AN ANALYSIS OF PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF PORTULACA OLERACEA

AN ANALYSIS OF PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF PORTULACA OLERACEA

Harpreet Kaur

Department of Botany, Government College for Girls, Patiala - 147001, Punjab, India.

ABSTRACT: Portulaca oleracea belonging to the family Portulacaceae has a wide occurrence throughout the World. It has numerous nutritional and medicinal benefits to humans because it is a good source of many minerals, vitamins, fatty acids, alkaloids, flavonoids, aspartic acid, coumarins, glutathione, etc. It is used in the traditional system of medicine in many countries like India, Nigeria, Palestine, China, Iran etc. for the treatment of various ailments like edema, ulcers, indigestion, repro-ductive system disorders, etc. The present review focuses on pharmacological activities of P. oleracea like anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, protective effect on the reproductive system, hepatoprotective, and antimicrobial effects. The analysis of recent researches on the above aspects will further, validate the use of P. oleracea as a medicinal plant.

Portulaca oleracea, Pharmacological activities, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-diabetic, Hepatoprotective

INTRODUCTION: Portulaca oleracea is an annual succulent herbaceous plant that is distributed as turf grass weed or grown as a field crop in a wide range of geographical conditions throughout the World. It is also known as Purslane, Parsley, Redroot, Verdolaga, Ma-Chi-Xian, etc. It is a small plant, may reach 40 cm in height, and with mostly prostrate growth. It has a fleshy stem and leaves and bears small yellow flowers. Research has confirmed that P. oleracea has higher nutritional quality due to its higher levels of ascorbic acid, α-linolenic acid, and β-carotene ^{1, 2}. Due to its nutritional as well as antioxidant properties, P. oleracea is regarded as a unique food of future ³. People nowadays show more preference for plants and their products in matters concerned with their health because they are of low cost, are easily available, and have less or no side effects.

P. oleracea contains several types of minerals and vitamins, fatty acids, coumarins, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, alkaloids, anthocyanin, glutathione (GSH), tannins, terpenoids, flavonoids, and saponins ^{4, 5, 6, 7}. P. oleracea has a high resistance to drought, so its medicinal values are also available to people living in areas having low rainfall ⁸. In folk medicine in different regions of the World including Mediterranean, Middle East, American, Asian and Central European countries, it is used for the treatment of different health problems like urinary disorders, headache, hemorrhoids, scurvy, wounds, sores and fever ⁹. P. oleracea is used in Iranian folk medicine to treat diabetes ¹⁰. It is used to treat hemorrhoids and to treat vermifuge in Brazil ^{11, 12}.

In China, the plant is used for analgesic, wound healing, and anti-inflammatory activities ¹³. Nigerian men and women use it to improve their fertility ¹⁴. P. oleracea is the most common plant used by traditional healers of Palestine to treat renal failure ¹⁵. It is known as Loni, Lonaa, Ghotikaa, and Ghoddhika in the Ayurvedic system of medicine, as Kulfaa and Khurfaa in the Unani system of medicine Paruppukirai and Pulli Keerai in Siddha system of medicine ¹⁶. In Ayurveda, leaves and tender twigs of P. oleracea are used to treat indigestion, ulcer, edema, eye diseases, and bronchial asthma. Tribal people of the Raigarh district of Chhatisgarh state of India use the plant as Ayurvedic vegetable ¹⁷. The plant was cooked as a vegetable with curd to cure excessive mucus, cough, diarrhea, dysentery, and piles, as mentioned in Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, 1000 BC ¹⁸. Due to such huge traditional importance of P. oleracea as a medicinal plant, the present study is undertaken to analyze the recent researches done to check various pharmacological activities of the plant so that its medicinal potential can be further validated.

Pharmacological Activities:

Anti-inflammatory Effect: Inflammation is pro-tective response of an organism's body to pathogens, damaged cells, and traumatic stimuli. After the stimuli agents are removed, there is need to restrict the inflammatory response for preventing un-controlled damage and the initiation of any autoimmune disorders like systemic lupus ery-thematosus, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and psoritis arthritis ^{19, 20}. Nitric oxide (NO), cytokines, and chemokines are inflammatory mediators that are increased during inflammation ^{21, 22}.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) are the main pro-inflammatory cytokines having an important role in an inflammatory response. Although in acute inflammatory conditions, the cytokines play a protective role, but their extra production in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases can produce harmful effects like tissue destruction ^{21, 23}. TNF-α over production can ultimately lead to DNA and cell damage ²⁴. The use of traditional herbs is a good choice to prevent the progression of inflammation. Hydroalcoholic extract of P. oleracea produced anti-inflammatory effects on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) ²⁵.

PBMCs were obtained from twelve normal volunteers and were then cultured. Treatment of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 pg/ml) was given to the cells. LPS, as a potent stimulator of pro-inflammatory cytokines, led to the production of TNF-α and IL-6. The production of TNF-α and IL-6 was downregulated in cells treated with E. coli LPS, together with P. oleracea extract (100 µg/ml). Macrophages are the main cells involved in cell-mediated innate immunity reactions. They possess the capability to start acute inflammatory response ²⁶. LPS stimulation of macrophages results in increased production of cytokines and NO ²⁷. P. oleracea anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-induced macrophage cells (RAW 264.7) were studied ²⁸. Macrophage RAW 264.7 cells were incubated for 24 h with 1 µg/ml LPS alone or along with different concentrations of P. oleracea aqueous extract (0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mg/ml). LPS-induced NO production was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by P. oleracea extract. The extract also inhibited the production of IL-6 and TNF-α in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. The findings suggested that P. oleracea could regulate the stimulation of inflammation mediated by macrophages ²⁸.

