Chemistry, Biosynthesis and Pharmacology of Sarsasapogenin: A Potential Natural Steroid Molecule for New Drug Design, Development and Therapy
Nur Hanisah Mustafa,
Mahendran Sekar,
Shivkanya Fuloria,
M. Yasmin Begum,
Siew Hua Gan,
Nur Najihah Izzati Mat Rani,
Subban Ravi,
Kumarappan Chidambaram,
Vetriselvan Subramaniyan,
Kathiresan V. Sathasivam,
Srikanth Jeyabalan,
Subasini Uthirapathy,
Sivasankaran Ponnusankar,
Pei Teng Lum,
Vijay Bhalla,
Neeraj Kumar Fuloria
Affiliations
Nur Hanisah Mustafa
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Royal College of Medicine Perak, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh 30450, Malaysia
Mahendran Sekar
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Royal College of Medicine Perak, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh 30450, Malaysia
Shivkanya Fuloria
Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Bedong 08100, Malaysia
M. Yasmin Begum
Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia
Siew Hua Gan
School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Kuala Lumpur 47500, Malaysia
Nur Najihah Izzati Mat Rani
Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Royal College of Medicine Perak, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh 30450, Malaysia
Subban Ravi
Department of Chemistry, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore 641021, Tamil Nadu, India
Kumarappan Chidambaram
Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia
Vetriselvan Subramaniyan
Faculty of Medicine, Bioscience and Nursing, MAHSA University, Jalan SP 2, Bandar Saujana Putra, Jenjarom 42610, Malaysia
Kathiresan V. Sathasivam
Faculty of Applied Sciences, AIMST University, Bedong, Sungai Petani 08100, Malaysia
Srikanth Jeyabalan
Department of Pharmacology, Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Pharmacy, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (DU), Porur, Chennai 600116, Tamil Nadu, India
Subasini Uthirapathy
Faculty of Pharmacy, Tishk International University, Erbil 44001, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Sivasankaran Ponnusankar
Department of Pharmacy Practice, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Ooty 643001, Tamil Nadu, India
Pei Teng Lum
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Royal College of Medicine Perak, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh 30450, Malaysia
Vijay Bhalla
SGT College of Pharmacy, SGT University, Gurugram 122505, Haryana, India
Neeraj Kumar Fuloria
Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Bedong 08100, Malaysia
Sarsasapogenin is a natural steroidal sapogenin molecule obtained mainly from Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge. Among the various phytosteroids present, sarsasapogenin has emerged as a promising molecule due to the fact of its diverse pharmacological activities. In this review, the chemistry, biosynthesis and pharmacological potentials of sarsasapogenin are summarised. Between 1996 and the present, the relevant literature regarding sarsasapogenin was obtained from scientific databases including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Overall, sarsasapogenin is a potent molecule with anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-osteoclastogenic and neuroprotective activities. It is also a potential molecule in the treatment for precocious puberty. This review also discusses the metabolism, pharmacokinetics and possible structural modifications as well as obstacles and opportunities for sarsasapogenin to become a drug molecule in the near future. More comprehensive preclinical studies, clinical trials, drug delivery, formulations of effective doses in pharmacokinetics studies, evaluation of adverse effects and potential synergistic effects with other drugs need to be thoroughly investigated to make sarsasapogenin a potential molecule for future drug development.
