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Review
. 2021 Jul 12;22(14):7463.
doi: 10.3390/ijms22147463.

A Comprehensive Review of the Ethnotraditional Uses and Biological and Pharmacological Potential of the Genus Mimosa

Ismat Majeed  1 , Komal Rizwan  2 , Ambreen Ashar  1 , Tahir Rasheed  3 , Ryszard Amarowicz  4 , Humaira Kausar  5 , Muhammad Zia-Ul-Haq  6 , Luigi Geo Marceanu  7
Affiliations
Review

A Comprehensive Review of the Ethnotraditional Uses and Biological and Pharmacological Potential of the Genus Mimosa

Ismat Majeed et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

The Mimosa genus belongs to the Fabaceae family of legumes and consists of about 400 species distributed all over the world. The growth forms of plants belonging to the Mimosa genus range from herbs to trees. Several species of this genus play important roles in folk medicine. In this review, we aimed to present the current knowledge of the ethnogeographical distribution, ethnotraditional uses, nutritional values, pharmaceutical potential, and toxicity of the genus Mimosa to facilitate the exploitation of its therapeutic potential for the treatment of human ailments. The present paper consists of a systematic overview of the scientific literature relating to the genus Mimosa published between 1931 and 2020, which was achieved by consulting various databases (Science Direct, Francis and Taylor, Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed, SciELO, Web of Science, SciFinder, Wiley, Springer, Google, The Plant Database). More than 160 research articles were included in this review regarding the Mimosa genus. Mimosa species are nutritionally very important and several species are used as feed for different varieties of chickens. Studies regarding their biological potential have shown that species of the Mimosa genus have promising pharmacological properties, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, wound-healing, hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antinociceptive, antiepileptic, neuropharmacological, toxicological, antiallergic, antihyperurisemic, larvicidal, antiparasitic, molluscicidal, antimutagenic, genotoxic, teratogenic, antispasmolytic, antiviral, and antivenom activities. The findings regarding the genus Mimosa suggest that this genus could be the future of the medicinal industry for the treatment of various diseases, although in the future more research should be carried out to explore its ethnopharmacological, toxicological, and nutritional attributes.

Keywords: Fabaceae; Mimosa; genus; leaves; nutrition; pharmacology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ethnogeographical distribution of Mimosa species.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic presentation of the nutritional value of the Mimosa genus. Note: % represents percentage of dry matter content.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic illustration of the traditional uses of the genus Mimosa.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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