Carrageen, an induced paw oedema model to study the anti-inflammatory response of various drugs or plant extracts, has gained importance over the years. There are many reasons for it. It has been reported that carrageen induced paw oedema is inhibited by a majority of the non-steroidal and steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Histologically the lesions induced by carrageenan to a certain extent resemble those of rheumatoid arthritis in human beings. These facts justify the use of carrageen as the main oedemogen. Carrageen and induces its effect in phases. In the first phase, histamine and serotonin are released, and it is 0-3 hrs. At 3 h a kinin-like substance maintains the plateau phase. The late phase of inflammation which covers the time period from 4.5 to 5 h is attributed to release of prostaglandin ²⁹.

It had been observed in rats that paw oedema induced by carrageen an administration was reduced by the administration of P. oleracea petroleum-ether extract to the rats. Presence of phytoconstituents like alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids were also detected in the extract ⁷. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of the above phytoconstituents is supported by a number of reports ^{30, 31, 32}. Anti-inflammatory activity of P. oleracea was determined by oral administration of its methanolic extract to chicks having oedema in foot (induced by injecting carrageen an). The extract administration resulted in a dose dependent reduction in oedema and the effect was even more than the aspirin (reference drug) ³³.

Anti-diabetic Effect: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder which is characterized by abnormal protein and lipid metabolism, hyperglycemia along with long term complications affecting the liver, nervous system, kidney and retina ¹⁰. It is called a ‘silent killer’ because it causes many chronic complications and a large number of people are suffering from it. People affecting from diabetes are increasing day by day and according to International Diabetes Federation, they are expected to reach 592 million by 2035 ³⁴.

Considering the serious side effects of hypo-glycaemic agents, more preference is given to the use of plants and their extracts for the treatment of diabetes. Streptozotocin (STZ) and alloxan are used to induce diabetes in the test animals. STZ with the help of low-affinity glucose protein-2 transporter enters the pancreatic β-cells and thus results into selective damage to insulin-producing islet β cells. In STZ treated rats both local and systemic oxidative stress is the cause of damage to pancreas and the progress of diabetes ³⁵.

Diabetes was induced in male Wistar albino rats by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ at a dose of 60 mg/kg. Significant alterations were produced in oxidative stress and inflammatory parameters in diabetic rat’s serum four weeks after STZ injection like malonaldehyde (MDA), IL-6 and TNF-α increased and total antioxidant status (TAS) and GSH decreased. Above alterations were among the factors responsible for significant hyperglycemia observed in STZ induced rats in comparison to the control rats.

Administration of the aqueous extract of P. oleracea (400 mg/kg/d) to the STZ-induced rats, recovered decreased TAS and GSH as well as increased MDA; IL-6 and TNF-α level ³⁵. The protective effect of P. oleracea against diabetes in mice was studied. Mice were injected with a single dose of STZ (135 mg/kg) intraperitoneally. A decrease in the level of serum insulin and an increase in the level of blood glucose were observed after STZ administration.

Treatment with P. oleracea (100 and 200 mg/kg) significantly restored the normal glucose levels and also maintained it effectively. P. oleracea treatment also reduced the high concentrations of triglycerides, total cholesterol, alanine amino-transferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α) caused by STZ administration. Pathologic liver changes were alleviated by P. oleracea in the diabetic mice. It was observed that the levels of Rho-Nuclear factor-kappa B (NFΚB) signaling related proteins were restored as compared to those of diabetic mice. The suppression of Rho-NFΚB pathway might have played a positive role in regulating STZ-induced liver injury ¹³. Administration of ethanolic extract (50 and 100 mg/kg) prepared from the whole plant of P. oleracea regulated the blood glucose level and reduced inflammatory cells in pancreas islet in a dose-dependent manner in STZ induced diabetic rats ³⁶.

Like STZ, alloxan also causes damage to the pancreatic β cells and results in a reduction in the secretion of endogenous insulin and consequently results in less utilization of glucose by the tissues. Antidiabetic effect of the seeds of P. oleracea in diabetic rats was checked ¹⁰. Male rats were given an intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (90 mg/kg) to make them diabetic. The test group diabetic rats were administered intraperitoneally with hydro alcoholic extract of P. oleracea seeds for 14 days at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg. Control diabetic rats were given 0.5 ml saline for 14 days. Different biochemical analyses were done to evaluate serum profiles of the rats. In the control diabetic rats, the serum levels of uric acid, urea, triglyceride, glucose, low-density lipoprotein, and cholesterol were 94, 492, 220, 494, 163, 122 mg/dL, and alkaline phosphatase, AST; ALT were 1527, 3215 and 3394 UI/L.

The above parameters were reduced to 52, 36, 120, 165, 63, and 18 mg/dL and 1717, 1219, and 1229 UI/L, respectively, in the test groups. Total protein and high-density lipoproteins levels enhanced significantly, and histopathological damages in the liver tissue were attenuated in comparison to the control ¹⁰. Oleracein E and oleracein L are the main isoquinoline alkaloids present in P. oleracea plants. Antioxidant and anti-diabetic efficacy of the above alkaloids on β-TC-6 pancreatic cell line was investigated ³⁷. β-TC - 6 pancreatic cells were treated separately with the oleracein E and oleracein L at concentrations of 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 µM and incubated for 24 h. Both the oleraceins at 100 µM considerably enhanced the antioxidant activity of enzymes: glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase in comparison to the control. MDA, which is a side product of lipid peroxidation was decreased by oleracein E (100 µM) and oleracein L (50 and 100 µM). Dityrosine (DTY), product of protein oxidation, was also reduced by oleracein-E and L at 50 and 100 µM concentrations, relative to the control. 50, 100 and 200 µM concentrations of oleracein-E and L enhanced the secretion of insulin.

