Therapeutic Potential of Phenolic Compounds in Medicinal Plants—Natural Health Products for Human Health

Abstract

Phenolic compounds and flavonoids are potential substitutes for bioactive agents in pharmaceutical and medicinal sections to promote human health and prevent and cure different diseases. The most common flavonoids found in nature are anthocyanins, flavones, flavanones, flavonols, flavanonols, isoflavones, and other sub-classes. The impacts of plant flavonoids and other phenolics on human health promoting and diseases curing and preventing are antioxidant effects, antibacterial impacts, cardioprotective effects, anticancer impacts, immune system promoting, anti-inflammatory effects, and skin protective effects from UV radiation. This work aims to provide an overview of phenolic compounds and flavonoids as potential and important sources of pharmaceutical and medical application according to recently published studies, as well as some interesting directions for future research. The keyword searches for flavonoids, phenolics, isoflavones, tannins, coumarins, lignans, quinones, xanthones, curcuminoids, stilbenes, cucurmin, phenylethanoids, and secoiridoids medicinal plant were performed by using Web of Science, Scopus, Google scholar, and PubMed. Phenolic acids contain a carboxylic acid group in addition to the basic phenolic structure and are mainly divided into hydroxybenzoic and hydroxycinnamic acids. Hydroxybenzoic acids are based on a C6-C1 skeleton and are often found bound to small organic acids, glycosyl moieties, or cell structural components. Common hydroxybenzoic acids include gallic, syringic, protocatechuic, p-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, gentistic, and salicylic acids. Hydroxycinnamic acids are based on a C6-C3 skeleton and are also often bound to other molecules such as quinic acid and glucose. The main hydroxycinnamic acids are caffeic, p-coumaric, ferulic, and sinapic acids.

Phytochemicals, Essential Oils Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Astragalus spp., Phlomis olivieri and Daphne mucronata in Habitats of Central Iran

“…Phenolic compounds are a large group of antioxidant compounds in SMs. They are widely distributed in the roots, leaves, stems, fruits, and other tissues of medicinal plants at different concentrations [40] . They can protect plant cells against oxidative stress by acting as ROS scavengers [41] and function efficiently in improving stress tolerance in plants [41,42] …”

Organ-on-Chip: Advancing Nutraceutical Testing for Improved Health Outcomes

“…OOC models can be utilized to investigate the interactions between nutraceuticals and relevant cellular targets to study the target engagement, modulation of signaling pathways, and downstream cellular responses. After target identification, nutraceutical compounds undergo efficacy screening and optimization. − OOC-based safety assessment provides insights into the potential adverse effects and helps guide the selection of safe nutraceutical candidates for further development. OOC models can be utilized to study the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties of nutraceuticals.…”

“…This involves identifying suitable materials, establishing quality control measures, and optimizing the fabrication processes to ensure consistent and reliable production of OOC devices. Regulatory compliance is crucial to ensure the safe and effective use of OOC technology for nutraceutical testing regulations, i.e., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States or the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Europe may classify OOC platforms as medical devices or in vitro diagnostics. − …”

Marang fruit (Artocarpus Odoratissimus) waste: A promising resource for food and diverse applications: A review of its current status, research opportunities, and future prospects

“…Likewise, Abu Bakar et al (2009) studied the phytochemical and antioxidant activity of the seed and flesh of the fruit. Phenolic and flavonoid compounds possess antioxidant, anticancer, cardioprotective, and antibacterial properties, making them promising candidates for applications in the pharmaceutical and medical industries (Sun & Shahrajabian, 2023; Tungmunnithum et al, 2018). The experiment showed that the peel of Marang had a higher amount of total phenolic content (14.67 mg GAE/g) compared to the flesh (4.39 mg GAE/g).…”