The pharmacological potential of Phyllanthus niruri

Abstract

Introduction Phyllanthus niruri is a traditional shrub of the genus Phyllanthaceae with long-standing Ayurvedic, Chinese and Malay ethnomedical records. Preliminary studies from cell and animal model have provided valuable scientific evidence for its use. Aim This review aims to summarize selected scientific evidence on the pharmacological properties of P. niruri over the past 35 years while identifying potential areas of further development of this herb as an economical adjunct. Methods The review covers literature pertaining to the evidence base therapeutic potential of P. niruri spanning from 1980 to 2015 available on PubMed.Results Evidence suggests that the extracts of P. niruri possess hepatoprotective, antiviral, antibacterial, hypolipidaemic, hypoglycaemic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, anti-urolithiatic and antihyperuricaemic properties due its novel bioactive compounds. Conclusion Scientific evidence suggests that there is strong pharmacological potential in developing P. niruri as a drug to be used in liver disorders and in antiviral therapy. Despites this, large-scale heterogeneity in study protocol and unstandardized reporting standards limit the ability for valuable comparison and may mask the ability to replicate these studies. Thus interpretation of findings should be performed with caution and further studies should be performed in line with best practices. More cheminformatics, toxicological and mechanistic studies would aid the progress to clinical trial studies.

In-depth hepatoprotective mechanistic study of Phyllanthus niruri: In vitro and in vivo studies and its chemical characterization

“…Although Lee et al [79] have previously reviewed the hepatoprotective potential of the hexane fraction and isolated compounds from P. niruri, they recommended further cheminformatics, toxicological and mechanistic studies in order to aid the progress of the plant to clinical trial studies. In the present work, the bioactive metabolites were isolated from the aqueous extract and further highlighted the anti-inflammatory properties of P. niruir, as evidenced by inhibition of COX-2, TNF-α, NF-KB, IL-6, IL-8 and IL10 as a possible mechanism of hepatoprotection in addition to the known antioxidant activities.…”

Efficacy and Safety of Phyllanthus Niruri in Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis Treatment: Pilot Study from Malaysia

“…Although there have been numerous studies into the antiinflammatory, antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties of Phyllanthus niruri, [9,18] the current study, to the best knowledge of the authors, is the first to investigate its value specifically in NASH treatment. Besides, different from the other preclinical studies which were primarily limited by the variations in methods, [9] this is the first randomized controlled trial designed to determine the effectiveness and safety of a commercially available product containing a standardized content of Phyllanthus niruri extract.…”

Microwave-assisted green synthesis and antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles derived from a supercritical carbon dioxide extract of the fresh aerial parts of <i>Phyllanthus niruri</i> L

“…This plant is reported to possess diverse medicinal properties like antioxidant, antiviral, antimicrobial and anticancer activities in the experimental studies that might be due to the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, lipids, sterol and lignins [8,9]. In the present study, we have explored a simple and green synthetic method for the synthesis of the AgNPs by reducing silver ions available in the silver nitrate solution using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extract of P. niruri by a microwave-assisted method.…”