Antioxidant Properties and Reported Ethnomedicinal Use of the Genus Echium (Boraginaceae)

Antioxidants

AndrewK. Davey¹  Akshaya Nagarajan¹  Matthew Zunk¹  Ju Jin¹  Mark Boersch¹ 

[1] School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, 4222 Queensland, Australia;

关键词: Echium L.;    phytochemicals;    antioxidant activity;    traditional uses;   

DOI  :  10.3390/antiox9080722

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The genus Echium L. from the Boraginaceae family consists of 67 recognised species. The genus is widely distributed in the Mediterranean, having been documented in the traditional medicine of the area since 300 B.C. Current pharmacological studies have validated early ethnomedicinal properties showing that Echium spp. possesses antioxidant, analgesic, anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral effects. Nevertheless, only limited papers report specifically on the phytochemistry of this genus. Furthermore, the potential of utilising extracts from Echium species as natural antioxidant preparations has been significantly neglected. For the first time, this review comprehensively describes and discusses the presence of recorded Echium species with ethnomedicinal uses, their antioxidative properties in vitro and in vivo when available, and major phytochemical components recognised as potent antioxidants, as well as the possibilities and opportunities for future research.

【 授权许可】

Unknown