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There is a trend toward the use of natural substances present in plants and vegetables. In general, foods rich in antioxidants are complex matrices; therefore, understanding its absorption effects is extremely relevant to know its bioactive potential. Thus, this systematic review focused on clinical trials involving plants (or compounds) registered on the National List of Medicinal Plants of Interest to the Unified Health System (RENISUS) with antioxidant properties. Following the reporting guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes studies of interest indexed in the PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were analyzed. Of the 59 clinical trials found, Allium sativum and Curcuma longa are the plant species with the highest percentage of clinical research. Prevention/attenuation of oxidative stress was one of the main antioxidant mechanisms indicated in the studies. The most tested compounds of the RENISUS plants in clinical trials were curcumin and soy isoflavone. In this review, we selected studies in advanced stages that highlight plants' value in optimizing antioxidant status; however, even with high-quality studies, it is not prudent to overstate the clinical efficacy of these plants.

Medicinal plants synthesize various secondary metabolites thatcan be used for therapeutic and antimicrobial purposes. In Brazil,the Unified Health System (SUS) offers several herbal medicines asan alternative in the treatment of various diseases. Considering theimportance of these plants in the production of chemicals that expandtherapeutic options and improve the health of SUS users, this reviewwas carried out to quantitatively determine the antifungal activity ofplants used as phytotherapeutics at RENAME. The selection of paperswas performed at three distinct stages: examining and choosing titlesrelated to antifungal action, reading the abstracts, and reading thewhole selected articles. This review selected 22 studies of interest;12 of them were conducted in Brazil and 10 were carried out in othercountries. The papers chosen tested the growth inhibitory effect ofplants against fungal species of agricultural and health importance,ranging from filamentous to yeast-like fungi, and Candida albicanswas the most tested species. The growth of 39 fungal species wereinhibited by some concentration of the extract used, with either anincrease or decrease in antifungal activity depending on the extractused. The most frequently analyzed plant was the species Schinusterebinthifolius Raddi., studied in seven papers. The results founddemonstrate the importance of analyzing medicinal plants andincorporating plant-based medicines in healthcare as an alternativesource of treatment, highlighting the need for studies that evaluatethe mechanisms action of their cytotoxicity and therapeutic effectsin the human body. As plantas medicinais produzem uma série de metabólitos secundáriosque podem ser usados para fins terapêuticos e antimicrobianos.No Brasil, o SUS disponibiliza uma série de medicamentos fitoterápicoscomo alternativa ao tratamento de diversas enfermidades.Considerando a importância da utilização dessas plantas na produçãode medicamentos que ampliem as opções terapêuticas e melhorema atenção à saúde de usuários do sistema, elaborou-se este estudode revisão com o objetivo de estimar quantitativamente a atividadeantifúngica das plantas utilizadas como fitoterápicos contidas naRENAME. A seleção de artigos deu-se por meio de três etapas distintas:leitura e escolha de títulos relacionados à ação antifúngica, leitura dosresumos e leitura na íntegra dos artigos selecionados. Esta revisãoselecionou 22 estudos de interesse, sendo 12 elaborados no Brasil e 10em outros países. Os artigos escolhidos testaram a ação inibitória dasplantas contra espécies de fungos de importância agrícola e sanitária,entre filamentosos e leveduriformes, sendo Candida albicans aespécie mais testada. Trinta e nove espécies foram inibidas por algumaconcentração do extrato utilizado, havendo aumento ou diminuição daatividade antifúngica conforme substância extratora utilizada. A plantamais analisada foi a espécie Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi., estudadaem sete artigos. Os resultados encontrados demonstram a importânciada análise de plantas medicinais e da incorporação de medicamentosà base de plantas como fonte alternativa de tratamento, salientandoa necessidade de estudos que demonstrem sua citotoxicidade emecanismos de ação terapêutica no organismo humano.

Cancer is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Scientific advances, coupled with potential flaws in current treatments, are driving research into the discovery of new bioactive molecules. This systematic review focused on scientific studies with clinical trials and patents registered on the National Relation of Medicinal Plants of Interest to the Unified Health System (RENISUS) plants (or derivative compounds) with antitumor potential. Studies with 19 different forms of cancer were found, the prostate being the organ with the highest research incidence and the species Glycine max, Curcuma longa, and Zingiber officinale, beside the phytochemicals curcumin and soy isoflavone were the most tested in clinical trials/patents.

