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Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption exerts detrimental effects on the body and impairs the structure and functions of vital organs. Liver, the largest organ of the body and the metabolic factory, is one of the highly affected organs of alcohol toxicity. Scientific studies carried out in the recent past have shown that phytochemicals such as beta carotene, betaine, curcumin, ellagic acid, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, ferulic acid, hydroxystilbenes, lutein, morin, meso-zeaxanthin, quercetin, ursolic acid, andrographolide, arabinogalactan, silibinin, silipide, and siliphos offer hepatoprotection by mitigating the toxic effects of alcohol on hepatic metabolism. Mechanistic studies have shown that the beneficial effects of these phytochemicals in preventing the ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity is mediated by the antioxidant, free radical scavenging, antiinflammatory, antifibrotic, antimutagenic, and lipotropic effects. The present review collates the hepatoprotective effects of the phytochemicals and the mechanisms responsible for the protective effects.

Zingiber officinale Rosc., commonly known as ginger, is globally one of the most commonly used spices. It also possesses medicinal value and has been used extensively in various traditional and folk systems of medicine around the world. Marinating or addition of ginger oil has been shown to enhance the quality and shelf life of the food by preventing rancidity. Ginger oil is shown to possess good antibacterial, antifungal properties when used in food preparation. The antioxidant and lipid peroxidation inhibition properties of ginger prevent peroxidative damage, indicating the benefits of ginger in prevention microbial food spoilage, free radical-induced damage, and rancidity. These properties are attributed to the plethora of biologically active compounds present in the oil of both fresh and dried ginger.

Garcinia indica Choisy Syn Brindonia indica, commonly known as kokum and belonging to Guttiferae family, is a plant native to certain regions of India. The trees yield fruits annually in the summer season during the months of March to May. The fruits are green when raw and red to dark purple when fully ripe. They are used to prepare juice, pickles and as acidulant in curries. In the traditional Indian system of medicine the Ayurveda and in various folk systems of medicine, the fruit rinds and leaves are used to treat various inflammatory ailments, rheumatic pain and bowel complaints. The kokum butter prepared from the seed is of both commercial and medicinal use. Chemical studies have shown that the rind contains protein, tannin, pectin, sugars, fat, organic acids like (−)-hydroxycitric acid, hydroxycitric acid lactone and citric acid; the anthocyanins, cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-sambubioside; and the polyisoprenylated phenolics garcinol and isogarcinol. Preclinical studies have shown that kokum or and some of its phytochemicals possess antibacterial, antifungal, anti-ulcerogenic, cardioprotective, anticancer, chemopreventive, free radical scavenging, antioxidant and anti-obesity effects. The present paper reviews the nutritional value, the phytochemical compounds, traditional uses and validated pharmacological properties of kokum.

The rhizomes of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae), commonly known as ginger, is one of the most widely used spice and condiment. It is also an integral part of many traditional medicines and has been extensively used in Chinese, Ayurvedic, Tibb-Unani, Srilankan, Arabic, and African traditional medicines, since antiquity, for many unrelated human ailments including common colds, fever, sore throats, vomiting, motion sickness, gastrointestinal complications, indigestion, constipation, arthritis, rheumatism, sprains, muscular aches, pains, cramps, hypertension, dementia, fever, infectious diseases, and helminthiasis. The putative active compounds are nonvolatile pungent principles, namely gingerols, shogaols, paradols, and zingerone. These compounds are some of the extensively studied phytochemicals and account for the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiemetic, and gastroprotective activities. A number of preclinical investigations with a wide variety of assay systems and carcinogens have shown that ginger and its compounds possess chemopreventive and antineoplastic effects. A number of mechanisms have been observed to be involved in the chemopreventive effects of ginger. The cancer preventive activities of ginger are supposed to be mainly due to free radical scavenging, antioxidant pathways, alteration of gene expressions, and induction of apoptosis, all of which contribute towards decrease in tumor initiation, promotion, and progression. This review provides concise information from preclinical studies with both cell culture models and relevant animal studies by focusing on the mechanisms responsible for the chemopreventive action. The conclusion describes directions for future research to establish its activity and utility as a human cancer preventive and therapeutic drug. The above-mentioned mechanisms of ginger seem to be promising for cancer prevention; however, further clinical studies are warranted to assess the efficacy and safety of ginger.

Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption exerts detrimental effects on the body, and impairs the structure and functions of vital organs. The liver, the largest organ of the body, and the metabolic factory, is one of the organs highly affected by alcohol toxicity. Scientific studies carried out in the recent past have shown that phytochemicals such as beta-carotene, betaine, curcumin, ellagic acid, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, ferulic acid, hydroxystilbenes, lutein, morin, meso-zeaxanthin, quercetin, ursolic acid, andrographolide, arabinogalactan, silibinin, silipide, and siliphos offer hepatoprotection by mitigating the toxic effects of alcohol on hepatic metabolism. Mechanistic studies have shown that the beneficial effects of these phytochemicals in preventing ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity is mediated by antioxidant, free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, antimutagenic, and lipotropic effects. The present chapter collates information on the hepatoprotective effects of phytochemicals and the mechanisms responsible for such effects.

Since antiquity, Piper betel. Linn, commonly known as betel vine, has been used as a religious, recreational and medicinal plant in Southeast Asia. The leaves, which are the most commonly used plant part, are pungent with aromatic flavor and are widely consumed as a mouth freshener. It is carminative, stimulant, astringent and is effective against parasitic worms. Experimental studies have shown that it possess diverse biological and pharmacological effects, which includes antibacterial, antifungal, larvicidal, antiprotozal, anticaries, gastroprotective effects, free radical scavenging, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, antiulcer and chemopreventive activities. The active principles hydroxychavicol, allylpyrocatechol and eugenol with their plethora of pharmacological properties may also have the potential to develop as bioactive lead molecule. In this review, an attempt is made to summarize the religious, traditional uses, phytochemical composition and experimentally validated pharmacological properties of Piper betel. Emphasis is also placed on aspects warranting detail studies for it to be of pharmaceutical/clinical use to humans.

Dietary constituents are shown to play an important role in the development of diabetes. Studies have shown that the fruits of Emblica officinalis Gaertn or Phyllanthus emblica Linn, colloquially known as Indian gooseberry or amla and/or some of its important constituents (including gallic acid, gallotanin, ellagic acid and corilagin), possess anti-diabetic effects through their antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties. Amla has also been reported to prevent/reduce hyperglycemia, cardiac complications, diabetic nephropathy, neuropathy, cataractogenesis and protein wasting. However, clinical trial data with human subjects are limited and preliminary. For the first time this review summarizes the anti-diabetic affects of amla and also addresses the mechanisms mediating these properties.

Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption exerts detrimental effects on the body and impairs the structure and functions of vital organs. Liver, the largest organ of the body and the metabolic factory, is one of the highly affected organs of alcohol toxicity. Scientific studies carried out in the recent past have shown that phytochemicals like beta-carotene, betaine, curcumin, ellagic acid, epigallocatechin 3-gallate, ferulic acid, hydroxystilbenes, lutein, morin, meso-zeaxanthin, quercetin and ursolic acid, andrographolide, arabinogalactan, silibinin, silipide, and siliphos offer hepatoprotection by mitigating the toxic effects of alcohol on hepatic metabolism. Mechanistic studies have shown that the beneficial effects of these phytochemicals in preventing the ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity are mediated by the antioxidant, free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, antimutagenic, and lipotropic effects. This article collates the hepatoprotective effects of the phytochemicals and the mechanisms responsible for the protective effects.