Ginkgo biloba is an ancient plant species that is thought to provide a variety of health benefits to living organisms and contains plenty of bioactive components, making it a chemically diversified plant. G. biloba has been shown to have a variety of medicinal and pharmacological properties, including anticancer, antidementia, antidiabetic, antiobesity, antilipidemic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antilipid peroxidation, antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antidepressant, antiaging, immunomodulatory, antihypertensive, and neuroprotective effects and is frequently used to treat neurological, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases, such as tardive dyskinesia. Therefore, this review described the therapeutic applications of G. biloba. In addition to describing the therapeutic potential, this review also evaluates the chemical constituents, toxicity, adverse effect, synergistic effect, and the clinical studies of this plant which have been utilized for therapeutic benefits but have demonstrated other consequences. The capacity of G. biloba components to act as free radical scavengers is critical, and combining its extract with other plant extracts has been shown to synergistically boost antioxidant properties. G. biloba used long-term or at high doses that resulted in some adverse effects. Severe drug interactions have also been reported in both animals and humans when combined with other medications. The available data established from both preclinical and clinical studies confirm the potential of G. biloba plant extract in various diseases. Besides, the safety and efficacy of G. biloba continue to require verification through additional experimentation to guide medicinal use.

Neurodegenerative diseases are a global health issue with inadequate therapeutic options and an inability to restore the damaged nervous system. With advances in technology, health scientists continue to identify new approaches to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Lost or injured neurons and glial cells can lead to the development of several neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and multiple sclerosis. In recent years, neurons and glial cells have successfully been generated from stem cells in the laboratory utilizing cell culture technologies, fueling efforts to develop stem cell-based transplantation therapies for human patients. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential to either remain a stem cell or differentiate into a germ cell with specialized characteristics, such as muscle cells, red blood cells, or brain cells. Although several obstacles remain before stem cells can be used for clinical applications, including some potential disadvantages that must be overcome, this cellular development represents a potential pathway through which patients may eventually achieve the ability to live more normal lives. In this review, we summarize the stem cell-based therapies that have been explored for various neurological disorders, discuss the potential advantages and drawbacks of these therapies, and examine future directions for this field.

Flavonoids are important secondary plant metabolites that have been studied for a long time for their therapeutic potential in inflammatory diseases because of their cytokine-modulatory effects. Five flavonoid aglycones were isolated and identified from the hydrolyzed aqueous methanol extracts of Anastatica hierochuntica L., Citrus reticulata Blanco, and Kickxia aegyptiaca (L.) Nabelek. They were identified as taxifolin (1), pectolinarigenin (2), tangeretin (3), gardenin B (4), and hispidulin (5). These structures were elucidated based on chromatographic and spectral analysis. In this study, molecular docking studies were carried out for the isolated and identified compounds against SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) compared to the co-crystallized inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro (α-ketoamide inhibitor (KI), IC₅₀ = 66.72 µg/mL) as a reference standard. Moreover, in vitro screening against SARS-CoV-2 was evaluated. Compounds 2 and 3 showed the highest virus inhibition with IC₅₀ 12.4 and 2.5 µg/mL, respectively. Our findings recommend further advanced in vitro and in vivo studies of the examined isolated flavonoids, especially pectolinarigenin (2), tangeretin (3), and gardenin B (4), either alone or in combination with each other to identify a promising lead to target SARS-CoV-2 effectively. This is the first report of the activity of these compounds against SARS-CoV-2.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a causative virus in the development of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. Respiratory manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection such as acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) leads to hypoxia, oxidative stress, and sympatho-activation and in severe cases leads to sympathetic storm (SS). On the other hand, an exaggerated immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 invasion may lead to uncontrolled release of pro-inflammatory cytokine development of cytokine storm (CS). In Covid-19, there are interactive interactions between CS and SS in the development of multi-organ failure (MOF). Interestingly, cutting the bridge between CS and SS by anti-inflammatory and anti-adrenergic agents may mitigate complications that are induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection in severely affected Covid-19 patients. The potential mechanisms of SS in Covid-19 are through different pathways such as hypoxia, which activate the central sympathetic center through carotid bodies chemosensory input and induced pro-inflammatory cytokines, which cross the blood-brain barrier and activation of the sympathetic center. β2-receptors signaling pathway play a crucial role in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, macrophage activation, and B-cells for the production of antibodies with inflammation exacerbation. β-blockers have anti-inflammatory effects through reduction release of pro-inflammatory cytokines with inhibition of NF-κB. In conclusion, β-blockers interrupt this interaction through inhibition of several mediators of CS and SS with prevention development of neural-cytokine loop in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Evidence from this study triggers an idea for future prospective studies to confirm the potential role of β-blockers in the management of Covid-19.

Nephrotoxicity (NT) is a renal-specific situation caused by different toxins and drugs like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs like diclofenac (DCF) lead to glomerular dysfunction. Pentoxifylline (PTX) and berberine (BER) have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate the ameliorative effect of PTX, BER and their combination against DCF-mediated acute NT. Induction of acute NT was done via DCF injection (150 mg/kg I.P, for 6 days) in rats. PTX 200 mg/kg, BER 200 mg/kg and their combination were administrated for 6 days prior to DCF injection and concurrently with DCF for additional 6 days. Acute NT was evaluated biochemically and histopathologically by measuring blood urea (BU), serum creatinine (SCr), kidney injury molecule-1(KIM-1), integrin (ITG), and vitronectin (VTN), interleukin (IL)-18, Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) with the scoring of histopathological alterations. PTX, BER and their combination significantly (P < 0.05) attenuated biochemical and histopathological changes in DCF-mediated acute NT by amelioration of BU, SCr, KIM-1, ITG, VTN, IL-18, NGAL, GFR, SOD, GSH, MDA and scoring of histopathological alterations. The combined effects of PTX and BER produced more significant effects (P < 0.05) than either PTX or BER when used alone against DCF-induced acute NT. In conclusion, BER and BTX were found to have potential renoprotective effects against DCF-induced NT in rats by inhibiting inflammatory reactions and oxidative stress.