Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India.
MMHS, Joynagar, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2020 May 23;254:112609. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.112609. Epub 2020 Jan 30.
Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R. Br. ex Schult. (Apocynaceae) is widely used in traditional medicine in the different parts of the Indian subcontinent due to the various biological activities attributed to its different parts, especially the roots. It has traditionally been used for treating snakebites, scorpion stings, diabetes, urinary diseases, dyspnea, menorrhagia, oligospermia, anorexia, fever, abdominal colic and pain, dysentery, diarrhea, cough, rheumatism, headache, inflammation, pyrosis, skin diseases, leprosy, sexually transmitted diseases and cancer. In Ayurveda, the plant is used in the treatment of bone-loss, low body weight, fever, stress, topical wound and psoriasis. Besides, Ayurvedic literature also depicts its use as anti-atherogenic, anti-spasmodic, memory enhancing, immunopotentiating and anti-inflammatory agents.
In this review, we aim to present a comprehensive update on the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, specific pharmacology, and toxicology of H. indicus and its bioactive metabolites. Possible directions for future research are also outlined in brief.
Popular and widely used international databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar and JSTOR were searched and traditional literature were consulted using the various search strings to retrieve a number of citations related to the ethnopharmacology, biological activity, toxicology, quality control and phytochemistry of H. indicus. All studies on the ethnobotany, phtochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of the plant up to 2019 were included in this review.
H. indicus has played an important role in traditional Indian medicine (including Ayurveda) and also in European medicine. The main pharmacological properties of H. indicus include hepatoprotective, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, neuroprotective, anti-ophidian, cardioprotective, nephroprotective, anti-ulcerogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. Phytochemical evaluations of the root have revealed the presence of aromatic aldehydes and their derivatives, phenolics, triterpenoids and many other compounds, some of which were attributed to its bioactivity. This review also compiles a list of Ayurvedic formulations and commercial preparations where H. indicus has been used as an active ingredient. We have included the critical assessment of all the papers cited in this manuscript based on experimental observation and other important points which reflect the loop-holes of research strategy and ambiguity in the papers reviewed in this manuscript.
The study presents an exhaustive and updated review on the traditional, pharmacological and phytochemical aspects of H. indicus with notes on its quality control and toxicological information. Although the crude extracts of H. indicus exhibit an array of pharmacological activities, it is high time to identify more active phyto-constituents by bioactivity-guided isolation besides elucidating their structure-activity relationship. More designed investigations are needed to comprehend the multi-target network pharmacology, to clarify the molecular mode of action and to ascertain the efficacious doses of H. indicus. Moreover, H. indicus is not fully assessed on the basis of its safety and efficacy on human. We hope this review will compile and improve the existing knowledge on the potential utilization of H. indicus in complementary and alternative medicine.
印度獐牙菜（L.）R. Br. ex Schult.（夹竹桃科）由于其不同部位具有多种生物活性，在印度次大陆的传统医学中被广泛用于治疗各种疾病，尤其是根部。它传统上被用于治疗蛇咬伤、蝎子蜇伤、糖尿病、尿路疾病、呼吸困难、月经过多、少精、食欲不振、发热、腹痛和疼痛、痢疾、腹泻、咳嗽、风湿、头痛、炎症、烧心、皮肤病、麻风病、性传播疾病和癌症。在阿育吠陀医学中，该植物用于治疗骨丢失、体重减轻、发热、压力、局部伤口和牛皮癣。此外，阿育吠陀文献还描述了其作为抗动脉粥样硬化、抗痉挛、增强记忆、免疫增强和抗炎剂的用途。
在本次综述中，我们旨在全面介绍印度獐牙菜的民族药理学、植物化学、特定药理学和毒理学及其生物活性代谢物。还简要概述了未来研究的可能方向。
使用流行且广泛使用的国际数据库，如 PubMed、Scopus、Science Direct、Google Scholar 和 JSTOR，检索了与印度獐牙菜的民族药理学、生物活性、毒理学、质量控制和植物化学相关的大量引用，并使用各种搜索字符串查阅传统文献。本综述包括截至 2019 年对该植物的民族植物学、植物化学、药理学和毒理学的所有研究。
印度獐牙菜在印度传统医学（包括阿育吠陀医学）和欧洲医学中发挥了重要作用。印度獐牙菜的主要药理特性包括保肝、抗癌、抗糖尿病、抗氧化、神经保护、抗蛇毒、心脏保护、肾脏保护、抗溃疡、抗炎和抗菌特性。对其根部的植物化学评价揭示了芳香醛及其衍生物、酚类、三萜类和许多其他化合物的存在，其中一些被认为与其生物活性有关。本综述还列出了含有印度獐牙菜作为活性成分的阿育吠陀配方和商业制剂。我们根据实验观察和其他重要要点对引用的所有论文进行了批判性评估，这些要点反映了研究策略中的缺陷和本综述中论文的模糊性。
该研究对印度獐牙菜的传统、药理学和植物化学方面进行了全面而更新的综述，并附有质量控制和毒理学信息的注释。尽管印度獐牙菜的粗提取物表现出一系列药理学活性，但现在是时候通过基于生物活性的分离来确定更多的活性植物成分了，同时还要阐明它们的结构-活性关系。需要进行更多的设计研究，以了解多靶点网络药理学，阐明其作用机制，并确定印度獐牙菜的有效剂量。此外，尚未根据其对人类的安全性和有效性对印度獐牙菜进行全面评估。我们希望本综述将对印度獐牙菜在补充和替代医学中的潜在应用进行总结和完善现有的知识。
