ReviewMedicines (Basel, Switzerland)2015
Modes of Action of Herbal Medicines and Plant Secondary Metabolites.
Review in Medicines (Basel, Switzerland), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 247 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
247 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 899 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- The effects of six months Persicaria minor extract supplement among older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a double-blinded, randomized, and placebo-controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2020Trial
- Green extraction routes for conversion of Nerium oleander L. biomass into bioactive agents: phytochemical insights and antimicrobial promise.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- First Report on the Phytochemical and Pharmacological Properties of Hedysarum yilmazunalii.Chemistry & biodiversity · 2026Article
- Volatile Organic Compounds and Beyond: Chemical Diversity and Biological Activities ofMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Organ-Specific Targeted Phenolic Profiling, Antioxidant, and Enzyme-Inhibitory Activities of the Gypsophilous EndemicMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Chemical Characterization of Volatile Terpenoids in Teucrium polium L. Essential Oil Evaluated by GC-MS/FID and Its Associated Biological Properties.Chemistry & biodiversity · 2026Article
- Review
- Comparative bioactivities of Annona squamosa seeds and fruits: phytochemical insights and pharmacological evaluation.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Deep Learning and Microbiome Analysis Reveal the Preservation Mechanism ofFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Phytochemical screening and in vivo evaluation of antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous, methanolic, and chloroform root fractions of Impatiens rothii Hook. (Balsaminaceae).Inflammopharmacology · 2026Article
- Antibacterial and Anticancer Potential ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Preliminary phytochemical profiling and in vitro antibacterial activity of Lycium edgeworthii (Solanaceae) leaf extract against multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Comprehensive Profiling of Aseer Medicinal Plants: Connections Between Molecular Identity, Chemical Composition, and Antifungal-Antibiofilm Activity Against Oral Yeasts.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Diabetes mellitus in ECOWAS: an overview of the safety and efficacy of medicinal plants used in traditional medicine practices.Tropical medicine and health · 2026Review
- State-of-the-Art Perspectives on Postbiotic-Oriented Systems Derived from Fermented Medicinal Plant Extracts.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Metabolites from chia seed (Salvia Hispanica L.) exert antioxidant effects through activation of the DAF-16 pathway and neuroprotective activity in the Caenorhabditis elegans model of Huntington's disease.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- Anticancer and antioxidant activities of Pelargonium graveolens L., Mentha longifolia L., and Chrysanthemum frutescens L. under salt stress.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Subcritical Water Extraction of Kānuka (Kunzea ericoides): A Qualitative Analysis of Bioactive Profile Based on Antioxidant Properties.Molecular biotechnology · 2026Article
187 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Plants produce a wide diversity of secondary metabolites (SM) which serve them as defense compounds against herbivores, and other plants and microbes, but also as signal compounds. In general, SM exhibit a wide array of biological and pharmacological properties. Because of this, some plants or products isolated from them have been and are still used to treat infections, health disorders or diseases. This review provides evidence that many SM have a broad spectrum of bioactivities. They often interact with the main targets in cells, such as proteins, biomembranes or nucleic acids. Whereas some SM appear to have been optimized on a few molecular targets, such as alkaloids on receptors of neurotransmitters, others (such as phenolics and terpenoids) are less specific and attack a multitude of proteins by building hydrogen, hydrophobic and ionic bonds, thus modulating their 3D structures and in consequence their bioactivities. The main modes of action are described for the major groups of common plant secondary metabolites. The multitarget activities of many SM can explain the medical application of complex extracts from medicinal plants for more health disorders which involve several targets. Herbal medicine is not a placebo medicine but a rational medicine, and for several of them clinical trials have shown efficacy.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.