Current Issue : July-September Volume : 2026 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 5 Articles
South Africa’s extensive floral biodiversity and ethnobotanical history represent a vast, underexplored resource for neurology, with over 300 species traditionally used for CNS ailments like epilepsy, anxiety, and cognitive decline. This paper advocates for a multi-targeted therapeutic strategy as an essential alternative to the insufficient “one drug, one target” conventional approach, given that complex neurological disorders are multifactorial, involving issues like neurotransmitter imbalance, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress. Plant extracts, rich in bioactive compounds (alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, and terpenoids), are uniquely suited for this approach, exemplified by Sceletium tortuosum alkaloids acting as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) and Boophone disticha alkaloids showing acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity, with other species like Sutherlandia frutescens alleviating mitochondrial dysfunction. However, scientific translation is significantly impeded by a pervasive lack of human clinical trials (RCTs), considerable chemical variability in traditional remedies, and critical ethical and ecological challenges surrounding bioprospecting. To bridge this gap, future efforts must prioritize rigorous clinical validation, implement stringent Standardization and Quality Control (QC) using advanced analytical techniques, and strictly adhere to Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) principles to ensure sustainable and equitable commercial development....
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is cultivated globally and generates a large quantity of plant-derived residues, including leaves, stems, and non-commercial cull roots, which remain insufficiently utilized despite their potential functional value. Although the antioxidant properties of sweet potato leaves have been reported, comparative investigations of different plant parts evaluated under the same experimental conditions, particularly in relation to skin-associated biological functions, are still limited. In this study, aqueous extracts prepared from sweet potato leaves, stems, and cull roots were obtained using a food-grade extraction process suitable for practical application. The phenolic composition and biological properties of the extracts were comparatively analyzed. Antioxidant capacity was examined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, the 2,2- azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), as well as assays associated with superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like and catalase-related activities. Skin-related biological responses were further evaluated by measuring elastase and collagenase inhibition, type I procollagen synthesis, and matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) secretion in CCD-986Sk human dermal fibroblasts. Among the tested samples, the leaf-derived aqueous extract exhibited a higher total phenolic content, greater accumulation of chlorogenic acid, and stronger antioxidant responses compared with stem and cull root extracts. In addition, the leaf extract showed more pronounced effects on collagen metabolism, including enhanced procollagen synthesis and reduced MMP-1 secretion, while maintaining acceptable cell viability within the tested concentration range. Overall, these results demonstrate clear tissue-dependent functional differences among sweet potato residues and indicate that leaf-derived extracts represent a promising functional material for skin-related and cosmetic applications....
Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Fabaceae) is a plant species with already demonstrated countless biological properties and many more still to be discovered. Here, root sample extracts from different geographical areas were compared based on their phytochemical profiles and biological activities. Both raw and hydrolysate extracts, as well as 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid, glycyrrhizin, and isoliquiritigenin, considered as the main licorice secondary metabolites, were screened for antiproliferative and anti-migration properties in MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, A2780, HeLa, SiHa, and C33A breast and gynecological cancer cell lines. Hydrolysate extracts showed higher cytotoxicity than the raw extracts at the same final concentrations, 30 and 60 μg/mL, respectively. Among the standards, isoliquiritigenin showed the most pronounced cytotoxic activity, with inhibitory percentages exceeding 70% in each of the investigated cell lines at the lowest tested dose of 30 μg/mL. Then, the most effective extracts in the MTT assay, LIT2-H and LMO-H, were screened in a wound-healing test, demonstrating efficacy against ovarian (A2780) and cervical (C33A) cancer cell lines after 24 and 48 h of exposure....
Mussaenda pubescens Dryand. is a medicinal plant widely used in traditional medicine in Southeast Asia for the treatment of inflammation, skin-related disorders, and other health conditions. Despite its ethnopharmacological significance, scientific evidence regarding its bioactive constituents remains limited. In particular, no comprehensive study has been reported on the chemical constituents of M. pubescens in relation to tyrosinase-associated activity. In the present study, one new compound (1) and six known compounds (2–7) were isolated from the ethanol extract of the aerial parts of M. pubescens using various chromatographic techniques. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses, includingNMR and HR-ESI-MS data. All isolated compounds were evaluated for their tyrosinase inhibitory activity. The results showed that compounds 1, 4, and 5 exhibited significant inhibitory effects, with IC50 values of 62.39±0.48, 62.55±0.49, and 178.06±0.89 μM, respectively. The underlying inhibitory mechanisms against tyrosinase were further investigated through enzyme kinetic studies and molecular docking simulations. Enzyme kinetic analysis revealed that compound 1 acted as a competitive inhibitor of tyrosinase, with an inhibition constant (Ki) value of 22.28 ± 0.73 μM. Overall, M. pubescens was found to contain a diverse range of secondary metabolites, including iridoid glucosides, saponins, and flavonoids, which exhibited notable tyrosinase inhibitory activity. These findings provide the first chemical insight into the tyrosinaserelated bioactivity of M. pubescens and support its potential application as a natural source of tyrosinase inhibitors for pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes....
Bone metastasis remains a fatal and incurable condition for patients with breast cancer, leading to skeletal deterioration. The bone microenvironment enhances tumor proliferation and chemoresistance, necessitating novel therapeutic strategies. To investigate the cytotoxicity of two phytochemically-enriched plant extracts: Origanum vulgare (O.V.) and Vaccinium macrocarpon (V.M.) against breast cancer cells in a bone-metastatic condition. MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines were treated with O.V. and V.M. for 24 h, in both 2D and 3D bone metastatic conditions. Live cell imaging, Alamar blue viability assay, RT-PCR, and flow cytometry analysis were used to assess cytotoxicity, apoptosis activation, and changes in oxidative stress/mitochondrial activity. Both extracts significantly inhibited cancer cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, with differential sensitivity observed between cell lines. Based on IC50 analysis, O.V. demonstrated greater efficacy against the bone metastatic MCF-7 cell line, while V.M. was more effective against the bone metastatic MDA-MB-231. Apoptosis activation was confirmed via upregulation of pro-apoptotic proteins p53 and caspase-9. Importantly, we observed that normal bone cells were unaffected by the treatments. These findings elucidate the promising yet untapped potential of O.V. and V.M. extracts as robust therapies for bone metastasis....
Loading....