This review focuses on traditional and contemporary anti-inflammatory uses of mollusc-derived products summarising all the in vitro, in vivo and human clinical trials that have tested the anti-inflammatory activity of molluscan natural products. Inflammatory conditions, burns and wounds have been an ongoing concern for human health since the early era of civilisation. Many texts from ancient medicine have recorded the symptoms, signs and treatments for these conditions. Natural treatments are well-documented in traditional European medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Siddha and ancient Mediterranean and African traditional medicine and include a surprisingly large number of molluscan species.
An extensive review of the Materia Medica and scientific literature was undertaken using key word searches for "mollusc" and "anti-inflammatory" or "immunomodulatory" or "wound healing".
Molluscs have been used in ethnomedicine by many traditional cultures to treat different aspects of inflammatory conditions. We found 104 different anti-inflammatory preparations from a variety of molluscan species, of which 70 were from the well-documented Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This traditional use of molluscs has driven the testing for inflammatory activity in extracts from some species in the phylum Mollusca, with 20 in vitro studies, 40 in vivo animal studies and 14 human clinical trials performed to substantiate the anti-inflammatory and wound healing activity of molluscs. Some of these studies have led to the approval of mollusc-derived products to be used as over-the-counter (OTC) nutraceuticals, like Lyprinol® and Biolane™ from the New Zealand green lipped mussel Perna canaliculus.
Natural products provide important leads for the development of pharmaceuticals, including anti-inflammatory agents. Only a small proportion of the molluscan traditional medicines have been tested to confirm their anti-inflammatory activity and most screening studies have tested crude extracts from molluscs without any chemical characterisation. This highlights the need for further research to strategically identify the anti-inflammatory compounds in molluscan medicines to provide leads for novel anti-inflammatory drugs in the future.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
15
8%
Chemistry
12
6%
Medicine and Dentistry
8
4%
Other
31
16%
Unknown
83
42%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 4. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 09 January 2023.
All research outputs
#7,359,319
of 25,382,440 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Ethnopharmacology
#1,863
of 7,312 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#108,789
of 327,377 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Ethnopharmacology
#16
of 75 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,382,440 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 69th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 7,312 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.3. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 73% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 327,377 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 65% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 75 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 76% of its contemporaries.
