Phenolic compounds from medicinal plants as Natural anti-elastase products for the therapy of pulmonary emphysema

摘要

Medicinal plants have been used as alternative treatments to health problems. Most of the natural remedies are based on medicinal plants. Many reports have demonstrated that the extracts from medicinal plants such as Nigella sativa (L.) seeds extracts have anti-elastase activity; this is mainly due to the enrichment of the extracts with many bioactive molecules mainly phenolic compounds. Neutrophil serine proteases including human neutrophil elastase are involved in many in?ammatory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema. Since the current therapies for these diseases are inadequate and have numerous adverse effects, there is an acute need of potential alternative therapies. The natural protease inhibitors have received increasing attention as useful tools for potential utilization in pharmacology. This review is elucidating the most important?natural phenolic substances?that have been reported recently for their effectiveness?as natural anti-elastase molecules and hence to?the possibility of?their use?in the field of pharmaceuticals.