Ethnobotanical Uses, Phytochemistry, Toxicology, and Pharmacological Properties of Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. against Infectious Diseases: A Comprehensive Review

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).

Phytochemical Study of Euphorbia turcomanica Boiss.

“…Several studies have demonstrated the antimicrobial and antimycobacterial activities, respectively, from E. neriifolia and Cissampelos mucronate containing simiarenol as one of the present compounds in their extracts. Also, one recent research has shown this plant's probable efficacy in treating a range of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, which might be related to this natural constituent but further investigations should be carried out to determine these claims and specifically relates them to simiarenol [43,44].…”

Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Traditional Antimalarial and Antidengue Plants: A Mechanistic Perspective

“…According to a literature search, a total of twenty-two plants from around India were discovered to be effective against dengue fever. Further clinical trials are necessary to validate the safety, effectiveness, and method of action of additional plants that have been reported [ 46 , 47 ]. During the validation research, these plants may undergo testing either individually or in various combinations to gain a deeper understanding of their synergistic effects in terms of both efficacy and safety ( Table 2 ).…”

Revisiting the Flora of Saudi Arabia: Phytochemical and Biological Investigation of the Endangered Plant Species Euphorbia saudiarabica

“…Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel anticancer compounds with fewer side effects, as well as to combat multi-drug resistance [3]. Since the dawn of human civilization, plants have been used as remedies to treat various diseases [4]. In recent years, medicinal plants, with their bioactive compounds, have played a significant role in discovering and developing therapeutic agents [5][6][7].…”