Pharmacological evaluation of Alstonia scholaris: Anti-tussive, anti-asthmatic and expectorant activities

Antibacterial monoterpenoid indole alkaloids from Alstonia scholaris cultivated in temperate zone

“…In our previous phytochemical studies, a series of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids were isolated from different parts of plant [7][8][9]. Besides, alkaloids from leaf of A. scholaris cultivated in Pu'er, indicated anti-tussive, anti-asthmatic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and expectorant activities both in vitro and in vivo [10][11][12][13]. The remarkable difference of the alkaloidal patterns in A. scholaris in different ecological environment has been reported in 1990 [14].…”

“…Then, we investigated HPLC fingerprints of alkaloids of A. scholaris from Pu'er and Kunming, and the result exhibited visible difference, which encouraged us to search for structurally unique and biologically active indole alkaloids of A. scholaris from different climate zones. As a result, three new monoterpenoid indole alkaloids, normavacurine-21-one (1), 5-hydroxy-19, 20-E-alschomine (2), and 5-hydroxy-19, 20-Z-alschomine (3), together with thirteen known monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16), were…”

Nutraceutical Properties and Safety Evaluation of Fruits and Arrope of Geoffroea decorticans (Chañar)

“…Antitussive activity was investigated on a classical cough model induced by ammonia liquor (Shang et al [17] and Liu et al [18], with slight modifications), 30 minutes after oral administration of the test compounds, each rat was placed in a 1000 ml special glass chamber and exposed to 0.3 ml 25% NH 4 OH produced by a nebulizer for 45 sec.…”

Therapeutic Potential of Alkaloids in Cough Treatment

“…There are numerous plants alkaloids reported with marked antitussive and expectorant activity for the treatment of cough while list of various commercial formulation is presented in Table 1. In recent times, several more purified alkaloids and their extracts showed promising antitussive effects coupled with expectorant activity [7,[13][14][15]. Based on the preliminary effects, further detail studies on the mechanism(s) of these finding is suggested as the cough reflex may be due to sensory limb, central control or efferent limb as indication of various pathological conditions.…”

“…Another irrational approach in cough formulations that enhances the risk of unwanted effects is the combination of two or more drugs in the same formulation, above and beyond having no supporting therapeutic grounds or scientific evidence [5]. Apart from irrational use, natural therapies are found more effective and safe compare to synthetic drugs [6,7], therefore encouraging the exploration of natural treasure for the treatment cough. Natural products serving the humanity by preventing or treating different pathological conditions since time immemorial [8,9].…”