Pharmacognosy

The revival of herbal antivirals in the veterinary pharmacognosy is a sustainable approach to antiviral control among livestock and poultry, and its economic costs are an added advantage. Phytochemicals such as flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, and terpenoids have been shown to potently inhibit viral replication, regulate and/or activate the immune system, and provide a pharmacological effect on viral enzymes. The use of varied animal models, such as poultry, rodent, and ruminants, enables efficacy, toxicity, and species differences assessment, in order to translate it into the practice of veterinary medicine. Combination of conventional ethnoveterinary medicine with contemporary instruments and techniques such as LC-MS/MS, molecular docking, and metabolomics allows the identification of bioactive substances and clarification of the molecular basis, converting traditional folk medicine into scientific medicine. Although there are limitations to consider in intrinsic variability of dose, inadequate pharmacokinetic information, and ethical limitations, standardized formulations, and sophisticated analytical methods together with alternative pharmacological models can maximise translation utility. This review highlights the need of herbal antivirals that are low toxicity and broad spectrum with minimal to no adverse effects, in lieu of synthetic drugs to maintain animal health and sustainable livestock management, as well as preparedness against any new viral pandemic

This study is a quantitative assessment of the alkaloid and flavonoid content of the wild and cultivated varieties of a well-known and richly endowed medicinal plant, Rauvolfia Serpentina. Total alkaloids, specific indole alkaloids (reserpine, rescinnamine and ajmaline), and total flavonoids were determined by standardized field sampling, solvent extracts, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, and UHPLC of roots and leaves in 15 wild and 15 cultivated plants. Metabolite Profiles Thin-Layer chromatography (TLC) was used as qualitative confirmation of metabolite profiles. Findings demonstrated that all targeted compounds were more concentrated in wild plants and extract yields were greater in those plants than in cultivated ones. Soil analysis identified that there was a high positive relationship between organic matter and amount of metabolites and a negative relationship between soil pH, which shows that acidic and organic rich soils support the production of secondary metabolites. Two-way ANOVA indicated that the condition of growth and type of tissue had significant effects on the levels of phytochemicals, and the effect of the interaction between them was moderate, whereas PCA allowed the differentiation of wild and cultivated samples by high loadings of reserpine, rescinnamine, and total alkaloids. These discoveries establish the importance of wild R. serpentina population ecologically and agronomically and such reflection of improvement lends scientific support to sustainable harvesting, better cultivation processes through replication of wild traits and quality in herbal medicinal which is drug manufacturing process.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens are emerging and becoming a dire concern, and researchers are dependent on innovative solutions to the problem to reestablish antibiotic susceptibility. This paper examined synergisitc influences of plant-derived agents chosen to comprise of a conventional antibiotic against MDR pathogens. Phytochemicals had moderate anti-microbial activity against the same bacteria when administered separately, and their combination with antibiotics resulted in marked elevation of antimicrobial activity, decreased minimum inhibitory effect (MIC) and postponed resistance development. Bactericidal activity was demonstrated to be sustained over time by time-kill assays and cytotoxicity testing showed positive safety ratios at synergistic concentrations. These results were also justified statistically. Generally, these findings indicate the therapeutic potential value of phytochemical-antibiotic combination in curbing the menace of antimicrobial resistance as a cost effective and a sustainable method of managing this global emergency.

Ancient medicinal plants have been in use across cultures for the treatment of microbial infections. The recent upsurge in antibiotic resistance has created interest in the discovery of plant-based remedies with antimicrobial activity. In this research, the phytochemical profile and antimicrobial potential of three traditional medicinal plants, Azadirachta indica (Neem), Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi), and Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha), which are well known for their ethnomedicinal uses, were examined. The objective was to evaluate their potential as alternative antimicrobial agents. Phytochemical screening presented the existence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, and saponins in different concentrations in the plant extracts. Antimicrobial activity was determined by the agar well diffusion method, and statistical analysis proved differences in antimicrobial potency among the plant extracts to be significant. Withania somnifera showed the greatest antimicrobial activity, with Ocimum sanctum showing intermediate activity, while Azadirachta indica showed the lowest activity. There was a high positive correlation between the content of alkaloids and antimicrobial activity.