Therapeutic Potential of Medicinal Plant Proteins: Present Status and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Biologically active molecules obtained from plant sources, mostly including secondary metabolites, have been considered to be of immense value with respect to the treatment of various human diseases. However, some inevitable limitations associated with these secondary metabolites like high cytotoxicity, low bioavailability, poor absorption, low abundance, improper metabolism, etc., have forced the scientific community to explore medicinal plants for alternate biologically active molecules. In this context, therapeutically active proteins/peptides from medicinal plants have been promoted as a promising therapeutic intervention for various human diseases. A large number of proteins isolated from the medicinal plants have been shown to exhibit anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-HIV, anticancerous, ribosome-inactivating and neuro-modulatory activities. Moreover, with advanced technological developments in the medicinal plant research, medicinal plant proteins such as Bowman-Birk protease inhibitor and Mistletoe Lectin-I are presently under clinical trials against prostate cancer, oral carcinomas and malignant melanoma. Despite these developments and proteins being potential drug candidates, to date, not a single systematic review article has documented the therapeutical potential of the available biologically active medicinal plant proteome. The present article was therefore designed to describe the current status of the therapeutically active medicinal plant proteins/peptides vis-à-vis their potential as future protein-based drugs for various human diseases. Future insights in this direction have also been highlighted.

Phytochemical Analysis and Bioactivity Screening of Primary and Secondary Metabolic Products of Medicinal Plants in the Valleys of Medina Region Saudi Arabia

“…This result sagest the report of Migahid (16). Primary metabolic compounds are important compounds in the processes of transporting and storing energy, regulating growth and respiration, and they are the primary compounds to produce secondary metabolic compounds [30].…”

“…The protein parts are used as therapeutic agents in combination with other chemicals, which makes them have a high medicinal value [30]. In Table 2 it shows the changes in the soluble proline content of different plant species, the largest amount of which was retained significantly, and the highest plant was R. vesicarius it is very clear, and the lowest plant are P. incisa and A. fistulosus.…”

The Updated Review on Plant Peptides and Their Applications in Human Health

“…Ginkbilobin (extracted from Ginkgo biloba ) strongly affects the activity of B. cinerea (Wang and Ng 2000 ). Sesquin (extracted from Vigna sesquipedalis ) is a highly active AFP with an IC 50 value of 0.15 μM and 1.4 μM for Mycosphaerella arachidicola and F. oxysporium, respectively (Wani et al 2020 ). Despite all of these studies showing the therapeutic effects of AFPs, not many have reached clinical trials.…”

Bioactivities of Calocybe indica Protein combined with Cell-Free Supernatant of Lactobacilli from a Fermented Cereal against Free Radicals and Microorganisms

“…The fungi kingdom encompasses several macrofungi of high medicinal and nutritional values, which contain myriads of intrinsic natural bioactive compounds including proteins eliciting diverse biological activities (Niego et al, 2021). Owing to the inherent bio-functional properties of medicinal mushrooms like anti-viral, neuro-modulatory, ribosome-inactivating, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, their proteins have now found a place as potential therapeutics in the management of many human aliments (Wani et al, 2020). Edible mushrooms are a rich source of dietary proteins and are being recognized as functional foods and nutra-ceuticals for health-promoting purposes (González et al, 2020).…”