A perspective review of phytochemistry and pharmacology of the Syzygium genus

Abstract

Syzygium is a genus of the Myrtaceae family consisting of large and widespread species from Africa, Asia, Australia, and throughout Oceania and the Pacific region. Some have been cultivated for bearing fruit, ornamental plants and used as traditional medicine. This article excavated Syzygium genus which was focused on traditional uses, chemical compounds and biological activities related to treatment of syndrome metabolic. All information was obtained from the scientific literature such as Science Direct, Google Scholar, Scopus and PubMed. Several species were known to have therapeutic potential and used in traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, and herbal medicine in Indonesia. Traditionally, Syzygium is known for its therapeutic purposes such as coughing, diarrhea, colds, dysentery, inflammation, pain, skin, and mouth infections. Only a few species have been scientifically studied to verify their usage as traditional medicine. There were many reports on the traditional uses and medicinal effects of Syzygium plants, but only a few review articles mainly about phytochemical constituents and their role in pharmacological activities. The present reviews highlight the phytochemical and pharmacological activity of various species of the Syzygium genus. The pharmacological activities were discussed in this article focused to metabolic syndrome treatment, such as antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, antioxidant and antihypertensive activities. Chemical components isolated mainly flavonoid, terpenoids/sesquiterpenoid, sterols, and lignan. Several bioactive compounds have been identified correlated with pharmacological activity, but the chemical compounds were different for each species.