Glucose uptake was increased by oleracein-E and L at 100, 200, and 400 µM concentrations. An increase in the antioxidant enzymes' activity results in more scavenging of free radicals and might be the cause of the decreased lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation. A decrease in oxidative stress means less damage to pancreatic islet β-cell mass, and they can function more effectively in insulin secretion, which results in a reduction in glucose levels ³⁷.

Protecting and Improving the Function of Rep-roductive System: Traditional medical practi-tioners have been using P. oleracea plants for the management of infertility in women. In the Niger Delta region, located in the southern part of Nigeria, women take P. oleracea leaves by including them in yam or cocoyam porridge to enhance their fertility. For the same purpose males and females of eastern part of Nigeria extract juice of P. oleracea aerial parts and take it with or without raw egg ¹⁴. 250 mg/kg of chloroform (lipophilic) and methanol (hydrophilic) extracts of P. oleracea leaves improved sperm count in male albino rats ¹⁴.

The efficacy of P. oleracea in treating the abnormal uterine bleeding was tested ³⁸. 30 women with abnormal uterine bleeding and of age group 18-45 years were allocated. Capsules of roasted powder of P. oleracea were given a day thrice for two consecutive cycles. During treatment, follow up was done before and after each menstrual cycle and also once in a month after treatment for two consecutive cycles. Out of 30 patients, menstrual regulation was achieved in 26 women (86.7 %). So, it was concluded that P. oleracea is an effective alternative medicine for the treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding. Also, no side effects of the treatment were observed ³⁸. Morphological and functional deterioration of biological systems is called aging ³⁹. It is produced by the accumulation of endogenous oxygen radicals ⁴⁰. It has been observed that in aging female mice, the ovary is the first major organ which weakens ⁴¹.

Effects of ethanolic extract of P. oleracea were checked on the reproductive system of aging female mice ⁴². Effects were checked on naturally aging mice as well as mice induced with D-galactose (D-gal). D-gal is known to induce aging alterations that resemble the normal aging processes ⁴³. In D-gal treated and aging animals, the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone reduced significantly, whereas the levels of progesterone and estrogen were significantly enhanced in comparison to the control group. In the uterus and ovaries of D-gal and aging groups, a significant increase was found in the MDA content. The activities of antioxidant enzymes like catalase and SOD were reduced significantly in both groups (D-gal and aging).

Atrophy was observed on the uterine wall, and endometrial glands and ovarian follicles degenerated in both the groups. The above alterations in the levels of hormones, the content of MDA, and activities of antioxidant enzymes were reversed significantly by the administration of P. oleracea ethanolic extract. There was an improvement in histological changes by P. oleracea treatment ⁴². Flavonoids such as quercetin and myricetin found in P. oleracea have anti-aging and rejuvenating effects ^{44, 45, 46}.

Hepatoprotective Activity: Acute or chronic alcohol consumption leads to many metabolic disorders in the liver, which falls under alcoholic liver disease. It is the second-largest liver disorder after viral hepatitis. Work was done to know the effectiveness of P. oleracea in treating the acute alcoholic liver injury in rats ⁴⁷. Flavonoids like hesperidin, myricetin, rutin and quercetin were detected in P. oleracea extract with the help of high performance liquid chromatography. Alcoholic liver injury was induced in rats by administration of 50 % ethanol (8 mL/Kg) repeatedly after 6 hrs for 7 days. Pretreatment with P. oleracea extract lowered down the ethanol-elevated serum levels of ALP, ALT, AST, and triglyceride. The activities of enzymes like GSH-PX and SOD were elevated, while the content of MDA and NO were reduced followed by the administration of P. oleracea extract. IL-6 and TNF-α content in the liver were also reduced by P. oleracea treatment.

The results showed that P. oleracea enhanced the antioxidant potential and relieved the liver cells from inflammatory injury which was induced by ethanol. P. oleracea extract treatment also decreased the expression of miR-122 ⁴⁷. MiR-122 is micro RNA. Its specific and high expression in the liver is correlated with various liver diseases. In alcoholic and inflammatory diseases of the liver, miR-122 is a promising blood-based biomarker ^{48, 49}.

It has been reported that inhibition of miR-122 regulates the expression of genes involved in the synthesis and oxidation of lipids, resulting in a reduction in the levels of triglyceride and cholesterol and a significant improvement in liver steatosis ^{50, 51}. Acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase 1 (ACC1) mRNA expression decreased, and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) mRNA expression increased when pretreatment of P. oleracea extract was given to the rats with acute alcoholic liver injury ⁴⁷. MiR - 122 silencing inhibit the genes that influence lipid metabolism and transport of lipids, which are synthesized in the adipose tissue. LPL major function is to hydrolyze triglyceride in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, which lower down the levels of plasma triglyceride ^{52, 53, 54}.

Antihepatotoxic effect of P. oleracea against hepatotoxicity in rats induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) was investigated ⁵⁵. CCl₄ administration to rats resulted in a significant enhancement in serum enzymes like ALT, ALP, and AST and serum bilirubin in comparison to normal control rats. The above biochemical parameters were reversed significantly towards normal after treatment with different extracts (aqueous, alcoholic, and petroleum ether) of P. oleracea. Hepatoprotection exhibited was almost equivalent to silymarin (100 mg/kg/day).

