title: Review on emu products for use as complementary and alternative medicine.
abstract: Emu (Dromaius novaehallandiae), the flightless bird native to Australia and found in many countries, is receiving much attention for its nutritional benefits as well as its medicinal value. Emu oil contains high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants. It has potent anti-inflammatory actions and thus can be used topically and orally to treat conditions such as mucositis, inflammatory bowel syndrome, and auricular inflammation, and to prevent chemotherapy-induced bone loss. Emu oil also has a hypocholesterolemic effect, transdermal penetration-enhancing activity, cosmetic and insect repellent activity, and so on. However, its mechanism(s) of actions are unclear and have not, to our knowledge, been studied to date. Previous studies suggest that the fatty acids of the ω-9, ω-6, and ω-3 series, which are present in emu oil, may act on cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase, and lipoxin pathways to bring about its anti-inflammatory and other beneficial actions. The aim of this review was to provide a brief summary of the current knowledge of research on emu products, mainly emu oil, for the possible use as a complementary and alternative natural medicine for various chronic diseases. In this review we also highlighted the future research scope of emu oil for its possible antidiabetic activity. Thus, emu oil is an attractive pharmacologic agent to further explore for its therapeutic activity to treat various ailments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER-Hyderabad), Balanagar, India.
authors.forename: Manish Kumar
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Jeengar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER-Hyderabad), Balanagar, India.
authors.forename: P Sravan
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER-Hyderabad), Balanagar, India.
authors.forename: Dinesh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thummuri
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER-Hyderabad), Balanagar, India.
authors.forename: Shweta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shrivastava
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER-Hyderabad), Balanagar, India.
authors.forename: Lalita
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guntuku
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Ramakrishna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sistla
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER-Hyderabad), Balanagar, India. Electronic address: vgmnaidu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: V G M
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Naidu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D001315:Australia; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D020312:Dromaiidae; D004531:Eggs; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy; D008460:Meat; D009821:Oils / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D009821:Oils; C575034:emu Oil
keywords: Antioxidant; Emu oil; GPR120; Inflammation; MUFA; PUFAs; Penetration enhancer