Herbal Product Development

Formulation and Applications

Anil K. Sharma, Raj K. Keservani, Surya Prakash Gautam, Anil K. Sharma, Raj K. Keservani, Surya Prakash Gautam

• Publisher: Apple Academic Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781771888776
• eBook ISBN: 9781000754452
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Alternative & Complementary Medicine

This new volume, Herbal Product Development: Formulation and Applications, addresses some of the challenges that hinder the path of successful natural products from laboratory to market. Highly skilled, experienced, and renowned scientists and researchers from around the globe offer up-to-date information that describes characteristics of herbs and herbal products, applications, evaluation techniques, and more. There is also a section dedicated to alternative medicinal strategies for the treatment and cure of diverse diseases. Also considered, of course, is the efficacy and safety of herbal products, which are of major concern.

This valuable volume will be an important addition to the library of those involved in herbal product development and testing, including researchers, scientists, academicians, industry professionals, and students in this area.

CHAPTER 1
Medicinal Plants in Natural Health Care as Phytopharmaceuticals

CHARU GUPTA^* and DHAN PRAKASH

Amity Institute of Herbal Research and Studies, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India

* Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].

ABSTRACT

There is a growing awareness in natural plant products as the basis of novel pharmaceuticals and other biologically active compounds. The majority of screening for biological activities of herbal extracts has been done in the hunt for novel anti-cancer, anti-viral and anti-fertility drugs. The advancement of the fast screening trials nowadays used in manufacturing has intended that many other plants can be assessed for an extensive variety of biological activities. There still remains a crucial necessity to develop novel medical medications, and this can be illustrated by the several ailments such as cancer, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and other age-related disorders. Natural goods already have an established track record for various activities, and it is likely that there are more such remedies still to be found from the environment. Regrettably, the outcomes of such trials do not inevitably spread the public domain and are kept in inaccessible business records. This is a timely review of the latest advances and trends in a field which is becoming a commercially significant area of investigation for the pharmaceutical industry.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The customary structure of medication in which plant derivatives are the chief ingredients has gained worldwide recognition and popularity. The practice of herbal therapy in treating diseases and different disorders for meeting primary health needs is thought to be very effective and safe within prescribed doses. Some recent applications of the early customary scheme of treatment may be cited as Pacific yew (Taxus species) that had made quite an impact in the previous decade by providing raw materials to fight against certain types of cancer. Discovery of Ginseng and its therapeutic properties is also noteworthy. Another example is goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis). The most significant development of anti-malarial drug in current ages was based on a traditionally used plant Artemisia annua L. Its medicinal properties had been well known in China for more than 2000 years. Medicinal plants as cultivated and collected form the basis of numerous phytomedicines in several countries and are thus a big business indeed. Recently, there has been tremendous upsurge in the interest on plants used by the tribal people or are a part of the ancient systems of medicine such as Ayurvedic, Unani, Chinese, Tibetean and the Aztech (South American). The reasons for such interest are mainly the safety, nominal side effects and trials of centuries. The modern approach to the science of ethnobotany evolved in India, USA, France, South East Asia, China, Jamaica, Combodia, Nepal, Hawai, Turkana, etc. are also engaged in the detailed ethnomedicinal studies of the tribal and aborginal populations of their countries (Gupta and Prakash, 2014; Haidan et al., 2016).

Medicinal and aromatic plants provide various kinds of medicines besides supplying nutrition for the preclusion and management of ailments and constitute an integral part of traditional medical prescriptions. From folk medicine and traditional scheme of drug, medicinal florae were adopted into the contemporary scheme of medication after they have been found effective drugs through chemical and pharmacological screening in the initial stages of growth of contemporary medicine plants. Medicinal plants have been quantified to encompass around 10,000 species and account for roughly 50% of all the higher flowering plant species in India alone. Curative properties of few such plants have been described; however, a large number of plants still used by native folklore are to be unraveled. Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Amchi systems of medication offer a good base for scientific investigation of medicinally significant molecules from the environment. Evolving notion of joining Ayurveda with the advanced drug discovery programme is worldwide acceptable. According to the reports of the World Health Organization (WHO), about three quarters of the world’s populace presently practise herbs and other customs of customary medicines to treat sicknesses. Customary medicines are broadly used in India and China, and the use of herbal medicines has improved histrionically in the past two decades all over the world (Chikezie and Ojiako, 2015).