Transformation of CCl₄ (inactive metabolite) to a free radical by microsomal cytochrome P-450, dependent enzyme, causes the activation of CCl₄ and produces toxicity. The antihepatotoxic activity of a drug includes the capacity of its constituents to inhibit the aromatase activity of cytochrome P-450 ⁵⁵. Flavonoids found in P. oleracea could be a factor responsible for the inhibition of aromatase activity of cytochrome P-450 and contributing to its antihepatotoxic capacity ⁵⁶.

Antimicrobial Activity: The World is facing a serious problem of antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria. In fact, they are becoming increasingly resistant to multiple antibiotics and are called superbugs or multidrug-resistant. Evolutionary pressure has led to the development of multidrug-resistant varieties ⁵⁷. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics is a major reason for the emergence of resistant bacteria. In addition to this problem, some side effects like hypersensitivity to allergic reactions and immune suppression are also caused by the antibiotics ⁵⁸. New and effective therapeutic agents are needed in the wake of the alarming rate of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. To circumvent the problem of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and also the undesirable side effects of synthetic antibiotics, there is a need to develop alternative antimicrobial drugs from medicinal plants for the treatment of infectious diseases. Medicinal plants are preferred because they are effective against a wide range of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and are safe to use. Secondary metabolites produced in plants like phenolic compounds, alkaloids, etc., have antimicrobial properties. The investigation was carried out to evaluate P. oleracea antibacterial activity against multiple drug-resistant bacteria which were isolated from clinical specimens ⁵⁹.

Agar well diffusion method was used for the purpose. Out of the five extracts prepared from the plant leaves and analyzed (acetone, petroleum ether, methanol, n-hexane, and ethanol), methanol extract was found to have maximum antibacterial efficacy. The maximum zone of inhibition of methanolic extract was found against E. coli followed by Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Salmonella typhi. Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, glycosides, saponins, phenolic substances in the metabolic extract. The above bioactive compounds might be responsible for the antimicrobial activity of P. oleracea ⁵⁹. Flavonoids have antioxidative and radical scavenging properties and play a role in a number of pharmacological and biochemical actions ⁶⁰. A flavonoid, apigenin, was isolated and purified from P. oleracea, and its antibacterial effects were checked ⁶¹. Apigenin was found to be more significantly effective against the growth of Proteus mirabilis and Salmonella typhimurium and moderately effective against Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and K. pneumoniae. So, the flavonoid was effective against both the gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. The minimum inhibition concentration for the apigenin was >4mg/mL for all the tested bacterial strains ⁶¹. P. oleracea flavonoid extract (POFE) induced the death of S. aureus by apoptosis-like pathway ⁶².

Activation of the apoptotic pathway is the main mechanism involved in the action of antibacterial drugs. Various apoptotic markers were displayed by POFE treated S. aureus cells. Fluorescence intensity increase in POFE treated bacterial cells relative to the untreated cells indicated that POFE induced ROS accumulation. TUNEL assay demonstrated fragmentation of DNA of S. aureus upon POFE treatment. POFE treatment also led to the depolarization of the bacterial cell membrane. So, POFE, which entered into the bacterial cell cytoplasm through membrane pores led to the above changes and caused the death of bacteria ⁶². Excess ROS attack the lipids in the bacterial cell membrane and disrupt their function ⁶³. The antimicrobial activity of oil extracted from P. oleracea seeds was tested against bacteria using agar diffusion method ⁶⁴.

Inhibitory effect of P. oleracea fixed oil on the growth of gram-positive bacteria was less as compared to gram-negative bacteria. In the study, E. coli was the highly affected bacterial strain. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that P. oleracea fixed oil disrupted the bacterial cell membrane releasing the internal cell contents. Fatty acid profile of the plant seeds tested by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed that P. oleracea is a source of many fatty acids, including a high content of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid ⁶⁴. Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids that play an important role in the growth and development of humans. They maintain a healthy immune system, thus preventing diseases ⁶⁵. Incorporation of Omega-3 fatty acids in the outer cell membrane of bacteria increases its permeability, which in turn dissipates the concentration gradient required between the organism and its environment and causes the death of the organism ⁶⁶.

Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of metha-nolic extract of leaves of P. oleracea growing wildly were investigated ⁶⁷. The leaf extract showed high free radical scavenging activity. The plant extract showed antibacterial activities against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Bacillus subtilis and Vibrio cholerae ⁶⁷. The methanolic extract of aerial parts of P. oleracea was also screened for its antibacterial properties ³³. Antimicrobial activity was checked by the agar well diffusion method. The extract was effective against all the bacteria checked i.e., P. aeruginosa, E coli, Streptococcus pyogenes, and S. aureus ³³. It was shown that methanol extract of P. oleracea was more effective than n-hexane and dichloromethane extract in its antibacterial potential against E. coli, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa ⁶⁸.

Antifungal and antiviral effects of P. oleracea have also been reported. Experiments have revealed that methanolic extract of P. oleracea was effective against fungus Candida albicans ^{33, 69}. A specific and marked activity was shown by ethyl acetate extract of P. oleracea against dermatophytes of the genera Trichophyton ⁷⁰.

A pectic polysaccharide isolated from aerial parts of P. oleracea showed a moderate inhibitory effect on the penetration of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in time- and dose-dependent manners ⁷¹. P. oleracea extract is effective in early stages of virus infection was also demonstrated in case of influenza A virus. Water extract of the plant inhibited influenza A virus binding to cells and good virucidal activity was exhibited, significantly reducing viral load within 10 min ⁷².  Various pharmacological activities of P. oleracea are enlisted in Table 1.

