Ethnomedicinal, phytochemical and pharmacological updates on Hygrophila auriculata (Schum.) Hiene: an overview / 中西医结合学报

This article explores the most recent evidence-based information on ethnomedicinal, phytochemical and pharmacological understanding of Hygrophila auriculata for the treatment of various diseases and health conditions. Various ethnomedicinal writings suggest the use of the plant or its parts for the treatment of jaundice, oedema, gastrointestinal ailments, diarrhoea, dysentery, urinogenital disorder, gall stones, urinary calculi, kidney stone, leucorrhoea, rheumatism, tuberculosis, anaemia, body pain, constipation, skin disease, and as an aphrodisiac. The plant has been reported to contain flavonoids (apigenin, luteolin, ellagic acid, gallic acid and quercetin), alkaloids (asteracanthine and asteracanthicine), triterpenes (lupeol, lupenone, hentricontane and betulin), sterols (stigmasterol and asterol), minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, aliphatic esters and essential oils. Extracts and bioactive compounds from the plant have been found to possess antimicrobial, anthelmintic, antitermite, nephroprotective, hepatoprotective, central nervous system protective, antitumour, antidiabetic, anticataract, antioxidant, haematopoietic, diuretic, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antimotility, aphrodisiac, neuroprotection, anti-endotoxin and anti-urolithiatic activities. For this paper, we reviewed patents, clinical studies, analytical studies and marketed formulations from the earliest found examples from 1887 to the end of 2017.

Anti-arthritis activity of roots of Hemidesmus indicus R.Br. (Anantmul) in rats

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the protective effects of hydroalcoholic and its fractions from roots of Hemidesmus indicus on arthritis in in vitro models of rodents.@*METHODS@#Preliminary phytochemical analysis and thin-layer chromoatography were performed to analyze constituents of hydroalcoholic extract and its three fraction namely ethyl acetate fraction, chloroform fraction and residual fraction of root of Hemidesmus indicus. Arthritis rats models were established by Complete Freund's Adjuvant. The parameters including paw edema, body weight, arthritic index, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum rheumatoid factor, serum C-reactive protein, serum nitrite level, and histopathology of synovial joints were observed. Methotrexate was taken as positive control.@*RESULTS@#Rats treated with hydroalcoholic extract (450 mg/kg, p.o.), ethyl acetate (75 mg/kg, p.o.), chloroform (60 mg/kg, p.o) and residual fractions (270 mg/kg, p.o.), showed significant decrease in physical and biochemical parameters compared with arthritic model rats. Hydroalcoholic extract and its ethyl acetate fraction of Hemidesmus indicus showed significantly higher anti-arthritic activity than chloroform and residual fraction. Histopathological analysis demonstrated that both of hydroalcoholic extract and its ethyl acetate fraction had comparable anti-arthritic activity with methotrexates.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The present study suggests that Hemidesmus indicus has protective activity against arthritis and the activity might be attributed to presence of terpenoid in hydroalcoholic extract, as well as in ethyl acetate fraction.