Natural-based biomaterials play an important role in developing new products for medical applications, primarily in cutaneous injuries. A large panel of biomaterials with antioxidant properties has revealed an advancement in supporting and expediting tissue regeneration. However, their low bioavailability in preventing cellular oxidative stress through the delivery system limits their therapeutic activity at the injury site. The integration of antioxidant compounds in the implanted biomaterial should be able to maintain their antioxidant activity while facilitating skin tissue recovery. This review summarises the recent literature that reported the role of natural antioxidant-incorporated biomaterials in promoting skin wound healing and tissue regeneration, which is supported by evidence from in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies. Antioxidant-based therapies for wound healing have shown promising evidence in numerous animal studies, even though clinical studies remain very limited. We also described the underlying mechanism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and provided a comprehensive review of ROS-scavenging biomaterials found in the literature in the last six years.

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Background Identifying what therapies constitute complementary, alternative, and/or integrative medicine (CAIM) is complex for a multitude of reasons. An operational definition is dynamic, and changes based on both historical time period and geographical location whereby many jurisdictions may integrate or consider their traditional system(s) of medicine as conventional care. To date, only one operational definition of "complementary and alternative medicine" has been proposed, by Cochrane researchers in 2011. This definition is not only over a decade old but also did not use systematic methods to compile the therapies. Furthermore, it did not capture the concept "integrative medicine", which is an increasingly popular aspect of the use of complementary therapies in practice. An updated operational definition reflective of CAIM is warranted given the rapidly increasing body of CAIM research literature published each year. Methods Four peer-reviewed or otherwise quality-assessed information resource types were used to inform the development of the operational definition: peer-reviewed articles resulting from searches across seven academic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus and Web of Science); the "aims and scope" webpages of peer-reviewed CAIM journals; CAIM entries found in online encyclopedias, and highly-ranked websites identified through searches of CAIM-related terms on HONcode. Screening of eligible resources, and data extraction of CAIM therapies across them, were each conducted independently and in duplicate. CAIM therapies across eligible sources were deduplicated. Results A total of 101 eligible resources were identified: peer-reviewed articles (n = 19), journal "aims and scope" webpages (n = 22), encyclopedia entries (n = 11), and HONcode-searched websites (n = 49). Six hundred four unique CAIM terms were included in this operational definition. Conclusions This updated operational definition is the first to be informed by systematic methods, and could support the harmonization of CAIM-related research through the provision of a standard of classification, as well as support improved collaboration between different research groups.

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Anthraquinones are bioactive natural products, some of which are active components in medicinal medicines, especially Chinese medicines. These compounds exert actions including purgation, anti-inflammation, immunoregulation, antihyperlipidemia, and anticancer effects. This study aimed to review the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of anthraquinones, which are importantly associated with their pharmacological and toxicological effects. Anthraquinones are absorbed mainly in intestines. The absorption rates of free anthraquinones are faster than those of their conjugated glycosides because of the higher liposolubility. A fluctuation in blood concentration and two absorption peaks of anthraquinones may result from the hepato-intestinal circulation, reabsorption, and transformation. Anthraquinones are widely distributed throughout the body, mainly in blood-flow rich organs and tissues, such as blood, intestines, stomach, liver, lung, kidney, and fat. The metabolic pathways of anthraquinones are hydrolysis, glycuronidation, sulfation, methylation/demethylation, hydroxylation/dehydroxylation, oxidation/reduction (hydrogenation), acetylation and esterification by intestinal flora and liver metabolic enzymes, among which hydrolysis, glycuronidation and sulfation are dominant. Of note, anthraquinones can be transformed into each other. The main excretion routes for anthraquinones are the kidney, recta, and gallbladder. Conclusion: Some anthraquinones and their glycosides, such as aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, emodin, physcion, rhein and sennosides, have attracted the most PK research interest due to their more biological activities and/or detectability. Anthraquinones are mainly absorbed in the intestines and are mostly distributed in blood flow-rich tissues and organs. Transformation into another anthraquinone may increase the blood concentration of the latter, leading to an increased pharmacological and/or toxicological effect. Drug-drug interactions influencing PK may provide insights into drug compatibility theory to enhance or reduce pharmacological/toxicological effects in Chinese medicine formulae and deserve deep investigation.

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Plant secondary metabolites are unique sources for pharmaceuticals, food additives, flavors, and industrially important biochemicals. Accumulation of such metabolites often occurs in plants subjected to stresses including various elicitors or signal molecules. Secondary metabolites play a major role in the adaptation of plants to the environment and in overcoming stress conditions. Environmental factors viz. temperature, humidity, light intensity, the supply of water, minerals, and CO2 influence the growth of a plant and secondary metabolite production. Drought, high salinity, and freezing temperatures are environmental conditions that cause adverse effects on the growth of plants and the productivity of crops. Plant cell culture technologies have been effective tools for both studying and producing plant secondary metabolites under in vitro conditions and for plant improvement. This brief review summarizes the influence of different abiotic factors include salt, drought, light, heavy metals, frost etc. on secondary metabolites in plants. The focus of the present review is the influence of abiotic factors on secondary metabolite production and some of important plant pharmaceuticals. Also, we describe the results of in vitro cultures and production of some important secondary metabolites obtained in our laboratory.

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Anthranoid-containing laxatives--aloe, cascara, frangula, and rheum--may play a role in colorectal cancer. This risk is particularly important in view of the wide abuse of self administered laxatives for chronic constipation. There are data on the genotoxic potential of anthranoids and there is evidence of a tumourigenic potential in rodents. A case report and clinical-epidemiological studies have evaluated the cancer risk in patients who have abused anthranoid laxatives over a long period. Pseudomelanosis coli is a reliable parameter of chronic laxative abuse (> 9-12 months) and is specific for anthranoid drugs. In a retrospective study of 3049 patients who underwent diagnostic colorectal endoscopy the incidence of pseudomelanosis coli was 3.13% in patients without pathological changes. In those with colorectal adenomas, the incidence increased to 8.64% (p < 0.01), and in those with colorectal carcinomas it was 3.29%. This lower rate was probably caused by incomplete documentation of pseudomelanosis coli in those with carcinoma. In a prospective study of 1095 patients, the incidence of pseudomelanosis coli was 6.9% for patients with no abnormality seen on endoscopy, 9.8% (p = 0.068) for patients with adenomas, and 18.6% for patients with colorectal carcinomas. From these data a relative risk of 3.04 (1.18, 4.90; 95% confidence interval) can be calculated for colorectal cancer as a result of anthranoid laxative abuse.

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One of the prerequisites for the success of primary health care is the availability and use of suitable drugs. Plants have always been a common source of medicaments, either in the form of traditional preparations or as pure active principles. It is thus reasonable for decision-makers to identify locally available plants or plant extracts that could usefully be added to the national list of drugs, or that could even replace some pharmaceutical preparations that need to be purchased and imported. This update article presents a list of plant-derived drugs, with the names of the plant sources, and their actions or uses in therapy.

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