TABLE 1: PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF P. OLERACEA

CONCLUSION: P. oleracea is a source of diverse phytochemicals like alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, coumarins, saponins, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, GSH, omega-3-fatty acids, etc. The phytochemicals provide P. oleracea various pharmacological functions like protective effect on the reproductive system, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and antimicrobial effects. P. oleracea has been traditionally used to cure many human ailments, and the present work by analyzing the recent researches done on the plant validates its pharmacological potential.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Nil

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Nil

REFERENCES:

1. Bruix J, Reig M and Sherman M: Evidence-based diagnosis, staging and treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Gastroenter 2016; 150: 835-53.
2. Xin HL, Hou YH, Xu YF, Yue XQ, Li M, Lu JC and Ling CQ: Portulacerebroside a: new cerebroside from Portulaca oleracea Chin J Nat Med 2008; 6: 401-03.
3. Dkhil MA, Moniem AEA, Al-Quraishy S and Saleh RA: Antioxidant effect of purslane (Portulaca oleracea) and its mechanism of action. J Med Plants Res 2011; 5: 1563-89.
4. Boroushaki MT, Boskabady MH and Malek F: Antitussive effect of Portulaca oleracea in guinea pigs. Iran J Pharmaceut Res 2004; 3: 187-90.
5. Peksel A, Arisan-Atac I and Yanardag R: Antioxidant activities of aqueous extracts of purslane (Portulaca oleracea sativa L.). Ital J Food Sci 2006; 18: 295-08.
6. Xin HL, Xu YF, Yue XQ, Hou YH, Li M and Ling CQ: Analysis of chemical constituents in extract from Portulaca oleracea with GC-MS method. Pharmaceut J Chin People's Liberat Army 2008; 24: 133-36.
7. Jagan N, Jayasree T, Rao B, Kumar K and Kumar S: Evaluation of the anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of the pet: ether extract of Portulaca Oleracea (Linn.). Journal of Clinical Diagnostic Research 2012; 6: 226-230.
8. Rahdari P, Hosseini SM and Tavakoli S: The studying effect of germination, proline, sugar, lipid, protein and chlorophyll content in purslane (Portulaca oleracea) leaves. J Med Plants Res 2012; 1539-547.
9. Nayaka HB, Londonkar RL, Asha TNK, Kumar SCB and Sudarshan M: In-vitro cytotoxic and gene toxicity effects of flavonoid of Portulaca oleracea on HepG2 and K562 malignant cell lines. Int J Basic Appl Biol 2014; 2: 89-93.
10. Ghahramani R, Eidi M, Ahmadian H, Nomani MH, Abbasi R, Alipour M and Anissian A: Anti-diabetic effect of Portulaca oleracea (Purslane) seeds in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Int J Med Lab 2016; 3: 282-89.
11. Agra MF, França PF and Barbosa-Filho JM: Synopsis of the plants known as medicinal and poisonous in Northeast of Brazil. Rev Bras Farmacogn 2007; 17: 114-40.
12. Agra MF, Silva KN, Basílio IJLD, França PF and Barbosa-Filho JM: Survey of medicinal plants used in the region northeast of Brazil. Rev Bras Farmaco 2008; 18: 472-08.
13. Zheng G, Mo F, Ling C, Peng H, Gu W, Li M and Chen Z: Portulaca oleracea alleviates liver injury in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Drug Des Devel Ther 2018; 12: 47-55.
14. Obinna VC, Kagbo HD and Agu GO: Effects of lipophilic and hydrophilic leaf extracts of Portulaca oleracea (Purslane) on male reproductive parameters in albino rats. A J Physiol Biochem Pharmacol 2019; 9: 21-32.
15. Jaradat NA, Zaid AN, Al-Ramahi R, Alqub MA, Hussein F, Hamdan Z, Mustafa M, Qneibi M and Ali I: Ethno pharmacological survey of medicinal plants practiced by traditional healers and herbalists for treatment of some urological diseases in the West Bank/Palestine. BMC Complem Altern M 2017; 17: 255.
16. Kumar N: Studies on medicinal plants used in Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha systems of medicine, available in tehsil Joginder Nagar. Research in Pharmacy 2014; 4: 1-8.
17. Lale SK and Gaur SK: Utilization of some important herbs used as “Saka” (vegetable) in Ayurveda by tribal people of Raigarh district, Chhatisgarh state, India. J Drug Res Ayu Sci 2017; 2: 40-48.
18. Khare CP: Ayurvedic pharmacopoeial plant drugs: Expanded therapeutics. Taylor and Francis 2015; 656.
19. Gayathri B, Manjula N, Vinaykumar K, Lakshmi B and Balakrishnan A: Pure compound from Boswellia serrata extract exhibits anti-inflammatory property in human PBMCs and mouse macrophages through inhibition of TNFα, IL-1β, NO and MAP kinases. Int J Immunopharmacol 2007; 7: 473-82.
20. Smith TJ: Insulin-like growth factor-I regulation of immune function: a potential therapeutic target in autoimmune diseases? Pharmacol Rev 2010; 62: 199-36.
21. Choi WS, Jeong JW, Kim SO, Kim GY, Kim BW, Kim CM, Seo YB, Kim WY, Lee SY, Jo KH, Choi YJ, Choi YH and Kim GD: Anti-inflammatory potential of peat moss extracts in lip polysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Int J Mol Med 2014; 34: 1101-09.
22. Fry DE: Sepsis, systemic inflammatory response and multiple organ Dysfunctions: the mystery continues. Am Surg 2012; 78: 1-8.
23. Xian YF, Li YC, Ip SP, Lin ZX, Lai XP and Su ZR: Anti-inflammatory effect of patchouli alcohol isolated from Pogostemonis Herba in LPS stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Exp Ther Med 2011; 2: 545-50.
24. Bradley JR: TNF-mediated inflammatory disease. J Pathol 2008; 214: 149-60.
25. Allahmoradi E, Taghiloo S, Omrani-Nava V, Shobeiri SS, Tehrani M, Ebrahimzadeh MA and Asgarian-Omran H: Anti-inflammatory effects of the Portulaca oleracea hydroalcholic extract on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Med J Islam Repub Iran 2018; 32: 80.
26. Gordon S: The macrophage: past, present and future. Eur J Immunol. 2007; 37(1): 9-17.
27. Olszanecki R, Gebska A, Kolzlovaki VI and Gryglewski RJ: Flavonoids and nitric oxide synthase. J Physiol Pharmacol 2002; 53: 571-84.
28. Kim YO, Lee SW, Na SW, Park HR and Son ES: Anti-inflammatory effects of Portulaca oleracea on the LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. J Med Pla Res 2015; 9: 407-11.
29. Vane JR and Botting BM: Overview, the mechanism of action of anti-inflammatory drugs. In Vane JR Botting ends. Clinical significance and the potential of the selective COX-2 inhibitors. London William Harvey Press 1998; 1-18.
30. Ahmadiani A, Hosseiny J, Semnanian S, Javan M, Saeedi F, Kamalinejad M and Saremi S: The ant-inociceptive and the anti-inflammatory effects of the Elaeagnus angustifolia fruit extract. J Ethnopharmacol 2000; 72: 287-92.
31. Mu L, Kou J, Zhu D and Yu B: Comparison of the neuroprotective effects of flavonoids and terpenoids and their combinations from ginkgo bilobaon ischemia-reperfusion-injured mice. Pharm Biol 2007; 45: 728-33.
32. Meher BR, Rath BG and Biswal S: Evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity of ethanolic extract of Sphaeranthus indicus. J Chem Pharm Res 2011; 3: 831-34.
33. Agyare C, Baiden E, Apenteng JA, Boakye YD and Adu-Amoah L: Anti-infective and Anti-inflammatory Properties of Portulaca oleracea Don J Med Plnt Res 2015; 2: 01-06.
34. Aguiree F, Brown A, Cho NH, Dahlquist G, Dodd S, Dunning T, Hirst M, Hwang C, Manliano D, Patterson C, Scott C, Shaw J, Soltesz G, Usher-Smith G and Whiting D: IDF Diabetes Atlas. Ed 6^th Brussels: International Diabetes Federation 2013.
35. Samarghandian S, Borji A and Farkhondeh T: Attenuation of oxidative stress and inflammation by Portulaca oleracea in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Evid Based Complementary Altern Med 2017; 22: 562-66.
36. Shafi S and Tabassum N: Study of ethanolic extract of Portulaca oleracea (whole plant) on blood glucose levels and body weight in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Int Res J Pharm 2018; 9: 71-76.
37. Roozi H, Bojar MNA, Eidi V and Ali KNR: Effects of oleracein E and oleracein L from Portulaca oleracea on cell survival, antioxidant and antidiabetic efficacy on β-TC-6 pancreatic cell line. Indian J Pharm Sci 2019; 81: 681-89.
38. Khanam B, Begum W and Tipo FA: Efficacy of Tukhme Khurfa (Portulaca oleracea) in abnormal uterine bleeding-an observational clinical study. Int J Adv Res Dev 2018; 3: 299-05.
39. Veronica G and Esther RR: Aging metabolic syndrome and the heart. Aging Dis 2012; 3: 269-79.
40. Biljana B, Zorica SV, Jasmina D, Dusko K, Ivan P, Mirjana NA, Nevena AR and Gordana L: Aging impairs endocytic capacity of splenic dendritic cells from Dark Agouti rats and alters their response to TLR4 stimulation. Acta Vet-Beograd 2015; 65: 30-55.
41. Selesniemi K, Lee HJ, Niikura T and Tilly JL: Young adult donor bone marrow infusions into female mice postpone age-related reproductive failure and improve offspring survival. Aging (Albany NY) 2008; 1: 49-57.
42. Ahangarpour A, Lamoochi Z, Moghaddam HF and Mansouri SMT: Effects of Portulaca oleracea ethanolic extract on reproductive system of aging female mice. Int J Reprod Bio Med 2016; 14: 205-12.
43. Parameshwaran K, Irwin MH, Steliou K and Pinkert CA: D-galactose effectiveness in modeling aging and therapeutic antioxidant treatment in mice. Rejuvenation Res 2010; 13: 729-35.
44. Chondrogianni N, Kapeta S, Chinou I, Vassilatou K, Papassideri I and Gonos ES: Anti-ageing and rejuvenating effects of quercetin. Exp Gerontol 2010; 45: 763-71.
45. Huang JH, Huang CC, Fang JY, Yang C, Chan CM, Wu NL, Kang SW and Hung CF: Protective effects of myricetin against ultraviolet-B-induced damage in human keratinocytes. Toxicol In-vitro 2010; 24: 21-28.
46. Hosseini E, Frozanfar M and Payehdar A: The effect of hydroalcoholic extract of purslane on serum concentration of estrogen, progesterone, prolactin and gonadotropins in mature female rats. J Shahrekord Univ Med Sci 2013; 15: 12-21.
47. Qiao J-Y, Li H-W, Liu F-G, Li Y-C, Tian S, Cao L-H, Hu K, Wu X-X and Miao M-S: Efects of Portulaca Oleracea extract on acute alcoholic liver injury of rats. Molecules 2019; 24: doi: 10.3390/molecules24162887.
