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Review
. 2018 Oct 8;23(10):2567.
doi: 10.3390/molecules23102567.

Chemical Components and Biological Activities of the Genus Phyllanthus: A Review of the Recent Literature

Muhammad Farrukh Nisar  1 , Junwei He  2 , Arsalan Ahmed  3 , Youxin Yang  4 , Mingxi Li  5 , Chunpeng Wan  6
Affiliations
Review

Chemical Components and Biological Activities of the Genus Phyllanthus: A Review of the Recent Literature

Muhammad Farrukh Nisar et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Medicinal plants have served humans since prehistoric times to treat various ailments. Both developed and underdeveloped countries rely on traditional systems of medication using natural sources from plants. Phyllanthus is one of the largest genus in the family Phyllanthaceae, comprising over 700 well known species cosmopolitan in distribution mainly in the tropics and subtropics. Phyllanthus species are being in constant used in traditional medications to cure an array of human diseases (constipation, inhalation related, arthritis, loss of appetite, injuries, conjunctivitis, diarrhoea, running nose, common cold, malaria, blennorrhagia, colic, diabetes mellitus, dysentery, indigestion, fever, gout, gonorrheal diseases of males and females, skin itching, jaundice, hepatic disorders, leucorrhea, vaginitis, menstrual irregularities, obesity, stomach pains, and tumors), confectionaries, food industry, and in some pesticides. Phyllanthus species are rich in diversity of phytochemicals e.g., tannins, terpenes, alkaloids, glycosidic compounds, saponins, and flavones etc. More in depth studies are a direly needed to identify more compounds with specific cellular functions to treat various ailments.

Keywords: Phyllanthus; biological activities; phytochemicals; traditional medicines.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Phenylpropanoids from various Phyllanthus species.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Terpenoids from various Phyllanthus species.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Phenolic compounds from various Phyllanthus species.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Flavonoids, alkaloids and other compounds from various Phyllanthus species.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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