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Complementary and Alternative Medicine
November 25, 2024
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Nigella sativa: Therapeutic Potential in Reproductive Health and Wellness

Abdullah Ali, Peipei Zhang, Zaima Umar, Lariab Saeed, Sana Asif, Tehreem Rana Ajmal, Hadia Ali & Saqib Umer

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SUMMARY

The use of plants for healing, known as phytomedicine, has ancient roots, and one famous plant in this tradition is Chlorophytum (C.) borivilianum. This plant, also called Musli or Safed Musli (Urdu), is used extensively in traditional medicine and Ayurveda. C. borivilianum, has been recognized for its aphrodisiac, immune-modulatory, and antioxidant qualities and is rich in active ingredients such as proteins, polysaccharides, and saponins. Its potential applications in the treatment of ulcers, bacterial infections, and cancer have been highlighted by recent studies. It has antioxidant properties and also the ability to address male infertility. This herb has immune-modulating, reproductive health, and fertility-enhancing properties. Furthermore, it helps to alleviate menstrual symptoms and improve physical features such as vaginal lubrication and drying. It plays a role in areas such as longevity of reproduction, hormonal balancing, and general health. Care should be taken regarding its dosage because it can result in allergic reactions or hormonal imbalances in case of overdose. Due to its ability to improve uterine receptivity, regulate the mensural cycle, and enhance sperm and egg quality, C. borivilianum may have ART applications. It has wide economic importance in both international and local markets. In order to improve reproductive health and for patients who are unable to conceive, C. borivilianum offers an effective and natural alternative to conventional reproductive treatment.
  • Department of Theriogenology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38040, Punjab, Pakistan.
  • Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan-430070, PR China.
  • Authors contributed equally
  • Corresponding author: saqib.umer@uaf.edu.pk

INTRODUCTION

Phytomedicine is the use of plants to cure illness or prevent disease, a practice that has been around for generations. Herbs may be utilized as an alternative to or in conjunction with conventional treatment, so there’s no need to disregard the former. Research into alternative medical practices, such as phytomedicine or ethnomedicine, is not new. For the first time in the 1960s, Tabebuia (T.) impetiginosa (Red Lapacho) drew significant attention as a ‘wonder medicine’ in Brazil and Argentina. T. impetiginos has two major bioactive components: lapachol and betalapachone. The principal antitumor component is beta-lapachone, and pro-apoptotic actions were identified in vitro. An endangered geophyte with extensive traditional use and therapeutic value is Chlorophytum (C.) borivilianum (Liliaceae). C. borivilianum (Hindi for “white tubers”) is the prevalent name for this food item. The root of the C. borivilianum plant is given a prominent position in the Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathic, and Allopathic medical traditions. Traditional C. borivilianum usage has been mostly unreported since they have been conveyed orally from one generation to the next in local spoken languages. Recent surveys in various Indian states have shown that the ethnic communities of the Aravali Hills (Meena), Rajasthan (Mizo), Mizorum (Mizo), Maharashtra (Pawra and Thakar), and Madhya Pradesh (Korku and Bharia) have benefited from safed musli’s inclusion in their health care system, increasing their health, vitality, and longevity as shown in Fig 1., ( Patil, 2003; Meena & Rao 2010; Deshwal & Trivedi 2011; Rai & Lalramnghinglova 2011). 

The World Health Organization

This chapter has been written to give a good insight into the global incidence of maternal and child undernutrition, maternal under-nutritional effects on fetal development and CVD incidence, the link between CVDs and IMT, association of Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) and CVDs, during pregnancy and optimal nutritional provisions during pregnancy to avoid adverse effects of maternal undernutrition for improvement of overall health and wellbeing.

IMPACT OF GESTATIONAL MATERNAL UNDERNUTRITION ON FETAL DEVELOPMENT

“It is on the condition of the health of the mother that the condition of the health of the child depends”, Hippocrates stated. This is one of the very early reported references to the concept that placental life has an effect on adult life. But the full concept came into being as we know it in the 1930s, during this era substandard living conditions in infancy were linked to premature death, later. Further studies were carried out which linked these substandard living conditions in early life to several cardiac disorders later in life when the living conditions were better this gave a hint that development in early life and the environment was rather important for the well-being of the individual, in 1977 (Hanson, 2015).
Approximately one-half of the world’s total population is affected by maternal and child undernutrition (Ahmed et al., 2012). Maternal and child undernutrition causes 3·5 million deaths annually, 11% of worldwide disability-adjusted lifeyears (DALYs), and more than one-third of the disease burden in children (less than 5 years of age). Optimum and balanced maternal nutrition is indispensable for proper fetal development and growth (Barker & Clark 1997). Nutritional factors and proteins present in milk promote fetal growth in pregnant women (Borazjani et al., 2013). Ignorance, poverty, food insecurity, infectious diseases, lack of proper feeding practices for infants and young children, and poor sanitation and hygiene lead to the prevailing high levels of child and maternal undernutrition in developing nations. Maternal undernutrition is highly prevalent in the resource-poor countries of southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and south-central Asia. Its prevalence in South Asia ranges from 10 to 40% (Ahmed et al., 2012; Jouanne et al., 2021).
Pakistan being a developing country, about 12.5% population (28 million) faced undernourishment, in 2021 (FAO, 2021). In Pakistan, both lactating and pregnant women suffer from a higher prevalence of malnutrition (16.1%) than their non-pregnant peers (12.5%). It is understood that undernutrition reduces a nation’s economic progress by at least 8% resulting in poorer cognition, direct productivity losses, and reduced schooling. The enormity of children and maternal undernutrition in Pakistan is so much so that about one crore children in Pakistan face stunting, largely due to maternal undernutrition (UNICEF, 2022). To cope with this grave situation, in 2014, the World Bank committed 47.95 million US dollars to improve the nutritional status of lactating and pregnant women. A similar situation is prevalent for women and children in many developing countries (World Bank, 2014).

Maternal undernutrition has been proven to have a profound effect on fetal growth, with body weight and many key organs. It has been reported previously that during the first two weeks of pregnancy, the provision of a 5% protein diet only (undernutrition) led to a reduction in brain weight, size, and cortical thickness of the brain (Gressens et al., 1997). A severe gestational maternal protein restriction in rats caused a reduced number of glomeruli and hypertension in both male and female newborns, this hypertension is salt-sensitive and worsens with age, but is approximately equivalent in males and females (Woods et al., 2004)

Chronic energy deficit or maternal undernutrition means
having a body mass index (BMI) below 18.5. If the females are
under-nourished females at the time of conception, then during
pregnancy (when there are additional demands due to the
growing fetus), they are unlikely to improve their nutritional
status. They are more likely to fail to gain sufficient weight
during pregnancy and are at a higher risk of mortality than wellnourished and healthy women (Smith et al., 2003).

IUGR predisposes developing fetuses to reduced organ and
body weights. Most information about the long-term and short term effects of IUGR has come from animal models. In recent
years, many animal models of placental insufficiency and/or
poor maternal nutrition have been developed to investigate the
causes and effects of IUGR. Both maternal dietary
manipulations and surgical interventions have been employed
for these studies. A number of animal species have been studied
for IUGR effects, including rodents, rabbits sheep, and primates
(Louey et al., 2000; Mitchell et al., 2004; Jonker et al., 2018).

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