Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Aug 2;9(8):337.
doi: 10.3390/biom9080337.

Euphorbia-Derived Natural Products with Potential for Use in Health Maintenance

Bahare Salehi  1 , Marcello Iriti  2 , Sara Vitalini  2 , Hubert Antolak  3 , Ewelina Pawlikowska  3 , Dorota Kręgiel  3 , Javad Sharifi-Rad  4 , Sunday I Oyeleye  5   6 , Adedayo O Ademiluyi  5 , Katarzyna Czopek  7 , Mariola Staniak  7 , Luísa Custódio  8 , Ericsson Coy-Barrera  9 , Antonio Segura-Carretero  10   11 , María de la Luz Cádiz-Gurrea  12   13 , Raffaele Capasso  14 , William C Cho  15 , Ana M L Seca  16   17
Affiliations
Review

Euphorbia-Derived Natural Products with Potential for Use in Health Maintenance

Bahare Salehi et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

Euphorbia genus (Euphorbiaceae family), which is the third largest genus of angiosperm plants comprising ca. 2000 recognized species, is used all over the world in traditional medicine, especially in the traditional Chinese medicine. Members of this taxa are promptly recognizable by their specialized inflorescences and latex. In this review, an overview of Euphorbia-derived natural products such as essential oils, extracts, and pure compounds, active in a broad range of biological activities, and with potential usages in health maintenance, is described. The chemical composition of essential oils from Euphorbia species revealed the presence of more than 80 phytochemicals, mainly oxygenated sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons, while Euphorbia extracts contain secondary metabolites such as sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, sterols, flavonoids, and other polyphenols. The extracts and secondary metabolites from Euphorbia plants may act as active principles of medicines for the treatment of many human ailments, mainly inflammation, cancer, and microbial infections. Besides, Euphorbia-derived products have great potential as a source of bioactive extracts and pure compounds, which can be used to promote longevity with more health.

Keywords: Euphorbia; anti-inflammation; anticancer; antimicrobial; bioactivity; essential oils; extracts; phytochemicals; terpenoids.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structures of the constituents of Euphorbia essential oil, each one with a content exceeding 25%.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structures of in vitro bioactive Euphorbia compounds.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structures of some in vivo bioactive Euphorbia compounds.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Shi Q.W., Su X.H., Kiyota H. Chemical and pharmacological research of the plants in genus Euphorbia. Chem. Rev. 2008;108:4295–4327. doi: 10.1021/cr078350s. - DOI - PubMed
    1. The Plant List. [(accessed on 3 June 2019)]; Available online: http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Compositae/Inula/
    1. Govaerts R., Frodin D.G., Radcliffe-Smith A. World Checklist and Bibliography of Euphorbiaceae (with Pandaceae) Volume 2 Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew, UK: 2000.
    1. IUCN Red List The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. [(accessed on 1 June 2019)]; Available online: https://www.iucnredlist.org/
    1. Kumar S., Malhotra R., Kumar D. Euphorbia hirta: Its chemistry, traditional and medicinal uses, and pharmacological activities. Pharmacogn. Rev. 2010;4:58–61. doi: 10.4103/0973-7847.65327. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms