Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals.
Tripterygium wilfordii, or léi gōng téng (Mandarin), sometimes called thunder god vine but more properly translated thunder duke vine, is a vine used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Sida cordifolia is a perennial subshrub of the mallow family Malvaceae native to India. It has naturalized throughout the world, and is considered an invasive weed in Africa, Australia, the southern United States, Hawaiian Islands, New Guinea, and French Polynesia. The specific name, cordifolia, refers to the heart-shaped leaf.
Adonis vernalis, known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is found in dry meadows and steppes in Eurasia. More specifically, this plant grows in a wide range of locations which include open forests, forest clearings, dry meadows, mesic steppe, and mostly calcareous soil. Isolated populations are found from Spain in the west across Central Europe with fine examples in Valais, Switzerland, and southern Europe, reaching southern Sweden in the north and Abruzzo in the south, with its main area of distribution being the Pannonian Basin and the West Siberian Plain. In contrast to most other European Adonis species, the flowers appear in springtime, and are up to 80 mm (3.1 in) in diameter, with up to 20 bright yellow petals. Not only do the flowers begin to grow, but so do the plants aerial organs, from around April to May.
Emodin (6-methyl-1,3,8-trihydroxyanthraquinone) is a chemical compound, of the anthraquinone family, that can be isolated from rhubarb, buckthorn, and Japanese knotweed. Emodin is particularly abundant in the roots of the Chinese rhubarb, knotweed and knotgrass as well as Hawaii ‘au‘auko‘i cassia seeds or coffee weed. It is specifically isolated from Rheum palmatum L. It is also produced by many species of fungi, including members of the genera Aspergillus, Pyrenochaeta, and Pestalotiopsis, inter alia. The common name is derived from Rheum emodi, a taxonomic synonym of Rheum australe, and synonyms include emodol, frangula emodin, rheum emodin, 3-methyl-1,6,8-trihydroxyanthraquinone, Schüttgelb (Schuttgelb), and Persian Berry Lake.
Honokiol is a lignan isolated from the bark, seed cones, and leaves of trees belonging to the genus Magnolia. It has been identified as one of the chemical compounds in some traditional eastern herbal medicines along with magnolol, 4-O-methylhonokiol, and obovatol.
Magnolol is an organic compound that is classified as lignan. It is a bioactive compound found in the bark of the Houpu magnolia or in M. grandiflora. The compound exists at the level of a few percent in the bark of species of magnolia, the extracts of which have been used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine. In addition to magnolol, related lignans occur in the extracts including honokiol, which is an isomer of magnolol.
Ginsenosides or panaxosides are a class of natural product steroid glycosides and triterpene saponins. Compounds in this family are found almost exclusively in the plant genus Panax (ginseng), which has a long history of use in traditional medicine that has led to the study of pharmacological effects of ginseng compounds. As a class, ginsenosides exhibit a large variety of subtle and difficult-to-characterize biological effects when studied in isolation.
G-protein coupled receptor 97 also known as adhesion G protein-coupled receptor G3 (ADGRG3) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ADGRG3 gene. GPR97 is a member of the adhesion GPCR family. Adhesion GPCRs are characterized by an extended extracellular region often possessing N-terminal protein modules that is linked to a TM7 region via a domain known as the GPCR-Autoproteolysis INducing (GAIN) domain.
As baicalin is a flavone glycoside, it is a flavonoid. It is the glucuronide of baicalein.
A xanthine oxidase inhibitor is any substance that inhibits the activity of xanthine oxidase, an enzyme involved in purine metabolism. In humans, inhibition of xanthine oxidase reduces the production of uric acid, and several medications that inhibit xanthine oxidase are indicated for treatment of hyperuricemia and related medical conditions including gout. Xanthine oxidase inhibitors are being investigated for management of reperfusion injury.
Baicalein (5,6,7-trihydroxyflavone) is a flavone, a type of flavonoid, originally isolated from the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis and Scutellaria lateriflora. It is also reported in Oroxylum indicum and Thyme. It is the aglycone of baicalin. Baicalein is one of the active ingredients of Sho-Saiko-To, which is a Chinese classic herbal formula, and listed in Japan as Kampo medicine. As a Chinese herbal supplement, it is believed to enhance liver health.
Wogonin is an O-methylated flavone, a flavonoid-like chemical compound which is found in Scutellaria baicalensis.
Scutellarin is a flavone, a type of phenolic chemical compound. It can be found in the Asian "barbed skullcap" Scutellaria barbata and the north American plant S. lateriflora both of which have been used in traditional medicine. The compound is found only in trace amounts in the "Chinese skullcap" Scutellaria baicalensis, another plant used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Palmatine is a protoberberine alkaloid found in several plants including Phellodendron amurense, Coptis Chinensis and Corydalis yanhusuo, Tinospora cordifolia, Tinospora sagittata, Phellodendron amurense, Stephania yunnanensis.
Chrysophanol, also known as chrysophanic acid, is a fungal isolate and a natural anthraquinone. It is a C-3 methyl substituted chrysazin of the trihydroxyanthraquinone family.
Azerizin is claimed to be a proprietary blend of the natural ingredients nicotinamide, azelaic acid, quercetin and curcumin that purportedly combine the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, along with inhibiting effects on sebum production.
Alstonine is an indoloquinolizidine alkaloid and putative antipsychotic constituent of various plant species including Alstonia boonei, Catharanthus roseus, Picralima nitida, Rauwolfia caffra and Rauwolfia vomitoria. In preclinical studies alstonine attenuates MK-801-induced hyperlocomotion, working memory deficit and social withdrawal. It also possesses anxiolytic-like effects in preclinical studies, attenuates amphetamine-induced lethality and stereotypy as well as apomorphine-induced stereotypy, and attenuates haloperidol-induced catalepsy. These effects appear to be mediated by stimulation of the 5-HT2C receptor. In addition, alstonine, similarly to clozapine, indirectly inhibits the reuptake of glutamate in hippocampal slices. Unlike clozapine however, the effect of which is abolished by the D2 receptor agonist apomorphine, alstonine requires 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors to produce this effect, as it is abolished by antagonists of these receptors. Also unlike clozapine, alstonine lacks pro-convulsant activity in mice.
Securinine is an alkaloid found in Securinega suffruticosa and Phyllanthus niruri.
