International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

ISSN- 0975-1491 Vol 2, Issue 3, 2010

MiniReview

ANTIASTHMATICHERBALDRUGSAREVIEW
MOHAMMADYAHEYAMOHAMMADISMAIL*
LecturerinPharmacy,Dept.ofPharmacy,HigherCollegeofTechnology,Muscat,SultanateofOman. Email:mohammadyaheya@yahoo.com Received:19Feb2010,RevisedandAccepted:12March2010 ABSTRACT Plantsarealwaysanexemplarysourceofdrugs;infactmanyofthecurrentlyavailabledrugswerederivedeitherdirectlyorindirectlyfromthem. Inthepastdecade,researchhasbeenfocusedonscientificevaluationoftraditionaldrugsofplantoriginforthetreatmentofvariousdiseases.Since thetimeimmemorial,variousherbsareusedasantiasthmaticwithefficienttherapeuticresponse.Examplesofvariousherbsusedinasthmaare Adhatoda vasica, Albizzia lebbeck, Artemicia caerulenscens, Boswellia serrata, Calotropis gigantea, Calotropis procera, Cedrus deodara, Clerodendron serratum, Curcuma longa, Eugenia caryophylis, Eleocarpus spharicus, Inula racemosa, Ocimum sanctum, Picrorrhiza kurroa, Piper longum, Sarcostemma brevistigma, Solanum xanthocarpum, Tephrosia purpurea, Tinospora cordifolia, Tylophora asthmatica, Vitex negundo etc. An attempt hasbeenmadetoreviewantiasthmaticmedicinalplantsinthepresentarticle. Keywords:Traditionalsystems,asthma,Ayurveda,medicinalplants. INTRODUCTION From the time immemorial, man has been depended on plants as medicine.Fromahistoricalperspective,ithasbeenevidentthatthe fascinationwithplantsisasoldasmankind.Herbshaveprovidedus some of the very important life saving drugs used in the armamentariumofmodernmedicine.Theplantkingdomrepresents arichsourceoforganiccomponents,manyofwhichhavebeenused formedicinal&otherpurposes.Herbalmedicinesremainthemajor source of health care for the worlds population. WHO has recognized herbal medicine as an essential building block for primaryhealthcareofvastcountrieslikeIndia.Inspiteofadvances inmodernsystemofmedicine,therearevariousareasliketropical diseases, herpes, AIDS, cancer, bronchial asthma etc., which still remainachallengetopresentdaydrugtherapy.13 Asthmaisa chronic disease characterized byacuteexacerbation of coughing, dyspnoea, wheezing and chest tightness. Patients usually have reduced forced expiratory volume in one second as well as reduced airflow. Other features ofasthmaare airway inflammation and bronchial hyperresponsiveness, which are not unique to the other diseases. Its increased prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates have recognized the growing seriousness of asthma in the general population in the past 20 years. From 1980 to 1987 the prevalence rate of asthma in the United States increased by 29 %. Asthma is also increasing in severity and is a leading cause of mortalitythroughouttheworld.1,4,5 The traditional medicinal systems and the availability of a large variety of medicinal plants in universe have greatly facilitated the researcherstodevelopkeeninterestintheirscreening,researchand development.Anattempthasbeenmadetofocustheantiasthmatic medicinalplantsinthisreview. management of asthma in traditional medicinal system Ayurveda4,5 Ayurveda is an example of a longstanding tradition that offers a unique insight onto comprehensive approach to asthma management through proper care of the respiratory tract. This includes maintaining the nourishing functions of the lungs in providing oxygen to the body. Ayurvedic formulations used in the management of asthma therefore judiciously combine herbs for breathing support with antioxidant herbs to support digestive, cardiac and nerve functions, expectorant herbs as well as soothing herbs. The following components are normally included in the Ayurvedicapproachtothemanagementofasthma. 28 Essentialcomponents Longterm administration of pulmonary tonics to strengthen thelungs. Administrationofrelaxingexpectorantstopreventbuildingup ofsputum. Antispasmodic preparations to help/mitigate the effect of the bronchospasmonthepulmonarymuscles.

Ancillarycomponents Demulcents could be used to sooth irritation of mucous surfaces. Antispasmodic wouldpreventtheoverproductionofsputum inlungsorsinuses. Antimicrobial infections. compounds would prevent secondary

Nervine support herbs are needed to enable adaptation to stress, since excessive stress or nervous debility may aggravatethesymptomsofasthma.

Herbaldrugsusedinasthma Asthmaisaglobalproblem.Manysyntheticdrugsareusedtotreat acutesymptomsofasthma,buttheyarenotcompletelysafeforlong termuse.Hencesearchhasbeenstartedonceagaintolookbackto traditionalmedicinewhichcanbeusedtotreatasthma. The following table 1 gives a brief review of the medicinal plants usedasantiasthmaticwiththeirprobablemechanismofaction. CONCLUSION Plantsarealwaysanexemplarysourceofdrugs;infactmanyofthe currently available drugs were derived either directly or indirectly from them. In the past decade, research has been focused on scientific evaluation of traditional drugs of plant origin for the treatment of various diseases. In developing countries 80% of population is using traditional medicine in primary medical problems. In addition to prescription and nonprescription drugs, there are an increasing number of herbs that can be used to treat manyoftheprecursororchronicconditionsofasthma.Precautions should be taken when combining herbs with prescription or non prescriptions drugs, as there is always the possibility or a drug reaction or adverse condition occurring. Herbs for asthma should not be used in the case of a moderate or severe asthma attack but theyareoftenveryeffectiveincontrollingthechronicsymptomsof asthma. Herbs for asthma can be used in conjunction with

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prescribed medications but they should not replace prescription

medicationsunlessthepatientisunderthecareofaphysician.

