Olive (Olea europaea Linn., Fam. Oleaceae) is commonly known as Zaytoon in Mediterranean region. Its fruits and oil are essential components of Mediterranean diets. Olive tree is a prevalent plant species and one of the important cultivated crops of Mediterranean region. Oleuropein is a phenolic constituents of olive, which, along with its related compounds, has been indicated to be majorly responsible for its beneficial effects. Oleuropein is a secoiridoid type of phenolic compound and consists of three structural subunits: hydroxytyrosol, elenolic acid, and a glucose molecule. It is also reported to be the chemotaxonomic marker of olive. The oleuropein is reported to possess a number of biological activities including action against dyslipidemia, antiobesity, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antiatherogenic, antihypertensive, antiinflammatory, and hepatoprotective actions. The scientific evidence supports the role of oleuropein as a potential agent against metabolic syndrome. The present review discusses chemistry of oleuropein along with potential role of oleuropein with reference to pathophysiology of metabolic syndrome.

Artemisia, being the widely distributed genus of the plant family Asteraceae encompasses about 500 species. Among them, Artemisia absinthium (A. absinthium) is a well-known herb commonly known as Wormwood and Afsanteen. A. absinthium reported to possess several therapeutic benefits in fever, inflammation, epilepsy, gastric problems and urinary disorders. Review of literature included PubMed, Science Direct searches with 'A. absinthium' and 'Wormwood' as initial key words. The search was further refined by looking for terms such as 'Constituents' (or composition) and 'Activity' (or effect) within the results. The major bioactive constituents of Wormwood are mono and sesquiterpenes. The present review comprises up to date information of traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of A. absinthium. The A. absinthium is a rich source of chemically novel compounds and needs elaborate screening strategies to dwell into the pharmacological effects of its phytoconstituents at the molecular level. This review article provides preliminary information and gives a direction for the basic and clinical research on A. absinthium.

The oldest remedies identified to mankind are herbal medicines. India is recognized worldwide for its Ayurvedic treatment. India has rich history of using many plants for medicinal purposes. Remedial plants are cooperating extremely dynamic position in customary drugs for the action of a variety of illness. However a key obstacle, which has hindered the promotion in use of alternative medicines in the developed countries, is no evidence of documentation and absence of stringent quality control measures. There is a demand for the evidence of every investigate effort execute on conventional remedies in the appearance of certification. The purpose of current review is to make accessible up-to-date information on, botany, morphology, ecological biodiversity, therapeutic uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities on diverse parts of Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn (S. marianum). This review was assembled using technical literature from electronic search engine such as Springer link, Bio Med Central, Pub Med, Scopus, Science Direct, Scielo, Medline and Science domain. Supplementary texts were obtained from books, book chapters, dissertations, websites and other scientific publications. S. marianum a member of the Asteraceae family, is a tall herb with large prickly white veined green leaves and a reddish-purple flower that ends in sharp spines. It is native of the Mediterranean region and which has also spread in East Asia, Europe, Australia and America. Confident chemical constituents were exposed cognate as silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A, isosilybin B, silychristin, silydianin, apigenin 7-O-β-(2″- O-α-rhamnosyl)galacturonide, kaempferol 3-O-α-rhamnoside-7-O-β-galacturonide, apigenin 7-O-β-glucuronide, apigenin 7-O-β-glucoside, apigenin 7-O-β-galactoside, kaempferol-3-O-α-rhamnoside, kaempferol, taxifolin and quercetin. The plant is exclusively used as anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, hypocholesterolaemic, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and as an anti-oxidant. Seeds of the plant are also used as an anti-spasmodic, neuroprotective, anti-viral, immunomodulant, cardioprotective, demulcent and anti-haemorrhagic. The plant is also serves as a galactagogue, agent that induces milk secretion and used in the treatment of uterine disorders. The plant is employed in dissimilar conventional schemes of remedy in the cure of different illness.

<strong>Objective:</strong> Swertiamarin is a common secoiridoid found among the members of Gentianaceae. The present study aimed to establish the effectiveness of swertiamarin in achieving glucose homeostasis via inhibition of carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes by in-vitro and in-vivo studies. <strong>Materials and methods:</strong> Swertiamarin was obtained from dried whole plant samples of <em>Enicostemma littorale</em> Blume chromatographic fractionation over the silica gel column. Its effect on carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes viz., α-amylase and α-glucosidase were evaluated at 0.15 to 10 mg/mL in-vitro. The results were supplemented by anti-hyperglycemic studies in carbohydrate challenged mice pretreated with swertiamarin at a dose of 20 mg/kg body weight orally. <strong>Results:</strong> Swertiamarin was effective in inhibiting α-amylase and α-glucosidase with IC<em>50</em> values of 1.29±0.25 mg/mL and 0.84±0.11 mg/mL, respectively. The studies in starch and sucrose challenged mice showed that swertiamarin effectively restricted the increase in the peak blood glucose level (BGL). The increase in peak BGL was 49 mg/dL and 57 mg/dL only in the treatment groups compared to 70 mg/dL and 80 mg/dL in untreated groups after 30 min in starch and sucrose-fed mice, respectively. Acarbose (10 mg/kg b.w.) also produced significant (p&lt;0.01) blood glucose lowering response in both the models. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Swertiamarin was effective in the achieving stricter glycemic control in carbohydrate challenged mice through the inhibition of carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes.

Gymnemic acid and charantin are well-established antidiabetic phytosterols found in Gymnema sylvestre and Momordica charantia, respectively. The fact that these plants are often used together in antidiabetic poly-herbal formulations lured us to develop an HPTLC densitometric method for the simultaneous quantification of their bioactive compounds. Indirect estimation of gymnemic acid as gymnemagenin and charantin as β-sitosterol after hydrolysis has been proposed. Aluminum-backed silica gel 60 F254 plates (20 × 10 cm) were used as stationary phase and toluene-ethyl acetate-methanol-formic acid (60 : 20 : 15 : 5, v/v) as mobile phase. Developed chromatogram was scanned at 550 nm after derivatization with modified vanillin-sulfuric acid reagent. Regression analysis of the calibration data showed an excellent linear relationship between peak area versus concentration of the analytes. Linearity was found to be in the range of 500-2,500 and 100-500 ng/band for gymnemagenin and β-sitosterol, respectively. The suitability of the developed HPTLC method for simultaneous estimation of analytes was established by validating it as per the ICH guidelines. The limits of detection and quantification for gymnemagenin were found to be ≈60 and ≈190 ng/band, and those for β-sitosterol ≈30 and ≈90 ng/band, respectively. The developed method was found to be linear (r(2) = 0.9987 and 0.9943), precise (relative standard deviation <1.5 and <2% for intra- and interday precision) and accurate (mean recovery ranged between 98.43-101.44 and 98.68-100.20%) for gymnemagenin and β-sitosterol, respectively. The proposed method was also found specific and robust for quantification of both the analytes and was successfully applied to herbal drugs and in-house herbal formulation without any interference.