Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies from local and foreign sources.
This also includes ideas and familiarizing information that are relevant and similar to the present
study.

Related Literature

Local

Passiflora Foetida is also known for its common name Goat Scented Passionflower. It is
an ill-scented, climbing herbaceous perennial plant, producing stems around 2.5 metres long.
These stems scramble over the ground, or clamber into the surrounding vegetation, supporting
themselves by means of coiling tendrils. The fruit is gathered from the wild and consumed
locally, but is not greatly valued because of its small size. However, the plant is cultivated for its
fruit in some tropical areas of America, Africa and Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Thailand, and Vietnam)[ CITATION Ken14 \l 1033 ].

Human infections particularly those involving micro-organisms i.e. bacteria, fungi,

viruses, nematodes, they cause serious infections in tropical and subtropical countries of
the world. In recent years, multiple drug resistance in human pathogenic microorganisms
has been developed due to indiscriminate use of commercial antimicrobial drugs commonly
used in the treatment of such diseases. Over the last three centuries, intensive efforts have
been made to discover clinically useful antimicrobial drugs (Ahmed et al., 1998; Werner et
al., 1999; Perumalsamy and Ignacimuthu, 2000). The increasing interest on traditional ethno
medicine may lead to discovery of novel therapeutic agents. Medicinal plants are finding their
way into pharmaceuticals, neutral-ceuticals, cosmetics and food supplements. The World Health
Organization (WHO, 2000) estimated that 80% of the population of developing countries still
relies on traditional medicines, mostly plant drugs, for their primary health care needs. Herbs are
supposed to be safe butmany unsafe and fatal side effects have recently been reported
(Ikegami et al., 2003; Izzo, 2004). Hence, there is an urgent need to study the screening of
antimicrobial properties of herbs, which will be helpful in the treatment of several diseases
caused by microorganisms.[ CITATION CMo07 \l 1033 ]
Foreign

Cerebral ischemia induced by stroke is recognized as the important problem worldwide

because it is one of the major causes of death and disability. Despite the advances of
pharmacotherapy nowadays, clinical therapy of the deliberating disorder is still inadequate.
Therefore, it has attracted more and more attention for developing novel strategies aim at
preventing and reducing impairment induced by stroke. Recently, it has been suggested that
prophylactic protection against stroke with neuroprotective agent may offer useful approach and
improve the outcome. However, the agent to be used prophylactic ally should be efficacious,
safe, orally available and affordable (Gupta et al., 2010). Based on the crucial role of free
radicals on the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia, the neuroprotective effect of substances
possessing antioxidant activity such as polyphenolic compounds have gained much attention.
Since fruits and vegetables contain abundant of phenolic compounds which previously reported
to exert the neuroprotective effect against cerebral ischemia (Simonyi et al., 2005) and have a
relative higher therapeutic window, lesser side effects and lesser cost consuming, they have
gained a lot of acceptance in the recent years and can be potential candidates for prophylactic
treatment in stroke. Passiflora foetida Linn, a plant in a family of Passifloraceae, has been used
in traditional folklore for a long time including detoxification, wound healing, antipyretic and
analgesic effect. Recent study showed that P.foetida exerted antidepressant like effect via
dopaminergic and serotonergic system. Moreover, it also possesses antioxidant activity (Osman
et al., 2009). Therefore, we hypothesized that P.foetida extract could protect against cerebral
ischemia. To date, less scientific about its neuroprotective effect is available, therefore, the
current study is set up to determine the neuroprotective effect of P.foetida in experimental model
of focal stroke induced by right Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion (MCAO). [ CITATION 2Ji12 \l
1033 ]

The study of Passiflora Foetida also exists in Anti-Dyslipidemia Effect of Ethanol Extract
of Passiflora foetida  on Dextrose Induced Diabetic Rats. Dyslipidemia leads to cardiovascular
disease (CVD) and it is determined by elevation of plasma concentration of lipoproteins.
Diabetes is a chronic disorder and it is controlled by different allopathic and Ayurvedic
formulation. The synthetic drugs include sulfonyl ureas, biguanides, metformin HCl, DPP-4
inhibitors etc. The folk medicine is practiced by local people. The people use herbal medicine to
control and treat the various types of diseases. In India, tribal people used different types of
medicinal plants to control the diabetes. In present study ethanol extracts of Passiflora
foetida leaves were evaluated for anti-dyslipidemia activity in dextrose induced diabetic rats. The
ethanol extracts of P. foetida were administered at the doses of 100 mg/kg body weight, 250
mg/kg body weight and 500 mg/kg body weight to the dextrose induced diabetic rats. The silver
nanoparticles were prepared by the reaction of 1 mM silver nitrate and 5% leaf extract of P.
foetida. The antidyslipidemia activity of ethanol extracts was compared with standard drugs
Glipizide, Sitagliptin and Vildagliptin. The standard drugs normally decreased the lipid
parameters in diabetic rats. The ethanol extract at the dose of 500 mg/kg body weight showed
significant lowering effect on dextrose induced diabetic rats. The total cholesterol,
triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) were
decreased by ethanol extract and standard drugs. Additionally the ethanol extract reduced the
HDL level in treated animals. The silver nanoparticles produce lower effect on lipid
profile. [ CITATION Rav19 \l 1033 ]

The Passiflora Foetida also help to lessen the ulcer cases and it can also be an antioxidant
by the ethanolic extract of the plant. Gastric ulcer is a break in the tissue lining of the stomach.
Most ulcers can be cured without complications; however, in some cases peptic ulcers can
develop, such as in penetration, perforation, bleeding (hemorrhage), and obstruction. Ethanol and
aspirin-induced gastric ulcer models have been widely used for the evaluation of gastro
protective activity. Acute treatment with ethanol increases oxidative stress, DNA damage,
xanthine oxidase activity and malondialdehyde levels, and decreases the total glutathione content
in gastric mucosal cells.  Aspirin-induced ulcer is mediated through tissue damaging free radicals
which are produced from the conversion of hydroperoxyl to hydroxy fatty acids, which leads to
cell destruction.  It has been found that oxygen-derived free radicals are implicated in the
mechanism of acute and chronic ulceration in the gastric mucosa and scavenging these free
radicals can play an appreciable role in healing the ulcer.  Before the introduction of potent
antiulcerogenic agents, i.e., H 2 -receptor antagonist, proton pump inhibitors, etc., plant remedies
were widely employed for the treatment of various symptoms of peptic ulcer. There has been
renewed interest in identifying new antiulcer drugs from natural sources. Passiflora foetida L.
(Passifloraceae), commonly known as passion fruit, is an exotic fast growing perennial climber
occurring in USA and extended to India. Traditionally, the plant has been used for its properties
like antiproliferative, sedative, anti-anxiety, antibacterial, leishmanicidal, antispasmodic, emetic,
dressing for wounds and antiulcer. [6],[7],[8] In this preliminary study, an attempt has been made to
evaluate the effects of P. foetida whole plant on experimentally induced gastric ulcers.[ CITATION
RSa11 \l 1033 ]

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2Jintanaporn Wattanathorn, 3Natcha Sattroopinat,. 2012. Neuroprotective Effect against. American
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Ken Fern, web interface by Ajna Fern with help from Richard Morris. 2014. "Passiflora foetida."
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R Sathish, Alok Sahu, K Natarajan. n.d. "Antiulcer and antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract of
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Ravi Babu Birudu1, M. Jagadish Naik2*, Janardhan M. 2013-2019. "Anti-Dyslipidemia Effect of Ethanol
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