Ethnobotanical Uses, Phytochemistry, Toxicology, and Pharmacological Properties of Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. against Infectious Diseases: A Comprehensive Review
Md Sarker
Department of Pharmacy, State University of Bangladesh, 77 Satmasjid Road, Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh; [email protected]
Safaet Alam
Drugs and Toxins Research Division, BCSIR Laboratories Rajshahi, Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Rajshahi 6206, Bangladesh; [email protected]
Arpita Roy
Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering & Technology, Sharda University, Greater Noida 201310, India; [email protected]
Saikat Mitra
Department Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh; [email protected]
Miss Zahan
Department of Pharmacy, State University of Bangladesh, 77 Satmasjid Road, Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh; [email protected]
Md Hossain
Department of Pharmacy, State University of Bangladesh, 77 Satmasjid Road, Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh; [email protected]
Isa Mohamed
Pharmacology Department, Medical Faculty, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Keywords:
Euphorbia neriifolia, phytoconstituents, traditional applications, ethnopharmacology, infectious diseases, molecular mechanisms
Abstract
Medicinal plants have considerable potential as antimicrobial agents due to the presence of secondary metabolites. This comprehensive overview aims to summarize the classification, morphology, and ethnobotanical uses of Euphorbia neriifolia L. and its derived phytochemicals with the recent updates on the pharmacological properties against emerging infectious diseases, mainly focusing on bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections. The data were collected from electronic databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Semantic Scholar, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink by utilizing several keywords like ‘Euphorbia neriifolia’, ‘phytoconstituents’, ‘traditional uses’, ‘ethnopharmacological uses’, ‘infectious diseases’, ‘molecular mechanisms’, ‘COVID-19’, ‘bacterial infection’, ‘viral infection’, etc. The results related to the antimicrobial actions of these plant extracts and their derived phytochemicals were carefully reviewed and summarized. Euphol, monohydroxy triterpene, nerifoliol, taraxerol, β-amyrin, glut-5-(10)-en-1-one, neriifolione, and cycloartenol are the leading secondary metabolites reported in phytochemical investigations. These chemicals have been shown to possess a wide spectrum of biological functions. Different extracts of E. neriifolia exerted antimicrobial activities against various pathogens to different extents. Moreover, major phytoconstituents present in this plant, such as quercetin, rutin, friedelin, taraxerol, epitaraxerol, taraxeryl acetate, 3β-friedelanol, 3β-acetoxy friedelane, 3β-simiarenol, afzelin, 24-methylene cycloarenol, ingenol triacetate, and β-amyrin, showed significant antimicrobial activities against various pathogens that are responsible for emerging infectious diseases. This plant and the phytoconstituents, such as flavonoids, monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, triterpenoids, and alkaloids, have been found to have significant antimicrobial properties. The current evidence suggests that they might be used as leads in the development of more effective drugs to treat emerging infectious diseases, including the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Keywords: Euphorbia neriifolia, phytoconstituents, traditional applications, ethnopharmacology, infectious diseases, molecular mechanisms
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