Neurodegenerative diseases are multifactorial debilitating disorders of the nervous system affecting approximately 30 million individuals worldwide. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress have also been implicated in causing neurodegeneration. As life expectancy is increasing, neurodegenerative disorders are becoming a major social issue. None of the drugs currently available for treatment are capable of healing the patient. This means that new molecules should be explored. Plants have been used for treatment of countless medical conditions and extensive research is being carried out on species of the Myrtaceae family, widely used in traditional medicine. To date, Myrciaria plinioides D. Legrand has not been studied for its therapeutic use. To evaluate the neuroprotective effect of aqueous and ethanol extracts of this plant, we investigated the protective effects in human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y). High-performance liquid chromatography fingerprinting of extracts revealed the presence of phenolic compounds and flavonoids. Extracts showed antioxidant activity in the ORAC, DPPH, FRAP and GAE methods. Ethanol extract presented a strong inhibitory activity toward p38 and JNK3 MAPKs and AChE activity and also toward TNF-α release in human whole blood. None of the extracts significantly affected cell viability; the ethanol extract, however, reversed 6-OHDA-induced toxicity. Particularly the ethanol extract suggests neuroprotective effects by preventing membrane depolarization and by significantly decreasing H2O2 production and caspase-3 activity. The present results indicate that the ethanol extract protects SH-SY5Y cells against oxidative damage and apoptosis, as shown by the antioxidative activity of the extract as well as by the inhibition of important proteins such as caspase-3, p38 and JNK3 and the cytokine TNF-α. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Background Diosgenin is an isospirostane derivative, which is a steroidal sapogenin and the product of acids or enzymes hydrolysis process of dioscin and protodioscin. Galactomannans are heteropolysaccharides composed of D-mannose and D-galactose, which are major sources of locust bean, guar, tara and fenugreek. Methods Literature survey was accomplished using multiple databases including PubMed, Science Direct, ISI web of knowledge and Google Scholar. Results Four major sources of seed galactomannans are locust bean (Ceratonia siliqua), guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), tara (Caesalpinia spinosa Kuntze), and fenugreek (T.foenum-graecum). Diosgenin has effect on immune system, lipid system, inflammatory and reproductive systems, caner, metabolic process, blood system, blood glucose and calcium regulation. The most important pharmacological benefits of galactomannan are antidiabetic, antioxidant, anticancer, anticholinesterase, antiviral activities, and appropriate for dengue virus and gastric diseases. Conclusions Considering the importance of diosgenin and galactomannans, the obtained findings suggest potential of diosgenin and galactomannans as natural products in pharmaceutical industries.

The chronic metabolic disorder diabetes mellitus is a fast-growing global problem with huge social, health, and economic consequences, having one of the highest morbidities and mortality rates. Prolonged use of many available medications can produce undesirable side effects. Thus, plants appear as an important source of bioactive resources for the discovery of new treatments for diabetes.In this sense, this systematic review focused on clinical trials involving plants of National List of Medicinal Plants of Interest to the Unified Health System (RENISUS) (or compounds) with antidiabetic properties. We analyzed indexed studies in PubMed following the reporting guidelines of PRISMA.Of the 51 clinical trials found

Introduction The COVID-19 global pandemic is a public health emergency due to its high virulence and mortality. Many vaccine development studies at clinical trials are currently conducted to combat SARS-CoV-2. Plants are a rich source of phytochemicals with different biological activities, including antiviral activities, which are the focus of many studies. Areas covered This review shows compounds of traditional plants listed on RENISUS list have therapeutic properties against SARS-CoV-2 targets. Expert Opinion The rise of new variants, more pathogenic and virulent, impacts in the increase of mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection, and thus, the control of the outbreaks of disease remains a global challenge. Other’s drug and vaccines development is an essential element in controlling SARS-COV-2. Therefore, it is imperative that approach to tackle this pandemic has to be solidly evidence-informed. It should be noticed that the immune system does play critical roles in fighting viruses. Studies show that T cells levels decreased continuously as the disease progressed. T cell-mediated cellular immune response, probably by immunological memory, is essential for direct virus eradication after infection whilst B cells functions in producing antibodies that neutralize virus.But, have distinct patterns of T cell response exist in different patients, suggesting the possibility of distinct clinical approaches. Efforts are concentrated to elucidate the underlying immunological mechanisms in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and progression for better design of diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive strategies. We seek to identify biomolecules with the potential to act in biomarkers that predict how severe the disease can get. But it is important to warn that the plants that produce the compounds mentioned here should not be used without a physician prescription. Finally, we speculate that these compounds may eventually attract the attention of physicians and researchers to perform tests in specific contexts of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and if they show positive results, be tested in Clinical trials.

