Pharm Biol. 2017 Dec;55(1):1093-1113. doi: 10.1080/13880209.2017.1288749.
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Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa'adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health
Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link , Gadong ,
Brunei Darussalam.
Abstract
CONTEXT:
Medicinal plants
have attracted global attention for their hidden therapeutic potential.
Clinacanthus nutans (Burm.f) Lindau (Acanthaceae) (CN) is endemic in
Southeast Asia. CN contains phytochemicals common to medicinal plants, such as flavonoids. Traditionally, CN has been used for a broad range of human ailments including snake bites and cancer.
OBJECTIVES:
This
article compiles the ethnomedicinal uses of CN and its phytochemistry,
and thus provides a phytochemical library of CN. It also discusses the
known pharmacological and biological effects of CN to enable better
investigation of CN.
METHODS:
This
literature review was limited to articles and websites published in the
English language. MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases were searched
from December 2014 to September 2016 using the following keywords:
"Clinacanthus nutans" and "Belalai gajah". The results were reviewed to
identify relevant articles. Information from relevant selected studies
was systematically analyzed from contemporary ethnopharmacological
sources, evaluated against scientific literature, and extracted into
tables.
RESULTS:
The
literature search yielded 124 articles which were then further
scrutinized revealing the promising biological activities of CN,
including antimicrobial, antiproliferative, antitumorigenic and
anti-inflammatory effects. Few articles discussed the mechanisms for
these pharmacological activities. Furthermore, CN was beneficial in
small-scale clinical trials for genital Herpes and aphthous stomatitis.
CONCLUSION:
Despite
the rich ethnomedicinal knowledge behind the traditional uses of CN,
the current scientific evidence to support these claims remains scant.
More research is still needed to validate these medicinal claims,
beginning by increasing the understanding of the biological actions of
this plant.
KEYWORDS:
Sabah Snake Grass; anti-inflammatory; anticancer; antioxidant; antitumorigenic; antiviral; clinical trials; flavonoids; phytochemicals