Table1:Antiasthmaticplantsandtheirmechanismofaction Plant A.aspera A.vasica A. lebbec B.serrata C.gigantia, C.procera C.deodara C.minima C.serratum C.longa I.racemosa P.kurroa S.xanthocarpum S.brevistigma T.purpurea T.cardoifofia T.indica V.negundo REFERENCES MartinezCayuela,M.Review:Oxygenfreeradicalsandhuman disease.Biochimie1995;77:147161. 2. Nadkarni, AK. Indian Materia Medica. Bombay: Popular Book Depot;1987;1:2122. 3. Kirtikar, KR & Basu, BD. Indian Medicinal Plants. Allahabad: LalitM.Basu;1991;3:20662068. 4. Swami Sadashiva Tirtha. The Ayurvedic Encylopedia: Natural secrets of healing , prevention and longevity. New York: AyurvedicHolisticcenterPress;2007;2:407. 5. AjayKS.AsthmaandAyurveda.Delhi:SriSatguru Publication; 2008;1:2944. 6. Paliwa,JK,Dwiwedi,AK,Singh,S.Pharmacokineticsandinsitu absorption studies of a new antiallergic compound 73/602 in rats.IntJPharm2000;197:12,213220. 7. Tripathi, RM and Das, PK. Studies on Antiasthmatic and antianaphylactic activity of Albizzia lebbeck. Indian J Pharmacol1977;9:3,189194. 8. Gupta I, Gupta V, Parihar A, Gupta S, Ludtke R. Effects of Boswellia serratagumresininpatientswithbronchialasthma: results of a double blind, placebocontrolled, 6week clinical study.EurJMedRes1998;11:511514. 9. Sangraula H, Kumar VL. Antiinflammatory studies on latex of Calotropicsprocera.IndianJofPharmacol1999;31:178. 10. Shinde,UA,Phadke,AS,NairAM,MungantiwarAA,DixitVJand Saraf, MN. Preliminary studies on the immunomodulatory activityof Cedrus deodara wood oil. Fitoterapia1999;70:333 339. 11. Wu JB, Chun YT, Ebizuka Y, Sankawa V. Biologically active constituents of Centipeda minima: isolation of a new phenolin 1. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. ester and the antiallergic activity of sesquiterpene lactones. ChemPharmBull1985;33:40914094. Gupta SS. Prospects and perspectives of natural products in medicine.IndianJPharmacol1994;26:112. Ammon,HP,Wahl,MA.Pharmacologyof Curcumalonga.Planta Medica1991;57:117. Srivastava,S,GuptaPP,PrasadR.,DixitKS,PalitG.Evaluation of antiallergic activity (type I hypersensitivity) of Inula racemosainrats.IndianJPharmacol1999;43:2,235241. Doshi VB, Shetge VM, Mahashur AA, Kamat SR. Picrorrhiza kurroainbronchialasthma.JPostgradMed1983;29:8995. Govindan SS, Viswanathan S, Vijayasekaran V, Alagappu R. A pilot study on clinical efficacy of Solanum xanthocarpum and Solanum trilobatum in bronchial asthma. J Ethnopharmacol 1999;66:2,205210. Saraf MN, Patwardhan BK. Pharmacological studies on Sarcostemma brevistigma Whight part II. Bronchodilator activity.IndianDrugs1988;26:5457. Gokhale AB, Damre AS, Kulkami KR, Saraf MN. Preliminary evaluationofantiinflammatoryandantiarthriticactivityof S. lappa, A. speciosa and A. aspera. Phytomedicine 2002; 9(5): 43337. Nayampalli SR, Desai NK, Ainapure SS. Antiallergic activity of Tinospora cordifolia in animal models. Indian J Pharmacol 1986;18:250252. Nayampalli SS, Sheth UK. Evaluation of antiallergic activity of Tylophora indica using rat lung perfusion. Indian J Pharmacol 1979;229232. NairAM.,SarafMN.Inhibitionofantigenandcompound48/80 induced contractions of guinea pig trachea by the ethanolic extractoftheleavesof Vitex nigundoLinn.IndianJPharmacol 1995;27:230233. Partused Roots Leaves Roots Stembark Root Flower Wood Wholeplant Leaves Rhizome Roots Roots Herb Twigs Wholeplant Stem Wholeplant Leaves Extract/Activeprinciple Oilypreparation Alkaloids Aqueous.Extract Boswellin,boswellicacids &calotropeol,amyrin, calotropin,giganteol Himacholol Pseudoguainolid,sesquiterpene, lactones,flavonoids Aqueousextract. Tumerones,curcuminoids Aqueous,alcoholicextract Picrorrhizin Salasodin Alkaloidfraction Ethanolicextract Aqueousextract. Indolizidinealkaloid. Alcoholicextract Probablemechanismofaction DecreasedESR,DecreasedtotalEosinophilcount.6 Bronchodilator,Antianaphylactic6 Mastcellstabilizingactivity 7 InhibitLTbiosynthesisandblocksynthesisof5HETE &LTB48 Bronchodilator,antiinflammatory9 Mastcellstabilizingactivity 10 Inhibitspassivecutaneousanaphylaxisinrats11 Bronchodilator12 Inhibitshistaminereleasefromratperitonealmast cells13 Antihistaminic,Antiserotonergic14 InhibitsreleaseofhistamineandSRSA 15 Bronchodilator16 Inhibitspassivecutaneousanaphylaxisinrates17 Bronchodilatory,antianaphylactic18 Mastcellstabilizingactivity 19 Bronchodilatory,membranestabilizing20 Bronchodilatory,membranestabilizing 21

17. 18.

19. 20. 21.

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