Ayurveda (ayus—life, veda—knowledge, meaning science of life), the Indian customary health care system, is the primogenital medicinal system in the world. It offers a method to prevent and treat diverse ailments by a huge number of therapeutic measures and pharmaceuticals. During the previous few eras, intensive search for plant constituents of potential medicinal importance was being pursued all over the world. The therapeutic value of a plant depends on the occurrence of active principles, which exert impact on the structure or role of the living being. These substances are of varying chemical groups, and several of them are useful in the pharmaceutical industry. This natural system is more accessible and devoid of severe side effects, since the plants are well tested over the centuries. From traditional medication and the traditional system of medicine, medicinal plants were adopted into the modern system of medicine after they have been found effective drugs through chemical and pharmacological selection in the initial stages of development of current medication (Pan et al., 2011).

The activity of medicinal plants depends on phytochemicals present in them, though it is, in general, the outcome of the combined activity of several active composites as well as of inert accompanying substances. These inert components might influence bioavailability, stability, and can minimize side effects or might have additive/synergestic effect. The aim of chemical evaluation of traditional medicines is obviously to ensure their therapeutical efficacy and to establish chemical parameters for the standardization and quality governor of the herbal/Ayurvedic finished/end products. Chemistry of natural produces is a research field with endless potential and is especially important in countries that possess great biodiversity. Nowadays, the customary medication all over the world is revalued by an extensive activity of investigation on diverse herbal species and their beneficial properties. The therapeutic properties of florae have been explored in the light of current technical advances throughout the world, due to their potent pharmacological activities, low toxicity and commercial feasibility (Acharya and Shrivastava, 2008; Bjelakovic et al., 2014).

The Rasayana in ayurveda not only focuses on drug remedy but also includes the practice of revitalization and nutrition, including its movement, circulation and perfusion in the body tissues. In reference to the Rasayana drug therapy, the strong antioxidant activity of any Rasayana has been reported; these compounds were found to be several folds more powerful than synthetic molecules (Bjelakovic et al., 2014; Forman et al., 2016). Phytochemical constituents of a plant play a key role in biological activities of different medicinal plants and are accountable for their effectiveness.

Reactive oxygen species (ROSs) are generated by normal metabolic processes in all oxygen-utilizing organisms. Damage induced by ROSs includes DNA mutation, protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation, contributing to the growth of cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis, inflammation and premature ageing. Antioxidant properties elicited by plant species have a full range of perspective applications in human healthcare. Natural antioxidants such as carotenoids, tocopherols, ascorbates and polyphenols are generally found in plants, foods, vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices containing many compounds with strong antioxidant activities (Kota et al., 2018).

1.2 FREE RADICALS AND HUMAN HEALTH

In the situation of a disturbed balance between the formation of free radicals and antioxidant defense, in the cell we have oxidative stress and the free radicals that can play a part in the growth of many ailments. The over-production of ROS has been involved in the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases such as cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, retinal degeneration, ishemic dementia and other disorders due to ageing. There are strong indications that antioxidant supplements can ameliorate such conditions (Carocho et al., 2018). They are known to act as antioxidant to defuse toxic free radicals, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, immuno-stimulant and anti-hepatotoxic. Specifically, phenols may help to lower the risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, age-related vision disorders, asthma and reduce inflammation (Poprac et al., 2017).

1.3 MEDICINAL PLANTS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY

The customary medicine all over the world is nowadays enhanced by a wide activity of study on diverse plant species and their beneficial properties. Besides supplying food for the avoidance and management of diseases, plants provide various kinds of medicines. Foods play a main part in the notions of...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• About the Editors
• Contents
• Contributors
• Abbreviations
• Preface
• 1. Medicinal Plants in Natural Health Care as Phytopharmaceuticals
• 2. Herbal Food Product Development and Characteristics
• 3. Herbal Supplements and Health
• 4. Herbal Therapies
• 5. Herbs in Cancer Therapy
• 6. Herbs in Cancer Therapy: A Preamble
• 7. Medicinal Mushrooms
• 8. Herbal Product Development and Characteristics
• 9. Brief Overview of Development and Characterization of Herbal Products
• 10. Aromatic Medicine
• 11. Understanding Classical Naturopathy: The Hippocratic Way of Healing
• 12. Naturopathy
• Index