Many efforts are being made to find biomolecules extracted from plants to be useful therapeutic agents to replace the drugs traditionally used in clinical medicine with known side effects and high financial investment, thus offering greater safety and less risk to the population. However, the presence of toxic substances such as alkaloids, amino acids, amides, glycosides, saponins, and tannins are the main reasons for the poisonous activity of some medicinal plants. In this sense, understanding plants constituents and lethal doses can be important source in managing several diseases in human life. This review aimed to present extracts, fractions, and/or compounds of plants of Brazil and Asia regions that have reported toxicity to in vitro and in vivo models. The results presented here contribute to warning the population about the toxicological characterization of some plants, however, further high-quality studies are needed to firmly establish the clinical efficacy of the plants (or compounds).

Marine natural products have exhibited uncommon chemical structures with relevant antitumor properties highlighting their potential to inspire the development of new anticancer agents. The goal of this work was to study the antitumor activities of the brominated diterpene sphaerodactylomelol, a rare example of the dactylomelane family. Cytotoxicity (10–100 µM, 24 h) was evaluated on tumor cells (A549, CACO-2, HCT-15, MCF-7, NCI-H226, PC-3, SH-SY5Y, SK-ML-28) and the effects estimated by MTT assay. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels and apoptosis biomarkers (membrane translocation of phosphatidylserine, depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential, Caspase-9 activity, and DNA condensation and/or fragmentation) were studied in the breast adenocarcinoma cellular model (MCF-7) and its genotoxicity on mouse fibroblasts (L929). Sphaerodactylomelol displayed an IC50 range between 33.04 and 89.41 µM without selective activity for a specific tumor tissue. The cells’ viability decrease was accompanied by an increase on H2O2 production, a depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential and an increase of Caspase-9 activity and DNA fragmentation. However, the DNA damage studies in L929 non-malignant cell line suggested that this compound is not genotoxic for normal fibroblasts. Overall, the results suggest that the cytotoxicity of sphaerodactylomelol seems to be mediated by an increase of H2O2 levels and downstream apoptosis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the healing potential of medicinal plants belonging to the Brazilian National List of Medicinal Plants of Interest to the Unified Health System (RENISUS). Method: PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were searched for relevant articles, regardless of the language, from 2010 to June 2016. Two reviewers independently assessed study eligibility. Articles were included if they presented evidence of healing potential of medicinal plants. Only those available as full and open access texts were considered. Results: A total of 1381 articles met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 156 studies were considered eligible and were reviewed as full text. Following full analysis, 64 studies were included in this review. The studies covered 27 of the 71 plants belonging to RENISUS, nine of which are native to Brazil. In addition, two species are currently available in the Brazilian public health system as herbal medicine. Conclusion: This review may encourage and contribute to the appropriate use of medicinal plants in the public health system in Brazil.

Grape polyphenols are studied for their bioactive activities and health benefits. Grape juice clarification produces a colored non-pomace solid residue that is rich in polyphenols and may have potential for nutraceutical applications. This study therefore firstly investigated antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory properties of the non-pomace sediment of Bordo and Isabel grape juices before and after the gastrointestinal simulation, and evaluated the effects of the main individual phenolic compounds found in these sediments in regards to their antiproliferative action in healthy and cancer cells. The non-pomace sediments inhibited significantly the proliferation of colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2) cells, whereas their digested fractions inhibited proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. However, the exposure to treatments caused no cell toxicity to healthy cells. When tested individually, the phenolic compounds quercetin and myricetin showed antiproliferative activity and led to cell viability of 56.47 and 51.07 % in Caco-2 cells and of 33.96 and 27.03 % in HepG2 cells, respectively. The non-pomace sediments and its digested fractions exhibited anti-inflammatory action by inhibiting the release of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in murine macrophages. These encouraging data suggests the potential use of this residue as dietary supplement or as a promising chemotherapy for antitumor therapies.