ABSTRACT
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Plants of the genus Hymenaea (Fabaceae) are used in South American and Asian traditional medicines to treat a multitude of disorders, like cough, diarrhea, dysentery, intestinal colic, pulmonary weakness, asthma, anemia, sore throat, and for the treatment of kidney problems, viral related disorders, chronic cystitis, bronchitis, and bladder infections. Some Hymenaea species are also used as vermifuge, and for the treatment of arthritis, and inflammation conditions. This review deals with updated information on the traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of ethnomedicinally important Hymenaea species in order to provide an input for the future research prospects. METHODS: Literature available in various recognized databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, SciFinder, Scopus, Springer, Wiley, ACS, Scielo and Web of Science, as well as from theses, dissertations, books, reports, and other relevant websites (www.theplantlist.org), are surveyed, analysed, and included in this review. Herein, the literature related to chemical constituents and pharmacological activities were searched in November 2016. RESULTS: The literature provided information on ethnopharmacological uses of the South American and African species of the genus Hymenaea (e.g., H. courbaril, H. stigonocarpa, H. onblogifolia, H. martiana, H. parvifolia (South America) and H. verrucosa (African species)) for the treatment of multi-factorial diseases. From these plant species, more than 130 compounds, including fatty acids, flavonoids, terpenoids and steroids, phthalides, phenolic acids, procyanidins and coumarins were identified. Experimental evidences confirmed that the Hymenaea spp. could be used in treating inflammatory disorders, asthma, diarrhea, and some microbial infections. However, reports on the toxicity of Hymenaea species remain scarce. CONCLUSION: Plants of this genus have offered bioactive samples, both from crude extracts and pure compounds, thus substantiating their effectiveness in traditional medicine. However, intensive investigations of all the species of Hymenaea spp. relating to phytochemical and pharmacological properties, especially their mechanism of action, safety and efficacy could be the future introspection.
Subject(s)
Hymenaea , Plants, Medicinal , Animals , Ethnopharmacology , HumansABSTRACT
Os óleos essenciais, isolados por hidrodestilação de folhas e flores de Myrcia obtecta (O. Berg) Kiaersk. var. obtecta, Myrtaceae, coletadas a cada dois meses em Curitiba, Paraná, durante o período de outubro/2005 a agosto/2006, foram analisados por CG e CG/EM. Os óleos das folhas foram caracterizados pelo elevado conteúdo de sesquiterpenos cíclicos (cerca de 70 por cento) e quantidades variáveis de monoterpenos (5,6-16,7 por cento), compostos alifáticos (0,4-5,5 por cento) e salicilato de metila (0,1-1,5 por cento). Foram identificados 55 componentes, sendo que trans-calameneno (17,029,3 por cento) foi o componente majoritário em todas as amostras. Não houve mudanças significativas na composição, excepto em outubro (floração) quando α-terpineol e trans-calameneno atingiram os maiores níveis (11,2 por cento e 29,3 por cento, respectivamente). O óleo das flores contém salicilato de metila (89 por cento) como constituinte majoritário.
The essential oils isolated by hydrodistillation from leaves and flowers of Myrcia obtecta (O. Berg) Kiaersk. var. obtecta, Myrtaceae, collected bimonthly in Curitiba, Paraná state, Brazil, from October/2005 to August/2006 were analyzed by capillary GC and GC/MS. Fifty-five components were identified in the leaf oils, which were characterized by predominance of cyclic sesquiterpenes (around 70 percent) and variable amounts of monoterpenes (5.616.7 percent), aliphatic compounds (0.4-5.5 percent) and methyl salicylate (0.1-1.5 percent). The major component in all samples was trans-calamenene (17.0-29.3 percent). The composition did not show significant seasonal variation, except in October (flowering) when α-terpineol and trans-calamenene peaked (11.2 percent and 29.3 percent, respectively). The flower oil was characterized by high content of methyl salicylate (89 percent).
