consequences of manufactured drugs, there is a growing interest in the development of natural products as potential remedies. Ferulic acid (FA), a phenolic substance, is found naturally present in the Ferula foetida plant’s cell walls with therapeutic activities. The objective of this study is to determine the botanical sources, pharmacokinetics, and anticancer activity of FA and its derivatives, focusing on the molecular mechanism by using the data obtained from the literature database. The study’s findings suggest that FA demonstrates promising anticancer effects in preclinical pharmacological test methods. The findings of the study exhibit that FA showed promising anticancer activity through underlying mechanisms, including induction of oxidative stress, cytotoxic effect, cell cycle arrest, apoptotic effect, suppression of invasion and migration, antiproliferative effect, autophagy, and genotoxic and mutagenic effect by regulating different molecular pathways like PI3K/AKT, p38/MAPK/ERK, AKT/mTOR, and NF‐ κ B signaling pathways which are involved in cancer development and cell growth. Additionally, this review indicated the pharmacokinetic properties of FA, indicating lower oral bioavailability is affected by the liver’s fast conjugation process; this limitation is overcome by applying a nanoformulation of FA. However, additional clinical investigations are recommended to determine the appropriate therapeutic effectiveness, safety, and human dosage.