Enlisting the scientifically unnoticed medicinal plants of Pakistan as a source of novel therapeutic agents showing anti-venom activity

Abstract

Snake bite envenoming is a global occupational hazard and most of the people of the world trust in traditional medicine for snake poisoning. The present review elaborates scientifically un-investigated/ ignored medicinal plants of Pakistan showing chemical constituents of natural origin with possible mechanisms showing anti-venom activity. This review enlists 35 plants with their families, distribution in Pakistan, parts used traditionally for snake bite treatment and various active principles present in them. Compositae is the most excessive family, with 3 species, followed by Amaranthaceae, Apocynaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Caesalpinaceae, Labiatae, Pinaceae, Polygonaceae and Verbinaceae having 2 species of medicinal plants. While, one plant species belongs to each, Aizoaceae, Araceae, Boraginaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Flacourtiaceae, Gentianaceae, Malvaceae, Menispermaceae, Mimosaceae, Oxalidaceae, Papilionaceae, Plantaginaceae, Salvadoraceae and Solanaceae.As an antidote to snake poisoning, the traditional use of leaves (35%) is higher than roots (25%), whole plant (21%), flower (7%), wood (5%), fruit (5%) and milky juice (2%). Among life forms of plants, herbs (55%) are more excessively used as snake bite remedy than shrubs (31%) and trees (14%). This article may help the researchers to bring novelty in the field of natural products for the treatment of snake bite. However, chemical and pharmacological studies are necessary to confirm the anti-venom claims about these medicinal plants of Pakistan.

Phytochemical analysis of six anti-venom medicinal plants

“…Instead, the combined action of multiple active constituents present in the plants acts synergistically on different target structures such as receptors and enzymes. These chemical constituents are often referred to as 'multifunctional' due to their ability to exhibit more than one pharmacological or biochemical property [45,46,47,48] . Earlier studies on the phytochemical screening of Annona senegalensis have reported the presence of diverse secondary metabolites, including tannins [49] , flavonoids [49] , saponins [50] , glycosides [51] , and alkaloids [52] .…”

Potential use of the Asteraceae family as a cure for diabetes: A review of ethnopharmacology to modern day drug and nutraceuticals developments

“…Artemisia is the other important member of this family, considered to comprise >500 medicinal species in the world ( Martín et al, 2003 ; Bisht et al, 2021 ). Traditionally, the members of Artemisia have been used to treat several diseases like hepatitis, cancer, inflammation, DM, and infections caused by microorganisms ( Asad et al, 2011 ). The discovery of artemisinin, which resulted in the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has revolutionized the treatment of malaria worldwide ( Panda and Luyten, 2018 ).…”