48. Zhang Y, Jia Y, Zheng R, Guo Y, Wang Y, Guo H, Fei M and Sun S: Plasma microRNA-122 as a biomarker for viral-, alcohol-, and chemical-related hepatic diseases. Clin Chem 2010; 56: 1830-38.
49. Bala S, Petrasek J, Mundkur S, Catalano D, Levin I, Ward J, Alao H, Kodys K and Szabo G: Circulating micro RNAs in exosomes indicate hepatocyte injury and inflammation in alcoholic, drug-induced and inflammatory liver diseases. Hepatology 2012; 56: 1946-57.
50. Esau C, Davis S, Murray SF, Yu XX, Pandey SK, Pear M, Watts L, Booten SL, Graham M, McKay R, Subramaniam A, Propp S, Lollo BA, Freier S, Bennett CF, Bhanot S and Monia BP: MiR-122 regulation of lipid metabolism revealed by in vivo antisense targeting. Cell Metab 2006; 3: 87-98.
51. Elmén J, Lindow M, Schütz S, Lawrence M, Petri A, Obad S, Lindholm M, Hedtjärn M, Hansen HF, Berger U, Gullans S, Kearney P, Sarnow P, Straarup EM and Kauppinen S: LNA-mediated microRNA silencing in non-human primates. Nature 2008; 452: 896-99.
52. Seo T, Al-Haideri M, Treskova E, Worgall TS, Kako Y, Goldberg IJ and Deckelbaum RJ: Lipoprotein lipase-mediated selective uptake from low density lipoprotein requires cell surface proteoglycans and is independent of scavenger receptor class B type 1. J Biol Chem 2000; 275: 30355-62.
53. Olivecrona G: Role of lipoprotein lipase in lipid metabolism. Curr Opin Lipidol 2016; 27: 233-41.
54. Geldenhuys WJ, Lin L, Darvesh AS and Sadana P: Emerging strategies of targeting lipoprotein lipase for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Drug Discov Today 2017; 22: 352-65.
55. Hullatti KK, Singh SK, Kuppast IJ and Malgi RA: Antihepatotoxic effect of Portulaca oleracea Leaves against CCl₄ induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Int J Chem Sci 2009; 7: 1004-10.
56. Kowalska MT, Brandt ME and Puett D: Inhibition of Cytochrome P-450 Aromatase activity by plant extracts. Planta Med 1990; 56: 675.
57. Hawkey PM and Jones AM: The changing epidemiology of resistance. J Antimicrob Chemother 2009; 64: 3-10.
58. Ahmad I, Mehmood Z and Mohammad E: Screening of some Indian medicinal plants for their antimicrobial properties. J Ethnopharmacol 1998; 62: 183-93.
59. Wasnik DD and Tumane PM: Preliminary phytochemical screening and evaluation of antibacterial activity Portulaca oleracea against multiple drug resistant (MDR) pathogens isolated from clinical specimen. World J Pharm Res 2014; 3: 920-31.
60. Springob K and Saito K: Metabolic engineering of plant secondary metabolism: promising approach to the production of pharmaceuticals. Sci Cult 2002; 68: 76-85.
61. Nayaka HB, Londonkar RL, Umesh MK and Tukappa A: Antimicrobial attributes of apigenin, isolated from Portulaca oleracea Int J Bacteriol 2014; Article ID 175851 doi:10.1155/2014/175851.
62. Du YK, Liu J, Li XM, Pan FF, Wen ZG, Zhang TC and Yang PL: Flavonoids extract from Portulaca oleracea induce Staphylococcus aureus death by apoptosis-like pathway. Int J Food Prop 2017; 20: 534-542.
63. Ninganagouda S, Rathod V, Singh D, Hiremath J, Singh AK and Mathew J: Growth kinetics and mechanistic action of reactive oxygen species released by silver nanoparticles from Aspergillus niger on Escherichia coli. Bio Med Res Int 2014; Article ID 753419, doi: 10.1155/2014/753419.
64. Othman AS: Bactericidal efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids and esters present in Moringa oleiferaand Portulaca oleracea fixed oils against oral and gastro enteric bacteria. Int J Pharmacol 2017; 13: 44-53.
65. Uddin MK, Juraimi AS, Hossain MS, Nahar MAU, Ali ME and Rahman MM: Purslane weed (Portulaca oleracea): A prospective plant source of nutrition, omega-3 fatty acid and antioxidant attributes. Scient World J 2014 doi: 10.1155/2014/951019.
66. Thompson L, Cockayne A and Spiller RC: Inhibitory effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids on the growth of Helicobacter pylori: A possible explanation of the effect of diet on peptic ulceration. Gut 1994; 35: 1557-61.
67. Ercisli S, Coruh I, Gormez A and Sengul M: Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Portulaca oleracea grown wild in Turkey. Ital J Food Sci 2008; 20: 533-542.
68. Islam S, Shawon JA and Mahmud SA: Antimicrobial activity of methanol, n-hexane and dichloromethane extract of Portulaca oleracea. Advances in Pharmacology and Clinical Trials 2018; 3: 000122.
69. Bakkiyaraj S and Pandiyaraj S: Evaluation of Potential Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal plants against common food-borne pathogenic microorganism. Int Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences Sci 2011; 2: 484-91.
70. Oh K-B, Chang I-M, Hwang K-J and Mar W: Detection of antifungal activity in Portulaca oleraceaby a single‐cell bioassay system. Phytother Res 2000; 14: 329-32.
71. Dong CX, Hayashi K, Lee JB and Hayashi T: Characterization of structures and antiviral effects of polysaccharides from Portulaca oleracea Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletinl 2010; 58: 507-10.
