Inflammation is a natural protective mechanism that occurs when the body’s tissue homeostatic mechanisms are disrupted by biotic, physical, or chemical agents. The immune response generates pro-inflammatory mediators, but excessive output, such as chronic inflammation, contributes to many persistent diseases. Some phenolic compounds work in tandem with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to inhibit pro-inflammatory mediators’ activity or gene expression, including cyclooxygenase (COX). Various phenolic compounds can also act on transcription factors, such as nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) or nuclear factor-erythroid factor 2-related factor 2 (Nrf-2), to up-or downregulate elements within the antioxidant response pathways. Phenolic compounds can inhibit enzymes associated with the development of human diseases and have been used to treat various common human ailments, including hypertension, metabolic problems, incendiary infections, and neurodegenerative diseases. The inhibition of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) by phenolic compounds has been used to treat hypertension. The inhibition of carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzyme represents a type 2 diabetes mellitus therapy, and cholinesterase inhibition has been applied to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Phenolic compounds have also demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties to treat skin diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Plant extracts and phenolic compounds exert protective effects against oxidative stress and inflammation caused by airborne particulate matter, in addition to a range of anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-aging, antibacterial, and antiviral activities. Dietary polyphenols have been used to prevent and treat allergy-related diseases. The chemical and biological contributions of phenolic compounds to cardiovascular disease have also been described. This review summarizes the recent progress delineating the multifunctional roles of phenolic compounds, including their anti-inflammatory properties and the molecular pathways through which they exert anti-inflammatory effects on metabolic disorders. This study also discusses current issues and potential prospects for the therapeutic application of phenolic compounds to various human diseases.
Neuroinflammation, a protective response of the central nervous system (CNS), is associated with the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. The CNS is composed of neurons and glial cells consisting of microglia, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes. Entry of any foreign pathogen activates the glial cells (astrocytes and microglia) and overactivation of these cells triggers the release of various neuroinflammatory markers (NMs), such as the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-1β (IL-10), nitric oxide (NO), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), among others. Various studies have shown the role of neuroinflammatory markers in the occurrence, diagnosis, and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. These markers also trigger the formation of various other factors responsible for causing several neuronal diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Huntington’s disease (HD), multiple sclerosis (MS), ischemia, and several others. This comprehensive review aims to reveal the mechanism of neuroinflammatory markers (NMs), which could cause different neurodegenerative disorders. Important NMs may represent pathophysiologic processes leading to the generation of neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, various molecular alterations related to neurodegenerative diseases are discussed. Identifying these NMs may assist in the early diagnosis and detection of therapeutic targets for treating various neurodegenerative diseases.
Berberine (BBR), a potential bioactive agent, has remarkable health benefits. A substantial amount of research has been conducted to date to establish the anticancer potential of BBR. The present review consolidates salient information concerning the promising anticancer activity of this compound. The therapeutic efficacy of BBR has been reported in several studies regarding colon, breast, pancreatic, liver, oral, bone, cutaneous, prostate, intestine, and thyroid cancers. BBR prevents cancer cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis and controlling the cell cycle as well as autophagy. BBR also hinders tumor cell invasion and metastasis by down-regulating metastasis-related proteins. Moreover, BBR is also beneficial in the early stages of cancer development by lowering epithelial–mesenchymal transition protein expression. Despite its significance as a potentially promising drug candidate, there are currently no pure berberine preparations approved to treat specific ailments. Hence, this review highlights our current comprehensive knowledge of sources, extraction methods, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic profiles of berberine, as well as the proposed mechanisms of action associated with its anticancer potential. The information presented here will help provide a baseline for researchers, scientists, and drug developers regarding the use of berberine as a promising candidate in treating different types of cancers.
The strategies involved in the development of therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders are very complex and challenging due to the existence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a closely spaced network of blood vessels and endothelial cells that functions to prevent the entry of unwanted substances in the brain. The emergence and advancement of nanotechnology shows favourable prospects to overcome this phenomenon. Engineered nanoparticles conjugated with drug moieties and imaging agents that have dimensions between 1 and 100 nm could potentially be used to ensure enhanced efficacy, cellular uptake, specific transport, and delivery of specific molecules to the brain, owing to their modified physico-chemical features. The conjugates of nanoparticles and medicinal plants, or their components known as nano phytomedicine, have been gaining significance lately in the development of novel neuro-therapeutics owing to their natural abundance, promising targeted delivery to the brain, and lesser potential to show adverse effects. In the present review, the promising application, and recent trends of combined nanotechnology and phytomedicine for the treatment of neurological disorders (ND) as compared to conventional therapies, have been addressed. Nanotechnology-based efforts performed in bioinformatics for early diagnosis as well as futuristic precision medicine in ND have also been discussed in the context of computational approach.
Antimicrobials are a type of agent widely used to prevent various microbial infections in humans and animals. Antimicrobial resistance is a major cause of clinical antimicrobial therapy failure, and it has become a major public health concern around the world. Increasing the development of multiple antimicrobials has become available for humans and animals with no appropriate guidance. As a result, inappropriate use of antimicrobials has significantly produced antimicrobial resistance. However, an increasing number of infections such as sepsis are untreatable due to this antimicrobial resistance. In either case, life-saving drugs are rendered ineffective in most cases. The actual causes of antimicrobial resistance are complex and versatile. A lack of adequate health services, unoptimized use of antimicrobials in humans and animals, poor water and sanitation systems, wide gaps in access and research and development in healthcare technologies, and environmental pollution have vital impacts on antimicrobial resistance. This current review will highlight the natural history and basics of the development of antimicrobials, the relationship between antimicrobial use in humans and antimicrobial use in animals, the simplistic pathways, and mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance, and how to control the spread of this resistance.
Obesity and diabetes are the most demanding health problems today, and their prevalence, as well as comorbidities, is on the rise all over the world. As time goes on, both are becoming big issues that have a big impact on people’s lives. Diabetes is a metabolic and endocrine illness set apart by hyperglycemia and glucose narrow-mindedness because of insulin opposition. Heftiness is a typical, complex, and developing overall wellbeing worry that has for quite some time been connected to significant medical issues in individuals, all things considered. Because of the wide variety and low adverse effects, herbal products are an important hotspot for drug development. Synthetic compounds are not structurally diverse and lack drug-likeness properties. Thus, it is basic to keep on exploring herbal products as possible wellsprings of novel drugs. We conducted this review of the literature by searching Scopus, Science Direct, Elsevier, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. From 1990 until October 2021, research reports, review articles, and original research articles in English are presented. It provides top to bottom data and an examination of plant-inferred compounds that might be utilized against heftiness or potentially hostile to diabetes treatments. Our expanded comprehension of the systems of activity of phytogenic compounds, as an extra examination, could prompt the advancement of remedial methodologies for metabolic diseases. In clinical trials, a huge number of these food kinds or restorative plants, as well as their bioactive compounds, have been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of obesity.