DIU Blog

Sundarbans – Natural Reservoir

This write up is about the potentialities and scopes of the natural wonder- the Sundarbans in the development of new molecules in pharmaceutical industries in the recent era.

The Sundarbans is the largest monograph forest in the World, 7000 years ago, sediments from the foothills of the Himalayas were deposited by the Ganges River system, and the area is located southwest of Bangladesh and south of West Bengal, India. The track runs roughly 160 miles (260 km) west-east along the Bay of Bengal from the Hugli River estuary in India to the western part of the Meghna River estuary in Bangladesh and continues inland for about 50 miles (80 km) at its broadest point. A network of estuaries, tidal rivers, and streams crossed by multiple channels, it encloses low, heavily vegetated, marshy islands. The overall area of the Sundarbans, comprising both land and water, is around 3,860 square miles (10,000 square km), almost three-fifths of which is in Bangladesh! The term sundry or Sundari (Heritiera fomes), given to the enormous mangrove trees that abound in the region, is assumed to be the origin of the name Sundarbans. As you get closer to the shore, the forest gives way to a low-lying mangrove swamp, which is itself made up of sand dunes and mudflats. Moreover, half of the Sundarbans’ surface area is covered by mangrove forests, with water covering around two-fifths of that area. These erosional pressures are exacerbated by the silt and other sediments that build up along the many estuaries, transforming the landscape on an almost daily basis. As a result of human activities such as deforestation, erosion is accelerated. In addition, the mangrove swamps in the Indian half of the region have become more salinized due to the diversion of river water for agriculture and other purposes.

Sundarbans, in Bangladesh, has a cool and healthy climate that makes it a good place for many medicinal plants to grow. There are many known and unknown medicinal plants in this area. Locals and peoples employ 33 therapeutic herbs out of the vast array of available resources. People’s use of medicinal herbs and cultural ethics are intertwined, and strong conservatism has been passed down from generation to generation. Traditional and oral ethics assist conserve rare and endangered medicinal plant species in the Sundarbans by keeping the therapeutic characteristics of these plants a secret. The majority of medicinal plants are herbs, followed by shrubs and a few trees that can be found at different times of the year, depending on the season. Chemical compounds are found in a variety of parts of these plants, including Siegesbeckia orientalis, Terminalia catappa, Typhonium giganteum, Punica granatum, Bacopa monnieri, Adiantum capillus-veneris, Carica papaya, Portulaca oleracea, Dipterocarpus turbinatus, and Adiantum capillus-veneris. Species with family parenthesis are included (Euphorbiaceae). As a source of new and better traditional medications, these medicinal plants can be used in further researches. Some of the medicinal properties of different plants are highlighted in this article.

Acanthus ilicifolius: Coumeric acid derivative acancifoliuside and six new components are
found from Acanthus ilicifolius. Dyspepsia, paralysis, asthma, and headache, have all been
traditionally treated with this herb.

Siegesbeckia orientalis: Asia has relied on the medicinal herb Siegesbeckia Orientalis L. for the treatment of rheumatism and gout for a certain period. The crude ethanol extract (CEE) of S. Orientalis was shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperuricemic properties. Furthermore, the BuOH fr. was shown to retain similar biological capabilities, therefore further biological and chemical experiments were carried out on this plant to support its medical significance. In near future new anti –hyperuricemic agents can be marketed by this.

Terminalia catappa: Terminalia catappa L. (Combretaceae) is a medicinal plant from the Caribbean that is used to cure gastritis. For the purpose of determining the antiulcer mechanism of action in experimental mouse models and its efficacy against Helicobacter pylori, researchers at the University of Florida conducted studies on the aqueous fraction (FrAq) derived from Terminalia catappa L. leaves.

Typhonium giganteum: According to a new study, In addition to the previously identified chemicals dipalmitin (2), alpha-monopalmitin (3) and 2,6-diamino-9-beta Dribofuranosylpurine, researchers discovered a novel cerebroside, typhonoside (1), in the root
tuber of Typhonium giganteum Engl (4). Typhonium giganteum, the plant’s root. Typhonium
giganteum has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.

Punica granatum: From a recent research, Beta-D-apiofuranosyl(1–6) and coniferyl 9–O–[beta– D–apiofuranosyl(1–6)] are found as two novel compounds. In this case, the glucosinolates are sinapyl 9,O-[beta D’apiofuranosyl(1 -> 6)]. Pomegranate seeds yielded two new compounds, -Obeta-D-glucopyranoside (2) and 3,3′,4′-tri-O-methylellagic acid (3), as well as five recognized compounds (4), those compounds has great effects in against intestinal parasites, dysentery, and diarrhea.

Bacopa monnieri: Bacopa monnieri most commonly contain Abou 52 phytochemicals
compounds. Bacopa monnieri has a wide range of medicinal uses in many neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease as well as Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), and can have a significant impact on a person’s brain chemistry.

Nymphaea nouchali: Nymphayol is the medicinal compound that found from Nymphaea nouchali. Ayurvedic and Siddha schools of medicine utilize Nymphaea stellata Willd. (Syn. Nymphaeoidea nouchali Burman f.) as an aphrodisiac, to cure diabetes, inflammation, liver
illnesses, urinary disorders, menorrhagia and blenorrhagia, and to treat menstrual problems.

Adiantum capillus-veneris: Flavonoids are founds highest quantity in Adiantum capillusveneris. Traditionally, the genus has been used to cure a variety of ailments, including colds, fevers, coughs, and bronchial problems as well as skin illnesses, tumors of the spleen and liver, as well as jaundice and hepatitis, among other things.

Carica papaya: Carica papaya’s leaf contain Quercetin, Chlorogenic acid, 5,7- dirr.ethoxycourarin,Caffeic acid, Kaemfercel, p-Cumaric acid, Prctocatechuric acid, Human and animal ailments are treated using various sections of the plant in different regions of the world. While in Asian traditional medicine, the latex is used as an abortificient, anti inflammatory for wound treatment, and a remedy for dyspepsia, yarrow root is used to treat venereal illnesses, piles, and yaws.

Although plant sources, as well as new kinds of bacteria, have been discovered by researchers at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India, that can thrive at extremely high salt concentrations. Strain MS3/20Tsp.nov is a new strain of the Streptomyces euryhalinus bacterium, and it may be a source of new bioactive chemicals, including new medications. A number of valuable chemicals have been isolated from the Streptomyces genus in the past.
There are mangrove trees in the Sundarbans notable for their specialized aerial roots that extend in the open air to breathe on Lothian Island. In a paper published in the Journal of Antibiotics, scientists say that the novel species is distinct from the reference strains. This novel bacterium, unlike others in its family, could thrive in water with up to 20% salt content, something that had never been observed before. The salinity of seawater is just 3.5% when it is found in its natural state. In addition to being able to be destroyed by most antibiotics, this organism’s usage is unlikely to have an environmental impact. At 28°C in an artificial medium, the bacterium is easy to grow in the laboratory. Moreover sundarban have other lots of resources that can be use in new drug discovery. Last but not the least, we, Bangladesh are blessed to have major parts of the Sundarbans in our part

Writer: Farjana Aovi, Assistant Professor at department of Pharmacy is currently doing her PhD in the area of nobel compound isolation from Sundarbans and awarded fellowship in
Purdue University, USA to develop her idea into reality in 2022