72. Li Y-H, Lai CY, Su MC, Cheng JC and Chang YS: Antiviral activity of Portulaca oleracea against influenza a viruses. J Ehnopharmacol 2019; 241: 112013.
73. Yang X, Yan Y, Li J, Tang Z, Sun J, Zhang H, Hao S, Wen A and Liu L: Protective effects of ethanol extract from Portulaca oleracea L on dextran sulphate sodium-induced mice ulcerative colitis involving anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. American Journal of Translational Research 2016; 8: 2138-48.
74. Boskabady MH, Kaveha M, Shakeric F, Roshand NM and Rezaeee R: Hydro-ethanolic extract of Portulaca oleracea ameliorates total and differential WBC, lung pathology and oxidative biomarkers in asthmatic rats. Iran J Pharm Res 2019; 18: 1947-58.
75. Cagno RD, Filannino P, Vincentini O, Cantatore V, Cavoski I and Gobbetti M: Fermented Portulaca oleracea juice: A novel functional beverage with potential ameliorating effects on the intestinal inflammation and epithelial injury. Nutrients 2019; 11: 248.
76. Forouzanfar F, Hosseinzadeh H, Khorrami MB, Asgharzade S and Rakhshandeh H: Attenuating effect of Portulaca oleracea extract on chronic constriction injury induced neuropathic pain in rats: An evidence of anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets 2019; 18: 342.
77. Rahimi VB, Rakhshandeh H, Raucci F, Buono B, Shirazinia R, Kermani AS, Maione F, Mascolo N and Askari VR: Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity of Portulaca oleraceaextract on LPS-induced rat lung injury. Molecules 2019; 24: 139.
78. Bai Y, Zang X, Ma J and Xu Guangyu: Anti-diabetic effect of Portulaca oleracea polysaccharide and its mechanism in diabetic rats. Int J Mol Sci 2016; 17: 1201.
79. Dehghan F, Soori R, Gholami K, Abolmaesoomi M, Yusof A, Muniandy S, Heidarzadeh S, Farzanegi P and Azarbayjani MA: Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) seed consumption and aerobic training improves biomarkers associated with atherosclerosis in women with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Sci Rep 2016; 6: 37819.
80. Ramadan BK, Schaalan MF and Tolba AM: Hypoglycemic and pancreatic protective effects of Portulaca oleracea extract in alloxan induced diabetic rats. BMC Complement Altern Med 2017; 17: 37.
81. Farid M, Abdelgayed SS, Soliman MH, El-Fadhany M and Hussein RH: Polyphenolic and flavonoids content, HPLC profiling and antioxidant activity of medicinal plants with pancreatic histological study in alloxan-induced diabetic rats model. J Microbiol Biotech Food Sci 2020; 9: 746-50.
82. Al-Bishri WM, Abdel-Reheim ES and Zaki AR: Purslane protects against the reproductive toxicity of carbamazepine treatment in pilocarpine-induced epilepsy. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 2017; 7: 339-46.
83. Najafabadi EA, Dehghani A, Behradmanesh S and Najarzadeh A: The effect of Purslane seeds on fasting blood glucose and serum liver enzymes in patients with nonalcoholic fatty livers. Iran J Dia Obes 2015; 7: 163-71.
84. Al-Sheddi ES, Farshori NN, Al-Oqail MM, Al-Massarani SM, Al-Salem AM, Musarrat J, Al-Khedhairy AA and Siddiqui MA: Portulaca oleracea Linn seed extract ameliorates hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death in human liver cells by inhibiting reactive oxygen species generation and oxidative stress. Trop J Pharm Res 2016; 15: 1643-49.
85. El-Sayed MAE-H, Shaltot OE-S, Yousef MI and El-Difrawy EAE-M: Protective effect of aerial parts of Portulaca oleracea and Ficus carica leaves against diclofenac-sodium induced hepatotoxicity in rats. JFNS 2019; 7: 1-7.
86. Seif MM, Madboli A-N, Marrez DA and Aboulthana WMK: Hepato-Renal protective effects of Egyptian Purslane extract against experimental cadmium toxicity in rats with special emphasis on the functional and histopathological changes. Toxicol Rep 2019; 6: 625-31.
87. Mousavi SM, Bagheri G and Saeidi S: Antibacterial activities of the hydroalcoholic extract of Portulaca oleracea leaves and seeds in Sistan region, southeastern Iran. Int J Infect 2015; 2: 23214.
88. Hashemi B, Taghiloo S, Allahmoradi E, Karami M and Rahdar HA: Assessment of antibacterial effect of hydro-alcoholic extracts of Portulaca oleracea on the human pathogen bacteria. JSUMS 2018; 25: 303-08.
89. Banerjee G and Mukherjee A: Biological activity of a common weed - Portulaca oleracea II. Antifungal activity. Acta Bot Hung 2002; 44: 205-08.
90. Soliman SSM, Semreen MH, El-Keblawy AA, Abdullah A, Uppuluri P and Ibrahim AS: Assessment of herbal drugs for promising anti-cndida BMC Complement Altern Med 2017; 17: 257.
    

    ---

    How to cite this article:

    Kaur H: An analysis of pharmacological activities of Portulaca oleracea. Int J Pharm Sci & Res 2020; 11(12): 5995-04. doi: 10.13040/ IJPSR.0975-8232.11(12).5995-04.

    ---

    All © 2013 are reserved by the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research. This Journal licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

    ---