Title:Osthole: A Multifunctional Natural Compound with Potential Anticancer, Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activities
Volume: 21
Issue: 18
Author(s): Saba Zafar, Iqra Sarfraz, Azhar Rasul*, Muhammad Ajmal Shah*, Ghulam Hussain, Muhammad Kashif Zahoor, Nusrat Shafiq, Ammara Riaz, Zeliha Selamoglu and Satyajit D. Sarker
Affiliation:
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, 38000,Pakistan
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, 38000,Pakistan
Keywords:
Osthole, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-diabetic, neuroprotective.
Abstract: Nature has always proved to be a significant reservoir of bioactive scaffolds that have been
used for the discovery of drugs since times. Medicinal plants continue to be a solid niche for biologically
active and therapeutically effective chemical entities, opening up new avenues for the successful
treatment of several human diseases. The contribution of plant-derived compounds to drug discovery,
either in their original or in the semi-synthetic derivative form, extends far back in time. This review
aims to focus on the sources, biological, and pharmacological profile of a pharmacologically active
plant-derived coumarin, osthole, which is an important component of numerous remedial plants such
as Cnidium monnieri. Several studies have revealed that osthole possess pharmacological properties
such as anticancer, antioxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, neuroprotective, and antiplatelet. Osthole has been
reported to regulate various signaling pathways, which in turn modulate several apoptosis-related proteins,
cell cycle regulators, protein kinases, transcriptional factors, cytokines, and growth receptors
affiliated with inflammation, proliferation and several other ailments. Osthole is known to halt proliferation
and metastasis of cancerous cells by arresting the cell cycle and inducing apoptosis. The data in
this review paper supports the pharmacological potential of osthole but further experimentation,
biosafety profiling and synergistic effects of this compound need to be focused by the researchers to
understand the full spectrum of pharmacological potential of this therapeutically potent compound.
