Medicinal plants are considered the reservoir of diverse therapeutic agents and have been traditionally employed worldwide to heal various ailments for several decades. Silymarin is a plant-derived mixture of polyphenolic flavonoids originating from the fruits and akenes of Silybum marianum and contains three flavonolignans, silibinins (silybins), silychristin and silydianin, along with taxifolin. Silybins are the major constituents in silymarin with almost 70–80% abundance and are accountable for most of the observed therapeutic activity. Silymarin has also been acknowledged from the ancient period and is utilized in European and Asian systems of traditional medicine for treating various liver disorders. The contemporary literature reveals that silymarin is employed significantly as a neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-viral, anti-hypertensive, immunomodulator, anti-inflammatory, photoprotective and detoxification agent by targeting various cellular and molecular pathways, including MAPK, mTOR, β-catenin and Akt, different receptors and growth factors, as well as inhibiting numerous enzymes and the gene expression of several apoptotic proteins and inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, the current review aims to recapitulate and update the existing knowledge regarding the pharmacological potential of silymarin as evidenced by vast cellular, animal, and clinical studies, with a particular emphasis on its mechanisms of action.

Wounds represent various significant health concerns for patients and also contribute major costs to healthcare systems. Wound healing comprises of overlapped and various coordinated steps such as homeostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. In response to the failure of many strategies in delivering intended results including wound closure, fluid loss control, and exhibiting properties such as durability, targeted delivery, accelerated action, along with histocompatibility, numerous nanotechnological advances have been introduced. To understand the magnitude of wound therapy, this systematic and updated review discussing the effectiveness of nanoemulsions has been undertaken. This review portrays mechanisms associated with wound healing, factors for delayed wound healing, and various technologies utilized to treat wounds effectively. While many strategies are available, nanoemulsions have attracted the tremendous attention of scientists globally for the research in wound therapy due to their long-term thermodynamic stability and bioavailability. Nanoemulsions not only aid in tissue repair, but are also considered as an excellent delivery system for various synthetic and natural actives. Nanotechnology provides several pivotal benefits in wound healing, including improved skin permeation, controlled release, and stimulation of fibroblast cell proliferation. The significant role of nanoemulsions in improved wound healing along with their preparation techniques has also been highlighted with special emphasis on mechanistic insights. This article illustrates recent research advancements for the utilization of nanoemulsions in wound treatment. An adequate literature search has been conducted using the keywords ‘Nanoemulsions in wound healing’, ‘Wound therapy and nanoemulsions’, ‘Herbal actives in wound therapy’, ‘Natural oils and wounds treatment’ etc., from PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases. Referred and original publications in the English language accessed till April 2022 has been included, whereas nonEnglish language papers, unpublished data, and nonoriginal papers were excluded from the study.

Traditional medicinal plants have wide-reaching utilisation in the treatment of diabetes especially in developing countries where medical resources are meagre. Traditionally used anti-diabetic plants act by numerous mechanisms, however, only a few of them act through activation of the glucokinase enzyme. Glucokinase is a key regulatory enzyme in glucose metabolism thereby controls glucose homeostasis and insulin secretion. The present review significantly analyses the knowledge about various plant-based glucokinase activators including numerous phytochemicals which modulate the activity and gene expression of glucokinase and would provide data support and perspective regarding future research in the discovery and development of different plant-derived glucokinase activators. Graphical Abstract

The poor bioavailability of various drugs is the utmost obstacle in oral drug delivery. The use of natural bioenhancer as supplements with the primary therapeutic agent has gained wider acceptance and has been emerged as a potential method to increase the bioavailability of various drugs. Gallic acid is one of the chief phenolic natural compounds extensively distributed in plants and fruit. Despite its broad spectrum pharmacological effects, gallic acid significantly augments the bioavailability of diverse classes of drugs at low doses by impeding liver metabolism and altering gastrointestinal permeability. In this context, this review aims to summarise the promising bioavailability enhancing activity of gallic acid on different therapeutic agents. Furthermore, current evidence confirms that the intervention with gallic acid leads to enhance the bioavailability of various drugs; however, extensive research is need of the hour so that it could be utilized in drug formulations in the future for clinical use.