In general only one bio-marker and chemical marker is described of each herb, the chemical marker may be a bio-marker also. There are many potent phyto chemicals present in each herb and they are having actions but in practice one/two bio-markers are described.
That is why we in Unani Medicine believe in Whole Herb formulations...
During extraction process we are getting very less number of Phytoceuticals while as small molecules are left out.....
Biomarker for either plant/herb, activity, disease can be multiple in number. Just like it is a challenge to discover/ search a new biomarker for disease, it is equally challenging for plant materials too. The biomarkers, as you said, can be pharmacodynamic based or chemical marker. PD markers warrant series of bioassays, which are like any other experimentation yet money can be a issue in india. Using HPLC, and now LC-MS methods we can develop more precise chemical markers. Using whole herb or a single moiety is totally upto the scientist, yet using biomarker is mandatory if someone wants to publish in any credible journal and also get citations. Apart from this, ensuring what we think we are using by this methods, is scientifically sound practice, in my opinion.
One of the major hurdles in discovery of biomarkers is the lack of advanced techniques which are available at Pharmaceutical industry level. One way of overcoming this can be academic-industry collaboration. MD (Dravyaguna students-Ayur) MD (Pharmac-Clin Pharm), MPharm and esp. PhD level students can be instrumental to work on such long term projects. This might be an extended answer, still wanted to convey the whole picture. The attachment talks about it more.
Thanks.
Dr Lavekar Chinese are doing it by using uHPLC systems with multiple detector sytsem like LC-MS-MS; NMR, FTIR etc in series. In one of their study they have reported 14 lakhs components! To analyze it they have employed latest statistical software like PCA etc. But I have not come across such studies from Indian scientists
Warm personal regards- Dr.B.Ravishankar
If there is an identified biomarker and its structure is known, based on its physicochemical properties, separation can be done using suitable solvents directly, or converting the identified biomarker into a suitable salt form for ease of isolation.
It depends on the objective(s) for which these bio- or chemical markers are used. In agricultural research certain morphological parameters are used for selecting plants producing high biomass yields or resistant to pest attack etc. In aromatic crops, several chemotypes have been identified based on chemical composition variations. In such cases one or more chemicals were identified to differentiate chemotypes one from another.
If the present purpose is served by one or two markers the same can be continued or more can be added. Protocols for isolation and identification of compounds and for evaluating their biological properties are in place for researchers.
According to my viewpoint bio-marker and chemical-marker are tagging phrase that interaction level is upper-ordinal. Isolation is possible where molecular perception is considered as factor, Instrumental facilities were flourished hence possible to isolate with advance methods. multivariate analytic is useful for prediction and design work plan when difference in interactive ordinate.
Thanks, Priyanka, B. Ravishankar, B.R.R.Rao, Kulkarni and Shukla for value added answers. Each herb is in possession of many Phyto-Chemicals and definitely they are active more or less but only one or two are labeled as Bio-Markers. If as many as Phto-Chemicals are isolated and tested for their bio activity, we may get more useful applied basic information for drug development. This exercise will be more fruitful economical, less time consuming than synthesis of molecules. Many synthetic molecules are not found useful, the percentage is very less.
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