Chemical composition and biological activity of wild <i>Linum</i> (Linaceae) Species

Abstract

The review presents data from literature sources on the component composition and biological activity of aboveground and underground parts of wild species of the genus Linum L. (Linaceae DC. ex Perleb). In recent decades, studies have been carried out on the component composition of not only flaxseed oil, but also cell cultures in vitro. This information is especially relevant for starting herbal materials derived from wild Linum species with small habitats or insignificant thicket density. Currently, information on the component composition and biological activity of oils or extracts has been obtained for 54 wild Linum species, belonging to 8 sections of 2 subgenera. In the aboveground and underground parts of the studied wild species of the genus Linum, the following sunstances were found: mucilage (in leaves and seeds), proteins (in seeds), vitamins (in leaves, seeds), alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, coumarins, tannins, pigments, cyanogenetic glucosides and lignans. Essential oil was isolated from the aboveground flowering parts of L. perenne L., L. ausrtiacum L., L. hirsutum L., L. pubescens Willd. ex Schult., L. tenuifolium L., and L. catharticum L. The chemosystematics does not contradict the system we previously compiled based on morphological, anatomical and molecular characteristics of Linum species. Asian and European herbal medicine traditionally uses aboveground parts of L. perenne, L. baicalense Juz., L. altaicum Ledeb. ex Juz., L. olgae Juz. and L. heterosepalum Regel. The seeds and fatty oil exhibit coating, wound-healing, mild laxative, and analgesic properties. Extracts of wild-growing Linum species, as well as their individual components, have varied bioactivity like antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal, yeast-static, antiviral, cytotoxic, inhibitory, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and antioxidant. Species characterized by a high content of aryldihydronaphthalene-type lignans (a typical representative is justicidin B) have an antiviral effect and are effective against SARS-Cov-2. The yellow-flowered Linum species in the section Syllinum, with predominant aryltetralin lignans (e.g. 6-methoxypodophyllotoxin and its derivatives), exhibit anticancer activity. In the section Linopsis, L. corymbulosum Reichenb., which contains (–)-hinokinin, may prove to be an object of comprehensive research as a promising source of domestic herbal substances that can be used as adjunctive treatments in the anti-hepatitis B therapy.