Gallic acid (GA) is a phenolic molecule found naturally in a wide range of fruits as well as in medicinal plants. It has many health benefits due to its antioxidant properties. This study focused on finding out the neurobiological effects and mechanisms of GA using published data from reputed databases. For this, data were collected from various sources, such as PubMed/Medline, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, SpringerLink, and Web of Science. The findings suggest that GA can be used to manage several neurological diseases and disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, strokes, sedation, depression, psychosis, neuropathic pain, anxiety, and memory loss, as well as neuroinflammation. According to database reports and this current literature-based study, GA may be considered one of the potential lead compounds to treat neurological diseases and disorders. More preclinical and clinical studies are required to establish GA as a neuroprotective drug.

The present study was designed to evaluate the antiemetic activity of abietic acid (AA) using in vivo and in silico studies. To assess the effect, doses of 50 mg/kg b.w. copper sulfate (CuSO₄⋅5H₂O) were given orally to 2-day-old chicks. The test compound (AA) was given orally at two doses of 20 and 40 mg/kg b.w. On the other hand, aprepitant (16 mg/kg), domperidone (6 mg/kg), diphenhydramine (10 mg/kg), hyoscine (21 mg/kg), and ondansetron (5 mg/kg) were administered orally as positive controls (PCs). The vehicle was used as a control group. Combination therapies with the referral drugs were also given to three separate groups of animals to see the synergistic and antagonizing activity of the test compound. Molecular docking and visualization of ligand-receptor interaction were performed using different computational tools against various emesis-inducing receptors (D₂, D₃, 5HT₃, H₁, and M₁–M₅). Furthermore, the pharmacokinetics and toxicity properties of the selected ligands were predicted by using the SwissADME and Protox-II online servers. Findings indicated that AA dose-dependently enhances the latency of emetic retching and reduces the number of retching compared to the vehicle group. Among the different treatments, animals treated with AA (40 mg/kg) exhibited the highest latency (98 ± 2.44 s) and reduced the number of retching (11.66 ± 2.52 times) compared to the control groups. Additionally, the molecular docking study indicated that AA exhibits the highest binding affinity (− 10.2 kcal/mol) toward the M₄ receptors and an elevated binding affinity toward the receptors 5HT₃ (− 8.1 kcal/mol), M₁ (− 7.7 kcal/mol), M₂ (− 8.7 kcal/mol), and H₁ (− 8.5 kcal/mol) than the referral ligands. Taken together, our study suggests that AA has potent antiemetic effects by interacting with the 5TH₃ and muscarinic receptor interaction pathways. However, additional extensive pre-clinical and clinical studies are required to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of AA.

Quercetin (QUA), a flavonoid compound, is ubiquitously found in plants and has demonstrated a diverse range of biological activities. The primary objective of the current study is to assess the potential antiemetic properties of QUA using an in vivo and in silico approach. In this experiment, 4-day-old chicks were purchased to induce emesis by orally administering copper sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO₄·5H₂O) at a dose of 50 mg/kg (orally). Domperidone (DOM) (6 mg/kg), Hyoscine (HYS) (21 mg/kg), and Ondansetron (OND) (5 mg/kg) were treated as positive controls (PCs), and distilled water and a trace amount of Tween 80 mixture was employed as a negative control (NC). QUA was given orally at two distinct doses (25 and 50 mg/kg). Additionally, QUA (50 mg/kg) and PCs were administered separately or in combination to assess their antagonistic or synergistic effects on the chicks. The binding affinity of QUA and referral ligands towards the serotonin receptor (5HT3), dopamine receptors (D2 and D3), and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (M1–M5) were estimated, and ligand–receptor interactions were visualized through various computational tools. In vivo findings indicate that QUA (25 and 50 mg/kg) has a significant effect on reducing the number of retches (16.50 ± 4.65 and 10.00 ± 4.19 times) and increasing the chick latency period (59.25 ± 4.75 and 94.25 ± 4.01 s), respectively. Additionally, QUA (50 mg/kg) in combination with Domperidone and Ondansetron exhibited superior antiemetic effects, reducing the number of retches and increasing the onset of emesis-inducing time. Furthermore, it is worth noting that QUA exhibited the strongest binding affinity against the D2 receptor with a value of −9.7 kcal/mol through the formation of hydrogen and hydrophobic bonds. In summary, the study found that QUA exhibited antiemetic activity in chicks, potentially by interacting with the D2 receptor pathway.

Fruits and vegetables are used not only for nutritional purposes but also as therapeutics to treat various diseases and ailments. These food items are prominent sources of phytochemicals that exhibit chemopreventive and therapeutic effects against several diseases. Hirsutine (HSN) is a naturally occurring indole alkaloid found in various Uncaria species and has a multitude of therapeutic benefits. It is found in foodstuffs such as fish, seafood, meat, poultry, dairy, and some grain products among other things. In addition, it is present in fruits and vegetables including corn, cauliflower, mushrooms, potatoes, bamboo shoots, bananas, cantaloupe, and citrus fruits. The primary emphasis of this study is to summarize the pharmacological activities and the underlying mechanisms of HSN against different diseases, as well as the biopharmaceutical features. For this, data were collected (up to date as of 1 July 2023) from various reliable and authentic literature by searching different academic search engines, including PubMed, Springer Link, Scopus, Wiley Online, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Findings indicated that HSN exerts several effects in various preclinical and pharmacological experimental systems. It exhibits anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-diabetic, and antioxidant activities with beneficial effects in neurological and cardiovascular diseases. Our findings also indicate that HSN exerts promising anticancer potentials via several molecular mechanisms, including apoptotic cell death, induction of oxidative stress, cytotoxic effect, anti-proliferative effect, genotoxic effect, and inhibition of cancer cell migration and invasion against various cancers such as lung, breast, and antitumor effects in human T-cell leukemia. Taken all together, findings from this study show that HSN can be a promising therapeutic agent to treat various diseases including cancer.