Discovery- driven ethnopharmacology approach for bio prospecting of plantderived molecules against rheumatoid arthritis
Ethnopharmacology is a discipline that links research on medicinal
plants with ethno-directed studies and evidence-based uses. It has
often been associated with drug discovery researches. For most
of the investigated natural bioactive molecules, the mechanism of
action is unknown or merely assumed and specific structure activity
relationships have rarely been determined. This urged the need for
polypharmacology approach as a new trend of research focuses on
pharmaceutical agents that act on multiple targets or disease pathways
including complex herbal mixtures and multi-compound extracts.
This approach showed positive results when applied for the search and
treatment of diseases related to multifactorial causes such as chronic
and degenerative ailments, mostly due to synergistic pharmacological
effects. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease characterized
by chronic inflammation of joints leading to progressive and
irreversible joint destruction. This is partially caused by an aggressive
invasion of synovial tissue, called pannus, to local articular structure.
Mangrove plants are specialized plants that grow in the tidal coasts
of tropic and sub tropic regions of the world. Mangroves exist under
stressful conditions such as violent environments, high concentration
of moisture, high and low tides of water, and abundant living
microorganisms and insects. Due to this special growth environment,
mangroves produce diverse group of metabolic substances with
wide range of biological activities and represent a wide domain
for several biological applications. Previous findings indicated the
potential biological activities of mangrove metabolites. Some of these
molecules showed anti-inflammatory properties with mechanism
of action against cyclooxygenase and the cytokines mediator IL-
1? (Interleukin-1 ?).These factors are very much associated with
the progression of inflammation of joints and the proliferation of
synovial fibroblasts. This talk highlights some of our efforts in the
search for natural molecules that may contribute to the eradication
of rheumatoid arthritis and related autoimmune diseases. The studied
plants were selected based on their reported ethno pharmacological
uses as curative agents for autoimmune related diseases.
